cardinals links faith, science, and nature - The Leaven

Mentor teacher Sister M. Luka Brandenburg, FSGM, cheers in the background as students from St. Gregory Community compete for a trophy by playing “Captain’s Calling.” Saluting, are (from left) sophomores
Dallas Gardner, Faith Bila, Bridgette Westoff, Danielle Reynoldson and junior Derek Chubb.
House rules
St. James Academy in Lenexa does away with traditional student government
and implements a new program that gets everyone involved
Story and photos by Jill Ragar Esfeld
St. Catherine Community captains seniors Derek Feist and Maggie Kolich light candles to represent each house in their community
before sharing a rosary.
St. James Academy here doesn’t have a Student
Council.
But its students are active participants in
every aspect of the high school.
Nor does it have a Spirit Club — but you’d
be hard-pressed to find a school with more school spirit.
The youngest high school in the archdiocese is making
its mark by doing away with traditional forms of
student government in favor of an innovative program
called the House System.
Patterned after Archbishop Moeller High School in
Cincinnati, the House System is a community-centered
way of organizing students that promotes unity, allows
students to take more ownership of school activities and
events, and gives every student in the school an opportunity
to build leadership skills.
Most important, the House System structure gives
students a home base and support group they can rely
on to help them navigate the sometimes stressful world
of high school.
“And by the grace of God,” said St. James director of
community Maureen Engen, “it’s working here!”
Sophomores Nick Zych and Mich Heck and senior Amy Feldcamp from Henderson
House in the St. Peter Community put together care packages for the
Heart-to-Heart Haitian relief effort.
A place to call home
The House System is not only working
at St. James — it is thriving. And students
are thriving right along with it.
When the high school first opened its
doors five years ago, the focus was on providing
an excellent education in a faithfilled,
community atmosphere.
“This is what we’re called to be,” said
Debbie Nearmyer, director of faith formation
at St. James. “We are to be one. And
we knew [that] to be that, we had to build
community.”
The groundwork was laid for today’s
House System when students in that
first class were divided into communities
that met twice a week. But, at that time,
the school still had a traditional Student
Council and Spirit Club.
By the time St. James reached full capacity
last year, it had six communities,
each named for a saint and containing a
mix of students from different grade levels
To give students a greater opportunity
to become involved through their communities,
administrators decided to do
away with the traditional council and
club structures. (See sidebar on House
System below.)
“We took all the events that happen at
St. James and divided them up among the
communities, to involve more different
students than the typical StuCo and give
underclassmen a bigger voice within our
school,” said Engen.
Houses can be compared to homerooms
in that they meet daily (for 10 and
40 minutes on alternate days) and information
is disseminated through them.
But that’s as far as the similarities go.
Students are not allowed to study in
their houses. It’s a mentoring time and a
time to build relationships.
“During those 40-minute days, you’ll
see some of them involved in activities or
sometimes they have a service project,”
said Engen. “They can pray a rosary if they
want, they can do adoration on Fridays,
they can watch a movie or have cookies —
anything they decide on as a group.
“A lot of them will have competitions
with other houses or other communities.
Essentially, it is a time for them to be together
in a more relaxed setting than the
classroom.”
The key ingredient to fostering this
non-classroom time, said Engen, is the
mentor teacher.
Student connection
Nativity parishioner Allison Brancato is
a mentor teacher and admits she had concerns
at first about how the house time
would be spent.
“I almost thought I was going to have
to do another lesson plan,” she said.
After a few days in house, however,
those fears were put to rest. Students took
ownership of their house time and did all
the planning.
“My responsibility is really to oversee
the kids,” she said. “My house captain and
my house leaders really do all the hard
work.
“If they want to have a competition in
the gym, then I’m the one who has to reserve
the gym.”
Brancato said that now, when house
time comes, it’s like a breath of fresh air
in her day.
“I go in there and see these familiar
faces and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m happy to see all
of you,’” she said.
St. Patrick, Kansas City, Kan., parishioner
Kim Peterson is a senior at St. James
and the school’s captain over all communities.
Along with her vice-captain Brendan
Carney, she serves as liaison between
the administration and the communities
and as a spokesperson for the school.
Like any St. James student you talk to,
Peterson insists her house is the best. And
she talks about her housemates as family.
“We get to know our group; we call
each other ‘bro’ and ‘sis,’” she said. “If we
see each other in the hallways and we
don’t say ‘hi,’ we’re going to hear about it
when we get back into house.”
The House System has unified students
at St. James, diminishing the divisions between
class levels and giving everyone a
sense of belonging.
