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.

From Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade Gathering in their own words:

Why It’s Important to Take a Risk

You’ll never know if you don’t try.
You don’t learn when you take the easy way out.
You learn from your mistakes.
Not every risk is good.
You get something better in the end if you take a risk.
Not everything always works out when you take a risk.
If something bad happens you can learn from it.
Eventually you’ll get it right.
You have to fail to discover.
The adrenaline rush energizes you when you take a risk.
If you don’t do it at Advent, when your Advent friends are there to watch your back, you might not do it at all.
If you don’t let yourself make mistakes, when you make one, you won’t know what to do.
You are more comfortable taking risks, because you’ve learned what it feels like to be in that unpredictable place.
It takes courage to take a risk.

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.

“Our son blossomed during his year in the ECC. We were thrilled by the individualized attention and guidance he received. The focus on social and emotional growth, as well as skill development, was terrific. It was a joy to see him bounding into the classroom every day, before he even took off his coat--he couldn’t wait to see everyone and dive into the day’s adventures.”

— Advent parent