Catholic Social Responsibility
Last week I announced in the eLedger that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has released a valuable new resource focusing on four key contemporary challenges and their relevance for Catholic schools today. While not an exhaustive list of challenges, they are: culture, racism, civic participation for the common good, and economics. The Guidebook is designed to provide educators with clear guiding principles for Catholic social responsibility, Catholic theological resources that correspond to the four contemporary challenges, and alignment of Catholic Social Teachings to current Archdiocesan curriculum, policies, and accreditation standards. CatholicSocialResponsibilityGuidebookforCatholicSchoolsFinal9.22.21.pdf
All parents and guardians are invited to become familiar with this document. During the weeks ahead, I plan to offer excerpts of each of the four challenges in eLedger. This week’s challenge, Culture:
“While contemporary society often exalts individualism, the Catholic tradition teaches that
human beings achieve fulfillment in community and that culture should be subordinated to the
integral perfection of the human person. Catholic schools preach the truth of the Gospel and
promote a culture of peace often in opposition to the greater culture. We believe that every
human being, from conception until natural death, is created in the image of God, redeemed
by Jesus Christ, and intrinsically worthy of respect. In asserting the dignity of the human
person, Catholic educators strive to inspire students to work for social justice and human
solidarity. Essential to this effort are educational programs and experiences that help students
to reflect on cultural challenges in light of the Gospel. Catholic schools are uniquely
positioned to develop students’ global awareness, foster their desire for social and cultural
engagement, and challenge students to use their gifts to benefit society. Catholic schools
educate the whole student by effectively integrating faith, culture, and life.”
I urge parents and guardians to take a closer look at the Church’s theological response to the challenges associated with “Culture,” which is provided in the Guidebook.
Finally, click here for further Catholic Social Responsibility resource information intended for parents that has been released this week by the Archdiocese:
Academic Integrity
At SMSA integrity is an expectation for all students and employees. Academic integrity calls teachers, students and all members of the school community to act with honesty, respect, trust, fairness and responsibility. Breaching academic integrity is sometimes referred to as ‘academic misconduct’ or ‘academic dishonesty.’ At the Springs, the academic integrity policy is found on pages 17 and 18 of the High School Student Handbook which is found on the SMSA Website by clicking here.
The policy states:
“Cheating in any form is a serious offense against the rest of the student community. It damages the trust among your peers and with your faculty. It is expected that all school work submitted for the purpose of meeting course requirements represent the original efforts of the individual student. All forms of academic dishonesty will subject the student to disciplinary action. The following are examples of academic dishonesty:
- Cheating on an assessment. This includes but is not limited to the use of “cheat sheets” or other outside resources including programmable calculators, electronic devices and phones when not specifically allowed by the teacher.
- Plagiarizing. Using another individual’s words and/or ideas without giving proper acknowledgment. This includes cutting and pasting information into assignments without proper citation.
- Relaying information about an assessment to students who have not yet taken it, or obtaining information about an assessment prior to taking it.
- Copying another individual’s assignment or completing the assignment with others when the assignment is intended for individual completion.
- Allowing one’s work to be copied.
- Fabricating data and/or citations.
- Submitting for credit the same work in more than one course without prior approval from the teacher.
- Acquiring papers, answers and/or assignments from another source.”
At SMSA, we take character education as seriously as any other form of learning. Students are not expected to be perfect. Indeed we all make mistakes. We know that there is a better way – The Ledger Way! As such, we strive to be a community of learners who grow from our mistakes and are determined to embrace honesty and integrity. We do not wish to repeat errors of the past. It absolutely takes a village of committed students, teachers and parents/guardians to correct course as necessary, rebuild trust, and advance personal growth. As always, we are in this together.
Our Lady of the Ledge, pray for us!
Eamonn O’Keeffe
Principal, High School