Our school seeks to encourage the ethos, or character, of our mascot: the ancient Greek Hoplite. The Hoplite was a heavy infantry, citizen-soldier, who fought side by side, shield to shield, in a disciplined rank, with his fellow citizen-soldiers to ward off the attacks of Persians, fellow Greeks, and various barbarian tribes. Together they fought in this tight formation called a phalanx, and their chief concern was for their shields. Without their shield, the formation would fail, and if one of them lost his shield, the whole rank would be at risk. The shield was so important to the safety of the unit and of the country that young Spartans going off to war for the first time were told, “Come home with your shield, or on it.” If you lost your shield, you lost your honor.
We are Hoplites. We work together for the common good. Each must do his or her part. Each day will begin with the Hoplite Code.
Motto: Virtus Tentamine Gaudet
"Virtue rejoices in the Challenge"
Prudence is practical wisdom; it is the ability to see the right course of action. It promotes the virtues of wisdom, self-knowledge, understanding, etc. Prudence is represented on our crest as a scroll to represent the knowledge and wisdom you gain through study and life experience.
Temperance is the ability to control your base urges; anger, hunger, jealousy, etc. It is the ability not to act. Moderation, self-control, etc., and related virtues. Temperance is represented by a harp because, like a harp, temperance is the art of keeping your passions in proper tension. If you have temperance, you are in harmony with yourself. If you let one of your passions control you, let’s say your anger, then you will get out of tune and become less happy. If you control your temper you have the peaceful harmony of self-mastery.
Justice is giving to each person what is due to him or her. It promotes the virtues of honesty, respect, humility, etc. Justice is represented as a scale to symbolize the approach of weighing the actions of each.
Fortitude is the ability to act on behalf of what is right, even in the face of hardship and opposition. Perseverance, Dedication, Loyalty, etc., are all virtues that stem from this core virtue. Fortitude is represented by an anvil because an anvil is necessary for the creation of many beautiful and useful things. In order to bring about these good things, the anvil must be able to stand up to the repeated blows of the hammer. Life is similar; if you ever want to do good and beautiful things in your life, there will undoubtedly be difficulties along the way. If you cannot stand up to the hardships, that good thing you aimed to achieve will not come about.
Charity is love in action. It is the nexus of all virtues, which means that it is the point at which all the other virtues intersect. In order for you to have perfect charity, you need to have all the virtues perfectly. Charity is represented as the golden center because it should be at the center of everything we do, and it is the pinnacle of something is Good, True, and Beautiful.