NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
C O L L E G E
CHCS News
H E I G H T S
C H R I S T I A N
S C H O O L
Middle School Honors Veterans On November 11, Middle School Student Council officers honored the veterans at Spring River Christian village during their Veteran’s Day program. Each student presented a retired member of our military with a certificate and letters our students had written to them.
Thank you to all our Veterans!
Accreditation and Continuous Improvement
NOTE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
As many of you know, CHCS is heavily involved this year in a regular self-assessment and review process with NCA, our regional accrediting agency. If you are familiar with this type of thing, you know that it involves many meetings, surveys, collecting and compiling evidential data, analyzing data, and much writing! The process will culminate with an external review team visiting in February to examine and verify our self-study, then make a recommendation regarding the renewal of our accreditation for the next five years. Thank you to everyone who has given of your time to complete surveys, serve on work groups or help in other ways. This process of self-assessment and receiving constructive feedback from students, staff, parents, and from educators outside CHCS requires much time and effort. However, it helps us remain true to our mission statement which begins with the words “CHCS glorifies God through excellence…” There is no excuse for doing anything for God that is shoddy. He gave His best and deserves no less than our best. Although very important in the world of education, accreditation with a human agency does not guarantee excellence. It can merely represent conformity or show that we have met a set of minimum standards. As a Christian school with a bold mission, our continuous improvement goals must address more than educational practices, resources and curriculum. We aspire to be the kind of school that God, when He reviews our work, calls “good.” Although we invite honest critique and aim for excellence in the eyes of our community, it is still excellence from His perspective that we desire most deeply. The end goal is that faculty, staff and students will love Christ and be equipped to please Him by living lives of servant leadership that exemplify His good, perfect and acceptable will (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 5:10). May the Spirit of Christ permeate College Heights Christian School enabling us to glorify Him through excellence!
CHCS glorifies God through excellence as a Christ-centered learning environment that produces servant-leaders with a Biblical worldview.
CHCS News
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Brian Jennings Leads First Family Connections Event This year, CHCS is hosting a series of Family Connections events designed to strengthen the ties between home and school. Our first event was a real treat and was led by Brian Jennings, a CHCS 1993 graduate. Brian’s message of encouragement was both timely and practical and dealt with the struggles Christian parents face in leading their families spiritually. Although the world will bombard our children with all kinds of temptations, distractions and worries such as technology and busyness, the good news is that “…He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecc. 3:11). In other words, we are all spiritual beings and long for a relationship and closeness with God. Brian encouraged those in attendance to take up the Biblical mandate from Deuteronomy 6 regarding God’s word and His commandments. We are to “…impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Leading your family spiritually doesn’t have to be fancy. Parents certainly don’t need to be perfect or “have it all together” to lead, they just need to do it consistently and purposefully. Thank you, Brian, for blessing CHCS with your wisdom and humble spirit.
Pictured left to right are Mary Colin, Brian Jennings, Tim Casey, and Nelson Horton
Website Makeover College Heights is excited to announce the launch of our new and improved website! This site has many new features including mobility, additional space for posting pictures of our students, and feeds for Facebook and Twitter. Our goal is to give visitors to our site several snapshots through both words and pictures of College Heights Christian School to celebrate our student successes and to give our community a glimpse into what many have called “one of the best kept secrets in the area.” We don’t want CHCS to be a secret, because we are convinced that many others in our community need and desire a quality education in a Christian environment. In addition to providing updates on school happenings and celebrating our students and school family blessings, we want to provide enough information and details to help prospective families make an informed decision when considering College Heights Christian School.
If you were unable to attend, you may view the event at http://thecube.com/event/chcs-family-connection-event-560033. Brian’s book, Lead Your Family, is available on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and i-Tunes. He also has a blog at leadyourfamily.net.
