Saint Mary's College High School

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Immersion Coordinators
   Mr. Mike Sommers - VENAVER Tijuana
   Ms. Fakhri Shafai - Bay to the Bayou, New Orleans
   Ms. Melissa Graviss - Pilgrims for Peace, El Salvador
   Mr. Joe Palladino - Global Exchange, Venezuela

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What is Campus Ministry?

The Campus Ministry Program is the specialized and focused means by which the students, faculty, and staff establish and develop a Christian and Lasallian community. The program is responsible for the building of the faith community and gives expression to its identity in every aspect of school life, particularly, through prayer, liturgical celebration, and ministry to students and to the greater school community.

Inspired by the Lasallian tradition, Campus Ministry strives to lead students to the awareness of the living presence of God in their lives, in their experiences, and in the world.

Liturgy

Liturgy means public community prayer. When the school gathers as a community to give thanks and praise to God, we do so in the name of Jesus the Christ. In Liturgy, we express our Christian identity and recognize God's presence among us. Regularly scheduled school-wide Liturgies are celebrated throughout the academic and Church year.

Liturgy, especially the Eucharist, is the source and summit of Christian life. It is the celebration and remembrance of God's presence among us. As a Christian community, Saint Mary's celebrates key moments of the school year with the celebration of the Eucharist. The Mass of the Holy Spirit, celebrating the Easter Season and Founder's Day are three of these key moments at Saint Mary's.

There are also times when the school community gathers together in prayer. These liturgies celebrate certain events and seasons of the year. Thanksgiving, Advent, The Commemoration of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and Ash Wednesday are a few of the times when the school gathers in prayer. The cycle of the Liturgical year is also celebrated through our Liturgies during Holy Days and through Reconciliation Services held during the Season of Lent. Since family is one of God's gifts to us, there are also opportunities for parents to gather with their children in family liturgies during the year.

Retreats

Freshmen participate on the Freshman Experience, a joint program coordinated by Campus Ministry, Service Learning, and various curricular departments (Science, Health, Arts, English). The Freshman Experience focuses on the natural environment, the art of the world around us, service to others, and learning about our larger Lasallian community.

The Sophomore Overnight Retreat provides students the option of participating on an extended retreat in their sophomore year.  The theme of the retreat, "Strengthening Our Core," focuses on the values, beliefs, people, and experiences that strengthen our relationships.

All Sophomores will participate on a one-day service learning activity through their Religious Studies course.  These service activities will be with social service agencies that minister with the poor and marginalized in our community.  Students will prepare for their service in class and engage in prayer and reflection after their experience.

The Junior Retreats provide an opportunity for students to spend time away from campus to focus on "Values and Making Choices."  The retreats will explore the values and decisions that have shaped, and continue to shape, our lives.  There is an opportunity for Juniors to participate on the retreat in each semester.

The Senior Retreats provide a significant amount of time away to reflect of the past four years and a look at what the future may hold. The theme of the retreat, "The Road Behind Us, The Journey Ahead," shape the small group activities, personal time, and the prayers and reflections.  Students can choose between two retreats in the spring semester to participate on the retreat.

Immersion Programs

The Immersion Programs are expressions of our Catholic identity - they are responses to the gospel call of Jesus to "come and see" where he dwells in the midst of the poor and marginalized. The immersion programs at Saint Mary’s are transformative, faith-based, cultural, and educational experiences.  The programs offer the time and space for a gradual conversion of heart as the participant undergoes some of the conditions that the marginalized experience day after day.

Groups of students and faculty members will live together in community for about a week, learning about and work with, the people in their respective programs. The immersion trips will occur during Enrichment Week of 2008.  The immersion program sites are: VENAVER - Tijuana, Pilgrims for Peace - El Salvador, Global Exchange - Venezuela, Bay to the Bayou - New Orleans, and VENAVER - East Bay.

The immersion program includes preparation sessions, the actual trips, and reflections on the experience after the students return.  The purpose of the preparation activities for the trips is three-fold:  1) to begin to build a faith community; 2) to spend time preparing for the actual trip; 3) to raise funds for the trip.  All the meetings, preparation activities, and follow up activities are mandatory for the students who are accepted into the program.

Lasallian Formation

Saint Mary's is a Lasallian School. It was founded by the Christian Brothers, a religious community dedicated to the education of children, especially of the poor. Materials and educational resources about Saint John Baptist de la Salle, founder of the Christian Brothers, and the Lasallian Family is provided by Campus Ministry to teachers, students, and families.

The Lasallian Youth Summer Assembly and the Lasallian Student Leaders Conference provide Saint Mary's students with the opportunity to live out the Lasallian principles of FAITH, SERVICE, & COMMUNITY through gatherings with other Lasallian schools in California, Oregon, Arizona and Washington, as well as throughout the world.

Pastoral Advising

Campus Ministry is happy to facilitate the process whereby any interested student who wishes to learn more about Roman Catholicism can begin his or her inquiry. Also, for Baptized Roman Catholic students who wish information regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation, Campus Ministry can facilitate contact with several local parish preparation programs.