Are you up for trying something new? Penny's been trying to get us to review our mission statement and make sure it reflects our current aspirations for the students. We never seem to have time to work on it in the faculty meetings. Plus it's hard to collaboratively write in real time. Let's try editing the Mission Statement using MixedInk. MixedInk's collaborative writing platform allows groups of any size to weave their best ideas and language into a single text. Anyone can make suggestions and vote on their favorite changes. The final document will be created based on everyone's suggestions and votes.
We'd like to review the "new" mission statement at the next Full Faculty meeting on October 1st. We'll keep the comment phase open until Monday, September 24th and the rating phase open until Friday, September 28th.
Please give it a shot! It should be a lot of fun. Take a look below (on the left) at the video that shows you how it works. Click on the MixedInk image on the right to get started with rewriting the Grymes Mission Statement.
We'd like to review the "new" mission statement at the next Full Faculty meeting on October 1st. We'll keep the comment phase open until Monday, September 24th and the rating phase open until Friday, September 28th.
Please give it a shot! It should be a lot of fun. Take a look below (on the left) at the video that shows you how it works. Click on the MixedInk image on the right to get started with rewriting the Grymes Mission Statement.
Here are some information to get you thinking...
Just to get things kick-started here are some things you might find interesting. Below you will find the mission statement (or equivalent) from a variety of schools. You can look at other school's mission statements that you think have similar values. They're all on the Internet. You can copy and paste text that you especially like into the "notes" section of MixedInk. Later you can use your notes to make suggestions for the updated Grymes Mission Statement.
Grymes Memorial School Mission Statement & PhilosophyMission Statement
Grymes Memorial School, a co-educational day school founded in 1947, instills in students an enthusiasm for learning. The school provides a strong academic foundation and encourages thinking that is creative, reasoned and analytical. The social, physical, and artistic growth of each student is emphasized in an atmosphere of respect, fairness, and honesty. The school community supports the development of essential skills in small classes that provide a safe environment for students to take risks and have pride in their accomplishments. Philosophy Grymes Memorial School is committed to building a community of life-long learners. The goal is to work in partnership with parents to enable all students to appreciate the value of their efforts and to realize that hard work and satisfaction are important parts of learning. The school promotes the intellectual, physical, moral and social growth of each child. Essential to this philosophy is the development of character, honor, fair play and respect for others. Grymes Memorial School embraces the special character and talents of each child, regardless of race, color, national origin, ethnic, social or economic background. The school provides students with a strong academic foundation that prepares them to successfully meet the challenges that they will face in secondary school. |
Faculty Meeting Brainstorming WordsHere are the words from the brainstorming session in today's Faculty Meeting (1Oct12):
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Woodberry Forest School Mission Statement - All Boys - Grades 9-12The purpose of the school is to develop in its students, under Christian principles, a high sense of honor and moral integrity, a deep respect for sound scholarship, a full acceptance of responsibility, a love of excellence, and a will toward personal sacrifice in service to others. It is likewise its mission, based on these ideals, to develop its students into leaders, to train its students toward a useful contribution to the democratic society in which they live, and to give them thorough preparation for the best colleges and universities consistent with their individual potentials.
The abiding concern of Woodberry Forest School is the personal growth of its students. To this end, the school attempts to provide a broad experience with balanced emphasis on the academic, artistic, physical, and spiritual development of its students. In so doing, the school believes that well-conceived challenges, together with support and encouragement, will instill self-confidence and a striving for continuing excellence throughout life. Woodberry Forest is committed to helping students become individuals whose sense of values and capacity to reason effectively will allow them to deal with important intellectual, ethical, and social problems and to lead rewarding private lives. In keeping with this objective, the faculty is more concerned with teaching students how to think that what to think. As a community, the school fosters an atmosphere of civility and cooperation, urging its members to treat one another with the respect and consideration they hope to receive in return. The underpinning of that effort is the honor system, which is not so much a rigid code as it is a way of life that is fundamental to the decency of the Woodberry Forest community. The school seeks to maintain a secure and healthy environment for its students to go about the process of growing and learning, in the hope that every student will come to think of Woodberry Forest as a second home. Marin Country Day School Mission And Core Values - K-8In 1956 an adventurous group of parents and educators from Marin County and San Francisco joined together to found MCDS.
They believed that children should love coming to school, that learning is a lifelong process and that each child’s unique gifts should be nurtured. They believed that boys and girls have much to learn from each other. They valued equally the development of mind, body and spirit. It was no accident that they decided to start a “country day school.” With scarce financial resources available the founders chose to invest heavily in people, seeking teachers whose passion for their craft, life experiences and deep commitment to children would help kids grow up healthy. They believed that members of a diverse school community could contribute immeasurably to the well-being of one another and established a scholarship fund in the very first year. They understood the importance of the family/school partnership, and encouraged all families to participate as fully in the life of the school as individual circumstances permitted. This participatory tradition and the very special spirit which it engenders are alive and well today. Our School is a Community that...
