As the pages of the calendar flipped from July to August, students planning on attending Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison began preparing for a brand new school year. The 2007-2008 scholastic year marked, for many, both a time for change and a bunch of fresh ideas waiting patiently to be more thoroughly investigated.

New this year, semester finals will be taken before students are dismissed for Christmas break, allowing both students and teachers to use their holiday as a relaxing vacation rather than an anxiety encompassed study session. Holding finals earlier also means that the school year will end much earlier, May 23, giving the entire Driscoll family the opportunity to enjoy the last few weeks of the beautiful Midwestern spring.

Beginning school a mere week earlier caused more than a few moans and groans from many of the younger Highlanders, but when put into long-term perspective, the extra few days of summer were quickly forgotten and soon revered as a catalyst in the countdown to the dreaded semester exams. Not to mention, the fun activities anticipated by all, such as Spirit Week and Homecoming, began much sooner than usual, and served as an fruitful reward for prematurely dragging our lazy “summer” selves out of bed at 6 a.m.

One very important aspect of the Driscoll Catholic school year recently celebrated, that was most definitely not new, was Help-A-Thon. Help-A-Thon is a monthlong fundraising endeavor culminating in one very special Thursday in September on which all students and staff members partake in an entire day of service, topped off with a rewarding, all-school picnic. Help-A-Thon is a yearly manifestation of true community service and everlasting faith within the walls of the Driscoll campus. Laraine Parker, Driscoll’s campus minister and service program coordinator, has described Help-A-Thon and D.C.’s service outreach program as following quite carefully in the footsteps of our patron saint. “St. John Baptist de la Salle established the Christian Brothers schools on the ideal of serving the poor and vulnerable. It’s appropriate that during our Homecoming Spirit Week, each and every one of us goes out on Help-A-Thon Day, into the surrounding community, to serve those in need,” said Parker.

Students and staff at Driscoll Catholic recognize the gifts they have received in the past, as well as the present blessings they have in each other and in the many opportunities available to them to share, to learn and to serve. They realize the honor to be chosen to help collaborate with others. They shine a light on and reach out a hand to the often forgotten or overlooked-for many, the favorite and most frequent way of serving both the academic and religious communities. In doing so, Driscoll Catholic raises awareness in the “new” as well as keeps a nostalgic eye on the “old.”