Living Our Faith

The spiritual life of our students is a priority here at Calvary Day School. Through daily prayer, Bible study, weekly chapel worship services, small group discussions, yearly retreats and numerous other impromptu spiritual interactions, we are intentional in the development of our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our weekly Upper School chapel service is the community highlight of our week. Whether from the variety of chapel speakers who have integrated their walk with Christ into every aspect of their lives, the student praise band or the corporate time of prayer and song, chapel is the weekly reminder of the reason and source of our strength in order to be effective salt and light in a needy world.

In Lower School chapels are held weekly on Thursday mornings. All TK-6th grade classes attend chapel and take turns leading in pledges, prayer, and worship. Each week different speakers present a short message on the year’s theme. Speakers include faculty, administration, pastors, community leaders and missionaries. Parents are invited to attend and it is a favorite time of the week for students and teachers.

Once a month we hold a chapel service for our 4 year old preschoolers. We teach them new songs, the importance of chapel, and a message for the month.

Each grade in the Lower School focuses on serving a specific group all throughout the year.  These groups vary from the Winston-Salem Police Department, Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, City Lights Ministry, and a local Title 1 school.  Students are involved each quarter in a project or activity that fulfills a need for that group.  The projects are always developmentally appropriate and encourage student involvement in serving other people, teaching them to be the hands and feet of Christ.  Our school participates in a range of activities; sometimes they raise money to contribute to a specific need, and sometimes they simply provide breakfast and hand-painted gifts.  We also participate in the annual Operation Christmas Child outreach and collect hundreds of Christmas shoeboxes each year.  

In the Upper School we provide monthly service opportunities for our students through our partnership with Spark Ministries.  Spark is an organization that has developed relationships in our community and knows where service is needed most.  It has been our practice to return to the same service project each month to build relationships and be a continual presence in the location we serve that year. For example, in 2022 we spent each month at Northwoods Community, which is a neighborhood that was once abandoned but the goal was to work towards getting these units updated to the condition to be ready for families who were previously unhoused in Winston-Salem. Our student volunteers were able to assist in getting many of the units ready for families to move in while meeting current neighbors in the community. In addition to providing service opportunities for students it is a requirement for high school students to complete service hour requirements before graduating from Calvary Day School. Being able to serve in our community in meaningful ways, while being the hands and feet of Christ, truly enriches those who attend.

Each year, CDS participates in Operation Christmas Child through Samaritans Purse.

CDS partners with the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission each February on a school food drive.