Service Hours, Service Hours, and more Service Hours

What is the big deal with service hours?  Do you find yourself wondering this?  The answer to this question is a multi-layered one.

Now that you are entering your last year at St. Philip School, you wear a totally different hat than you ever had.  You were always following someone else's lead.  Now it is your turn.  There are a lot of benefits of being the leader and there are also a lot of challenges.  There are phrases that you will hear quite often from Mrs. Edwards, myself and other teachers.  Service hours are a huge bite out of what culminates (or rounds up and finishes) your Religion instruction at St. Philip School.

By the end of January you will need to have accumulated fifteen documented clock hours for Service.  These hours are split into 2-3 categories.  Here is how it works.  You must have at least five clock hours in the category of Church/School.  Church/School means St. Philip or your home church.  This can be Catholic or not.  But to be a part of a church is to be a part of a greater community.  That means service to a large group of people.  If you worked to move teacher belongings from one room to another for Mrs. Stary, Mrs. Edwards, or Mr. Stary for let's say, seven hours, on Monday.  You can have the adult in charge sign the appropriate form that stated so.  If you worked VBS, things are a little different.  The max you can claim for VBS is 3 hours.  This is because VBS is a lot of fun and goofing off.... I know, I have helped with plenty. Moving belongings from one classroom to another is HARD sweaty work and we want to be sure our hours are as fair as possible.  Being an altar server you can count as well.  You will need to adult in charge of seeing you serve sign your form.  This will mean the acting sacristan.  Usually in the summer St. Philip Parish has a work day to do maintenace to the building.

You must also have at least five clock hours doing service work for the elderly and/or handicapped.  This is for anyone ill or unable to do something for themselves.  Documentation will work the same.  You will need to have the adult in charge of the work to sign off on the number of hours you worked with a one or two sentence description of what you did.  I have had anything from painting an elderly woman's toenails to organizing a fishing tackle box.  Unfortunately, you cannot do work for your own grandparents or even those grandparents of a classmate.  This is familial duty, not service hours.  More on that after school starts.

You need to do an additional five hours where ever you would like.  If you want to sit in the Respect Life line for an hour, that counts.  If you want to shelf books for the public library, that also counts.  If you would like to pick up aluminum cans on the side of the road for five hours and donate the money to SPS, that counts too.

I can further explain all of this once school starts.  You are also welcome to comment on this blog with any questions.  Chances are if you have a question, so does someone else. 

Once I obtain your email address, I will send your the service hour document.  Please save it to your computer.  I will post it on our Edline, Religion page once I have access.

God Bless you and your family,
Mrs. J

Saints A to Z

So you have reserved your letter for the Saints A to Z project. Now what? Let's start with a little clarification. This assignment is due the first day of school that we have Religion. Sometimes this is the day after school starts. That being said, it would be best if you worked on it earlier. This won't be hard, but here are a few things you need to know: 1. It is not intended to be a who assignment. If I choose the letter P as my assignment should state something like P is for Pagan. The pagan people were not following the Jewish faith but rather worshipped false gods. Many saints believed it was there job to try to convert these Pagans. You would then include a diagram, drawing, or picture that illustrates this sentence. You are welcome to use computer art or grab a picture off of the Internet if it is legal to do so and you give appropriate credit. Grammar and spelling as well as neatness will play into your grade. I can't wait to see all of your work. Even this early in June I am have some good conversations with students about their letters. Blessings to you and your family! Mrs. J