It has been a busy start to the New Year at St. Katharine Drexel Academy.

Among some of the highlights to date:

Open House– St. Katharine Drexel Academy (SKDA) hosted its annual Open House on Sunday, Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. until 12 pm. This event is geared towards current families to visit campus and see student work, as well as prospective families to see the school and meet the administration and staff. The Scholastic Book Fair was open and we even had an appearance (pictured above) from our mascot, the Phoenix.

Catholic Schools’ Week – Open House kicked off an exciting week at SKDA… Catholic Schools’ Week. This event is celebrated across the nation where all Catholic schools focus on what makes us special. The three tenants of a Catholic school are faith, service and excellence. During Catholic Schools’ Week, each day is devoted to serving part of our school community, such as parents, teachers, those in need, and our students. Each day also has a fun theme for the students to dress up, such as Pajama Day, Sports Day and Favorite Color Day. It’s always a wonderful week to celebrate what makes our school special and ignite school spirit.

LMU’s Catholic Schools’ Week Excellence Award – On Sunday, Feb. 5, Principal Kelly Bonde was awarded the Loyola Marymount University’s 2023 Catholic Schools’ Week Excellence Award. Each year, they award different school leaders with either the Faith, Service or Excellence Award. This award was given to Principal Bonde for her leadership of a Next Generation STEM school, and her commitment to quality Catholic education. This award is a demonstration of the entire school’s effort and dedication to innovation and excellence and is a true honor for the SKDA community.

SKDA’s Annual Spring Fundraiser – Each year, SKDA holds an annual spring fundraiser, which raises money for school programming needs, directly impacting students’ lives. This year, the fundraiser is being held at Stone Brewing Company’s Liberty Station location on Saturday, March 4 from 6-10 p.m. There’s a silent auction, happy hour, live auction and program. All are welcome and more information about tickets can be found on SKDA’s website, skda-sd.org.

Editor’s note: Kelly Bonde is principal at St. Katharine Drexel Academy.