← Philosophy

Palau Catholic Mission Schools (hereinafter called Catholic Mission Schools or CMS) are Christian schools in the Catholic tradition. We seek to provide quality education for qualified youth, especially, but not limited to, Catholics in the Republic of Palau. By qualified we mean academically qualified. We will do all in our power to keep Catholic Mission Schools tuitions affordable for families of modest means. Indeed we will strive to see that no student is denied an education at Catholic Mission Schools because of lack of financial means.

As stated in our Mission Statement, our primary objective is broader than providing academic knowledge and skills. Our primary objective is two-fold:

• The formation of the whole human person; and
• to instill in our students a willingness and desire to serve the local Palauan community by sharing with others the skills, talents, and values they have developed at Catholic Mission Schools.

By the formation of the whole human person we mean that, in addition to their intellectual and academic formation, Catholic Mission Schools’ students will be challenged to grow spiritually, morally, psychologically, socially, physically and emotionally.

More concretely, Catholic Mission Schools’ students will develop leadership skills, by being challenged to grow in the areas of responsibility, concern for others, integrity, and respect. They will also be challenged to grow in their ability to reflect critically on the real life cultural, social, environmental, and personal situations they find themselves in.

This commitment to the formation of the whole human person entails, by necessity, that we extol, affirm, support and promote Palauan culture. While we are aware that western education is by its very nature “western,” we at Catholic Mission Schools are convinced that only to the extent that we help our students understand and appreciate their own Palauan culture will they truly be able to reflect critically on the real life situations in which they find themselves, affirming what is good, and challenging what is bad.

Through growth in these areas, coupled with their academic and intellectual formation, and with all of this being done in light of the Gospel, we seek to form students who will understand and desire to use their training and skills, not primarily for their own personal advancement, but for the common good of their local communities, their country, and their Church. By doing so, Catholic Mission Schools’ students will be most capable to fully living out the mission given them by their baptism - a continuing of Christ’s mission here on earth, and particularly in the Republic of Palau.

Finally, it must be stated here in our Philosophy that Catholic Mission Schools affirms the role of parents as primary educators of their children and will, primarily through the help of parish structure, assist parents in understanding and fulfilling this role.