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
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
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
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