Religion Program
Faith and spirituality are at the core of everything we do at OLA. We are proud of our many and varied opportunities for the students, staff, and parents to improve their faith and spirituality through prayer and sacraments throughout the school year. In response to the call for community service and outreach and in embracing our Catholic faith, OLA students, staff, and parents are called to action. Teachers and parents serve regularly as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and participate in the music ministry. Students participate in sacramental preparations and celebrations. Liturgical celebrations are led each week by students in different grades where students are given the opportunity to serve as lectors, cantors, altar servers, gift bearers, and sometimes ushers.
Students participate in semi-annual Prayer and Reconciliation services during Advent and Lent. Stations of the Cross are presented by students in different grades on every Friday of Lent. A school-wide Living Rosary is presented in the month of October and the Crowning of the Blessed Mother and rosary to honor Mary in the month of May. The students in grades 5–8 participate as altar servers in school masses and parish funerals. Eighth grade students are required to complete a service project, “Imago Dei,” where they give their individual time and energy to the community, such as volunteering in OLA summer school classes and OLA’s summer day camp, make blankets for “Binky patrol” and/or give time to support or raise money for various organizations.
In response to national and international crises, the School community responds with mass, prayer, and monetary donations such as collections for victims of hurricane Katrina, Catholic Relief Services, and the Holy Childhood Association at both Advent and Lenten Seasons. The funds reach global communities such as Ecuador, Tanzania, Nigeria, Nepal, Senegal, Bangladesh, 2004 Tsunami victims, and most recently Haiti and Japan. Eighth grade students attend the annual Holy Childhood Association mass at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral each year and serve as lectors and altar servers, and participate in the multi-cultural entrance procession and in the choir.
OLA’s outreach through various service projects is evident throughout the year, including the OLA Fiesta (one of the four largest Claremont City Events), the Red Ribbon Week fundraiser (funds donated to a local drug rehabilitation center), and Shoes that Fit, as well as visiting the elderly residents at Claremont Manor, raising funds and collecting toiletry items by student members of the California Junior Scholastic Federation (CJSF) in support of Damien High School’s Tijuana Mission project, and the biannual food drive for the Pomona BETA Center.
Parents at Our Lady of the Assumption School serve as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, and help to train and organize fourth through eighth grade altar servers for both parish and school liturgies. They are involved in sacramental preparation, have weekly opportunities to attend school masses and the parent prayer group, chair and participate in the OLA Fiesta, deliver donations of books, food, and/or Christmas baskets, train Sacristans, and support the “Shoes that Fit” program. Parents attend the annual 8th grade spiritual retreat. Parents attend the annual Holy Childhood Association Mass at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral each year and serve as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and ushers.