For the fourth consecutive year, students from Catholic elementary schools were recognized with $500 awards recognizing them for their outstanding contributions to the Diocese of Trenton PTA tuition scholarship contest.
Categorized by grades and counties, the students submitted either a poster drawing or an essay on a particular topic.
Students in grades K-3 were asked to submit artwork that addressed the question, “What does it mean to be a part of a Catholic school community? Students in grades 4-5, wrote essays on “How does your Catholic education help you to serve your community?” Students in grades 6-wrote essays on “How will you use your Catholic education to build your community?”
The process for determining the winners begins with the entries being submitted first to the classroom teachers and then to school principals. The final selections from each school go to the Diocesan PTA board and Dr. Vincent de Paul Schmidt, diocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools, who ultimate select the winners.
The funds for the scholarships are provided by the annual fees collected from all Catholic school PTA chapters in the Diocese. Winners, who must be continuing with Catholic education in the Diocese, received their certificates and $500 tuition awards during the Diocese of Trenton PTA Fall Conference held Oct. 11 in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold.
A list of the student winners and their entries follows:
Monmouth-Ocean Division
Grades K-3
Liliana Gennusa, St. Rose School, Belmar
Jessica Jarmer, left, Diocesan PTA president, presents Liliana Gennusa’s certificate to a representative from St. Rose School, Belmar. Monmouth-Ocean Division
Grades 4-5
Declan Holmes, St. Dominic School, Brick
Jessica Jarmer, right, presents an award to Declan Holmes from St. Dominic School, Brick, while his parents look on.
How does your Catholic Education help you serve your community?
By Declan Holmes
My Catholic Education helps me to serve my community by teaching me about God. I have learned to keep holy the Lord’s Day. I have learned to practice my faith by going to church with my grandparents. I try to follow the example of God and “Do what Jesus would do.” I am inspired by praying, praising and thanking God. In my class, I learned about the ten commandments and how to use them in my life. I have even learned how to be a better speaker by speaking at church.
My Catholic education helps to teach me how to serve my community, family, and friends. I have learned how to be a good friend and family member by being polite and kind. I try to be brave, and to stick up for my friends and my sisters. My catholic education gives me more confidence to make friends outside of school. I feel confident to walk up to another kid and say, “do you want to play with me and be my friend.”
My Catholic education also helps me to be a good family member at home. I have learned to listen to my parents, my teachers, my coaches and God. My education has shown me how to be gentle to my pets and younger siblings. I also know how to make my parents feel God’s love. I can do things my parents do like do the dishes, make breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Through my Catholic education, I have learned to be smart and make smart choices. It has shown me that if something bad happens, something will also happen that is good because of God’s love. I try to use this to take care of my community and do my best all the time. I do this by using my manners to people that work at stores and restaurants. I show my friends love when they get hurt at a game and make them cards when they are sick. I am even more confident. I can teach my friends and sisters how to be kind and help others because of my catholic education.
I feel lucky and blessed that my teachers worked so hard to teach my Gods love in my catholic education. I know I am a better person smarter and kinder brother, son, friend and neighbor because of everything I have learned at St. Dominic School.
Monmouth-Ocean Division
Grades 6-8
Margaux Oxley, St. Leo the Great School, Lincroft
Surrounded by family members, Margaux Oxley, a student in St. Leo the Great School, Lincroft, receives her award from Jessica Jarmer.
Margaux Oxley’s essay
My Catholic education has helped shape my character, with unique values, and principles, equipped for leadership in faith. These teachings, ones guided by Jesus-like living, fellowship, leadership, and excellence, are lessons each young impressionable mind should be able to experience. The core values taught in this curriculum can be used to benefit the public, in, and outside of the church. I hope to channel my Catholic education to build my community by creating a sense of unity, and a supportive environment for those around me.
I believe talk is one thing, but action is another, so to follow up, I’ll be listing my plans of action, and numerous ways I can build my community brick by brick. The first way I hope to use my faith is by organizing a food drive called Nourishment for Encouragement. This donation drive would be targeted towards the impoverished battling addiction. A leading cause of homelessness globally, is caused by a tireless battle that is the addiction to drugs and alcohol. As opposed to providing food, and sending the needy on their way, the drive would align with a local rehabilitation center and allow those receiving food from the drive to seek care. In the area, there are many behavioral health clinics that can pave the way to clean living, but after this step, there is spiritual healing. Churches can create specialized programs for ex-addicts looking to connect or reconnect with their faith. This project can align with Corinthians 10:13, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” In this case, Nourishment for Encouragement would serve as the way out.
Another way I can build my community is by advocating for those with disabilities. I hope to partner with local programs in the area that educate, the disabled and neurodivergent. The organization I’d hope to create would be called Amongst the Stars (ATS). It would differentiate from the traditional tracks of learning in special education by allowing the children to learn from trips personalized for the needs of everyone. This program would be funded by donations from the community shops, organizations, and independent donors. This project would also have another aspect, a faith-based one. ATS would not only give students real-world knowledge, but also knowledge of God., The organization would bring in Catholic priests, with tailor-made engaging lessons, allowing the differently abled to learn about Christ. This would give students a sense of community, and a place where their voices can be advocated for. It’s important to advocate for the lame and create an inclusive community. Luke 14:13-14 reinforces that belief, “Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
My last way to use my faith to build my community is by connecting the citizens through programs in the church intertwining the young and the old. The young children could listen to stories of the seniors, play games of leisure together, and help them with tasks that may be harder to perform as they grow older. Through this, the elderly would gain purpose, and the young would gam wisdom, and unmatched life lessons. It could occur quarterly even, as a church-wide event. It _would _enable the community of the church to become more like a family and make the community a faith one of blossoming friendships. Showing respect for the elderly is a way to show worship for the Messiah himself. “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.” (Leviticus 19:32)
To sum it up, a baseline catholic education nurtures the growth of the young mind spiritually, and faithfully. I, as a student have learned the importance of Christ-like living while receiving a Catholic education. This foundation is the concrete base the men and women of God need to make waves in today’s world. In the future, I’ll impact the world starting with the concepts stated above. The world needs more followers of Christ. Be the change.