MCDS Mission Statement (Adopted 1997) Horace Mann School Mission Statement & Core Values (ranked #2 prep school in the country by Forbes - PreK through 12)Mission Statement
Horace Mann School prepares a diverse community of students to lead great and giving lives. We strive to maintain a safe, secure, and caring environment in which mutual respect, mature behavior, and the life of the mind can thrive. We recognize and celebrate individual achievement and contributions to the common good.--revised by the Curriculum Council, Fall, 2008 Core Values - The Life of the Mind With regard to the Life of the Mind, the School expects that students will:
Mature Behavior With regard to Mature Behavior, the School expects that students will make every effort to:
Mutual Respect With regard to Mutual Respect, the School expects students to:
A Secure and Healthful Environment To provide a Secure and Healthful Environment,the School expects that students will make every effort to:
A Balance Between Individual Achievement and a Caring Community To help our students achieve a Balance between Individual Achievement and a Caring Community, the School expects that students will make every effort to:
The Dalton School Mission (ranked #13 prep school in the country by Forbes - K through 12)The Dalton School is committed to providing an education of excellence that meets each student’s interests, abilities and needs within a common curricular framework and reflects and promotes an understanding of, and appreciation for, diversity in our community as an integral part of school life. Dalton challenges each student to develop intellectual independence, creativity and curiosity and a sense of responsibility toward others both within the School and in the community at large. Guided by the Dalton Plan, the School prepares students to “go forth unafraid.”
As a progressive school guided by the Dalton Plan, we are an intentionally diverse community committed to a tradition of life-long learning and educational innovation. The following are major principles that inform the daily learning environment at Dalton:
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What are Habits of Mind?Click on the above title to read the article. Here are some of the characteristics:
Click on the title above to read the entire article. Here is an excerpt from the article: "For success in the long run, brain power helps, but what our kids really need to learn is grit... in the past decade, and especially in the past few years, a disparate group of economists, educators, psychologists and neuroscientists has begun to produce evidence that calls into question many of the assumptions behind the cognitive hypothesis. What matters most in a child's development, they say, is not how much information we can stuff into her brain in the first few years of life. What matters, instead, is whether we are able to help her develop a very different set of qualities, a list that includes persistence, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness, grit and self-confidence. Economists refer to these as noncognitive skills, psychologists call them personality traits, and the rest of us often think of them as character."
National Cathedral School Mission Statement, Core Values, and Philosophy - All Girls - Grades 4-12National Cathedral School Mission Statement
We believe in the power of young women and educate them to embrace our core values of excellence, service, courage, and conscience. Our Core Values National Cathedral School lives by these core values: EXCELLENCE We strive to offer our best work, to maintain the highest standards, and to set goals within a context that honors the contributions and achievements of the entire community. SERVICE We believe we have an obligation to make a difference in the world, to contribute to the greater good, and to respond with purpose to the needs of others. COURAGE We act with conviction, strength, and integrity. We stand up for ourselves and others. CONSCIENCE We work to develop an abiding sense of right and wrong, and guided by that moral sense, seek ethical responses to life’s challenges. We act toward others with kindness, respect, and compassion. Our Philosophy The talents and potential of National Cathedral School students are great. In response, NCS’ creative faculty and staff support and challenge each student with rigorous and dynamic educational programs. Our expertise is in teaching girls and young women to develop their unique talents in all dimensions. Through the passionate exchange of ideas, opportunities for analytical and creative thinking, personal reflection, and the joy of discovery, our students achieve high levels of skill in their academic and extracurricular endeavors. NCS graduates take on the challenges of life keenly aware of their capacity for leadership and ability to make meaningful contributions to the world. NCS expresses the philosophy of the Washington National Cathedral and the Episcopal Church by embracing the diversity of human experience. As the National Cathedral is a “house of prayer for all people,” the National Cathedral School honors all faith traditions and welcomes and celebrates students, faculty, and staff from all backgrounds. We believe that diversity and inclusion enrich our learning environment and are essential to academic excellence and personal growth. It is through the deliberate and constant interactions with people of diverse beliefs and backgrounds that students learn compassion, cultural competence, and how to work effectively with others in a global community. Diversity in our school is essential if our students are to think critically and creatively about global questions, and to thrive and lead in today’s world. Relationships anchored in trust and shared values between and among students, teachers, staff, parents, and alumnae create an environment that fosters intellectual risk-taking, healthy emotional growth, and a lifelong love of learning. Integrity, respect, and personal responsibility are essential components of our community. Trinity School Mission Statement (ranked #1 prep school in the country by Forbes - K through 12)Our Idea of Excellence:
Our Vocation. The conversation between student and teacher is the heart of our school; all that we do must be born of and nourish that relationship. We are called to challenge the minds, fire the imaginations, and train the bodies of the young people who have been entrusted to us; to enlarge their spiritual lives; and to increase their capacity for mutual and self-respect. We intend to prepare them to learn confidently for the rest of their lives and to give generously and joyfully to others. We can accomplish these things only if we keep our students safe and well while they are in our charge. Our Obligation. We must ask our young people what they believe in so they can know themselves in the world. We must give them the tools of rigorous and passionate intellectual inquiry and self-expression so they can grow. In our commitment to diversity, we must show our students how to be colleagues and friends so they can act out of respect and love. We must lead them to distinguish right from wrong and then do what is right so they can be persuasive and courageous citizens. Our Promise. As a school community with these purposes and responsibilities, we will engage the larger communities of city, nation, and world of which we are a part. We will serve our neighbors. We will live fully in our city—exploring its byways and playing over its terrain. We will learn its history and traditions, and what it can teach us of the arts and sciences. We will embody and celebrate its diversity. Our Means. Labore et virtute. The terms of our motto, hard work and moral excellence, are meant to strengthen us as we pursue the promise and joy of Trinity School. We ask Trinity families, alumni, and friends to join us in taking on this high calling. The Brearley School Mission Statement (ranked #4 prep school in the country by Forbes - All Girls - K through 12)The Brearley School challenges girls of adventurous intellect to think critically and creatively and prepares them for active, responsible citizenship in a democratic society. Within a diverse community and in partnership with dedicated faculty who teach across three divisions, students in Classes K through XII develop a command of many disciplines and a love of learning through the passionate exchange of ideas. Encouraging girls to balance individuality and collaboration further promotes the integrity essential to principled engagement in the world.
