importance of leadership as we study past and current leaders, and
before understanding personal leadership, students must begin to
discover their interests and sharpen their skills.
At CPA, fifth grade students spend an entire school year devoted
to learning about their personal gifts and strengths. It isn’t enough
to simply discover gifts; talents are strengthened when used to serve,
lead, and meet the needs of the community. Appropriately named Fifth
Forward, the new leadership program was initiated and students were
given the opportunity to “pay it forward” around our campus. The basic
idea was that serving in small ways could make a big difference.
Fifteen fifth graders were accepted by application process and
completed the inaugural year of the program. Students were given extra
leadership roles around campus all year long — from being called upon
to engage in fun times such as serving during Kindergarten Week of the
Young Child, and not-so-fun times when sacrificing recess to help clean.
But perhaps the highlight came from being able to serve as role models
to the younger students and as student ambassadors throughout the year.
No matter where they go in life, our goal was for students to take risks
and realize everyone can lead and serve in our ever-changing world.
Paula Y. Flautt, Artistic Director
The arts at CPA have always been about developing skills, exhorting
excellence, building community, and growing servant-leadership.
Vibrant imagination is vital for our culture. As Darren Walker (Ford
Foundation) observed, “The arts and humanities address a kind of
poverty that goes beyond money—a poverty of imagination—a hunger
that lives not in our bodies, but in our souls.”
To authentically address soul hunger, you can’t divorce it from
truth. To quote Tim Keller “We cannot understand truth without art…
Without art, we cannot reach the world.” Truth for the world. That is the
defining dimension of CPA Arts and the basis for these new initiatives:
• Students in Art III / AP and the cast of Into the Woods each led
an upper school chapel and shared with peers how their art was
speaking to life
• Middle School Concert Choir members explored the legacy of
faith through hymns in context of their tour of Historic Franklin
and grappled with the melding of art, war, and faith
• Upper school Theatre students inaugurated the Playwrights’
Workshop - an evening of student-written and -directed works
speaking to their culture
Particularly noteworthy this year was the launch of the Salt and
Light Studio. Crossing all arts genres, eighteen students were admitted
by application to this monthly gathering providing an intentional
environment for students to engage with professionals sharing their
own creative work and its correlation to their Christian walk.
Students valued:
“Hearing speakers talk about art in the ‘big world’”
“I gathered things from all of the speakers,
such as bringing God into work.”
“Being encouraged to pursue what you’re
truly passionate about and listen to
where God might be leading you.”
With CPA Arts this year, the “what” doesn’t matter if you don’t
embrace the “why.”
Important “whats” have been new opportunities to discover, serve, and
lead. But it is the “why” underneath those that is significant. The “why” is
to elevate ways to mature students to be nimble in creative and innovative
thought, to equip them to be salt and light, and to prepare them to
authentically nourish the souls of a culture—to speak truth to the world.
At CPA, we purpose to provide every student with timely, innovative
teaching and learning experiences, infused with the truth of the gospel.
CPALIONS.ORG
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