St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School was happy to celebrate and recognize the lives of two saints in one week in March.
On Wednesday, March 17th, the students and staff were treated to a “Green and Jeans” free dress day. Principal Theresa Dolan-Dixon sent information and fun facts about St. Patrick in the weekly bulletin that is sent to families. Retired SEAS teacher and current SEAS grandmother Barbara Johnson kindly joined third
grade students with a presentation about Ireland and tied in some information about her time living in China, making it an international-themed lesson with an important bottom line: that we can learn about and appreciate many cultures while remembering the common bonds that tie us all together. And parent Lloyd De Los Santos treated the students to a delightful surprise when he came to school in full leprechaun attire and visited classrooms!
On Friday, March 19th, the feast day of St. Joseph, the SEAS 4th grade students continued their annual celebration of St. Joseph. Instead of their traditional feast table offering breads and pastries, students were asked to bring a non-perishable food item for St. Vincent DePaul – this enabled recognition of this important tradition while maintaining important safety protocols and providing a service to our community. There were students in costume, an altar of statuary and symbols of St. Joseph, and the distribution of the fava beans. Distribution of fava beans is a tradition that dates back to the Sicilian celebration of St. Joseph’s Day in the Middle Ages. Sicily had a drought
destroying their crops, and St. Joseph answered their prayers for rain, but the only plant salvaged was the fava bean. Sicilians have honored Saint Joseph ever since, and some Sicilians carry a dried fava bean in their wallets to bring good fortune.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School is located on the Northwest side of Tucson at 8650 N. Shannon Rd. Learn more at school.seastucson.org.