Holy Family Academy Students Heard Among the 1,000 Voices

Every year the nation's Catholic parishes pause to celebrate all that is good and valuable about Catholic schools. Holy Family in Inverness is no exception. A week-long series of events was planned to celebrate their successful and growing school.

The festivities began with a special mass on January 29, followed by a fun week of entertaining events including “Donuts with Dad,” a basketball “shoot -out” with Pastor, Fr. Terry Keehan, and an all-school pep rally complete with wacky games for students of all ages. The week came to an especially thrilling end, however, when members of the Academy's school choir participated in a “Choir of 1,000 Voices” performed at Holy Name Cathedral on February 4.

“We were so excited to be invited to sing downtown at the Cathedral. This was the first time we ever participated in an event such as this,” stated Oleg Rudnytskyi, Holy Family Academy Choir Director and music teacher. “It was such a great experience for our students to be part of something of such magnitude.” Over thirty choirs representing Catholic elementary and high schools from across the Chicago area participated in the event marking the culmination of Catholic Schools Week in Chicago. Holy Family Academy was the only elementary school in their area to take part in the “Choir of 1000 Voices.”

“It was inspiring to see the Cathedral filled with all of these beautiful young faces,” stated Dr. Dawn Sadowski, parent of three members of the Holy Family Academy Choir, daughter Kennedy in third grade and twin seventh grade sons Carter and Cameron. “I know it takes a lot of dedication to coordinate an event such as this. I'm amazed and proud that our Holy Family students have eagerly rehearsed for weeks and have given up their entire Saturday to be part of this special celebration.”

“The growth of our choir is one of many notable things we celebrate when we look at the overall success of our school,” states Dr. Gretchen Ludwig, Principal. “While our academic curriculum focuses on 21st century skills, fine arts are also critical to educating the entire child.” Not only has the Academy choir grown from ten members three years ago to almost fifty members today, but Holy Family's middle school students also devote part of their curriculum to the performing arts, partnering with nearby Harper College's drama instructor and using Harper's performing arts facility.

In closing, Dr. Ludwig added, “As educators, our goal is to continually expand the horizons of our students so they can live our motto of becoming well -rounded ‘leaders and thinkers, grounded in faith.' Exposing our students to the ‘Choir of a 1000 Voices' is another great example of what makes our school so unique.”