What is the end of education?
While many academic institutions champion college readiness or placement, our mission calls us to seek a higher good. What Aristotle explained as eudaimonia, genuine happiness that is self-sufficient, is better known in the Catholic tradition as beatitude. The word means blessed or happy. This happiness is not identical with accomplishment or material contentment but indicates a "peace that surpasses understanding" (Phil 4:6) and can only be found in a life lived for Jesus Christ.
What does this have to do with education? In short, it is the essence of what the classical liberal arts seek to achieve. The fundamental meaning of liberal is free. An education ordered towards freedom of the human person seeks to teach the student that the truth is knowable and "the truth will set you free." (Jn 8:32) Only by learning how to discover and possess the truth can one become free.
Consequently, the final aim of our educational effort is to equip each student with the tools to find the truth. This means that each person, unique and unrepeatable, has a vocation, or calling from God, to live a life of beatitude that can only be discovered in the pursuit of truth. We believe that each person's journey of discovery entails more than finding a career. While in practical terms, it is necessary for many to pursue higher learning in a post-secondary institution, it is not the true end of a classical liberal education.
The vocation of a student is to learn what is true in order to do what is good. Our academic program is designed to direct each student in this effort. Our primary goal is to support vocational discernment, a response to the question that matters the most: what is God calling me to do?
In the spring semester of each year of high school, we conduct academic advising sessions with students and their parents to track academic progress, review and discuss their high school transcript, and map out future courses. We also go over PSAT/CLT scores and co-curriculars to assess preparation for post-secondary options.
We are pleased to announce a newly purchased curriculum tool called Xello. During our academic advising sessions, students and parents will receive training on how to use this tool. Xello teaches students life skills, facilitates vocational discernment based on self-awareness, and provides the opportunity to explore different careers based on self-reported preferences.
Academic advising sessions take place during the school day or after school if needed. Mrs. Sweet, our Academic Dean, works with the rising 9th and 10th graders, while Mr. Tremblay, our Headmaster, advises the rising 11th and 12th graders.