What Is the JSerra House System?
A Community Within the Community
JSerra’s House System was created to foster mentorship, friendship, leadership, school spirit, and authentic belonging within a large school community. Every student becomes part of a smaller House family that encourages connection across grade levels and creates traditions students will remember for life.
Why Have a House System?
Built to foster belonging, leadership, and connection.
JSerra launched the House System in response to a growing cultural reality: students today often experience less meaningful face-to-face connection and mentorship than previous generations. The House System intentionally creates smaller communities where students are known, supported, challenged, and encouraged throughout their four years.
We're creating a cultural infrastructure within which students can identify, belong, and grow.
— Brian Ong, House System Director
Meet the Houses
Six Houses. One Lion community.
Each House is named after a location significant to the life and mission of St. Junípero Serra, grounding the system in shared history, faith, and purpose.
Alta
House Color · Yellow
Named for Alta California, St. Junípero Serra's new home. The color YELLOW symbolizes the mustard plant that grew along El Camino Real, guiding future missionaries through rugged terrain.
Carmel
House Color · Navy
The final resting place of St. Junípero Serra. The color NAVY represents the ocean and Our Lady.
Monterey
House Color · Purple
Home of the Carmel Mission and once the capital of Alta California. The color PURPLE signifies wisdom, governance, and enlightenment.
Petra
House Color · Pink
Named for St. Junípero Serra's birthplace. The color PINK is a symbol of Junípero Serra's deep compassion and love for people.
San Onofre
House Color · Sky Blue
The site of the first Baptism in California. The color SKY BLUE represents the life-giving waters of Baptism.
Ventura
House Color · Forest Green
Location of Mission San Buenaventura, founded by St. Junípero Serra. The color FOREST GREEN reflects life, growth, and Ventura's agricultural heritage.
Calling Day
The day the Houses came alive.
Calling Day marked the official launch of the House System and immediately became one of the defining traditions of student life at JSerra. Students, faculty, and staff gathered together to discover their Houses in an atmosphere filled with celebration, anticipation, school spirit, and community.
How the House System Works
Four ways the Houses shape the JSerra experience.
Competitions
Friendly rivalry. Shared pride.
Throughout the year, Houses compete in events, games, spirit competitions, service initiatives, and challenges that build camaraderie and strengthen school culture. Points accumulate toward the annual JSerra Cup championship.
Mentorship & Formation
Students growing together across four years.
Each House is intentionally mixed across grade levels to encourage mentorship, leadership development, and lasting relationships. Upperclassmen help younger students navigate the transition into high school while modeling faith, leadership, and school culture.
Leadership Opportunities
Leadership earned through service and influence.
The House System creates meaningful leadership opportunities for students through roles focused on mentorship, communication, organization, service, spirit, and formation.
Faith Integrated Into Community
A Catholic vision of belonging and human formation.
Faith is intentionally woven into the structure of the House System through mentorship, prayer, service, leadership formation, and shared experiences rooted in Gospel values and authentic Christian community.
Students are not meant to go through high school anonymously.
-Brian Ong, House System Director
Building a culture students will carry for life.
Traditions in the Making
The House System is quickly becoming one of the defining parts of the JSerra experience, creating traditions, memories, chants, rituals, rivalries, and friendships that students will remember long after graduation.
Competition creates camaraderie when rooted in shared purpose.
- Zach Eckert, Vice Principal of Student Formation & Leadership
My favorite thing that's happened in the House System…there is this kid that I have no classes with, no sports with, no reason why we would be close…it's because of the House System and the fact that he's in my den that I gained a new friend.
- Kai Taylor '27 | Carmel House
I love how we’re placed in den groups with girls from every grade. It gives us a space to share advice, support one another, and simply have someone to talk to.
- Jane Willits '28 | Alta House
I try to encourage, especially the quietest individuals, to feel included, build conversational skills and confidence…leadership is about getting to know each individual well enough to greet them by name and to know whether they are facing challenges at school or at home.
- Andrew Chang '28 | Carmel House
I cannot wait to continue in my Den, so I might learn from the older girls, but also pass on what I have learned to the incoming freshman, so that hopefully another girl will be able to feel the same warmth and guidance as I have encountered.
- Marie Cupp '29 | Ventura House
What I’ve enjoyed most...is the chance to build relationships I probably never would have made otherwise. [It has] pushed me to connect with people outside my usual circle, and those connections make school feel more like a community than just a place we go every day.
- Cash Knox Lewallen '28 | Ventura House
[The House System] provides a lot of opportunities for learning from both older and younger students and...has given us the chance to serve each other and grow in our faith, creating a united and Christ-centered school community.
- Jadyn Alvarez '27 | Carmel House
Meet the Heads of House
News & Social
![A Day of Tradition and Pride: JSerra at the Swallow’s Day Parade]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1775242708/jserra/aff1w8qjxbredpr6zsjh/SwallowsDayParade2026.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1775242708/jserra/aff1w8qjxbredpr6zsjh/SwallowsDayParade2026.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1775242708/jserra/aff1w8qjxbredpr6zsjh/SwallowsDayParade2026.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1775242708/jserra/aff1w8qjxbredpr6zsjh/SwallowsDayParade2026.png","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1775242708/jserra/aff1w8qjxbredpr6zsjh/SwallowsDayParade2026.png","width":1261}])
JSerra was proudly represented at this year’s Swallows Day Parade in San Juan Capistrano, continuing a tradition since 2004.
![JSerra in the News - Catholic News Agency Publishes Story on House System]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1747863022/jserra/rzmcggsdv9efvoa9stzr/CallingDay_PetraGroupPhoto.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1747863022/jserra/rzmcggsdv9efvoa9stzr/CallingDay_PetraGroupPhoto.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1747863022/jserra/rzmcggsdv9efvoa9stzr/CallingDay_PetraGroupPhoto.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1747863022/jserra/rzmcggsdv9efvoa9stzr/CallingDay_PetraGroupPhoto.png","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1747863022/jserra/rzmcggsdv9efvoa9stzr/CallingDay_PetraGroupPhoto.png","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1747863022/jserra/rzmcggsdv9efvoa9stzr/CallingDay_PetraGroupPhoto.png","width":2200}])
JSerra's new House System is officially underway with Calling Day and the first official House Competition in the history books. Catholic News Agency shared the news on their website.