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| Stillpoint School Mission Statement and Philosophy |
| Mission Statement Our mission is to foster a lifelong love of learning in each student. As an innovative brain friendly elementary school, we integrate current brain friendly practices in every aspect of our teaching and learning. Stillpoint School strives to maintain a safe, caring, cooperative atmosphere where the whole child is nourished, community spirit flourishes, and success for all is achieved. We believe that all children have an innate desire to learn. Children’s brains grow rapidly in the beginning years of life, forming dendrites at incredible rates as the brain makes connections and builds an understanding of its surrounding environment. At Stillpoint School, we use current brain research as a basis for how we teach and learn. By connecting learning to children’s experiences, we help dendrites thrive as our students constantly make new connections. We believe that children learn much more effectively when they enjoy the subjects they are studying and understand the learning process. As a result, we encourage hands-on activities, discovery, exploration, and kinesthetic learning. We emphasize creativity and imagination, and strongly support teamwork with a community approach to solving problems. We downplay competition, believing that we accomplish the most by working together. Philosophy We believe that all children have an innate desire to learn. Children’s brains grow rapidly in the beginning years of life, forming dendrites at incredible rates as the brain makes connections and builds an understanding of its surrounding environment. At Stillpoint School, we use current brain research as a basis for how we teach and learn. By connecting learning to children’s experiences, we help dendrites thrive as our students constantly make new connections. We believe that children learn much more effectively when they enjoy the subjects they are studying and understand the learning process. As a result, we encourage hands-on activities, discovery, exploration, and kinesthetic learning. We emphasize creativity and imagination, and strongly support teamwork with a community approach to solving problems. We downplay competition, believing that we accomplish the most by working together. Stillpoint School offers students instruction in both traditional content areas and in all of the arts: drama, music, crafts, fine arts, and other creative forms which allow children to express themselves as they learn. Our academically rich environment is enhanced by the individualized attention we provide each student. Recognizing that brains have different developmental patterns, we create open- ended learning activities to ensure success for every child. We teach and foster responsibility, cooperation, and compassion in every aspect of our curriculum. Living on an island, our environment is particularly important to our community, and many of our activities are inspired by nature. We nurture a love of the natural world in our students, knowing that our children are the future and will be responsible for our world. We lead by example, respecting ourselves and our students as they learn to respect themselves, their peers, and their community. At Stillpoint School, children come first. It is our mission and our responsibility to ensure that our students leave with a lifelong love of learning. |
