SCCS Mission

The mission of Sioux Center Christian School is to disciple God’s children by equipping them with a knowledge and understanding of Christ and His creation so that they can obediently serve God and others as they work and play.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Teacup Kids?

Some food for thought for this edition of the Trailblazer Tribune.  Check out the entry located at the link below.  Are we as adults encouraging "teacup kids"?

https://www.sites.google.com/a/dcsdk12.org/cresthill/the-principal-s-corner

Mr. Bowar

Friday, March 4, 2016

God at the Center

We continue to ask teachers to provide reasons for why they think that Christian education is important.  For this entry, we'll hear from Laura Van Ravenswaay, one of our fourth grade teachers.


As a parent and a teacher, I see the importance of Christian education every day.  We are called to bring glory to God in everything we do.  That means the way we handle our friendships, our group work, our assignments, and every part of our day has the opportunity to bring glory to God.  In a Christian school, we seek to keep God at the center of all that we do.

In our classroom, we learn, grow, make mistakes, forgive each other, and move on.  Each day we begin with God’s Word to us or singing praises to Him.  We share prayer requests and lift each other up in prayer.  If we become aware of a need as the day goes on, we take time out to pray.

In our classroom, we learn, grow, make mistakes,
forgive each other, and move on.
  


Our schoolwork involves learning more about His world and our responsibility in it.  Our recent memory work, Genesis 1:27-28, was a review of a passage fourth graders learned in third grade, but it called us to examine our responsibility beyond “don’t pollute” as we studied the food web of a pond. 

As a teacher, I try to model Christ and His love in my planning, teaching, and evaluation.  I pray that they can see this even though I am not perfect.  I want my students to really know Him and have the desire to bring Him glory by what they do in and out of school.

Mrs. Van Ravenswaay

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Laura Van Ravenswaay has taught at Sioux Center Christian School for 30 years.  She loves teaching at Sioux Center Christian because there are many different ways to serve the Lord.  Having taught at different levels, she has enjoyed the unique aspects of each one. She believes that it is also a privilege to work with others who share your goals and that the SCCS faculty and staff seeks to improve and remain faithful to the Lord in all they do.

Friday, January 22, 2016

A Peculiar People

This week's blog entry comes to us from Mr. De Vries, our principal.  We are working at SCCS to become more peculiar.  What does that mean?  Keep reading!

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Throughout my career in Christian education, I have written or stated in speeches that as a Christian school we teach from a distinctively Christian perspective.  Whenever I wish to embellish that thought a bit more, I may indicate that we teach from a Christian world and life view.  While such jargon sounds somewhat enticing to those new to our Christian schools, it almost rolls off our tongues with little thought if we have been nurtured or our children have been in Christian schools most of their lives.  So what really makes Christian education different?

In his book Desiring the Kingdom, James K. Smith writes, “The primary goal of Christian education is the formation of a peculiar people – a people who desire the kingdom of God and thus undertake their vocations as an expression of that desire.”

One of our faculty goals for the 2015-16 school year is to probe deeper into and intentionally articulate the meaning of what makes Christian education unique.  In preparation for some rather extensive training throughout this school year, representative members of the faculty were selected to serve as early adopters to learn the core practices of Teaching for Transformation (TfT). 

Rebecca De Smith (Discovery), Jill Van Soelen (1st grade), Megan Winter (4th grade), Rachel Vanden Hull (5th grade), Lisa Mouw (6th grade), Sheila Tietgen (junior high), Jill Friend (music), Crista Smidt (guidance counselor), and Margaret Vande Kraats (media specialist/librarian) in addition to Mr. Bowar and myself as administrators make up the early adopter team.   We meet periodically to learn practical ways to use every class to invite students to explore God’s Story, nurture students’ desire for God and His Kingdom, and empower students to practice living in God’s Story.  TfT is an inspiring approach to Christian education that considers every subject area and every lesson an opportunity for teachers and students to see God’s glory and live in God’s Story.

Christian education is the formation of a worldview.  By teaching the intricacies of the Creation through various forms of subject matter, we are actually teaching image-bearers to fulfill the purpose for which they were created: to see and enjoy the glory of God everywhere.

Christians also live out their lives in light of a different story.  Instead of pursuing an education that will eventually help one fund personal comfort and convenience, Christians understand that education is for equipping human beings to live out their callings as participants in God’s Story.  Christian education cultivates the knowledge and skills needed so that we know how to glorify God by doing good to others.  We learn to honor Christ by displaying a radical, self-sacrificing love for others.  

That makes Christian education distinct, and it makes us a peculiar and “chosen people”.  (I Peter 2:9)

Living in His Story,

Mr. De Vries, Principal