ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL
DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
Pastoral Plan
2013-2014 School Year
Board Mission Statement
The Mission of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, in partnership with the family and
church, is to provide, in a responsible manner, a Catholic education which develops spiritual,
intellectual, aesthetic, emotional, social, and physical capabilities of each individual to live fully
today and to meet the challenges of the future, thus enriching the community.
School Mission Statement
The community of St. Francis Xavier will strive to live the Gospel values of faith, love, peace, and
service as taught by Jesus and His Church. In doing so, an environment will be created where
cultural differences are celebrated and individual gifts are valued. Together excellence in Catholic
Education will be promoted.
Vision Statement
In order to meet the pastoral and spiritual needs of the school community, the vision of the St.
Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School Pastoral Plan is to identify who we are as a Catholic
community. We encourage our staff and students in the Catholic faith and Tradition, link all
community members to the local Church and finally, integrate all staff and students of the school
community into the life and mission of the Catholic Church. We institute within our staff and
students the Catholic faith that includes the gospel values and teachings of Jesus Christ.
We do so in recognizing that it is in our response to the needs of all students, including staff
members, in the fostering of their faith in Jesus Christ and their communion with the Blessed
Trinity, and drawing them into responsible participation in the life, mission, and ministry of the
Catholic Church.
Catholicity Goals and Virtues Program
Secondary School Context
External Factors
I. Cultural Diversity: According to The United Nations, southern Ontario is the most
cosmopolitan region in the world. This reality makes our area truly unique. Many of the
National Churches have their own pastoral programs. In many cases cultural identity and
religious identity are intimately connected. As a secondary school, we must identify and
promote these cultural identities and celebrate them.
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II. Religious Diversity: We are an inclusive Catholic community. We must respect and
recognize all students of different faith traditions, therefore, we will entrust all students to
serve in a leadership role as school ambassadors and in opportunities for evangelization.
III. Financial: There is always financial pressure with any effective ministry program in the
secondary school system, therefore it is incumbent that we recognize this and make
decisions that further increase the opportunity for faith development with our school
communities.
IV. Local Parish: Our local parish continues to support us in what it means to be true partners
in education, especially with our young people. It is therefore important to have a formation
program in place in order to foster Catholic leadership and faith development which in turn
can lead to parish involvement and social ministry.
V. Schools: The relationship between individual secondary schools in any Catholic School
Board is largely dependent on the personalities involved. When entering into common
projects one needs a definite mandate and defined authority structures. It is also important
that we share best practices and common goals as one large faith community. This is best
experienced in any joint school projects such as; liturgies, fundraisers, social justice
initiatives, etc.
Internal Factors
I. Strong sense of dedication by staff to authentically share their faith within the community- in
our classrooms and through leading and participating in activities supporting the school
pastoral plan.
II. Maintaining a strong sense of vision.
III. Increasing competence and confidence among students involved with faith activities
throughout the school.
IV. Developing and continuing to improve upon existing Christian leadership initiatives.
V. Continued support and initiative from the St. Francis Xavier Catholic School community.
Needs to be considered
I.
Continuing financial resources and support made available for yearly faith formation retreats
as well as various faith events.
II.
Increasing community involvement and visibility i.e. local parish, school council, teachers,
and administration.
III.
Continuing to establish and maintain a working relationship with school partners i.e.
ShareLife, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Grade 8 family of schools, the Diocese.
IV.
Community diversity.
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V.
Economic divisions within our community.
VI.
To develop a shared vision statement within our community. This year we celebrate a “Year
of Amazing Grace through Christian service.
Goals
I. To support the implementation of the School Pastoral Plan.
II. To actively develop an appreciation, understanding, and knowledge of our Catholic faith as
well as mass and liturgical celebrations we will provide Eucharistic Ministry Workshops for
Staff.
III. To enhance the celebration of these Eucharistic Liturgies with liturgical music we will
develop and foster a liturgical choir through student – teacher partnerships.
