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 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 does the House System look like at Central Catholic High School?

At Central Catholic High School, students are welcomed into one of four multi-grade level Houses each led by a staff House Dean and student House Captains. Each House has an identifiable name, color, and crest. Students in each House also belong to a smaller group within the House, called a Community, which is led by a staff Community Mentor and student Community Captain(s). Students meet daily with either their full House or their Community. Nearly all activities and events are 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 Stronger Relationships: Students form connections and become known beyond their grade level and individual classroom teachers. Our faculty and staff have time to be more intentional in the socialization of our students.
• Creating an Inclusive Environment: 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 enhances the sense of unity and engagement across all grade levels, and it provides 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.
• 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. That committee built the long-term plan and helped conduct research.
• School Interviews: Initially, ten schools with successful House Systems were interviewed regarding:

1. Their rationale for a House System
2. Best practices
3. Structure of the system
4. Roles of the stakeholders
5. Challenges encountered
6. 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 met to make decisions regarding how the House System would function. They decided the House and Community names and gave their input regarding the schedule, House activities, leadership roles within the House, and how to help the student body to make the change. 

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.

Students are 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!  Siblings - and someday children and grandchildren - will be welcomed into the same House as their previous family members. Students continue as a member of their assigned House through graduation.

Freshmen and new students are welcomed into their House at the beginning of the school year.  

Each faculty and staff member is also a member of a House.   

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 indigo 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 is led by a staff Community Mentor and student Community Captain(s). Communities meet every other day.

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

Click here for a link to the crests for each House.

The primary colors for each House are:

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

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.