SPA RTAN S POTLI G H T
prepare our students for college and for life.
“Our hope is that, [when they leave Steward],
our students will be equipped to work in an
environment with people from all walks of
life,” Mr. Morrison said.
STEWARD FOR LEARNING
Complexity and Creativity
STEWARD FOR THE
INDIVIDUAL
Attending to the Whole Person
STEWARD FOR ALL
Strength in Diversity
STEWARD FOR
COMMUNITY
Meaningful Partnerships
STEWARD FOR LIFE
Forever Belonging
Mr. Morrison is also deeply involved in the
initiative serving alumni relations, Steward
for Life. He is excited to welcome a new team
member to the Development department
(though she’s certainly not new to the Steward
community), current Director of Admissions
Robin Oliff. Mr. Frank announced this fall that
Mrs. Oliff would be stepping away from her
role in Admissions at the end of the 2018-19
school year and taking on a newly created
part-time position that will engage Steward’s
alumni in Richmond and other key cities. “This
exciting change will allow me to utilize the
connections and relationships I have formed
with parents and alumni over the last 16 years
in order to help Steward create and implement
a robust alumni program,” Mrs. Oliff said.
Steward’s outreach and involvement in the
Greater Richmond community comes into
play when engaging alumni, but also holds
its own category in Compass 2022 – Steward
for Community. “Steward for Community
is potentially the most innovative because
it’s the most limitless,” Mr. Frank said. “It’s
uncommon for a school to give an initiative
like this such deep consideration, and thread it
into its curriculum.”
Cross-divisional conversation and
collaboration has been a significant benefit
of having specific common goals like these to
work toward. “We’re all being very intentional
about what we’re doing,” Mrs. Groves said.
“We want to make sure there is a ‘one school’
feel to everything we do, and that there is a
logical progression as students move from
division to division.”
The Health and Wellness initiative (Steward
for the Individual) is a topic that has been
particularly interesting to discuss across
divisions. Health and Wellness Coordinator
Michelle Khalife believes this initiative
is often the first step toward many of the
other aspects of Compass 2022. “One of the
highlights of [Steward for the Individual] is the
focus placed on attending to every dimension
of a student’s wellbeing,” Ms. Khalife said.
“Our Milestones reflect the understanding
that in order for a student to achieve their
academic and occupational goals, they must
be adequately equipped to make healthy
decisions that celebrate self-awareness,
diversity, and resilience.”
Mrs. Groves spoke about the way in which
Steward for the Individual is being discussed in
terms of curriculum. “During the first marking
period, we spent a considerable amount of
time looking at our homework policies as
they relate to the health and wellness of our
students,” she said. “Many of our discussions
and conclusions revealed that we have been
very intentional about this topic for the past
few years. It was helpful to reflect back and
think about the progress we’ve made.”
Reflection and constant evolution, along with
action, are integral parts of Compass 2022
and Steward’s future. Both Mr. Frank and Mrs.
Groves feel strongly that in order for progress
to occur, Steward must consistently reflect,
reevaluate, and have the ability to change
course if needed.
“We don’t necessarily know what the end
result of some of these conversations will be,”
Mrs. Groves said. “We’ve left many things
intentionally open-ended for that reason.
We have check-in points during which we
evaluate the information we’ve gathered so
far, and discuss how it affects and influences
us moving forward.”
Mr. Frank agrees, stating, “I believe we should
continually be in strategic planning mode.”
Mrs. Groves said, “These are conversations
that we should and always will be having, in
which we reflect on our curriculum and make
sure it is meeting the needs of all our students,
and that we are innovative in our thinking and
practices. The journey is never over.”
The Colonnade |
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