PILGRIM Journey Spring 2014
WHAT OUR PARENTS ARE TELLING US… By Wendy Hofman, Head of School In a recent Parent Survey, over 80% of parents responding said that the Christian focus and the intentional integration of faith in every area of our school is the single biggest factor in enrolling their children at LCS. Other important factors indicated by our parents include: academics, college preparation, excellent teachers, community, a positive learning environment, and partnering with Christian parents. What does this tell us? Having a strong academic program that prepares students for college and career. Helping students Photo by Tom Gennara understand all of learning from a Christian world view is the heart and soul of what a Christian education is all about. We are preparing students to live lives where knowledge and learning are important. This enables students to be salt and light in the world, serve God’s people, and further Christ’s kingdom. LCS provides opportunities for students of all ages to be nurtured in their faith through relationships, Bible knowledge, worship and service. This helps students learn that faith is not separate from learning at school.
The Lansing Christian School Board of Trustees Gillian Granger ’88, Chair Rod Moore, Secretary Brad Banasik Stephanie Buchalski Dave Greydanus Laura Moody Scott Wagoner Rina Woodland ’85 Lori Wortz
Programs that allow students to grow in their interests, gifts and abilities also continue to be a priority for our parents. Co-curricular programs give students opportunities to explore their special interests and God-given gifts and abilities outside the classroom. Providing more of these opportunities for our students is a priority as we move into the 2014-15 school year. In this edition of the Pilgrim Journey you have the opportunity to read more about what Lansing Christian parents value and what Christian education is all about. Through strong academic programs, spiritual formation, fine arts, athletics and co-curricular programs, we are teaching students to live lives in service to God and to others.
Classroom Learning
Fine Arts
Excellence in the Arts At LCS we believe that the arts are a gift from God and deserve no less than our very best. The visual arts, music and drama are ways for students of all ages to express creativity and grow skills that are vital to participation and leadership in the worship of our Creator. All of our kindergarten through eighth grade students participate and receive instruction in Photo by Tom Gennara the visual arts and in music at least twice each week, and two-thirds of our high school students have a fine arts class this year. A strong fine arts program is important to Christian education, where our priority is preparing students to live lives of worship and service to God with their minds, their hearts and their hands. A group of students designed four pairs of Vans shoes for a national competition.
Creativity on Display By Katie Emery, Middle School and High School Art Teacher Art class teaches students to see God’s creativity in the world and serves as a reminder that they are created in God’s image. Being made in the likeness of God means that each student has a God-given ability to create. This helps motivate the teaching in each art lesson. LCS art classes are relevant and meet state and national art standards. Students at LCS are encouraged to enter local and even national art competitions each year. It is humbling to be able to witness students at LCS being creators of art on a daily basis. Their capabilities are truly inspiring and God-honoring.
This spring, senior Dane Porter accepted an award on the steps of the state capitol for the “In God We Trust” art competition. 2
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The 2014 MSUFCU Art Competition was a smashing success for LCS students. Three of the nine students exhibiting won awards: Dane Porter, 3rd place juried award and 1st place popular choice award (left); Nikki Rakestraw won 3rd place popular choice award (upper left); and Rebecca Hull won 2nd place popular choice award (above).
FINE ARTS Fine Arts Night By Wendy Hofman, Head of School On March 27, the commons of Lansing Christian School was filled with the sights and sounds of middle and high school students engaged in the arts! Fine Arts Night gave students, parents, and the LCS community a taste of what our middle and high school students are accomplishing in each of the fine arts. Fine arts enthusiasts entered the LCS commons to view walls and tables of artwork by more than one hundred LCS art students! Middle school band solo and ensemble winners performed alongside sixth grade choir students singing their original compositions. At the same time, middle school musical and high school play cast members gave “sneak peak” performances of their upcoming shows in the media center. The evening concluded with mini-performances by the middle school band and high school choir and chorale. In just one hour, guests were able to experience a full palate of Lansing Christian School students engaged in the arts!
A HIGH SCHOOL PLAY
Photo by Tom Gennara
▲ Elementary art teacher Jenny Cronin shows students how to mix colors.
◄ Third grade students learned about Russian architecture, looking at the bright colors, patterns and onion domes which characterized this style. Students drew their own buildings inspired by Russian architecture.
“I didn’t expect to laugh this hard tonight,” was the sentiment expressed by many parents and LCS supporters at the performance of The Rules of Comedy, a One-Act Physical Comedy Extravaganza, and Sincerely, a One-Act Readers Theatre. Under the direction of Michael Partridge, 20 high school students came together, some who had never acted before, to perform two very different plays at the Pennway Church of God. The experience left students and parents alike wanting more. LCS is currently working on developing more acting and theatre opportunities for high school students.
