Core Values
At Our Savior Lutheran School, our mission is rooted in three enduring pillars: Catechesis, Academics, and Community. These values guide our teaching, shape our culture, and form the foundation of a Christ-centered education.
Catechesis
1 Peter 3:15
Catechesis is the intentional, lifelong formation of the Christian in the Word of God - teaching not just information, but transformation. It is more than religious instruction; it is the nurturing of faith through Scripture, prayer, worship, and the faithful confession of Christ.
At Our Savior Lutheran School, we believe that faith is not merely a subject to be mastered, but a life to be lived. It's a daily rhythm of trust in Christ, shaped by Word and Sacrament, devotion and prayer, repentance and grace.
We are unapologetically Lutheran because we are unashamed of the Gospel and the historic Christian faith as expressed in the Lutheran Confessions. To be Lutheran is to be deeply rooted in the Scriptures, joyfully anchored in Christ alone, and reverently shaped by the Church’s liturgical and sacramental life.
From the time of the Reformation, Lutheran schools have been seen as preservers of the Church: places where children are not only taught reading and arithmetic, but are also grounded in the truth of God's Word. Our school continues this rich legacy by nurturing faith in every classroom, every day.
"If you know Jesus well, it is sufficient if you do not know other things. If you do not know Jesus, it is nothing if you learn other things."
Johannes Bugenhagen,
Lutheran Reformer
Here’s how this commitment is lived out in our school:
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Each school day begins with devotion and prayer, following liturgies from One and All Rejoice. Through this, students become familiar with the rhythms and structure of the Church’s worship, learning to pray, confess, and sing as the Church has for generations.
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Weekly chapel services are held in our church sanctuary every Wednesday, gathering the entire student body and faculty to hear God's Word, confess our faith, and receive Christ's promises together.
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Students participate in ongoing memory work that includes passages from Scripture, hymns, prayers, and selections from Luther’s Small Catechism—a clear and faithful summary of the Christian faith for both children and adults.
In all of this, we seek to form not only minds, but hearts: young believers who know, love, and follow Christ with clarity, confidence, and joy.
ACADEMICS
Proverbs 2
"Education takes for granted that [the power to learn] is there but that it isn’t turned the right way or looking where it ought to look, and it tries to redirect it appropriately.”
Plato,
Allegory of the Cave
At Our Savior Lutheran School, Christ is not merely included in our academics—He is the very center of all wisdom, knowledge, and truth. We do not view education as neutral, but as an endeavor that is deeply theological. To learn rightly is to learn in the light of Christ—for “in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
Education, rightly understood, is not simply the transmission of information—it is the formation of the whole person, heart, mind, and soul. Our task as educators is to turn students’ eyes from the shadows toward the light of what is good, true, and beautiful. We seek to nurture not only academic excellence but Christian virtue, helping students to delight in what is lovely and to live with wisdom and discernment in a world starved of truth.
“The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but enjoy the right things—not merely industrious, but to love industry—not merely learned, but to love knowledge—not merely pure, but to love purity—not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice.”
— John Ruskin
Our rigorous curriculum is grounded in the liberal arts tradition, the historic model of education that has shaped Christian and Western civilization for centuries. Through the study of literature, language, history, music, art, mathematics, and science, students encounter the treasury of ideas, beauty, and truth that has nourished generations of faithful thinkers, creators, and servants.
Our Academic Approach Includes:
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A focus on primary sources (ad fontes), helping students encounter timeless truths in the words of great thinkers and faithful witnesses.
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Language-rich instruction that promotes clear writing, eloquent speech, and joyful reading.
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A deep integration of faith and learning, so that even science and mathematics are studied with awe at the order and beauty of God's creation.
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An emphasis on virtuous habits—attentiveness, diligence, humility, and wonder—that cultivate not just the intellect, but the soul.
We prepare students not simply to achieve, but to aspire to what is eternal. In a world of ever-changing standards and shallow trends, we offer what is lasting: a vision of education that reflects the mind of Christ and leads to lives of faithful service to their neighbor, intellectual curiosity, and joyful purpose.
COMMUNITY
1 Corinthians 12:24-26
At Our Savior Lutheran School, we are more than a school—we are a community bound together in Christ. We believe that Christian education is most faithful when it is not isolated, but lived out in the fellowship of believers. Our classrooms, hallways, and playgrounds are filled with daily opportunities to practice forgiveness, patience, service, and joy in the love of Jesus.
In this shared life of faith, we walk together: parents, students, teachers, pastors, and staff, each with unique gifts and vocations, yet united in a common purpose—to raise children who know, love, and follow Christ. We echo the Apostle Paul’s vision of the Church as a body, where each member belongs, each one matters, and all care for one another.
Here, students are not lost in a crowd. They are known by name. They are prayed for. They are taught with love. They are called into a pattern of life where they learn to encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, and grow in Christian character through daily relationships.
"But God has so composed the body... that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."
1 Corinthians 12:24-26
At OSLS, community life extends well beyond the classroom. We delight in creating opportunities where families, faculty, and our church family gather in joyful fellowship. These events strengthen the bonds of love, trust, and shared mission that are the lifeblood of our school.
Some of our beloved community traditions include:
🍽️ Eat Around Town events for food, fellowship, and fun
🍩 Donuts with Grownups, celebrating family ties
🛼 Skate Nights, where laughter and community roll together
💃 Daddy-Daughter Dance, a treasured evening of joy and memory-making
🎶 Spring Sing, our annual musical performance showcasing student talent and joy in the arts
🏀 Sporting events that unite our school in school spirit and shared support
…and many more gatherings throughout the year that invite connection and celebration in Christ
Community Life Also Includes:
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Chapel and church events that bring families together around the altar, pulpit, and font.
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Celebrations of the Church year—from Advent to Easter to Reformation Day—that root our calendar in Christ’s story.
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Service opportunities that teach students to look beyond themselves and joyfully care for others.
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A school culture built on repentance and forgiveness, where Christ’s mercy is not just spoken, but practiced.
We believe that the bonds formed in Christian community are not temporary, they are eternal. As we gather around God’s Word and Sacraments, we form a family grounded in grace, ready to face life’s joys and trials together in the strength that only Christ can give.