The Covenant School students and faculty had the distinct priviledge of hosting Maryellen and Bill St. Cyr, the founders of The Ambleside School of Fredericksburg and Ambleside Schools International. The couple offered insight into the teachings of Charlotte Mason, as well as feedback, counsel, and teacher training.
The St. Cyrs were also the guest speakers at Project Standfast with more than 60 parents in attendance. They spoke on the distinct aspect of Mason's approach: the teaching and training of habits. It was a challenge to parents about training children to cultivate life-affirming habits to pursue the good, the true and the beautiful.
Covenant parent Gigi Hornberger said, "Wow, what a fantastic message! As I have gone through my routines (and watched the kids go through theirs) I have thought about what the St. Cyrs said about the importance of discerning the types of habits we are building. With that in mind, I have been asking myself (especially regarding my parenting), “Is what I am doing creating a life-giving habit or is it creating a habit that will be destructive in the future?” I have actually already made some changes – the message was really motivating."
The audio file of the St. Cyrs talk is available in the Media Gallery.