OCTOBER 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
SPIRITUAL EMPHASIS WEEK “…REMEMBERING THAT WE SERVE AN AMAZING GOD…” by Tim Casey This year we were blessed to have College Heights Christian Church senior minister, Randy Gariss, spend the week with our school during Spiritual Emphasis Week. He challenged our school with the theme “The Fear of the Lord”. At a Christian school it can be easy to limit our comprehension of God to what we learn in the classroom. We can study for a test on God’s attributes, and maybe even get a good grade on that test, but we often forget to take the time in our lives to experience those attributes in a relationship with him. Randy Gariss challenged our students to evaluate how we think of God, and more importantly, how we relate to him. Do we truly fear him? Do we take the time to connect with him in worship? These questions were on all of our hearts and minds as we went through the week. On Randy’s last day with us he gave us a crystal clear picture of Jesus through the book of Revelation. It was a great reminder that we don’t serve a weak or tiny savior, but a triumphant and victorious one who is coming to save his bride. The last day of our Spiritual Emphasis Week was a great time to respond in worship and prayer led by our student worship team. Overall, Spiritual Emphasis Week was a great way to start our year remembering that we serve an amazing God who is worthy of our school’s praise.
“…HELPED ME IN MY WALK…” by Carrie Wallace This week spoke to me in many ways and helped me in my spiritual journey. On the first day, Pastor Gariss spoke about how the fear of the Lord is mandatory to have a healthy relationship with the Lord. Without the fear of the Lord, I do not fully realize the power of my Creator. Some fear is good, and it keeps me from straying, but an unhealthy fear of something shows I do not fully trust God. My only fear should be of straying away from the Lord. On the second day, he talked about how wherever I go, whatever I do, I am always in the presence of the Lord. This helps me to trust that I’m always safe, because I’m always in the presence of the creator of the universe. I have always been a worrier, and I need to learn that God will protect me. On Thursday we went through the book of Revelation. I have always had a fear of the second coming of Jesus, as many young people do. Pastor Gariss’s sermon helped me to realize that the book of Revelation is meant to comfort me, not to scare me. This realization helped me to start overcoming this fear. On Friday, we had a day of reflection. This gave an opportunity to reflect on what I learned. I started with a fear of the Lord, and realized His power, how He created everything into being with words. I realized I’m excited for the second coming of Jesus. I need to worry less because I’m, always in the presence of the Lord and He is always with us. This Spiritual Emphasis Week helped me in my walk with the Lord.
“…CHANGED HOW I VIEW GOD…”
by Ben Woodmansee
I felt the Spiritual Emphasis Week changed how I view God and the Bible. I think Satan came into the chapel and ran away in fear of everyone in the room. I think that everyone in that chapel felt that God was moving their life and showing them and me that nothing is more important than Him. Pastor Randy talked about how there are three types of people. Those three people are the following: people with a chip on their shoulder, secondly, who want to believe in God, but inside don’t fully believe that He really exists, and people that are like a feather blowing in the wind, blowing whichever way the crowd goes. I feel like I fall in the category of people who want to believe in God but don’t fully know if it’s true. This Spiritual Emphasis Week has impacted me in a whole different way. I realized that God was the one and only God of the Bible. I felt different when I was in the chapel everyday this past week. I opened my Bible and found the first verse of the Romans Road, “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” That verse is found in Romans 3:23. I really felt that Spiritual Emphasis Week has changed my personality and my life.
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See You at the Pole In 1990, after prayer in public school was banned, many students began meeting at the flag pole of their schools to pray, sing praises to God and read scripture. Although some schools have attempted to deny their students the rights to this world wide day of prayer, many lawyers have fought to prove that it is their right to free speech to stand under a flag pole on public school property and pray to God. On September 24th, CHCS students met under the flag pole, in conjunction with millions of other students around the world. Students led times of group prayer, individual prayer, singing and reading the Bible.
Annual Staff Picnic September 26th marked the date of the CHCS Annual Faculty/Staff Picnic. This year’s event was again held at Humphrey Park. Billy Sims catered the food for the event, with brisket, chicken, baked beans, coleslaw and all the fixings. It was a great evening to enjoy a very comfortable September night filled with games, relaxation and fellowship.
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Semi-Finalist Scholar in the 2015 National Merit Scholar Program by Christina Hardy College Heights Christian School announced that Senior Rachel Laws is being recognized as a Semi-finalist in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program out of more than 1.5 million students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. She represents the top less than one percent of the U.S. high school seniors, and is included in the highest scoring entrants in each state. “Ms. Laws is an academically talented high school senior and is being recognized for her exceptional academic potential,” commented a spokesperson for National Merit Scholarship Corporation. “Our nation’s pursuit of educational excellence can be furthered by publicly honoring outstanding students like Rachel and by acknowledging the important role schools like College Heights Christian School play in fostering their development.” Rachel is the daughter of Ron and Sandra Laws of Joplin.
