The House System
Purpose of House System
The purpose of the House System is to cultivate a culture of community and service. The House System supports the focus of a Classical Christian Education, which extends beyond facilitating excellent critical thinking to encouraging extraordinary moral character. The structure and events established by the House System provide opportunities for students to practice the wisdom imparted to them in the classroom. Though character cannot simply be given, it can be encouraged by cultivating a culture that rewards kindness, participation, service to others, and fulfillment of responsibilities. The intentional support and encouragement of such a culture provided by the House System is intended to result in a close-knit, vertically-integrated community of individuals that demonstrate Christlike love and service towards each other as well as towards the community that extends beyond the walls of the school.
House Happenings
-All Houses are required to complete a service project each year. Before Christmas break, Thraex and Cestus packed and sent over 100 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to underprivileged children in other countries. These children received the shoeboxes, handwritten notes from our students, and were presented with the good news of the gospel. Moving forward, Essedarius will be ministering in a local nursing home and Dimachaerus will be volunteering with the miracle league here in the next few weeks.
-The House System provides upper school students opportunities to reach out to the lower school in various ways. Building relationships with the youngest Gladiators helps to encourage school spirit and camaraderie. All four houses came together to host Coligo 2024 for all 3rd-6th grade students in February. Coligo was an evening full of gym games, skating, a talent show, worship, Bible study, and plenty of food. Witnessing teenagers joyfully serving others on a Saturday night is at the heart of the House System.
-Every Friday, the Houses meet together to engage in friendly competitions ranging from athletics, to lip-syncing contests, to Bible trivia. Houses took part in an engineering challenge to find out who could build the tallest freestanding structure out of spaghetti noodles and painters tape with the ability to support the weight of a marshmallow. These competitions give students the opportunity to use their talents and passions to help earn house points. It is exciting to see the varied interests, abilities and talent within each house!
HOUSE ORGANIZATION
Each House is comprised of the House Leadership, House Stewardship, and House membership. The House Leadership directs and oversees the affairs of the House and includes the Faculty Advisor and the Student Leadership. The House Stewardship aids the House Leadership in particular facets of House function. Specifics pertaining to these groups are outlined below.
FACULTY ADVISORS
Each House has a Faculty Advisor who provides guidance and encouragement to the Student Leadership of the House. Faculty Advisors function as mentors to the Student Leadership, empowering them to direct the House with confidence, wisdom, and kindness. Faculty Advisors provide counsel as Leadership plans are created.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
The Student Leadership is comprised of offices held by high school students and is responsible for directing the vision and operations of the House. The five offices are the Head of House, the Minister of Culture, the Minister of War, the Parliamentarian, and the Scribe. The Student Leadership offices are appointed by the GPLS administration.
HOUSE STEWARDSHIP
The House Stewardship is comprised of offices held by students which provide support for the House Leadership in accomplishing the vision of the House. The offices are the House Photographers, House Project Committee, House Stewards, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of War, and Lanistas. House Stewardship is appointed by House Leadership.