Chaplaincy

Guidance

Special Education

Student Success

Chaplaincy At Cardinal Carter Academy For the Arts is not a contained enterprise, but, rather, a pervasive presence of the faith, weaving through each thread of the very brilliant and unique tapestry of this community.

Whether it be through offering praise and worship of our Lord in the form of morning prayers, school liturgies, celebrations of the Eucharist, or classroom prayer services, the formation and inspiring of faith-filled individuals remains an integral part of our community interactions.

It is our hope that each member will hold steadfast to the moral and Christ-centred approach that uniquely colours our days with the brilliance of Catholic education.

May we understand and appreciate our capacity to use faith as the brush with which to masterfully paint the kingdom here on earth.

May our faith-centred pedagogy evolve beyond the confines of the school community and into a society that requires people to set the world afire with hearts and spirits lit by the hope, compassion, and vision gleaned from a Catholic approach to education.

Our Cardinal Carter community is one that offers safety and refuge in an often precarious world. We uphold an environment where each classroom, hallway, and office becomes a haven for our community to enact their personhood in an environment that harkens the spirit of Catholic education.

Cardinal Carter savours the diversity that enriches our community and the principles of fair access and opportunity despite culture, beliefs, and social economic status, ensuring that all are raised up in mind, body, and spirit, enlivening always the image of God.

As a Catholic community, we strive to engender and promote programs, services, and guidelines that encompass traditional and new learning philosophies that encourage life-long learning, citizenry and responsibility, serving always to enact our Gospel values.

Through our commitment to such programs as “St. Stephen In The Field Breakfast Program”, our food and coat drives, the services and goods we provide for our sister school in the Philippines, and the many Catholic organizations we support through our “Just Youth” committee, we become the role-models Christ called us to be.

We acknowledge that we need not reach the masses all at once, but, that, with each personal encounter, each lesson, each smile, each moment of compassion, we are lighting the souls of our people with a knowledge and love that may have the capacity to illuminate the world.

The staff and students of Cardinal Carter seek to uphold the integrity and justice that all were created to enjoy. It is our hope that compassion and empathy and are the hands we use to feed each of our students, filling them wholly with principles of equity and ethical living…a lesson that will live on in what they do long after their time in our community

As educators of the Cardinal Carter community, we recognize that we are servant leaders, fostering in others a passion for learning and education that remains long after the textbooks are closed and the examinations are completed.

We, by our own enthusiasm, passion, and awareness, have the capacity to stir in our students the desire for truth and understanding that will be sought throughout all of life’s challenges. Such a passion is evident both in the religion and leadership courses, which offer students a vehicle through which to enter into deeper discernment and awareness of the faith while inviting them to light up the world with their witness to Catholic teaching.

Students have the opportunity to take Grade 12 Religion as Christian Living and Leadership. The course explores the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations, Seven Habits for Highly Effective Teens, the Bible and other resources related to Christian leadership and service. Leadership is discussed theoretically and then practically applied through Service Projects in the school and community. Students in the Leadership course help to plan, organize and facilitate the grade level retreats as well as the major liturgies held throughout the year.

The leadership students also contribute through involvement in morning prayers and prayer services in the classroom and are encouraged to become involved in leadership opportunities in the school and within our community.

Students are invited to participate in such faith strengthening events such as, ACCTS - A Catholic Call to Serve, We Day, When Faith Meets Pedagogy -Youth Rally, Voices that Challenge Students Trustee Conference and Camp Olympia. Students are also updated with events in and around the city especially events sponsored by the Office of Catholic Youth and the Ontario Catholic Federation of Student Councils. Our students are represented at the Catholic Student Leadership Impact Team at the Board level.