St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School is and has always been a community dedicated to caring for each of its members as a child of God. I experienced this powerful tradition my first year in 1984, when I got to know an incredible parent who was the epitome of love and selflessness. Carroll Lastelic was battling cancer, but she was still ever-present on campus. She continued baking cupcakes, supporting sports teams, and helping with annual events like the auction and the magazine drive. Though she died in 1985, our school community has never forgotten her. Each year we honor the senior with the most outstanding record of unselfish service to the school or community with the Carroll Lastelic Award.

It is our view that service is not only caring for people, but also caring for the earth. I am reminded of a prayer for the beauty of the earth from The Book of Common Prayer. It says, "We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and for ever. Amen."

We teach all of our students to care for the earth and for one another, but we also show them how to look beyond our school campus to care for members outside our community. We ask them to open their eyes, help those they see, and then think deeply about those experiences. I have always been proud of how we treat each other, our neighbors here in Alexandria, and others across the region, the country, and the world. I also know how proud it would make Carroll Lastelic and the many other role models who came before and after her. Thank you for visiting this section to learn more about how we carry on their legacies and live our mission through our commitment to service learning.

- Joan G.O. Holden, Head of School

Service Learning Today

At St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School, service learning is a multidimensional, all-school curriculum. Our goal is to harmonize the best of our existing strengths: the passion we put into each of our community service activities and the power of our intellectual training. Whereas community service activities provide valuable opportunities for periodic participation, our service-learning program aims to do more. Each service experience develops age-appropriate skills by starting with a student-driven needs assessment before an activity (to teach needs awareness and creative problem solving) and concluding with periods of intentional intellectual and spiritual reflection.

Every homeroom in the Lower School and every advisory group in the Middle and Upper Schools follow the curriculum throughout the year to ensure that every student spends time studying the dignity and the challenges of people in need. All practice skills such as listening to the silent, asking questions of elders, sharing gifts, saying thank you, problem solving and being ready to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Since the founding of our school, our mission has promised to create lifelong learners. We are working harder than ever. With new ideas and new resources to inspire and support every St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School student, we are proud to watch them as they grow into compassionate people who will possess not only the spirit, but also the well-honed skills, to become lifelong servants.

- Patricia Lyons, JK-12 Service Learning Coordinator

If you have questions or comments, please contact Patricia Lyons at plyons@sssas.org.