Welcome Back to School

On the first day of school, we at CAJ are already thinking about where we want to be on the last day of school. I don't just mean June 11, 2019, but from the first day of kindergarten, we are strategizing about how each child needs to be equipped by graduation day. I know that no parent wants to be reminded about how the time will fly; my little granddaughter started kindergarten this August, and I want to freeze time in place for her! Parents can bask in the beginnings right now, but we at CAJ are already looking ahead to the end so we don't miss any of the important steps of preparation.

CAJ graduates will be serving a world that is a different place that the world their parents entered as young adults. As "Third Culture Kids", they will very likely experience learning in a culture different from the one in which their parents grew up. If not a different country, it will be through different methods and in a different context. They need to be uniquely equipped to address the needs of a rapidly changing and diverse society. We want them to leave CAJ equipped with a set of biblically based values and worldviews. We need our students to be endowed with the understanding that creation in the image of the one living and true God bestows special dignity and value on human beings and mandates us to be God's agents of creativity, care, and truth in the world. We will train them in what it means to lead through serving, to innovate with compassion, to think with discernment, to communicate with clarity, and to collaborate with people who may think differently or experience the world from a variety of perspectives. We know they will form deep relationships with their teachers who will nurture them along the way, and forge lifelong friendships with peers that will transcend distance and cultures.

Right now, that all seems like a dream, but it takes planning from the beginning to get where each graduate needs to be in the end. Parents: you can relax and take your first day of school photos! We already are looking ahead to the last day.