IV. To create and sustain a safe, caring, and inclusive school community that includes Catholic
education and the evolving virtues program.
Virtues
In keeping with the faith formation of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, each year
we will be celebrating the virtues. By focusing monthly on different virtues, we will continue to build
a safe, caring, and inclusive school community. Each department within the school will actively
participate in the organizing and implementation of each virtue through morning prayer, reflections
at staff meetings, and initiatives involving staff and students, led by the various departments under
the leadership of their Department Faith Ambassador. The virtues highlighted are the following;
faith, empathy, conscience, hope, self-control, respect, kindness, love, acceptance, and fairness.
We will dedicate morning prayer and through the Department Faith Ambassador initiative, various
events to help educate our staff and students of the many outlined virtues found in the Catholic
faith. Students can also actively participate in promotion of the virtues through use of school
media. The Spirit of St. Francis Xavier Award was created in order to further affirm the significance
of the Catholic Virtues in our daily lives.
Catholic Education Week
We have formed a Catholic Education Week committee which meets prior to the week and
organizes various events for the school community highlighting the many unique and distinctive
initiatives modeled by Catholic education. We will continue building upon the existing committee
and initiative. To facilitate focus on Catholic Education Week, activities planned by the CEW
Planning Team will have priority and there will be a coordinated effort with the Student Council to
ensure this focus.
Environment for Leadership
To nurture our active participation in the life and mission of the Church, we must create an
environment that supports this development. St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School
through faith formation initiatives can work with Catholic agencies to help them be inclusive and
supportive of our ministry efforts.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
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We continue to work with and support our local parish in all efforts to closer link our staff and
students to parish ministry. This involves both the support and many resources needed from both
school and parish in order to help strengthen and provide opportunity for this to take place. We
have moved the grade 10 retreat programs to St. Francis Xavier Church where students will attend
mass as part of their retreat. Our annual Faith Fast will be held at the Church in March. On an
exploratory basis we will plan a special Grade 9 Retreat for one day at St. FX with the theme of
Friendship and Discovering Yourself through Christian Service on World Food Day.
St. Vincent de Paul Society
We will continue to work in partnership with the St. Vincent de Paul Society through the Christmas
hamper program, and support their work to assist the charitable needs of our local community. We
will endeavour to continue to hold an annual Christmas Dinner in collaboration with SVDP for
families in need in the St. Francis Xavier Church community.
Grade 8 Family of Schools
We will continue to offer a Grade 8 Discovery Day Program for our family of schools with the theme
of staying real. We offer a full day of orientation and retreat experience that helps our grade 8
students to better prepare themselves to enter the high school community. The afternoon retreat
program is facilitated by grade 10 chaplaincy retreat leaders and the chaplaincy leader, focusing
on the gifts of the Holy Spirit alive in each of us and bringing our unique gifts to the school to help
make it a better place.
Social Justice and Charity
We will continue to support and foster a working relationship with ShareLife, the fundraising
agency for the Archdiocese of Toronto, and its partners. We will continue to fundraise with events
throughout the school year. We will investigate the viability of a 5km Pilgrimage for ShareLife and
Haiti. We will continue to support Dr. Simone’s warehouse. We will continue to hold a Faith Fast in
support of Development and Peace. We will continue to have a Day of Service to provide students
another opportunity for hands-on service to community programs. We will continue to support
Knight’s Table. We will continue to plan a fundraiser for ongoing needs of Haitian students. Our
primary focus moving forward in our partnerships will be to provide education around many social
justice initiatives as well as providing both care and companionship to those in need, both at home
and in developing nations. For the first time, St. FX will embark on a mission trip to Guatemala
this upcoming year pending the Superintendent’s approval. This relationship provides an
opportunity for the St. Francis Xavier Catholic community to respond to the charitable needs in our
world and the local community.
