“As a member of the St. Francis community, I will practice compassion, cooperation, respect, and responsibility. I will respect myself, others, and the environment. I will act with honor and integrity.” These are the simple words that make up the St. Francis “Eagle Code.” A copy of it hangs in every St. Francis classroom. Counselors, administrators, and teachers refer to it when discussing behavior with children.
Since the school’s inception, building character in children has been at the heart of the school’s mission, and continues to this day. While academics are at the forefront of our school’s mission, molding socially responsible, ethical, and moral young people is an equal plank in our daily efforts to shape lives. This builds confidence and team building skills in our students.
One example of our citizenship program is our Peace Education series. Students in grades 6th through 8th are involved in a variety of endeavors designed to provide them with more opportunity for leadership and to increase the interactions between our younger and older students. All of the 6th grade students participate in a 10 week program in the fall and learn how to lead cooperative games with our younger students and they spend time learning about the characteristics involved in being a good leader. Once the training is complete, the 6thgraders are paired with a lower school student and work once a week on these skills.
Our 7th grade students are given the option of volunteering once a week to help during lower school morning recess. They help engage the younger students in activities and run organized games. In the past few years, almost all of the students have eagerly offered their time and their own recess.
In 8th grade, our students are trained by a facilitator to become peer mediators. They spend 5 weeks learning about conflict and conflict styles, communication skills and conflict resolution. At the close of the training, the students are able to mediate conflict between their peers.
Community Outreach is another critical component of our mission. This year alone, St. Francis students have given the following gifts to our community.
- Junior Kindergarteners made and sold note cards to buy an incubator for orphaned and injured wildlife.
- Kindergartners visited the residents of Oxmoor Lodge Retirement community.
- First graders saved money and collected art supplies, mittens, and items for the Wayside Christian Mission Child Development Center.
- Third graders collected food and money for Dare to Care.
- Fourth graders donated notebooks, books, sweatshirts, underwear, and socks to the Neighborhood House.
- Fifth graders collected gifts for their first grade buddies at Watterson Elementary.
- The entire student body wrote letters to soldiers in Afghanistan.
- Many lower and middle school students (and SFS parents) knitted hats to donate to a local homeless shelter.
