Connecting Catholic Schools Through Service

As the world begins to settle back into normalcy after the pandemic, it is important to recognize some of the gaps in our lives that need to be filled. There is a trending global narrative that implies the idea that society will never fully recover, and, instead, will have to embrace “the new norm.” Here at Moeller, though, one senior had the courage to reject that notion; Stephen Adams, Moeller’s student body vice-captain, focused his Capstone project on breaking the narrative of accepting a new norm by forging a path that would help forge the way back to a healthy lifestyle through volunteering. And while Moeller students have always had opportunities to volunteer–through Matthew 25 Ministries, through freshman days of service, through mission trips–Stephen Adams sought to infuse service opportunities with a fresh sense of purpose. The result: the joint service partnership of Catholic high schools.

Stephen created a coalition of schools–beginning with Moeller, St. Xavier, St. Ursula Academy, and Mount Notre Dame–to work together in an effort to offer service opportunities that would scaffold students’ social skills as they build social competence by working cooperatively with students from the other schools in the coalition. Working side-by-side with peers from different schools–all with the same goal–helps students to shed the feeling of isolation by developing behavioral habits

Continued on page 29