IWA kicks off National Catholic Schools Week with open houses and Mass

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In celebration of National Catholic Schools Week, Incarnate Word Academy has several events planned, including a campus-wide Mass and a Skype video chat session between IWA Elementary Level students and students from a classroom in Mexico.

On Monday, Jan. 28, Middle Level students and staff participated in the creation of a prayer chain consisting of colorful strips of construction paper, each strip containing a prayer written by a student or staff member. The prayer chain links each individual's prayer with the prayers of others at the school. The chain is displayed along the front stairwell of the IWA Middle Level School.

The IWA Elementary Level School will welcome current and interested families to its Word 101 Open Houses on Tuesday, Jan. 29, and Thursday, Jan. 31, from 8-10 a.m.

The entire IWA campus will then celebrate Mass as a family with faculty, staff, parents and students from elementary, middle, and high school levels at the Mother M. Patricia Gunning Gymnasium on Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 10-11 a.m.

After Mass on Wednesday, IWA High School Level art students will return to Kathy Towers’ classroom to learn about different artists and how they used Catholic symbolism in their work.

On Thursday, Jan. 31, classroom activities for National Catholic Schools Week include the High School Level’s creation of a giant comic strip detailing the history of the Order of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament outside the high school from 9:50-10:25 a.m. In the afternoon, Elementary Level-Montessori students will video chat with students from Mexico via Skype in Veronica Byrne's classroom at 1:30 p.m.

“The purpose of this activity is for the students to learn that even though we are in different geographical areas and have different languages, we share our values and our desire to love and serve God,” IWA Montessori Director Blanca Cummins said.