K - 8th Grade

Mission

Wood Rose Academy exists to provide an integral formation to girls and boys in kindergarten through eighth grade that will enable them to learn, and live according to the Judeo-Christian principles as preserved and taught by the Roman Catholic Church, and then disseminate these principles in a natural way to society through their word and example. To achieve this the students will be provided with a strong academic foundation as well as a deep character formation founded on training in the virtues.

Philosophy

Every school, just like every organization, must daily operate out of a consistent set of unchanging and intangible principles if it is to achieve its ends and prosper. Without such guiding principles, an organization is simply reactive to the outside environment and is incapable of consistently making conscious long-term choices for its own good and for the good of those whom it is called to serve.

Gift of Self in the Classroom and General School Setting

Every school, just like every organization, must daily operate out of a consistent set of unchanging and intangible principles if it is to achieve its ends and prosper. Without such guiding principles, an organization is simply reactive to the outside environment and is incapable of consistently making conscious long-term choices for its own good and for the good of those whom it is called to serve.

Unlike many schools where the guiding principle is centered around the acquisition of the 'truth' as an abstract concept, the guiding principle for Wood Rose Academy, the Gift of Self, is centered on the exercise of 'love', not solely as an abstract and static or unchanging concept, but also as a dynamic and growth-inducing force. Before going further, it is important that we agree on the definition of 'love', for the Gift of Self cannot be fully understood without first understanding each of the four stages of love.

1. The first stage of love involves the attraction to what is good. I am attracted to this person or that bottle of wine because of the good I perceive in this person or that cabernet.

2. The second stage involves the desire for possession or union with the good thing (the bottle of cabernet) or person.

3. The third stage; and only a human being, an angel, or the Holy Trinity is capable of operating at this level; involves the desire for the good and the happiness of the one we love.

4. The final stage requires that we do all in our power to assist our loved one to achieve goodness and happiness, even unto death. "Greater love than this has no man but he who would give up his life for us." For most of us, giving up our life for the good of our loved one does not require our death, but involves simply a choice, or more than one choice, often made even daily, that goes against our preference. So, we, in essence, die to our preference for the good of our loved one. Each of these last two stages involves the mature love or charity of persons for one another. These last two stages are the essence of Gift of Self.

Applying the Gift of Self in the school setting then becomes a way of approaching the truth through recognizing and developing the conscious self-presence of others, "what the person is and what that person reveals from deep within". In other words, in exercising the Gift of Self, the teacher must build a foundation on the recognized 'gifts' of the student in combination with the student's efforts that come from 'deep within'. "Human perfection, then, consists not simply in acquiring an abstract knowledge of the truth, but in a dynamic relationship of faithful self-giving with others. It is in this faithful self-giving that a person finds fullness of certainty (truth) and security (love)". Fides Et Ratio, John Paul II, 1998, (Chapter 3, The different faces of human truth, section 32)

"In today's scientific, technological atmosphere, the only truths that seem to be recognized as true for everyone are the abstractions produced by the scientific method. Such truths, valuable though they are, offer nothing that can sustain human beings as persons in an increasingly depersonalized world. Such a world has no way to understand the truth as a person. Abstract truth is abstract precisely because it has detached itself from the unique, the irreplaceable, the personal... . But the truth is a person, the person of Jesus Christ." (Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine, edited by Russel Shaw, Joyca A. Little, 705) The Gift of self then, as a reflection of the mutual gifts of self among and between the individual members of the Holy Trinity, seen concretely in the truth and person of Jesus Christ (the Word made flesh), realizes its meaning primarily within the context of the individual person and, in turn, that individual person's relationship with other persons. "...man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself." (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, 24)

Within the school setting, whether involving students, teachers, parents, staff, or administration, the Gift of Self is manifested in three distinct but integrated ways:

1. Who and what is the person? What gifts has he or she been given?

2. What can the school add or give to the person?

3. What will that person choose to be in the future? What will he or she give or commit to over a lifetime?

First, each person embodies the "Gift of Self." Creation itself is a gift. It is the Creator's gift to His creature. Each of His creatures has been given gifts for which he or she is responsible. Every person has been given the gift of life. Every person has gifts that invoke a unique combination of personality, talents, abilities, interests, background, experience, skill, training, and motivations. Where each student is concerned, the task of the school, and especially the teacher is to discern these distinct qualities and talents, and then build on them by both requiring and giving respect (relationship through which gifts are transmitted), effort and responsibility (exercise of personal gifts), and awareness of one another (appreciation of gifts of one another).

