Student Life
Faith Formation
At St. Louis Catholic High School, our first and most important goal is to provide our students with the opportunity to grow in faith. Our students, faculty and staff live their faith openly, celebrate the sacraments together, and participate fully in a community of Saints led by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Much like our approach to academics, St. Louis Catholic faculty, staff and clergy will meet every student where they are and support their journey of faith. Whether they’re new to Catholicism or have been raised in the church, adoring the Blessed Sacrament in a dimly lit classroom or learning about the Eucharist in theology, St. Louis Catholic will nurture every student’s faith life.
Apostolic Hours
At St. Louis Catholic High School, we take seriously our duty to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. As we strive to cultivate a servant’s heart in every student, the school requires active community service each school year. Hours are documented online and count toward students’ theology grades.
Types of Service
Jesus himself gave us a model for how to serve others through the Corporal Works of Mercy. At least half of every student’s service hours must be in this category. To earn apostolic hours in this category, students should be directly involved with those they serve. This may include volunteering at Vacation Bible School; serving meals at a homeless shelter; providing child care at New Life Counseling; and more.
The Corporal Works are:
- Feed the hungry
- Give drink to the thirsty
- Shelter the homeless
- Visit/care for the sick
- Visit those in prison
- Bury the dead
- Give alms to the poor
Other types of service may count for up to half of a student’s yearly hours. These types of service include taking care of the environment, service to animals and any indirect contact with those who benefit. Examples of this type of service may include stocking shelves in the pantry at Catholic Charities or Abraham’s Tent; setting up for a fundraising event; or volunteering at an animal shelter, among others.
Requirements
Half of each student’s hours for each year must be:
- Outside the student’s family
- Outside St. Louis Catholic school organizations
- Be in direct service to individuals who benefit from the activity (see above “Types of Service”)
- For questions about specific types of service, students should contact their theology teacher.
Hours per grade level:
- 9th grade: 15 hours
- 10th grade: 20 hours
- 11th grade: 20 hours
- 12th grade: 25 hours
Deadlines & Documentation
Every St. Louis student will register for an Innerview account as part of their theology classes. Existing students may log hours over the summer into their accounts. New students will receive a school Gmail and Innerview account via email in June prior to their enrollment.
Half of the required hours for each year must be completed and logged on Innerview by the progress report date of the second quarter in the fall. Remaining hours must be completed and logged by the progress report date of the fourth quarter in the spring.
To log service hours, use the following format:
- Activity title
- Date
- Hours
- Activity type (choose ONE: volunteering, tutoring, donating, community project, leading)
- Value (choose ONE: compassion, connectedness, curiosity, integrity, respect, spirituality)
- Impact – What UN Global Goal does your service impact?
- Description –What impact did your service have on those you serve? Which of the Corporal Works of Mercy does this address?
- Photo – Take a photo that shows your involvement in the service activity. The picture should show you actually doing the service.
- Group – This is your class/graduation year.
Retreats
Retreats are a critical component of every Catholic’s faith journey. They provide an opportunity to encounter Jesus in a silent place, and they allow a clarity that is difficult to achieve in our busy world.
As part of our mission to support each student’s faith journey, St. Louis Catholic High School provides multiple retreat opportunities each year. For more information on our retreats, please see below:
House Retreats
St. Louis Catholic High School is a community of Saints. One of the building blocks of our school community is the House System. Like everything else at St. Louis Catholic, our Houses are rooted in faith. In an effort to help House members develop deeper relationships with each other and with Jesus Christ, each group completes one daylong retreat together each academic year.
House retreats are held off-campus and include a variety of activities for each student. These experiences provide an opportunity for students to:
- Strengthen their relationships with each other
- Deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ
- Grow spiritually with the guidance of our clergy, faculty and staff, and with the support of their fellow House members
As our retreat date for our Houses nears, you will receive further information regarding the location and any other details. For all six of our St. Louis Catholic Houses (listed below), this year’s retreats will be held September 6, 2024.
- Saint Cecilia
- Saint Josephine
- St. Augustine
- St. John Paul II
- St. Joan of Arc
- St. Elmo
COR Retreats
COR – Catholic Outdoor Renewal – is a retreat structured for high school students. This week-long retreat incorporates a celebration of the sacraments, physical activities, and prayer, and it helps participants to discover who they are, who they are meant to be, and how much God loves them. For the summer of 2024, St. Louis Catholic students and faculty backpacked in Wyoming with Wyoming Catholic College’s COR Expedition Trip. The COR Retreats bring teens and young adults into the wilderness to rediscover the wonder and beauty of God’s creation and enter into natural revelation in a meaningful way.
“The COR trip was both the most difficult and beautiful thing I have ever done. I am so grateful for the opportunity to overcome physical challenges, experience the wonder of God’s creation, and be part of the hands and feet of Christ with these students.”
Holley Fontenot, St. Louis Catholic faculty and 2004 graduate
Athletics
St. Louis Catholic School student-athletes embody sportsmanship and team spirit, and they thrive in fair competition. Many of our students go on to play in college athletics. Our award-winning coaches instill discipline, self-sacrifice and teamwork in their organizations.
Athletic Director - Pat Neck
Our Sports Teams
Winter
Tickets
St. Louis Catholic High School partners with GoFan for all our event ticketing. You may visit GoFan and purchase tickets for upcoming events by clicking here.
