Center for Leadership

Service

Preparing students for a lifelong commitment to learning and social responsibility is at the heart of the St. Luke’s experience and our Center for Leadership programming. The School’s motto, Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve inspires students to strive not only for academic excellence but also responsible citizenship and service to humanity.

Kate Parker-Burgard, Center for Leadership Director

Our school motto, “Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve” is at the heart of who we are as a school. We believe that character is developed when actions are done in service to the greater good. By using one’s strengths, service locations become laboratories for developing leadership as students gain confidence and develop their identities as people who can help.”
 
In the Middle School, each grade focuses on a theme for the year. Throughout these programs, our students are exposed to different organizations and become oriented toward a service mindset. With the comfort of their classmates they discover places and ways in which they might want to continue serving on their own.

As our students mature, our community service program grows with them. In the Upper School, we offer a variety of grade-wide and school-wide service activities, but we also ask students to take on individual service engagement. Our Upper School students are in the midst of forming their identity. We want students to ask themselves, “What matters to me? What strengths or skills do I have to offer? How can I contribute to my community?” Through their initiative and our support, students pursue service in areas that interest them as well as develop their sense of responsibility and leadership.

Current Service Opportunities

  • Autism Awareness Tennis Clinic

    Sunday, April 28th at 11am - 12pm there will be a tennis clinic at SLS for all 7th and 8th-grade students. Created by Samantha Stevelman '23 and her mother, Peri, as a way of raising awareness for Autism, the clinic will be led by members of the Girls Varsity Tennis team with Coach Ehlers.  Refreshments will be provided. For information, please contact Samantha Stevelman at stevelmans23@stlukesct.org or Peri Stevelman at peristevelmanhome@hotmail.com.

  • Summer Stewardship Program at New Canaan Nature Center

    Volunteer group for ages 14-18. From June 28th through August 16th, this group meets every Friday from 10am-3pm. Stay for the entire day or as long as you are able! Volunteers should bring a lunch, water bottle, and comfortable pair of shoes. To sign up, please contact Director of Environmental Education, Michelle Hips, at mhips@newcanaannature.org or (203) 966-9577 x1042.

  • Host a Fresh Air Fund Child

    Give the Gift of a Summer Vacation to a City Child this Summer! Children ages 6-12 stay for one week and are eager to experience the summer life outside of the city. Please contact Lisa Hill, New Canaan Fresh Air Fund Chairperson, at 203-594-9472 or lhill10514@gmail.com, visit the website (www.freshair.org), or attend an information session in the Plaut Room at the New Canaan Library on May 9 from 10 - 12.
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Duncan Edwards, Executive Director, Waterside School

St. Luke's kids are different. They connect, they care, they work, they seem eager to learn, and most important, in every imaginable way, they display the greatest respect for our children."


St. Luke’s School is a secular private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving 25 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.