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Our Philosophy

We believe that, in his heart, every young man wants to be part of something great. He wants to become as wise, as just, as balanced, and as brave as he can be. He wants to fall in love with learning. Now, he may not know all of this right away, but we do. Our job, then, is to evoke from each student his greatness.

St. Sebastian’s entire liberal arts curriculum is centered on meeting the needs of the individual student. In small, intimate settings — an average class size of 11 — extraordinarily talented, devoted educators challenge bright, promising students to throw their hearts and souls into the learning process. The unusually small classes stimulate honest discussion, allow for individual attention, and foster the pursuit of truth.

The job of the student at St. Sebastian’s is first and foremost to learn, to love learning. From the biology lab to the writing center, from Honors U.S. History to Advanced Placement Latin, from Religion papers to Math problems, each student is given every opportunity to become the most engaged, industrious, erudite scholar that he can possibly be. Through the relentless pursuit of excellence in all academic endeavors, he will form the habit of learning and develop what the School hopes for him – a lifelong love of learning.

We pursue excellence in every discipline, but it is perhaps our unique commitment to verbal skills development, which most dramatically distinguishes us from other excellent schools. Our students write every day, and they speak all the time. They memorize literary passages and vocabulary lists; they churn out a multitude of five-paragraph essays, longer papers, poems, and narrative pieces; they stand before their classmates and in front of the entire student body to deliver speeches. And every step of the way, they work with caring, committed, knowledgeable teachers, who draw the very best from them.

The Honor Code, at the core of our academic program, calls each young man to pledge on his sacred honor that the work he turns in is his own. Hence, students are reminded several times a day that they must be young men of unquestionable integrity who give their best, most honest effort in the classroom and in all areas.

Our students leave us prepared for the rigors of the most competitive colleges and universities in the nation, and ready to meet the challenges which life will inevitably present to them.