The celebration of Catholic Schools Week takes on a unique face at La Salle Academy as we use the occasion to celebrate Founder’s Week as well. The theme of Catholic Schools Week this year was: “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, Service.” At La Salle we join to this our own Lasallian themes of “Faith, Service, Community.”

The week was marked by special prayers, community celebrations, and service opportunities.

Each day the school-wide Morning Prayer was offered by a different member of the school community: an alumna, a parent, a teacher, an alumnus (teacher and parent), and a current student. They reflected on what a Lasallian Catholic education at La Salle Academy meant to them. The prayers can be found on the school blog: LSA Ruminations.

During the week there was a homeroom competition for the collection of canned goods, pasta, and breakfast cereals. The RI Food Bank and a number of local elementary schools will be the recipients of these food items. Each day the homeroom that brought in the most foodstuffs was congratulated over the PA and rewarded with donuts the next morning in homeroom. The De La Salle Middle School was among the school leaders!

On Wednesday, the school community honored teachers, staff persons, and coaches as it celebrated Founder’s Day—a day in which the school concentrated on how Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s legacy lives on in the adult community. In the morning the members of the Lasallian Ministry Team greeted teachers and staff with a gift and a letter. The Student Council provided delicious and plentiful cupcakes in staff rooms.   The highlight of the day was the honoring of La Salle Academy’s Distinguished Lasallian Educator of the Year—Coach Geoff Marcone. Brother Frederick Mueller, FSC (Chairperson of the Lasallian Ministry Team) first presented the award to Coach Marcone during one of his Physical Education classes. In the afternoon, he once again presented the award in front of 150 colleagues, family members and friends in the Brothers’ Chapel. The proclamation noted his qualities as a man of faith, an extraordinary educator and coach, and as an exemplary Lasallian. Some fifteen teachers, student-athletes, and former student-athletes had offered testimony for the proclamation. The school-wide Morning Prayer also focused on how Coach Marcone serves as a role-model for teachers and students alike.

This week provided a strong expression of La Salle Academy’s Catholic and Lasallian character!