Junior James Ingram from the St. Benedict Community joins in the Charlton
house airplane competition as mentor teacher Angela Charlton looks on.
The House of St. Max claimed the number one position in the St. Gregory Community by winning a game
of “Captain’s Calling,” led by the community dean Shane Rapp.
“Not everybody is in a sport or not everybody
is in a choir,” explained Peterson.
“But everybody is in a house, so they all
have that feeling that they belong.”
Sophomore Clint McCullough from
Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Wea,
was home-schooled through eighth grade
and said the House System at St. James
helped him adjust to the high school environment.
“It was kind of a slow adjustment, but
the people here are great people, and so it
was a pretty smooth transition,” he said.
Much of house time, McCullough said,
is spent bonding.
“Sometimes that’s through events, but
other times it’s just us sitting down in a circle
and sharing our hearts with each other,”
he said. “So, we do a little bit of both.
“We talk a lot; and a lot of times we
get into spiritual discussions. Mr. Wellnitz
(the mentor teacher) really helps us
deepen our spiritual life.”
Community spirit
At the next level, students identify with
their community. Houses within a community
often engage in friendly competition
(called “house wars”) or work together
on school events and activities.
Overview of St. James Academy House System
The six communities are St. Benedict, St. Padre Pio, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Gregory, St.
Gianna Molla, and St. Peter.
Each student is assigned to the same community for his or her entire high school career.
There are approximately 100 students per community.
Each community is assigned one faculty member who acts as dean.
Each community is assigned two seniors (elected by faculty and senior students) to act as
community captains.
Each community is divided into five or six houses of approximately 20 students each.
Each house is assigned a mentor teacher.
Students are assigned to the same house for their entire high school career.
Each house is assigned one house captain (a senior student) and three leaders (a junior,
sophomore and freshman). These are elected in house.
Each student will have the same dean and mentor teacher throughout high school.
For more information, visit the Web site at: www.sjakeepingfaith.org.
Student lockers are organized by house
and community. Students sit in their communities
during pep rallies. Each year,
new house members are introduced into
each community as part of the initiation
into St. James.
“This year, all the upperclassmen
went down and sat by community [in
the gym],” recalled Peterson. “Then we
led the freshmen down and, as they were
called into their communities, the community
was cheering for them.”
Each community is supervised by a
dean, whose job is to be supportive of the
mentor teachers and students in the leadership
positions.
Representing each community are two
seniors who are community captains.
They stay in close communication with
the dean and function as liaisons to the
houses.
“What makes our system so unique is it
is very student-driven,” explained Nancy
Dorsey, dean of St. Gianna Molla Community.
“As a dean, I am responsible for saying,
‘OK, homecoming is coming up. Here
are a list of things that need to get done.’
“I delegate those responsibilities to
the community captains and say, ‘Your
responsibility now is to go out to your
houses.’”
Corpus Christi, Lawrence, parishioner
Katie Wohletz is a senior at St. James. She
is amazed at how many more students get
involved in organizing school activities
and events now that the House System is
in place.
“My first three years we had normal
Spirit Club and StuCo,” she said. “What I
think is cool about this is that people who
never would have gotten involved before
are involved now.”
Dorsey was head of the former Spirit
Club. She too is amazed at how many
more students are stepping up to help out
now.
“This program allows for so many more
people to get involved,” she said. “And
you’re involving people who otherwise
never would have had the confidence to
stand up and say, ‘I can do that.’ That’s
why it is so great.”
Belonging
The House System has done wonders
to bridge gaps between students who may
never have been friends before — sophomores
and juniors who might have a lot
in common, or seniors who might help a
freshman get acclimated to high school.
“There aren’t nameless faces in our
high school,” said Nearmyer. “Everybody
knows everybody.”
“I don’t even know how to explain it,”
Wohletz said. “There aren’t words for it.
I’m best friends with a freshman; I’m going
to dinner with a sophomore today.
That never would have happened before.”
Peterson agreed and said she is especially
glad that students are placed in
houses randomly.
“At first, we wanted our friends in
there,” she explained. “But I have classes
with my other friends. I have other opportunities
to see them.
“Now I’m getting to know this football
player who never would have been my
friend before — because he was too cool.
And now I’m like his sister.”
From a Catholic faith perspective, Nearmyer
believes St. James is on the right
track.
“Everything we teach and talk about in
the Mass and in our religion classes — we
need to live it outside those two places, in
our hallways, “ she said.
“This has been a really phenomenal
way to make a school of 600-plus kids a
little smaller,” she concluded. “Kids here
are known to one another and know how
to look out for each other.”