As players dust off their pads, a sort of culture shock awaits many high schoolers as they climb that ladder for the first time at Baltimore area Catholic schools.

As the NFL regular season nears its kickoff, several former Baltimore-area Catholic high school players are battling for spots on pro football rosters.

St. Ambrose Parish in West Baltimore hosted a community festival Aug. 27-28 that was highlighted by Mass on the Grass.

Total enrollment is expected to reach nearly 25,000 in archdiocesan and independent Catholic schools – an increase of approximately 530 students from the previous academic year.

Archbishop William E. Lori and Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. Donna Hargens welcomed nearly 1,200 Catholic school educators, administrators and staff from around the Archdiocese of Baltimore to the Church of Nativity in Timonium Aug. 25 for a day of prayer, reflection and fellowship as a new school year dawns.

Kevin Ford has a simple philosophy for teaching literature at Calvert Hall: Have fun.

Not only did Kristin Urbanski wind back up at St. Joseph years later, but in May she won the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year – becoming the first St. Joseph teacher to win the award, according to principal Chrissie Ashby.

Anna O’Day encourages her students at St. Mary’s in Annapolis to bring their deepest, most difficult questions, and she challenges them to tackle such inquiries with sincerity and rigor.

St. Casimir Parish in Canton lost one of its bright lights Aug. 22 when parishioner Victor Malabayabas was killed in his Baltimore City neighborhood after an apparent robbery attempt.

Kristen Fisher shares how every person has a deep desire and pattern of preference for either beauty, truth or goodness.