Last week, the school community celebrated its third annual Blue & White Week. In a week-long celebration of our school’s unique identity as a Catholic institution, each day honored the teachers, administration, and spirit of OLLA. Held in the last week of January every year, Catholic Schools Week is not only a time to appreciate what makes our school special, but acknowledge the importance of our Catholic education.
Here, school spirit takes shape in two distinct colors: blue and white. As the school colors, half of the student body is assigned the color white, and the other blue— marked by shirts of the corresponding color. On Thursday the 23rd, FOCUS representatives revealed each FOCUS’ team and distributed the blue or white shirts. On Wednesday and Friday of Blue & White Week, students donned their blue and white team shirts.
To kick off the week, Catholic Schools Week Mass was held during FOCUS in the gym for us to share in a special liturgy. The mass was dedicated to the celebration of Catholic education.
“I think it’s important to celebrate our catholic identity to help us acknowledge how lucky we are to receive this education based on our faith and morals,” junior Isabella Meireles (team blue) said .
After mass, the educator of the year was announced and awarded to Mrs. Kopczyk. A proud alumna, she is a junior and senior theology teacher who is both kind and dedicated to her students, as many girls can attest. Tuesday was Team OLLA day, where students showed appreciation to their favorite teachers and administrators by dressing up as them.
“I loved performing in the blue and white week pep-rally front of all my friends and family especially because it’s our last performance before states,” cheerleader Carolina Lopez said. “It is very special for our whole team because we get to showcase all the hard work that goes into our routines.”
Wednesday was marked by a Blue & White pep rally to celebrate Winter Sports such as soccer and basketball. It also served as a way for the dancers and cheerleaders to show us their championship-winning routines before they were sent off to their respective competitions. Pep rally also hosted a game of dodgeball between team blue and team white, which ended in a victory for team blue.
On Thursday, students were able to dress down for leisure-wear day in Bobcat merchandise and comfortable clothes. Friday was Blue & White Day, which featured a school-wide lunch and trivia games held in the cafeteria. This included a game of “How Well Do You Know Our Sisters Game Show”, a trivia competition based on a select few of the sisters.
A popular favorite, Ice Cream Carousel was offered to students on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. Students could pay for a wristband in advance for $5 or pay for each cup of ice cream for $6 each day. Needless to say, this year’s Blue & White Week was successful on multiple fronts. Once again, the festivities provided a much needed morale boost and allowed for well-deserved celebration.
