Portrait of a Teacher

List of 5 frequently asked questions.

• Collaboration and Teamwork (Collaborative)

  At St. Gabriel's Catholic School, we intentionally collaborate with each other. The partnership between teachers, students, and parents is essential to our success as a school. This sense of community and family is palpable at St. Gabriel's Catholic School and is a hallmark of the St. Gabriel’s experience. To achieve a spirit of collaboration and teamwork:

  1. We work together in pursuit of a common mission and purpose. A dedication to educating children in a Christ-centered environment full of love and compassion.
  2. We build strong, supportive, collaborative relationships with one another in the interest of continual growth and improvement. We have an open door and embrace – then try to implement - others’ ideas, feedback, and suggestions to grow in their pedagogy.
  3. We deliberately create strong and enduring relationships with the students and their families. We get to know them personally and serve as both their advocates and champions. We work together to educate the whole child so that they can be formed spiritually, socially, emotionally, and intellectually.
  4. We embody a growth mindset and regularly seek out feedback from peers and others. We are always looking for ways to improve our craft so that we can offer the best possible experience for our students. We regularly reflect on our practices and our teaching to ensure that we hone our strengths and consistently improve our areas of growth. 
  5. We engage in vertical, horizontal, and cross-curricular  planning to ensure collaboration and to align the curriculum so that the best outcomes  for the students are achieved.
  6. We pool our strengths together, realizing that we are better together and build up our school community in the process.

• Positivity and Joy (Joyful)

  A defining characteristic of teachers at St. Gabriel's Catholic School is our positivity and the spirit of joy we bring to our career and in the way we teach our students. This positivity and joy radiate from our passion to teach and our commitment to this career as a vocation. To ensure this environment and empower teachers:

  1. Faculty and staff and students smile, laugh, and demonstrate joy in their learning.
  2. We intentionally create a positive, welcoming, and joyful atmosphere in both what we teach and how we teach. We infuse an  SEL approach through a lens of the cardinal virtues to ensure that our students not only become great learners but also great people. 
  3. Faculty embody a love of both fun and learning. This love emerges from their deep passion to teach. We model this type of passion and fun through our teaching so that the students can benefit.
  4. We take joy in understanding child development. We are responsive to the holistic development of every child  in our classroom, and we respond with love to each child in front of us.

• Open to Growth (Embodies A Growth Mindset)

  At St. Gabriel's Catholic School, we continually seek improvement and look for different ways to develop ourselves  into excellent educators as lifelong learners. We are eager to learn new things, to embrace innovation, and to seek to provide a superior educational experience each day. To create this environment:

  1. We engage in regular and responsive professional development to ensure that we are the best teachers we can be.
  2. We deliberately seek out engaging and innovative ways to teach that are research-informed, developmentally-appropriate, and responsive to all learners in the classroom. We ensure that our instruction is authentically differentiated and provides multiple and diverse enrichment opportunities.
  3. We are willing to take risks, are curious, and are willing to make mistakes to model a growth mindset for our students.
  4. We always ask why and engage in regular reflection to improve our craft and the St. Gabriel’s community.
  5. We challenge ourselves and our students with affection. So that we can become the best possible version of ourselves.

• Professionalism (Professional)

  At St. Gabriel's Catholic School, we pride ourselves on our professionalism. Our level of professionalism distinguishes us as a school and reflects our school’s values of integrity, caring, and excellence. Our professionalism ensures that we are consistently delivering a superior educational experience rich in character formation and moral development. We exemplify our professionalism by:

  1. Ensuring that our classes are well-planned around a clear learning goal; students know the purpose of the lesson and are engaged in work that directly supports them in making progress toward mastery. Teachers are prepared, class time is used well and follows a published agenda, materials are high-quality, and assignments are connected to the learning goal. Routines are used to minimize cognitive load and maximize use of class time for learning.  
  2. Ensuring that we are all in and always show up as the best version of ourselves. We commit to being timely, resilient, and dependable. We demonstrate our integrity by being accountable for our actions and our words, knowing that promises are sacred. This level of commitment ensures that we grow together as a team and school family.
  3. Communicating clearly, kindly, timely, and openly. This type of consistent communication facilitates transparency and positive outcomes for students, parents, and our entire school community.
  4. Handling conflict and issues that arise directly and in person. Our proactive and responsive nature as school necessitates an in-person approach that aligns with our commitment to integrity, caring, and excellence.
  5. Having a solutions-oriented mindset that allows for flexibility and transforms complaints into actionable solutions that improve our school and community.  

• Mission-Driven

  Our mission is central to our identity as an Independent school that is Catholic. It informs and guides all decisions we make, and it creates a school community that is truly unique. Our faculty, staff, and students animate this mission through their actions and words. This ultimately produces a superior, faith-filled, virtue-infused environment. To live our mission, we: 
  
  

  1. Through our teaching and care of the children we deliberately model and intentionally practice patience, humility, and flexibility with our colleagues, students, and parents to ensure a kind and loving school community.

  2. We are committed to the mission and what our school promises to deliver to its students. Our teachers both follow through and follow up demonstrating our dedication, consistency, and dependability through our actions and words.

  3. We are open-minded and loving; we embrace the rich diversity of our school community, and we make sure that our community and culture of our school empowers all to feel this love.

  4. We always assume best intentions by always seeking the good in all people.

  5. We meet students relationally before trying to engage academically, seeing each child individually as a whole person, recognizing their inherent dignity.