To be considered an Active Participating Parishioner in our church and therefore qualify for the tuition rate corresponding to that status, the following criteria must be met:
- At least one parent must be Catholic, registered with St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, and fully participating in the Sunday liturgy and sacramental life of our parish for a minimum of one year.
- Children attending St. Thomas Aquinas School must be receiving or preparing to receive all sacraments, appropriate for their age, up to the point of entry into the school.
- An active, participating parish family in good standing is one who is actively involved in parish life as manifested by traceable stewardship of time, talent, and treasure. Families must have an established contribution record at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church for one calendar year prior to application and must have given the minimum $900 to the church offertory in 2023 to qualify for the active parishioner tuition rate. If transferring from another Catholic parish, families must provide documentation for/or proof of giving to their previous church.
Families of current students re-enrolling for the next school year must reach a minimum threshold of $1,400 in 2023 by giving to the following funds:
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish Offertory* – minimum of $900.00
Monsignor John T. Gulczynski Endowment Fund – minimum of $300.00
Annual GAP Drive – minimum of $200.00
Contributions to the Parish Offertory must be made on a consistent basis through Faith Direct - at least monthly. Families who miss one or more months of contributions are expected to meet the minimum threshold by December 31st.
Volunteer Hours
Families applying to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School do not need volunteer hours.
The goal of the volunteer service hours policy is to increase parent participation in the parish and the school. At St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, we rely on committed school families to be part of the life of the school. All enrolled families must complete a minimum of twenty adult volunteer service hours each calendar year. New families must volunteer a minimum of 8 hours between August and December.
Volunteers must be cleared by the Safe Environment officer, and volunteer hours must be logged in FACTS by the end of the calendar year.
Examples of volunteer hours include: Carnival, Auction, STAPA, Holy Name Society, Altar Society, Mothers' Association, Lector, Eucharistic Minister, Library, Science Lab, Art Department, Material Moms and Dads, Scouts, Athletics and Booster Club.
Make sure you log your hours in FACTS SIS.
Here's how:
- Log in to the My STA App
- Go to Volunteer Hours icon
- Use your FACTS SIS user name and password
- Click on add + in the Service Hours panel below your name
- Add your hours and the description
- Be sure to change the default date to reflect the correct calendar year
Families and applicants not meeting all of the above criteria will be classified as Non-Contributing Parishioners.
