Catholic schools celebrate unity

• Newark's three Catholic schools were visited by Bishop Frederick Campbell during Catholic Schools Week.
• The three schools recently launched a new website and Facebook page to celebrate their unity.

NEWARK — The playground at St. Francis de Sales School was more crowded than usual Tuesday.

Students from Blessed Sacrament School and Newark Catholic High School joined the St. Francis students for Mass, led by Bishop Frederick F. Campbell. After that, they went outside for ice cream to celebrate Catholic Schools Week.

Siblings, cousins and friends had the opportunity to spend time together and Newark Catholic students visited with their former elementary school teachers. That's exactly what St. Francis Principal Sally Mummey was hoping would happen.

Any visit from Bishop Campbell is significant, and Catholic Schools Week also is a time for celebration. But Tuesday's event also was an opportunity to acknowledge the unity among Newark's three Catholic schools, Mummey said.

"It's all about being united and being together," she said.

After a year of planning, the three schools have launched a new website, catholicschoolsoflickingcounty.org, and a Facebook page, facebook.com/catholicschoolslc. The new sites share information about Catholic education, and families can find all the information they need in one website, Mummey said.

"Catholic education for all children is something we value and want to share," she said.

For the past year, the Rev. Jan Sullivan, of St. Francis, and the Rev. Jonathan Wilson, of Blessed Sacrament, have been meeting with the principals from all three schools to come up with strategies to get the word out about their offerings, said Traci Hogue, marketing and alumni relations director for Newark Catholic.

Some people are under the impression that Licking County's Catholic schools, especially the elementary buildings, compete with one another.

"We want to send a message to let them know that we work together to educate kids in Christ," Hogue said.

The efforts to unify the three buildings will continue, Hogue said. Plans are in the works to bring the schools together for more events and a brochure is being created about all three buildings.

"Our No. 1 goal is to show the community that the youth in the Catholic education system give back to the community," she said.

During Tuesday's Mass, choirs from Newark Catholic and St. Francis sang hymns together. All the students received communion and had some time after Mass to ask Bishop Campbell questions.

He encouraged them to listen to the teachings of their Catholic education and be responsible citizens.

After Mass and ice cream, the Newark Catholic students returned to school for a cookout while the elementary school students walked to the Licking County Courthouse Square for a picnic lunch.

"Gathering together is so important," Mummey said.

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8544

Twitter: @amsjeffries 

Learn more

For more information about Newark's Catholic schools, check out their new website, catholicschoolsoflickingcounty.org, and Facebook page, facebook.com/catholicschoolslc.