National Honor Society The CHCS Chapter of National Honor Society inducted their newest members this month. The new inductees are: Parker Arnall, Brady Bishop, Jonathan Calandro, Danielle Capehart, Matthew Estep, Jasmine Hawkins, Kenlee Jonas, Sam Mansley, Austin Martin, Matt Roberts, Sarah Shaddy, Sarah Vainio, Josh Woodmansee. Great job students for excelling in scholarship, character, leadership, and service!
Junior National Honor Society CHCS inducted nine new middle school students into the National Junior Honor Society. These students were selected on excelling in scholarship, character, leadership, and service. They are: Cade Carlson, Tyler Cox, Pierce Gloyer, Tessa Greathouse, Zachary Kitchen, Adlyn Thomas, Matison Whitmore, Samantha Spaulding, and Maddie Mulan Jones.
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CHCS had twelve seventh grade students who qualify for the Duke University’s Talent Identification Program. This nationally recognized program for gifted and talented students seeks to recognize students who score at or above the 95th percentile in a nationally normed test. These students may choose to participate by taking a college level exam to receive State or Grand Recognition from Duke University. Students may also qualify for TIP’s Summer Studies Program located throughout the United States. The goal is to assist young people with excellent mathematical or verbal aptitude. The following CHCS students have been recognized as TIP qualifiers from the class of 2020: Grace Carter, Matthew Crumpacker, Jake Etherton, Pierce Gloyer, Tessa Greathouse, Brodie Hebert, Makenna Lewis, Blair Taylor, and Matison Whitmore.
Cheer Camp
by Christina Hardy
The Varsity Cheerleaders from College Heights Christian School recently attended a camp organized by the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA). The Game Day competition style camp’s main focus was to teach leading their crowd and raising spirits. The camp was a fun, interactive experience that prepared the squad for a variety of Game Day situations. The final day of camp included a competition of the information that was taught. College Heights Christian School won multiple awards in the Varsity Cheer level including: Superior, Extreme Routine, Game Day Championship, and the Spirit Stick. In the Overall camp the squad took home the Top Banana award as recognition of one team showing the most spirit and enthusiasm during the day. College Heights Christian School Varsity Cheerleaders also brought home the most prestigious award at camp, the Leadership Award. This award is given to the squad that made the camp experience special. While attending team camp this summer, three CHCS cheerleaders were selected as UCA All American Cheerleaders: Caitlin Isenhower, Lydia Buford and Abbi Hardy. These cheerleaders went through a tryout competing against other cheerleaders at the camp. Each athlete received a medallion, certificate and an opportunity to perform at a special event trip in London.
Tennis Wins! The Girls tennis team finished the regular season with a 6-5 record. Our first winning season in 4 years. We finished 2nd in team districts to Carl Junction who has a strong team. Abby Mansley finished 3rd in singles at individual districts and Rosie Stewart and Grace Bass took 4th in doubles. We are graduating 8 seniors - Rosie Stewart, Abby Mansley, Cydney Churchwell (McAuley), Rachael Polen, Caitlin Isenhower, Grace Bass, Casey Garman and Alexis Adams. Very proud of our seniors and the growth and improvement they have made.
Volleyball News On September 20th, the CHCS varsity volleyball team competed in the Lamar Invitational Tournament. They were undefeated throughout pool play and the semifinals, even against some very tough competition. Going up against Liberal in the championship, they won game 1, 26-24 and lost game 2, 28-26. Coming out strong in game 3 they beat Liberal 25-9 to win the tournament! In addition to the win, 3 CHCS Lady Cougars were named to the All-Tournament Team! Alex Bruey, Sarah Kent and Sarah Vainio were all chosen for this honor. Also on a fun note …..our girls connected with players from Summit Christian Academy in Lee’s Summit, MO. They had a wonderful time laughing and playing games with these girls during their breaks. It was so fun to see our athletes reach out to a sister school!
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CHCS Welcomes Leslie Neuenschwander Annual Fund Update We are so grateful for those who support College Heights Christian School financially! Their gifts make it possible to provide tuition assistance for families who are struggling, classroom technology, equipment, furniture, and improvements that we could not otherwise fund without increasing tuition. October is the last month of our 201314 annual fund campaign, and we have received $ 44,383 toward the goal of $52,000. I am confident that we can finish strong and reach our goal! In November we will announce our 2014-15 annual fund goal and the projects we hope to fund. If you would like more information about making a tax-deductible contribution to CHCS, contact Anita Zarrabi by email at azarrabi@collegeheights. org, or at by phone at 417-782-4114, ext. 227. You can also donate online through our Website at www.collegeheights.org. Just click on the “make a gift now” tab at the bottom of the page.
