2011 Catholic Schools Week Supplement

A different kind of school day: Comedy and cooking showcase school’s innovative program

Clayton Phillip’s smile shows how much fun the second-grade student at St. Mary’s Catholic Academy in New Albany had during a Cooking with Math class, part of an innovative program at the school called Intensive Days. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

It’s not every day that a student in a Catholic grade school has a class that teaches him how to use a table saw to help make a trophy case.

It’s also a different kind of school day when a second-grade student takes a “Cooking with Math” class—a class that inspires her to go home to make appetizers and set the table for her family’s dinner.

And while some Catholic grade school students like to showcase their comedy skills spontaneously for their teacher and classmates, there’s not usually time in a school day for a class in improvisational acting.

Yet each of those classes was offered to students at St. Mary’s Catholic Academy in New Albany for the first time this school year—as part of an innovative program called “Intensive Days.”

The “Intensive Days” program was offered to students for three days before the school’s fall break. And the plan is to offer the program for another five days before spring break.

Presented in a more relaxed atmosphere at the school, the program is the result of a marketing effort to bring more children into the Catholic school.

“We’re one of the smallest schools in the New Albany Deanery,” said Jeff Purichia, the principal of the school which has about 110 students from

pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. “Every school is strategizing and trying to come up with more ways to get more kids in the door to become part of the Catholic school system.

“This was one tool to make us different. We felt this would be an opportunity to expose the kids to different things and get them to do things they normally don’t get to do. No one else was doing this as a school. We thought it would be an eye-catcher for anyone considering Catholic schools.”

The program—which included classes in music, acting, cooking and woodworking—was a hit with the students.

“The Improv Acting class was probably my favorite,” said Lillie Weber, a seventh-grade student. “I had a really great time in the classes, and I hope we’re able to do them again.”

Devan Sprecher especially enjoyed the woodworking class that let him be part of a group that made a trophy case for the school.

“It was fun using all the different tools,” recalled Devan, a sixth-grade student. “I used a table saw, a hand saw and a sander. I think it’s cool that I can walk into school now and see we have one more place to put the trophies for our school. And I helped with it. It was fun being with my friends, too.”

Graduates of the school and relatives of the students helped with teaching the classes.

Purichia views the program as part of the larger goal of a Catholic school.

“As a Catholic school, our goal is not just to have good students. We want to make them better people,” he said. “We want to take them to the next level academically, socially and spiritually.” †