This year is a particularly special one as we launch our 2012-2017 Strategic Plan, which encompasses our goals of an inspiring and balanced learning experience, strong local and global connections and an engaged and supportive community. As we start new initiatives and review and revise others, we do so with a focus on and vision for the future. Our focus is driven by our new school mission:
St. Clement’s School develops outstanding women who are intellectually curious, courageous and compassionate.
This mission is our guide for everything we do. As we work to prepare our girls for the future, we will ensure that their curiosity about learning is piqued, that they possess courage to face learning and going beyond their comfort zone with confidence and that they demonstrate compassion and an understanding of differing perspectives in all that they do.
In achieving our mission, we look to our broader community for both support and assistance. As we focus on encouraging our girls to be intellectually curious, courageous and compassionate, we must ensure that we are creating an environment that provides consistent messaging. A key condition is the cooperation of home and school to allow our girls to take chances in their learning, to be comfortable receiving constructive feedback for growth, and to learn that learning is not simply about an end result but truly about the path along the way.
The timing of Margaret Wente’s article in The Globe and Mail this weekend about Paul Tough’s book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character couldn’t have been better. As Wente writes “[Tough] argues that the qualities that matter most to children’s success have more to do with character- and that parents and schools can play a powerful role in nurturing the character traits that foster success.”
We at St. Clement’s are looking forward to working with our broader community to continue to develop outstanding women.
