At St. Francis de Sales Parish School, we recognize that we have a call to holiness. As a parish and school community, we strive to foster holiness in our students, our families, our staff, and all those we come into contact with. We want to be examples to the world around us of what God has called each of us to be. In the words of our patron, St. Francis de Sales, our mission is to “live Jesus.”
Because of this, faith is at the center of everything we do. With Jesus as our model, we develop our daily instruction and activities to bring our faith into action. Religion is not just a class, Christian living is the heart of who we are. Our mission is to incorporate Catholic values in all that we do.
Our faith is developed through a variety of experiences. First and foremost is the celebration of the Eucharist. Students have opportunities to help with all the ministries of Mass on a rotating basis. Classes also lead prayer services, pray the Rosary, and receive Sacraments. The liturgical calendar is our guide as we celebrate the various Church seasons and holy days. Each class celebrates their classroom’s patron saint feast day. Together we celebrate the holy days of obligation with events such as Saint Fair and acts of service.
We know that faith is meant to be lived out, so we believe in providing experiences to develop the spirit of service in our students. Once a month, students participate in food drives to help our local food pantry. Classes develop their own service projects, especially during the season of Lent. Our faith club, FIAT (which stands for Faith in Action Team), provides numerous opportunities throughout the year for service projects. Examples of past service projects include CWI Food Packing Event, Box of Joy, and baby item drives. FIAT also organizes a Soup and Stations event each Lent where money is raised to help the parish human concerns committee and the Open Arms Free Clinic. Students in middle school are also required to complete hours of service to the school, church, and community each year. Through these various opportunities, students grow in the knowledge of the importance of service to our faith.
