Building Character

Students are placed into four houses named for the pillars of Santa Catalina's mission—Excellence, Spirituality, Responsibility, and Service. Each house has about eight smaller circles made up of students from kindergarten to Grade 8. Eighth-graders serve as circle leaders, and faculty members act as facilitators.

Students congregate with their fellow "housemates" during regular activities such as pep rallies, Pumpkin Olympics, chapel, and community service activities.

A fifth house, the House of Kindness, includes our PreK students. Led by their teachers, these children learn to share, to say "please" and "thank you," and to always be kind. Once they enter kindergarten, they can't wait to be sorted into the four main houses.

Leadership development is a core component of Compass. Students are provided with opportunities to stretch themselves during the course of each year by means of leadership roles in the classroom, on the playground and athletic field, and in service work.

Eighth-graders serve as Compass leaders for their circles. They gather weekly for a leadership class, where they anticipate upcoming activities, such as service projects, and prepare to implement them in their individual circles. The curriculum also involves leadership exercises, discussions, and reflection, with servant leadership as the focus, considering characteristics of a leader who leads for the good of all. Compass leaders begin to understand which characteristics within themselves they can best draw on as they guide their circles.

Many of the Compass activities focus on community service. Whether they are taking care of their campus by recycling, reaching out to the local community by collecting donations for the food bank, or participating in global projects such as Alegria, students are taught to look beyond themselves and become sensitive to the needs of those around them.