The Baton Rouge market offers a plethora of options for families seeking an independent school education for their children. Digesting information and comparing schools can be a daunting and time-consuming task. When meeting with prospective families, I often jokingly compare the preschool admission experience to the college admission experience – so many options, varying processes, and each school with its own programs, deadlines and requirements!  Where do you start?

We encourage parents to begin by considering the factors that are most important to their family.  Are you in search of a spiritual or faith-based school? Do you have an opinion regarding school size? Do you want your child to have frequent exposure to classes in music, art and world language? Once you identify the schools that match your family’s requirements and interests, you’ll likely want to dig a bit deeper. What’s the school’s educational philosophy? What is their curricular approach? What are the student-to-teacher ratios?  Are the students involved in any type of service to our community? How does the school support students through the college selection and application process?

Beyond all of these questions there is good news; the volume of school choices available in Baton Rouge positions each family to find the school that is the best fit for their child. While parents often rely on the advice and opinions of others who previously embarked on the journey to an independent school, I caution you from using this as your only method of research. Each child is unique and each family has their own lens through which they evaluate schools. Sharing spreadsheets, stories, and contacts is an excellent way to gather information. But seeing is believing. If you do nothing else through this process, I encourage you to visit the campus of each school you are considering. The campus visit is your firsthand opportunity to determine if the school you now know on paper comes to life as a fit for your child. While you may find it helpful to have a list of questions to ask during your visit, also be observant as you explore campus: Do the children seem engaged? Do the teachers and staff appear to enjoy their work? Do your surroundings suggest an active and happy school? Perhaps there are other observations that can help you assess the school’s ability to serve your family.

If you are interested in visiting Episcopal to explore how we might be a fit for your child, I invite you to join us for Test Drive Tuesday. We look forward to meeting you and learning more about your family!

What we put into our community: 
This brings me to what we put into our community, because what we put into our community determines what we are able to take out. If no grass grows, there is no food for a grasshopper. Likewise, if no love and support is given in a community; no love or support can be taken from it. 

In my group of friends, there were people from whole families, divorced families, kids from the “rich part of town” and kids from the other side of the tracks. We had artists, athletes, brainiacs, and even the Jack of all trades. Some of us were goofballs while others were super serious about life and our future, and we are all still this way. But we all became friends and stayed friends because our community (and us) created this space that supported diversity. Each one of us was diverse (whether that be color of our skin, where we came from, social status) but we came to support that and welcomed the diversity. We made it okay to be different, and encouraged it. 

An example of this was from our talent show. Our talent show my senior year was actually one of the highlights of high school (yes, not winning district or going to the state semi-finals, but the talent show). Several of my friends were performing, but we didn’t know what they were doing for their performance, they were keeping it a surprise. Now, these friends were not known for their dancing or singing abilities, and it was a random group of guys, so everyone was kind of confused as to why they were even performing. When the curtains opened up, there were four treadmills on the stage. A popular song at the time “Here It Goes Again” by OK-GO came on. As the music started to play, the guys replicated the same exact moves that the band does in the music video. The whole time during the talent show, I thought to myself, wow I wish I was brave enough to do something like that. These guys took a huge risk, their senior year in high school, and could have made complete fools of themselves. They weren’t afraid to do it big. To them it was go big and rock it OR go big and fail magnificently. Either way, they were going. 

These guys did something completely out of the box, and completely unexpected, and the only reason they were able to do this and not chicken out was because of our community. They knew they were in a place where you could fall flat on your face and still be loved. They could have gotten off sync and the crowd still would have given them a standing ‘O.’ It could have been a total disaster, but everyone would have told them how cool it was and that they did a good job. However their performance turned out, they had family and friends there to give them love and support.  The dance was perfect. They stepped from treadmill to treadmill at the exact right time, and had the dance moves down pat. The crowd cheered, and my friends became famous on YouTube. 

So ask yourself, what do I put into this community? Is it something that I would want to take out?  ​

With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - the High Holy Days - upon us, we celebrate the religious and cultural diversity of our Episcopal School community.   This is just one example of the many beliefs on campus.
In the words of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, “An Episcopal school is comprehensive and inclusive.”  NAES goes on to say that: “Our church encourages respect for the other person’s beliefs.  An Episcopal school may be expected not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, or national origin, and actively seek out faculty and students of diverse backgrounds and traditions in the belief that they bring something to be valued and respected, and because we would like to be broadly inclusive of the community we serve.”  

Today’s world is diverse and our school should reflect that.  In our Chapel and classrooms every day students sit side-by-side with others of differing faiths, beliefs and backgrounds.  Because everyone is invited and valued, everyone should feel welcome.
 
Our Episcopal identity says that Episcopal schools have been established not solely as communities for Christians, like a parish church, but as diverse institutions of educational and human development for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Episcopal schools are populated by a rich variety of human beings, from increasingly diverse religious, cultural, and economic backgrounds.
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Our Episcopal identity recognizes what a wonderful thing it is to learn together no matter the religion, culture or background.  Students functioning together in a diverse setting, such as the one here at Episcopal, is great preparation for living future purposeful lives in a diverse world.  ​

“This is the first time they put on an official school jersey, giving them the chance to represent the Knights with pride.  Middle School sports teaches them to be good athletes and prepares them well for varsity.”  Coach Brenna Perez says Middle School sports are pivotal in a young athlete's life.
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Knights’ flag football gives fifth and sixth graders an introduction to the basics of football and what it means to be a school athlete.  The team takes to the field again on Saturday at 8 am and 9 am after coming off of a winning weekend at their last outing.  
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​The Middle School football team is comprised of seventh and eighth graders eager to develop skills and talents in preparation for varsity level action.  These students played their first home game against Most Blessed Sacrament recently coming up short with a final of 16 to 6.  We look forward to the rest of the season.  

“Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

It is with these words that we close our daily Lower School Morning Meeting or Chapel services. This charge, a familiar dismissal in many Christian faith traditions, is not the first time we hear the word “peace” in the service.  In our opening prayer, we ask God to help us to be “peaceful and generous, compassionate and caring.”  Peace is a big idea, and we have spent the last few weeks together exploring what it means to be a people of peace as we prepared for the International Day of Peace on September 21st.

I have recess duty a few days every week.  I watch 2nd graders and 4th graders play on the playground.  If you have ever been around classrooms of children during recess, you know that “peaceful” is not a word that comes to mind if asked to describe them.  They are loud, fast, and they are often changing from one game or area to another.

When we think about peace, images of calmness, quietness, stillness, or stability are typically what comes to mind.  We think of people getting along, being happy, or not being afraid or worried.  But what we are teaching the kids is that peace is much bigger than any of those things.

Ronald Reagan once said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.”

If we understand peace to be something more than just not fighting, then we allow the kids and ourselves to see new opportunities to be a peacemaker.  Kids will disagree and argue, just like adults.  We are all different, and we celebrate these differences instead of trying to force everyone into a false sense of sameness that fails to value the uniqueness that makes up each person.

On any given day, in the midst of watching the children run and play during recess, I see them living at peace.  I see a girl invite another girl to come and play with her.  I listen to the boy who comes to tell me that his friends are excluding another friend, and he needs help finding a way for them to be able to play all together.  I see a girl stop in the middle of her run across the playground because she noticed a friend standing tearfully near the wall, and she goes to see how she can help. I hear a boy suggest a different game when one game gets too rough.

And it’s not just in the moments when tensions rise that they become peacemakers.  They are peacemakers when they laugh, when they enjoy the sunlight and fresh air, and when they find rest in the middle of their other classes.

For the International Day of Peace, every child in the Lower School made a peace pinwheel and “planted” it in the front lawn as part of our Peace Day service.  These pinwheels serve as a reminder to us of simple joys.  The pinwheels are made of paper, a pencil, and a pin; and the only thing needed to power them is a gentle breeze.  The collage of different colored pinwheels, each designed in a unique way, remind us of the beauty found in all of the things that make each person special. The simplicity of the pinwheel serves to remind us of the little joys in life that we can celebrate and the small things we can do on a daily basis to make the world a better place by being a peacemaker.​​​

Sam Oakley started as a Lower School Religion teacher at Episcopal in August 2017. She previously served as the Associate Director of the Center for Family and Community Ministries at Baylor University where she conducted research, developed resources, and edited a journal. She received her M.S.W. and M.Div. from Baylor University. Sam is married to David Oakley, who serves as the Youth and Children’s Minister at Broadmoor Baptist Church. They have three children: Elijah, Taylor, and Sadie.

​Congratulations to the Episcopal Mathletes!  These students recently competed against 15 other schools in the Division 2 St. Paul’s School Math Tournament.  Every Episcopal competitor brought home a trophy or a ribbon or both!  With only 13 students on the team, we placed 3rd overall!

It’s not every day that a poet stands before you and personally recites one of her works upon your request.  However, that very thing happened recently at Episcopal when internationally acclaimed, award-winning poet and children’s author Naomi Shihab Nye paid a visit to Upper and Middle School students.  Mrs. Nye recited her poem "Valentine for Ernest Mann" at the prompting of AP Language and Poetry class students and the full school assembly.

It was a tremendous honor to have such an accomplished poet take time to visit campus and share with students and staff.  Mrs. Nye began writing as a child and has since seen her works read across the globe in a multitude of languages.  She has authored and/or edited more than 30 volumes over the course of her career.  Mrs. Nye has earned extensive recognition for her poetry, including being named a Lannan Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow and a Witter Bynner Fellow (Library of Congress).  She has received a Lavan Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, four Pushcart Prizes, the Robert Creely Prize, “The Betty Prize” from Poets House and the American Library Association’s 2018 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award, in addition to many other honors.  
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Mrs. Nye’s connection to Episcopal began in San Antonio, Texas, where she met Hugh McIntosh, who was then the Head of School at Keystone School, which Mrs. Nye’s son attended.  The renowned poet and author established a Keystone poetry group in which Hugh participated, even offering his Head of School office as a meeting site.  Hugh and Mrs. Nye’s friendship has continued over the years now with him serving as Episcopal Head of School.  

During this recent visit, Mrs. Nye spent a full day speaking with students about the writing process and the impact that simply putting a thought on paper can have on a person.  The language and poetry class students enjoyed the opportunity to speak with her about the poem "Catalogue Army", which they had all recently studied.  The students were receptive, asking thought-provoking questions that Mrs. Nye enjoyed answering.  They were also prepared for the discussion, quoting their favorite lines from her poetry and engaging with her words.  
  
During assembly, the VPAC was full of teenagers with varying levels of appreciation for writing.  However, one thing the students all had in common was their attentiveness and commitment to listening.  In fact, Mrs. Nye complimented the near-capacity crowd for their compassionate, generous listening skills as she read and discussed some of her favorite works.  She expressed how at home and welcome she felt when visiting Episcopal for the second time.

Before parting, Mrs. Nye left students with a suggestion to scribble down three little things or thoughts each day so that they can remember and reflect upon them later.  She also advised students to find writers they can follow and learn from and to frequent the local library.  

During the learning process students are introduced to poetry and writing in books and classrooms.  At Episcopal, we are blessed to be able to take this a step further and personally introduce the students to the poets and authors who penned the works.  We look forward to future visits from Mrs. Nye and others.

What an amazing way for our students to learn more about writing!

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.
 
From Words Under the Words: Selected Poems. Copyright © 1995 by Naomi Shihab Nye