A group of 10 Canisius High School students and three teachers spent a week this summer at the Navajo Nation in Arizona on a service immersion trip. The Navajo Nation consists of around 330,000 people.

For a few weeks now, the "back to school" ads have been signaling the waning of summertime (for which I, a cold weather aficionado, am very grateful this year - apologies to you heat lovers out there!)

EAST AURORA — Christ the King Seminary will conduct its annual fall fundraising campaign throughout the month of September. President-rector Father Joseph Gatto said this year's goal of $355,000 is needed to help keep pace with the seminary's continued growth in enrollment, along with enhancements to campus facilities and classrooms and ongoing faculty additions.

Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School in Buffalo has appointed Michele Battin to serve as the school's newest principal, effective July 1. The high school made the appointment as part of an ongoing transition in leadership model for the historic school.

LANCASTER - Potential students and their parents are invited to attend St. Mary's High School annual open house. Families will be able to meet current students, faculty, and coaches while touring the campus and learning more about St. Mary's.

St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute is pleased to announce the dates for its annual open house for prospective students and their families. The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 2 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 3 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the school, located at 845 Kenmore Ave. in Buffalo.

Last month, Niagara University and Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center affirmed that they will be working together in commitment to promoting revitalization and economic growth in not only the city of Niagara Falls, but also all of Niagara County and Western New York, while encouraging international tourism. On Sept. 9, the men in charge of the organizations signed a memorandum of understanding at NU's Niagara Global Tourism Institute in downtown Niagara Falls, signaling a new era of collaboration.

For the first time in memory, the New York State Council of Catholic School Superintendents has assembled in Buffalo for two days of meetings.

They are years away from being eligible to vote, but on their first day of the school year, eighth graders at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School in Depew got a lesson on Faithful Citizenship.

As we open our schools in this, the 170th year of the existence of the Diocese of Buffalo, we can be proud of the state of our Catholic schools in 2016.

As Walt Disney once said, "If you can dream it, you can do it." The students and staff at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament School in Depew and St. Amelia School in Tonawanda took that a step further by believing that if you can dream it, you can STREAM it.

In his Feb. 13, 2014, address to the Congregation for Catholic Education in Vatican City, Pope Francis stated, "Catholic education is one of the most important challenges for the church, currently committed to new evangelization in a historical and cultural context that is undergoing constant transformation."

On the first day of school, each Catholic elementary school student will go home with a blank registration form to encourage all those who are eligible, but are not registered to vote, to do so in time to vote in the fall elections.

It's back to school on this week's podcast with Sister Carol Cimino, diocesan superintendent of schools.

KENMORE — Last month, summer campers investigated Sir Isaac Newton's physics principles at St. John the Baptist School by participating in the school's weeklong STEM/STREAM camp, which incorporates key concepts of science, technology, engineering and math, as well as expanding the focus to include studies in religion and art.

After a national search, Jill Cole has been named director of Residence Life and Judicial Affairs at Hilbert College. Cole began her new role in July.

D'Youville College campus security officers are now pedaling across the West Side campus as part of the D'Youville Campus Security Operations' new bike patrol. The unit rolled out July 1.

Local high school students had the chance to ask difficult questions about their faith and the moral dimensions relevant to the modern-day challenges they encounter, at Canisius College's inaugural Be the Light Youth Theology Institute.

The Buffalo State College Newman Center will welcome back an alumnus for a special Mass as it kicks off its 79th year. Father Zachary Miller, a 2008 grad, will celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit, a tradition from medieval times at universities in Paris, Bologna and Salamanca to invoke the Spirit's gifts at the opening of the school year.

Melanie Bruning, a junior interior design major at Villa Maria College, was awarded first place in the American Society of Interior Designers' 2016 Student Design Competition.

TONAWANDA — Cardinal O'Hara High School has named Brian Lamping, of the COHS class of 2001, as athletic director, and Jill Monaco as assistant principal. Both new appointees have had a long history in Catholic education and received high marks from their supervisor.

