After devastating floods swept through Central Texas over the July 4 holiday weekend, three Diocese of Dallas Catholic high schools are stepping up in faith and solidarity.
Bishop Dunne Catholic School
“I’m the kind of person where you stand on the shoulders of your ancestors,” Bishop Dunne Catholic School’s Gaby Gonzalez said the morning of her graduation two weeks ago. Of the dozens of relatives who preceded her at the high school during the past 60 years, no shoulders are broader than those of her paternal grandfather.
From the age of 12, Daniel Harrelson has known he wanted to be a band director. Now in his 11th year at Bishop Dunne Catholic School, that lifelong calling has earned him recognition among his peers. Harrelson, who serves as director of bands at Bishop Dunne, was named one of three Distinguished Educators of the Year April 25 during the 2025 Diocese of Dallas Catholic Schools Distinguished Educator of the Year dinner, held in the parish hall of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church.
Joined by Bishop Edward J. Burns and Dr. Rebecca Hammel, superintendent of Dallas Catholic Schools, the Bishop Dunne community came together to honor Clifford for being named the 2025 Texas Catholic Conference Bishops’ High School Teacher of the Year.
When Kaden Polachek chose to attend Bishop Dunne Catholic School, he had his sights set on finding a school with a tradition of academic excellence and one that allowed him to stay connected with his Oak Cliff community of friends. At Bishop Dunne, Polachek discovered something more: the Catholic faith.
“When I think of faith, I think of service,” said Isabella Martinez, a 17-year-old rising senior at Bishop Dunne Catholic School, as she reflected on her school’s Community Service Club. Martinez founded the club in the fall of 2023 to offer Catholic high school students like herself the opportunity to live their faith through service to their local community.
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.
With the observance of Catholic Schools Week each year, communities take time to celebrate all that endears them to their Catholic school — faith, fellowship, and academic success.
One aspect that makes Holy Trinity Catholic School special to its community is its focus on its “specials,” a term principal Kaitlyn Aguilar uses to describe the school’s co-curricular classes.
A win/win is how Diocese of Dallas Director of Security and Emergency Management Manny Sanchez described a security project partnership between his office and Bishop Dunne Catholic School’s geographic information systems class students.
Growing up in a devout Catholic home, Alex Rodriguez has always seen Easter weekend as a time of great celebration of his faith and his family. Rodriguez had even more reason to celebrate this year.