In keeping with the school's mission, students put their faith into action in unique and heartfelt ways. The campus ministry and community service programs foster a lifelong commitment to Catholic Christian values through the personal discovery of what it means to give of oneself to others.

The campus ministry program encourages students, faculty and staff to deepen their understanding and experience of themselves as people of faith in a Catholic environment through liturgies, retreats and service projects throughout the year. 

The community service program challenges students to ‘widen their circles of concern’ to include the poor, the marginalized, the voiceless and the underserved as Jesus did, and provides the opportunity to serve in ways that utilize their innate joys and talents.
 

Middle School

List of 4 items.

  • Community Service

    Since Christian ideals and values are more than intellectual concepts, students are required to become actively involved in volunteer service during their time at Immaculate Heart. The goal of this program is to instill Christian moral values, practice social justice, and develop the students’ “image of God” through shared experiences with their fellow human beings.

    Students are required to contribute a minimum number of hours per grade level and submit reflective entries on their service projects to their religion teacher. The curriculum offers students many opportunities to complete this service, such as food drives for the families on Skid Row and at Alexandria House, excursions to a local retirement home, Operation Gratitude and Home Boy Industries, baking and knitting for fundraisers, and knitting bereavement prayer shawls for a local parish and baby Baptismal scarves for Children's Hospital.

    Required Hours:
    Grade 6 / 12 Hours
    Grade 7 / 15 Hours
    Grade 8 / 21 Hours
  • Grade Level Retreats

    At the beginning of each school year, the 6th and 7th grades participate in a day-long retreat held off-campus. These retreats focus on friendship and caring for one another as students explore their relationship with God. The 8th grade also begins the year in a similar way but gathers again at the end of the year to reflect on their time here at the Middle School. This year end retreat gives students the opportunity to say good bye and make amends to all of their classmates before they embark on high school.
  • Liturgies

    The middle school holds liturgies on Holy Days of Obligation and other significant times throughout the year. All students are given the opportunity to be active participants as readers, dancers, liturgical environment creators, musicians, and Gospel dramatists. A special aspect of each service includes student testimonials, sharing descriptive details of unique service projects.
  • Pandas with Purpose

    Pandas with Purpose (PwP) is a volunteer group of students who graciously share their time and talents to help the less fortunate and coordinate many outreach programs. PwP members hold food drives for the families on Skid Row and at Alexandria House, and make visits to a local retirement home providing refreshments, entertainment and companionship for the elderly. Students also utilize their knitting skills to create and sell scarves as a fundraiser to support worthy causes.

Faith in Action

Immaculate Heart’s Catholic identity is rooted in service to others and social justice. Last year alone, the combined community service efforts of students in the middle school and high school totaled more than:

14,000 hours

Campus Ministers

List of 2 members.

  • Photo of Carolyn Polchow

    Carolyn Polchow 

    Theology & Campus Ministry
    San Diego State University - BA
    Mount St. Mary's University - MS
  • Photo of Sarah Tooke

    Sarah Tooke 

    Social Studies, Theology & Campus Ministry - 6th
    Oxford University - BA
    University of Southern California - MBA

Amy, Class of 2012

What IH stands for, the way theology is presented in classes like Experiencing God and Women’s Studies, has very much molded me into the socially conscious person that I am today. I am now spreading the love and wisdom that I was given at IH to the rest of the world.

High School

List of 4 items.

  • Liturgies

    With the guidance of our Campus Minister, our liturgical celebrations are prepared and produced by students on the Campus Ministry Leadership Team. These include school-wide masses and formal prayer services, where all members of our school community have the opportunity to share, participate and reflect upon their faith.

    Also included in our campus liturgical life are voluntary Chapel prayer services, seasonal recitation of the Rosary and Stations of the Cross where students and faculty participate in spiritual reflection.
  • Community Service

    The mission of Immaculate Heart is to foster academic excellence in an environment that encourages life-long commitment to Christian values through leadership and service. To fulfill this mission, Immaculate Heart requires each student to become actively involved in service during each year for a total of 100 hours.

    Students may serve through local, national or international organizations or in club- or class-sponsored events. Students’ self-generated service learning projects are also among the possibilities under the guidance of the Service Learning Coordinator. Some of these have involved art projects with children and the elderly, animal adoption, knits for children with cancer and sandwiches for the homeless.

    Reflections on service experiences are combined with scriptural and theological reflection in theology classes to cultivate a consciousness of the need for both charity and social justice. Above all, the program seeks to give students the opportunity to connect with others in a spirit of community and kinship.

    Required Hours:
    Grade 9 / 25 Hours
    Grade 10 / 25 Hours
    Grade 11 / 25 Hours
    Grade 12 / 25 Hours
  • School Morning Prayer

    Each morning before the start of class, the school is led by the Theology Department Chair in a brief prayer to begin the day with an open mind and heart.
  • Retreats

    A major component of Immaculate Heart’s mission in educating young women is to create a learning environment where students can mature in their faith as they reflect on their special role as members of the Christian community. Immaculate Heart strives to fulfill this area of its mission through the retreat program.

    Each class participates in a unique retreat experience. At the Freshman and Sophomore levels, each respective class travels off campus for their Day of Recollection. This experience affords them time to come together to deepen their identity of who they are as creations of God and members of the human family. Friendship and fun, prayer and play surround the day with God at the center.

    At the Junior level, students may participate in the EMMAUS overnight retreat. Led by a team of their peers, students become aware that everything God creates is good, and how valuable each person is – whether friend or stranger – along their path of life. This is accomplished through scripture, dramatization, group discussion, art projects, prayer and play. The EMMAUS experience is enlightening, valuable and gratifying to all Juniors who attend.

    At the Senior level, the KAIROS retreat is offered in both the fall and spring semesters. During this four-day overnight experience, which is also led by a student team, Seniors gain an understanding of how much they are loved and valued, and how important both family and friends are to their spiritual life. Designed to help each young woman find her own personal relationship with God, Kairos provides Seniors with time for discernment and discovery of self, and is also a powerful bonding experience for the class.

Ministry, Leadership & Service

List of 3 members.

  • Photo of Nicole Dunn

    Nicole Dunn 

    Director of Ministry, Leadership and Service & Social Studies
    Tulane University - BA
    Loyola Marymount University - MA
    Loyola Marymount University - MA
  • Photo of Melody Bueno

    Melody Bueno 

    Assistant Director of Ministry, Leadership, and Service & Social Studies
    Loyola Marymount University - BA
    Loyola Marymount University - MA
  • Photo of Qianna Medellin

    Qianna Medellin 

    Assistant Director of Ministry, Leadership and Service & English
    Loyola Marymount University - BA
    Loyola Marymount University - MA
    Mount St. Mary's University - MS
A Catholic, independent college preparatory school for girls in grades 6 through 12, Immaculate Heart has been located on a beautiful hillside property in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles since our founding by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1906. We celebrate more than a century of nurturing the spiritual, intellectual, social and moral development of students as they distinguish themselves as women of great heart and right conscience.