Respect is given. Without respect, mutual gifts between teacher and student can neither be recognized nor transmitted. Where the personal gifts of each student are concerned, we must first know where to begin before we can determine where we should go. It isn't simply a question of having a pre-determined template or model within which the student must fit. It is about discerning the God-given talents of each student and building on those in the most effective way while assisting the student to determine his or her place in the world.

The school and the teacher must continually remember that the process of discerning and appreciating God-given talents is not a one-time goal, but an ongoing process. Human beings have not been created to fit into a single methodological box, nor to be treated as abstract static objects barely capable of learning, growth, change, and maturity. Human beings, from the perspective of the Gift of Self, are seen as dynamic, fully capable of learning, growth, change, and maturity; and, especially, as unique, irreplaceable individuals requiring various teaching/learning approaches.

Similarly, the task of the administration, and especially of the principal, is to lead the teacher to discern his or her own talents, strengths, and weaknesses; and, where the teacher needs assistance, to provide that assistance. In this way, the teacher is assisted to grow personally, to become a better teacher, and to lead each student in a similar fashion. The teacher, in turn, is encouraged to learn and apply the principles of the school. The mutual Gift of Self then operates between school and teacher, just as between teacher and student.

Second, once the talents of the students are discerned, the school, through the teacher in the classroom, adds or gifts "something" to the student. That "something is the sum total of the training, study, work, order, discipline, and learning that transfers or gifts from the teacher to student. That "something" is the curriculum that is taught to each student. That "Something" is training in the ability to know and discern truth. That "something" is the teaching and affirmation by the teacher and the school of the virtues that are taught and modeled in each child's home. The transfer of that "something" does not occur in isolation. This transfer occurs in the relationship that most embodies the ideal of the Gift of Self, the teacher/student relationship. The student gives his or her time, attention, respect, and effort. The teacher does the same. In addition, the teacher imparts the results of his or her training and knowledge. Every school implements this process in a slightly different way. The Wood Rose process may be seen in its foundational plan.

The Gift of Self within the classroom is practiced through the interaction of each student with the school, each student with the teacher, each student with the curriculum, and each student with other students. This process includes homework, memorization, experiment, theorization, drama, manipulatives, oral presentation, testing, mentoring and teaching, group projects, teamwork, competitions, and the continual reminder to practice good human virtues in relationship with others, virtues such as respect, honesty, kindness, appreciation, consideration, compassion, striving for excellence, good sportsmanship, industriousness, and friendship. And, because of the uniqueness of each individual, so long as there remains an openness to the gifts of one another, each interaction between teacher and student, between student and student, and between teacher and teacher, will be a dynamic and life-changing event. With each interaction, the person grows a little, learns a little, changes a little, matures a little, and ultimately becomes richer because he or she has been touched by and has experienced another of God's Creations.

Third, the student is led to understand that he or she will be called upon as an adult to give the Gift of Self continually and in the most profound way. The student, through conscious self-knowledge, and through the "something" that the school gifts to his person, is assisted to grow and to learn to become a joyful, stable, and productive member of society. He is guided to think, to reflect, to choose wisely, to create now the foundation for what he will be as an adult. He is shown that he will have to make one of three choices or gifts of self, in his adult life, whether:

1. Marriage and family and career,

2. Priestly or Religious life, or

3. Single life and career, and that these choices must be wisely, prudently, and prayerfully considered.

The preparation for such a choice and the way in which such a choice is made directly affects the lifelong happiness and effectiveness of every person. If the school has done its job in conjunction with the family, each child will be equipped to live a happy, joyful, effective, productive life for and with others, whatever the path that is chosen. In this way, and through the continual reference to the truth of the person of Jesus Christ and his unmerited Gift of Self as the model for the school, Wood Rose Academy will help to rebuild the "Civilization of Love", one child at a time.

Written by Stephen B. Lopez. (c) Copyright 1999 Wood Rose Academy