Middle School Faith Week

Grade 6-9 students will have the opportunity to watch and learn from singer, songwriter and storyteller, Steve Angrisano. The division’s youth ministry team will travel with Steve to all middle schools so students can build their spirituality in their own community setting. This initiative has been allocated $4,000.

St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School – Faith Retreats

Students will have the opportunity to participate in grade-specific faith retreats where they will learn about living and proclaiming their faith. This project has been allocated $6,000.

St. Patrick’s Community School – Faith Retreats

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School – Mass Kit

The school community will benefit from its own Mass Kit with legitimate ceremonial Chalices, Ciboriums, Cruets, etc. The school currently hosts 10 masses a year but does not have its own kit, and instead, shares with the local parish. The new mass kit will help students develop a greater understanding and appreciation of mass. This initiative has been given $3,500.

Testimonial:

“Mass is the centre of our communal life as Catholics it is important that when we come together to worship God we use chalices, ciboriums and other artifacts that reflect the sanctity of the Mass. With this gift, we are able to come before our Lord with sacred vessels that show the importance of His sacrifice for us. Our school celebrates many Masses throughout the school year and will be able to use this gift for many years to come. This gift has positively affected our community as well. Our school parish has had to go through a complete renovation to make it safe for the congregation. Without our school’s use of space and Mass kit the people from our parish, many of them seniors, would have had to travel to other parishes in the area or skip Mass until the completion of the church. They, too, have been grateful for this gift.”

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School – Faith Retreats

The school will host FacetoFace Ministries and offer students a faith-filled day full of music, worship and praise. This initiative has been allocated $2,000.

Testimonial:

“Our elementary students welcomed PULSE Ministries with an engaging musical performance and faith engagement retreat. In addition, our middle school students experienced NET Ministries, which was a retreat that featured an engaging and intimate look at their relationship with Jesus.”

St. Francis of Assisi Middle School – Way of the Wolf

This is a positive recognition program, previously named Growing in Respect and Responsibility. This new program will be centred around the values the school calls the four pillars: be humble, be loving, be forgiving, be joyful. Leadership students will help facilitate the recognition of acts of kindness. This project has been given $3,000.

St. Francis of Assisi Middle School – Faith Formation

All students will have the opportunity to join the Alpha Youth Program, which is a 13-session program running twice per month, and aims to educate and inspire today’s youth. Students will be encouraged to grow in their faith throughout the school year through a number of faith-filled initiatives. The school has been allocated $4,000 towards these projects.

Holy Trinity Catholic School – Religion Resources

Each school classroom will be given a set of YouCat/DoCat books to assist students in growing their faith. The hope is that by having easy access to books and study guides, students will explore their understanding of social justice more independently and frequently. This project was given $600.

 

Testimonial:

We purchased YouCats and YouCat Kids for every classroom. By having these books available in each room, the teachers have an easy-to-use resource when planning or when a question comes up in class. Students are encouraged to look through the YouCat and become more comfortable and familiar with this rich church text. These books allow for teachers to set an example for students when looking for answers to our faith. We have also been using the YouCat Kids in Grades 1 and 2 when talking about community helpers and the vocations within the Church. The students love the pictures and the easy language to follow.

We also purchased a set of DoCats and DoCat Study Guides for group use in middle school. These will be used greatly when talking about stewardship and social justice within our middle school Religion, Science, and Social Studies classes. Teachers have already begun discussing their use with the faith coach and look forward to putting them to use in upcoming units.

St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School – Grade Specific Faith Retreats

There will be four grade-specific faith retreats over the next school year. Grade 6 and 8 retreats would be held in the spring at Our Lady of Victory Camp, where students will partake in faith-based games, skits and music, as well as prayer. Grade 7 and 9 retreats will occur in the fall with FacetoFace Ministries, where students will learn about living and proclaiming their faith.  This project was given $5,500.

Testimonial

Through games, songs, activities and testimonials, Pure Witness Ministries challenged our students to become pure witnesses of their faith by setting Christ at the heart of their lives. Students were able to enjoy and express their Catholic faith in a safe, caring, non-judgemental and inclusive environment.

St. Francis of Assisi Middle School – FacetoFace Ministries

FacetoFace Ministries will lead a multi-day retreat split into two parts (Grade 6-7 and Grade 8-9) at the school to bring students closer to God. This initiative has been allocated $1,500.

Testimonial

Thank you so much to the Education Foundation for once again supporting our student Faith retreats. FacetoFace ministries provides a strong faith experience for our students, allowing
them to join together in prayer, song and worship. FacetoFace ministries is one way we have been able to bring Joy and a Love for God into our student’s lives. Having the students and staff fully engage in faith activities for the day creates an environment where our faith is openly shared and witnessed through our actions and words. A very powerful experience for our kids.