Community Service

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For the Class of 2021, 2022 and 2023

Please be sure that you have created your MobileServe account. (See the MobileServe Getting Started Guide below.) Please enter any hours that you have already completed, but have not yet logged. If you have any paper forms or certificates for service activities, please attach these as a photo to your MobileServe Service Log.

Your Religion teacher will post an assignment due May 1, for you to submit your Community Service Essay for your hours this year. This is counted as a test grade in your Religion class. Fifty points will be given for having your MobileServe account properly set up. Fifty points will be given for the Essay. IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE ANY COMMUNITY SERVICE THIS YEAR, YOU WILL WRITE AN ESSAY ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING COMMUNITY SERVICE. Please refer to the Reflective Essay Guidelines below.

For the Class of 2024

Please follow all CDC Guidelines for social distancing until further notice. If and when you are able to complete service hours after June 1 and prior to the start of the 2020-2021 school year, please print and bring the form below, Summer Service Hours, to each different service activity. Fill out the form with your site supervisor. Keep it in a safe place until you are asked to bring it to your Religion class. When you receive your Cardinal Newman school email account, you will create your MobileServe account and begin logging all service hours digitally.

Mission Statement

Community service is a long-established tradition at Cardinal Newman High School. It is a vital contribution to the fulfillment of our mission statement, “To educate the whole person, spirit, mind, and body, and to help all students develop their God-given talents according to the gospel values of Jesus Christ.” Service, and subsequent reflection on it, allows the student to develop an increased sensitivity to the needs of others, to contribute to the good of the surrounding community, to grow in self-knowledge, and to make the connection between the gospel and the active living of one’s faith. Service allows the student to encounter Jesus in those in need: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me (Matt 25:40).”

What is Service?

Service is any act of giving assistance or advantage to another. Service is using our God-given gifts and talents to help another person, particularly one who is in need or disadvantaged.
Appropriate service activities should provide the student with the opportunity to see Christ in another, and to bring Christ’s love to another.
Ideally, service is an extension of the Corporal Works of Mercy of the Church: “Feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2447).”
Service may also reflect stewardship of the earth and its resources: “It is imperative that mankind renew and strengthen that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying (Benedict XVI Message for the 2010 World Day of Peace #1).”
Service should also reflect the Church’s fundamental option for the poor among us. As St. John Paul II has said, “The Church’s love for the poor…is essential for her and a part of her constant tradition… (Centesimus annus #57).”
Service is active rather than passive in nature: the student gives his/her presence, time, and abilities.
A student must not receive any form of compensation for service.
ALL SERVICE PROJECTS MUST BE DONE FOR NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS (501c3), SERVICE GROUPS, CHURCHES, OR SCHOOLS IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTABLE FOR SERVICE.
PLEASE LIMIT YOUR SERVICE ACTIVITIES TO THOSE ON THE LIST OF “APPROVED ORGANIZATIONS” (tab on the left, above). This list is updated periodically throughout the school year. Please check your school email and daily announcements for service opportunities that arise in the local community.
VOLUNTEERING AT FOR-PROFIT BUSINESSES OR FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IS NOT CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE SERVICE.
HELPING ONE’S FAMILY MEMBERS OR NEIGHBORS IS CONSIDERED AN ACT OF CHARITY AND AN EXPECTED CHARACTERISTIC OF BEING A DECENT HUMAN BEING, AND WILL NOT COUNT AS COMMUNITY SERVICE.
OUT-OF-AREA SERVICE VERIFICATION: Service hours completed outside of Palm Beach County MUST BE APPROVED IN ADVANCE, and may require additional documentation beyond the MobileServe app. Please see Mr. Reep or Mrs. Aversano BEFORE you complete any service hours outside of Palm Beach County.
ANY COURT-ORDERED COMMUNITY SERVICE AS REQUIRED BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS NOT ACCEPTABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
Five hours of community service may be earned for making fifty sandwiches for the homeless (Please follow the guidelines for sandwiches on the link above.) Five hours of community service credit will be given to students who donate blood to the school’s Blood Drives, or who donate their own hair to organizations providing wigs to cancer patients. Students who participate in out-of-area mission trips may receive community service credit only for the actual hours spent each day in active service. Any tutoring or “homework help” for community service must be done through Cardinal Newman’s National Honor Society or an established after school program.
With the exception of activities sponsored by the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops or the Diocese of Palm Beach, service hours may not be completed for politicians or political parties, as these activities may not meet the guidelines as noted above.
IF YOU ARE NOT SURE AN ACTIVITY OR ORGANIZATION IS ACCEPTABLE FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE, AND THE ACTIVITY OR ORGANIZATION DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE LIST OF “APPROVED ORGANIZATIONS,” YOU MUST RECEIVE PERMISSION IN WRITING, IN ADVANCE, FROM THE COMMUNITY SERVICE COORDINATOR, BEFORE BEGINNING THE ACTIVITY. Written permission for “Alternate Service” will be placed in your service folder. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN THOSE SERVICE HOURS NOT BEING COUNTED. Please speak with Mrs. Skantar or Ms. Frearson in advance if you have any questions about acceptable service, or to have an organization listed on our web page.
PLEASE REFER TO THE STATEMENT ON CHARITABLE GIVING (see link above) FROM THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OF BISHOPS FOR ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR ACCEPTABLE SERVICE. CARDINAL NEWMAN HIGH SCHOOL COMPLIES WITH ALL GUIDELINES AND POLICIES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Community service activities are not school activities and Cardinal Newman High School does not mandate or direct any specific location or locations in the community where these services are to be performed. Students are free to select the location where they wish to perform community service so long as the location and the activity meet the requirements of the school. Cardinal Newman High School does not operate or control the locations where students chose to perform community service and consequently the school, its agents, and affiliates do not assume responsibility for any injuries, damages, or losses incurred in the course of performing these services in the community. Students perform these services at their own risk.

