The commitments and values of St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School are expressed in our mission statement: “To engage each girl with a personalized, real-world learning experience within a nurturing community." This mission, our vision of empowered women challenging and transforming the world, and the "essence of SMLS" are highlighted alongside our school's priorities in our strategic plan,
Aspire 2029. This is the framework that guides the Junior School’s ongoing development.
In the Junior School, our faculty work together to deliver rich and engaging programs that develop depth of understanding, encourage critical thinking, and allow for creative problem-solving. The end goal is that the girls are capable of, and committed to, making an impact in a very complex, challenging, and increasingly global world.
When SMLS students deeply understand a topic or concept, they cannot only reproduce knowledge and demonstrate skills, but they can also use their knowledge and skills in unscripted ways to apply their understanding in new and meaningful contexts.
Our commitment to the girls’ social emotional development can be seen in the “Positive Community Oaths” which are collaboratively created in each grade. These oaths remind us that it is important to be respectful of each other, be helpful to each other, take care of each other, listen to each other, to make new friends, and to be global citizens who are aware of the world around them. Our various school themes (i.e. courage), guide our messages during chapel. The school chaplain explores the theme’s meaning and what it looks like, during weekly chapels with the girls.