Service Learning
Service Learning
Service Learning: At-a-Glance
St. Ignatius School offers a program of hands-on service that, like our academic curriculum, increases in depth and intensity each year. Students participate in these projects at least once a month:
- PreK: Collect gloves, socks and hats at Christmas and artwork/cards for Jean's Place.
- Kindergarten: Collect food for the hungry and deliver it to St. Vincent de Paul
- 1st Grade: Pick up litter on school grounds
- 2nd Grade: Write letters to the homebound elders of our parish community
- 3rd Grade: Make animal toys from recycled materials for the Oregon Humane Society
- 4th Grade: Plant flowers and distribute seeds to businesses to promote healthy bee communities
- 5th Grade: Make friendship bracelets for Doernbecher Children's Hospital
- 6th Grade: Volunteer at the Oregon Food Bank.
- 7th Grade: Visit elderly residents at Courtyard at Mt. Tabor Assisted Living
- 8th Grade: Arrupe Service Projects
Our students also serve together as a community on several school-wide service learning projects:
- Raise funds to purchase food for Transition Lunches
- Christmas Boxes for the Community Transitional School
Why Service?
Our comprehensive service learning program empowers our students to make a sincere difference in the lives of others. As they mature, our students gain the facility to connect and be comfortable with people of all walks of life, and by the conclusion of the program they have fully grasped the God-given dignity of all people. With a genuine sense of gratitude, our students no longer see service as an obligation but as an opportunity to form personal relationships based upon compassion, justice, and love.
Visit Us!
If you are interested in cultivating a sense of gratitude in your child’s heart, call us today!
To learn how our service learning program shapes your child, please read the detailed description below.
Service Learning: In-depth
PreK: Jean's Place
Students donate gloves, socks and hats to the women at Jean's Place, a women's shelter, in Portland around Christmas. They send the women artwork/thinking of you cards throughout the school year.
Kindergarten: Food for the Hungry with St. Vincent de Paul
Kindergartners collect food for the hungry and deliver it in person to the St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) pantry in the St. Ignatius Parish Center. The kids have the opportunity to meet the SVDP Coordinator, learn about their services, and see the pantry for themselves. Right from the start, our students learn a responsibility to feed the poor.
1st Grade: Caring for the School Grounds
The 1st graders pick up litter on the school grounds while they discuss the importance of caring for the earth. Our students learn to treasure the school grounds, and to do their part to help beautify the environment.
2nd Grade: Writing the Homebound Elders of the Parish
The 2nd graders reach out through writing to the homebound elders of St. Ignatius Parish who often feel isolated. The bright letters from the children lift the elders’ spirits, help them feel valued, and keep them connected to the parish community they deeply miss. The students come to realize the difference a loving gesture can make to those weighed down by loneliness.
3rd Grade: Oregon Humane Society
The 3rd graders, make animal toys from recycled materials for the Oregon Humane Society. Our students learn stewardship and care for God's creation through these fun hands-on experiences.
4th Grade: Care for Bees
The 4th graders study about the importance of bees to our world. They plant bee-friendly flowers and distribute flower seeds to nearby businesses to encourage supporting bee health.
5th Grade: Doernbecher Children's Hospital
The 5th graders make friendship bracelets and cards to cheer up the children suffering from severe health challenges at Doernbecher Children's Hospital. This project opens our students’ eyes to the way they can make a difference in our local community. The students are able to share their gifts of compassion and artistry that they learn while at St. Ignatius. The fifth graders can’t help but humbly recognize their own blessings, and deepen the sense of a gratitude that walks hand-in-hand with the desire to serve.
6th & 7th Grades: Courtyard at Mt. Tabor
The sixth and seventh graders also have a monthly visit with the elderly residents at Courtyard at Mt. Tabor. They plan activities and projects for their time with the residents. The students are able to share their gifts of compassion and patience that they learn while at St. Ignatius. The service is connected to religion class and the theme of Catholic social teaching: "option for the poor and vulnerable." Jesus calls us to solidarity and to take care of our neighbors.
8th Grade: Arrupe Projects
The 8th graders select their own service partner based on their own passions for service work. The students must come up with what they can do and how it will benefit their chosen service partner. Some students will make a product such as a candle or lip balm to sell and donate the proceeds to the service partner. Some will host recycling events directly with their service partner. Some will serve by directly volunteering at the service partner site. At the Academic Fair, they create a presentation board to share with the community about the ways they served and why they are passionate about the chosen service partner.
