Preamble

THIS AGREEMENT, made this first day of September, 2005, is between

HOLY CROSS HIGH SCHOOL, a non-profit corporation of the State of New Jersey, for its school located at Delran Township, New Jersey, hereinafter referred to as the "School"; and:

ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC TEACHERS, LOCAL UNION NO. 1776, NACST with its offices located at 1700 Sansom Street, Suite 903, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hereinafter referred to as the "Association."

PREAMBLE

Holy Cross High School is dedicated to the mission of Catholic education. To that end, the work of all members of the Administration, Faculty, and Staff should reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ. Indeed, our primary purpose should be the building of Christian community with our students, for whom we exist, and their families. We recognize and support the Christian Witness Statement that follows. We recognize that we accept this mission from the Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey, and exist to aid him in his work for the benefit of the community that is the diocese. All members of the Holy Cross community are hereby encouraged to become active participants in the liturgical and spiritual activities of the school. Together we can strive to make these activities meaningful so that the benefits of community prayer and Christian works may spread through us to the students and to the larger community in which we find ourselves.

CHRISTIAN WITNESS STATEMENT

Educational Mission of the Church

Holy Cross and the Association accept and support the proclamations contained in To Teach as Jesus Did.

Pre-Eminence of Catholic Schools

"The Catholic school strives to relate all human culture to the news of salvation so that the life of faith will illumine the knowledge which students gain of the world, of life and of humanity."
(National Catechetical Directory, 232)

Educator in the Catholic School

"Beautiful indeed and great importance is the vocation of all those who undertake the task of education in Catholic schools. The vocation demands special qualities of mind and heart, very careful preparation and continuing readiness to renew and to adapt."
(Declaration on Christian Education, 4)

The Catholic School fulfills an authentic ministry. Therefore, to work in this apostolate means rendering a unique, challenging and invaluable work for the Church. The nobility of the position to which teachers in the Catholic School. . . respond requires that they communicate the message of Christ not only in their teaching and their school whose education is penetrated by the Christian spirit and one in which religion is considered as an academic subject like any other. "By their witness and their behavior teachers are the first importance to impart a distinctive character to Catholic Schools."
(The Catholic School, 78)

It follows then, that the teacher in Catholic education "must be a person of prayer, one who frequently reflects on the scriptures and whose Christlike living testifies to deep faith."
(National Catechetical Directory, 207)

Essentially, the Catholic school educator is that person:

This individual truly witnesses to and fully shares in the mission of Christ and His Church in bringing about the Kingdom of God.