CHCS News
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National Honor Society Inducts New Members The newest members of the CHCS Chapter of National Honor Society were recently inducted. Congratulations to Hannah Belk, Nyasha Bgoni, Ben Bishop, Chloe Blaylock, Emily Brown, Daniel Estep, Emma Greathouse, Eden Laws, Peri Reagan, and Jessica Roberts.
The new members of the CHCS Junior Honor Society are Kayley Ball, Grace Bishop, Evan Burton, Arianna Calandro, Shayla Cliffman, Taylor Dunham, Laryssa Everett, Luke Johnson, Zipporah Jones, Lainey Lett, Lincoln Martin, Riley Peterson, and Catie Secker.
Tomorrow’s Leaders Today
Art Award Congratulations to Libby Fanning, third grader, for her first place award in a contest sponsored by Art Feeds and Arvest Bank! Libby’s artwork will be printed on one of the bank’s debit cards. CHCS was given a check for $250 in honor of her first place award! Way to go, Libby!
Seven CHCS seniors were chosen to take part in the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Tomorrow’s Leaders Today Program. The Chamber selects a total of 40 local seniors from area high schools. They participate monthly in leadership building activities and presentations on area businesses and government. Congratulations to (l-r) Ben Bishop, Chloe Brewer, Paul Sherrod, Chloe Blaylock, Caroline Miller, Abbi Hardy, and Hunter Jones.
Veteran Essay Contest Congratulations to eighth grade student, Grace Carter. Her essay for the Veteran Essay Contest took 2nd place in the area wide competition and was published in the The Joplin Globe November 15th. Way to go Grace!
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Cougar Run On October 2nd, the CHCS parking lot was alive with elementary students. The youngest of our Cougars spent time decorating their bikes, scooters, and themselves to help raise money at the annual fundraiser sponsored by PTF. Prizes were awarded to the top three entries in each grade level. A fun night was had by all. This year’s Cougar Run raised approximately $33,000!
Fall Appreciation Week Students enjoyed dressing up for the first ever Fall Appreciation Week.
CHCS News
CHCS News
Cougar Carnival Games, bounce houses, food, laughter, friends‌all things that were enjoyed at this year’s Cougar Carnival which was held November 7th. The PTF fundraiser is an annual staple at CHCS and something students and families look forward to each fall!
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CHCS News
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DRAMA DEPARTMENT KEEPS BUSY “Head of the Household”
Drama Awards
The fall play was presented November 13-15. Hats off to the Drama Department for presenting a touching and humorous look at the trials and tribulations of being the head of the household.
Congratulations to our Drama Department on their placement at the Diamond Speech Tournament: Anna Souder, 2nd place in Dramatic Interpretation; Scott Lewis and Jonah Wilcox, 6th place in Duet Acting; and Emma Davison and Emma Greathouse, 7th place Duet Acting. This was the first novice tournament of the year. Way to go Cougars!
FALL SPORTS WRAP UP HS Tennis The girl’s tennis team had a fun year. After graduating the top seven players from last year, we had three JV players return, along with five new girls. Half of the team was new to tennis. We had a year of learning how to play and compete. The girls bonded well and grew significantly over the course of the season. College Heights should be very proud of the great sportsmanship and class these ladies displayed. They represented the school extremely well.
Cross Country The 2015 CHCS Cross Country season was a success! We had a total of fourteen runners from 8th-12th grade compete this fall. Our athletes worked very hard and displayed tremendously great attitudes as they practiced and competed for College Heights. Eight of our athletes earned allconference honors, highlighted by Paul Sherrod as conference champion! The boys team earned the team conference championship as well. Sarah Shaddy, Jon Johnson and Paul Sherrod earned all-district honors. With those honors they competed in the MSHSAA state championships in Jefferson City. Jon Johnson earned all-state honors by finishing 18th overall in the class 2 boys race. It was a great season!
