Religious Aspects and Campus Ministries

The Catholic Schools of Fairbanks is a Catholic, Jesuit-endorsed school that is proud to welcome students and families of all faiths from a variety of backgrounds. Your child may not have a background in religion or even a defined understanding of who God and Jesus are; that's okay.

The faith formation students receive at ICS and Monroe has proven to serve as a foundation for greater connectedness within community. It allows students to grow in understanding that God’s grace does indeed permeate all of reality, and that the world is truly a place of infinite possibility.

What can be expected?

• All students take religion classes each year. 
• Each day begins with prayer and pledge. 
• Students attend weekly Mass, celebrate seasons of the Church year, including Advent and Lent, participate in community service projects and attend retreats.
• We teach about God and Jesus and about the men and women found in the Old and New Testaments. Students study scripture and learn about the “where” of the Old Testament writings and the historical impact of these books. 
• Students learn about social justice, sacraments and prayer, memorizing some prayers and learning to write their own. Other topics studied include: The Ten Commandments, Jesus’ two commandments, the Beatitudes, the parts of the Catholic Mass, the Rosary and the lives of Saints. 

Students are provided with many opportunities for spiritual development by living the gospel of Jesus Christ in word, worship, and service. 

Weekly Mass
All students are encouraged to participate in our weekly school Masses as a greeter, reader, gift bearer, by writing and reading a prayer and being a singer or musician. Students are trained as altar servers, Eucharistic Ministers and retreat team leaders.

Special Religious Services
Throughout the school year, we celebrate special prayer services. ICS students perform a beautiful Christmas Tableau in the chapel with gospel readings and joyous singing. MCHS students participate in a Living Stations of the Cross during the Lenten season.  We celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation before Christmas and Easter.

Some special liturgies throughout the year are: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, K-12 Catholic Schools Week Mass with our Bishop and student reflections, Ash Wednesday, a special Mass to recognize Confirmandi, May Crowning and recognition of First Communicants, K-12 Closing Mass with Kindergarteners’ special blessing of their Senior buddies, Senior Baccalaureate and special Masses to celebrate and recognize both our 6th & 8th grade students who are moving into their junior and senior high years.

Retreats
Retreats allow students to take time from their everyday routines to examine their lives and spirituality.  Here at CSF, we offer retreats as part of the religion curriculum beginning in 5th grade to senior year in high school. Day retreats for students in grades 5-10 are held once a year during school hours. Our 11th grade students attend a fall weekend called the “Junior Encounter” led by senior and adult retreat team leaders, and the Senior Class experiences a Fall Leadership Retreat and a two day retreat in the Spring.

Service
Service is central to the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks. We are preparing students to live a life of service beginning in the early grades. At ICS, teachers incorporate various class service projects throughout the year. In high school, students are required, in religion class, to have a certain amount of service hours to be done in the community each year. Senior year, each student is to complete a minimum of 40 hours of service in an approved placement with a supervisor.

In November, we have a Pre-K through 12th grade Day of Service the day before Thanksgiving. Grade school students take part by making things for various agencies in town; like soup mixes for the Food Bank and scarves and blankets for the Rescue Mission. The junior/senior high school students call this “RAMS Day” which stands for Radical Acts of Mercy and Service. Monroe Catholic students and staff go out to various agencies in the community to offer their services from putting together food boxes at the Food Bank to baking pies at the church soup kitchen and helping to decorate for Thanksgiving dinner.

Each year during Holy Week the grade school students participate in “Operation Bunny Hop” where they put together bunny bags filled with eggs of Easter blessings, a jelly bean prayer, fruit, special bread and daffodils for the senior citizens in our community. Pre-K through 5th grade classes all have something to contribute to the bunny bags and 6th graders are the ones to make the deliveries to the senior citizens and share their Easter joy.

Also, ICS collects canned food for the Immaculate Conception Church Soup Kitchen and other service projects throughout the year. Monroe Catholic has a fall food collection for the Food Bank, a penny drive for the American Red Cross and various other service projects through the Leo’s Club, Student Councils and other student activity groups.