ROAR Spring 2013 - St. John's International School

The New Core Committees5Recently, the St. John’s Board ofDirector’s has reconstituted itselfand formed three advisory CoreCommittees to include parents,staff, administration and boardmembers to work cooperatively toaddress the areas of Community,Ethos & Education, and Businessat St. John’s.The Community CoreCommitteeThe Community Core Committeediscusses topics that affector benefit the larger St.John’s community and bringsrecommendations to the ASBLBoard. The Committee does notinterfere with the day-to-dayoperations of the PTP, ASP orBoosters or other communitygroups. The group looks atthe main issues and prioritiesand will be asked to presentrecommendations and requestsdirectly to the ASBL Board.The group has met several timessince its inception in Novemberand has come up with severalfocal points, including:• Strengthen the community –internal and external• Increase awareness of St.John’s in the larger community• Ensure inclusion of allnationalities, specifically the nonnativeEnglish speakersThe Committee will start an“ambassador program”, wherebyone person per nationality/language can relay informationto people in their own language.When an appreciation luncheonwas held in January for allwelcome committee membersfor their efforts in welcomingthe many new families to St.John’s each year, attendees werealso asked for feedback on thisCommunity Core Committee idea.The first Community CoreCommittee event will be anevening event on June 13 witha presentation by guest speakerAlison Cornford-Matheson(CheeseWeb), followed by a socialevening with beer and cheese.Another event planned is a “backto school barbecue” for the entirecommunity on August 31, Green& White day. The Committeewill also play an essential role inplanning the 50th anniversarywhich will be celebrated inSeptember 2014.The Ethos & Education CoreCommitteeThe Ethos & Education CoreCommittee supports the Boardin the area of ethos, education,student care, and studentachievement. The committeeseeks to ensure that oureducational project is embeddedin the school’s mission, vision,and values. Our rootedness inour FCJ heritage inspires oureducational project. We look toour texts such as our guidingstatements, the St. John’sparadigm, and the educationaloutline, to guide us in our questfor finding ever new ways ofexpressing and living our identityand ethos. However, beyondexpressing our objectives inphilosophical textual terms, theEthos and Education Committeeseeks to guard and promote thelived and practical reality of ourethos and educational objectives.The charter of the Board ofDirectors outlines the tasks ofthe Ethos and Education CoreCommittee, for example:• St. John’s International SchoolBoard Policy Manual review• Participation in the audit andadjustment of the Strategic Planand Operational Plan• Emphasis on the integrationof ethos within the educationalframework and structure• Reflection on the historyand values held in St. John’sInternational School• Guidance concerning anydocumentation regarding ethosRecommendations andbest advice comes from avaried membership: parents,administration, the board ofdirectors, and faculty from eachof the three schools. Togetherwe have begun reflecting on theessential identity of our schooland what it would look like inpractice. The way we interactand respond to our vocationsas members of the board ofdirectors, administrators, parents,and teachers, will make all thedifference to our children.What does it mean for a schoolto have a Christian foundation, toseek the formation of the wholeperson, to encourage personalexcellence, to be an internationalschool? These fundamental