Policies and Guidelines

25 hours of community service must be completed each year to satisfy the requirements needed for graduation from Cardinal Newman High School.
Service hours may also be applied towards the Florida Bright Futures Scholarships (www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org). As of November, 2018, the minimum requirement for community service for these scholarships is 75 hours completed during high school for the Florida Medallion Scholarship, and 100 hours for the Florida Academic Scholarship. Transfer students must provide proof of prior completed community service to Mrs. Degro, the Registrar. Service hours completed at your previous school must appear on that school’s transcript. Transfer students may need to complete additional community service hours during their time at Cardinal Newman in order to be eligible for these scholarships. Please see your Guidance Counselor for complete details about the requirements for Florida Bright Futures Scholarships.
A Community Service Reflection Paper is required each year. The purpose of the paper is to give evidence of the student’s personal growth or insight resulting from the community service experience. Please refer to the Guidelines for the Essay above. The Reflection Paper will be assigned as an Alternative Assessment and count as a Test Grade in the student’s Religion class during the quarter in which Community Service is due: 2nd quarter for seniors, 3rd quarter for all other grade levels. Note: Students who have not completed service hours by the due date will receive a grade of zero for the Reflection Paper. If you are not taking a Religion class in the semester when the Essay is due, please give your Essay to Mr. Reep no later than one week prior to the end of that semester.
Service hours are to be logged using the MobileServe app. Students are required to set up a MobileServe account, using your Newman school email address. Please refer to the MobileServe Getting Started Guide above. SOME IMPORTANT REMINDERS: You must link your MobileServe account to Cardinal Newman High School as the Organization, using the CODE for your year of graduation. Otherwise, you hours are not visible to the Community Service Coordinators. ALSO, for EACH Service Log, you MUST choose a CATEGORY from the drop down menu, or your hours will not be visible to the Community Service Coordinators.
The Site Supervisor for all service activities must be an adult (at least 21 years of age), and may not be the student’s parent or guardian, or sibling. The Site Supervisor must be an employee or designated representative of the organization. The Site Supervisor’s email address used to verify your service hours on the MobileServe app must include the name of the organization. Site Supervisors’ personal email addresses are not acceptable for verifying hours. Please inform your site supervisor that they will receive an email from MobileServe asking them to verify your hours.
Wherever and whenever community service is rendered, students represent themselves, their families, and Cardinal Newman High School. Proper appearance, attitude, behavior and language must be observed at all times. Students who fail to comply may face disciplinary measures as per the Cardinal Newman Student-Parent Handbook, and their service hours may not be counted.
Transportation to community service activities is not provided by Cardinal Newman High School. Each student is responsible for his/her transportation.
Falsifying any information regarding community service will be treated as a violation of the Honor Code of Cardinal Newman High School.
Students are strongly encouraged to complete the community service requirement during the summer whenever possible. (Incoming freshmen may begin working on community service hours on June 1.) For all students: Hours for each school year begin on June 1 for the coming school year.

Credit for Community Service Hours

For students who complete 25 or more community service hours as required in each school year, the total number of hours for that year will appear on the student’s report card and transcript. For students who fail to complete the minimum requirement of 25 hours, the actual number of hours completed (zero – 24) will appear on the student’s report card and transcript. At the completion of 100 hours as required for graduation (25 hours per year), a 0.5 credit will be awarded. This credit is a requirement for graduation and the Bright Futures scholarship, but is not calculated into the student’s GPA.
Students who complete 100 hours or more of community service in a particular year will be recognized at the Awards Assembly/Senior Honors Assembly each year.
The Community Service Medal is awarded to the graduating senior with the highest total number of service hours (cumulative for grades 9 – 12) by the senior deadline date.
Students are responsible for logging and receiving verification for service hours on MobileServe by the due date above, and for submitting the Community Service Essay to your Religion teacher as assigned.

Penalties for not meeting the above deadlines:

Students who do not complete community service by the due date may have access to grades blocked.
Seniors who do not complete the community service requirement by the due date may not be exempted from their semester exams.
Seniors who do not complete the community service requirement by the due date may not have transcripts sent, or receive their diploma from Cardinal Newman High School, until their service requirement has been fulfilled.
Completion of community service is a requirement for the student’s return to Cardinal Newman High School for the following school year. Students who have not completed their service hours may not receive a class schedule for the next academic year, and will not be permitted to purchase a permit for the student parking lot, until service hours are current.
Students with delinquent service hours after the last school day of the academic year may not have their delinquent hours processed and approved on MobileServe until the start of the next academic year.

Permission for participation in extra-curricular activities, Prom, Senior Graduation trip, field trips, etc., may be withheld for non-completion of community service, at the school’s discretion.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]