Children are full of energy to be in action. We encourage our students to experiment, explore, discover, and serve in their everyday school life. And we help them develop their strengths in order to make a positive impact on others. This helps prepare a strong foundation in attitudes of service and usefulness for the rest of their lives.
We equip our students with strong moral and spiritual principles and teach them to make positive choices in a wide variety of educational settings and activities. These include field trips and other “beyond the classroom” opportunities to extend their learning where they can interact with more people in different circumstances.
Our goal is to prepare our students to tackle the challenges of their world with the self confidence to make positive choices as they journey through the rest of their schooling and beyond.
More specifically, Oak Arbor creates a healthy school environment by preparing children for life in these six areas:
Through teamwork and collaboration in the classroom, at recess, in PE and dramatic performances and other long-term group projects, we encourage students to practice improving their relationships with the Lord and with each other. Sometimes this takes the form of guided conflict resolution, other times it may involve praying together for the Lord's help through struggles.
Preparing for life also means engaging Christian behavior in daily activities. It takes practice and coaching to help students incorporate their "religious" knowledge into their personal actions and interpersonal interactions.
Teachers encourage students to draw on their strengths to realize their potential. They also promote being aware of each others' strengths and gifts. There are many opportunities for this, such as in students' classroom presentations, the drama program, science fairs, community activities, service projects, etc.
What is the value of academic achievement unless students put their knowledge and skills to good use? Preparing for life can mean pairing older students with younger students to mentor them in a writing assignment. It can mean expanding students' awareness of career paths. Sometimes it involves using a field trip to bridge a gap between textbook knowledge and the world beyond the classroom.
Much of preparing children for life involves creating daily opportunities to apply thinking skills to problem-solving and decision-making. Teachers help students learn and practice organizational skills, time management, conflict resolution, etc. They also guide students to exercise thoughtful self-restraint and leadership skills.
We are all created to be creative. Students are preparing by doing and channeling their creativity toward useful applications in such activities as presentations to various audiences, volunteerism, and service-learning projects at the building and in the neighborhood.