|
Daily Schedule
| Daily: |
6:30 a.m. |
|
Rise |
6:50 a.m. |
|
Flag Salute |
7:00 a.m. |
|
Holy Mass and Morning Prayers |
8:00 a.m. |
|
Breakfast and Room Inspection |
8:30 a.m. |
|
Morning Classes and Study |
10:55 p.m. |
|
Angelus and Lunch |
11:30 p.m. |
|
Afternoon Classes |
2:30 p.m. |
|
Afternoon Free Time (Sports; Study) |
5:30 p.m. |
|
Supper |
6:00 p.m. |
|
Recreation and Evening Study |
8:00 p.m. |
|
Night Prayers and Holy Hour; Confession available |
8:45 p.m. |
|
Chores |
9:00 p.m. |
|
Evening Study Period |
10:00 p.m. |
|
Lights out; Quiet study permitted until midnight |
Sunday Evening: |
7:00 -
7:30 p.m. |
|
Return to school (arranging of beds, etc.) |
7:30 p.m. |
|
All-school Meeting |
8:00 p.m. |
|
Night Prayers and Holy Hour; Confession available |
9:00 p.m. |
|
Study |
10:00 p.m. |
|
Lights out; Quite study permitted until midnight |
Friday Afternoons
School is half-day on Fridays; students leave at 12:15 p.m. Students are either picked up at school by their parents or are driven to the Irvine train station by St. Michael’s personnel.
Weekenders participate in chores and supervised outings.
Weekenders
Weekends at St. Michael’s serve to relax the students as they support their spiritual, mental and physical morale. While recreation is ample, adequate time for spiritual and academic growth is also provided. Outings are organized regularly by teachers of the abbey community to meet one or more purposes: participate in wholesome recreation, expand cultural experiences, explore sites of natural beauty, meet ordinary needs for school supplies and snacks, and take advantage of the many recreational points of interest in Southern California.
At the weekly Sunday evening meeting, students sign up who intend to stay the following weekend. Additional fees for weekends apply.
Off-campus Activities
There are occasions when a student leaves the school grounds in order to expand his learning experience. A few of the more significant off campus opportunities are listed below.
Rome Trip
Each year after Christmas, the junior class is given the opportunity to travel to Rome for two weeks. Under the supervision of several Norbertine priests and dads, the students commence a whirlwind experience of discovery, education, and spiritual understanding.
Within hours of their arrival, the group begins viewing the four major basilicas, the most stunning being St. Peter’s Basilica. Here, also, the students mark the end of the year by participating in the Te Deum, led by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, on New Year’s Eve. They return for the Mass on the Epiphany.
Near the Norbertine residence, where the students lodge, rises the imposing ruins of Flavian’s Amphitheater, more commonly known as the Colosseum. Next to it is the Forum, which is the former site of such events as senate meetings and public trials. These various sites reveal much about the customs of Ancient Rome.
The group also experiences contemporary urban Italian life. The more intrepid members of the group take advantage of optional treks among the shops and other interesting locales found in Italy’s capital. All of these experiences complemented the years of study in the classroom and broadened the horizons of the pilgrim scholars from St. Michael’s Prep.
College Visits
Each year the School spends a day visiting one of the colleges in the area. Over the course of their high school studies, students have the opportunity of visiting both private and public universities as well as two-year and four-year programs of study. This opportunity provides the chance of not only looking at a campus but also university life — classrooms, professors, libraries, students, cafeterias, dorms, living arrangements, and recreational spaces. These visits provide the students the opportunity of further determining what they might want and might want to avoid as they make their college selections. Some families will expand the college visit opportunities to include family-favorites around the country.
Lenten Liturgy in the Melkite Rite
It is common during Lent for the freshmen to visit a Melchite Rite liturgy. Simply put, the difference between the Roman Rite and the Melchite Rite is enough to inspire interest. The Liturgy is solemn and has an ancient feel to it. Everything is sung; most of the Liturgy consists of psalms and ancient songs. Its pious, Middle Eastern sound created a solemn, reverent, and mysterious atmosphere. During the Liturgy there is much incensing, causing the church to be filled with the aromatic smoke.
The church itself is much different from a western church, having many icons and a screen and curtain blocking the main part of the church from the altar. Communion is distributed with a special spoon; intinction is the custom as the consecrated bread was saturated with the consecrated wine. The visit not only shows a different Liturgy but teaches more about the vastness and beauty of the Catholic Church.
» Admissions |
