Held once each week, Essendi Day allows students to broaden their horizons beyond a traditional high school curriculum. The term causa essendi, or “cause for living,” is a quote from St. Thomas Aquinas and refers to God as the primary cause of all things. We are all created to serve, love, and worship our Lord. This flexible extra-instructional day gives students opportunities to grow as servant leaders in Christ.
It is the intention of Covington Latin School that Essendi Day provides a space for the most important parts of a comprehensive education, including:
- Dual Credit Coursework
- Service and Mission-Driven Programming
- Retreats and Spiritual Formation
- College and Career exploration
- Passion Projects and Research
- Social Emotional Development
- Executive Functioning and Study Skills
- Leadership Development
- STEM Exploration and Makerspace Experiences
- Community-Building Traditions
- Formal Testing without Sacrificing Regular Classroom Instruction
Essendi Day is the essential piece of the Renatus curriculum, and benefits both our older and younger students in different ways.
For our Form II-IV students, Essendi Day would establish a pathway to at least 60 college credits. CLS currently has the capacity to offer 42 college credits through its Core Curriculum. Students would pursue six additional college courses during the Essendi Day schedule during their Form II, III, and IV years.
For our Prep 7, Prep 8 and Form I students, Essendi Day would provide age-appropriate programming in executive functioning, study skills, written communication, media literacy, STEM, social-emotional learning, language development, and academic extension.
A Glimpse at an Underclassmen’s Essendi Day Schedule
A younger student will begin their day with Mass, followed by programming in executive functioning, written communication, mathematics and science extensions, and social emotional learning.
On other Essendi Days, the student might participate in a retreat, service projects, field trips, or community-building activities. For younger students, Essendi Days builds the habits and confidence required to thrive in an accelerated academic environment.
A Glimpse at an Upperclassmen’s Essendi Day Schedule
For our upperclassmen, the day will begin with Mass, followed by research, career exploration, college counseling, leadership development, and differentiated curriculum to help each student achieve their goals.
In the afternoon, the student could take a college-level course as part of the pathway toward 60+ credit opportunities or to take a deeper dive into career preparation. In other weeks that fall outside the university schedule, students will participate in a service experience, meet with alumni mentors, visit a professional setting, prepare for competitive academic programs, or advance a research project or passion project.
Essendi Day connects advanced academic opportunities with college preparation, vocation, service, and leadership.
Each student’s experience would evolve over time, but the purpose would remain constant: to use time more intentionally, so the student can better understand their Causa Essendi, their reason for being, and the responsibility to use their gifts for the good of others.