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During pandemic, our Catholic school community rose to the challenge

When the third graders in Cindy Flores's class at St. Columba School in Oxon Hill, Maryland, came to school to pick up materials, she took photos of them to make this collage to display on her website and use on the school's social media platform. Flores has a superhero theme in her classroom. (Graphic courtesy of St. Columba School)

For Catholic Schools Week, principals, teachers and parents wrote reflections about what local Catholic schools are doing to serve students and families during this time of pandemic.  This essay is by Aurora Carmichael, a parent at St. Columba School in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and a member of the Archdiocese of Washington’s Board of Education.

This year marks the 47th anniversary of National Catholic Schools Week, a commemoration by the National Catholic Educational Association of the “longstanding tradition of the excellence of Catholic school education.” 

Celebrating Catholic Schools Week at St. Columba School in Oxon Hill is an exciting time for the entire community, providing opportunities to wear crazy hats, play games and demonstrate class spirit, and giving our children a chance to think and talk about what they want to be when they “grow up.” Perhaps more importantly, Catholic Schools Week provides an opportunity for home and school to come together as we share with the broader community a glimpse of our thriving Catholic school community. 

St. Columba School was established in 1962 and has a long history of providing a highly regarded Catholic education, a history that includes our principal, Christine Patton, as part of its inaugural class. 

Our family joined the St. Columba community more than 20 years ago when my husband and I exchanged our vows in the parish church, followed a few years later by the first of our four children starting school at St. Columba. Our journey at St. Columba has been filled with special memories and teaching moments, as we endeavor in our vocation as a married couple thankful that our children are or have been under the guidance and instruction of St. Columba faculty. 

Last March, as St. Columba rose to the challenges associated with the unanticipated closing of schools across the country, parents observed firsthand the delivery of a rigorous online academic program that employed innovative teaching tools – and our teachers never missed a beat. During this unprecedented time, we came together as a community and learned how to support our children's academic and technological needs while faculty and staff adapted to new technologies and stayed the course so that our children were able to learn and grow academically and spiritually in this new virtual environment. 

St. Columba teacher Stephanie Downs recorded a religion lesson for her 5th grade students in church, to present to them in her Zoom class. (Photo courtesy of St. Columba School)

Yet, teachers cannot do it all on their own. A successful school operation requires engaged and committed parents and guardians, and we have that too! From morning prayer and announcements to our Friday Mass via Zoom, our families are engaged in academics and faith formation. 

Our students’ enthusiasm and ability to adapt to the new learning paradigm has been spectacular. Parents have observed the positive ongoing transformation in their children as they develop the skills needed to navigate in and around the virtual classroom and workspace, a reflection, it has been said, demonstrating the robust academic and leadership instruction provided at St. Columba that begins as early as PreK and kindergarten. 

Laura Galbreath, the second grade teacher at St. Columba School, poses with two students at the school's material pick up day. (Photo courtesy of St. Columba School)

We are grateful that our pastor, principal, faculty, staff, Advisory Board, and Home and School Association work together diligently to ensure that our school continues to support our children’s academic and faith formation, our families’ concerns, and our school’s financial and operational needs. 

An exuberant and devoted St. Columba community revealed itself recently when we rallied around the school’s 28th annual auction and seamlessly transitioned from a traditional auction format to an online silent auction with real-time bidding. Again, home and school came together and we exceeded our goal by raising more than 150 percent of our target – a testimonial to our tight-knit supportive parish and school community and the generosity of our school families, teachers, parishioners, alumni families, and business community. 

Whether we are coming together to recognize our frontline healthcare practitioners, present a socially distanced “trunk or treat” for our students for Halloween, or rally around a canned food drive during the holiday season, our St. Columba family comes together zealously and selflessly to support the identified need and our community. 

This year’s National Catholic Education Association theme, "Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service." calls attention to the importance and purpose of Catholic schools – “to form disciples.” Our family continues to be grateful for St. Columba School where home and school come together to provide a quality education and support our children as they “grow in faith, knowledge, service and love of God” as future disciples of Christ. 

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