Duty and Delight

Where We Lead:

Every school day, each student spends the last 15 minutes accomplishing some practical, visible, age-appropriate task. Every child in the school knows which peer is responsible for which task.

All outside tasks are supervised by an adult. Detailed or exacting tasks may be assigned to a team of an older and younger student. Typical "Duty and Delight" tasks include:

• maintaining paper goods in wash rooms
• picking up street trash in the front and rear of the school building
• keeping the Narthex and Sanctuary tidy and ready for worship
• preparing worship bulletins for use the following Sunday
• keeping the school library neat, vacuumed and arranged for scheduled use
• rinsing and flattening pop can and milk containers for recycling

What Children Discover:

We began this in-school service program for two reasons.

The first reason is that children think in concrete terms. Tangible, physical facts and changes are most accessible to young minds. At the same time, our curriculum asks children to exert great effort to learn facts and changes that cannot be seen or touched. For example, mastering the multiplication table is a huge achievement that no one can see. "Duty and Delight" links your child's effort with tangible, positive results. Every day, everyone can see a good job, well done.

The second reason is that shouldering responsibility is a learned virtue. We all need repeated opportunities in order to meet clear expectations with our best efforts. Each "Duty and Delight" task is labeled with the name of the responsible student. No one can miss it. Starting early in life to learn accountability makes sense to us.

Our students take deep pride in doing their best. They can see good work. They know we trust them. They respond faithfully. On the other hand, a task poorly done is a clear marker of an issue to be addressed promptly by teacher, principal, pastor or parents.
   

Park View Lutheran School typically has six children per adult faculty and staff. This ratio has many positive consequences.

Corrective action is taken at the first hint of a shortfall. Conflict and hurtful behavior never get very far before an adult intervenes. Intervention relies directly on Christian truth spoken in love, and on God's urgent interest in reconciliation. As a result, "crime" at Park View tends to be spitwads on the ceiling: a child gets a one-hour detention. Our Parent Handbook describes the progression of disciplinary action. Since the year 2000, we have had to impose one day-long in-school detention.

All detentions are designed to fold into work ethic. A detainee performs a concrete task with Pastor's supervision. The task has positive results; for example, dirty trash cans are scrubbed until they are clean and sweet-smelling. Detention starts out as penalty, but consistently becomes a job with its own satisfactions. Often Pastor eventually joins in, for the pure gusto of a good job well done. Punishment is transformed into duty and delight.

School Sunday

Where We Lead:

Park View welcomes families of all faiths and those with no religious faith. Into an environment of diversity, we believe that God pours special support and grace on those who worship together. We encourage school families to attend weekend worship together, at Park View or anywhere else.

We expect families to attend Sunday worship at Park View for special occasions. These include:

• The service at which School Staff Members are installed
• The Day School's Annual Advent Program
• The Day School's Annual Science Fair
• School Sunday, each month.

The date of School Sunday varies by month, and can be found in your School Calendar. Students prepare carefully with their peers to present an anthem during worship on School Sunday. Your presence honors your child's effort and anticipation.

What Children Discover:

At worship, children form enduring impressions about God, about trust, and about faithful community. We do our best to form a foundation of faith during weekly Chapel. However, Sunday worship with you is a powerful force in your child's faith development. School Sunday gives each student an opportunity to take an active role in worship. Each Monday morning, we ask each child about worship attendance during the weekend.

Chapel

Where We Lead:

Park View's Chapel occurs on Wednesday at 9 am in the Sanctuary. All children participate in chapel. Visitors are always warmly welcomed.

Chapel maximizes student participation. Upper grades students serve as acolytes and crucifer. We sing an opening hymn together. Each week a different child in second grade and above prepares the Bible lesson and comes to the lectern to deliver it. If the sermon topic allows, a child consents in advance to share the role of faith in personal experience with the student body.

After the sermon, children share personal concerns and joys in prayer. Then we greet each other in Jesus' name, and take an offering. (Twice a year, these chapel offerings are sent to support a direct charity.) We celebrate Holy Communion with children who are baptized, and who are in second grade and above. Children who do not receive Holy Communion come forward for an individual blessing. We sing a closing hymn and typically dismiss by 9:30.

