Promoting The School

It is always good to establish and strengthen our relationship with the Christian Community, sharing the fruit of the school's ministry in the city. We are always looking for new ways to raise awareness about the school and to offer places to new families who may not even realise a Christian school exists in their area.

We have produced a number of promotional materials and would seek your help in sharing the good news of what God is doing in and through the school:

• Promotional DVD introducing the school, containing interviews with staff and snapshots of school life
• As well as our School Prospectus we have also produced a booklet entitled Choosing The Right School For Your Child
• Car stickers
• We have developed a Power Point presentation to share with interested audiences

Open Day: Wednesday 5th April.

We are planning an exciting and attractive Open Day where we will invite people to see the school in session and to hear more about the work of the school through Power Point presentations repeated throughout the day.

Your help is needed.

We have long realised that the healthiest advert for the school are our families! Your positive testimony is invaluable in sharing about the work of the school and the work of God amongst us. We would ask you to consider how you might tell people in your circle of friends about us. Here are a few things you might consider:

• Would you pass on an invitation to the Open Day to people you know? Please especially consider people with young children or those who you know have been sceptical about the value of Christian education.
• Ask us for a copy of the DVD or further copies of the Choosing the Right School booklet to pass on to friends
• Do you work in a place where people might be interested in the school? Can we give you materials to leave on a coffee table (with your contact details so people can speak to you)?
• Do you own a business? Would you be prepared to leave promotional material which clients or customers can read?
• Can you agree to show people you know around the school?
• Are there family members, parents, grandparent's etc, who have never really grasped what the school is about? Why not host them on a visit to the school?

Church Reps

We have recently refreshed our use of church reps in developing the school's profile in the church community. Parents and staff members are taking on the role of liaising with their pastors and ministers to promote the school in local fellowships in ways individual pastors feel comfortable with.

Overcoming objections:

Having led the school and shared about it around the city and the nation and with smaller groups such as my own family and neighbours, I understand that Christian Education is a contentious issue.

Some feel that the idea is divisive or elitist; something that pulls Christians away from being salt and light in state schools. Some feel that Christians should be involved in local school as governors, on PTAs, meeting people from their community in the playgrounds. Some feel that Faith Schools are anathema is our multicultural and multi racial society. Some believe Christian schools smother children in cotton wool and that they can't cope in the "real" world.

As Christians we must realise that God calls us in many different ways to be salt and light in our communities. Being involved in a Christian school doesn't mean that it is not valid to get involved in local state schools or vice versa. Where is God calling us to reach people and how can we support each other in outreach? We feel that as a school we are helping to build healthy families and churches around the city.

Ultimately we are contributing to the Kingdom of God beyond the provision of education within the school. We are thrilled to hear the testimony of some of our young people who are now in local Sixth forms, universities and in places of work around the city. We are encouraged by those students who are now on the mission field and for those who have contacted us and thanked us for the investing of good things in their lives. The school now works in partnership with 25% of its families who are unchurched or from other faiths.

As Christians we should be prepared to give an explanation for our actions and choices. Don't be afraid to engage with people about your decision to place your child in a Christian school.

Giving an account of what we feel God is doing though us, is part of our promotion. We don't claim superiority... rather the privilege of being able to contribute positively to people's lives, working in partnership with others influencing families and young people positively.

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Related pages: Open Day

Category: Information For Parents

Author: Mr Moon