St. Augustine School joined with all of the Catholic schools around the US in celebrating National Catholic Schools Week from Sunday, January 27 to Friday, February 1. The week kicked off on Sunday with a successful Open House, and then began in earnest on Monday. Day 1 was dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe as we continue to observe the Diocese of Metuchen's Year of Spiritual Awakening for Consecration. Students gathered in the gym for the opening prayer service wearing the colors of the flags of countries in North and South America to honor Our Lady's patronage of the Americas. Following the prayer service, students and teachers made a pilgrimage around the whole school bestowing the blessing of Our Lady of Guadalupe upon each classroom. Day 2 was highlighted by a salute to our community heroes - policemen, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel, crossing guards, and the school medical and support staff. We were blessed to have several members of these organizations join us for a prayer service in their honor. Students read heart-felt compositions describing their heroes, and then each in turn was recognized by name and presented with a memento of their visit in gratitude for their service and sacrifice. A video of the entire prayer service can be found on our Multimedia Gallery page. Days 3 and 4 featured our school-wide STREAM project, "Walk a Mile in My Shoes." On Wednesday, the students were tasked to work together with a partner, using only a few simple materials like newspaper, scrap paper, felt, pipe cleaners, yarn, and tape to design and construct a shoe that was able to be worn, and removed, and did not need to be taped to the foot. The students showed great creativity and all used their collaborative skills to work together to design some awesome looking shoes! Then on Thursday, the students met with their partners to actually wear the shoes they had made and made a pilgrimage around the gym in order to know what it is like to "Walk a Mile In Someone Else's Shoes." They learned that there are those less fortunate than themselves who may never have a real pair of shoes to wear, and gave thanks for this blessing that many take for granted. And finally, Day 5 brought an end to our Catholic Schools Week festivities. The day was highlighted by the traditional 8th Grade vs. Faculty Games, a talent show presented by members of the faculty and staff, and one final tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe as the 4th graders wore tilmas they had made bearing the image of Our Lady, thus bringing the week full circle.