IRISH WEEKLY

Campus Ministry

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From Mrs. Goshe's Desk

What a beautiful start to the school year! Thank you to all the Freshman and their families for your participation in our Mass and Reception and the 1/2 day retreat on Freshman Orientation! It is so beautiful and inspiring to see the faith of these kids!

Our first whole school Mass will be Thursday, August 28, at 10:30 am in our arena. All of our whole school Masses are live streamed for any family that would like to watch. If you would like a refresher or better understanding of the Mass, please click here.

Any seniors interested in becoming an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion please click here for the application with the dates and locations.

The Diocese of Cleveland is hosting a Catholic High School Youth Rally & Mass on October 23 (Green Day). We have 75 open spots. If you would like one of those spots, please complete this google form to share your interest. If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Goshe or Mrs. Cooper.

Seniors and Juniors, please check out the Kairos dates and information below.

All students, please check out the sections about Prayer Opportunities and Sodality Small Faith Sharing.

If you and any friends are interested in participating in Bible Study on Tuesdays during lunch, please email Mrs. Goshe.

2025-26 School Year Theme: Verso l'alto! This means: "To the Heights" or "To the Top." This theme is based on the life and faith of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who will be canonized with Blessed Carlo Acutis on September 7, 2025. Blessed Pier Giorgio was called by St. John Paul II, "The Man of the Beatitudes". You can click here to watch a great explanation of the Beatitudes. You can click here to learn more about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

Verso l'alto,

Mrs. Goshe

Service with Mrs. Cooper

In the Catholic faith, service is at the very heart of what it means to follow Christ. Jesus reminds us in the Gospel that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for Him. When we serve, we are answering this call to love our neighbor, to care for those in need, and to build a stronger, more compassionate community.

For high school students, service hours can sometimes feel like just another requirement to complete, but they are meant to be much more than that. Each hour of service is an invitation to step outside of ourselves, to encounter Christ in the faces of those we help, and to allow our hearts to be changed by the experience. Service teaches us empathy, patience, and generosity, and it allows us to put our faith into action in a very real and meaningful way.

So as you complete your service hours this year, I encourage you not to view this as another task to check off your list but rather to approach them with the mindset of love—love for your neighbor, love for your community, and love for God. See each opportunity to serve, no matter how big or small your opportunity is, as a chance to grow in faith and to make a lasting impact, both on others and on yourself. Service is not only about giving—it is also about receiving the gift of encountering Christ in a new and powerful way.

Service Hours Expectations

All students are expected to complete 25 service hours during this academic year. Please see STVM’s requirement for Christian Service Hours in the STVM Course Catalog. Service hours are due in the spring, by April 15 for seniors and May 1 for juniors, sophomores and freshmen. Juniors and Seniors are expected to complete at least 15 of those hours off campus at local non-profit organizations or with other non-STVM related groups. Sophomores are expected to complete at least 10 hours off campus, and Freshmen are expected to complete at least five hours off campus. Hours must be logged in MobileServe and verified by a supervisor. Please follow these steps:

Log into MobileServe.com using your STVM/Google credentials. Freshman and transfer students will receive an email in their inbox from TeamMobileServe that will help them claim their account.
If it is your first time logging in (transfers and freshmen), the website will ask you for a School Code, but you can just "skip this" step.
Please enter a phone number in MobileServe as a way to verify your identity.
On the home screen, there is a big blue button that will lead you to a few questions about any service hours you do.
It is important that you provide an email address for the person supervising your service. MobileServe will ask you for that email as you log your service hours. The supervisor will then receive an email from MobileServe asking them to verify your service hours. As you log your hours, you should also be double checking your MobileServe account to make sure the hours have been verified.
We recommend entering your service hours as you complete them throughout the year so that supervisors will receive verification requests right after you complete your service, not months later when they may not recall the details. The whole process works best when supervisors can verify hours in a timely fashion.
We will be checking once service hours are due to confirm that each student’s service hours have been verified.

Please see or email Mrs. Cooper in the Campus Ministry Office if you have any questions.

Service Opportunities

There are three service opportunities that are quickly approaching.

St. Vincent de Paul after school tutoring program

Wednesdays at 3:15pm, starting Sept. 17th

St. Mary's after school enrichment program

Thursdays at 3:15, starting Sept. 18th

Akron Marathon

Sept. 27th

There will be more information about these opportunities and more emailed out soon! Service opportunities will also be visible in Mobile Serve.

