Five students from Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, were selected to serve on the Congressional Youth Advisory Council (CYAC) created by Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District).

WATCHUNG — Sabrina DiIorio, Simone Koryszewski and Andrea Ruiz, seniors at Mount Saint Mary Academy, were recently notified that they were chosen by Columbia University to continue their successful journeys at the prestigious school in the fall.

Sixty years ago, when Immaculata High School’s founder, Msgr. Eugene B. Kelly, and his advisors formulated plans for the soon-to-be-opened high school in Somerville, they established Catholic values and academic excellence as its cornerstone.

Each year, Catholic Schools Week gives us the opportunity to shine a light on all of our schools and their transformative work. Although there are certainly many challenges that face us during this Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 31-Feb. 6), there is still so much to celebrate in every school community. Across the Diocese of Metuchen, in all of our schools, students and teachers adapted to all of the necessary COVID-19 restrictions so that they could enthusiastically return to school and live the mission of our schools: provide an atmosphere in which a child can grow in faith, excel in academics and serve others. Just as our pastors, principals and teachers found a way to continue to educate when we closed in March, they have forged an innovative path that has given students a sense of belonging and well-being when we reopened the schools.