Sion’s catholic Schools Week celebration began January 29, 2024. As a member of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, the school participates in this national celebration annually, with a few special traditions of our own.

According to the National Catholic Education Association, the theme for this year’s Catholic Schools Week was “United in Faith and Community”, and Sion planned a variety activities for each day of the week

On Monday, faculty arranged a photo station in the cafeteria where students could pose with signs that read “We Are Sion”.

Then, on Tuesday, Sion participated in our own unique Catholic Schools Week tradition, the Women in Ministry Lunch. 24 women from various faith traditions and occupations dialoged with students about religious life beyond Sion. This is a unique experience that combines the traditional religious celebrations of catholic schools week with Sion’s dedication to creating conversations between faith traditions.

On Wednesday, a photo board was placed in the cafeteria with pictures of faculty during their Catholic grade and high school days.

“It was fun for us, as adults, to look and try to figure out who was who,” religion teacher Polly Holmes said. “I think the intention was for people to reflect on what their catholic school upbringing, wether you’re catholic or not, meant to them and how it was a unique experience. Someone had just sent me that picture from high school and I related to students now with the uniforms and how you’re always complaining about them.”

Thursday consisted of an all-school Mass in the gym and focused on themes of wisdom, appropriate for the celebration of Catholic schools.

Thursday’s mass was accompanied by not only choral singers, but the entirety of the Sion Symphony who only play at select Masses throughout the year.

The group of musicians was much larger than usual, due to instrumentalists from outside of the symphony class joining for the event, and  consisted of a wider variety of instruments including the cello, saxophone and trombone.

“There are definitely pros and cons to playing with more people,” junior Isabel Heidelmann said. “Some good aspects are you get to have a much fuller sound with many different tones since we had more instruments. Some challenges are being together as a whole – it’s easier to play all together with fewer people.”

Despite the potential challenges of a large symphony, the musicians overcame and put on a performance that the school enjoyed.

“The music made the energy at mass feel lighter, and it really made Mass more interesting, ” junior Annie Johnson said.

To finish off the week, students enjoyed peta bread and hummus with their lunch. Peta bread is a food with deep roots in the history of the three Abrahamic faith traditions, and by enjoying the food students were once again able to connect with the school’s roots and mission to interfaith dialogue.