This year Bishop Timon - St. Jude High School commemorates the 70th anniversary of its founding as Bishop Timon High School. To kick off the 70th anniversary commemoration, there will be a "Timon Turns 70" at Buffalo Riverfest Park on Sept. 10, 2016, from 5-9 p.m. Erik Bohen is serving as Event Chairperson.

The Annunciation Strong Start Early Learning Academy's "Mommy and Me" program will host an open house from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 19, at 7580 Clinton St., Elma. The program takes place in Annunciation's former school building.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY — Niagara University broke ground last month on an $8 million renovation and expansion of its dining facility located at Clet Hall.

The goal of the "Gear Up" engineering component of the STREAM initiative is to allow students to explore the engineering design process as they tackle challenges directly related to the curriculum.

With two weeks to go before the start of the school year, more than 300 Catholic school teachers from the Diocese of Buffalo gathered on Wednesday at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute to get some hands on preparation for teaching various STREAM courses to students in the coming school year.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY - Five Niagara University students are spending a portion of the summer in Haiti, deploying the knowledge they've ascertained during their collegiate studies to assist children in one of the world's most impoverished countries.

EAST AURORA — Christ the King Seminary will offer a new course, Ministry Essentials: Introductions to Catholic Teachings, this fall. The course will offer foundational information on Catholic teachings, including essential themes, history and vocabulary for faith formation and other parish ministries. Dennis Mahaney, M.Div., director of evangelization and parish life for the diocese, will serve as the primary instructor for the class, along with seminary faculty and guest lecturers.

Last month, Cardinal O'Hara High School in Tonawanda welcomed fifth- through eighth-graders to its campus for its 2016 summer camps. Tailored toward specific interests, they included a summer enrichment camp for a variety of academic subjects, an acting and singing camp, and a creative writing camp, in addition to a lineup of three sports clinics for youth to engage in baseball, football and soccer.

Catholic Academy of West Buffalo will receive 40 gallons of paint to refresh its learning environment. Catholic Academy was selected as the winner of a paint grant through Dibble True Value's partnership with True Value Foundation's "Painting a Brighter Future" program. The grant helps to renew an atmosphere that sets a positive tone for educators to teach and children to learn.

One of the goals at Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls is to lay the foundation of STREAM, starting in pre-K, and to prepare them with 21st century skills that will help them be successful in today's world.

Over the summer, bonfires blaze, children are out of school and summer clothes make their return from the back of the closet. However, for parishes in the diocese, summer is also a prime opportunity for faith formation and ensuring parishes and their faith remain strong throughout warmer months of the year in Buffalo.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY — A member of the Daughters of Charity Province of St. Louise has been assigned to Niagara University to extend her ministry and service to Niagara Falls and the campus community.

Dr. Catherine M. Griswold has been named dean of the Catherine McAuley School of Nursing at Trocaire College in Buffalo.

EAST AURORA — Father Robert A. Wozniak has been appointed vice rector at Christ the King Seminary. The appointment follows the departure of Father Gregory Faulhaber, who is now pastor of Queen of Heaven Parish in West Seneca.

This is the 12th consecutive year Fidelis Care has supported the Catholic Charities of Buffalo In-School Social Work Program, recently awarding Catholic Charities a $403,850 grant to continue its commitment to make a difference in the lives of youth, their families and educators.

The Franciscan Institute and the School of Franciscan Studies at St. Bonaventure University is hosting a conference from July 12-15 on Women in the Franciscan Tradition on the St. Bonaventure campus, as well as a talk on new findings on St. Francis of Assisi.

In August, the diocesan Department of Lifelong Faith Formation will welcome a well-known speaker on Catholic adult faith formation to Immaculate Conception Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph in Hamburg. From 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 17, "Engaging Adults: Presented by Vibrant Faith" will include Leif Kehrwald of Vibrant Faith, a family faith development coordinator.

While tutoring in the inner city of Buffalo, Ting Gao discovered students can't learn without the proper tools. Rather than hold a simple collection, the Mount St. Mary Academy senior started a non-profit organization to fill the needs in the lives of the less fortunate.

EAST AURORA — Christ the King Seminary announced its Summer 2016 Dinner Lecture Series, consisting of four programs centered around the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will take place in June and July on the seminary's East Aurora campus.