The school year opened at Seton Catholic on Wednesday with an innovative schedule that will allow for more time for students to volunteer or get some tutoring, among other benefits

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

It is a new system at Seton Catholic High School, not a new era.

“Higher learning. Deeper faith. Stronger character. Those are our pillars,” said Dan Chase, a math teacher, an advisor for the administration, and the head football coach.  

The philosophy at Seton Catholic has not changed.

The daily routine of the students, their parents, and those who work at the school is going through a major change, though.

Seton Catholic opened its 2024-25 academic year on Wednesday, and there will be no school on Mondays.

The school is calling it Maximizing Mondays. 

The four-day week will mean one less day of traditional schooling. However, it is not a day off.

Teachers will have professional development in the mornings. Students who need additional assistance can come to the school for tutoring in the afternoon. And all students will be encouraged to use Mondays as a day of service to the community.

It is a requirement of graduation that students at Seton Catholic perform a certain amount of hours of service.

School officials did their homework in coming up with a new system for its schedule, according to Dr. Robert Rusk, the principal at Seton Catholic. 

Under the old plan, the school was running a modified block schedule, with Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays using seven-period days, and different “block” times for classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  

“We wanted continuity,” Rusk said.

Some of the other school districts across the country that have gone to four-day weeks take Friday off the schedule. Rusk said it was important for the Seton Catholic community to go in another direction. He didn’t want students and teachers to fall into the trap of looking forward to a three-day weekend. Instead, he wants Monday to jumpstart an energetic week of school.

“This would allow us to maximize those Mondays. Mondays could be retreat days. Mondays could be our community service days. Mondays can be a day to plan for the week. So Sundays could truly be a day of rest.”

For everyone, including parents.

“Everything just started lining up,” Rusk said. “Oh, that’s another win.”

Now, Tuesdays through Fridays are all seven-period days. The school day increased by 25 minutes, going from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. instead of 3:05 p.m. Seton Catholic also opted to take the entire week of Thanksgiving off, another reason the school opened Wednesday, a week or more ahead of most other schools in the region.

While it will take some time to evaluate all the pros and cons of the new schedule, Clark County Today talked to two students Wednesday who are thrilled with the idea of the system.

Jacob Williams is looking forward to maximizing his day to serve.

“Having Mondays off (of traditional school), lets us spread our faith. It’s a way for me to express my love for God and to share it with my neighbors and my peers. I’m a very privileged man to be able to come to this school. I want to show my love for the community. Mondays, they let us have the opportunities to give back.”

Senior Joe Callerame said he and many of his classmates already serve.

“For me, personally, with God in my life, I try to include (service) every day. Not just because it’s required,” he said.

Still, he said he is proud to attend a school that puts so much emphasis on serving the community. Taking a day from the traditional school schedule to promote service shows how serious the school is about its mission.

“It’s a big thing,” Callerame said.

Rusk said the school has partnered with the Clark County Food Bank, Read Northwest, and the Society for St. Vincent de Paul, to give students opportunities to serve. 

The school also partnered with one of the driving schools in the region, hoping that student drivers would be able to use Mondays to get some of their training in, rather than having to do it after school on other days.

For teachers, there will be hours of professional development available. Rusk said the staff is already looking forward to the next few Mondays, with guest speakers on the schedule to help teachers improve their skills.

Seton Catholic is the lone traditional school in Clark County to have a four-day schedule. Rusk is optimistic it will be a benefit to the school. And he will spread the word.

“A lot of my colleagues are excited to hear more about it,” Rusk said.

Starting the school year on Aug. 21 also brought another first to Seton Catholic. This year, Aug. 21 was the first day of football practice in the state, too.

“This is the first time in my career I’ve ever started practice for football the same day we started school,” Chase said.

Usually, football practice starts a week, or more than a week, before classes. So Wednesday was truly a new experience.

“It was awesome. First day of school, seeing all your students for the first time, and them seeing each other, they had so much energy. They’re bringing it to the field right now,” Chase said. “These guys are bringing it.”

In fact seniors had a very long, inspiring day. They started with the annual Senior Sunrise, gathering together at school at 6 a.m.

“There was definitely a buzz in the air. Today’s the day,” Williams said. “You could feel the atmosphere in the school.”

By the way, athletic teams will practice on Mondays but will not practice before the late afternoon.

“We are respecting the day as a day of service, of a day of academic assistance,” said Phil Kent, the school’s athletic director and boys basketball coach.

As far as football this year, there are big expectations for the team. The Cougars return most of their players after reaching the state semifinals last year.

But the coach, and players, will tell you that athletic accomplishments are not the priority at Seton Catholic.

“In the student-athlete, we are students first,” Chase said.

He noted the many Seton Catholic athletes who are being recruited by engineering schools, Ivy League colleges. One student has an appointment with West Point, and another is hoping to earn one.

“The only reason they are looking at them is because their academics are so good,” Chase said.

Education is important, but there is an even bigger priority for students at Seton Catholic.

“That’s what we play for on our chest here,” Williams said, pointing to the cross on the practice uniform that makes up the T in Seton Catholic. 

“My faith has grown so much in the last three years,” he said.

Williams and the rest of the Cougars will be sharing their faith, through service, throughout the school year. And their school, with a new schedule, is in full support of that mission.