Head of School Rene Gavic offers a message of gratitude and hope this Thanksgiving.
Welcome from our Head of School
Visitation students go forth into the world prepared to change it for the better. They go forth competent, courageous, and caring.
With today’s easy access to information, students require more than the breadth of knowledge that schools emphasized in the past. In our dynamic, globalized world, students need to be critical thinkers and innovative explorers. They need to be creative, and adaptable. They need to collaborate and communicate effectively. And they need to be self-reliant and resilient.
That is why at Visitation we say education is Non Scholae, Sed Vitae – not for school, but for life. We guide our students in their formation, an intentional process of individual growth that shapes intellectual, moral, physical and spiritual development.
To help our students, from the littlest to the seniors, prepare for this changing world, our rigorous curriculum and enlightened instruction model provide versatile learning opportunities, encourage responsible independence and ensure deep engagement with classmates and faculty, which is at the heart of a Visitation education. Our academic and co-curricular programs provide opportunities for personal expression and leadership while nurturing the close, caring bonds that characterize the Vis experience.
Underpinning all this is a faith legacy that emphasizes the Salesian virtues of gentleness, patience, humility, and liberty of spirit. Students learn to joyfully live out the maxim of Saint Francis de Sales: “Be who you are and be that well.”
Visitation students go forth into the world prepared to change it for the better. They go forth competent, courageous, and caring. And we rejoice in their future, and the chance we have had to be part of their extraordinary lives.
Rene Gavic
Mission Statement
Convent of the Visitation School provides an excellent education within a Catholic environment permeated by Salesian Spirituality and the living tradition of the Visitation Sisters.
Guiding Principles
Under God’s guiding hand, Visitation Sisters, trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, parents and students are committed to the following:
- Gentle, nurturing formation of faith and morality of students in the Salesian community toward reverent worship; responsible, global engagement; the cultivation of loving relationships; and respect for God’s creation and for the diversity and dignity of all people.
- Guidance of the holistic growth of each student from infancy toward adulthood through innovative teaching and learning that honors the educational philosophy of the Sisters and includes intentional fostering of leadership within a coed lower school and all-girls middle and upper schools; a challenging college preparatory program; vibrant and varied co-curricular opportunities; broad exposure to the arts; engaged citizenship; and inspiration to pursue lifelong learning.
- Robust governance - derived from a long, stable, independent history - characterized by expert and wide consultation, judicious discernment, Church and community collaboration, and sound fiscal policies.
“Non Scholae, Sed Vitae; Not for School, but for Life.”
Diversity Statement
At Visitation School, we are called by our Catholic, Salesian tradition and as people of God to hold ourselves, our school and our community accountable for sustaining an environment of respect, where multiple experiences and perspectives thrive, and where each individual in our community is treated with his or her God-given dignity and value.
Guiding Principles:
- We believe Visitation School is a place where many voices, experiences, perspectives, positions and identities come together -- and where we unite through our commitment to Catholic social teachings and our shared humanity.
- We believe diversity includes a wide range of individual characteristics. These may include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, age, academic abilities, physical abilities and religious beliefs. Through mutual recognition and respect for one another’s unique and diverse existence, we strive to uphold a strong solidarity as members of the human family and experience.
- The Visitation Sisters and the Salesian virtues they extend give meaning and formation to our school’s work on diversity and inclusiveness. We believe that the Sisters’ history of living Jesus and their leadership with the Salesian teachings of humility, gentle strength, optimism, patience and heart-to-heart relationships guide our ongoing work.
“Be who you are and be that well to give honor to the Master Craftsman whose handiwork you are.”
St. Francis de Sales