Catholic Schools Week
The Archdiocese of Chicago celebrates Catholic Schools beginning this Sunday. Our 9:00am Mass will kick of the week’s activities here at Holy Family. I want to thank our Principal Kate O’Brien, the faculty, staff, students and parents for continuing the very ambitious and unique mission of our Academy, particularly during these past few very challenging years.
The Archdiocese of Chicago School System serves more than 56,000 students in 199 schools including 162 Archdiocesan-sponsored schools. Most of the remaining schools are sponsored by religious orders. It is one of the largest private school systems in the United States. Its schools have received 94 Blue Ribbon awards (one of them to us here at Holy Family Catholic Academy) from the U.S. Department of Education.
Holy Family Catholic Academy is a vital part of Holy Family and something in which our entire community can be proud. In the fall, we will mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of our parish school. It has indeed been a remarkable faith journey.
A group of dedicated parents and educators started the school with only 29 students in kindergarten and 1st grade and added a new grade each subsequent year. Using the “grow-a-school” model was quite a challenge, but the founding teachers, administrators, and parents had a vision of a new way of sharing Catholic education. They recognized the need to prepare students for jobs that had yet to be invented and implemented well-researched best practices in education which included inquiry-based learning and differentiated instruction. Being pioneers in these methods results in our teachers becoming teachers of other teachers throughout the Archdiocese.
Throughout the years, the Academy, under the leadership of Principal Kate O’Brien and Assistant Principal Laura Clark, and our amazing faculty and staff has thrived under a culture of continuous improvement. In addition to being a Blue Ribbon School, HFCA is the only International Baccalaureate World School in the northwest suburbs and was the first middle school in Illinois to become STEM certified. These accomplishments make HFCA the only school in the area, private or public, to be recognized nationally and internationally for its curriculum and instruction.
At the center of all of HFCA’s successes has been the commitment to put children first. An extremely dedicated staff worked to make HFCA one of the few schools in the area that maintained in-person instruction throughout 2020-2021 and that commitment continues this year.
Enrollment in our 2-year-old preschool through grade 8 classes is now approaching 475 students. Our alumni have succeeded at more than 19 public, Catholic, and private high schools and go on to study at many prestigious universities. HFCA’s motto is to partner with parents to develop global thinkers, leaders grounded in faith. I am very proud of our Academy and trust you are too.
The Academy will not hold an Open House this year due to Covid restrictions. However, if you would like a tour of the school, please contact Deb Atkins at Datkins@holyfamilyparish.org.
Gala
Our 2022 Gala will take place on Saturday, April 23 and will be held here on campus. The evening will begin with a special Mass of Rock and Rock Fest will be the theme of the evening which will include drinks, dinner, dancing, piano bar and some fundraising activities. Look for more information in the coming weeks in both the bulletin and on the Gala website at hfgala.org.
Upcoming Events
The next Family Mass will take place at 9:00am on Sunday, February 6.
The next Adventures in Grace pilgrimage event will take place at all Masses on February 12/13, followed by Wednesday, February 16.