By Elizabeth Fairbanks
Principal, North American Martyrs School in Lincoln
At North American Martyrs School in Lincoln, we seek to fulfill the mandate of Christ to teach the Gospel to all people. (Matthew 28:18-20). We strive to work in partnership with parents on the intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development and growth of their children. We will do this in harmony with the specific and unique gifts God has given to each child, while assisting parents in their duty as the primary religious educators of their children—by teaching ecclesial doctrine and building community through common prayer and Christ-like service.
In short, our mission is to assist in forming the whole child.
This year, our school theme is “Let Your Light Shine,” inspired by Matthew 5:16: “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
Our theme and call-and-response, “Let your light shine! Glow for God all the time!” reminds us that our faith is meant to radiate- to be lived and outwardly shared. We are called to illuminate Christ through the way we speak, the choices we make, how we treat others, and how we respond to feedback. As Father Hall preached to our students during the first week of school, “correction is medicine.” It rarely tastes good, but it is good for our health.
For our students, learning to “let their light shine” means learning to live a life rooted in virtue. Virtue is not simply knowing what is good. It is developing the habit that enables us to know what is true and love what is good easily and consistently.
As a Catholic school, we are blessed with the opportunity and responsibility to help students recognize that faith and everyday life are not separate. Prayer, academics, friendships, extracurricular activities, behavior, service, and family life all belong together. We want to help parents form an integrated life for their child, with God at the center.
One way we are strengthening this culture of virtue is by adopting Education in Virtue to create a common language throughout our school community. Each week and month, our students and staff focus on a particular virtue. Teachers discuss what that virtue means and how students can practice the virtue throughout the day.
Practice builds habits. We hope this language extends beyond the walls of the school and into our homes. When students hear parents, coaches or family members talking about justice, gratitude, responsibility, foresight, patience and honesty, students truly begin to live out virtue.
As a school, we aim to build students through positive praise. One way we do this is through Virtue Vouchers. Students may receive a voucher when a staff member sees them demonstrating strong character and living out virtue. Through Virtue Vouchers, we witness students creating the habit of doing good. Like our theme of the year, we remind students that everyone can shine their light and, by doing so, help lead the faith.
Students will enter their Virtue Vouchers into a school-wide raffle, and then have the opportunity to win prizes at the end of each month. The raffle brings excitement and fun while building a happy and holy environment and strengthening our community. We also celebrate students through our monthly Model Mustang Award. At the end of each month, all staff members select one student who has consistently and outstandingly embodied the virtue of the month. These recognized students show us what letting your light shine looks like in action. They go above and beyond, serving as powerful examples of character for their peers.
Our goal is that by the time students graduate from North American Martyrs in the eighth grade, we have formed young disciples who desire what is good, what is right, and understand that their choices impact themselves and others. I invite every family to join us in this mission so our students can grow in virtue and shine brightly for God.
The Education in Virtue program was piloted at Martyrs in 2022-2023 and fully adopted in 2025-2026. You can find the Education in Virtue program online at plus.openlightmedia.com. I challenge you to pick one item to put into practice: invite your child to talk about the virtue of the week, pray the virtue of the week daily, explore the interactive virtue tree, or listen to daily virtue in the car. No small step is too small to begin building the bridge between school and at-home life.
