A few years ago we added the word ‘Community’ to our school’s list of values. Interestingly, that word does a nice job of wrapping together our other core values – Faith, Excellence, and Character, because the word ‘community’ is defined as sharing common attitudes, goals, and values. So our school family is knit and held together closely to the degree we rally around these shared values and the degree to which we are known for our inward and outward expression of love – a by-product of the Christian faith.
Schools are unique communities. I’m not sure there’s anything quite like them. Every year, the community of people looks different as new students (and their families) arrive and graduates become alumni adding even more numbers to our community. Maybe school community could be likened to a family who has teenage children and is also experiencing the empty nest syndrome. Or maybe it could be likened to all of the people who make up a family beyond mom or dad – aunts and uncles and grandparents – who love and invest in those teens. I see Vail Christian like that.
New students are ‘born’ into the family, our nest is annually emptied, and we have faculty/staff ‘moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and grandparents’ who feel called to give so much of themselves to this one-of-a-kind community that will only exist once for nine months with the same group of people.
It’s a beautiful recipe that I can’t wait to see in person next month as 150 Saints step foot on campus. This will include 35 freshmen as well as transfer students coming to us from Florida, Texas, Denver, and right here in the valley. To all of our new families and students –Welcome to VCHS. You’re now part of the VCHS Community, and we couldn’t be more excited to have you join us!