Catholic Secondary Schools
It is our objective to engage Catholic Secondary Schools in our family of schools to link closely with
our school formation program. Our goal is to offer some direction and also share best practices in
the development of ministry leaders. Also, we are hopeful that we can team together to host
events and attend each other’s events.
Mississauga Central Family of Schools
With the support and provided resources from our Adult Faith Ambassador Team, we will begin to
offer support to all our staff with tools to assist our community in better understanding our richness
in being a diverse community that is rooted in the Catholic tradition and faith. We look forward to
continuing to build relationships with our local priests and pastors.
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Prayer and Celebrations
The primary goal of the ‘Morning Prayer’ is to come together to pray as a community in our school
on a daily basis. We unite ourselves in prayer with the universal Church by praying for the
intercession of St. Francis Xavier and all the Saints, and for our own personal intentions. All
students and staff are invited to participate in the ‘Morning Prayer.’ Staff and students are invited to
provide reflections on a Catholic Virtue through the Department Faith Ambassador initiative and
student-led school media programs.
Morning Prayer follows a basic format:
The sign of the Cross
Prayer or Reflection
and
Our Father or Hail Mary or Glory Be or Apostles Creed…..
and
St. Francis Xavier…pray for us.
Amen
Eucharist- “The Source and Summit”
All staff, students and families will have the opportunity to attend morning Mass in the
Chapel the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 a.m.
As a community of faith, we also celebrate the Eucharist with grade level masses during the
beginning of the school year and during Advent at Saviour of the World Chinese Catholic Church
which is located next to our school grounds. The end of the school year will be celebrated with a
community outdoor mass which all staff and students in the school attend together. Grade 9 and
10 students also attend mass on their retreat days at St. Francis Xavier Church. Finally, we are
continuing to work with our local parish to enhance our faith formation program.
Retreat Formation Program
Chaplaincy Team
Students from grades 9 through 12 are invited to join the chaplaincy team. They are a group of
students who see themselves as faith leaders and who commit to regular and active participation
in leading the faith life of the school through involvement with chaplaincy activities such as Mass,
liturgies, prayer, social justice and charity initiatives, and leading grade 8 and grade 9 retreats.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School has established the preparation and formation of the
chaplaincy team. All receive formation in areas of Christian leadership development and Grade 11
& 12 students who wish to lead grade 9 students on the retreat leader team are trained in leading
ice-breakers, and leading youth in prayer and discussion. This formation program begins with a
day- long retreat in September and continues with monthly gatherings at the school. Chaplaincy
team leaders for the grade 8 retreats will receive a half-day Christian leadership formation retreat
in March to prepare for leading the grade 8 retreats.
Grade Level Retreats
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All of our grade level retreat programs will be consistent with the life and mission of the Catholic
Church, that is, we will focus on the liturgical and community expression of the Church in our
retreat programs.
COOP – Retreat in September – Social Connection and Belonging
Grade 8- Gifted in the Spirit for Unity in Community
Grade 9- Friendship and Discovering Self: Anti-bully - Making the Most of Your High School
Years
Grade 10- Building Healthy Relationships and Self-Respect
Grade 11- Vocation: A Call to Love Fearlessly with in class reflection and CFC follow up.
Grade 12- Love in Action: Mission and Ministry in the Inner City
Grade 11 IB – Vocation: A Call to Compassion with in class reflection and CFC follow up.
Grade 12 IB –Compassion in Action: Mission and Ministry in the Inner City
PIP Class Retreat – Building a Sense of Community and Belonging
Student Classroom Faith Ambassadors
The role of the Classroom Faith Ambassador in conjunction with Student Council and Link
Crew is to work together with the chaplaincy leader and crew to support school faith initiatives
and to lead those that are homeroom-based. A student from each home room will be chosen to be
the Classroom Faith Ambassador. Monthly meetings will be held with the chaplaincy leader who
will outline the upcoming chaplaincy events in the school as well as those in homerooms. The
students will report this information back to their peers and teachers in homerooms and assist their
homerooms with the chaplaincy-related activities. This program provides an opportunity for
students to take a more active role in the faith life of the school and cultivates student Christian
leadership. The goal is students engaging students in faith.
