Chapel, formal religious instruction and service learning are cornerstones of the nurturing environment St. Andrew’s provides. Every day, students at St. Andrew’s are asked to lead; and to be respectful, responsible, kind, and helpful.

A Christian school firmly rooted in the Episcopal tradition, St. Andrew’s is an inclusive community grounded in respect and honor for each of our members. The religious pluralism of our school community provides a magnificent opportunity to foster the spiritual formation of our students from a variety of faith traditions. Students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 attend Chapel three days a week and formal religious instruction is offered in Grades Kindergarten – 7. Primer (3-year olds) and Pre-K students attend Chapel once a week.

One of the three core tenants of the St. Andrew’s mission statement is service to others. Through the School’s highly effective service learning program, students are provided a wealth of experiences that enable them to understand and appreciate the virtues of civic responsibility, as well as to teach them compassion for others.

Service learning is a tool which helps educate children both in and out of the classroom, opening young minds to new people and new ideas. The objective is to enable them with opportunities to use their creativity, positive attitude, and enthusiasm to make the world a better place. Through this program, students learn responsibility, compassion, and teamwork. They gain a sense of empowerment and interconnectedness with the world around them.

St. Andrew’s service learning program includes age-appropriate community service projects for every grade level as well as numerous school-wide service learning projects. Some of the grade-specific projects St. Andrew’s students will participate in this year include outreach to the Ronald McDonald House, the V.A. Hospital, Ware Memorial Care Center and Martha’s Home. School wide projects will include partnerships with Heifer International and a the Sunday Woods school in Belize.

An exciting part to the School’s service learning program is the 7th Grade Mission Trip to Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. Here, students will muck stalls, milk cows, and learn about sustainable solutions to global poverty. As part of their experience, students also spend a long night in the global village, an emersion experience that recreates communities in developing countries and makes real the challenges of surviving in substandard living conditions.

Following the trip, middle school students organize and execute Heifer Day, a day long series of activities and learning experiences for the entire St. Andrew’s community, designed to bring awareness for the issues of global poverty and hunger. Recently, the experiences and hard work of our students were chronicled by the Amarillo Globe News and several local television stations.