BMHS Celebrates Catholic Schools Week

Torrance, CA (February 3, 2021): This week, Catholic schools across the country celebrate Catholic Schools Week and highlight this year's theme of “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” The week focuses on the many values that Catholic education provides for young people and acknowledges its contributions to our church, our communities, and our nation.

 

Each day, Bishop Montgomery recognizes one special area where Catholic education makes an impact and helps faith grow. As we move through this special week, we invite our community to view videos created by our Campus Ministry students that are shared with our BMHS student body each day during morning assembly. 

Today, our Campus Ministry students sent a letter to our local parishes and Catholic schools thanking them for their integral roles in the shaping and nurturing of Catholic high school students. See their beautiful message below.

 

Our principal Dr. Jim Garza starts off Catholic Schools Week with our student body and shares a special message about community. His message includes a nod to our juniors and the blessing of their class rings.

 

Our Campus Ministry students also share a reflection on the different meanings of community and how we can be builders and sharers of community with those we encounter every day.

 

 

Our faculty and staff created a heartwarming and hilarious video for our students. Bishop students are like no others, and neither are our teachers!  

 

Our community celebrates the larger communities of which we are a part and also the micro-communities that make BMHS whole. Today, our school-wide Mass celebrates our juniors, whose class rings are blessed by Fr. Jonathan Meyer '04. 

 

Today, led by our Campus Ministry students, our community focuses on vocations and how they help us build community and the Kingdom of God. We celebrate how the influence of Catholic schools help us become the people our Lord wants us to be.

 

 

In their inboxes this morning, teachers and staff found an email with a special video message from our Campus Ministry class thanking them for their time, effort, and commitment to their students during a very challenging school year. 

 

Capping of the week was a special message to the foundation of Catholic education-- our parents and guardians. These partners strengthen our faith community and give it the support and vibrancy it needs to thrive.

 

 

January 27, 2021

Dear Catholic Elementary Schools and Communities,

 On behalf of the Campus Ministry class at Bishop Montgomery High School, we would like to welcome you to the celebration of Catholic Schools Week and thank you for all you do to support Catholic education. It is an honor to participate in a 47 year-long tradition that celebrates the excellence of Catholic education.

At Bishop Montgomery High School, we aim to have a well-rounded community, similar to a family, not just during Catholic Schools Week, but all year long. We set goals for each other and push ourselves and our community to meet those goals. 

The Bishop Montgomery community continually comes together to put on special events for students to celebrate our faith and our community. We have retreats, service opportunities, concerts, talent shows, an Arts Fest week, numerous clubs to join, and athletic events that can make one's Bishop Montgomery High School experience even better. Bishop is a welcoming community that brings people together, not only through school, but also through our faith.

We are so grateful to our Catholic elementary schools that helped shape and mold us, and encouraged us to continue in Catholic education. Some common questions we hear are “Why Catholic school?” or “What is so different about Catholic school?” A common theme in our answers is the community that a Catholic school provides. Another theme is how the students are so well-rounded. We feel that Bishop students cherish the community, education, faith, and other extracurricular activities that they participate in at our school. Students at Catholic high schools also share something in common-- they enjoy growing in their faith. Here are some examples from current students at Bishop Montgomery about how faith has influenced them:

 

“Having not attended Catholic school my whole life, I was nervous about entering this new environment; however, the community at Bishop Montgomery has made learning and growing easier and more natural... I never knew my desire to grow in my faith would develop this way. I am grateful for all of the opportunities to grow spiritually and to develop in this faith-based community.”

 

“I like that most students share the same common goal, which is to grow in God and to develop spiritually. The Catholic school community helps me cherish my education and my connection to religion.”

 

“I have grown up Catholic, but when I reached a low point in my life, I lost sight of my faith. Emmaus (Bishop’s retreat for juniors) was at the perfect time and it allowed me to open up to God and feel His presence again. I was able to be happy again.”

 

“The Emmaus retreat was one of the best experiences of my life. It strengthened my relationship with God and my peers, and was a time in my life that will influence me forever.”

 

“Going to high school at Bishop, we have the opportunity to attend different events that strengthen our spiritual development.  Attending retreats, morning prayer services, Masses, confession, and even joining religious clubs are just a few of the ways we can practice and grow in our faith.”

 

As a school community, we could not be more thankful for the support of our local Catholic elementary schools to which many of us are still connected, as well as the parish communities to which we still belong. Not only do these ties help our school, they also help us, as students, know that there are people outside of Bishop Montgomery supporting our decision to attend a Catholic high school. Knowing that we attend a school where we all feel accepted and walk the halls feeling safe and loved is a feeling that is hard to come by in many schools.

We, again, want to emphasize how grateful and appreciative we are to the educators, principals, and families who helped us get here through their support of Catholic education and its mission to develop students, not just academically, but spiritually as well. Thank you.

 

Best Wishes,

2020-2021 Campus Ministry
Bishop Montgomery High School

 

 

*Website photo taken pre-COVID