Become a Member
MEMBERSHIP
At KCS, we believe that teaching children is a partnership between school and home so you can be assured of close contact with your child’s teacher and a high level of parental involvement.
It has been said that KCS is a school community and not simply an academic institution. Joining KCS means you join a school community where there are two very important shared values: Christian faith and a strong desire to be involved in your child’s education.
Parents participate in a very active committee structure which advises and assists the school in fundraising, public relations, strategic planning and in monitoring education and curriculum. Part of the commitment each family makes upon enrolment at KCS is that of providing volunteer service to the school. The Participation Points Program ensures that all families are involved at the school and become part of the school community.
Parents are invited to join the Kingston Christian School Society, which elects the Board that governs KCS. Society membership is a prerequisite for membership on the Board or its committees. Each board member serves for a three-year term.
Membership Pastor Letter.pdf
Membership Application.pdf
What is the mission of Kingston Christian School?
The mission of Kingston Christian School is to provide Christ-centred education. It may not be immediately clear to everyone what that means. The Preamble to the Constitution quotes a well- known passage from Colossians 1, which begins “Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God”. The thrust of this Bible passage, written at a time when the Roman emperor had taken to himself God-like powers, is that not the emperor, nor our modern idols (success, wealth, power, and fame), but God himself is over all things. Our work, our worship, our family interactions, our friendships, should all be done in Christ. This means that they should give visible testimony to the invisible God. It is our job, yours and mine, to figure out what that means in all parts of our lives. It is the task of KCS to work out what that means in the area of education. KCS is not just about educational excellence, nor is it about isolating children from the bad influence of teachers or other children. It is about realizing the vision of Christ‟s presence in the area of education.
What is the Kingston Christian School Society?
The Kingston Christian School Society is the body that owns and operates Kingston Christian School according to the goals set down for it in its constitution and in keeping with provincial laws for corporations and federal laws for charitable organizations. The Society governs the affairs of the school through an elected Board of Directors. KCS is not a government-controlled school. The school is not associated with any particular church, though it is unabashedly Christian in its educational philosophy. Nor is it correct to say that it is a parent-controlled school, though sometimes that language has been used to express the sense of community we like to maintain between the parents and students associated with the school, and to emphasize a Christian vision that embraces school, family and church. The school is controlled by the Kingston Christian School Society.
The Board of Directors provides the governance of the school, and strives to do this in a manner that reflects the wishes of the Kingston Christian School Society and that respects the School‟s Constitution and Bylaws. The Board of Directors is elected by the Kingston Christian School Society at its annual meeting. The Board meets monthly, and the Society meets twice a year. The Board is assisted by a number of standing committees, which advise the Board on matters of finance, human resources, education program, public relations, membership, building maintenance, and so on.
The day-to-day management of the school is provided by the Principal, who is responsible to the Board. The Constitution and Bylaws of the school, together with other policy documents approved by the Board, describe precisely the way in which decisions are made in the school, and how concerns and disputes must be handled.
Why should I consider membership in the Kingston Christian School Society?
There are several good reasons why we urge you to consider membership. One of them is that the School needs your input. Without a healthy Kingston Christian School Society, there cannot be a healthy school. A second reason is that participation in the Society will give you a greater sense of participation and ownership of the school attended by your children. A third reason is that we would like the society to function as a community in which parents and other stakeholders support each other, not as consumers of education, but rather as participants in the enterprise of Christian parenting, Christian education, and believing citizenship. A fourth reason is that we would like the commitment to KCS to extend beyond the period of time when your children attend the school – we hope eventually to see you here, or at another Christian School as grandparents or “grand friends‟ who continue to share in the provision of Christian nurture for the next generation.
To send your children to Kingston Christian School, you do not have to be a practicing Christian (though you have to agree to allow your children to participate in all aspects of a deliberately Christian education); but to have a voice in the operation of the school you must be a member of the Kingston Christian School Society. To become a member of the society is to change from a consumer to a supporter, from a bystander to a participant.