JANUARY 2014
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
Homecoming 2013 Every year CHCS plans a night when alumni return to reconnect with old high-school friends and teachers and the high-school basketball teams play their games that evening at the Ozark Christian College gymnasium. We also announce our homecoming court and crown the King and Queen. At CHCS we choose our court by characteristics. THE CHCS 2013-2014 HOMECOMING COURT Representing Love (2014) . . . . . . . . . . Makenzie Paden • Paige Reagan • Annie White Representing Integrity (2014). . . . . . . Ryan Beaver • Brad Copeland • William Conroy Representing Gentleness (2015). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lydia Buford • Parker Arnall Representing Kindness(2016). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danielle Capehart • Hunter Jones Representing Faithfulness (2017). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Victoria Conroy • Matt Roberts Congratulations to this year’s King and Queen. . . William Conroy & Mckenzie Paden
Snow! February
DATES TO REMEMBER 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Skate Night (Pre3-5th) 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Breakfast with Dad Open House and Science Fair 20-22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spring Play
Make Up Snow Days MARK YOUR CALENDARS
n D . ecember 6th and 10th snow days will not be made up. n January 6th snow day was made up on Friday, January 17. We cancelled the formal parentteacher conference program that was scheduled for the 16th and 17th and offered informal, individually scheduled conferences. n January 7th snow day will be made up on Friday, May 23. This will extend the school year by one day. There will be early dismissal that day. Thursday, May 22, will now be a full day for elementary students. Students in grades 6-12 will follow the final exam schedule. If we miss additional days due to weather, our most likely make-up day options are February 14, February 17, and April 18.
Mrs. Anderegg’s class took advantage of the snow we had in December and built snowmen. They shared them with everyone by placing them outside (mostly so they wouldn’t melt) for everyone to enjoy.
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CHCS News
Winter Banquet Each year the high school student council is in charge of planning the Winter Banquet, which recently took place on January 18th. This year’s theme was “A Night in New York City” and it was wonderfully planned, even including specially designed scenes from the city. They decked out the MSSU Ballroom with lot glamor and glitz. Each guest had a big apple place card and tables were assigned street names. Everyone was encouraged to dress up as if they were going out for an evening in New York City. The food was delicious and cheesecake was served for dessert. It’s only natural to think of celebrities when you think of New York City so the entertainment was student-submitted videos based from a movie, show or song. After having some laughs and giggles, students voted for the best video. Finally, the winner was announced after the votes had been cast. The winning video was made by Mrs. Green’s college algebra class. It was a marvelous, fun filled night.
CHCS News
Christmas Appreciation Day CHCS Students enjoyed a day of celebrating Christmas fun. Students wore their “ugly� sweaters (some borrowed from grandmothers) while others dressed from head to toe in Christmas apparel. Josh Woodmansee and Joshua Birchard were selected as head elves.
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CHCS News
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No Power, No Problem! On December 9th, just as school started that day, CHCS students experienced a very rare power outage. No worries! Teachers, students and staff carried on as if nothing were different, coming up with creative ways to turn a small difficulty into an experience building opportunity. Stories were read by flashlights, glow in the dark art was created, games were played and we worshiped God! Students were actually a little disappointed when the lights came back on – we enjoyed the adventure.
Shoe Boxes
Different CHCS school organizations and classes participated in Operation Christmas Child during the fall semester by providing items and packing/wrapping the boxes. By now, the shoeboxes that our school provided are in the hands of children all around the world. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this project a success so that others may see the love of Jesus in their lives.
Elementary Christmas Art Contest Elementary students, grades 1-5, were asked to create individual Christmas art projects using the theme “Jesus, the Light of the World”. Our winners this year were: Avery Jones and Taylor Dunham. The two art pieces were used on our annual Christmas letter sent for families and friends of CHCS.
CHCS News
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GEO Bee
History Day
Each year, in December our CHCS 4th-8th graders participate in their own classroom Geo-Bee competition. The contest is designed to spark student interest in geography. One winner from each classroom then competes in the CHCS School Geo-Bee, 10 contestants all together. This year the winner was Emma Greathouse. She then took a 100 question written test. If she qualifies for the state Geo-Bee ,she will be 1 of 100 who qualified for state level competition (April 4, 2014). Congratualtions Emma!
