Faith

Students daily have many opportunities to learn, practice and live their faith.  It is woven formally yet seamlessly throughout the curriculum.  As a school community we pray and read the Gospel together daily.  We attend a student-led, school-wide Mass weekly and attend Masses during special liturgical seasons and on Holy Days of Obligation. Older students serve as mentors to our younger ones during the Mass—guiding their “Mass Buddies” through the various parts of the liturgy. 

Our students participate fully in the sacraments—including sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion and insure opportunities for confession.  We celebrate Catholic traditions—such as an advent prayer service, the living stations, and May crowning.  We carve out time for our students to experience adoration and benediction.  We also carve out time for the Retreat Program which is in place for students in grades two through eight—with grades two through four meeting for half-day retreats and grades five through eight meeting for a full-day.   In addition to our school-wide Mass—each class has an opportunity to celebrate the Mass in a more intimate way during Class Masses as one of our priests instructs them through each part of the liturgy.

All our students participate in Family Groups in which there are students represented from each grade level.  The Family Groups, each guided by their own patron saint, meet regularly to learn more deeply about the faith together and to put it into action through various service projects, including making Christmas cards for residents of nursing homes.

Community service is required as part of the curriculum for middle school students. Students in 5th grade are expected to complete 12 hours of service per year; students in 6th grade are expected to complete 16 hours of service per year; students in 7th grade are expected to complete 20 hours of service per year; and students in 8th grade are expected to complete 24 hours of service per year.  While it is a formal, required part of the curriculum, service is both cultivated in and expected of all our students at all levels—whether here at school, on the playground, at home, or out in the community.  Our students participate in school-wide service projects including collecting food for the SLDM pantry; holding clothing drives for children in need; raising funds for the Little Sisiters of the Poor and The O'Connor House—for homeless pregnant mothers.  Serving Christ in serving one another—especially those less fortunate—is a central tenant of the faith and to the mission of our parish.

Students in grades seven and eight are being taught the Theology of the Body for Teens— an eight-part chastity program based upon the series of 129 lectures given by Pope John Paul II during his Wednesday audiences in Rome between September 1979 and November 1984. These addresses were compiled into a single work entitled The Theology of the Body According to John Paul II (now called Male and Female He Created Them). The Theology of the Body covers such topics as the bodily dimension of the human person, the nature of human sexuality, the human need for communion and the nature of marriage.  The Theology of the Body is an articulation of the faith that is intended to encourage all people to live the gift of sexuality according to God’s design.  To learn more about Theology of the Body for Teens click here.    

Our students are encouraged to express and grow in their faith and to come to more deeply know, love and serve Christ and one another.

"Jesus warned his apostles that he was sending them out as sheep among wolves—2,000 years later there is no question our kids are being thrust into such a world. But, unfortunately, our kids are becoming less and less equipped to deal with it. SLDM possesses a strong school culture and enjoys high levels of social capital and parental involvement. Expectations for students are uniformly high; character development isn’t treated as an afterthought; clear guidelines for good behavior and mutual respect are communicated and enforced. Simply put, SLDM helps to give our students the tools they need to make the right decisions when confronted with moral dilemmas in an increasingly godless world."

Michael Crowley
Parent