About St. Mark Lutheran School
CURRICULUM & PRACTICE
“All of the decisions on curriculum, textbooks, field trips, and pedagogical approaches are made aspiring to deliver a God-honoring education in Christ.” – Jesse Ristvedt (Kindergarten Teacher)
St. Mark Lutheran School is a traditional school that teaches all fundamental subjects of education (grammar, math, science, social studies, etc.) while also including art and music as primary subjects that all students will participate in regularly. All subjects taught at St. Mark support the daily study of the Holy Scriptures along with age-appropriate catechetical instruction in the Lutheran tradition. We teach using a pedagogy and curriculum inspired by the Classical Christian educational system.
St. Mark values and uses methods of the traditional classroom learning approach as the foundation of our education. Our classrooms are teacher-led. This means the teacher decides the shape and pace of learning for the class while also utilizing elements of student-led educational models such as structured group learning and collaborative projects when appropriate and helpful.
The utilization of technology in our classrooms and curriculum is necessary to prepare our students for the future. We live in an age of technology and our students must learn to utilize it in a healthy and God-honoring way. At the same time, the risks and harm that can come with the overuse or abuse of technology are also well documented and established. Technology does not always make teaching or learning easier or better. At St. Mark, children are taught to read from and enjoy a book, write well on paper, and how to make appropriate eye-contact in verbal and articulate conversation before they are taught to type, scroll, or swipe.
In summary, all of the decisions on curriculum, textbooks, field trips, and pedagogical approaches are made aspiring to deliver a God-honoring education in Christ, inspired by the words of St. Peter when he wrote to the church and said, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:3-8).
PHILOSOPHY
“We ensure that all subjects of study and all activities at St. Mark Lutheran School teach Jesus Christ, for ‘Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.’” (1 Corinthians 1:24). – Rev. Eric Jay | Senior Pastor
At St. Mark Lutheran School, we believe, teach, and confess that God, as the creator of all things, is the source of all knowledge and wisdom. Without God there would not only be no thing, but no knowledge to be known, learned, or understood. God created man and woman in His image, blessed them, and gave them dominion over His creation so that we would grow in our knowledge of His love, goodness, and beauty.
“For his [God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
(Romans 1:19-20).
We did not create ourselves, nor did knowledge create itself. Both the human mind that teaches and acquires knowledge and the knowledge itself are from God. Therefore, a knowledge of God is the nature and goal of any education that aspires after truth.
We believe, teach, and confess that the fall of mankind into sin (Genesis 3:7), and the sinful nature we all have from birth (Psalm 51:5), has not only corrupted our hearts and minds but also the nature of God’s perfect creation (Romans 8:22). Because of this, we are not able to know God (Romans 3:11-12) or acquire true knowledge and understanding without God’s direct intercession and merciful help.
We believe, teach, and confess that Jesus Christ is the Savior of humanity from sin and death, and that only through faith in Him as the resurrected Lord can we acquire the knowledge of truth and eternal worth that our hearts and minds desire. “He [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15-20).
Whereas all things were created through Christ and for Christ and God’s plan of salvation for all of creation is to “unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10), we ensure that all subjects of study and all activities at St. Mark Lutheran School teach Jesus Christ, for “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
PURPOSE
“Education is not a subject and does not deal in subjects. It is instead a transfer of a way of life.” – G.K. Chesterton
The purpose of St. Mark Lutheran School is to serve Jesus Christ by providing the highest level of excellence in Christian education to ensure our students grow in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and that He would reveal His love and salvation for the world through the excellence of their lives lived in the faith, knowledge, and virtue of Christ.
We strive for excellence in all that we do because we believe that all of life should be lived in service to our most excellent Lord and God, Jesus.
Our Christian convictions necessitate that the purpose of education transcend the mere acquisition of knowledge and ascend to the goal of revealing God in Christ through the knowledge He has made available to us. This means that our academic standards for education are guided not only by “state standards” established by the Nebraska Department of Education but are ultimately created and judged by the highest and eternal standards of Christian virtue, morality, wisdom, goodness, and beauty according to God’s Word.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