Annual History Day presentations took place on December 2nd. High School students enrolled in a history class either created a display board, a computer presentation, or wrote a paper on their chosen subject. The topics varied from baseball to world wars.
MS Scholars Bowl
Drama!!! Congrats go out to CHCS Drama Teams! Storytelling 5th Place – Jasmine Hawkins 3rd Place – Danielle Capehart 2nd Place – Josh Birchard 1st Place – Hunter Jones! Duo Interp 4th Place – Kolleen Gladden & Hunter Jones
Congratulations to the Middle School Spring River Valley Conference Team which took first place at the Conference Meet on January 11th and remained undefeated. Daniel Estep earned First Team All-Conference while Emma Greathouse and Claire Johnson earned Second Team All-Conference.
Honors Band Lydia Buford, Junior, was selected for the Honors band as 6th chair Flute. Congratulations Lydia
A NOTE FROM SUPERINTENDENT NELSON HORTON… Perhaps you have heard or read this very true statement related to managing money - “You can spend your money any way you want, but you can only spend it once!” So it is with tuition payments, right? Whenever parents commit to paying Christian school tuition, they say no to the opportunity to purchase something else with that money. This fact illustrates the high value our families place on the education offered at CHCS. You repeatedly say no to other spending options in order to send your kids to a Christian school, and that faith and strong value system which undergirds your parenting decisions will make an eternal difference for your child. Our school board tries hard to keep tuition affordable to as many families as possible, while also providing an excellent educational program and treating faculty and staff fairly. Looking forward to 2014-2015, tuition rates will increase from 2% to 3.6% for students in grades K-12. There will be no increase in application and enrollment fees. It is amazing to me that CHCS is able to sustain tuition rates at levels less than fifty percent of our state’s average per pupil expenditure for public schools, but even so, especially during tight financial times, Christian school education is a big financial commitment, and for many families requires a real step of faith. I am encouraged every time I hear a parent tell how God has rewarded this faith and given His confirmation that their spending decision was the right one for their child.
Annual Fund Kick Off CHCS will kicked off the 2013-2014 Annual Fund in December. This year’s fundraising effort, Opportunity & Excellence, will focus on three main areas. Technology, Tuition Assistance and Furniture & Equipment. It is our hope, that with God’s will, we will be able to raise $52,000 toward improvements in these areas. To date, we have received contributions totaling $23,734 from 34 different donors. If you would like to contribute to the Opportunity & Excellence Annual Fund, please see our website at collegeheights.org or call Anita Zarrabi at 417782-4114, ext. 227.
Wow! This has been such a fast school year. COLLEGE CORNER Whoever dreamed time would pass so quickly! Important information for parents of seniors: The FAFSA forms can be filed as of January 1, 2014 for the fall semester of college, and will be based on the parent’s 2013 tax information. Many colleges require any student receiving scholarship money to file a FAFSA form regardless of family income. This includes academic, athletic and performing arts scholarships. The FAFSA is federally funded and if students file before the Missouri cutoff date of April 1st, he or she may qualify for additional state money. This year’s “FAFSA Frenzy Day” will be hosted by Missouri Southern on March 2, 2014, 2:00-4:00 in the Billingsly Student Center. Anyone who has questions can go to the campus on that day and the staff will assist them with the application and filing process. This will be available for any parent regardless of which college or university their student is planning to attend. The FAFSA worksheet is available at www.fafsa.gov and will greatly assist in preparation for the actual filing process. Also double check scholarship and application deadlines. Many have already passed or are rapidly approaching.
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY The following system is in place to notify our families in case of a school cancellation due to inclement weather: n School email sent to all school families n Cancellation information posted on KODE, KSNF, KOAM, FOX14 n Updated recording on the school’s main phone number at 782-4114 CHCS makes our decision regarding school cancellations independently. We do not necessarily follow any local school districts.
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.
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