Highland Catholic School serves children from the Lumen Christi Catholic Community and the surrounding neighborhood. As teachers, parents and parishioners, we form a Christ-centered faith community, fostering spiritual growth, academic excellence and commitment to justice in the name of Jesus.
Vision Statement
Highland Catholic School strives to be a premier Catholic school known for academic excellence within a Christ-centered community.
We are dedicated to:
- enabling children to grow in their Catholic faith in an environment where the Gospel message is taught and lived;
- encouraging children to be thoughtful, creative, and industrious in pursuing knowledge;
- following a curriculum which includes basic skills and higher level thinking;
- motivating students to reach their highest potential;
- creating a desire in our students to respond to the needs of others by providing meaningful opportunities to serve the community;
- ensuring effective education through a partnership between parents, students, and school staff;
- providing a peaceful environment for children where respect, social justice, and reconciliation are foundational elements.
Catholic Identity
Religious Philosophy
At Highland Catholic School, we believe that by integrating Christian truth and values each day, students will recognize that religion is a way of life. By participating in service projects, interpreting scripture and understanding the beliefs, traditions, history and structure of the Catholic Church, students will be able to assume a role of stewardship in the faith community. Through their participation in worship and service, they will model the Catholic spirit, and influence others as they develop their faith.
Religious instruction is part of the core curriculum in each grade at Highland Catholic School and is required course work for all students.
Prayer and worship are integral components of the education students receive at Highland Catholic School. Attendance is required at liturgical celebrations (Masses and prayer services) that take place during the school day. Students who are not of the Catholic Faith will be expected to participate in these celebrations as they are able.
School Worship Opportunities
Highland Catholic School integrates Christian truth and values throughout each day.
Prayer
Prayer is an important part of each day at Highland Catholic School. It is incorporated thoughout the school day.
Liturgies
Highland Catholic School holds all-school monthly masses and celebrations of major Church feasts at Lumen Christi Catholic Community. Each grade, has primary responsibility to plan and carry out one all-school Mass per year. That grade provides greeters for the community and provides readers for the Mass. Teachers work with the students to help plan those special Masses. Family members are always invited to attend the all-school celebrations.
Each grade also has their annual “grade-level” Mass which provides a special gathering for a particular grade level and their parents/guardians. Students plan this liturgy and create special invitations. It is wonderful to have so many parents/guardians make arrangements to sneak away from work or home to join their child in Eucharist.
Fifth Grade and Seventh Grade Retreats
The fifth and seventh grade classes both participate in a one day retreats in the fall. Led by Youth Frontiers, the fifth grade retreat day centers on a theme of friendship. The seventh grade Youth Frontiers retreat serves to prepare these students for their upcoming role as 8th grade leaders for the school. It is a day of goal setting and peer support.
Service Projects
We strongly emphasize service projects at Highland Catholic School. In practicing the Gospel message, we extend our classroom experiences into community action. Delivering May Day Baskets to homebound and other community residents, collecting food for food shelves, and creating a giving tree for underprivileged children are some examples of the many service projects undertaken by Highland Catholic School each year.
Sacramental Preparation
Of prime importance is the inclusion of our children in the sacramental life of the parish through the celebration of Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Confirmation. Parents are the primary persons who nurture faith in their children. Lumen Christi Catholic Community staff takes the lead in preparing students for the sacraments. Students prepare for Reconciliation and First Communion in the second grade and Confirmation in the eighth grade.
A Note From Father Dan Haugan
“As the Church works to bring the Gospel to the world of the Third Millennium, she draws on the rich legacy of faith and service that has guided her mission through the centuries. The apostolate of Catholic schools is a treasured part of that tradition.
Highland Catholic School is integral to the Lumen Christi Catholic Community by participating in the evangelizing mission-discipleship of the Church. Highland Catholic School provides religious and moral reference points to help our students critically evaluate culture in the light of the Gospel and helps build a social order enlightened by the truth of Christ’s teachings. The light is directed not only to the individual, but also to the community: the work of Catholic schools addresses persons, families, and culture. That special character of our Parish school is the underlying reason for its existence, it is precisely the quality of the religious instruction integrated into the overall education of our students here at Highland Catholic School. Knowledge set in the context of faith in Jesus Christ becomes wisdom and a life vision. I can imagine no greater gift we can give to our children.”