Office of Catholic Schools

33 experiencing constant tension in the surrounding culture, the school culture provides good soil for the disciple to grow and develop in living the faith. This Catholic culture, including praying regularly, treating others with Christian charity, celebrating the feast days and seasons, keeping distinctive Catholic practices and ritual alive, and having Eu- charistic and Marian processions all serve to make our Catholic faith real and alive. The school can serve as a garden where the beauty, joy, and love of Christ become accessible and compelling for stu- dents. Some suggested practices include celebrat- ing the liturgical seasons, holding a May crowning, celebrating All Saints Day, having a prayer area in each classroom, learning about the saints on their feasts days, learning distinctively Catholic music, and decorating the school and classroom with beautiful Catholic art. The norms, practices, policies, and customs of the school should also point teachers, students, and parents toward discipleship and the Christian life. Every policy, including practical and business-re- lated ones, should also find their ultimate purpose and meaning in communicating faith and love. The ethos and practices of faculty and staff should communicate these ideals as well. The culture should also be inviting and affirming of its work- force, supporting them in living the Christian life and enabling them to enter more deeply into it. Non-Catholic and even non-Christian faculty must support the mission and culture of the school and be invited to enter it as much as possible. Every faculty and staff member must publicly uphold the Catholic mission and identity and ref rain f rom any public action or statement that would contradict it.

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