If you need any help finding opportunities to serve or have any questions, please email Mrs. Cooper at mcooper@stvm.com

Marianist LIFE

Meal Ministry

We would love new volunteers for this year's Marianist LIFE Meal Ministry! Each month, a group of parents puts together a meal for the students to enjoy before their meeting. Here's a great article in the Marianist publication Alive, about how the brothers provide meals and fellowship to students at Marianist-sponsored universities, including the popular spaghetti dinners at the University of Dayton. Our meal ministry here at STVM is similar in spirit!

Please mark your calendars for our First LIFE Night this year on Wednesday, September 17, from 6-8 p.m. in the LRC! Everyone is welcome to get involved. Please email Barbara McKnight at mcknighteb@windstream.net to join this year's group, be put on the SignUp mailing list or if you have any questions. A link to the SignUp will also be posted here soon.

Prayer Opportunities

Campus Ministry would like to continue to increase the amount opportunities offered to pray together. We will be trying the following schedule during the 1st Quarter. If you are interested in learning more about any of these opportunities, please email Mrs. Goshe.

Tuesday - Sign up for a Bible Study during your Lunch Time (email Mrs. Goshe if interested)

Wednesday - 5 Minute Prayer in the LRC immediately after school

Thursday - Lectio Divina/Scripture Study during lunches in Campus Ministry Office

Friday - First Friday Masses at 7:15, every other Friday Rosary at 7:25am. Adoration 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month (parents welcome).

If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Goshe with your ideas.

Attention Seniors Kairos

Kairos Retreat is a retreat that truly celebrates and culminates our seniors' time here at STVM. It is an experience that many of our past seniors have shared was their best experience at STVM. Kairos means "God's Time" and is a retreat led by students for students. The talks and exercises of this retreat center around the revelation of God's love as we experience it in our lives. Adults participate as co-workers with the student team that is built from previous attendees of a Kairos retreat. These 4 day/3 night retreats are held at Loyola Retreat House in Clinton, OH.

The dates for Kairos Retreats this year are:

November 9 - 12 Seniors only (deadline for application and payment: Oct. 24)

January 18 - 21 Seniors & Juniors (deadline for application and payment: Dec. 19)

March 19 - 22 Seniors & Juniors (deadline for application and payment: Feb. 27)

Kairos applications will be available starting the first full week of school. Kairos Leaders and Mrs. Goshe will be sharing in Theology classes. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Goshe.

Sodality Small Faith Sharing Groups

Jesus, in his three years of public ministry, picked the 12 apostles to accompany him. Marianist Founder, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, knew that new times called for new measures and worked to form small groups, or sodalities, of lay people to accompany and support each other in their journey of faith. The most current research in Youth Ministry states that relationship and authentic accompaniment are an incredible means to help grow a disciple of Christ for life.

In light of this, Campus Ministry is seeking students interested in forming small faith sharing groups. The groups will be single-sex groups of 5 to no more than 8. The groups will commit to meeting for one hour, once per week. A Catholic mentor from outside the STVM community will, after receiving both ministry training and VIRTUS (the Diocesan program, Protecting God's Children) training, journey in faith with the small group. Groups will do an initial study and then, working with their mentor, determine the next faith step activity.

Students interested in learning more or becoming a member of a Sodality Small Faith Sharing Group should complete this google form. If any students or parents have any questions about this new endeavor, please email Mrs. Goshe.

HELP EMMA AND HER MOM

GIFT CARD TREE

I also ask that you consider joining me to put together a gift card tree for Emma and her mom as Emma deals with challenging chemotherapy and many hospital stays this summer. They are up for any food places (except seafood places), and Giant Eagle is where they shop for groceries. If you would like to donate a gift card, please either mail attention Mrs. Goshe to the school or drop them off at the office in envelope marked Mrs. Goshe for Emma Bryant, during office hours Mon. - Thurs. (9:00am - 3:00pm). Thank you in advance for your generosity.

MARIANIST MOMENT

Marianists believe that Mary is the perfect model of discipleship. She shows us how to love, trust, and follow Jesus better than any other human being. She also encourages us to "Do whatever He tells you." John 2:5

To learn more about the Marianist Family, please check out their latest Family magazine here.

