Saint Houses: Inspiring Our Students through the Lives of His Saints

Thanks to the Saint Houses at Saint Michael Parish School, our eighth-grade graduation ceremony is an extraordinary experience where each student feels loved, accepted, and encouraged by God’s love.

“At graduation, every single student gets a plaque highlighting why they are so special, and what makes them such a unique disciple of Christ,” says Kathi Rafferty, Eighth ELA/Religion Teacher. “I am so glad we did away with only giving awards to some of the children because all of our kids are so great and try so hard. I believe this is one of the very best things we do — it has been one of the most transformative aspects of our Saint Houses program.”

Truly, the moving graduation ceremony is only one of the countless ways in which the Saint Houses enrich our parish school family and beyond. Saint Houses are multi-grade groupings of students who share certain values with certain saints. They allow for a consistent, cohesive program that puts all students on a “level playing field.”

According to their official mission statement, “The over-arching goal of Saint Houses is a greater sense of belonging to the Catholic Church, Saint Michael Parish School, and a smaller community that shares trust and affirmation.” Each house has a teacher advisor, as well as a very active student house leader who assumes a great deal of responsibility.

“We feel that the advisory period and the Saint Houses can make a huge difference in the success of our middle school students,” Mrs. Rafferty says.

Some of the many goals of the innovative program include ensuring that each student in the school is well known by at least one adult who is that student’s advisor; guaranteeing that every student is part of a peer group; helping every student find ways of being successful academically and socially; and foster unity, communication, community, and pastoral relationships among students and faculty.

There are currently seven Saint Houses with 10 to 12 students each, from various grades. The advisors and the houses they lead are as follows: Mrs. Bishop, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton; Mr. Boyd, St. Therese of Lisieux; Principal Geraghty, St. Teresa of Calcutta; Mr. Hart, St. Vincent de Paul; Mrs. Graver, St. Francis of Assisi; Mrs. Rafferty, St. Maximilian Kolbe; Mrs. Swenson, St. Faustina. The students stay in their Saint House all throughout middle school.

During the year, each Saint House does a major charitable work together, bringing the stewardship vision to life.

“My house did a Thanksgiving Food Drive this fall,” Mrs. Rafferty says. “Every Friday the students picked up the donations, counted all the food, wrote prayers on hearts to give to the families in need, and did the deliveries along with their parents. We have also continued to pray for these families throughout the year.”

At the end of each school year, the eighth-grade students may apply to become a house leader the following year.

“It is a huge honor to be a house leader,” Mrs. Rafferty says. “They serve as stewards of the school, and they take the younger kids under their wing. They help them navigate through their problems and teach them how to bring God into each situation. It is such a great source of camaraderie and discipleship for both the leaders and the younger students they work with.”

Eighth-grade student Sammy Peterson first desired to become a student house leader because of a deeper desire that rests in her heart.

“When I was little, I wanted to join Mother Teresa’s sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, and that inspired me to become a leader of the St. Teresa of Calcutta Saint House,” Sammy says. “I have really enjoyed it. I have made a few changes to how our house is structured, and I believe the changes have brought us all closer together. Overall, being a house leader has been a very valuable experience for me, and it has been really nice to bond with the other leaders and house members.”

To someone thinking of applying to become a student house leader, Sammy has some helpful advice.

“Go ahead and apply,” she says. “A lot of students doubt if they can do it or not, but you would never believe what could happen. There have been some leaders that have surprised me — I wasn’t sure if they could do it or not, but they really did a great job at it and turned it into their own thing!”

For more information about this beautiful educational outreach, please contact Kathi Rafferty at krafferty@stmikesolympia.org.

Members of the House of Saint Maximilian Kolbe assemble food baskets for over 35 community families who would not otherwise have a Thanksgiving dinner.

Members of the House of Saint Maximilian Kolbe gather and sort food from the Thanksgiving drive.

The House of Saint Teresa of Calcutta collected over 400 coats which will go to the parish Men’s Shelter, and clients of the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Members of the House of Saint Teresa of Calcutta were happy to collect coats in service of those in need.