Exceptional Learning in an Exceptional Place
Have you ever renovated your home? I am sure you or someone you know has done this. Renovation is a process that takes time and thought, vision and pragmatics. It also costs money.
Ideally we get to choose when and what to renovate. When we are able to plan for it, we renovate for many reasons: to create new space, for example, or to make room for growth; to change or update function, possibly even to invest. No matter what the reason for renovation, there are two questions we must keep in mind. First, what is the vision? And second, how do we maximize what we already have?
The Board of Hamilton District Christian High has been discussing these very questions about the facility. We believe in the necessity of caring for what we already have, faithfully maintaining the building and grounds that have been provided as a place for students to learn.
Continued stewardship or our current building is the essential maintenance it takes to keep HDCH looking and functioning exceptionally. At the same time, we need to consider what could be. How could be redesign and renew this facility to maximize the potential learning for our students, our potential impact as a Christian school, in Hamilton and our surrounding areas? This Vision is about the future of learning at HDCH, considering and planning for the needs of our children and our community.
Stewardship and Vision
The Board and leadership believe strongly that, as a school, we need to pay attention to Stewardship and Vision. In fact, both of these “streams” will be our facility focus for the next ten years. We have developed a menu of Stewardship and Vision facility projects that together create a critical path, and give us a specific direction for the future. I encourage you to connect with me if you want more information about either stream. And if you would like to see the critical path plan for facility maintenance and renewal, please connect with the school and we will gladly walk you through it.
As we look forward we must manage these two streams appropriately. The result will be a school that has exceptional learning happening in an exceptional building. And all of this so that our students can cultivate their characters through learning for lives of service to God.
This article by Nathan Siebenga was originally published in the Winter 2014 issue of Connections.