Bishop Lynch High School senior midfielder Madison Murphy was stationed in front of the Houston St. Agnes Academy net, prepared to convert a left cross struck by freshman forward Mila Van Loggerenberg near the end line into a golden goal in overtime of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division I girls state soccer final in Round Rock on March 6.
Schools
The sport with the greatest growth in participation and achievement at Saint Paul Catholic Classical School in Richardson is not football, basketball, or baseball, nor is it volleyball or tennis. No, the sport does not involve a ball at all — simply a bow and arrow and a target some distance away; it is the ancient sport of archery.
With pom-poms waving and thank you signs held high, students, faculty, and administrators at St. Philip & St. Augustine Catholic Academy welcomed a busload of members of The Crystal Charity Ball on Feb. 19. Joined by school board members and Diocese of Dallas Catholic schools Superintendent Jeannette Lambert, the special guests toured the southeast Dallas campus as SPSA celebrated its selection as one of eight nonprofits chosen as a 2026 The Crystal Charity Ball beneficiary.
As Ursuline Academy of Dallas senior Lexi Obi participated in the Ursuline Education Network Student Retreat earlier this year, she learned something surprising: Despite hailing from different grades, different schools, and even different states, the student attendees each had something fundamental in common — a sense of “serviam,” or sense of service, rooted deeply in their common Ursuline formation.
When she speaks with school principals, pastors, or parents, Isabel Puente sees them all the same: as family. The 28 year old has spent four months traveling throughout the Diocese of Dallas to show them how children can be educated in Catholic schools using the recently created Texas Educational Freedom Accounts.
Samantha Lopez, a fourth- and fifth-grade science and math teacher at Santa Clara of Assisi Catholic Academy in Dallas, saw her dream of providing personalized support to each of her students become a reality this school year.
A career defined by empathy, equity, and genuine connection — that, Alandra Barfield said, is her dream for the future. That future may be years removed from the present moment for the high school junior; but, as a member of Project Guardian Angel’s first mentorship cohort, which launched Jan. 21, Barfield’s dream-building starts now.
Oil, water, two eggs, and brownie mix. Every other Wednesday at Notre Dame School of Dallas, 17-year-old Matthew Salinas mixes those ingredients to make brownie batter.
At Mount St. Michael Catholic School, principal Melissa Castro said a popular dance program has become a tradition that forms not only skilled dancers but young people who carry themselves with respect and confidence.
Two teachers at Good Shepherd Catholic School in Garland are transforming the lives of children who once struggled to learn to read. Since 2023, Pauline Stoffels and Vonda McFarling, certified academic language and licensed dyslexia therapists, have provided intensive, multisensory intervention to help dyslexic students become successful readers and writers.