Holy Trinity School Receives Humanities Council Grant

By Sharon Pagryzinski / Enrollment Coordinator, Bay Area Catholic Schools

BAY CITY – A challenging economy calls for schools, as well as individuals, to make the most of their dollars and stretch them as far as possible. Terrie DeWaele, principal at Holy Trinity School, continues to do that wherever she can. Her initiative was rewarded again recently when her school was notified of a $124 grant from the Michigan Humanities Council.

This grant was available to any school who had been awarded the “Picturing America” posters from the Council last year, which DeWaele had applied for and received. The current grant will enable Holy Trinity fourth and fifth grade students to attend the Saginaw Art Museum and participate in a program entitled “Native American Art: Beauty and Use”. Students will be able to view the exhibit of items created and used by Native Americans of the Great Lakes region and then spend time in the museum’s classroom to create their own piece of artwork modeled after the style they observe. The grant will cover transportation as well as admission.

“What a wonderful opportunity for our students to be able to have such a great hands-on experience,” exclaimed the delighted Mrs. DeWaele, upon learning of the grant award.

The timing of this grant is significant. It dovetails with the students’ American History Curriculum, so they will be able to take their creations and first-hand knowledge back to the classroom for further study and discussion. The students are slated to visit the museum later this month.

BACS continues the Catholic school tradition begun here in the 1850s, providing 3-year-old preschool through 12th grade faith-based, solid academic education. BACS is among Bay County’s top 50 employers and functions as one of the few Catholic school systems in Michigan. In recent years, ithas become a model for schools across the country that are seeking to shift from a parish school structure to a school system concept. BACS is spiritually and financially supported by the 13 Vicariate 4 parishes.

To learn more about BACS, log onto http://www.bacschools.org/.