Stewardship Is Part of IT!

by Superintendent Robert "Bob" Lewandowski

Our school district is "under construction" in many different ways. Building a climate of expectation is exemplified through the manifestations of new buildings to a renewed school spirit. To further flavor the changes taking place here at Mission, we need to consider a focus on stewardship.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of stewardship is: 1) the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; 2) the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.

Teaching students about stewardship is a difficult task since there are so many different ideas about what stewardship means. At this time the school will work towards developing a shared understanding of stewardship (treatment and care for goods and property entrusted to us).

We will try to make stewardship a focus for students and staff alike. Taking pride in excellence extends itself in many ways. We have already had a fantastic start to a great school year. Now we need to take HCA to the next level. When visitors come to our campus to watch a game, walk our hallways, come into a classroom, I hope they will leave with the impression that even though we may not have a lot at Mission, we take pride in what we have here at St Ignatius. With this in mind, we have some work to do to bring everything up to this standard of expectation.

At the K-12 Assembly, on the first day of school, I shared with the students and staff the secret to success. That secrete is "Learning takes Work!" The initiative for stewardship calls for the implementation of the IT FACTOR. In an earlier blog, I described IT as:

"If you walk the halls at our school you can smell it, see it in the classrooms and feel it at our ball games. Something special is taking place here at St. Ignatius, I invite you to be a part of "IT!"

IT can't be described in one word. IT is complicated. IT exist because our students, faculty, parents and community BELIEVE! We are Mission, the standard by which others will measure!"

To be the standard by which others measure takes WORK! I believe that Mission is a community of hard workers! I like what I have seen and am proud to be a part of IT!

Our district must work hard at IT! The district will be utilizing as many resources as possible to pick up school grounds and correct dysfunctional elements and blemishes. For example: we will obtain adequate trash receptacles for hallways, entryways, bleachers, and parking areas. If we want people to pick up after themselves, they have to have a place to put it.

In addition, the district is addressing storage and buildings that are not being utilized and costing the district money to maintain. There are places in this school district that certainly need to be cleaned out and up. In past efforts to be conservative, we have stored most everything of value. NOW much of what has been stored is dated and not worth the space it takes. Addressing these issues will be difficult, but needed.

I am asking everyone who reads this blog to "pitch in" and help. Making sure students learn is everyone's responsibility and as said before: learning takes work. Work is a big part of IT! Stewardship is a concept that needs to be shared by all. We've got a great school and community! We invite you to be a part of IT!