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Classroom Learning
Student Life
Lansing Christian Middle School students were outstanding in their April performance of Willy Wonka
Students enjoyed reading with each other during our “March is Reading Month” festivities.
Photos by Jen Wagoner
Math-R-Rama By Sheila Dykstra, Elementary Principal Math-R-Rama is a competitive math activity sponsored by the Lansing School District for students in fourth through sixth grades. Students compete four times a year in teams of eight to solve a variety of types of math problems. The first meet tests a student’s ability to perform whole number operations. The second meet allows students to play Krypto, a number operation card game. The third meet has work with decimals as its focus, while the final meet has geometry, fractions, and probability items to be solved. Each meet also has a mental math activity and problems requiring students to use grocery store ads to find unit prices, calculate tax, and make change. All four LCS teams had successful results this year, with seven 1st place trophies, one 2nd place trophy and three 3rd place trophies. 4
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Student Life Science Olympiad By Kelly Joos, High School Science Teacher Science Olympiad is a national extracurricular program that engages students in exploring various specialty fields in science at a deeper level than they may encounter in their traditional science classes. Each year the Science Olympiad committee offers over 20 different events ranging from astronomy to anatomy and forensics to building events such as the bungee drop. Students compete in these events at the regional, state and national levels. For the past four years, LCS has participated in Science Olympiad. Students train for their events with the help of volunteer coaches, which include LCS parents and teachers, MSU science students and community science experts. This year, Lansing Christian sent a team of 24 students to the regional competition at Lansing Community College. We placed fifth or better in 10 of the events, and came in fifth place overall! Way to go Pilgrims! We are always on the lookout for parents, alumni and other members of our community to help coach these events. If you are at all interested in learning more, contact the LCS main office and we'll be in touch!
LCS Mileage Club Sparrow’s Feelin' Good® Mileage Club® is designed to make exercise fun by offering elementary students the chance to walk or run during recess. Lansing Christian has participated for over 14 years. This year we have 177 students running or walking. Why?
“I like running around, so I can meet new friends.” Second grade student “l like to bond with my friends while running. I also want to earn a water bottle.” Fifth grade student
Learning with Legos Fifth grade students explored Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and supply chains in action with Judy Whipple, MSU professor of Supply Chain Management and Cheryl Dalsin from Intel® in Arizona. Working with MSU students, the 5th grade students formed teams with suppliers, quality control engineers, and deliverers. Students designed and built their own Lego cars and competed to see who could best satisfy their customer.
"I liked working with my friends on a team along with MSU students. I like the way the lesson was set up. It really helped our learning to relate it to something we like to do." Fifth grade student
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Classroom Learning
Nurturing Faith High School Chapel
NURTURING STUDENT LEADERS By Tim Blamer, Director of Student Life Every week middle and high school students participate in two chapels. On Tuesdays, the students hear from an outside speaker with a focus on our theme verse for the year, Micah 6:8. Speakers have included area youth pastors, missionaries, staff members, MSU athletes and more. Students lead chapel on Fridays which helps develop spiritual leadership gifts and gives students increased ownership of the chapel program. Our goals this year for Friday chapels have been to make them God-centered, student led, participatory and an encouragement to student spiritual growth. Photo by Tom Gennara
Over 30 students have volunteered throughout the year for chapel planning, and it has been wonderful to be led in worship by them. The students have been working in smaller groups to plan a chapel every few weeks. Chapel is an important part of our Christian community and the spiritual growth of our students. We look forward to next year and the continued growth of our chapel leadership program.
“Being a leader on the chapel team has not only helped me grow in my faith but has instilled a passion for helping other students also grow in their faith.” Joe Bustamante, Class of 2014
Stephen Jacobson, Class of 2014, joined the chapel team “to encourage students to pursue God with all their heart.” Stephen felt called to be a leader on the chapel team to help encourage students in their relationship with God.
