Spiritual Formation
Chesterton schools attend daily Mass together each and every school day to ground our learning and our lives in the Eucharist. Our students also have regular access to Adoration and the sacrament of Reconciliation. All of our teachers are practicing Catholics who take an oath of fidelity to the Magisterium and strive to be exemplars of the faith for their students. Through prayer and sacraments, witness and dialogue, we hope all of our students will grow in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, secure in the knowledge that He created them, loves them beyond all measure, and has a unique and beautiful plan for their lives.
Character Formation and the House System
The Oxford and Cambridge-inspired House System helps form the whole person by providing a structure for student leadership and activities inside and outside of the classroom. There are four Houses, named for the four saints who support the Chair of St. Peter at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome: Augustine, Ambrose, Athanasius, and Chrysostom. Families are assigned to a House upon the enrollment of their oldest student at a Chesterton Academy. The Houses provide a forum for competition, character-building, and planning and execution of student activities. They are led by junior and senior prefects, supported by faculty advisors and parent liaisons.
Athletics and Student Activities
Athletic outlets support physical, mental, and social health as well as provide opportunities to learn teamwork, self-discipline, and have fun. When we first open, our athletic offerings will likely be in the form of sports clubs; as our enrollment grows over the first couple of years we intend to become competitive in local leagues of other schools. Most established Chesterton Academies offer sports like men’s and women’s cross country, track and field, and basketball as well as women’s volleyball and men’s rugby and/or wrestling. Sports will be added according to student interest as well as facility and coach availability. All Chesterton students participate in choir, debate, and drama, and all take four years of art as part of the curriculum. Students are encouraged to form other clubs focusing on areas of interest to them such as pro-life activities, charitable service, robotics, mock trial, or swing dance.