House System

This is a complex question. There is no one way to describe a House System because in places all over the world, the House System is executed in a way that serves the particular needs of each school. In general, a House System is a structure to group a variety of students which creates built-in time for human formation in the form of mentoring, leadership, and relationship building. The House System - which is used in schools around the world - is focused on the development of students so they are well-rounded individuals by fostering healthy interactions among all individuals, promoting the welfare of others, and building critical skills in students.

What will the House System look like at Central Catholic High School?

At Central Catholic High School, students will be welcomed into one of four multi-grade level Houses each led by a staff House Dean and student House Captains. Each House will have an identifiable name, color, and crest. Students in each House will also belong to a smaller group within the House, called a Community, which will be led by a staff Community Mentor. Community groups will meet daily. Nearly all activities and events will be run through the House System as Houses compete for the annual "Saints Cup."

Experiences, testimonies, and research from high schools across the country identify a House System as providing students a richer and more dynamic high school experience.

How is this possible?

• Building Meaningful Relationships: Students will form connections and become known beyond their grade level and individual classroom teachers. Our faculty and staff will have time to be more intentional in the socialization of our students.

• Strengthening Our School Family: Increase a student's sense of belonging to a group and his or her appreciation of others by deepening engagement with the school community. When individuals are secure in their identity, our school community is stronger.

• Cultivating a Deeper Pride in Being a Saint: House games, competitions, affiliations, and bonds with others create a space for pride in our school.

• Growing in Faith: More built-in opportunities for faith formation.

• Developing Leaders: Numerous leadership opportunities in the House System.

Specifically, what are some of the benefits to a school having a House System?

The House System will enhance the sense of unity and engagement across all grade levels, and it will provide activities to maximize students' unique spiritual, physical, emotional, and professional potential.

The following are additional identified benefits of a House System, based on school visits, interviews, and research of existing House Systems in schools:

• Opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and develop new relationships with students, faculty, and staff members

• Increased availability for Campus Ministry opportunities such as Mass, small groups, etc. In general, a students' faith life will have more space to grow and mature in this system.

• Increased formal and informal opportunities for leadership development.

• Utilizing a block schedule opens up our ability to offer a more diverse array of courses reflecting our students interests.

• House activities, competitions, and events that cover a range of student interests and skills to ensure that everyone is engaged, included, recognized, and appreciated.

• Built in time daily for students to learn and practice life and leadership skills such as planning events, reflecting, working cooperatively, advocating for self and others, prayer, serving others, effective communication, resolving conflict, time management, and following directions.

• Small group daily interactions prevent students from "falling through the cracks" or going unsupported during a school day.

• Celebrating past traditions while creating new traditions.

• Research Begins: Members of the Central Catholic community began contemplating and researching House Systems in 2015. At that time, it was determined that a schedule change needed to be made in order to accomplish the goals of the House System and more research needed to be done.

• Strategic Planning: The Strategic Planning process took place during the 2018-2019 school year and one of the outcomes of that initiative was a goal to implement a House System within 3-5 years.

• House System Committee: A new House System Committee was formed in 2020 composed of Central Catholic staff, parents, and community members was formed. That committee built the long-term plan and helped conduct research.

• School Interviews: Initially, ten schools with successful House Systems were interviewed regarding:

  • Their rationale for a House System

  • Best practices

  • Structure of the system

  • Roles of the stakeholders

  • Challenges encountered

  • Results from implementation, amongst other

• Resource Accumulation: The committee also started gathering documents from any schools willing to share their resources.

• Stakeholder Interviews: Members of the House System Committee interviewed partner school principals, our counselors, our Athletic Director, our Music Director, our Director of Campus Ministry, our teachers, and our families. The information from those interviews, in addition to what we learned about best practices from high schools with strong House Systems, led to the decision to move to a block schedule.

• School Visits and Partnership: Another important part of our research came through two visits to St. James Academy in Lenexa, Kansas which was identified as having a very strong and developed House System. In October 2021, a group of stakeholders including administrators, teachers, parents, and students found the visit to be very fruitful. The visitors learned a lot and had a better vision for how the House System could look at Central Catholic. Everyone returned excited to develop and implement the House System at Central Catholic High School.

• Leadership Summit: Another group of staff and students was able to attend the Leadership Summit that St. James hosted for their student House leaders in August 2022. This visit was invaluable in helping us to envision what an event like that could look like at Central Catholic.

• National House System Institutes: Central Catholic staff members have also attended the 2019, 2021, and 2022 House Institutes which gather schools from all over the country to discuss how to implement and continually improve House Systems in schools.

• Student Leadership Team: In the spring of 2021, we developed a student leadership team, composed of Freshmen through Juniors. The team meets to make decisions regarding how the House System will function. They have decided the House and Community names and have given their input regarding the schedule, House activities, leadership roles within the House, and how to help the student body to make this change. We continue to engage them as we work towards full implementation.

