Our Faith

Our Catholic schools provide a faith based education rooted in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. We challenge each student to meet Ontario's Catholic Graduate Expectations by promoting their spiritual development with an emphasis on social justice and Catholic Social Teachings. We believe that this formation will not only serve our students today, but also in the future as they contribute positively to our society in the service of others.

Each year we identify an essential element of evangelization, through a spiritual theme, to focus our faith formation initiatives.

Speaking With the Heart (2023-2024)

After reflecting last year on what it means to “listen with the ear of the heart,” we turn to the words of Pope Francis for this year’s Spiritual Theme. Noted during his message for the 57^th World Day of Social Communications, 2023, he states, “It is the heart that spurred us to go, to see and to listen, and it is the heart that moves us towards an open and welcoming way of communicating.”

With these words in mind, the DCDSB community will be “Speaking With the Heart” in 2023-2024.

What does it mean to Speak With the Heart?

In reference to the synodal process and the kind of communication needed in the Church, Pope Francis writes, "listening without prejudice, attentively and openly, gives rise to speaking according to God’s style, nurtured by closeness, compassion and tenderness." This serves as an invitation to reflect on what it means to communicate “according to God's style”, welcoming encounters with others as “heart speaks to heart.”

We are also called to consider the many ways we communicate with one another. Beyond spoken words, we express ourselves through gestures, symbols, icons, body language, online communication, art, music, dance, and more. Even moments of silence can communicate meaning.

As we Listen, Learn, and Live in Faith this year, may “Speaking With the Heart” inform communication that “kindles hearts, is the balm on wounds and that shines light on the journey of our brothers and sisters.”

2023-2024 Spiritual Theme Poster Design

Grade 7-12 students across Durham Catholic District School Board were invited to apply to participate in the design process for the 2023-2024 spiritual theme poster.

In June 2023, 25 students attended a full day workshop at the City of Oshawa’s Arts Resource Centre. Throughout the workshop, students collaborated with central staff, Chaplains, and a professional graphic designer as they reflected upon what Speaking With the Heart means to them. Their ideas have been incorporated into this year’s spiritual theme poster.

Things to look for in this year’s poster

Did you know that an “Easter egg” is a hidden message, image, or feature that is often used in video games, comic books, and movies? Our graphic designer used this contemporary design element to hide “Easter eggs” in the Speaking With the Heart poster.

Can you find the speech bubbles hidden in the poster?

Do you see the cross, dove, and halo, which remind us that our faith should guide how we communicate with others?

There are also many other words and images to explore in this year’s design that help us to reflect upon how we can enter into an encounter with others in a spirit of open dialogue by Speaking With the Heart!

Can you identify the plant species indigenous to the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island and the region upon which we learn?

What is the object that reminds us to amplify the voices or messages of others who have traditionally been forgotten or ignored?

What message is being conveyed in American Sign Language?

How can the rainbow bracelet remind us to communicate messages of acceptance and welcome?

What other words would you include to describe how we are to communicate “according to God’s style”?

Our DCDSB staff, students, families, and communities are encouraged to use this spiritual theme design poster to reflect upon how Speaking With the Heart can guide our journey together in the 2023-2024 school year.

Our parishes

We partner with our local parishes to strengthen the relationship between school, home and church.

Renewing the Promise

"Our Catholic schools offer an extraordinary contribution to the social and environmental fabric of our society and world. In partnership with parents, who bear the primary responsibility for the education of their children, all those who work in Catholic education are called upon to reflect, in a faithful and discerning fashion, God's presence in this world."

(Source: Renewing the Promise a Pastoral Letter for Catholic Education, May 2018)

Find the Pastoral Letter for Catholic Education "Renewing the Promise" here.

Previous Spiritual Themes

2022-2023 Listening with the Ear of the Heart

As part of the Witnessing Faith pillar of our Strategic Plan, each year the DCDSB develops a spiritual theme to unite all members of our community as a people of faith. Our spiritual theme encourages us to make real, meaningful and faith-filled connections every day to build the kingdom of God.

While we continue with our efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, families, staff and communities, we recognize the need to rebuild, restore and renew the important relationships between home, school and parish that form the foundation of our Catholic education system. For this reason, our spiritual theme for this year will be crucial to guide our learning, reflection and actions in the year ahead.

Pope Francis has called the Church to participate in a critical Synod of Synodality, and has outlined the importance of listening with the ear of the heart. In Pope Francis’ January 2022 letter, which we encourage you to read in its entirety, he reminds us, “It is only by paying attention to whom we listen, to what we listen, and to how we listen that we can grow in the art of communicating, the heart of which is not a theory or a technique, but the ‘openness of heart that makes closeness possible’.”

Listening With the Ear of the Heart Poster Design

Grade 7-12 students across Durham Catholic District School Board were invited to apply to participate in the design process for the spiritual theme posters. In June 2022, approximately 40 students were given the opportunity to collaborate with one another and learn from a professional artist and graphic designer. Students attended a full day workshop at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery where they unpacked what this spiritual theme means to them and shared their ideas to help create the new poster design.
Headphones with colourful flowers surrounding them. In the centre is a red heart with a rainbow ear. Text around the heart reads love, faith, hope, respect, understanding, compassion, reconciliation. A brown cross and a white dove hover over the headphones

Below is a brief overview of the various elements students incorporated into the spiritual theme design:

Flowers/Plants: Representative of growth, listening and learning on and about the land. The plants are growing around the headphones as the more we listen and learn, the more growth we experience.
Butterflies: Representative of listening to and learning on the land. Students wanted to show new life and growth through the visual of a butterfly, which is also used to show a sense of duty and commitment to our earth. Many animals and insects are endangered, including butterflies in Ontario and Canada. By committing to be environmentally responsible and taking measures to care for the planet, including planting native species, we can care for all life forms, including those that are endangered.
Headphones: Students wanted to show that listening can take place in many different ways, and wanted to show 21st century listening through technology. Technology, especially over the past few years, has connected us to family, friends and community across the world. The headphones are not connected to anything in particular to demonstrate that there are many ways that listening and learning can take place. Technology can be used to connect us with people and information in ways that may not otherwise be possible. The headphones are around the heart to demonstrate that we should truly listen to the hearts, stories and experiences of those surrounding us, including those that may not always be given a voice or may not have their voice centred in society.

Music Staff: Representative of the arts, self-expression and in the many ways we can learn and listen. The arts are a way that some individuals feel they can communicate thoughts, ideas or emotions that they cannot put into words. We can listen and learn in ways that may not include spoken conversations with each other. We can listen to the hearts, souls, and expressions of others in a multitude of ways!
Heart: The heart was selected to be at the centre of the design to show that we should be leading and listening with openness, compassion, understanding and LOVE.
Ear in Heart: The ear in the heart is a visual depiction of “listening with the ear of the heart”. The ear is in a rainbow colour palette to show inclusivity of all, with an emphasis on marginalized individuals and communities. The rainbow colour palette was also selected to represent the 2SLGBTQ+ community. In the Bible, the rainbow represents that we are all God’s children and under His care and protection.
Dove: Representative of the Holy Spirit and the peace that begins with each one of us. It is placed at the top of the image to honour God’s divinity and creation. The dove is also used a symbol of truth, which also aligns with listening, learning, and speaking the truth.
Cross: Representative of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, a symbol of love, and Jesus’ triumph over death. It is placed near the top of the design to show to remind us of all the ways in which Catholic Social Teachings call us to journey with the most marginalized individuals.
Colours in the design: Students asked for lots of bright colours to represent renewed hope and joy.

Listening With the Ear of the Heart Poster Design Process

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