Written by Lisette Reina-Naranjo, principal, St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School, Miami, FL, [email protected]
Catholic Scouting builds community by helping young people connect with one another and by helping school families build relationships with fellow school families.
It helps young people develop their socio-emotional skills and it helps parents connect with other parents, as well as school and parish leaders.
Catholic Scouting does this through the time-tested structure of relationship building and community that so many young people and parents are seeking today.
I know this not only from my own experience, but from the experience of fellow Catholic school leaders around the country. Claire Hatch, principal at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Belleville, IL says: “Scouting provides the structure to help kids engage with one another. The projects they work on together really help them develop social skills like communication, cooperation and leadership. It also builds community by bringing school families together for fun, fellowship and faith.”
There’s a reason Catholic Scouting has been around for 100 years, despite all the changes in the world during that time. Catholic Scouting fosters community and service, offers faith, family and adventure—and Catholic Scouting is fun!
Bringing families together helps foster friendships between Scouts of different ages, allowing older Scouts an opportunity to mentor younger Scouts, and offering younger Scouts an opportunity to learn from positive older role models.
Older Scouts often come back to their Catholic elementary schools to carry out service projects and reconnect with younger students they know from Scouting activities. I’d like to share the story of a graduate of St. Michael the Archangel who came back to lead a group of Scouts and other volunteers in refurbishing our outdoor play area for prekindergarten and kindergarten students. Daniela led her volunteer team in power washing all the existing concrete and picnic tables, painted the walls around the play area and prepared planters for a new butterfly garden. She created a beautiful space where our youngest students can garden, play and read.
When you bring Catholic Scouting into a Catholic school, you are giving Scouts the ability to practice their faith and learn to live a life of service in community with others. In our troop, we created a family, and we all continue to be involved in each other’s lives. Weddings, birthdays, new babies, or funerals, good times and hard times, we continue to be there for each other. We continue to serve and give back to our parish, school and Scouting.
If you are looking for ways to build community in your Catholic school, consider encouraging your school families and students to join Catholic Scouting, which welcomes boys and girls as young as kindergarten age. There is so much to be gained by becoming a Scout: a deepening of faith, a commitment to service of parish, school and others—and a building of community that leads to lasting friendships.
Want to explore more about what Catholic Scouting can bring to your school? Visit CatholicScouting.com.
Ms. Reina-Naranjo is principal of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School, a prekindergarten–grade 8 school in Miami, FL. She holds a bachelor’s in special education and a master’s in diagnostic teaching. Ms. Reina-Naranjo has been an educator for more than 35 years.
