Community Goals for Learning

Our mission states that, “A St. Luke’s School education prepares students for a lifelong commitment to

learning and social responsibility.” In order to develop lifelong learners and socially responsible

citizens, the school’s pedagogy, curriculum, ethos and environment are designed to foster in its

students the following “thinking” dispositions:

• Curiosity: wondering at our world, asking questions about it, exploring it.

• Open-mindedness: being willing to consider and try new ideas, generating alternative

options and explanations, and looking beyond the given and expected

• Seeking truth and understanding: examining things more closely, looking for connections,

exploring applications and consequences, pushing ideas to the limits, pulling ideas apart,

contrasting one idea with another, and building explanations.

• Reflection: thinking about one’s thinking, actively monitoring, regulating, evaluating, and

directing one’s thinking.

• Integrity: living a life of honor, characterized by trustworthiness and moral and ethical

strength.

Further, we believe that lifelong learning is contingent upon three broad educational goals including

(1) actively acquiring knowledge (defined as skills combined with information), (2) active use of

knowledge and, (3) retention of knowledge. Specifically, as a result of their educational career,

St. Luke’s School graduates will have developed the ability to:

• Think critically and creatively

o sustain a process of inquiry

o see multiple perspectives

o generate new ideas

o read, view, and listen with comprehension

o take an approach to problem solving that is imaginative, original and strategic

• Communicate effectively

o write clearly and cogently in modes appropriate to the topic and audience

o speak confidently and effectively

o use technology effectively and ethically to gather information and formulate new

ideas

o express ideas creatively in a variety of artistic media

• Demonstrate character and social responsibility

o live by the tenets of the St. Luke’s School Honor Code: kindness, responsibility,

honesty, and respect

o help others through the community service activities

o understand and respect what it means to be a part of a multicultural society and act

accordingly

• Grow and mature on a personal level

o develop self-confidence and the ability to act independently

o work effectively alone and in collaboration with other students and teachers

o be willing to meet appropriate challenges, both intellectual and physical

o put forth maximum effort; realize the intrinsic value of hard work

o take personal responsibility for learning

o cultivate strong organizational skills