Dear SCBA Families,
This week I'd like to share some information on the House System. This is very basic information. Once our scholars start to gather and plan their events, we will have some opportunities for parents to get involved. If you are interested in becoming a parent house leader please contact your scholar's teacher.
Have a great weekend!
Borromeo Academy House System
Mission of the Borromeo Academy House System
Partnering with parents in their role as primary educators, Saint Charles Borromeo Academy extends the mission of the Church in forming true disciples of Jesus Christ. In Preparing students for a lifetime of discipleship, the staff of Borromeo Academy is proud to announce the beginning of a house system. The mission of the house system is to create a school community where students and parents work together and support each other as they grow in their Catholic faith. The purpose of each house is to guide and support the academic, spiritual, social and personal development of each student and their family during their time at Borromeo Academy.
While participating in the Borromeo Academy House System, students and parents will have the opportunity to mix with families at their grade level, and with other families of students in grades Pre-Kindergarten - Eighth. This allows friendships and interests to extend throughout the Academy. Students will learn to work hard individually for the good of their house, along with working as a house team. Our house system will encourage teamwork, friendship, service, cooperation and leadership.
The Borromeo Academy House System allows the parents and students to participate in the planning of school activities. For example, each house is responsible for planning and executing (with administration and faculty approval) one aspect of a school event (refreshments, theme/decorations, prizes/raffles, event set‐up, working the event…). These planning activities will rotate through the houses, allowing each house to plan an event. Most importantly, the house system creates more opportunities for all students to engage in service to our community. All four houses participate in service learning projects that will be chosen by each house and approved by the administration and faculty.
House Organization
There are four houses, each one being named for a chosen saint. The four houses are:
St. Margaret Castello House
St. Francis of Assisi House
St. Katharine Drexel House
St. John Bosco House
House assignments do not change year to year. All members of the family including younger siblings will be assigned to the same house as their older siblings. Each house will have two co‐captains as leaders, along with school faculty and staff members to act as facilitators. Two School Prefects will oversee the house captains and work directly with each captain to provide support. Additionally, prefects will be the lead student ambassadors for any school function. Student led house meetings will take place throughout the school year during the school day.
House Leaders - Students
Each house is led by two eighth grade co‐captains. Co‐captains are chosen based on the following quality traits of leadership: respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, trustworthiness and citizenship. The job of each co-captain is to take responsibility for the leadership and organization of their house. Roles and responsibilities of a co‐captain include:
- Chairing house meetings
- Organizing committees/ teams for house activities and events
- Working with the administration, faculty and staff, classmates, and the parish and neighborhood community
New co‐captains are chosen by the school administration and middle school faculty members, with guidance from the Pastor, according to the six traits of leadership. The house captains will serve under the guidance of the Prefects.
In any given school year, if the eighth grade student enrollment is under sixteen students or the administration and faculty feel there are not enough qualified eighth grade students, the administration and faculty will have the option to select house co‐captains from that year’s seventh grade class. Being selected as a co‐captain in seventh grade does not necessarily mean the student will be selected as a co-captain the following year as an eighth grader.
Co‐captains, since they are chosen based on the quality traits of leadership, may be discharged of their duties if they do not exhibit these traits in their behavior and are not living the motto of their house. Examples of behaviors that may cause a co‐captain to be dismissed include but are not limited to:
Disrespectful behavior to any member of Borromeo Academy, parish or neighborhood community
Habitual late and/or missing academic assignments
Excessive absences/tardiness
Lack of effort in middle school classes, including specials
Lack of participation at school/house events
Poor grades on an interim and/or report card
Violation of the Code of Conduct as outlined in the Borromeo Academy Family Handbook
The procedure for dismissal is as follows:
1st warning – Student co‐captain meets with the Head of House faculty member and/or House System Coordinator to discuss matters of concern. Parent(s) or guardian(s) of the co‐captain will be contacted and informed of the meeting.