Interclub Student Council Catholic Faith Ambassador
A student (s) will be appointed to represent the pastoral planning team. The student will report
relevant information between student council and the pastoral planning team. The student will also
relay relevant information between the chaplaincy team and student council. The student must
have demonstrated a prior and current commitment to active participation and leadership on the
Chaplaincy Team. The student will be appointed by the adult members of the School Pastoral
Planning Team.
Faith Ambassadors
The role of the Faith Ambassador Team is to work together with the School Faith Ambassadors
and chaplaincy leader and principal to nurture the spirituality of the staff members. In turn, they
nourish the spirituality of the students and the entire school community. They share in leading the
faith life of our school community and provide opportunities to staff for active participation in
expression of their faith through initiatives supporting the school pastoral plan. A staff member will
be chosen to represent each department.
Staff Faith Formation
We will provide staff with faith formation activities at the beginning and end of the school year, on
the PA day between semesters, and at other times during the year when possible. Staff will
continue to be invited to participate in school faith initiatives lead by the Department Faith
Ambassadors. Invitations for opportunities for staff faith formation offered by our School Board and
outside Catholic agencies will continue to be extended to our staff members.
Feast Day of St. Francis Xavier Celebration
Spirit of St. Francis Xavier Award
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A student will be chosen from each home room either by student nomination and vote or by the
classroom teacher to be the recipient of the Spirit of St. Francis Xavier Award for “demonstrating
the Catholic Virtues through positive interaction in the school community”. Students will attend an
awards breakfast at the school and will be presented with a certificate. There will also be schoolwide celebration and recognition of this feast day of our patron saint.
Chaplaincy Leadership Award
The Chaplaincy Leadership Award is offered to graduating grade 12 students who have made a
consistent and significant contribution to programs and activities through the chaplaincy office
throughout their years at the school. These students exemplify the standards of a Catholic student
through positive interaction in all aspects of the school community.
Virtues in Sports Award
The Virtues in Sports Award will be given to one male and one female athlete who demonstrate
excellence in Christian competition and have made a significant contribution to our school’s athletic
program, both athletically and spiritually. Although statistics are important, demonstrated virtuous
character is the most important criteria for this award. It is quite possible to not be the statistical
leader of a team or sport, yet be the recipient of this award. These athletes consistently show
Christian maturity in his or her relationship with Christ inside and outside of competition. These
recipients exemplify the Catholic Virtues in sport.
Community Building/ Social Justice/ Community Outreach
Throughout the school year, staff and students are invited and encouraged to participate and help
lead any event organized through the Chaplaincy faith formation program. All departments can
also assist in the planning and organizing of any chaplaincy initiative, social justice project, charity
event or liturgical service. The various events and activities offered are:
 Virtues Program
 School & Department Faith Ambassadors
 Faith Ambassadors –Bulletin Annoucements, X-Factor 5 min/month
 St. Francis Xavier Awards & Feast Day
 School Masses, Liturgies, and Prayer Services
 Breakfast Club – Rise, Shine, Go
 Spiritual Connections PIP
 Faith Fast
 Marian Liturgy in the Chapel(CEW)
 Day of Service
 St Francis Xavier ShareLife Community Walk
 Food and clothing drives
 Fundraising for Haitian students
 Mission Trip Guatemala in March
 Vocations Day Assembly – Grade Elevens
 Salesian Retreats
This provides an opportunity for both staff members and students to actively engage in the faith life
of the school community.
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Formation Program
In keeping with the goals and objectives of our present vision, we will continue to focus on the
identification and formation of all staff and students. There are two main components to this effort.
The first is the identification and formation of ministry leaders, both staff and students. The second
component will create an environment that fosters ministry leadership within the Catholic
Community.