CHCS News
HS & MS Volleyball The 2015 CHCS Volleyball season was very exciting. The Junior High team had an overall record of 18-2, and were undefeated in regular season play, undefeated in conference play, and won the Spring River Valley Conference tournament for the first time in CHCS Junior High history. The varsity team also finished with a winning record of 17-13-3. Highlights from the varsity season include winning the Lamar tournament, being runner up in the Ash Grove tournament, and playing competitive matches at home with an amazing crowd full of team spirit. The team initiated several theme nights, including Hawaiian night, black out night, pink out night, and tie dye night. Individual athletes were honored through our conference. Erika Larkin and Caitlin Good received first team All Conference, and Navy Thompson receiving second team All Conference. From the district tournament, Erika Larkin received first team All District, and Caitin Good received second team All District honors. Erika Larkin also received the honor of second team All Region. Overall, both teams were 35-15-3. Both teams were competitive, loved playing volleyball, and loved being teammates.
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Middle School Soccer The CHCS Middle school soccer team worked hard this past season to improve our foot skills, increase speed, learn more about the game, and most of all, have fun. This is a transitional time when the game moves out of recreational type activity into a more competitive atmosphere, thus we experienced the normal “growing pains.” We increased our strength and stamina, learned to work as a team, learned to manage our time, and created memories. The friendships we made at practice and on the field will far outlast the score of any game. We played in a competitive league which was very challenging, and we couldn’t be prouder of the attitudes and dedication of our soccer team members. They represented our school with good attitudes, dedication, and sportsmanship. We look forward to the continued development of our middle school soccer players and program.
HS Soccer The soccer team had their second best season since their final four appearances in 2004 with an 18-8 record. They finished as district runner-up for the third year in a row. Season highlights include beating Carl Junction (a crosstown rival), and Barstow (last year’s class 1 state champions). The Cougars were led by captains, Anthony Skinner, Brady Bishop, and Brendyn Taylor. They outscored their opponents 80-39 for the season. The leading scorer was Dylan Zarrabi with 36 goals for the season. The assist leader was Kellen Grantham with 15. We had four athletes selected to the first team all-district and three for the second team. Brendyn Taylor and Dylan Zarrabi were selected to the All- Regional team as well. In addition, Coach Lewis celebrated his 300th win as the CHCS soccer coach!
Congrats to all of our athletes and coaches on another great season!
SAVE THE DATE HOMECOMING Mark your calendar for this year’s HOMECOMING on December 18th at Ozark Christian College. We look forward to this special time which includes naming our King and Queen, great basketball, and connecting with our alumni. It will be a great evening for everyone!
Thanksgiving Food Drive Thank you to all the students who brought food for this year’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Students at all grade levels worked together to provide fifteen families with food baskets. Pictured are student council members who fired up secondary students by dressing up as food and running through a spirit tunnel November 16th.
Blood Drive Thank you to the sixty-four donors who gave blood on November 19th at our fall Community Blood Drive, sponsored by the National Honor Society.
New Sign Be sure to check out the new lighted sign by the gym door entrance.
Renweb Parents, don’t forget to take advantage of Renweb, our online school management system. You can check homework assignments, lunch menus, student grades, school calendar, etc. If you are having problems accessing Renweb or have not set up your account, please contact the school. A Renweb phone application is now available. This is a great tool to use to stay informed about your students’ progress. Follow us on TWITTER… https://twitter.com/chcsjoplin
Find us on FACEBOOK… College Heights Christian School – Joplin MO
ECFA ACCREDITED – On November 12, 2012, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability announced the accreditation of College
Heights Christian School. Accreditation is based on the ECFA’s Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship, including financial accountability, transparency, sound board governance, and ethical fundraising. When an organization is accredited by ECFA, it demonstrates its willingness to follow the model of biblical accountability.
MISSION STATEMENT
CHCS glorifies God through excellence as a Christ-centered learning environment that produces servant-leaders with a Biblical worldview.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL n 4311 E. NEWMAN ROAD n JOPLIN, MISSOURI 64801 n 471-782-4114 n WWW.COLLEGHEIGHTS.ORG