EDUCATION FOR SERVICE IN A GLOBAL COMMUNITY

By Sister Catherine Phelps, SNDdeN

The mission of Trinity School is rooted in the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

In fidelity to Julie’s preference for the poor in the most abandoned places, we choose to stand with poor people as they struggle for adequate means for human life and dignity. (Constitutions, Mission #17)

One of the hallmarks of an SND sponsored school is to develop a sense of what it means to be aware of and responsive to the needs of those living in material poverty. Trinity School’s philosophy clearly places an emphasis on service. Students in pre-school through grade eight are learning the lessons of service exemplified by Jesus in the Gospels and are growing in understanding their baptismal call to serve others, especially those in need.

To promote our mission of service, Trinity has established several service projects throughout the school year including a food collection in the fall for a local food pantry, collecting toys and other gifts for physically and mentally challenged pre-school children in a city nursery, sponsoring monthly bingo at a home for the aged sponsored by the Little Sisters of the Poor, and collecting non perishable food items in the spring to stock food pantries for the summer in the county in which our school is located. Supporting SND’s missions remains a priority. In support of SND missions, Trinity families contribute to the collection at our opening Mass each year as well as support the student’s mite box offerings during Lent.

Sister Catherine and students

Sprinkled throughout these outreach projects this year, the primary school held a silly sock day on which students wore silly socks to school and brought a pair of socks for someone in need. Three hundred pairs of socks were donated to a local mission for distribution. A sixth grade class sponsored a mitten tree during advent. Needy families within five miles of the school welcomed warm mittens for the winter. Before Christmas various practical items were collected and sent to our troops. The students’ response to the earthquake in Haiti was a moving life’s lesson. On Friday mornings for three weeks, students gathered in three levels of the school for a prayer service for the people of Haiti. Part of the prayer service included each teacher passing a basket among her students for a monetary sacrifice. Trinity sent $3500 to Catholic Relief Services for Haiti.

We are very proud of two service projects sponsored by Trinity. One is the FISH organization which started in England and came to this country in the early sixties. FISH volunteers provide emergency services for those in need, particularly food, money for medicine and utilities. Trinity School co-founded a FISH unit for the county in which we reside. It is staffed by volunteers and funded by donations. This service has been operating for thirty-six years.

The second special service project is our Adopted Grandparent Program which has been in operation for thirty years. Students in Grades five and six adopt a grandparent at St. Martin’s Home for the Aged. Through letter-writing, cards, gifts and visits, lasting friendships are formed. These students as well as the entire school community participate in the monthly bingos at St. Martin’s, providing prizes, refreshments, and companionship.

We are literally observing the hearts of our students opening as wide as the world. They are responding generously to Trinity’s service projects as well as initiating projects for which they have a passion.

This year some seventh grade students collected beach items for “Believe in Tomorrow,” an organization that provides a few days at the beach for children with terminal illnesses. A young man with the support of his class collects food and prepares meals for families whose children are receiving treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. A middle school girl sponsored a free throw contest to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital that specializes in research for children’s diseases. Fifth graders collected children’s DVDs and donated them to a pediatric unit in a local hospital. For the second year, a student with the help of her classmates sold lemonade to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Foundation to fight childhood cancer. Students also contributed to the Pennies for Peace Program that supports Greg Mortenson’s efforts to build schools for educating girls in Afghanistan.

As Julie calls us to serve those living in poverty, now the Trinity students are also calling us to service.

Trinity is a Catholic, independent pre-school, primary and middle school in Ellicott City, Maryland, sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

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