Sion celebrated Catholic Schools Week last week. Catholic Schools Week has been around in the U.S.  since 1974 as a celebration of Catholic education. Sion celebrated with volunteer service, showing love to our teachers and an All School Mass. One of the most memorable moments of the week was the Women in Ministry Luncheon, a longstanding tradition at Sion.

Last year, the Women in Ministry Luncheon took place during the lunch period and was a time where students could go and talk to various women who have devoted their lives to the faith. This year, it was very similar, with the lunch consisting of 18 women of faith, a downsizing from last year’s 24.

“This year, I shared a couple of comments from last year’s freshman class, which is why we decided to do the luncheon during study hall,” campus ministry director Maria Milazzo said.

There were women from all over the KC Metro and coming from all different positions: sisters, chaplains, musicians, volunteers and reverends to name a few. Students spoke with these women throughout their study hall, and many engaged in interesting conversations. 

“It was really enlightening to see how these women make such a positive impact in their communities,” sophomore Nora Dameron said, “They are such good role models.”

This was also the first time that Milazzo was running the luncheon. “Everyone in the theology department brainstorms who we want to invite,” Milazzo said, “Every year, I’m excited to see the luncheon grow.”

Another entertaining part of the week was the “Dress Up As a Teacher Day” on Wednesday. Students dressed up as a host of teachers, from theology teacher Paul Kramschuster to history teacher Taylor Hersh to psychology teacher Chris Schreiber, and the school was full of teacher look-alikes. 

Catholic Schools Week was also celebrated and wrapped up during the All School Mass on Thursday. It was a joint celebration of Catholic Schools Week and Black History Month, and a choir from St. Monica Catholic Church, St. Therese Little Flower and guest musicians joined Sion’s Grand Choeur to play gospel music and bring a high energy to the mass. 

“I was thrilled with the amount of participation,” Milazzo said. To prepare for the mass, the St. Monica’s choir would come to Sion on block days and pianist Melvin Kerr would teach Grand Choeur the songs that he arranged. 

“It was a new experience, as we’d never really learned a song without sheet music,” sophomore Finley Glennon said.