A Letter from the Head of School:
Dear Providence Hall Community,
I am writing this letter to express how very thankful I am for the Providence Hall community. Allow me to share with you why I so appreciate our wonderful community of students, parents, faculty, administration, and our Board of Directors.
It is a joy for me to come to Providence Hall each day and team with educators who are passionate about teaching, are well trained in their craft, are mature in Christian faith, and who absolutely love their students. We are unified by the coming together of this group of special people to help each student become the person God has intended. Teaching students to think and live well by stretching them academically, spiritually, and personally, so that they are prepared to live lives of meaning and purpose, is our reason for being. It is what gives excitement and energy to each Monday morning as we look forward to the tasks of the week ahead.
Education is generally viewed as “a means to some other end”: the pursuit of the highest grades and acceptance into top universities, perhaps followed by graduate school and, finally, a successful career. While these are commendable goals, at Providence Hall we also want our students to be fully engaged in their learning experiences, achieving a true love of learning, while naturally excelling to their potential without excessive pressure. We seek by way of a carefully chosen curriculum, a challenging learning environment, and positive example, to encourage an enduring interest in learning as a lifelong passion and joy. We are committed to the ideal that education is a perpetual journey and we have placed teachers in the classroom who share this conviction and who model this affection.
Providence Hall’s school culture–the way we interact with each other–is founded on the pursuit of grace and truth in all relationships. We seek to be honest and truthful with one another, knowing that as we do so opportunities for personal growth are bolstered and the whole community is strengthened. We also seek to engage relationships with the fullness of God’s grace, extending compassion, understanding, and forgiveness to others. The integration of grace and truth, according to the Apostle John, is a gift from the Father and modeled by Christ. It is the example we seek to follow.
I, along with our administrative team, desire to assist and equip teachers to teach their students to know truth, see beauty, and achieve excellence in every aspect of life. We do so by challenging both the heart and mind, intentionally and naturally integrating Christian faith and academics whenever appropriate, and modeling relationships marked by both grace and truth.
While integrating learning and faith are the primary task of Providence Hall, a host of other activities inform and support the school’s mission. We believe students need adults who live authentically, are mature in Christian faith, and are passionate about teenagers to come alongside them to love, encourage, and challenge them. As teachers display grace and truth in their relationships and model lives of faith, students are put in the best position to grow and develop. These relationships are formed both in and out of the classroom. Besides being fun, Providence Hall’s full calendar of extracurricular activities intentionally serves a pivotal and significant role in the vitality of our community. Through scheduled activities in sports, physical culture, arts, travel, clubs, and spiritual growth (Foundations), our community purposefully seeks the very best for each student.
It is my privilege to serve as Providence Hall’s head of school. I have a front row seat to observe the lives of a wonderful group of pre-teens and teens, and I am blessed to watch them develop into mature young adults. There are so many meaningful stories to tell about our students, stories that signify the fulfillment of an inspired vision, stories of lives changed, and stories of dreams born. Praise be to our Lord for authoring the wonderful story he is writing in all our lives.
With love and prayers,
David O’Neil
Head of School