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One of the requirements for graduation from Dowling High School is for each student to complete 80 hours of service.  The reason for this requirement is to teach our students that faith is not just a personal response to God's love, but is also a communal response, to love one another as Jesus taught us.

The idea of service at Dowling is directed toward serving the needs of the community and the world in which the student finds him or herself. 

 

There are many opportunities for students to do service, including opportunities through more than 15 service-oriented organizations.

In 2006, we began phasing in the service hour requirement as part of the theology classroom work.  Ten service hours has become one of the requirements for each of the semester classes in theology. The theology faculty will set a due date for service hours a few weeks before the end of the semester. Students who still have not completed ten hours by the end of the semester will receive an Incomplete on their report cards. 

School policy then allows two weeks for the work to be completed before the grade is changed to an F.  Students who do not complete this requirement as part of their class will fail the class and will need to retake it to fulfill their academic requirements.  Hours previously completed by students will be included in their ongoing service hour total.  However, they will still need to meet the service hour requirement of 10 hours each semester during their time at Dowling Catholic.

 

By implementing service requirements into theology classes, service hours will become more connected with the obligation of service and Christian faith.  In the classroom students will have an opportunity to share with each other their service experiences and in the process learn from each other.  By fulfilling the service hour requirement for each class a student will automatically acquire the 80 hours of service needed to graduate.

 

Seniors may earn a service cord to be worn at the graduation ceremony.  The students who earn at least 200 service hours by mid-April of their senior year will be notified that they are eligible to recieve this honor.  Students are asked to complete an essay and get recommendations from two theology teachers.  Upon successful completion, the senior will be honored at graduation with this award.