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Nurturing Faith LCS Teachers Take Time to
GROW IN THEIR FAITH By Wendy Hofman, Head of School Spiritual leadership is a part of what it means to be a Christian teacher. It is an opportunity – a sphere of influence that all our teachers have in their classrooms, on the athletic field, through co-curricular activities, and in their ongoing, everyday relationships with students. This winter, our PreK-12th grade teachers participated in a spiritual retreat. The retreat provided time away from planning and preparing in order to invest time nurturing the faith of our teachers and leaders. In our day together we learned the importance of cultivating the spiritual disciplines in own lives, and ways to grow our spiritual capacity for daily work and interaction with students. Time was also spent praying for God’s Spirit to work in our school and in the lives of our students and families. As teachers and leaders in Christian education, our goal is for our students to become more like Jesus. That means we need to continue to be more like Jesus. The retreat allowed time for God to work in us. For the teachers and leadership of Lansing Christian, the spiritual retreat is an investment of time – time focused on allowing God to speak to us and fill us with His Spirit so that we can be imitators of Jesus to our students.
Bible Lessons for Life By Sheila Dykstra, Elementary Principal Every day our students face temptations that try to lead them away from God. How do students learn to be anchored in their faith? What will help keep them focused on continuing their walk with God? At Lansing Christian, we believe the answer to this is the word of God. We know that our students need to stand firm by studying the Bible. We also believe in Photo by Tom Gennara the life-long value of writing God’s word on their hearts through the memorization of scripture. Our goal is for our students to learn passages from the Bible that will guide them throughout their lives. It is for this reason that we have a Bible memory plan that encompasses all levels of our school, so that all students, from preschool through 12th grade, memorize scripture. Our desire is that God’s word will shape our students and be a light that guides their daily walk.
Photo by Tom Gennara We are grateful The annual LCS faculty and staff retreat is made possible by an endowment from Jim and Ann Bowden, who faithfully and sacrificially served LCS in the early years.
DID YOU KNOW? The annual fund helps to bridge the gap between the cost of an LCS education and the tuition each family pays. Your gift to the annual fund is spent within the fiscal year it is given—so each student will benefit from the gift you give today! Make your gift in the enclosed envelope or at lansingchristianschool .org
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Classroom Learning
Serving Others
SERVICE WEEK: A LCS Tradition By Cathy Bowden Bytwerk ’69, Service Week Coordinator With spring comes Service Week at LCS. Ninth and tenth grade students are put into groups that go out to various places in the community to make a difference in the lives of others for Jesus Christ. This year students will serve at the Greater Lansing Food Bank, Stoneleigh Hospice House, Youth Haven Ranch, Hidden Treasures, Trinity Church, Mustard Seed Biological Warfare, Rainbow House and LCS. The values of serving others, working as a team, and using God given skills to make a difference in another person’s life are essential to giving our students a complete and well-rounded education that brings glory to God. Our students get their hands in the soil, paint murals, sort clothes and a variety of other good deeds. How does Service Week affect our students’ lives? Looking back to the last few years, Class of 2014 students say:
“I came away with a bigger heart for serving others.” Gwyneth Wortz
“Realizing the needs of those in our community heightened my awareness of the many ways to serve.” Rosemarie Falsetta
Kindergarten Volunteers We are grateful for our faithful volunteers, Dr. Niemeyer and “Miss Judy” Montgomery, who serve weekly as Kindergarten helpers.
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LCS Community Life
LCS SUMMER CAMPS By Sheri Shank, Summer Camp Coordinator Why attend a Lansing Christian Summer Camp? The instructors make the difference. LCS instructors integrate faith into every aspect of learning, activity and sport, giving students an opportunity to grow in their God-given gifts and abilities. The instructors of the athletic camps teach students to grow in their faith and relationship to Jesus Christ. Athletic Director Zach Van Duinen said, “Our student athletes view the gym, field or pitch as their mission field; a place where they can let their light shine while doing something our athletes love to do—compete.”
Photo by Tom Gennara
English high school teacher Andrew Kleyn’s camp is “Integrating Faith Into Contemporary Popular Novels”. Mr. Kleyn encourages each student’s love for reading and creates discussion regarding biblical truth in contemporary novels such as Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Garrett Anderson, Elementary Physical Education teacher, is running a “Circuit Riders” camp that serves as evangelism training for middle and high school students and adults. The group will learn how to simply share the gospel, then bike around Lansing and talk to people about Jesus. For more information, click “Latest News” on the LCS website homepage (www.lansingchristianschool.org) or contact Sheri Shank at 517.882.5779 x126, sshank@lansingchristianschool.org.
