Mission Moment

Dear Covenant Families,

I know many of you, but for those I don’t, I am in my ninth year as a parent at Covenant, and just hit the one-year mark in my role as the Director of Communications. It is easy for me to be thankful for this school, but sometimes I lack the discipline of pausing amidst the busy days to thank the Lord for his provision in the many ways I am thankful. The last year has brought me a unique opportunity to see “behind the curtain” at Covenant – and what I was nervous about a year ago (seeing the underbelly of the fish) has proven to be the opposite.

The fact is, my respect for the school itself, its mission, and leaders has only grown over the past year. Phew – what a relief…because I loved serving as a parent and PTF volunteer and felt pretty fortunate before!

Do you want a peek? Here are a few examples of what I am thankful for and I have found myself thinking “Oh, I wish everyone could hear or know about ‘this.’

I am thankful:

• For the caring of souls – I’ve seen celebration, joy, tears and heartbreak for our community – our faculty and staff are praying for the people of Covenant.

• For the passion of our teachers – I can’t capture it in words, but the joy is sincere! Whether it is seeing a Logic teacher coming off of her seat at a professional development day about John Muir Laws, a Rhetoric teacher brimming over with the thrill of expanding her students’ language in Latin, a music teacher celebrating cracking voices of middle schoolers (because it is God’s design), or a grammar teacher sharing in the discovery of a sprouting onion with her students...this is just a small sample of the stories that abound.

• That open dialogue is encouraged and appreciated – if a parent reaches out to Dr. Littlejohn or another leader, I have seen time and time again, they make time to meet to hear and listen to that person’s heart.

• For the pride we have in our students – sometimes I overhear conversations in the administration office – last week I heard two faculty saying, “I’m just so proud of those kids!” and the response “Me too, they are awesome!”

• Our leaders do not jump to conclusions quickly – coming from the corporate world, it has been a refreshing adjustment to see leaders prayerfully consider and wrestle with all sides of a situation. Sometimes it would be “easier” to draw a line and move forward, but I appreciate the intentionality and care in all decisions.

• For making time for worship – During our monthly faculty and staff meetings, singing and worshipping together is a priority. I can’t say I ever thought about what would happen at a faculty meeting, much less have the beautiful picture of worshipping our great Lord together. Additionally, Dr. Littlejohn encourages each staff member to make time to attend at least one Grammar/Logic/Rhetoric chapel a week – living out our priority for seeking to worship and glorify God.

• For worship in class – Did you know that many classes begin in prayer? When I was working with Jennifer Peterson and MK Plagens on the Admissions video, we were ducking into classes and it was such a delight to see teachers point our children to God not just at the beginning of the day or in chapel, but throughout the day.

• For Charlotte Mason’s influence over our school – one day I looked out of the office window and witnessed a third grade class with their nature journals, each holding a leaf – feeling it, holding it one inch from their face, holding it out – and then scribbling in their journal. It was a moment I wanted to freeze in time. I always enjoyed looking at my own children’s nature journals, but walking to and from different meetings and seeing classes slowing down and studying God’s creation and the intention behind it is a treasure.

• For the intention of habits – the longer I am here, I realize the intentional habits our students are learning create wiring that children don’t just “pick up along the way” but it is part of our disciplined way of teaching.

• Seeing that failure is part of learning – we hear it at Knight school, and it is hard, but watching division heads lean into the challenges, walking through and learning from failure, when a child says something unkind on the playground, or a teenager’s shenanigans went too far, they address the “teachable moments” head on, because virtue is the most important thing.

• For the encouragement for all to be lifetime learners – this is something Covenant takes VERY seriously. The thought and discussion behind books recommended, resources shared and Project Standfast sessions created is incredibly intentional. There is such a strong desire for parents to learn alongside their children, and not just turn it over to the school. I personally have been challenged in this way and hope we can all jump in and encourage each other!

• That we celebrate growing in “intellectual courage” – hearing Michael Golden say that freshman will get comfortable joining the discussion in Theology by the spring, for prospective parents to visit Mrs. Beller’s classroom and notice the long… pause… (that is only uncomfortable for the adults) so that the students have time to process and speak thoughtfully, or watching a grammar teacher honor a student on their birthday by inviting classmates to share what they admire about the student – and to hear peers give accolades for the birthday student’s love of math (math would not have been my pick in fourth grade)! These are not stories we can take for granted, and I treasure that we foster this love of learning deep within our students.

• That Covenant is a leader in the classical Christian education movement – being recognized as a Thriving School Partner in Society for Classical Learning (SCL) is a testament to our history and leadership, particularly under Dr. Littlejohn.

• That we don’t take ourselves too seriously and we like to have fun – like the cat election, the future Head of School in a robe and rollers for homecoming spirit days, the Logic teachers’ chili cookoff and the year-long teacher Catan tournament… to name a few.

• For a posture of service from our leaders – the amount of time our Board of Trustees is on campus – they are everywhere! Truly, a service of love. Thank a board member when you see them!

• For the PTF – the heartbeat of the community.  I knew this before – our parents are amazing! My revelation this year, though, is that I feel sad when I talk to other schools who don’t have it!

• Lastly, I am thankful for…Our Mission – if you haven’t spent time thinking through each statement of it, do it! As I consider it for each project, I am so grateful to the pioneers of our school who created it.

Did you think I would ever stop? After being here this year, I am even more convinced that Covenant and its culture is worth it all. I hope you can join with me in gratefulness for all things Covenant and how the Lord has provided for our school, and how that might translate to your own family as it does mine.

If you would like to share a statement of thanks or story, please do so here, we would love to hear it. Thank you! 

Non Nobis,

Catherine Brewer
Director of Communications