DE LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL

Service Learning Project

“Enter to learn, Leave to serve.”

Department of Religious Studies

Sophomore Religious Studies II

Mrs. Joan MacDonald, Mr. Joe Grantham, and Mr. Matt Castello

2004-2005

As a part of all Sophomore Religious Studies courses, regardless of the particular instructor, Campus Ministry Director Mrs. Hassett coordinates the “Sophomore Immersion Program” often referred to simply as SIP. Mrs. Hassett works with each of the several Sophomore Religious Studies instructors to organize an entire day for each of the Sophomores (as a class) to spend a day at St. Anthony’s dining room in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District.

Procedures: Once the individual teachers prepare their classes for their SIP, students are led through an opening prayer service before traveling into San Francisco. Once there, students receive an orientation about the work that St. Anthony’s accomplishes and the neighborhood where they are accomplishing it. Students then spend the remainder of the day either preparing lunch for the St. Anthony clients or assisting the clothing distribution center by sorting donated clothes. All students share a meal in the dining room with the clients of St. Anthony’s. Following a debriefing meeting with the workers at St. Anthony’s, students participate in a closing prayer service.

Evaluation: The “Sophomore Immersion Program” is one of our finest examples of service-learning. SIP has been an integral component of the Sophomore Religious Studies program (which focuses on Social Justice), and it will continue to be a vital aspect in our student’s spiritual development in the future.

Preflection: Student thoughts and preliminary notions are explored, examined, and articulated through a prayer service which begins this service-learning experience.

Reflection: Student reactions to this service-learning experience are explored, examined, and articulated through a closing prayer service and class discussion following the “Sophomore Immersion Program”.