What Children Discover:

We expect continuing life experience to challenge the growth of everyone's personal faith. Spiritual growth is the work of a lifetime. It can be recognized as persons become happier, more effective, more joyous, peaceful and loving. We expect the Park View experience to lay the foundation for a lifetime of growth in a trusting friendship with God.

Our Curriculum Highlights set out specific expectations for spiritual development at each grade level. Full curriculum guides give more detail about our hopes for the growth of secure, gratitude-based virtue, obedience and creativity.
   

Religious Instruction

Where We Lead:

Lutheran Beliefs differ from Roman Catholic and other protestant denominations' doctrine. We cherish the Bible as God's word to us. As we hear and respond to God's promises, faith, hope and love spring to life within us. Our faith in God's promises erases the guilt of past mistakes. We are set free to live in peace, joy and trust.

Lutherans do not expect nor strive for a sinless life. Instead of focusing on our shortcomings, we ask how to advance God's cause in the world. We hear God's response directing us toward direct service to an actual neighbor. American Lutherans support hospitals, retirement centers, nursing facilities, orphanages, soup kitchens, schools and counseling centers in Jesus' name.

The Bible was written between 3000 and 2000 years ago. Science, culture and law have changed during that period. However, Lutherans believe that human nature has not changed. God's offer of forgiveness, reconciliation and purpose is as relevant today as it ever was. We strive to witness to God's loving intentions for the world, in full harmony with scientific, social and technological advances.

Lutherans believe vocation is sacred. A good baker delights God as fully as a good bishop. Each Lutheran is a priest, serving God in daily life. God uses our work to make us good neighbors, responsible citizens, and happy individuals. Also, local Lutheran churches are owned and operated by the members. The faith community decides to buy or sell buildings, launch or close ministries, hire or fire pastors.

Lutheran Worship focuses on reading, understanding and applying God's word. Also we recognize and celebrate two sacraments: baptism and Holy Communion. Park View invites every person who is not baptized to consider joining God's family here on earth. Also, Park View welcomes all baptized believers to share the Lord's Supper every Sunday. We offer Holy Communion preparation to children in the second grade. Park View celebrates Holy Communion at every Chapel.

Park View Religious Instruction is based on a three year cycle of Bible readings that is shared by Roman Catholics and many Protestant denominations. Each week, a new Bible story or reading is the focus of classroom activity, discussion and prayer. Wednesday Chapel also highlights the reading, using child-friendly Bible translations. Religious instruction emphasizes God's love, forgiveness and interest in each person's growth in peace, joy and purpose. A corollary emphasis falls on our role to love our neighbor as Jesus would love him, if Jesus were here on earth. Stories and songs convey the same message in slightly different ways.
   

What Children Discover:

Lutherans believe that a growing, interactive relationship with God is the key resource in successfully solving life's problems. Lutheran religious education strives to lay the groundwork for a close and trusting friendship with God. We expect this faith foundation to support a satisfying and successful life.

Direct Service to the Actual Neighbor

Where We Lead:

Jesus tells us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and comfort the dying. We are free to do this because God's grace is more than sufficient to our needs. We gratefully share with a neighbor God's love for us. The neighbor is helped in concrete ways. We are enriched by purposeful, meaningful effort. God's generosity becomes obvious to all.

Parents are the best model for children of direct service in Jesus' name. However, our School families work hard, for long hours. Our students rarely see their parents in direct service opportunities, although the family would greatly enjoy it.

A Christian school can fill this vacuum. Our early and middle grades children visit Saint Paul's Home once a month. The children share crafts, sing songs, dance and converse with the residents. The children relax because the residents ask nothing of them, except that they be who they are. The residents delight in the conversation and the attention. Special friendships form.

Our upper grades students serve at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, at Sunnyside and Broadway, once a month. They work as a team on the food service line, filling food trays for 350-400 hungry visitors. The young people are perfectly safe, as they see, hear and smell people they would meet nowhere else. They work hard to help people who need them. They come home tired and satisfied.

What Children Discover:

In direct service to an actual neighbor, a child learns that he can give precious love, as well as receive it. They see their effort making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. They can begin to balance their natural self-focus with the needs and wishes of the other. Our classroom religious instruction takes concrete form in direct and immediate ways.

Our upper grades children ask questions on the way home in the van. Typically, they ask about addiction, about the causes of homelessness, and about how hard their parents work.