CHAPTER 2School Purpose
Mission - Philosophy - Core Values - SLEs
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MISSION
St. Bonaventure Catholic School operates as a ministry of St. Bonaventure Parish. Our mission is to partner with parents, the primary educators of their children, to provide a Catholic Christ-Centered, academically excellent, and safe school environment where all children can achieve their God-given potential and make a positive difference in the world.
Established in 1966, St. Bonaventure Catholic School is a early childhood, primary, elementary, middle, and junior high school in the Diocese of Orange providing an outstanding education for boys and girls ages 4 to 13. We pride ourselves on our promise of an exceptional education nurtured by Catholic faith formation, rooted in academic excellence, and enriched in abundant learning opportunities.
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PHILOSOPHY
Christ is the reason for St. Bonaventure Catholic School. He is the unseen but ever present teacher in our classrooms. He inspires our administration, faculty, staff, students, parents and parish community to spread the gospel message to build community and to serve others.
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CORE VALUES
Humility - Accountability - Leadership - Optimism - Service
Our SAINTS have HALOS! At St. Bonaventure, we blend Catholic faith, academic excellence, and the values of Humility, Accountability, Leadership, Optimism, and Service (H.A.L.O.S.). Our Christ-centered approach shapes compassionate, faith-filled leaders. Our students are lighting their HALOS for all to see and becoming a force for good in the world. True “saints” in training!
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STUDENT LEARNING EXPECTATIONS
Building the Next Generation of Faithful Leaders.
At St. Bonaventure Catholic School, our Student Learning Expectations guide every child to grow as an active, Christ-centered Catholic, a lifelong learner, an effective communicator, and a responsible citizen. Rooted in faith and academic excellence, our program nurtures both spiritual and intellectual growth, preparing students to make a positive impact in their communities and the world. Students actively recite the SLE pledge every morning at assembly.
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SCHOOL PLEDGE
Today I pledge to live the values that St. Bonaventure Catholic School teaches. I promise to be an Active Christ-Centered Catholic, a Life-Long Learner, an Effective Communicator, and a Responsible Citizen. I will strive to keep Jesus in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart.
WCEA Accreditation Process – Initial Steps
The school’s WCEA accreditation process formally began in August 2024, when the Leadership Team identified and appointed Domain Chairs and Co-Chairs to guide each area of focus. These appointments were made with careful consideration of leadership strengths, experience, and familiarity with schoolwide initiatives to ensure effective facilitation of the process.
Faculty and staff were then thoughtfully assigned to specific domains to promote collaboration, shared responsibility, and balanced representation across grade levels and departments. This structure ensured that all stakeholders had a meaningful voice in the self-study process.
In the fall of 2024, in alignment with the Strategic Plan, parent, faculty, and student surveys were distributed. Monthly Domain meetings subsequently began, with teams conducting a comprehensive review of stakeholder survey data. Throughout the 2024–2026 school years, domain teams met monthly in place of regular faculty meetings to analyze survey results and systematically work through each NESBEC standard. Together, they identified strengths and areas for growth aligned with WCEA criteria. Each benchmark within the domains was carefully examined, discussed, and assigned a numerical rating based on evidence and collective discernment.
In November 2024, faculty and staff participated in a full-day WCEA inservice dedicated to reviewing and refining benchmark ratings. In 2025, the principal, Leadership Team, and Domain Chairs met with the strategic planning team, pastor, alumni, parishioners and parents to discuss progress and prepare for the 2026 accreditation visit. In February 2026, the administration and Leadership Team led a comprehensive review of the finalized document with all stakeholders. This data-driven approach provided a clear and objective foundation for identifying priority growth areas and developing the schoolwide action plan. Documentation of these internal accreditation meetings is available in the data library.
This structured and collaborative beginning established a focused, reflective, and mission-centered framework for the school’s ongoing accreditation work.
Review Revision Process
In August 2022, St. Bonaventure School conducted a comprehensive review of its foundational documents, including the Mission Statement, School Philosophy, and Schoolwide Learning Expectations (SLEs), during a faculty-wide meeting with full participation from all staff members.
The process began with prayer and reflection, grounding the work in the school’s Catholic identity and commitment to faith formation, academic excellence, and service. Faculty members reviewed the existing documents and engaged in collaborative discussions to evaluate their clarity, relevance, and alignment with the school’s mission and daily practices.
As part of this review, the school’s HALOS (Humility, Accountability, Leadership, Optimism, Service) were intentionally incorporated to reflect and reinforce St. Bonaventure School’s core values. The development of the HALOS included student voice, with a survey distributed to students to gather input on the values, behaviors, and characteristics they believed best represented the St. Bonaventure School community. Student feedback played a key role in shaping the HALOS and ensuring they were meaningful, age-appropriate, and reflective of the lived student experience.
Following the August 2022 faculty meeting, the review and refinement of these foundational documents continued through ongoing conversations at the full-community Strategic Planning Retreat and within domain-level meetings. These discussions provided additional opportunities for faculty, staff, leadership, and students to reflect on the effectiveness of the statements and their alignment with the school’s goals.
Feedback from faculty, students, and community stakeholders was synthesized by school leadership and used to refine the language and focus of the documents.
The resulting Mission Statement, Philosophy, and Schoolwide Learning Expectations (SLEs) reflect a shared vision, incorporate the school’s core values through the HALOS, and continue to guide decision-making, curriculum development, and student formation at St. Bonaventure School.
