As the close of the 2023-24 academic year nears in a matter of weeks, Catholic school students throughout the Diocese of Allentown are celebrating by dancing and singing to their favorite songs in the second annual “Make a Joyful Noise” contest, which kicks off Wednesday, May 1 and runs through Friday, May 31.
“Make a Joyful Noise” is a friendly online musical competition to celebrate school spirit and raise funds for schools throughout Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties.
“The competition highlights and showcases school spirit,” said Ginny Downey, Major and Planned Gift Officer of the Diocese of Allentown. “Our schools are vibrant communities based in faith and can also have fun. It gives students the opportunity to take a break from rigorous studies and have some fun.”
In last year’s competition, 25 diocesan schools produced music videos displaying what’s unique about each school. Students danced and sang in their classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and even in science labs.
Downey said it’s also enjoyable for the school’s alumni to watch the videos and see their former schools. “Alumni can see the wonderful upgrades in their schools,” she said.
On the competition’s website www.weloveourcatholicschools.com, each school has a fundraising page where anyone can watch a video, cast a vote for their favorite video, and donate to the school from May 1-31. Winners will be announced on Saturday, June 1.
Same as last year’s competition, there will be two awards as follows:
The first-place award, called the “Maestro,” will be awarded to the school that raised the most money. Last year, this award went to Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville, which raised over $22,000 with their energetic performance.
The second-place award, called the “First Chair Winner,” will be awarded to the school showing great participation (the number of votes in comparison to the number of students enrolled in the school). Last year, this award went to Mercy School for Special Learning, Allentown.
Over 1,000 donations were made last year, ranging from $2 to $10,000, and the competition raised over $133,000.
“All the money stays in the schools,” said Downey.
Though each video is unique, a common theme to all of them, she said, is that “teachers care about their students, and students love their schools.”
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