Service Program

Dear SJHS!

Welcome to St. Joseph High School and the wonderful world of community service! St. Joe’s has a very vibrant community service program and we welcome you on board for this new and different year! Here is the philosophy of the program as well as a brief breakdown of the service hour requirement for students at St. Joe’s!

Philosophy:

The St. Joseph High School Christian Service program requires the completion of community service hours for graduation.  This policy is in full compliance with the Archdiocesan policies recommended for Catholic High Schools.  The ultimate goal of a St. Joseph High School education is to live out the motto, “To Image Christ in Mind, Heart, Body, and Soul” in such a way that not only the student grows in this motto but the entire school community as well. The Christian Service program is required of every student because every student is both a leader and a learner and must develop skills in a broad range of areas regarding service in the community. All behaviors of all students volunteering at a service event should reflect Christian values of honesty, integrity, cheerful giving and cooperation!

• Service hours are required of every student at each class level. (See below for specifications)
•  “Required” service hours are specifically designated as “service goals” according to grade level.
• “Free choice” service refers to any pre-approved service activity other than the “service goal”.
• All service experiences must be recorded on the MobileServe App which every student is required to download.  It is free so it can be downloaded on multiple devices.
• Approval of service hours NOT on the Mobile Serve app or the website can be gained by emailing the Community Service Coordinator, Mrs. Gregory at [email protected]
• Or calling 937-2038 x 122 or coming by the Campus Ministry Office, C-4.
• Students are responsible for keeping track of whether or not service has been approved or rejected and discussing a problem with the service coordinator.
• Altar serving is community service ONLY for freshmen.
• Parents or family relatives may ONLY sign off on community service hours if pre-approved by Mrs. Gregory.

Requirements of Service hours:

• 9th Grade: 15 hours This includes 10 hours of service with church, school, neighborhood, community at large and 5 hours of “free choice” with pre-approval from service coordinator.
• 10th Grade: 20 hours 10 hours with the elderly or children and 10 hours of free choice with pre-approval.
• 11th Grade: 25 hours (15 hours with city community agencies such as the Food bank,  or community events or project (for example, Serve Santa Maria,  Walk to Remember, Toys for Tots)  and 10 hours of free choice with pre-approval.
• 12th Grade: 20 hours (10 hours with the services that help the economically disadvantaged or those facing hardship or challenges in the community (for example, Catholic Charities, Good Samaritan, Santa Barbara County Food Bank, Special Olympics) and 10 hours of free choice.
• Santa Barbara County Food Bank, Marian Volunteen Program, Vitalant blood or plasma donations are required hours for all grade levels. 

SJHS has contracted with MobileServe, a company that specializes in tracking service hours for schools, clubs and businesses. They have a platform that counts, records, and organizes student service hours through their website and their apps. The student profile pages give quick data and feedback to the students. Also, students will get a “service transcript” to submit to colleges and universities specifying what serve they did, where, and pictures to prove it!

Our goal is to increase student responsibility regarding service. Students are able to instantly track their progress as well as get verification, pictures and take notes to help them remember as they write their theological service reflection at the end of the year. Students were instructed at their first service homeroom as to how to download the free “app” but STUDENTS CAN GET STARTED NOW AND DO SERVICE HOURS BEGINNING JUNE 2! Students can get the Mobile Serve app for both iPad and phone because it is free. Service is verified three ways

• GPS/Are they physically there? You must press geo location when you do your hours.
• Signature on device by supervisor or Email to supervisor and then the supervisor will click to verify
• A picture of the student (selfie is fine) doing the service.

All three are necessary for approval from Mrs. Gregory. They show up on her dashboard at school.

Students enter their hours for service opportunities and those hours are signed off or verified by supervisor either on the device or email the supervisor. Then it is sent via email to Mrs. Gregory and the hours are approved or rejected. An email is sent to the student through the app. If service has been rejected (red “x” rather than green check mark), students are allowed to talk with or email  Mrs. Gregory and depending on the situation, students are allowed to resubmit hours in order to try again. Service hours will be rejected if there is not an attached location, picture and a signature or email.

To be utilize this service hour tracking platform, all students must download the Mobile Serve “app” from I tunes or Google Play. To join, input the correct code for the correct class (year of graduation).

Here’s what to do:

Process:

Step 1:  Download the Mobile serve app from I tunes or Google Play.  Or you can go to the website. https://app.mobileserve.com/

Step 2: Select “Sign up” and set up your Mobile serve account. Just follow the directions and use the appropriate code for your class.  Enter your name, birthday, and create a password. Select next. Add a photo and then enter the 6 digit code of your class

• • Class of 2023: 534154
  • Class of 2024: 92671C
  • Class of 2025: 953589
  • Class of 2026: 1FEFDF
  • Class of 2027: 500AEB
  • Then Make Sure You Click “JOIN”!!!!

Step 3:  Mobile serve for service opportunities that are available or check the Website for agencies that are always approved. When in class, listen to the daily announcements or check announcements on the website.

Step 4: If you want to do community service that is NOT on the Mobile Serve app or on the website, you must email Mrs. Gregory for pre-approval. Her email is [email protected]  then Go Serve!

Welcome to St. Joseph High School and email Mrs. Gregory if you have any questions. The app is necessary for every student to obtain.

Thank you and God bless your service!

Community Service Program Requirements

for each grade level, with examples:

• 9th Grade:  15 hours  (10 hours required and 5 free choice with pre-approval)
• 10th Grade:  25 hours (12 and ½ hours with the elderly or children and 12 ½ hours of “free choice”.)
• 11th Grade:  25 hours (12 and ½ hours with the community hours such as the Food bank or community events and 12 and ½ hours of “free choice”.)
• 12th Grade:  20 hours (10 hours with the services that help the poor or disadvantaged such as Catholic Charities or V.T.C. and 10 hours of “free choice”.)
• Please note:
  • Exceed Minimum Required Hours:  If a student should reach and exceed their total number of required hours while performing a service opportunity, the number of hours that exceed their required total will go into “Free Choice” category.