Our seal is comprised of our academic crest and our motto. Crests have been in use for many centuries and symbolically herald an institution’s values and purpose. The crest is a visual representation of what we are doing here at The Bear Creek School. In the center of the crest is a cross. Christ is central to all we do in educating students at Bear Creek. We place the cross in the center to remind each of us of this important fact every time we see the crest.

Our motto, “CREDO UT INTELLIGAM”, is written on the banner and appears underneath the crest. Through the crest and motto we identify who we are, and the philosophical basis from which our teaching and learning proceeds: faith is necessary for understanding and wisdom.

The book and pen in the upper left quadrant of the crest stand for the arts. We believe that students must be well read, and able to join in the “great conversation” that occurs when thinking people read and respond to the same books over the span of centuries, and even millennia. To be able to make reasoned judgments they also need a firm grasp of history, from the earliest to present day, with an emphasis on the history of Western Civilization, which has greatly influenced our culture and literature. Examples of the spectrum of arts included in our curriculum would be English, foreign languages, various history courses, drama, music, and art.

The atom, located in the upper right quadrant symbolizes the sciences. An understanding of the sciences, which includes mathematics and technology, as well as all forms of physical and biological sciences, is critical for appreciating fully the Creation, and thus ourselves. These two symbols for the arts and sciences are paramount, the essence of what we teach as a school

In the lower left hand corner is the honor torch. We seek to develop a student’s mind and character. We firmly believe that a well-educated person is one who is a person of honor and noble character. The torch reminds us that what we do in the area of developing character qualities in our students is extremely important in accomplishing the mission of our school.

A winged shoe is in the lower right hand quadrant. It is the ancient symbol for athletics competition. Our perspective on competition is a classical one: we compete in order to train ourselves to discipline. St. Paul speaks of athletics discipline in I Corinthians 9:24 – 27, and uses it as an analogy of what we are to do in training ourselves spiritually. The ability of athletics to help form character through teaching discipline has made it a part of schooling since ancient times.

Having a constant visual reminder of our mission encapsulated in the crest keeps us focused in achieving our goals.