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During the second week of November, Catholic schools around the country celebrate Discover Catholic Schools Week. This week-long celebration sheds light on the unique advantages a Catholic education offers. So, what makes the Catholic School Difference?

Archdiocese of Newark Schools, composed of 51 elementary schools and 23 secondary schools, saw an increase in enrollment of a little over 2% from the 2020-2021 to 2021-2022 school year, according to enrollment numbers provided by the archdiocesan Office of Schools. The Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Newark serve about 23,000 students across Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Union Counties. 

Bayonne’s Denna (pronounced Deena) and John Hester may be the biggest supporters of Catholic education. The grammar school that most of their eight children graduated from – All Saints Catholic Academy -- honored them “for their commitment to Catholic education” at its annual gala last year. That’s an understatement.

The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children’s (SFIC) Hoopfest raised over $100,000 to fund partial tuition assistance scholarships for underprivileged students attending Archdiocese of Newark schools.

St. Joseph School in Jersey City doesn’t just give back to the community on Giving Tuesday. It has expanded the charitable to last the entire Advent season.  

This year, the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children (SFIC) hosted its Annual Board of Trustee’s Christmas Breakfast at Saint Peter’s School in Belleville.

Students at Paramus Catholic High School have been raising money for charity by selling 3D-printed Christmas ornaments and puzzle pieces that they designed themselves using computer-aided design.

The vocal choruses of Don Bosco Prep and Mary Help of Christians Academy opened for the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall on Dec. 10. The Salesian Choir, comprised of 14 students from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey and 34 students from Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon, performed a shortened rendition of “Angels We Have Heard on High” by Edward Shippen Barnes and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.”

“Taking time to recognize and honor the young people and adults that give their time and talent to further the life and mission of our many parishes and schools at this ceremony is just one of those ways we try to support our youth ministry leaders,” Rich Donovan, Associate Director for the Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry said.

Academy of Saint Paul in Ramsey and Saint Elizabeth School in Wyckoff competed in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge, a regional robotics competition for elementary and middle-school-aged children. Awards were given across four categories: Core Values, Innovation Project, Robot Game, and Robot Design.

The Catechetical Office for the Archdiocese of Newark recently hosted The Gathering; an event focused on ministering to LGBTQ+ youth with courage and sensitivity. 

Saint John Paul II said, “Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.” Catholic school students across Essex, Bergen, Hudson, and Union counties participated in collective efforts to help fight hunger in their communities.

The Archdiocese’s Catechist Convocation, a conference for faith formation leaders and teachers, returned for the first time in-person since 2019 this past weekend. On Saturday, Nov. 4, approximately 550 parish volunteers and religious and lay people packed the Paramus Catholic High School hallways for the event “Moving Forward in Catechetical Ministry.” Paramus Catholic students welcomed the catechists, directing them to the auditorium to begin the day with worship music and Mass celebrated by Cardinal Joseph Tobin.

Lacordaire Academy students have donated $500 to their favorite charity after creating an environmentally friendly scarecrow with a message about recycling that took first place in a Montclair contest.

For Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Newark, the first step towards getting in is registering for the High School Placement Test (HSPT®) as part of the Cooperative Admissions Program (COOP). The COOP is designed to facilitate the high school admissions process for students and families using a common entrance examination.

Right on the heels of Halloween parades and trick-or-treating festivities, Catholic schools around the Archdiocese of Newark celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, also known as All Saints Day. All Saints day is one of the eleven feasts celebrated within the Catholic Church during Autumn. Schools and faith formation groups celebrated All Saints Day with special Masses, fairs, and even a few costume parties!

Did you know that many Catholic saints performed miracles in their youth? Saints are ordinary people who have lived extraordinary lives of heroic virtue. Like you, many were students, athletes, teenagers, and in one case, even a computer coder! Learning about the lives of saints can help us become better Catholics. By studying the lives of saints, we can see the power and positive influence of having great faith. Here are six saints who lived their youth in devotion to Christ and whom you should get to know as we celebrate All Saints Day!

Saint Joseph Regional High School partners annually with Covenant House, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and supportive services to youth facing homelessness. Each year the high school hosts the Sleep Out Program to educate students about the problem of youth homelessness. Students who participate are confronted with an unfortunate reality that at least 700,000 adolescent minors, and 4.2 million young people, experience yearly in the United States.

Today, the Archdiocese of Newark is expanding its protection of the faithful training programs to benefit approximately 60,500 public school children that attend faith formation programs within Bergen, Hudson, Union, and Essex counties. This is in addition to the 22,000 Catholic school students already served by the training program.

Two faculty members at Lacordaire Academy in Montclair recently answered the call to become lay associates with the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell. Tawana Clarrett and Damaris Herrera of Lacordaire Academy made the commitment before a congregation of sisters and fellow associates during a special ceremony on Oct. 2.