To celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we asked some of our students to write essays about why they love their Catholic School. Featured here are two essays we think you’ll enjoy!
Why I Love Attending Catholic School
Written by Ian S.
I have always tried to incorporate my religion at any point in my life, whether that be with
friends and family or even admiring God’s beautiful creations. That can even be right before I go to bed, saying a simple prayer thanking God for the day and the opportunities that came around with it. Catholic school has given me numerous opportunities to accomplish this, which is why I
am so thankful that I am able to attend one. Prince of Peace Catholic School incorporates faith in my daily life, helps me to become an overall better person, and gives me a good Catholic education.
At a normal public school, it would be hard to properly live the life of a true Catholic. You could be persecuted, or just forget about the Christian way of life in general. But, when you are surrounded with people of the same beliefs as you, it is easier to better express your thoughts. It also helps you just to be yourself, and to truly indulge in the life of Christ. Here at Prince of Peace, faith is incorporated in our day-to-day lives. For example, most schools do not celebrate Mass every week, but we do, and that gives us a time to worship God and receive the Eucharist. So, we get to deepen our faith and share it with our very own community. Also, we even have Confession and Adoration here which let us grow even more in our faith. Not only that, but we also get to attend daily religion classes, and I think that religion class is very informative and engaging because we get to learn about the history of the church and the life of Jesus Christ. This helps me grow as a Catholic in faith and spirituality.
When I am surrounded by good people, I tend to follow their example and try to improve myself in the ways that they already have. It is the same with Jesus. When I see and hear about the things that He did, I strive to improve myself to become more like Him. And, when we learn about Him in class and get to know Him more by reading the Bible and going to Mass, we are filled with His grace and His love for us. Here at school, I am constantly surrounded by Him and His love. So are the other students that attend Prince of Peace. I have many friends here at Prince of Peace, and they are just like me. They are constantly trying to better themselves to become more like Jesus. We also try to push each other and help others improve themselves and expand their faith. The teachers do the same for us. They all push us to be our very best and become
better people. Since my classmates and I are in eighth grade, the teachers are constantly encouraging us to be better examples for the younger kids because we are the leaders of the school. When we are positive role models,we can inspire younger students to follow our good example, and soon and so forth. It essentially creates a chain of goodness, and we can all be happy and joyful as children of God.
To say that a Catholic education is excellent would be a huge understatement. My education here has helped me and so many others achieve many goals that we have set for ourselves.The teachers also incorporate religion in almost every single one of our classes. Whether we’re studying the Crusades in religion or just war theory in social studies, we are constantly learning something new about our faith. When we learn about these things, we are actively growing our faith. We are allowing Jesus to speak to us in many different ways and show everyone just how incredible He can be. And, when we study how the Catholic faith and the Church impacted major world events, we can learn to spread our faith to people outside of school and our own homes. We learn about the mistakes of the Church from the past so that we may not repeat them again. Therefore, Catholic education is extremely important to me and to many others because we can grow our faith and our knowledge at the same time.
To wrap things up, having a Catholic education is supremely important to me. It has helped me in many ways over the years by incorporating God in my daily life, helping me be a better person, and providing me with a rich education. Therefore, Catholic education has helped me to walk with Jesus in my daily life and be good example to other people everywhere at any time.
I am especially proud of being a student here at Prince of Peace.
Ian is currently in his ninth year at POP. Ian has served as both a POP Student Ambassador and Mass server in addition to playing the male lead in multiple POP Theater productions.
Catholic School: All Pros, No Cons
Abridged. Written by Harper B.
My family has been a part of the Prince of Peace (POP) community since 2011, so Catholic school is all that I've ever known. Not only is Prince of Peace a private school filled with great people offering a great education, but it is filled with tradition. We spend our days praying, going to Mass, learning about God, talking about virtues, and much more. Catholic school is also a blessing because of the ability to share your beliefs and thoughts about God with your fellow students, teachers, and staff. Going to Catholic school now allows me to apply to two amazing Catholic high schools and, looking even further into the future, it gives me the ability to look at religious colleges.
My favorite thing that I’ve experienced in Catholic school is Mass. Ever since I was in kindergarten, I have celebrated All-School Mass every single week. Mass is great because it gives everyone the ability to lead, listen, and become closer to God. I have read readings, held candles, and even gotten on all fours as a sheep in the Advent program. Catholic schools teach kids how to preach to their fellow students through a traditional Mass.
Sometimes, it isn't about large things such as Mass or religion classes. Sometimes, the things that are special about Catholic school are just about the little things. For example, I get to wear a cross necklace to school every day. We pray every morning. These things help me recognize that my classmates at POP also believe in God. I love this because I can talk about my faith with my friends. There have been times when I have gotten into arguments with my friends that God has gotten us through. Along with sharing faith with students, I appreciate that we share our faith with teachers as well. I believe that we, as Prince of Peace students, are so lucky to get to be here.
In the eleven years that I have attended POP, so many special memories have been made. Going to a Catholic school has created some of the most beautiful, spiritual moments of my life. Catholic school has shaped me and changed me into the person that I am today.