What we have come to know over the years in observing ministry is that it is beneficial to having a
scriptural theme. A scriptural theme can help us reclaim symbols. It can also give us a common
purpose or direction. We will therefore use scriptural themes to help us begin our formation piece
in early September. All of our formation programs, events, and activities will be based on scriptural
themes throughout the school year. Also, in keeping with the common goals and practices
expressed by our school board, we will highlight and focus monthly on our virtues program. This
will be celebrated in our ‘Morning Prayer,’ various school events, reflections at staff meetings, and
all formation programs. This is an expansion of these outlined virtues.
Chaplaincy Team members will be invited to lead and participate in various initiatives running from
September to June. Staff will also be invited to lead, develop and participate in the faith life of the
community through the Department Faith Ambassador initiative and the many initiatives offered
through the chaplaincy office. There will be three major components; orientation, formation and
action. The orientation aspect of the program is geared to help leaders to make a conscious
decision to answer the Call of Christ.
Additional School Faith Formation Groups
Jesus Youth – Morning Prayer Group
High School Based YFC – Thursdays after school
The formation phase of the program will include components such as learning to pray and
discernment. The participants can participate in an ongoing monthly formation program that will
include personal prayer, spiritual reading, faith sharing, and participation in the sacramental life of
the school. Participants will discern where God is calling them in the life of the Church.
The action phase will be the ongoing participation in the prayer life and mission of the school.
Participants will be asked to make a commitment to assisting in the ministry of the office of
chaplaincy through contributing to and leading prayer, retreats, liturgy, social justice initiatives, etc.
The goal is for the participants to see their ministry as connected to the call of Christ. There is a
strong emphasis on vocation. A Vocations Day Assembly will be held for the Grade Eleven
students.
Personal Prayer
Personal Prayer in this capacity is to help all community members learn to pray in a very concrete
and practical way. Much of the prayer strategy will be based on scriptural themes. The meditation,
faith sharing and discernment aspects of the program will be based also on passages. School
Lenten and Advent Prayer Booklets will be designed and written by students and staff.
Liturgical Life of the Church
 Personal Formation
- Schedule 5 minutes of silent prayer for yourself every day
- Keep a journal of your feelings and experiences
- Find two friends that you can share your faith with every week
- Choose a saint of the Church to be your personal patron
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 Personal Discernment
- Where is God calling me;
-What are my gifts?
-Where do I spend most of my time?
-What would I like to change?
-How would I describe my experience of school?
-How would I describe my life?
-How can I use my gifts to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus?
-How much time do I have available for a ministry?
 Community Discernment
- Who are the people in my school that I look up to?
- Who are some people in my school that I have something in common with?
- What are some of the needs in my school with regards to;
- Liturgy - Social outreach - Community building
- What are some things that we could do to meet some of these needs?
 Sacrament of Reconciliation – During Advent and Lent we will offer the Sacrament of
Reconciliation at school.
- Make a commitment to try to provide the sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular
basis; once every semester during the Season of Advent and Lent
- Spend time before and after receiving the sacrament of reconciliation to reflect and
meditate on your relationship with God
Vocation Discernment
We invite all community members to begin discerning whether you want to make a commitment to
participate in a process of deepening your faith and sharing your gifts and talents with the school
community and the Church. This process is based on the belief that Christ calls each of us to
enter into His life, death and resurrection, by fully immersing ourselves in the life and mission of the
Church. Over the next few months, your role will be to pray, reflect and ask yourself a few
questions:
1) Is God Calling me to a deeper relationship?
2) Am I ready to make a commitment to a community of people from my school?
3) What am I looking for in my life?
During the time of orientation we are asking you to do a weekly Examination of Conscience. You
can choose a time during the week that fits your schedule best. It is advised that you try to do it as
a routine, at the same time each week, preferably in the chapel. This will help it to become a
regular part of your faith life. Our goal with the Examination of Conscience is to help you become
more sensitive to the work of the Spirit in your life. This prayer is designed to assist you with the
questions of your life and the discernment of God’s call for you. Please choose a two week period
where you will journal as part of your Examination of Conscience. In the first few weeks journal
about two questions:
1) When did I feel the presence of Christ today?
