When Chad Evans began work as the third president of John Paul II High School on the Monday after New Year’s Day, no one had to show him where his office was. Evans returned to the campus where he’d served as the Cardinals’ boys basketball coach from 2008 through 2012.

A group of students at John Paul II High School’s Social Innovation Lab is exploring how to build strong communities in a digital age while remaining rooted in the Catholic Church’s teachings. Their efforts have earned the lab one of only 17 invitations nationwide to a program at The University of Notre Dame.

Middle-schoolers William Bui and John Veselka inspected their handiwork as they attempted to build a zip-line pulley. A few feet away, classmates Charlee Delaurier and Charlotte Fowler were putting the final touches on their circuitry project. A low buzz of excitement and energy spread throughout the room as the St. Monica Catholic School students joined their classmates on Sept. 29 in exploring learning opportunities at various stations in one of the school’s two new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) labs.

For John Paul II High School student Jimmy Hademenos, a passion for music and a love of his Catholic faith have come together to inspire a ministry of service for several Catholic communities.

On Oct. 19, John Paul II High School celebrated its all-school Mass in honor of the Oct. 22 feast day of St. Pope John Paul II. This year, the celebration was particularly special, as the relic of its namesake sat on the altar for the school community to see.

When missionaries on the Diocesan Youth Mission Trip arrived in Costa Rica on June 5, they began their trip wide-eyed and unsure. Many of the high school students had never left the United States; some had never engaged in hard labor or gone without certain creature comforts. Stepping into an unfamiliar country with simple amenities and a slower pace of life, many of these high schoolers found themselves homesick, uncomfortable, and uncertain at the beginning of their trip.

By Amy WhiteThe Texas Catholic PLANO — “I can’t imagine being anywhere else but in a Catholic school,” Casey Buckstaff…