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Christian Service

The goals of Austin Catholic include developing mature young men and women who will use their God-given talents for loving and grateful service to each other, to society, and to God.  The Christian Service program serves the community by bringing Christ to the community and seeks to instill a life-long commitment to service in our students.  Our objective is to teach students about social justice and the effects of injustices in our world. The most effective teachers of these lessons will be the people our students serve, those people who understand what injustice means.  

Each year, the board of directors, alumni, faculty and staff, families, and students of ACHS contribute thousands of hours of service to different populations, representing who we truly are as a faith community. We seek to grow in love of God and neighbor through the process of education, participation, and cooperation by working within the school and community, and with the poor and vulnerable.  Students are encouraged to diversify their service to have a meaningful and worthwhile experience of the world around them, while contributing to it.  

PHILOSOPHY

The focus of the pastoral program of Austin Catholic is to build a strong, healthy Christian community based upon the ideals of the Gospel and of the Order of St. Augustine.  The program is intended to help each individual recognize his/her own unique gifts and talents and to develop these talents to their fullest potential.  The students, along with the faculty and staff, constitute a faith community, which seeks to grow in love of God and neighbor through the process of education, participation, and cooperation as they spend time together in the Austin environment.

The Campus Ministry Office provides many opportunities for each student to enrich and develop his/her spiritual life.  Throughout the course of the year there will be Mass, celebrations of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, formal prayer opportunities, opportunities for individual prayer, and retreat programs.  All religious programs, as well as four years of formal classroom instruction in Religion, are designed to cultivate a solid foundation in the Christian life.

In case of emergency, hospitalization or death of a close family member, students and/or parents should contact the Campus Ministry Office as soon as possible.  The office serves as an outreach of pastoral care to parents, staff and alumni. Spiritual direction and pastoral counseling are always available from a variety of local priests. 

Apart from the religious program and academic instruction in religion at school, each student is expected to be practicing his/her faith with the family in their respective churches. Wherever possible, each student is encouraged to become involved in church programs and activities.

It is always the expectation and hope of Austin Catholic High School that each student present himself/herself as a Christian person and proudly uphold the high standards of excellence that characterize Austin.

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”

– St. St. Augustine

The Austin Catholic Christian Service Program is a fully integrated 4-year program with the goal of fostering service, justice, and spiritual growth.  Through specific programming and graduated experiences, each student will broaden their understanding of, and commitment to, faith in action, culminating in the “Social Justice Caritas Project”.  

REQUIREMENTS

The new program at ACHS focuses on the “experience” over completing hours. Our philosophy is on quality over quantity.  Building our work from the Corporal Works of Mercy students will complete a variety of “Experiences” in meeting a range of community needs over their time at Austin. 

Each experience is based on approximately two hours or more of contact with the population he/she serves.

Logging in Service Experiences

All service experiences must be from the current school year.  Experiences completed during summer count toward the next/incoming school year and not the prior year.  

Students log their own experiences using the FACTS system. (see directions on Portal or from Main Office) 

Logging experiences also include indicating category, name and contact of supervisor, and description of work completed. Students have access to the record of their service through FACTS.  

Seniors must have all service completed and entries submitted by April 15th of their senior year.  Service experiences accumulated in previous years, but not recorded, will not be accepted.  

Parents cannot sign off on service forms.  All experiences must be from official non-profit or charity organizations.  Austin does not accept, nor encourage, students to do volunteer work at private residences or businesses unless approved in advance. 

Service to the Community:

  • Feed the hungry/Drink to the thirsty; 8 experiences over four years (16) (soup kitchen, sponsor food drive, volunteer at Gleaners or Forgotten harvest, etc.) (water table for run/walk, volunteer for clean water initiative, etc.)
  • Clothe the naked; 5 experiences over four years (10) (assist with clothing drives, donate your clothing, assist at clothing restore/shelter )
  • Shelter the homeless; 6 experiences over four years (12)(MCREST, homeless shelter, sponsor drive and deliver, habitat for humanity, etc.)
  • Instruct the Innocent; 3 experiences over four years (6)(tutor children or disadvantaged, volunteer with special needs, etc.)
  • Visit the sick, elderly, or imprisoned; 3 experiences over four years (6) (nursing home, hospitals, also includes special needs or foster children)
  • Response to cry of the earth (includes animals);  4 experiences over four years (8) (animal shelter, blight/road/beach clean-up, etc.)
  • Other (must be approved by Admin)
    • An organization that needs help that does not fall into above categories (only up to 4 experiences total from any category can be substituted)

Service to the Church:

  • Bury the dead; 1 experience over four years (2) (Funeral volunteer, graveyard clean up, etc.)
  • Support the Church; 4 experiences over four years (8)(festivals, cleaning, parish events, fish fry, church programs, etc.)
  • Instruct the Innocent; 1 experience over four years (teach/support catechism or volunteer at VBS)   

OR   (20)

  • Serve at mass; 15-20 times over four years (approx. 20 hours) (choir/music, altar server, lector, usher, Sunday school)  

Service to the School:

  • various experiences during enrollment at Austin that helps improve the school. 

Service required of organization (NHS, Stu Gov, RAK, Ambassador) does not count.

Senior Caritas Project

The Social Justice Senior Caritas Project asks students to take a critical look at the world around them. The senior year Christian Service experience extends students’ service towards a location of personal interest as well as stretch beyond the boundaries of how they served in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades.  All students must complete a Senior Caritas project during their senior year as their final graduation requirement. 

During the junior year, students will begin reflecting on injustices and their own call to build a more just world during their Global Issues Course.  The project asks students at the end of his/her junior year to narrow a world issue as it relates directly to their local community.  Students will develop and write a proposal laying out their plan to complete their final “Experience” focusing on a particular disadvantaged or marginalized group or social justice issue.  

The senior year curriculum takes a broad look at the world through a variety of courses and experiences.  Austin Catholic strives to create socially and ethically responsible leaders who welcome, appreciate, and respect others and use their God-given talents to make a difference in an ever-changing world.  Our goal is to strengthen each student’s unique gift and calling to serve through a tailored project of his/her choice that addresses a global issue that is also an issue of social justice in their local community. All plans for their senior Caritas Project must be approved by the Director of Campus Ministry by August 30th of senior year. 

Students will submit a final reflection that examines their project, lists out their steps/actions/project plan, presents budget, and reviews the group and SDG served.

Seniors failing to complete their Social Justice Caritas Project will not receive his/her diploma until requirements are fulfilled.