Catholic School

The Many Blessings of a Catholic Education...

“Education is one of the most important ways by which the Church fulfills its commitment to the dignity of the person and building of community. Community is central to Catholic education ministry, both as a necessary condition and an ardently desired goal. The educational efforts of the Church, therefore, must be directed to forming persons in community; for the education of the individual Christian is important not only to his or her solitary destiny, but also to the destinies of the many communities in which he or she lives.” – (To Teach as Jesus Did, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, United States Catholic Conference, 1972)

• Catholic Schools are successful because they make greater academic demands, provide stronger community support, and give more personal attention to students.
• Catholic Schools emphasize faith, academic rigor, self discipline, and high moral standards.
• Catholic Schools develop the whole person, challenging each student to reach his or her full, God-given potential.
• Catholic Schools are committed to preparing spiritual, moral leaders for the future of our Church and society.
• Catholic Schools offer students a welcoming, safe and supportive environment.

• Catholic schools are sacramental. Students have the opportunity to meet Christ regularly through the Eucharist, Reconciliation, and one another. They are constantly reminded of the presence of Christ in the Body and Blood that they receive at Mass as well as in the presence of the boy or girl standing next to them.
• Catholic schools are ecclesial in that they embody the most effective and successful effort anywhere to educate children in the faith and to prepare them to be responsible and faithful citizens for Christian witness and action in the world. Taking the teachings of the Gospel beyond the walls of an individual school and living them is the goal for every student.
• Catholic schools teach wisdom and life vision in the context of faith. They interweave reason and faith through subject matter, and help students form a Christian vision of the world that they not only strive to live out, but can articulate to others so that they can share truth and values. Curriculum is not taught only for the attainment of knowledge, but also for helping students embark on a search for truth. Through their study, students explore the mysteries of God and realize their call to live out their Catholic faith in an imperfect and challenging world.
• Catholic schools teach students how to become a part of a faith community in which their active participation as a "prayer" and "worshipper" is vital to the faith formation of all of the other members of their school faith community.
• Catholic schools help students look at the complexity of a modern world and figure out how to live the counter-cultural message of Jesus today. Catholic schools challenge students to respond to the needs of the poor, and to live in a spirit of love, generosity and kindness for all. We ask them to become a part of the "Word Incarnate."
• Catholic schools help students to understand the need for true justice in our world. By living out one's Catholic faith we cannot ignore the call of the Holy Spirit to make the world a just place for all peoples. Working for justice has the power to transform hearts and create a new heaven on earth.
• Catholic schools invite its teachers to join in ministry with them. Teachers are called to help students understand that with learning comes the obligation to apply the teachings of their faith as they use knowledge in their daily lives. This happens for students when they see this modeled regularly by the adults around them - when they see their own teachers living "faith-filled" lives.
• Catholic schools recognize the holiness of the covenant between themselves and parents. We recognize that cultivating the Catholic faith in our children is a labor of love on the part of parents, school, and parish.

Students at St. James Catholic School are taught by word and example, to truly love and respect every person.  In the Catholic environment and tradition, students see that all human life, without exception, has sacred dignity.  A beautiful compliment to the school environment is that the students themselves recognize that they stand out among their peers in showing compassion for the shortcomings of others. Conversely, students are taught to celebrate the diversity of gifts found in each person, and to celebrate the achievements of others because "a win for one is a win for all."  

FAITH
God is at the center of all that we do at St. James! Students who attend Catholic schools feel closer to their Faith, understand their beliefs, and are able to articulate the truths of the Catholic Faith.  This is because Catholic schools are able to address education in its integrity, which comes from the reality that a human person is both Body and Soul (visible and invisible).  Students learn that just because something is not seen, does not mean that it is not real.  Realities like love and truth are not seen, but they are very real.  For this reason, Catholic education is about fact-finding, but it is also about human formation.  Ultimately, our life finds its origin and end in God, which is why St. Augustine said many centuries ago that "our hearts are restless until they rest in God."  Students learn to understand their Faith and to be proud of their Faith, even in a world that is often hostile to belief in God.

The following is taken from the Congregation of Catholic Education's document entitled "The Catholic School":

"To carry out her saving mission, the Church uses, above all, the means which Jesus Christ has given her. She also uses other means which at different times and in different cultures have proved effective in achieving and, promoting the development of the human person. She [the Church] establishes her own schools because she considers them as a privileged means of promoting the formation of the whole man, since the school is a centre in which a specific concept of the world, of man, and of history is developed and conveyed. 

The Catholic school forms part of the saving mission of the Church, especially for education in the faith. Remembering that "the simultaneous development of man's psychological and moral consciousness is demanded by Christ almost as a pre-condition for the reception of the befitting divine gifts of truth and grace", the Church fulfills her obligation to foster in her children a full awareness of their rebirth to a new life. It is precisely in the Gospel of Christ, taking root in the minds and lives of the faithful, that the Catholic school finds its definition as it comes to terms with the cultural conditions of the times. 

In the fulness of time, in His mysterious plan of love, God the Father sent His only Son to begin the Kingdom of God on earth and bring about the spiritual rebirth of mankind. To continue His work of salvation, Jesus Christ founded the Church as a visible organism, living by the power of the Spirit. 

Moved by the same Spirit, the Church is constantly deepening her awarness of herself and meditating on the mystery of her being and mission. Thus she is ever rediscovering her living relationship with Christ "in order to discover greater light, energy, and joy in fulfilling her mission and determining the best way to ensure that her relationship with humanity is closer and more efhcacious" - that humanity of which she is a part and yet so undeniably distinct. Her destiny is to serve humanity until it reaches its fullness in Christ. 

Evangelisation is, therefore, the mission of the Church; that is she must proclaim the good news of salvation to all, generate new creatures in Christ through Baptism, and train them to live knowingly as children of God."