Letter to Parents

Letter to Parents

2007-2008 School year

Dear Parents,

The Community Service program at Marquette Catholic is a basic part of the school’s philosophy that fosters a life of service and witness to the message of the Word of God. By volunteering their energies and talents to the people of our community, students fulfill their obligations to perform Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. They contribute in a meaningful manner to the betterment of the world and to their growth as Christian ladies and gentlemen in service of others.

Requirements:

	All students must complete at least 15 hours of service per school year as a requirement for Theology
	All projects will be determined by clock hours unless otherwise stipulated. Time used to travel to and from the project does not count toward the project completion.
	The student is responsible for transportation to and from the project unless otherwise indicated. Listed below are major areas in which one can earn the required service hours. There is also a list of specific organizations that are approved.

You must have approval of your project before you will be given credit for the hours worked.

Parish

1. CCD teacher’s aid

2. Help at Children’s Liturgy

3. Baby-sitting during church services

4. Vacation Bible School

5. Parish Festival worker

6. Retreat Team

7. Assist Parish Youth Director

8. Maintenance of the church and grounds

9. Altar Server, Lector, Extraordinary Minister or Music Ministry

Community

1. Hospital Volunteer

2. Nursing home volunteer

3. Assist elderly & shut-ins

4. Assist with civic community service projects

5. Assist with charity drives

6. Manual work

School

1. Help with Campus Ministry

2. Assist with organizing school-sponsored service projects (food/clothing drives, etc)

3. Help with Music during all-school Masses

4. Beautification of school grounds and facilities

5. Assist with auction

6. Set up for sporting events

7. Tutor before or after school

8. Assist faculty with classroom chores

9. Assist development office

Procedure for completing service program:

1. Students are required to fill out and turn in a pre-approval form with their parent’s signature indicating that they have knowledge and approval of the project chosen by their child before they start their service project.

2. Upon completion of each project students are required to write an essay based on the questions for reflection. This essay must be two pages, double-spaced and will be turned in to their Theology teacher by May 1st. This essay is worth 100 points of their Theology grade.

3. They must have a letter of verification on letterhead with the number of hours worked from the organization that they worked for.

Community Service is required for graduation and will be graded as follows:

	Students that complete at least 15 hours of community service AND turn in all of their paperwork on time will be given a “P” for passing community service.
	Students that complete some but not all of their service hours OR complete all hours but do not turn in all of the required paperwork will receive an “Incomplete” for their service hours.
	Students who do not do the service hours or do not turn in any of the paperwork for their service hours will receive an “F” for failing community service.

Service is an integral part of a Christian Community and while the grade for community service is not included in the GPA, colleges do take note of students not completing required service hours, which reflect poorly on a student’s transcript.

Thank you for your cooperation in this program.

In Christ,

Rev. David Kime
Theology Department Head