Collegiate School Philosophy (ranked #7 prep school in the country by Forbes - All Boys - K through 12)Collegiate School strives to educate each boy to reach his highest level of intellectual, ethical, artistic, and physical development. Drawing on what is known about boys' growth and learning, the school offers a rigorous K-12 program rich in opportunities for cultivating individual talents and interests in a climate of collaboration and respect. Collegiate continues its historic tradition in New York City of educating a diverse and talented student body and of helping boys to become independent adults and responsible citizens who will lead and serve.
The Spence School Mission (ranked #9 prep school in the country by Forbes - All Girls - K through 12)The Mission of The Spence School is to educate girls and young women to the highest academic and personal standards necessary for responsible, effective citizenship and for the successful pursuit of higher education.
The School is committed to the rigorous study of the liberal arts and sciences appropriate to Grades K through 12. The development of high standards and character is considered as important as achievement in academic areas. The School integrates visual and performing arts and athletics both within its academic program and as extracurricular activities. The School creates an environment that fosters the growth of self-confidence, instills the joy of learning, develops the skills of leadership in every student and prepares its graduates intellectually and emotionally for the future. The School is committed to preparing its students for full participation in a diverse and changing world. Believing in the importance of strong traditions, the School also looks to the future and adapts its educational programs to meet the needs of its students, while remaining centered on a curriculum that provides preparation for college as well as "for life." What Distinguishes Chapin (ranked #11 prep school in the country by Forbes - K through 12)ACADEMIC RIGOR AND INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY
Chapin students develop advanced scholarship habits and intellectual curiosity. They learn to think deeply and flexibly, whether they are researching and writing a term paper or creating a multimedia project. Students become self-directed learners with a strong desire to explore new ideas. They gain the means to investigate any facet of the world they encounter. COLLABORATIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING Chapin's faculty regularly collaborate to design and implement lesson plans and teaching strategies for courses. Through Chapin's cluster system, different faculty members teach the various sections of a single course, and they meet to develop a similar syllabus, discuss successful assignments and propose new approaches. This method results in classroom-tested, innovative teaching, which challenges students to expand their intellects and understand the value of shared ideas. COMMUNITY All students attend classes under one roof, creating a warm environment in which friendships flourish across grade levels. Faculty and students develop close relationships both inside and outside the classroom, which helps to form an intellectually vibrant and supportive learning community. In addition, many events and school traditions unite every Chapin student, teacher, parent, administrator and alumna, so that each individual feels part of the Chapin family. GLOBAL OUTLOOK Beginning in the Lower School, every Chapin student learns to understand other cultures and speak a world language. By the time she graduates, she may have visited another country through a study-abroad program and be fluent in Chinese, French or Spanish. All Chapin students understand that they live in an internationally connected world and embrace the opportunity to be thoughtful and responsible global citizens. TRADITION AND INNOVATION Chapin students draw strength from the school's significant history while preparing themselves for the future. Every Chapin girl participates in school traditions — such as News, a weekly communal gathering started by the school's founder, Maria Bowen Chapin — while exploring new ideas in the classroom, using advanced technology and participating in innovative programs such as the virtual science fair. Milton Academy Mission (ranked #16 prep school in the country by Forbes - K through 12)Milton Academy cultivates in its students a passion for learning and a respect for others. Embracing diversity and the pursuit of excellence, we create a community in which individuals develop competence, confidence and character. Our active learning environment, in and out of the classroom, develops creative and critical thinkers, unafraid to express their ideas, prepared to seek meaningful lifetime success and to live by our motto, "Dare to be true."
Milton Academy is an independent college preparatory K–12 school, boarding and day in grades 9–12, located eight miles south of Boston. |