School-wide Service Learning: In-depth
Transition Supper Funding
Similar to Operation Rice Bowl, our students collect their own spare change throughout the weeks of Lent (the holy season of preparation for Easter) for Transition Projects. At all ages, our students develop discipline in being consistently mindful of those who are less fortunate.
Christmas Boxes for Transitional School
In December our families provide Christmas boxes to children without homes through the Transitional School. Families volunteer to provide Christmas gifts for an individual child, then shop for that child over the holiday season. On Christmas morning, the child receives this very special, personalized package of gifts, and our students and their families are blessed with the joy of giving as they practice the true spirit of Christmas.
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Service Learning: In-depth
PreK: Jean's Place
Students donate gloves, socks and hats to the women at Jean's Place, a women's shelter, in Portland around Christmas. They send the women artwork/thinking of you cards throughout the school year.
Kindergarten: Food for the Hungry with St. Vincent de Paul
Kindergartners collect food for the hungry and deliver it in person to the St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) pantry in the St. Ignatius Parish Center. The kids have the opportunity to meet the SVDP Coordinator, learn about their services, and see the pantry for themselves. Right from the start, our students learn a responsibility to feed the poor.
1st Grade: Caring for the School Grounds
The 1st graders pick up litter on the school grounds while they discuss the importance of caring for the earth. Our students learn to treasure the school grounds, and to do their part to help beautify the environment.
2nd Grade: Writing the Homebound Elders of the Parish
The 2nd graders reach out through writing to the homebound elders of St. Ignatius Parish who often feel isolated. The bright letters from the children lift the elders’ spirits, help them feel valued, and keep them connected to the parish community they deeply miss. The students come to realize the difference a loving gesture can make to those weighed down by loneliness.
3rd Grade: Oregon Humane Society
The 3rd graders, make animal toys from recycled materials for the Oregon Humane Society. Our students learn stewardship and care for God's creation through these fun hands-on experiences.
4th Grade: Care for Bees
The 4th graders study about the importance of bees to our world. They plant bee-friendly flowers and distribute flower seeds to nearby businesses to encourage supporting bee health.
5th Grade: Doernbecher Children's Hospital
The 5th graders make friendship bracelets and cards to cheer up the children suffering from severe health challenges at Doernbecher Children's Hospital. This project opens our students’ eyes to the way they can make a difference in our local community. The students are able to share their gifts of compassion and artistry that they learn while at St. Ignatius. The fifth graders can’t help but humbly recognize their own blessings, and deepen the sense of a gratitude that walks hand-in-hand with the desire to serve.
6th & 7th Grades: Courtyard at Mt. Tabor
The sixth and seventh graders also have a monthly visit with the elderly residents at Courtyard at Mt. Tabor. They plan activities and projects for their time with the residents. The students are able to share their gifts of compassion and patience that they learn while at St. Ignatius. The service is connected to religion class and the theme of Catholic social teaching: "option for the poor and vulnerable." Jesus calls us to solidarity and to take care of our neighbors.
8th Grade: Arrupe Projects
The 8th graders select their own service partner based on their own passions for service work. The students must come up with what they can do and how it will benefit their chosen service partner. Some students will make a product such as a candle or lip balm to sell and donate the proceeds to the service partner. Some will host recycling events directly with their service partner. Some will serve by directly volunteering at the service partner site. At the Academic Fair, they create a presentation board to share with the community about the ways they served and why they are passionate about the chosen service partner.
School-wide Service Learning: In-depth
Transition Supper Funding
Similar to Operation Rice Bowl, our students collect their own spare change throughout the weeks of Lent (the holy season of preparation for Easter) for Transition Projects. At all ages, our students develop discipline in being consistently mindful of those who are less fortunate.
Christmas Boxes for Transitional School
In December our families provide Christmas boxes to children without homes through the Transitional School. Families volunteer to provide Christmas gifts for an individual child, then shop for that child over the holiday season. On Christmas morning, the child receives this very special, personalized package of gifts, and our students and their families are blessed with the joy of giving as they practice the true spirit of Christmas.
Back to top