Mission Statement
St. Rita of Cascia High School is a Catholic college preparatory school for young men, rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the tradition of St. Augustine, following the Augustinian philosophy of education.
St. Rita aims to form each student as a whole person: spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially, and to provide its young men with the necessary skills to succeed in college and in life, leading to life-long learning and personal awareness.
Through the Augustinian core values of Veritas (Truth), Unitas (Unity),
and Caritas (Love), St. Rita strives to develop a bond between the members of the entire family: Augustinians, faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni.
In the spirit of our Father, St. Augustine, we will be of one mind and one heart on our way to God.
Our Core Values
Truth, Unity, Love
VERITAS (TRUTH)
This is perhaps the most basic value of the three. First of all, St. Rita is a school—a center of learning, a journey ever closer toward knowledge, understanding, and respect for reality. That is the purpose of our coming together—no school, no Ritamen…
To know Him, who is Truth Incarnate, Jesus Christ, and His saving message.
To know one’s worth as a child of God and the transcendent dignity of every human person.
To explore energetically the physical world and the world of ideas with an openness to the goodness and beauty of reality.
To be able to think in an orderly and critical fashion and to express one’s thoughts clearly and with grace.
To be serious about the hard work, self-discipline, and self-awareness that honest scholarship requires.
Concretely, at Rita the framework for this venture is the study of the liberal arts.
The school curriculum is both an end in itself and a platform for further studies. It is college preparatory.
UNITAS (UNITY)
Whether it is the unity of our teams, the single-mindedness of common academic endeavor, or the shared identity of being a Ritaman for life, the call to community is insistent and demanding. St. Rita is a place where young men form friendships that last a life time.
Unitas is boys becoming men in a relaxed fraternal spirit, uniting of individuals of widely differing personal qualities, ethnic makeup, and economic backgrounds.
Unitas attempts to renew the experience of the early church where “the community of believers was one of heart and mind, and on one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.” (Acts 5:32).
Unitas permits us to respects the diversity and talents of our members.
Unitas shows itself dramatically in school Masses, in the dailyrosary, in our athletic endeavors, and in organized events like STANGO and homecoming.
Unitas seeks to find expression in the universality of the church and our awareness of being members of a global community.
CARITAS (LOVE)
More than any one word (love, concern, devotion, compassion, caring) can express caritas, is that impulse of the Spirit of Jesus that is expressed in hundreds of ways.
Caritas motivated Father James Green, O.S.A. to found and establish St. Rita High School in 1905 as a leader among secondary schools.
Caritas moves our devoted faculty to work for less than their worth to enable St. Rita to continue its tuition rates and program
Caritas is evident in the time teachers and NHS members spend tutoring and in how coaches, moderators, and teachers go the extra mile in all aspects of the school program.
Caritas is the reason why parents and friends of Rita spend countless hours working on school projects to supply much needed materials for classrooms.
Caritas is the reason why students complete ROSE hours at home, at school, and in the community. It is why we raise over $20,000 per year from charities at home and abroad.
Caritas is “active friendship” that encompasses both love of God and neighbor. It is when the head and the heart move into action, often with sacrifice.
Our Crest
The symbols used in the Seal of St. Rita High School depict events in the lives of two great Saints: Augustine, the Founder of the Augustinian Order, and Rita, the holy patroness of our school.
The center of the seal incorporates events in the life of St. Augustine. The book, representing the writings of St. Augustine, is a symbol of his great learning. The heart burning and pierced with an arrow symbolized St. Augustine's great and burning love for God and His creatures. The inscription around the seal is the official title of our school, and is bordered by roses depicting the life of St. Rita, our patroness. The seal is red and navy blue because those are our school colors.