Clubs & Organizations
As part of St. Louis Catholic High School’s focus on the “whole person,” the school recognizes and supports more than 30 student organizations in a variety of disciplines. Nearly 100% of our students participate in at least one organization. In addition to the value of each individual organization comes the inherent benefit of fellowship – a key component of a well-rounded Catholic education. Every student has a home here.
Faith
Campus Ministry
Supports campus faith initiatives, including planning weekly masses and other events.
Sponsor: Elizabeth Thompson
Sisterhood of St. Louis
Students for Life
Promotes a belief in the dignity of life, from conception to natural death.
Sponsor: Kathy Owen
Academics
Art Club
Promotes service and social events with present students and St. Louis Catholic Alumni, including an art show at the end of each school year.
Sponsor: Stephanie Robertson
Mu Alpha Theta
World Languages Club
Leadership and Service
National Honor Society
Encourages growth in service, scholarship, leadership and character while providing tutoring service to students.
Click here for the selection procedures.
Sponsors: Melanie LeJeune and Julie Hebert
Student Leadership Committee (formerly Student Council)
A group of representatives selected from each House through a nomination and application process, and plans events that foster leadership and teamwork within their respective Houses.
Sponsor: Alex Kjellsten
Saints Ambassadors
Senior students who work with the Office of Advancement to promote St. Louis Catholic High School at Advancement and Alumni events, as well as at Partner School and church activities around the Diocese.
Sponsor: Fara McKinley
Competition & Spirit
Cheerleading
Sponsor: Amber Becnel
Sweethearts
The St. Louis Catholic dance line performs at athletic events, school functions and community events, in addition to competitive events.
Mini Sweetheart Clinic
Date: 1/25/2025
Time: 8:30am—12:30pm
Grades: Kindergarten—5th
Location: MSU Rec
Game Performance: 1/31/2025
Pre-register online by 1/03/2025 to receive a t-shirt.
Sponsor: Lindsey Self
Concert Choir
Sponsor: Collette Tanner
Show Choir
The St. Louis Show Choir performs rock/pop cover songs in a band-type format. They entertain at many school and community functions.
Sponsor: Randall Edwards
Spirit of St. Louis Band
This competitive band performs at athletic events and school and community functions – and is the spirit of St. Louis Catholic High School.
Sponsor: Ruth Blair
Campus Community
Helping Hands Club
SLCHS Helping Hands Club aims to increase interactions and peer socialization between Saints inside and outside of the Transitions Classroom. Through various programs and activities, Helping Hands friendships will promote the full Saints Life experience with friends who have different abilities.
Sponsors: Kristine Alcantara and Darby Larocca
House System
The St. Louis House System includes every single St. Louis student and is the only one of its kind in Southwest Louisiana. Click here for more information.
Sponsor: Alex Kjellsten
Yearbook
Students enrolled in the Publications class elective produce our annual yearbook.
Sponsor: Monica Core
Career & Professional
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
Support our club by purchasing a t-shirt
Sponsor: Ashley Lavine
Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Summer Program
Program that supports students seeking a career in the health profession and allows participants to learn about medical services for the general population.
Sponsor: Caitlin McCormick
Shared Interest
Black History Club
Sponsor: Marcus Okey
Chess Club
Sponsor: Deacon Stephen Starr
Drama Club
4-H Club
Letters to Hope
Recycling Club
Speech & Debate Club
House System
St. Louis Catholic High School’s House System is one of a kind in Southwest Louisiana. Our “houses” – named for saints and made up of students from all grade levels – foster a sense of equality, pride, responsibility, camaraderie and respect—and they’re fueled by our traditions.
Houses provide fellowship opportunities and aid in our students’ development in athletics, ministry, service, leadership and academics. They provide a “home within a home” for both students and alumni that allows our community to develop even stronger bonds across class years, students, staff, alumni and families
Our Six Houses
Saint Cecilia
Saint Josephine
Saint Augustine
Saint John Paul II
Saint Joan of Arc
Saint Elmo
How It Works
At the beginning of each school year, new students are selected into a house – and they’ll remain a member of that house for the rest of their lives. Selection is – like everything at St. Louis – guided by the Holy Spirit, but siblings will be placed into the same houses, reminiscent of the family legacies on which our school has thrived throughout its history and creating new legacies for generations to come.
Once students are matched, they’ll have opportunities to grow in faith and friendship with their houses through daily house time, house-specific retreats, house competitions for the whole school, service projects and more.
Each house has approximately 100 students and is led by a faculty dean. Houses also contain five mentor groups of 20 students each. Mentor groups also have faculty and staff leaders.
Events
The Servant Leadership Committee includes six student representatives from each house – two sophomores, four juniors and two seniors. The committee works with the faculty deans and mentors from each house to plan events and foster leadership and teamwork within their houses. Committee members are selected through self-nomination and/or faculty recommendation, along with an application process. This committee has replaced our former Student Council organization.
Throughout the year, houses participate in friendly competitions and earn points to highlight the achievements of a Saint – mind, body and spirit. The highest-earning house is named the champion at the end of each academic year. Houses also gather for retreats and service projects.
Competitions are planned and sponsored by various houses and include a variety of activities to engage the entire student body in events focused on faith, service, knowledge, athleticism, discipline and other facets of being a Saint.
Retreats occur once per year, with house-specific groups going off-campus for one day.
Service Projects benefiting local organizations and causes occur throughout the year and are planned by each house.
