Values and Virtues

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Values and Virtues

Nova Classical Academy Character Education Philosophy

Nova Classical Academy’s classical model and philosophy attend to the dual strands of human development: rigorous pursuit of the intellect facilitated and given purpose by the refinement of moral character. It is our express goal as a school to provide meaningful enterprise towards this two-fold process. From administration to teachers to support staff, we, as educational and transformational leaders, must strive to model intellectual and principled living for our school community through our daily activities and interactions with one another.

Nova teaches four character virtues and three intellectual virtues. The character virtues are justice, temperance, prudence, and fortitude; the intellectual virtues are wisdom, science, and understanding/good sense.

“It’s like belonging to a family of intellectuals. It seems more like a family than class.”

{Nova Student}

  • Justice(respect, friendship, kindness, generosity, fairness)

    Justice means treating others with respect and taking responsibility for their well-being; fairness.
  • Temperance(order, courtesy, self-control, patience, obedience)

    Temperance is about mastering ourselves for the sake of the happiness of those around us. It is about acting the right way at the right time.
  • Prudence (honesty, wisdom, integrity, gratitude, humility, care)

    Prudence is about having sound judgment and making sound choices. It is about being thoughtful.
  • Fortitude (courage, optimism, perseverance, good citizenship, loyalty)

    Fortitude means having the courage to face challenges and obstacles; persevering when things get tough.

During the school year, we will work to create a school culture that cultivates and inculcates our shared values of truth, beauty, and goodness. We shall rely heavily on the rich content of the school curriculum as the medium through which our conversations about character are conceived and illustrated. The following activities are merely additional steps towards reinforcing our vision of a thoughtful, self-disciplined, and virtuous school community at Nova.

Virtue of the Month

  • Assemblies 1x/month
  • Assigned to one grade per month
  • Create posters for the school
  • Decorate the board at the front of the school (upstairs)

Adult Modeling

  • Attitudes
  • Speech we use with each other, families, students, and the community at large
  • Consistently enforcing policy for students and staff

Character I-spy

  • Posters in classrooms
  • Journal/legacy portfolio assignment for students

Character Recognition

  • Classroom acknowledgment
  • Random acts of recognition accompanied by notes home

Activity for In-service Week

  • Create a character wish list for students and staff and suggest ways of cultivating these traits on a daily basis.

End-of-year Activity

  • Program must address the development of truth, beauty, or goodness in an acute way