BAY CITY — As Catholic schools in the Bay Area celebrate Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 30-Feb. 5), two of the big events will be Masses with Saginaw Bishop Joseph R. Cistone.
One will be 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, at St. Michael Church, 225 S. Jennings St. in Pinconning. The other will be 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, at St. Stanislaus Church, 1503 Kosciuscko Ave. in Bay City.
At All Saints High School and Middle School, the students will spend the week in a penny war, raising funds for the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission.
During the week, the high schoolers will be gathering donations of food so that on Friday, some students can spend the day preparing sack lunches with the donated materials for the rescue mission.
On that same day, the middle schoolers will fan out to the 13 parishes that support the Bay Area Catholic Schools to serve them in whatever capacity they can.
For the students at St. Valentine School in Kawkawlin, Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday, when they sing at the 10:30 a.m. Mass. During the week at school, they will be handing in their “spare change” to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The goal is to collect $100. The Home and School Association will match funds up to $150.
The students also will have a read-a-thon on Tuesday, will travel to St. Michael Church in Pinconning for Mass with Bishop Cistone on Wednesday, will watch a movie together after lunch on Thursday and will close the week making ice cream sundaes on Friday.
St. Anne School in Linwood will mark each day with a theme: Patriotism (Monday), Community (Tuesday), Vocations and Careers (Wednesday), Staff (Thursday) and Students (Friday). The students will create Valentines to send to those in military service and veterans on Monday and will write thank-you cards to the people of the Linwood community on Tuesday. After the Mass with the bishop in Pinconning on Wednesday, the students will have a career day, with presentations on a number of possible vocations. The school staff will be honored at a luncheon on Thursday, followed by games in the classrooms, with parent supervision. The week closes Friday with students donning pajamas to read or play games in the gym.
At St. John the Evangelist School in Essexville, the week includes a chance on Wednesday morning for parents to shadow their children. Parents and students also will fill the ministries at Masses the weekend of Feb. 5-6 . Thursday’s agenda includes Mass with the bishop at St. Stanislaus and a grade K-1 vs. 2-3 mathematics competition.
At Holy Trinity School in Bay City, the students will kick off the week by serving in the ministry roles at Masses the weekend of Jan. 29-30. On Monday, their parents are served a continental breakfast from 7:30-8 a.m., courtesy of the Catholic Federal Credit Union. On Wednesday, the students go swimming in the morning at the Delta College pool. The students will attend Mass on Thursday at St. Stanislaus with Bishop Cistone, then have lunch at St. Stanislaus School. On Friday, there will be a prayer service followed by the story of the pretzel.
At Auburn Area Catholic School, there will be a book fair every day during Catholic Schools Week. During the week the students also will gather donations for Helping Hands ministry. For fun, they will make a field trip on Friday to Zehnder’s Splash Village in Frankenmuth. And they will attend Mass with the bishop on Wednesday at St. Michael in Pinconning. The students also will create Earth Day contest posters and make Valentines to send to those in military service and veterans.
The students at St. James School in Bay City will spend the week praying for their fellow students in the Bay Area Catholic Schools system — Holy Trinity on Monday, themselves on Tuesday, All Saints on Wednesday, St. John the Evangelist on Thursday and St. Stanislaus on Friday.
The students start the week at Mass on Sunday, by serving as ministers. They will go bowling Monday at Bay Lanes to raise money for charity. On Tuesday they will decorate bags which will be filled with basic needs items for the homeless. On Wednesday, the students will create Valentines for the residents of the Veterans Administration hospital in Saginaw. Then there is Mass with the bishop at St. Stanislaus on Thursday and a choice of movies to watch on Friday afternoon.
On Tuesday, St. Stanislaus students will get a breakfast, provided by Catholic Federal Credit Union. On Wednesday, they join Holy Trinity for a swim at the Delta College pool. Thursday is the day they host students from Our Lady of Lake Huron in Harbor Beach, All Saints, Holy Trinity, St. James and St. John schools for the Mass with the bishop and on Friday they commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for the school.