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St. Philip School School is committed to sharing with parents the responsibility of guiding the spiritual growth of their children, teaching them to live their faith, and ultimately bringing them to the threshold of a relationship with God. Our project, The A.N.G.E.L. WAY, is designed to help the students on this journey by focusing on character development through the practice of virtue in their faith, virtue in their academic achievement, and virtue in their interaction with others.
The acronym, A. N. G. E. L.,
means Achieving Natural Goodness in Everyday
Life and is derived from the definition of Virtue. This
project grew naturally out of our 85 year tradition which seeks
to provide an atmosphere that continually encourages the development
of strong moral character rooted in virtues as well as academic
excellence. In seeking a symbol to focus attention upon this endeavor,
we also turned to tradition. For more than 80 years, the image
most closely identified with St. Philip School School has been
our courtyard angel. This statue depicts a guardian angel guiding
and protecting a small child. The angel's arm is extended and
points directly to the tabernacle of the church. The angel is
leading the child to God just as our efforts are aimed at bringing
each child to the threshold of a personal relationship with God.
St. Philip School teachers felt there was a strong need to emphasize
virtues in the lives of our children because many of today's students
experience an unstable home life, are bombarded by media with
negative messages, face tremendous peer pressure, and see a weakening
of respect for authority and standards in our society. All of
these factors have contributed to a lack of exemplary practice
of virtue in our modern culture.
If we expect our students to practice virtues, they must be made
aware of them. Further, children must be helped to see how virtues
apply to everyday living. As schools are expected to assume more
responsibility in the upbringing of our children, the teaching
of virtues must be addressed.
The teachers and administration identified twelve specific virtues that we wish the students to develop. The virtues include: self- discipline, generosity, responsibility, friendship, stewardship, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, holiness, work and respect. Four virtues will be explored each school year of the three year plan. All students at all grade levels will be working on each of the twelve virtues. However, the virtues were divided among grade teams for a presentation to the whole school at the end of each report period. Each grade team knows the duties and responsibilities associated with the virtue that they will be presenting.
Banners with a picture of our
courtyard A.N.G.E.L. and the words " A.N.G.E.L. Way"
are displayed throughout the school. The students are reminded
that the angels are there to guide and help them. When a student
sees an angel, he or she is reminded of the A.N.G.E.L. Way and
the current virtue on which we are focusing. Bulletin Boards depicting
the quarter's virtue encourage the specific virtuous behavior
that should be exhibited. Within each classroom, various activities
and reminders integrate the A.N.G.E.L. WAY into our academic curriculum
and the students' everyday choices and behaviors. Each classroom
keeps a log of A.N.G.E.L. WAY happenings using photos, literature,
writings, drawings and student comments.
It is our desire that the students of St. Philip School School
be prepared to face their future with clear and defined guidelines
for living a virtuous life. We are committed to sending responsible,
honest, caring, generous, self-disciplined Christians into the
21st century.St. Philip School students will exhibit firm virtuous
behavior in their interactions with faculty, staff, fellow students,
parents, and members of our parish and community. It is our goal
to see a noticeable improvement in attitude and ability to practice
our targeted virtues in our academic endeavors, spiritual happiness,
and family life. We have the support of our parents and parishioners
which will help us achieve success. In addition, with home participation
in virtue building, families can grow in love and understanding.
The students are encouraged
to use the topic virtue not only in school, but also at home and
in our community. The teachers, staff members and parishioners
are asked to observe the students and record instances in which
they have seen a student exhibiting the targeted virtue. These
slips are turned into the office and each week, students who were
observed practicing the virtue, are called to the office over
the loud speaker and are acknowledged. Our principal announces
that these students were "Caught being an A.N.G.E.L."
and describes their virtuous act. A reward certificate is given
to those students. Various poster, essay and poetry contests are
held throughout the year, giving the students the opportunity
to demonstrate their understanding and application of the current
quarter's virtue.
Parent participation is vital to our project's success. Our parents share ideas through our PTG class meetings, help with classroom activities for the A.N.G.E.L. Way, choose and read stories to the various classrooms about the current virtues, encourage that the same good choices be made at home, and supply input as to how our project is affecting their child/children.
It is the goal of St. Philip School A.N.G.E.L. WAY for every child to learn that happiness and spiritual fulfillment are achieved by leading a virtuous life. It will be necessary to continue with teacher/staff department meetings to plan and evaluate each new step that the project will take. At the beginning of each school year, the students will gather for an A.N.G.E.L. assembly to reinforce last year's virtues and introduce the new year's virtues. Correspondence and interaction with parents will continue to be a major factor in the success of our program.
