Service Learning Project

As part of the Pre-Freshman Religion curriculum, our classes partner with St. Michael's Special School. Our students eat lunch with and get to know the students from St. Michael's School. The students then share in completing multiple experiments with one another. In their Pre-Freshman Religion classes, students focus on children with special needs, just as Mother Cabrini focused on children in her ministry.
 

As part of the Freshman year Religion curriculum, Religion classes partner with Vista Shores Assisted Living. The students sing for, play games with, and do crafts with the elderly. Students also visit with the elderly and get to know them. In their Freshman Theology classes, students study compassion and care for the elderly that models Mother Cabrini's ministry to the elderly.

Throughout the spring semester, sophomore Religion classes partnered with the Office for Immigration and Refugee Services at Catholic Charities for their service learning project. The students attended an educational presentation hosted by the Office for Undocumented Children, where they learned more about what it means to be an undocumented immigrant in the United States, as well as the appropriate language to utilize when speaking about issues concerning immigration. Each student was then responsible for creating a personalized card for an individual client at the Catholic Charities office, meant to inspire and empower them on their journey. Relying on the example and inspiration of Mother Cabrini (as Patroness of Immigrants), students also designed and created a poster focused on unity, which will be displayed on location at the Catholic Charities office. 
 

As a part of their Social and Personal Morality curriculum, junior Religion classes participate in poverty focused service learning throughout the year, first analyzing causes and symptoms of local, national and worldwide poverty, before putting their faith into action. The class partners with the Harry Thompson Center and Lantern Light Ministries at the St. Joseph Church Rebuild Center serving the poor and marginalized, just as Mother Cabrini ministered to this population during her life.
The program benefits the “guests” on two levels. On campus, half of the students  assemble 200 lunches, including an uplifting hand-made note in each bag, to be given to the guests later. Meanwhile, the other classmates travel to the Rebuild Center for a tour, visiting with the guests, interacting with the staff and serving lunch. A reflection paper allows students to process their experience in light of Matthew 25:31-46.
Now in its eighth year, this service learning project is generously funded by the Brown Foundation for Service Learning.
 

The plight of women in the world is the Service Learning Focus of 12th grade Religion. Although our seniors discussed issues that impact women (trafficking, poverty, and health issues particular to women) there are limited opportunities for our students to do hands-on work with women affected by these concerns. Every May we send our students out into the world as Missionaries of Mother Cabrini. During Lent, our seniors culminated their Service Learning experience at Cabrini by becoming missionaries right here in the local community.  Senior Religion classes partnered with the Pontifical Mission Society of the Archdiocese of New Orleans to help run their Lenten Mission Assemblies. The LMAs bring together 3rd-7th grade students from mission clubs of local elementary schools together to learn and pray about what it means to be a missionary. Our girls lead the opening prayer and ice breaker, taught a lesson about being a missionary at an activity table, and prayed the Way of the Cross with the younger participants.