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A C H E R S ! ! !
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Dear
Brother/Sister in Christ,
Thank you for
your interest in St. John Christian Academy. I am writing this to
give you information about SJCA and to give you some practical information
about island living. Hopefully this information will help you as you
prayerfully seek God's direction in your life.
St. John Christian Academy:
SJCA was started in 1993 as a mission of Cruz Bay Baptist Church,
a small local body of believers. They church felt the need to bring
Christian education to the children of St. John. The school ensures
that the children have a quality education at an affordable price,
while teaching Bible and integrating Biblical principals in all subject
areas. Most of the children do not come from Christian homes, but
are sent for the quality education we provide. We charge $150 per
month, on a 10 month pay period. The mission of the school is to bring
salvation through Jesus Christ into the homes through the children.
We have K-4 through 4th grade with an enrollment of 80 students. Our
maximum class size is 18 students. We have 6 classrooms with a full-time
teacher in each, and a part-time teacher to give teachers some planning
time. The part-time teacher watches recess, teaches Music, PE, Poetry,
Art, gets the lunches from the public school, is a substitute teacher,
and helps out where there is a need. We have also hired someone to
work a couple of hours in the afternoons to give the teacher/principal
some time in the office to take care of administration duties. We
use the A Beka curriculum in all subject areas.
Website:
Our web site is www.stjohnca.com You can download an application from
the site, or you can e-mail me at islandmary@hotmail.com
and I will mail one to you. The application has our Doctrinal Statement.
Salaries:
Principal/Teacher receives an annual
salary of $16,000 with housing provided by the church. If housing
is not provided, the school will give a housing allowance of up to
$600 a month for the 10 months that school is in session (September
- June).
Teachers receive an annual salary of
$11,000 with housing provided by the church. If housing is not provided,
the school will give a housing allowance of $350 a month for the 10
months that school is in session (September - June).
Part-time teacher aid receives $600 per month for the 10 months
that school is in session (September - June), and a $200 housing allowance
if housing is not provided by the church.
The principal's aid is paid $7.00 an
hour, with no sick leave. All teachers and teacher aid are allowed
10 sick/personal days without penalty in pay. After that, they will
be docked for days missed. Teachers that do not use all of their sick
days will be rewarded $50 per day, up to $250, at the end of the school
year.
Raising Support:
I would recommend asking your church to consider supporting you both
financially and through prayer. If you are a family, then you would
definitely want to raise some support. If you would like to talk to
one of the past couples about raising support, and how much, just
let me know and I will put you in contact with them. Some teachers
have worked small part-time jobs on the side to supplement the income.
Insurance:
The school does have a group policy through Atlantic Southern Insurance
Co. out of Puerto Rico for emergency health situations, but I would
recommend researching and comparing other policies as well. This insurance
is offered, not covered by the school.
St. John:
St. John is a wonderful island where the beauty of God's creation
is everywhere to be seen! About 2/3 of the island is National Park
with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, coral reefs
for snorkeling and scuba diving, and great hiking trails. The population
is around 4,000 with about 80% West Indian/Black and the other 20%
a mixture of many cultures/races, mostly coming from the states. The
tight knit community is wonderful!!
Weather:
The weather is perfect for those who love a hot, tropical climate.
There is not much temperature change through the seasons. The temperatures
April through November are usually in the 90s during the day. It does
get a little chilly in the winter months with days around 85 degrees,
and nights dipping down into the 70s. :) We get rain-showers often,
but it usually doesn't stay cloudy for long. Living conditions are
different from the states in that most homes and apartments are not
air conditioned. You grow to appreciate a good fan! :) Along with
our beautiful, tropical climate, comes the insects, lizards, and creatures
of nature. If you enjoy camping, you will love it here!
Water:
Most homes are built with cisterns, a container that catches rain
water from the roof. We rely on rain water for showers, washing dishes,
brushing teeth…so it is important to learn how to conserve water by
not letting the water run while showering and brushing your teeth,
and a few other creative ways. J If your cistern goes dry, you can
have a water truck come to fill it for a fee of about $200. This is
usually split between the other people in the building if it is an
apartment complex.
Hurricanes:
St. John does have a hurricane season and was hit hard by hurricane
Marilyn in 1995. When there is a hurricane warning we will prepare
the school by putting things in plastic bags, and then you would stay
in a safe, concrete house. I was here during Marilyn and never felt
like I was in any real danger. The hardest part was going without
electricity for a week. Some people went longer than that. It was
a time to learn to be flexible, and that God's grace is sufficient!
It was also a great opportunity to serve the community in a time of
need! A time to shine the light of Jesus' love in a time of hardship!
If you have children:
Children of the teachers do not have to pay tuition. They only have
to pay for their books and supplies. If your children are in 5th grade
or older there are not a lot of options for them. Teacher/principals
in the past have home schooled their children on the side when they
outgrew the school. This works better if they work well with independent
studies. I would not recommend the public school system. There are
two other private schools on the island. Pine Peace School is an elementary
school, and The Coral Bay School has 7th through 9th, with plans to
add a grade each year until it has 7th through 12th grade. They are
not Christian schools, but are the only other private schools on St.
John. There are several Christian schools on St. Thomas, but they
would have to take the ferry over in the morning, and back in the
afternoon.
Cost of living:
The cost of living on St. John is expensive. Housing is from about
$600 and up for 1 bedroom apartments, and from $800 and up for 2 bedrooms.
We will help look for housing for you, and there is some housing through
church members. Some teachers share a 2 bedroom, instead of living
alone. Some groceries are more expensive here, especially perishables:
meat, milk, produce… I usually go over to St. Thomas once every 2
months to shop at K Mart and Cost-U-Less to find items that are difficult
to get or less expensive.
Grounded in your faith:
It is very important that you be grounded in your faith and who you
are in Christ before coming to St. John. There is such a great opportunity
to minister here both in the school and in the community. Most of
the young adults have a party lifestyle centered around alcohol and
drugs, with few morals. There is a need for them to see Jesus! Coming
in as a teacher at the Christian school is an automatic open door
to be a witness in the community. People want to see a difference
in you! They want to see something real! They want to see Jesus! This
is also why I do not recommend anyone who has had a problem with drugs
or alcohol to move here. There is such a need to have the light of
Jesus shining in this community, but it is easy to get pulled into
"the world" here without the support system of your local church and
Christian friends/single groups… It is a mission field ripe for harvest.
Jesus is calling for us to go share the gospel of Jesus to all the
world. Jesus calls us to love others and to be in the world, but not
of the world.
Contact us with questions:
If you have any other questions, please feel free to call me at school
or home, or email me. You can also contact Pastor Jaggernauth at home/church
at 340-776-6315.
It is greater to give than to receive:
In closing, I want to say that the six years that I have spent here
have been some of the best years of my life!!! The children and people
of St. John are amazingly beautiful! They need to see the love of
Christ. The children need to be trained up in righteous teaching,
discipline, and love. Thank you again for prayerfully considering
serving God on St. John. May God bless you and guide you as you seek
Him!
In Christ's love,
Mary L. Lambert, principal
P.O. Box 1660 St. John, VI 00831
School ph. #: 340-693-7722 Home ph. #: 340-693-7674
e-mail: islandmary@hotmail.com
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