Branching Out Scavenger Hunt

This page is intended for those who are already signed up for and participating in the Branching Out’s Great Scavenger Hunt Challenge this Summer. If you are not already signed up but would like to participate, please have a parent contact Angela (adavis@saintjn.org).

Grand prize will be a $50 gift card. Possible other prizes may be awarded. The hunt has begun with final entries submitted by September 1st.

Open to all RISING 6th-8th Graders this Summer.

Submissions should be made to branchingoutscavengerhunt@gmail.com. See below for more informaiton.

Rules and Expectations

  • Youth must complete and submit all entries by the deadline. (For the Summer 2022 Challenge, the deadline for final submissions is September 1.)
  • Submissions are to be made by email to branchingoutscavengerhunt@gmail.com.
  • Submission emails should ALWAYS include the following:
    • A parent MUST be included on the email. (It is also ok to send the email from a parent’s email address.)
    • The email should make it very clear as to which challenge(s) is being fulfilled.
    • The email should include the youth’s FULL name.
  • Youth may work together or individually. If working together, each youth should send their own email.
  • When applicable, youth are encouraged to include their family and friends in the challenges!
  • A single action can only fulfill one challenge per person. So, for example, if you cook dinner for your family to meet the goal of one challenge and want to use that action to meet the goal of a separate challenge, you will need to cook dinner a second time.
  • Creativity is strongly encouraged but keep in mind that the goal of ALL of these challenges is to grow in faith.
  • Unless specifically stated in the challenge, you may verify your completion of challenges in one of three ways (or any combination of these three ways). Regardless of the method chosen, make sure to answer any questions asked in the challenge.
    • With a photograph that clearly shows the completion of the challenge (please include some explanation in your email as necessary).
    • A short (must be less than 1 minute) video that clearly shows the completion of the challenge and/or your explanation of how you completed the challenge.
    • A few sentences or reflection on the experience.
  • This is meant to provide fun while strengthening our faith and engaging in service to others. We are called to be Christ’s hands in the world. NEVER do anything that could be potentially dangerous, that is against parent’s rules, or does not uphold our Catholic values.
  • If the internet is needed to complete a challenge, make sure that you have a parent’s permission first.
  • There are two types of challenges:
    • General Challenges = These are challenges that are stated at the beginning of the scavenger hunt and can be completed any time before the deadline.
    • Weekly Challenges = These are time specific challenges that correspond to our Catholic liturgical calendar and other important days. These may be completed any time as well, but extra points may be awarded if they are completed within that week.
  • Winners will be chosen based on a variety of factors including, number of challenges completed, timeliness, following directions, creativity, amount of effort, level of reflection made, detail in the response, and how the challenge is related to our Catholic faith.

 

General Challenges

  1. Do something kind for a specific person who lives in your house. Who did you choose? What did you do? Why did you choose this and how did it go?
  2. Do an extra chore/job/task in your home that someone else usually handles. What did you do? Who usually does this? Why did you choose what you did and how did it go?
  3. If you will be on vacation or otherwise out of town on a Sunday, attend Mass at another church. If you will not have this opportunity, attend Mass either in person or virtually at another church. Where did you go? In person or virtually? Where is that church located? What were some things that were the same? What were some things that were different?
  4. Spend an hour enjoying God’s creation. What did you do? How can we grow in relationship with God through this practice.
  5. Spend an entire day with NO screens. No TV, no smartphone, no computer or tablets, no smart watches, etc. What was this experience like? How can this help us to grow in faith?
  6. Find a way to use a screen or smart device (TV, smartphone, computer, tablet, smartwatch, etc.) to strengthen your faith. Spend at least 15 minutes doing something on your device that grows your relationship with God. What did you do (be very specific)? What device did you use? How could this be used to help develop a deeper faith?
  7. Choose a saint to research and explain what you learned. Please include why you choose this saint, challenges that this saint faced, and how you can learn from their example.

Weekly Challenges

Check back soon for Weekly Challenges.