Family Foundations Week

The competition to see who had the most Family pride and fever was conducted the week of September 21-25. The week began with students decorating their Family suites, or the group of rooms that Family "lives" in. Several students from each grade make up a single Family. There are nine Families at Assumption, representing nine foundations Catherine McAuley founded in Ireland. On Thursday, September 23rd, students sported accessories in their Family color accompanying their uniform. The spirit was prevelant as everyone prepared for Family festivities the next day.

On Friday, September 24th, Mercy Day, students enjoyed spending time with students in their Families and participating in various activities as they celebrated and honored Catherine McAuley's work. The day began with a Mercy Day prayer service in which sophomore Kelsey Kaiser, junior Mary-Kate Smith, and senior Catherine Palmer-Ball, as well as faculty and staff, were honored as Models of Mercy for their outstanding exemplification of our Mercy values. After the prayer service, students returned to homerooms to write letters to Mercy sister schools across the country. My particular family, Kingstown, wrote a letter to a Mercy school in Virginia in which we all signed our names on the Smart Board.

Saving the best for last, the week wrapped up with an all-school Family competition in the gym by putting a twist on the series "The Bachelor." Representative teachers and students from each family competed in a relay race consisting of putting on dresses in their family color, ribbons in their hair, and waltzing with a teacher across the gym floor. Amy Vanover, Logan Higgins, and Tylisha Mitchell were the three finalists who had to explain to Catherine McAuley how their foundation spread her mission. Amy Vanover ended up winning the competition for her Family, of course with her Family supporting her and cheering for her the whole time. She even received a rose from one of our teachers and got her picture taken. It was a great week for students to come together as a community and prove why their family was the one to beat.

-Jaclyn O.