NEWS: Student Life

In celebration of our heritage, recognition of our everyday commitment, and vision of our future, we have created the Seal of the South Kent School.

It is a shield, symbolizing our willingness to defend what we believe in: academic excellence, core values, and openness to the diversity of ideas.

At the top are three stars. They illuminate the three core values on which the school is founded: Simplicity of Life, Self Reliance, and Directness of Purpose. They are the watchwords that distinguish past achievements, the work before us today, and the ambitious course we have set for tomorrow.

Directly under the stars is a chevron. It symbolizes the hillside on which our campus is built, and the chapel roof that shelters us as a community of believers. It also reminds us that we aim our aspirations ever upward, toward new heights and frontiers. The chevron points to a philosophical landmark: our unique competitive advantage as a Global Learning Environment.

At the Seal’s Foundation is a laurel wreath, an ancient and enduring prize for all who value the pursuit of excellence in an atmosphere of respect, honor, and understanding.

Our heritage.
The date of the School’s founding, 1923 marks the beginning of our journey. The Seal itself was adapted from the inscription of a cup, presented to the school in 1930 in recognition of academic progress. Our predecessors set a high bar: they valued and rewarded teaching and learning. This cup has never left the campus, and neither did our pursuit of educational excellence.

Our commitment.
We know we have a lot to live up to every day. During the most turbulent times of our nation’s history, the school has persevered as a place for the broadening of horizons. Today, in an interconnected world, South Kent School is poised to distinguish and differentiate itself as a Global Learning Environment. By emphasizing each word—and all of them together—we stand for a place of education, a forum of tolerance and diversity, and an institution inseparable from the world we all inhabit.

Our future.
We can never rest on the laurels alluded to in the Shield’s wreath. We have to anticipate change, rather than simply react to it. To secure our future, we are embracing technology and nurturing intellectual curiosity throughout our community. Our Center for Innovation is proof of our eagerness to look forward. New tools and facilities are being adopted to make real the programs and technological protocols already in place. The Center for Innovation is, and will be, the laboratory where the best new ideas are rigorously tested, adapted to our best purposes, and adopted as part of our curriculum and culture.

It’s said that all good things come in threes. At South Kent School, we are proud of the past, diligently at work in the present, and optimistic about the future.

Our Seal, at once historic, current, and prophetic, serves to remind us of our founding principles, our common goals, and our individual responsibilities.

I hope you will join me in celebrating the inauguration of the Seal by making it meaningful to everyone associated with South Kent School. More than a mere symbol, our new shield will become the standard under which we re-dedicate ourselves to our principles, core values and goals.