May 2015

Heritage Christian School

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The Heritage Track Team broke or tied 10 records at the Oskaloosa Track Meet this spring, Go Eagles!

E G A T I R HE LD A R E H Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

MAY 2015

A decade later, God continues to move

An update from Heritage Principal Mike Annis

A

nother year is about to be recorded in the history books and it’s been a great one at Heritage! This time of year always includes the reality of saying goodbye. Once again, we are graduating a great group of 8th grade students. We will miss them but we anticipate how God will use them to advance His kingdom in the schools they will attend next year. See what they have to say for themselves in this edition of the Herald.

On the flip side, one set of “goodbyes” is strangely absent this year. The transience of this community brings constant change to our faculty and staff. God has extended us a tremendous gift, in that we are retaining so many of our faculty and staff for next year. There is, though, one significant change taking place as Shari Montgomery has moved out of the classroom and into the essential role of Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Take a minute to read what she has to say about herself and commit to pray for her as she takes the reins of this important role.

At Heritage, spring is synonymous with Operation G.O.O.D, one of the school’s

fundraisers that we rely on to keep tuition lower. This year, as in previous years, God has entrusted us with success beyond the goal we established. Praise God! I never cease to be amazed at what God provides through the efforts of our children.

Pursuing excellence requires significant work, but effort applied in the pursuit must be pointed in the right direction to affect the greatest growth. This year, the Board of Directors took a significant step by revisiting the school’s by-laws. Read about the purpose and the process of accomplishing this task. God willing, the foundation has been reinforced for the next era of Heritage’s existence.

I can now use the word “decade” to quantify my time with Heritage Christian School. What an awesome gift God has given me to be here while He is so obviously working in the school. God continues to faithfully lead us and our desire to obediently follow remains steadfast.

God bless. Have a great summer.

-Mike Annis, Principal

By-laws: The First Step in Exemplary Accreditation The Board of Directors has approved that Heritage Christian School pursue Exemplary Accreditation through ACSI. Exemplary Accreditation requires a higher level of performance than demonstrated for normal accreditation. While there will be many milestones on this multi-year journey, the first steps include ensuring the school’s foundation is in place to support this pursuit.

As a first step, The Board of Directors chartered a sub-committee to review and revise Heritage Christian School’s Bylaws. The team addressed the current and future needs of the school and ensured the by-laws would be in compliance with the requirement of having a governance model for oversight.

Members of the sub-committee included Jen Traetow- current Heritage parent, Eric VanRoekel- an alumni parent, Craig Welt- one of the founding families, and Jen Olsen- current HCS Board President.

The final proposed by-laws are completed and were approved by the Iowa City Area Christian School Association (ICACSA) on May 7.

In partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers, all K-8 Heritage students spent two hours picking garlic mustard, an invasive weed, around Coralville Lake on May 8. More bags were filled with weeds than any previous year. We are proud of the students’ hard work and servant hearts!

The dedication of our students, faculty and supporters made this year’s Operation G.O.O.D. fundraiser another success. Praise God for His provision!

CLASSOF2015 Gabriella Aguirre PARENTS: Roberto & Jill Aguirre HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Hopefully attend Miss America as Miss Iowa and pursue a career in marketing or journalism

Rahabot Habte PARENTS: Henok Zeremariam & Ferdos Beshir HIGH SCHOOL: Undecided LIFE GOAL: Become a biophysics engineer if I don’t make it to the NBA

Andrea Cooper PARENTS: Allen & Stephanie Cooper HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Become a missionary in a foreign country and serve at an orphanage

Isaac Miller PARENTS: Troy & Lora Miller HIGH SCHOOL: Iowa BIG School LIFE GOAL: Launch a successful tech startup

Davis Dawson PARENTS: Mark & Alicia Dawson HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Play college baseball Eric Doorn PARENTS: Jon & Deb Doorn HIGH SCHOOL: Iowa City West LIFE GOAL: Become a scientist or doctor Grace Gilbaugh PARENTS: Greg & Laura Gilbaugh HIGH SCHOOL: Iowa City West LIFE GOAL: Travel the world and teach Phillip Young PARENTS: Alan & Cheryl Young HIGH SCHOOL: Oklahoma Christian Academy LIFE GOAL: Study Pharmacology

Ruth Miller PARENTS: Mike & Lisa Miller HIGH SCHOOL: Iowa City West LIFE GOAL: Become a physical therapist and go on mission trips Tyler Montgomery PARENTS: Scott & Shari Montgomery HIGH SCHOOL: Iowa City West LIFE GOAL: Work at NASA and design a rocket that sends people farther than any previous trip ShaLynn Parks PARENTS: Cindy Parks HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Become a culinary artist

Sophia Rocca PARENTS: Kevin & Kimberlee Rocca HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Become a famous YouTuber and artist Lexi Schau PARENTS: Anthony & Kim Schau HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Get a degree in Elementary Education Cole Sherman PARENTS: Steve & Amy Sherman HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Become an engineer

Luke Slaymaker PARENTS: Matt & Lee Ann Slaymaker HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Become the best U.S. sniper in history Mikayla Tackaberry PARENTS: Jeff & Amy Tackaberry HIGH SCHOOL: Clear Creek Amana LIFE GOAL: Become an elementary teacher

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Heritage Christian School

Shari Montgomery transitions to Director of Curriculum and Instruction She will facilitate the implementation of new math curriculum in 2015-2016 ABOUT SHARI: Shari Montgomery is from Mesa, Arizona. She graduated from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix with her B.A. in Elementary Education. In Phoenix, she taught fifth grade, and currently teaches fifth grade at Heritage Christian School. She has been married to her husband, Scott, for 25 years and is the mom of three boys.

NEW MATH CURRICULUM Pre-Kindergarten: My Math, McGraw-Hill K-6th Grade: Math in Focus, Singapore Math 7-8th Grade: Glencoe Pre-Algebra and Algebra

Heritage Christian School is blessed to have many wonderful, talented, and godly teachers. I am excited to support all of them in my new role as they continue to provide a Christ-centered, academically challenging education. Ephesians 6:4 says we should bring up our children in the “instruction of the Lord”. I love being part of a school that partners with parents and families to continually teach God’s Truth.

Heritage Christian School is implementing a new math curriculum for the 2015-2016 school year. Much prayer, time, effort, and discussion went into the decision to adopt new curriculum that would support our philosophy of math.

The teachers and staff reviewed textbooks and looked at how the text supported problem solving, mathematical understanding, critical thinking, and computation.

Pre-Kindergarten will be using My Math, a curriculum focused on hands-on, real life math scenarios for early childhood.

The K- 6th grade teachers will implement Math in Focus, which is a Singapore Math Curriculum. In Math in Focus, problem solving is the center of math learning. Concepts are taught with a concrete-pictorial-abstract learning progression through real-world, hands-on experiences.

In seventh and eighth grade, teachers will use Glencoe Pre-Algebra and Algebra with opportunities to test into advanced classes preparing them well for high school.

The new curriculum is very challenging. It will continue to provide our students with opportunities to marvel at God’s detail and careful planning in creation, and to use mathematics responsibly in context, serving their Creator.

I am thrilled about the new curriculum and believe it will continue to help teachers provide an exemplary education for students at Heritage Christian School.

-Shari Montgomery

Director of Curriculum and Instruction