It is important to understand why we, as Catholics, hold Mary in high esteem, call her our Mother, and ask for her intercession. This short video with Fr. Mike Schmitz gives a good introduction and explanation to help us to understand our relationship with Mary.

Here is a link to other resources about Mary, how to pray with Mary, Marian Feast days, and activities to celebrate Mary.

We invite and encourage you to download the Marianist App for lots of great resources and information.

This article will also help you get to know Blessed William Joseph Chaminade better.

Students Should Download Hallow App and Login

We have been blessed with a donor who has made it possible for us to have the Hallow App for Schools. Hallow is the #1 Prayer App that is a great resource for strengthening the spiritual and mental health of the school community. All of our faculty, staff, and students have access to Hallow for the entire school year. It is a beautiful prayer tool with so many resources to use. Hallow is an incredible resource! Students should download the app today and follow these instructions below to log in.

Here is how to log into Hallow to start using it today:

1) Download the Hallow app, or log in at http://app.hallow.com

2) Click Log in with Google

3) Enter your school email address

4) You should have access

Upcoming Dates

Aug. 28 - Opening School Mass - 10:30 am

Sept. 1 - No School

Sept. 5 - Celebration of Pier Giorgio Frassati's Canonization

Sept. 7 - Canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlos Acutis

Sept. 12 - Feast of the Holy Name of Mary - All School Mass - 10:05 am

Sept. 16 - Senior Retreat Day

Sept. 17 - Marianist LIFE Night - 6-8 pm

Sept. 27 - Feast of St. Vincent de Paul

Volunteer and Support Campus Ministry

Volunteer Opportunities

SUPPLY SNACKS: for our Campus Ministry Office (granola bars, bags of chips, and fruit snacks are wildly popular). Please consider sending us a box or two of granola bars, etc. Donations may be dropped off to the Main Office; please clearly label for Campus Ministry. THANK YOU!
DONATE CASH/FOOD: for Marianist LIFE Night. Email Barbara McKnight if interested.

Faith Experiences outside STVM to check out

Mother-Daughter Retreat

Raising Dahlias: Let Love In

September 28, 12:30-4pm, St Albert the Great, North Royalton

Invite your families to the Raising Dahlias' Mother-Daughter one-day retreat, featuring guest speakers Debbie & Rachel Herbeck from Be Love Revolution, a dynamic ministry focused on helping young women know the personal and transformative love of Jesus, and empowering them to be God’s love in the world today. Open to mothers and daughters 6th grade and up. Godmothers, grandmothers, aunts, and friends are welcome! Register HERE.

CYSC CLE Reunion

November 1, 6:30-9pm, St Gabriel Parish, Concord Twp

Did your teens attend Catholic Youth Summer Camp this year? Or do you know any Damascus summer missionaries from our diocese? Invite them and their families to Damascus Summer Camps All Souls Mass Reunion! (Even if they didn't attend, they can still come!)

6:30pm Worship | 7pm Mass | 8pm Holy Hour
Presider: Fr Joshua Trefney

Podcast of Bishop's Pastoral Letter

Have you had a chance to read Bishop Edward Malesic’s first pastoral letter, “A Flourishing Apostolic Church?” If not, you can listen to it as a podcast by clicking HERE. Six episodes, ranging in length from just over nine to 15½ minutes, were recorded by the bishop. The document, released in December 2024, encourages the faithful of the Diocese of Cleveland to spend at least 15 minutes daily in prayer, to worship/celebrate the sacraments and to serve those in need.

USCCB Updated Preface

Create in Me a Pure Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography

The U.S. Catholic Bishops have released a new 10th anniversary preface to the Church’s response to pornography, offering fresh recommendations for parents, clergy, educators, and civil leaders on combatting porn’s influence in an age of increased social isolation and the rise of artificial intelligence.

Vocation Office Events

2025-2026

Mark your calendars to build a culture of vocations for your youth this next ministry year! The 2025-2026 Vocation Office Events include R&Rs, come and see dates, BBQ with the Bishop, the Priest vs Seminarian Basketball Game and more! Check it out HERE.

Campus Ministry Mission and Vision

MISSION - Teach, share, support, and live the Mission of St. Vincent- St. Mary and the Marianist Characteristics of Education with an emphasis on invitation and hospitality.

VISION - Every day, every person, every interaction, an encounter with Christ.

THEME (25-26 School Year) - Verso l'alto which means- To the Top or To the Heights - more information to come