Why LCS? By Todd & Karen Schulz, LCS Parents LCS family: The Fishers (parents Mike and Michelle; sons Gannon, third grade; Trevor, eleventh grade; and daughter Stacey, a 2011 graduate.) Their story: Tuition grant and scholarship support has helped the Fishers enroll their three children at LCS for the past seven years. With Stacey now a junior at Indiana Wesleyan University and considering graduate school, the family can see first-hand the long-term value of the LCS experience. And they expect the same positive influence for their boys. “We wanted there to be consistency in what they were hearing and being taught during the formative years to help ensure a strong, Biblically based foundation,” Michelle said. The impact: “Our family has been so blessed by attending LCS that only eternity will truly reveal how much,” Michelle said. “All of our children have been supported and encouraged, academically and in all areas of life.” Why LCS is special to them: “I cannot express how amazing the staff and teachers are and have been,” Michelle Fisher said. “It is such a huge blessing to have teachers who are not only knowledgeable in their fields but also are authentic and unashamed of their faith. It speaks volumes to the kids.”
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Classroom Learning
Honoring God and Pursuing Victory COACHES: Role Models & Mentors By Zach VanDuinen, Athletic Director
Coaches have both a responsibility and an incredible opportunity to mentor student athletes. As coaches work with student athletes, they model life skills like goal-setting and communicating. Most importantly, coaches have an opportunity to be a spiritual mentor to their athletes. Conducting team devotions, team prayers, and being a godly example both on and off the field teaches the students how to Photo by Tom Gennara live a life that is honoring to God and to people. This is something that stays with our student athletes for their entire lives. Our students look to their coaches as an Many of our coaches at LCS actively mentor their student athletes. example of how to This is what makes our programs stand out from other schools. compete with exemplary sportsmanship, but also of how to live BASEBALL godly lives. By David Miranda, Varsity Baseball Coach There is something about our national pastime that allows our student athletes to learn much about life: working as a team, giving maximum effort, pursuing individual and team goals, and mastering the skill sets to be successful. As the head baseball coach at LCS, I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ to the baseball team. I have emphasized that accountability, desire, dedication, determination, and discipline need to be demonstrated in the classroom and on the baseball field. In some cases I have withheld a student athlete from practice in order to take care of business in the classroom. Additionally, I challenge each player to walk closely with Jesus Christ as they represent God and LCS as a student athlete. Through individual and team sessions, I have challenged each player to personalize Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm Photo by Tami Rakestraw you, plans to give you hope and a future." Without question, this verse demonstrates that God has a great plan. Could it be that each student athlete that is under my tutelage can pursue and find the plan that God has in store for him? I say yes. It is my hope and desire that each player will commit themselves to Christ like never before and allow His Holy Spirit to reveal Himself in a manner that will allow each young man to draw closer to the King of kings. What an opportunity and what an awesome challenge to be the head baseball coach at LCS! 10 PILGRIM Journey
Honoring God and Pursuing Victory SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
TENNIS By Dick Winters, Head Tennis Coach Since 2006 it has been my joy, privilege and responsibility to develop Lansing Christian’s Tennis Program and to coach and mentor LCS’s remarkable student athletes. Tennis is a lifetime sport, one that I have championed since I was 10 years old. As one who has continued to actively play Photos by Keith Granger this sport for 63 years, I recognize that the passion that I have for this sport goes far beyond wins and losses on the courts. As a coach, I understand and embrace that my role involves a variety of inter-related duties that go well beyond teaching our student athletes about tennis skills. As a coach, I have four general objectives: to help athletes develop psychologically and socially, develop physically and learn physical skills, have fun, and raise their performance bar and level of achievement. I believe that student athletes can and should learn positive values and skills from playing sports – such as teamwork, sportsmanship, fairness, the value of hard work, motivation, time management, goal setting, listening and communication skills, taking personal responsibility for one’s actions, and accepting wins and losses gracefully. As a coach, I exist to serve and mentor our student athletes -in their growth and development in sport and life skills and to implement strategies that do so.
Boys Basketball Jordan Terry was named All-State Honors and LSJ Class D First Team. Girls Basketball LCS won the Regional Championship for the second time in three years. Mikayla Terry was named First Team All-State Division 4. She set the LCS school record for rebounds with 700, and joined the LCS 1000 points club. KEEP UP ON ALL THE NEWS! Check out the new LCS Athletics website for the latest information: www.lcpilgrims.com
GO PILGRIMS!!
Photo by Dick Hoekstra / Lansing State Journal
Lansing Christian’s new conference, the Greater Lansing Activities Conference (GLAC), introduced its new logo in front of the State Capitol. GLAC charter members are Lakewood, Leslie, Perry, Maple Valley, Lansing Christian, Olivet and Stockbridge schools. PILGRIM Journey
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GROWING MINDS. NURTURING FAITH. PREPARING LIVES. JOIN US FOR A CAMPUS TOUR Email admissions@lansingchristianschool.org or call 517.882.5779 x107
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