Goals of the House System at Central Catholic High School:

• Ensure each student has at least two adult advocates who can provide individual care by monitoring and supporting the student's academic, social, and spiritual growth.
• Build genuine Campus Ministry opportunities and faith formation into the school day.
• Provide numerous leadership opportunities for students.
• Expand each student's problem-solving and interpersonal relationship skills.
• Create a structure to provide students a personalized, challenging experience focused on both personal and academic growth.
• Deepen a student's engagement and investment in school through events, games, activities, and competitions related to student interests.
• Strengthen community bonds amongst students regardless of grade level, race, socioeconomic status, personal interests, and individual experiences.
• Benefit the community at large by forming passionate, faithful, and selfless, and resilient citizens.
• Provide the building blocks for each Central Catholic High School student to know and love Jesus and the people in our community more genuinely and deeply.

The House System will enhance the sense of unity and engagement across all grade levels, and it will provide activities to maximize students' unique spiritual, physical, emotional, and professional potential.  The following are additional identified benefits of a House System:

• Opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and develop new relationships with students, faculty, and staff members
• Increased availability for Campus Ministry opportunities such as Mass, small groups, etc.  In general, a students' faith life will have more space to grow and mature in this system.
• Increased formal and informal opportunities for leadership development.
• Utilizing a block schedule opens up our ability to offer a more diverse array of courses reflecting our students interests.
• House activities, competitions, and events that cover a range of student interests and skills to ensure that everyone is engaged, included, recognized, and appreciated.  
• Built in time daily for students to learn and practice life and leadership skills such as planning events, reflecting, working cooperatively, advocating for self and others, prayer, serving others, effective communication, resolving conflict, time management, and following directions.
• Small group daily interactions prevent students from "falling through the cracks" or going unsupported during a school day. 
• Celebrating past traditions while creating new traditions.

In terms of how the House System will provide new experiences next year, please note the following:

1. New Daily Schedule - We will be adopting an A/B Block Schedule beginning with the 2023-24 school year.  This allows us to offer eight classes for students while also having designated House time each day.  Please note more information about the block schedule - including specific bell times - can be found in the "Block Schedule" topic.  ​​  
2. New Arrival and Dismissal Times - To accommodate for each House's Community time during the day, along with providing more academic options and spiritual opportunities, we have adjusted our arrival and dismissal times.  We will begin the day at 8:20am and end our school days at 3:10pm.    
3. New Courses - Since students will now have the opportunity to take one additional class - or a study hall - due to the additional 8th course, we are able to provide more academic course options tailored to our students' needs and interests.  Most importantly, our music classes can now be offered during the academic hours of our school day.  
4. New Leadership Opportunities - There will be a significant increase in the amount of student leadership opportunities.  There will be 74 official student leadership opportunities created with the House System.   

Students will be assigned to Houses in a way that ensures there is a diverse cross-section of the student body in each House.  Sorry, but we do not take requests!

The faculty and staff will also be assigned into each of the Houses.   

A student will be welcomed into his or her House during his or her first year at Central Catholic High School.  Siblings - and someday children and grandchildren - will be welcomed into the same House as their previous family members. 

Please watch the video (above and linked here) to discover each of our House names!

View a quick profile for each House here.

Veritas House

Why "Veritas?" We live in a world filled with way more information coming towards us than we can possibly handle. With so many supposed “truths” that are created to mimic reality, one can be left to wonder…what is fact? What is actuality? What is reality? Does truth simply reside only in the intellect in so far as it is understood?

This House represents honesty. "Veritas" (pronounced ver-ee-tahs) means "truth" in Latin. It represents trust in God and in one another. This House, colored in steel gray - the color which represents one of the most important materials in the basis of construction - is focused on the most important characteristic in the basis of our faith… the truth.

This House resides on the backs of Saints and individuals who were educators or Doctors of the Church: Thomas Aquinas, Therese of Lisieux, Fulton Sheen, and Catherine of Siena.

This is the House of faithfulness.  This is the House of the truth.  This is the Veritas House. 

Lumen House

Why "Lumen?"  A single bulb in a dark room is an agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.  Its authentic power is to not be hidden under a bushel, but instead, set on a lampstand where it gives light to all in the House.  "Lumen" (pronounced loo-men) means "light" in Latin.  

This House, which is inspired by Saints who were mystics, works to amplify the intrinsically motivated light of the individual to illuminate the surrounding darkness of our world and impart the light of holiness to all.  Ignatius of Loyola, Faustina Kowalska, Ambrose, and Kateri Tekakwitha refused to dim their lights - instead - they dedicated themselves to disseminating their light near and far, to never be deterred by obstacles, and stay forward-looking to be examples of servants of God.

The gold of this House reminds us to show forth the brilliancy of our good deeds and glorify the Father in heaven.

This little light of mine… this is the Lumen House.

Caritas House

Why "Caritas?"  We all have felt the pain of rejection in some way.  The feeling of being dismissed, spurned, or not accepted by others.  It is in these moments we understand the power of community.  The power of “belonging” to something bigger than one’s self.  The power of living beyond one’s wants and needs, and instead, living in service of others with compassion and love.

