Thanks to the Holy Family School Alumni Committee. The following is an article in AD Times explaining this program, which will be available to pre-K through 8th grade:

Faith and the Future: Holy Family Students Celebrate LEGO Robotics Grant and Missionary Vocations

Celeste Behe

The students of Holy Family School, Nazareth may have looked dowdy in their Throwback Thursday outfits, but their outlook was decidedly visionary. They had gathered in the school’s gymnasium on Jan. 29 for the presentation of a $2,500 check earmarked for the LEGO SPIKE Prime program, a robotics and engineering platform.

Father Jason Stokes, Pastor of Holy Family Parish, Nazareth, explained that Holy Family School will “partner with LEGO to do robotic activities for students in pre-K through eighth grade.”

“Most schools don't have that, but we're putting that in our school because we know how important it is to help our students to grow in education for science and technology and math,” he said.

The check was presented to Holy Family School Principal Derek Peiffer by the Holy Family School Alumni Committee.

The purpose of the committee, said chairperson Sandy Stephen, is to “raise money for the enhancement of Holy Family School students’ educational experience.”

Past initiatives include technology upgrades, playground improvements, and the acquisition of educational materials.

The awarding of the check coincided with Catholic Schools Week, an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States.

The LEGO SPIKE Prime program teaches problem-solving, collaboration, and the inventive use of robotics and engineering functions. Students are also invited to apply what they’ve learned by taking part in robotics competitions.

Stephen asserted that the program “will provide Holy Family School students with career skills they can take into high school and beyond.”

After the presentation by the Alumni Committee, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart spoke to HFS students about religious vocations.

Sister Lisa Marie Valentini, M.S.C. led the students in a prayer to know one’s vocation before directing them in a joyous “echo song,” accompanied by Sister’s guitar.

Brother Warren Perrotta, M.S.C. then shared that, although he himself did not feel called to the priesthood, he knew even as a child that he wanted to give his life to God. He found his vocation when a classmate told him that “brothers are not ordained, but they're equal with priests in the work they do around the world.”

After taking vows, Brother Warren did missionary work in an area of Fiji so remote that he prayed, “God, do you even know where this place is?”

He emphasized the strong sense of brotherhood among the MSCs. “We have both priests and brothers, and we all take the same vows. We're one community, and we call each other brethren,” he said.

Brother Francis Hung Nguyen, M.S.C. discovered his vocation “by accident,” through a chance phone call. “I felt God saying, ‘Come and serve with love,’” he recalled.

“In many ways, our God calls us,” Brother Francis noted. “He speaks in our hearts, through people, through prayer, through what makes us feel happy and peaceful.

“My message for you is, you do not need to be perfect. You only need to pray, listen, be kind, and trust.”

Sister Lisa Marie returned to close the program with a moving account of her emergency baptism of a Peruvian baby.

“Two weeks later, I was transferred, and I never saw the mom or the baby again. I don't know what happened, but I do know that that baby became a child of God because there was a missionary there. I was there.

“The invitation today is for you to be there.”

Holy Family School has been dedicated to Catholic education since its founding in 1910 by Father Peter Fuengerlings, M.S.C. and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Sisters. Its curriculum promotes intellectual growth, faith-based values, and a culture of service.