learning

Cultivating World Citizens

Children learn to stretch themselves intellectually, recognizing that skills and achievement come from a clear sense of focus and the ability to stay with a task. We help them develop the flexibility to shift gears or make shared decisions within a small group.

If we want our students to be active players in their future world, we must expect them to be active participants in their classrooms. If we want our students to follow their hearts and stand up for their beliefs, they must find their passions and work at them in school. If we want our students to be confident and decisive leaders, we must teach them to take responsibility and make sound decisions.

At The Advent School we assume:

The next generation of leaders will play a critical role in their world, and they must believe that no initiative is unachievable.
Our children will experience a future that requires the ability to think holistically and synthesize information. To that end we teach them to understand relationships and cross boundaries between subject areas.
Our students will become innovative thinkers who value originality and have the capacity to envision multiple solutions to problems.

Gatherings

Each week the Head of School meets with students in a Gathering of two or more classes (ECC and Kindergarteners, First, Second, and Third Graders, and Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Graders). Together we read and talk about issues related to caring for humankind and our natural world. Taking a child’s perspective, we consider the lives of children and families worldwide, heroic individuals, and/or problems we might solve together. Last year during Gathering, our students identified their ten priorities for the world.

Ten Priorities for the World We Live In

by Students in Third through Sixth Grades at The Advent School

Global warming (using energy we don’t need to use; pollution; smoking)
Over population
Child labor and slavery
Civil rights, apartheid, castes, and inequality
Natural disasters
Destruction of forests
Animals becoming extinct
Disease
Poverty
War

Community Service Learning

Community Service Learning provides a powerful way for faculty, students, and parents to work together and embrace The Advent School Mission. Projects emerge from the students’ interests and teachers craft age-appropriate projects that engage students of all ages. Our Sixth Graders lead our effort and devote a full afternoon each month in giving back to the community. Our school has developed close partnerships with Neighborhood Action and The Women’s Lunch Place, two local community organizations that provide safe and comfortable daytime shelter, nutritious food, and essential services to the city’s homeless and poor populations. By working closely with these organizations over time, our students can respond to specific needs and requests.

In addition The Advent School participates in a number of school-wide initiatives including UNICEF, and The Esplanade Association. We both help with local clean-up efforts and sponsor a team for Project Bread’s Annual Walk for Hunger.

“When I came to Advent I saw kids of different races, religions, and with different amounts of money all just there--just being together. So much different from my other school.”

— Advent student