2nd warning‐ A second meeting will be arranged with the student co‐captain, Principal, Head of House faculty member and /or House System Coordinator if matters of concern have continued. Parties at the meeting will discuss ways to address matters of concern. Parent(s) or guardian(s) of the co‐captain will be contacted and informed of the meeting. A plan of action to address the matter of concern will be discussed and agreed upon among attending parties. Parent(s) or guardian(s) will receive written documentation of the meeting and action plan. The student co-captain will be given two weeks after the second meeting to change behavior and effort according to the agreed upon action plan.
Students will remain in their position as co‐ captains of their house until two warning meetings have taken place and it has been determined by administration and middle school faculty that the student has been unable to change the behavior and effort. If there is no change in behavior and effort after the second warning, the student will be relieved of their co‐captain’s duties and become a regular member of their house. Dismissed students will not be reinstated as a co‐captain. The administration and faculty will choose a new co‐captain for the remainder of the school year. The co‐captain replacement will be another eighth or seventh grade boy or girl from the house who possesses the qualities of leadership. If a dismissed co‐captain is in seventh grade, it will be at the discretion of the administration and faculty if they will be considered for another co‐captain position during their eighth-grade year.
House Activities
Throughout the year, service learning or worship themes will be introduced to the four houses. The themes may come from the school calendar, the liturgical calendar or administration, faculty and student ideas. The four houses will meet regularly and participate in activities that go along with the monthly service or worship theme. The co‐captains of each house will meet once a week at recess time to facilitate collaboration between the houses. Service learning themes may continue over several weeks until completion.
One of the main goals of the house system is for students to help in our community. This is accomplished by each house completing community service activities. A long‐term goal of the house system is for each house to have a charity that they help throughout the school year. For example, one house may focus their efforts on helping those in need in our community and work closely with Harvesters during the school year. This interaction between Borromeo Academy and local charities helps foster a closer‐knit community. The community service work completed by the houses during house meetings will count towards middle school community service hours for Religion class.
House Probation
Students may be asked not to participate in house meetings and/or house activities if their behavior during house meetings and house events becomes disruptive. Students who are not actively engaged in the tasks during house meetings may also be asked not to participate. Inappropriate behavior during a house meeting may cause the student to be dismissed to the principal’s office. Multiple house meeting dismissals may result in a student being put on house probation. Students on house probation will not be allowed to attend house meetings for the remainder of the term in which they were put on probation. Students on house probation will complete an alternative assignment based on the monthly service theme. Students on house probation may continue to participate in all school‐related activities, but if the activity ends while the student is still on probation, points earned for their house will not count and not be tallied. At the beginning of a new term, students on house probation may return to attending regular meetings and earning house points.
House Mentors
Students entering sixth grade will be paired up with a mentor from their assigned house to help ease their transition into middle school. Mentor partnerships will remain intact until October. After October, if a student still needs a mentor, they will be paired up with a student from their grade level. Students chosen to be mentors will earn points for their house. Mentor duties may include: helping a student manage assignments, keeping the student organized and helping the student acclimate to the middle school schedule and classes. If a mentor partnership is found not to be beneficial, the new student will be paired up with a new mentor.
House Tutors
Throughout the school year, certain students may be asked to tutor another student within their house. All student/student tutoring will be under the supervision of the teacher whose subject is being tutored. Students who help tutor their housemates will earn points for their house. If a tutoring partnership is found not to be beneficial, the student will be paired up with a new tutor or other tutoring plans will be made.
House Points
Throughout the school year, there will be competition among houses to win the House Trophy at the end of the year. The house name will be engraved on the trophy. This competition promotes a good natured rivalry among houses. A tally of each house’s points will be displayed on the bulletin board in the middle school hallway and is regularly updated with earned points. Once earned, points will not be deducted. Students who are dismissed from an activity/sport for poor behavior cannot receive points from that activity for their house. House points toward earning this prize will accumulate from the following activities/behaviors:
Academics
Community Service
Completion of extracurricular activities such as Sports, Drama Club, Chorus…
Participation in house activities
Positive Behavior
Honor Roll Status
Physical Education Student of the Month
Perfect Attendance
Parent Volunteerism
