By Dr. Curtis Varnell
Paris Saint Joseph’s Catholic school celebrated the National Catholic Schools week on Jan. 28th to Feb. 4th. The school organized a week of special events to celebrate the role and importance of Catholic education to the community. The week began with a proclamation by Mayor Daniel Rogers followed by a special science program presented by the Doctor of Science; Curtis Varnell, science specialist at the Guy Fenter Education Service Coop. All students dressed up in sports jerseys for the ‘Souper Bowl” canned soup drive to benefit the community Outreach of Logan County. On Tuesday, it was teacher dress day with students dressing as teachers for a day. During the day, the living Rosary was presented in the church hall and the kids enjoyed a day of fun with a movie and a trip to Daddio’s arcade with games, pizza and snacks.
The Kinders music group, presented a 45-minute concert on Wednesday. Supported, in part, by the Arkansas Art Council, the group were a big hit with the students.
Other events were conducted throughout the week with special mass services, singing, guest speakers from the community, and a grandparents visit.
St. Joseph’s school and church has been a big part of the community for more than 100 years. The first St. Joseph’s was built at the present site in 1881. It consisted of a white frame building with an “onion” steeple with no bells. Bells were later added when a platform was built on the west side of the church and daily tolling of the hours became a part of downtown Paris.
A four room house and a one room school eventually were added south of the main building. Over the years, the facilities have been improved and expanded to include the present day campus. The church is now a large beautiful building, a bell tower, and an expansive chapel and organ. The school is located directly behind the church and consist of several classrooms, a basement cafeteria, and a new two room building that houses pre-school and kindergarten. School days began daily with a visit to the church followed by every student meeting at the flagpole for the pledge. The goal has always been a quality education in a Christian environment and St. Joseph’s has, and continues, to provide this for the students of North Logan County.
