Service Learning
This year's Service Learning will encompass the four pillars of our school:
Faith
Our faith is the center at everything we do everyday-as a class, as a grade level, and as a school community. It is first, because it is the thread that holds everything together. Not only our ability, but our desire to learn comes to us from the Holy Spirit. Our sense of community within our school building and the knowledge that we are citizens of our towns, state, country, and most importantly, the Kingdom of Heaven, comes to us from God's message of love. Respect for ourselves, our classmates, teachers, coaches, and even our adversaries is taught to us directly by God through the Ten Commandments and is amplified when Jesus shows us the way to happiness is through living the Beatitudes. As the community of Academy of Our Lady, we live out this pillar by attending, participating in, and serving at Mass. We live it when we raise funds for the less fortunate, pray for those in need, and when we gather together in times of tragedy and joy to remind ourselves that we are never alone when we have Faith.
Knowledge
In addition to our vigorous curriculum, we plan to forge ahead this year with our STEM program. We plan to use STEM as a way of recognizing real-world problems and developing solutions. We live this pillar when we share our resources and ideas, express our opinions while remaining open and understanding to the opinions of others, and when we seek out opportunities to meet people who are different from us.
Community
The faculty, staff, students, and families of Academy of Our Lady have a strong sense of community. While we of course recognize the importance of community-outreach and charity work, we know that community-building must begin within our own walls. We live this pillar when we hold and vote in Student Council elections, gather with Prayer Partners to celebrate holidays or complete activities, attend Morning Prayers and Mass, and when we celebrate our Catholic Identity during Catholic Schools Week.
Respect
Respect is a part of our DNA at Academy of Our Lady. We realize that respect should be shown for ourselves, our parents and teachers, and our classmates. We show respect by completing assignments to the best of our ability, listening when others are speaking, being reverent during prayers and at Mass, showing appreciation for the many ways we are different. These are only a few examples. We live this pillar...every day.In November, we class read a nonfiction article about Veteran's Day. Students learned that the job of people in the military is to keep our country safe. Then, the first graders wrote letters to Veterans, thanking them for their service. The letters will be mailed to Operation Gratitude and then sent to veterans all over the country! These pictures were picked up and retweeted by Operation Gratitude to show their appreciation for our participation in their project!