Burlington-Mercer Division
Grades K-3
Lily Rose Jimenez-Carreras, St. Paul School, Burlington
Lily Rose Jimenez-Carreras, from St. Paul School, Burlington, proudly holds her new certificate as her parents and Jessica Jarmer look on.
Burlington-Mercer Division
Grades 4-5
Tyler Coe, St. Ann School, Lawrenceville
Tyler Coe of St. Ann School, Lawrenceville, receives a certificate for his award-winning essay from Jessica Jarmer, while his proud mom looks on.
Tyler Coe responds to the question: How does your Catholic education help you to serve your community?
My Catholic education helps me serve my community in many ways. Even though I’m only ten years old I have already impacted my local neighborhood, classmates, teammates, and country. The biggest thing that my Catholic education has taught me is to think of others before I think of myself.
In school, the older students are paired with the younger students as “prayer buddies”. Being the older kid, I learned to help not only my friends but help everyone. I like that the younger kids look up to me and allow me to help them in their Catholic education.
In my everyday life I try to be a kind and helpful classmate. Math is my strongest subject, and when asked I am always more than happy to help a fellow classmate with their work. In the reverse, it is great when my classmates help me with ILA (English) because that is not one of my strengths.
I love soccer and on the field win or lose, it’s important to be supportive of one another. You can count on me to always be polite and encouraging if it’s when we are getting taunted or they’re just having a bad day my Catholic education taught me to stay at their side during hard times.
In fourth grade I started a program at my Catholic school where I collected extra Halloween candy that was then shipped overseas to soldiers. This year I collected over 200 pounds of sweets. This taught me that a little kind deed can brighten the day of a soldier away from home.
The world is a bigger place then just me. I hope that with my Catholic education I can continue to be a kind person. My Catholic Education has taught me to “love thy neighbor” and treat everyone as God would treat them.
Burlington-Mercer Division
Grades 6-8
Milo Budnick, St. Ann School, Lawrenceville
Milo Budnick is surrounded by his family as he is presented with his award by Jessica Jarmer.
Community is an important part of life, but I have learned that a happy and strong community starts with me. If I am happy and following my faith, I can help those around me-my family, my friends, and my parish-become stronger too. My Catholic education has helped me understand how to do this by learning from Jesus and using His lessons in my daily life.
One of the biggest things I have learned is how to help my friends, especially when they have problems or get bullied. Jesus was a leader, but He was also a team player with His twelve apostles. He taught them to love and support each other, just like I try to do with my friends. In John 13:34, Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” When I see my friends struggling, I remember this lesson and use what I have learned from playing sports to help them work things out and stick together. Just as Jesus forgave those who wronged Him, I try to promote forgiveness and kindness so we can build a peaceful and supportive school environment.
Another lesson I have taken from my Catholic education is to keep going even when things are tough. This season, my sports team lost every game. lt was frustrating, but my family still supported me, just like Jesus’ followers supported Him when things got hard. Even when Jesus was rejected or faced challenges, He kept leading with love and faith. In Philippians 4:13, it says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Just like Jesus found strength in His friends, I felt better because my family encouraged me and reminded me that challenges help us grow. I also remember the story of Peter walking on water (Matthew 4:29-31), where Jesus teaches us that faith keeps us strong, even when we feel like we are sinking. This reminds me to trust in God during difficult times, knowing that He will help me through them.
Finally, my Catholic education has helped me feel like I have a bigger family than just the one at home. My parents are immigrants, and my relatives live far away. But my parish and church community have become like another family to me. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 12:49-50, “Pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”‘ Through my church, I have found love and support, showing me that family is not just about being related but also about the people who care for and help each other through faith. When holidays like Christmas or Easter come around, and others are celebrating with large family gatherings, I sometimes feel lonely. But my parish community fills that gap, giving me a sense of belonging and joy in those special moments. It reminds me of how Mary and Joseph found warmth and welcome in the stable, even when they were far from home. Like them, I find peace in my faith community.
Additionally, my Catholic education has taught me t hat serving others is a big part of strengthening a community. Jesus showed us the importance of service in John 13: 14-15, when He washed the feet of His disciples and said, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” This inspires me to volunteer at church events, help younger students, and participate in charity projects. Helping others strengthens my community and makes me feel more connected to those around me.
Through these experiences, I have learned that building my community starts with me. If I follow Jesus’ teachings – showing love, staying strong, having faith, and serving others – I can make a difference for my family, my friends, and my parish. My Catholic education has given me the lessons I need to be someone who helps build a stronger, happier community, just like Jesus did with his apostles and followers. By continuing to apply these lessons in my daily life, I hope to inspire others to do the same and create a community filled with faith, love, and kindness.