2) When did I feel separated from Christ today?
In the next few weeks, journal about where you believe God is calling you. Use the following
questions as guides to your journaling:
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Do I recognize this as a call from Christ to continue his good work?
Am I open to being formed as his disciple as I carry out his service to others?
Am I determined to set aside the time needed to be involved in this program?
Liturgical/ Chaplaincy Calendar 2013-2014
SEPTEMBER 2013
6– COOP RETREAT – Social Connection and Belonging
12 – Grade 9 Mass- period 2 SOTW Church
17- Grade 10 Mass- period 2 SOTW Church
18- Grade 11 Mass- period 2 SOTW Church
19- Grade 12 Mass-period 2 SOTW Church
26 – Grade 10 Retreats
27- Chaplaincy Crew Retreat
OCTOBER 2013
1-16 Food Drive
3 Toonie Civies Day –Faith Symbols
3, 4 - Thanksgiving Prayer Services (Period 1 & Period 2 )
9 - Senior Sunrise Liturgy
– St. Francis Xavier ShareLife Community Walk
16 – Grade 9 Retreat World Food Day
10,15, 22 - Grade 10 Retreats
18 – Grade 12 Retreat
NOVEMBER 2013
1, 8, 15 – Grade 12 Retreat
11- Remembrance Day Prayer Services (period 1 & 2 in cafetorium)
20, 27 - Grade 11 World Religions Retreat Excursions
28-30 Salesian Retreats
DECEMBER 2013
3 - Feast Day of St. Francis Xavier -Awards Breakfast & School Event
10, 11, 12, 13 – Period 2 Advent Masses at SOTW Church
School/SVDP Christmas Dinner- TBA
9 – 13 Christmas Hampers
JANUARY 2014
Chaplaincy Crew Picture
FEBRUARY 2014
7 – COOP RETREAT
14TH – Valentine’s Bake Sale
12, 19, 26 - Grade 12 Retreats
MARCH 2014
4 - Shrove Tuesday Pancakes by Department Faith Ambassadors
5 - Ash Wednesday Liturgies (period 1 & 2 in cafetorium)
6 - Chaplaincy Gr. 10 Leaders Retreat
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19 - Digital Fast Challenge
20 -22 Salesian Retreat
26-Acts of Random Kindness Day
21 – Grade 12 Retreats
28th – Faith Fast
- Grade 8 Retreats
APRIL 2014
1- 17 - Clothing Drive
24 - Grade 10 Retreats
16th, Period 1 & 2 17th, Period 1 & 2 – Easter Liturgies
30 – World Religions Excursion Retreat
- Grade 8 Retreats
MAY 2014
4-9 Catholic Education Week
9 – Interschool Mass
4-9 – Days of Service
8 - CEW Virtues Awards Breakfast
15, 22, 29- Grade 10 Retreats
JUNE 2014
6- Year End Outdoor School Mass
17- Senior Sunset Liturgy
25 - Graduation Mass
Pastoral Planning Team
The following staff and students were chosen to represent the St. Francis Xavier Catholic
Secondary School community for the 2013-2014 school year and have approved the 2013-2014
Pastoral Plan. A new Pastoral Planning Team will be chosen in September 2013 to implement this
approved Pastoral Plan. This team meets twice per semester in the principal’s office.
_________________________________________
Jim Horvath, Principal
_________________________________________
Betty-Anne Pickett, Chaplaincy Leader
_________________________________________
David Simmons, Theology Department Head
_________________________________________
Craig Callender, Teacher/Faith Ambassador
_________________________________________
Basil Somers, Teacher/Faith Ambassador
_________________________________________
Fredrik Francis, Student Council Catholic Faith Ambassador
_________________________________________
Msgr. Pan, Pastor- St. Francis Xavier Church
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