INDUSTRY INSIGHT
EDUCATION
SPONSORED CONTENT
Mission Matters:
Is Your Child Prepared to Succeed in School and Beyond?
B y D irector of t eaching anD L earning B evan K och , P h .D.
Mission Statement:
Sewickley Academy inspires and educates students to engage
their hearts, minds, and hands to cultivate their full individual
and collective potential in the service of a greater good.
A
t Sewickley Academy, our Mission Statement and four
Core Values – character, educational vigor, diversity, and
community – are fundamental to who we are as a school.
In our tagline, “For Who You Are. For Who You Will Become.” We
acknowledge our responsibility to honor our Mission and Core
Values by preparing students to meet the challenges of a rapidly
changing world. We take this responsibility seriously. Now more than
ever, a student’s educational experience must include the acquisition
of academic knowledge, in addition to the development of critical
thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, and other skills
they will need to thrive in this complex world.
Our Vision of a Sewickley Academy Student provides focus
and continuity for a student’s learning experiences from Pre-
Kindergarten through Grade 12. Our curriculum answers questions
such as: What are the essential attributes and skills that a graduate
of Sewickley Academy must have when he or she leaves our
school? What will learners at each level of our school look like and
aspire to do? What will students at our school have learned and
accomplished? How will our students impact their communities in
positive ways?
The Vision of a Sewickley Academy Student extends our Mission
Statement from a sentence printed on posters hanging throughout
the school to a tangible set of outcomes that we work to develop
in our students from the earliest school experiences through
graduation. Moreover, the Vision helps teachers to maintain a focus
on providing all students with educational opportunities to develop
students’ hearts, minds, and hands and helps them reach their full
individual potential.
inspiring and educating hearts, minds, and hands
PRE-K—GRADE 5
GRADES 6—8
Visit sewickley.org today.
GRADES 9—12
S EWICKLEY A
CADEMY
FOR WHO YOU ARE. FOR WHO YOU WILL BECOME.
In visits to classrooms from Pre-K – Grade 12, it is clear that students
are being engaged in activities that are designed to develop academic
skills as well as the attributes included in the Vision of a Sewickley
Academy Student. For example, during a Grade 1 science lesson students
engaged their minds and hands while designing and testing boats. The
student experience was enhanced when the teacher asked students to
provide feedback to one another. As individual students described the
challenges they experienced during the testing phase, other students
offered thoughtful and respectful
advice intended to improve upon
the design.
During the study of skeletal and
muscular anatomy, fourth grade
students learn about disabilities
and how adaptive medicine is
used to mimic the natural function
of missing limbs. Students work
collaboratively to design and test
prosthetic legs. Successful project
completion requires students to
work cooperatively, respond to
challenges, and think creatively in
order to solve problems.
For Grade 6 students, the
Environmental Summit and
World’s Fair is an interdisciplinary
project that requires students
to investigate complex world
problems and propose creative
responses grounded in sound
research. Students develop
research skills and demonstrate
their knowledge by presenting
their research with members of the
community. This project provides
the students an opportunity
to collaborate with others and
consider how their actions might
effect change and contribute towards the greater good.
Similarly, in the Senior School “Global Issues: A Call to Action” course,
students explore barriers to education, including poverty, religion,
gender, and modern-day slavery. Using case studies, students evaluate
examples of successful social entrepreneurship as well as examine the
unintentional consequences of foreign aid and donations. This course
asks students to create a business proposal in social entrepreneurship
that has produced two service trips to Haiti, which were run and led by
students. Every aspect of the course is mission-aligned and contributes to
the fulfillment of the Vision of a Sewickley Academy Student.
Sewickley Academy encourages all students to embrace a continuous
journey of self-discovery by exploring new ideas and opportunities in
their own backyard and around the globe. An invaluable benefit of the
Sewickley Academy experience is its single Pre-K through Grade 12
campus where cross-age interactions are intentionally integrated into
the fabric of students’ lives. Our teachers prepare students to meet the
challenges of a rapidly changing world by planning learning experiences
that align with our Mission and Core Values that bring our Vision of a
Sewickley Academy Student to fruition.
Prepare your child to succeed in life. Visit www.sewickley.org/vision to
learn more about a Sewickley Academy education.
MOON TOWNSHIP
❘
SPRING 2019
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