The Caritas (pronounced kahr-ee-tahs) House, which means "love" in Latin, works to provide comfort to a broken world.  It is associated with Saints and individuals who gave all of themselves to others, humbly working according to what is morally right and fair in all circumstances: Gianna Beretta Molla, Augustus Tolton, Marianne Cope, and Oscar Romero.  

This House - draped in the comforting color family of rock blue - is selfless, grateful, mindful, and compassionate.  

This is the Caritas House.   

Gaudium House

Why "Gaudium?"  Joy is more than a fleeting emotion.  It is deeply rooted in the Gospel message, and it comes from a place not deterred by difficulties.  It is courageous to be joyful in a jaded, cynical world.  When you have joy - you have hope.  When you have hope - you can problem-solve, adapt, learn, and evangelize.  You have a fire inside of you that others want to have in their own lives.

Gaudium (pronounced gau-dee-uhm) means "joy" in Latin.  This House follows the lead of Saints who were evangelists and missionaries: Paul Miki, Mary Magdalene, Frances Xavier Cabrini, and Pier-Giorgio Frassati.  These individuals were resilient, flexible-thinking people who were able to withstand and recover quickly from difficult conditions.

The navy of this House speaks to the stability and power of joy in one’s life.  

This House?  It brings the joy!  This is the Gaudium House.

What is a "Community?" Students in each House will also belong to a smaller group within the House, called a Community, which will be led by a staff Community Mentor. Community groups will meet daily.

EACH HOUSE'S COMMUNITIES

Veritas House ("Truth" in Latin)

Communities are associated with Saints and individuals who were educators or Doctors of the Church

• Thomas Aquinas Community
• Therese of Lisieux Community
• Fulton Sheen Community
• Catherine of Siena Community

Lumen House ("Light" in Latin)

Communities are associated with Saints who were mystics whose missions were illuminated through prayer

• Ignatius of Loyola Community
• Faustina Kowalska Community
• Ambrose Community
• Kateri Tekakwitha Community

Caritas House ("Love" in Latin)

Communities are associated with Saints and individuals who worked with the poor and marginalized

• Gianna Beretta Molla Community
• Augustus Tolton Community
• Marianne Cope Community
• Oscar Romero Community

Gaudium House ("Joy" in Latin)

Communities are associated with Saints who were evangelists or missionaries

• Paul Miki Community
• Mary Magdalene Community
• Pier-Giorgio Frassati Community
• Frances Xavier Cabrini Community

• Veritas: Gray
• Lumen: Gold
• Caritas: Rock Blue
• Gaudium: Navy

No.  Students continue as a member of their assigned House through graduation.

Visual

Please click here for a visual representation of our House System's leadership structure.  

Student Directors

• Primary Role: Serve and support the House Captains and work with the adult leadership to ensure the realization of the House System vision and the school’s mission. 
• Number of Roles: Two 
• Eligible Individuals: Senior students chosen by House System adult leadership.

House Captains

• Primary Role: Serve the Community Captains to ensure that the Communities are succeeding; Plan House-wide events and represent their House members when decisions are being made.
• Number of Roles: Eight (two per House)
• Eligible Individuals: Senior students chosen by Director and House Deans.

Community Captains

• Primary Role:  Facilitate relationship-building in their Communities by being prepared and joyful leaders during every Community time.
• Number of Roles: Sixteen (four Community Captains - one per Community - within each House)
• Eligible Individuals: Senior students chosen by the particular House Dean and that House's Community Mentors.

Community Representatives

• Primary Role: Represent their grade-level peers within the larger Council of Representatives (composed of all of the House Captains, Community Captains and Community Representatives from each House).  This Council will be responsible for contributing to decisions regarding school-wide policies, events, and activities.  
• Number of Roles: Forty-eight (1 Junior, 1 Sophomore, 1 Freshmen from each Community)
• Eligible Individuals: Students chosen by their peers and the adult House leadership.

No, there will not be a change to a specific uniform next year.  The dress code will remain the same for the 2023-2024 school year as it is being implemented this school year.

However, please note we will continue to research and gather feedback on a more streamlined and simpler dress code for future school years.  Nonetheless, there are no plans for ties, jackets, and jumpers!  

To meet the goals and experience the benefits of a House System (all of which can be found in the above "Guiding Principles" topic), research, lived experiences, and testimonials have shown the implementation of a block schedule creates:  

• The opportunity for all students - not just upperclassmen - to participate in various elective classes including a Study Hall
• The incorporation of meaningful House times during the week
• The longer class times allow teachers to provide more support in real time while students are practicing skills and completing work 
• The longer class times allow teachers and students to go more in-depth and preserve class time by having fewer transitions between classes
• Only 4 classes per day means students have fewer areas of focus each day and more time to do out-of-class assignments for each class

Article from The School Superintendents Association about the Effects of Block Scheduling

Please view the daily Navy/Gold Day schedules here. 

A 2023-24 school-year calendar with designated Navy and Gold Days will be available prior to the start of the school year.