The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be celebrating Catholic Education Week 2006, from April 30th to May 5th. This year’s theme And God saw that it was good! emphasizes the foundational belief of Catholic Education that spiritual and moral formation are critical to the values, actions and attitudes of our students and to the realization of the fullness of life. Catholic Education helps families develop in their children Christian values that give life its true freedom, meaning and joy. In this way, Catholic Education makes a distinctive difference not only to the lives of our students but also to our communities, our province and our country.

Continuing with classroom celebrations and activities in the months preceding Catholic Education Week, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and Catholic School Councils have been preparing for this year’s theme. Prayer activities contain references to the teachings of creation and ecology as noted in the writings of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops with each activity reflecting on one of the five themes of Catholic Education Week;

(1) Creation charged with the grandeur of God emphasizes the presence of God in all creation. The beauty and grandeur of nature that touches each one of us is a constant source of wonder and awe and a revelation of the divine.

(2) At Home in the Web of Creation invites us to reflect on our connection with God’s glorious creation. We are called as co-creators to join God’s work to repair the ecological wounds committed by humankind and to renew the face of the earth.

(3) Celebrating the Goodness of Creation recognizes the goodness infused into creation by God. The environmental movement has reawakened a new appreciation of the truth that through the created gifts of nature, men and women encounter their creator.

(4) Living God’s Dream for Creation is in essence our hope and desire to create a better world by recognizing that all living organisms are interconnected by delicate ecosystems. As Catholics we are bound by our covenant with God to protect endangered ecosystems, to work for justice and to preserve the integrity of creation for today and for future generations.

(5) At Peace with all of Creation encourages humankind to alter our lifestyle choices and daily actions to respect ecological limits and to show restraint with respect to the demands of consumerism. In this twenty first century, the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth are as one; social justice cannot be attained without an ecological balance. We must heed the warnings of the environmentalists and support the farmers, educators and activists who have begun to show us the way forward.

Students of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be engaging in discussions, dialogue and prayer activities revolving around these five themes of Catholic Education Week. In addition, schools will be celebrating Catholic Education Week by undertaking activities at all grade levels. We invite you to come and visit our schools and help us celebrate what Catholic Education means to the students of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.