Lesli Neuenschwander joined the CHCS Faculty as our Pre-K 3 Day teacher. Lesli graduated from MSSU with a bachelors in elementary education. She also graduated from Ozark Christian College with an associate in Biblical Literature. She taught 4th grade at Carl Junction Intermediate. Lesli has spent the past sixteen years raising and homeschooling her six children. Lesli and her husband Titus are active members at College Heights. She has volunteered with the middle school department at CHCC for the past six years and currently works closely with Titus in his family ministry.
Third Grade Dictionaries
CHCS 3rd graders were recipients of new dictionaries today from area Rotarians. Four Rotarians shared the story of Rotary & why they have this annual tradition to gift dictionaries to every 3rd grader in the area.
Deadlines! Deadlines! Deadlines! There are many deadlines either passing or rapidly COLLEGE CORNER approaching. Seniors should have applied to the colleges or universities in which they are interested in attending next fall. Be sure to check with the individual institutions for scholarship deadlines. If essays are required, assistance is available in the guidance office. The October ACT test results are coming in so students need to request that updated scores be sent to their selected institutions. Students who are planning to live on campus also need to complete dorm applications. Timing is critical for dorm reservations which often involve down payments, some of which are non-refundable. Important Information about the “Guidance” Tab on the College Heights Website: This site is a work in progress. Parents and students are encouraged to access this site to find college and scholarship information. The “College Planning” tab contains links that will provide easy connection to colleges and universities located all over the United States. Another valuable resource is the “Scholarship” tab where the following options are available: 1) Scholarship Searches, 2) Financial Aid, 3) Programs and Contests, 4) Local, 5) College and Universities, and 6) National & Corporate. Note: All the scholarships of which we are aware are listed in green print. As confirmation of their activation for the current year is made, they are changed to black print. We believe it is advantageous for students to know when certain scholarships become available each year so they can anticipate and prepare for them in advance. Reminder: FAFSAs can be filed any time after January 1, 2015 and will be based on the parent’s 2014 tax information. Missouri Southern will be hosting a FAFSA frenzy event on a Sunday, March 8, 2015, from 2:00 – 4:00 in Billingsly Ball Room. All parents and students are invited to attend. It is NOT only for MSSU students. Southern is a national site for FAFSA workshops and have set the date in March to allow additional time for parents to collect and prepare their tax information. Students need to be diligent about filing their FAFSA forms by April 1st which is the Missouri cutoff date for state monies.
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A NOTE FROM SUPERINTENDENT NELSON HORTON…
Fall Blood Drive
WEDNESDAY
November 11 & 12, 2014
What is Your Mindset? According to Stanford professor, Carol Dweck, how we view the source of our own abilities makes a huge difference in all aspects of life. She teaches that some believe their success is based on innate ability, and therefore have a “fixed” mindset or a fixed theory of intelligence. Other people believe their success is based on hard work and training. These people have a “growth” mindset, or an incremental theory of intelligence. Professor Dweck argues that the people with the growth mindset are more apt to lead less stressful and more successful lives, largely because they believe that they can overcome setbacks and failures by working hard and not giving up. They don’t believe their success is dependent on natural ability alone, but that even though not everyone can be a mental genius, everyone can learn and get smarter if they keep trying. I would say this “growth mindset” best describes the learning environment we all envision at College Heights Christian School. Obviously, Dweck’s research has important implications for teaching and learning. Christian parents, educators and students surely recognize that each person is gifted, and “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14). However, we also understand that ability isn’t merely innate, but must be drawn out through practice and hard work (Heb 5:14). Teaching or parenting from a growth mindset requires being intentional in our words and actions. Even how we give verbal praise may contribute to whether or not the environment is conducive to the development of a growth mindset. Dweck suggest that compliments that praise innate characteristics, like “good job, you are very smart” contribute to a fixed mindset, whereas compliments that point out effort and hard work like “good job, you worked very hard” contribute to a growth mindset.1 The following YouTube link will take you to an online video explaining one of the studies on this topic of praise. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=TTXrV0_3UjY . A simple Google search of “growth mindset” will yield numerous videos, articles and books on this interesting topic and Professor Dweck’s research. 1. Carol Dweck. (2014, October 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:24, October 13, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carol_ Dweck&oldid=629064974
8:00 am to 2:00 pm CHCS Atrium
CHCS Food Drive
Sponsored by the CHCS Student November 18-25 Council
Collection Dates for non-refrigerated foods
Collection Date for refrigerated food items
November 25 only
Do your part to help feed our community
PARTICIPATE!
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