All-Boys Catholic High School
Student Life
Faith and Justice
Service
Mission of Salesianum Christian Service Program
Service-Learning is a comprehensive four-year expectation at Salesianum rooted in the Gospel and principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Guided by the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales, the program seeks to develop a true servant mentality among the students and a preferential option for the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable by fostering connections across academic disciplines and promoting meaningful service opportunities to meet community needs. The program draws inspiration from the teachings of Christ, who came to preach a kingdom of justice, love, and peace. (Student Handbook)
Freshman Experience:
The service journey begins with the freshman class focusing on experience through social justice via relationship-based ministry. Students will choose one week throughout the school year to dedicate towards being a mentor and tutor for a student at Nativity Preparatory School. The week will begin with an orientation and end with a debrief on the experience and not only what it takes to serve and how we are called to be in solidarity with our community.
Sophomore Listen:
The sophomores must endeavor to listen to the voices of the marginalized in our midst. The options for service partnerships span across populations in the spirit of Church teaching regarding Respect and Dignity of the Human Person. Students might be assisting projects for single-mothers and their infants or perhaps play Bingo at the Mary Campbell Center or Kentmere Nursing Home. Regardless of where students serve, they are tasked with listening to the valued voices and hearts of their brothers and sisters.
Junior Immersion:
A central principle of Catholic Social Teaching is Solidarity. We must continue the journey and walk with those in need of justice. Our students learn to open to pathways of empathy and understanding by immersing themselves in a new community and environment. This is accomplished through domestic or international BRIDGE Trip or through our partnership with DeSales Service Works in Camden, NJ and Wilmington.
Senior Servant Leadership:
The culmination of service at Salesianum is to take all of those valuable experiences and channel them into an intensive servant-leadership project. It is important to not separate the servant mentality from the initiative and responsibilities that are also inherent within this collaborative effort. Students through an independent study or group project must coordinate with a local nonprofit on a significant project complete with introductory proposal, implementation, and evaluation phases. We want students to understand what it takes to listen, understand, and work in solidarity towards addressing an issue.
ACCREDITED BY MIDDLE STATES ASSOCIATION