BELOIT — On September 21, Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School children took part in an international art project, Pinwheels for Peace, by “planting” pinwheels with messages of peace in front of their school and church.
Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, of Coconut Creek, Fla., as a way for students to express their feelings about what is going on in the world and in their lives.
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| A resident from St. Coletta of Wisconsin in Jefferson is helped into St. John the Baptist Church in Jefferson before a recent Mass. People in wheelchairs and with other disabilities can now enter the church and school building on the new ramp pictured above. (Contributed photo) |
JEFFERSON — “It’s like heaven now taking my mother to church.”
A bold statement, but fully expressive of the joy some parishioners are feeling in Jefferson.
The above quote was feedback heard at St. John the Baptist Church, part of St. Francis of Assisi Parish.
It came near the close of a yearlong project to make the church more accessible to people with disabilities or other physical challenges to walk or enter buildings.
Now, there is added accessibility to the church and school.
Steve Donley, member of the parish Building and Grounds Committee, said there had been growing instances of “people having trouble getting into church.”
These included people tripping on concrete walkways and wheelchairs not getting in easily.
More than a year ago, the committee began to look into the costs and practicalities of a project to increase accessibility.
The attitude was, “We have to get this fixed, and we have to make this better for people to get in,” said Harold Dehnert, also from the committee whose members put in many hours, sometimes 10 to 12 a day, to make the project happen, and keeping the project costs low.
Another concern was increasing the accessibility to the school bathrooms, the only ones on the grounds, and only accessible via a small staircase between the church and school.
COLUMBUS — “Welcome to Paradise” is the theme of the third annual St. Jerome School Gala to be held on Saturday, Oct. 14, in the school gymnasium at 1550 Farnham St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
The evening features a catered Caribbean buffet, open bar (beer, wine, and tropical coolers), and live music by Bahama Bob’s Island Music. Event tickets are $40 each or two for $75. There will also be a raffle (with five travel prizes), sweet deals, silent auctions, and mystery boxes. Gala raffle tickets are $50 each with the grand prize valued at $5,000. |
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It’s that special time of the year again when kids start heading back to school. And for those who have discovered the fun of learning, school is an adventure!
But for millions of working children worldwide, the adventures of a new school year remain but a dream. Sadly, these children will never learn to read or write. They will not acquire computer skills. They will not experience singing in chorus, going on field trips, or playing at recess.
Their classrooms will be sweatshops, farm fields, and battlefields. Their days will be filled with long, dirty, dangerous work. And the lesson they will learn is that life is cruel and unfair.MONONA — Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Athletic Committee will host its first Back to School Backyard Family Games and a Bean Bag Tournament on the IHM School grounds on Saturday, Sept. 16. All proceeds of both events benefit IHM Athletics.
For the Backyard Family Games, cost is $20/family of four and $2 for each additional family member OR $5/person. The fee includes food/drink ticket for a brat or hot dog, chips, and soda, water, or lemonade. Additional food and drink will be available for purchase.
MONONA — Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Athletic Committee will host its first Back to School Backyard Family Games and a Bean Bag Tournament on the IHM School grounds on Saturday, Sept. 16. All proceeds of both events benefit IHM Athletics.
For the Backyard Family Games, cost is $20/family of four and $2 for each additional family member OR $5/person. The fee includes food/drink ticket for a brat or hot dog, chips, and soda, water, or lemonade. Additional food and drink will be available for purchase.
BELOIT — It’s back to school time at Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Madison.
One of them is Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) School in Beloit, which began the 2017-2018 school year by celebrating Mass with the coming together of students, families, and staff. Students proudly debuted new school uniforms.
Students met their Mass buddies and greeted old friends. The Mass buddies will attend Mass together each week as well as celebrate special occasions, work on service projects, and support each other throughout the school year.
JANESVILLE — St. Patrick Parish, Janesville’s oldest Catholic parish, is hosting open houses in August to introduce the wide variety of educational options open to area parents, including a new homeschool ministry.
Located at 305 Lincoln St. in Janesville, the parish school will offer tours and information about available programs to area families after all weekend Masses the weekend of August 5 to 6.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two Destination ImagiNation (DI) teams from Sacred Hearts School in Sun Prairie qualified at the recent state tournament for the Global Finals in Knoxville, Tenn.
The two teams were made up of middle school students, who joined students from 48 states and 30 countries for the Global Finals, which ran May 24 to 27 at the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville. In all, over 8,000 students competed in seven different challenge categories.
Sacred Hearts School is in its ninth year of providing this after-school co-curricular to fourth through eighth graders.
