By Amy WhiteThe Texas Catholic On the wall of a large, newly renovated classroom at St. Monica Catholic School, a…
As a cluster of Mary Immaculate Catholic School students huddled together in Times Square this March to gaze at their school’s logo shining bright and blue across the Nasdaq billboard, the moment was instantly unforgettable, a true once-in-a-lifetime experience — or so it seemed at the time.
St. Philip & St. Augustine Catholic Academy broke ground Aug. 27 on a new kitchen and cafeteria, a project supported by gifts and grants as the Dallas school prepares for continued growth.
A few days into a six-day backpacking trip through Wyoming’s mountain terrain, Father Raphael Schaner, O. Cist., noticed something unusual … silence.
Between the four of them, longtime friends Scarlett Schwegmann, Georgia Slovacek, Sarah Keyes, and Abigail Bussey have played soccer, basketball, cross country, track and field, golf, cheerleading, and volleyball; and whether stepping onto the court or the course or the field or the track, each knows the thrill of donning a team uniform, lacing on a pair of shoes, and beginning a beloved sport.
The trees were shorter, the surrounding city sparser, and the student population smaller when Gregory Roper began his undergraduate education at the University of Dallas more than four decades ago. As he now undertakes the responsibility of leading the university’s undergraduate school as the new dean of the Constantin College of Liberal Arts, much about his alma mater’s campus is different than it once was — but the mission at the heart of the school, he said, remains the same.
Roots run deep at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School for Sara Casner, whose mother, brother, aunt, multiple cousins, and two children all received their education at the school — as did Casner herself, having spent her elementary and middle school formation on the campus. So, when she was appointed principal of the STA Upper School this year, she said, it felt like being home.
“I’ve always had the heart of a teacher,” said Nieves Castillo-Frazier, who became principal of Good Shepherd School in Garland on July 1.
Forty years after its founding, The Highlands School is marking its history with community events, campus improvements, and expanded programs while looking ahead to forming the next generation of students.
For Abby Orr, Catholic education has been an important part of her life since childhood — first as a student, then as a teacher, and now as a school principal.

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