This week is National Catholic Schools Week, and St. Patrick’s Catholic School in Perry is once again taking part with a full slate of activities.

Principal Kandice Roethler says they will be celebrating a specific aspect of the school each day of the week. Monday they celebrated the community, Tuesday is students, Wednesday is the families, Thursday is vocations, and they will wrap up Friday with celebrating faculty, staff, and volunteers. Some specific events during the week include: a showing of the movie “Wonder” on Tuesday; early dismissal Wednesday so the staff can attend the All Diocesan Mass at St. Augustin Church in Des Moines; and the staff versus student dodgeball game on Friday.

In addition to the special activities, Roethler says Catholic Schools Week is a great time for everyone to reflect on what makes the education special. Eighth grade student Kyle Hernandez shares what he likes most about attending St. Pat’s. “I like the fact that you feel like you can make a friend with anyone, and you don’t really get into arguments because everyone’s very forgiving. They help you out, and you can never really feel lonely since there’s always someone around the corner just waiting to be your next friend. You just feel very welcome.”

Fifth grade student Hanna Sucher adds that she appreciates the care shown by the staff. “What I like about St. Pat’s is that we have so many teachers here to support us through everything. Through problems, like math problems or any kind of problem. They also help you learn about more things that you haven’t learned about yet.”

To learn more about Catholic Schools Week, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.