CHRISTIAN LIFE

philosophy OF DIVERSITY AND BELONGING

BY CATINA TALIAFERRO, DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY AND BELONGING

AT MOUNT PARAN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, DIVERSITY AND BELONGING ARE INTEGRAL ASPECTS OF ALL WE DO AS A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL AND ALL WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS. OUR PHILOSOPHICAL POSITION HINGES UPON FOUR BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS:

1 2 3 4

Diversity has been a part of God’s plan for humanity since the beginning. We have been created in the image of God to glorify God. As Christians, we have been adopted into one family – the family of God. God’s plan for diversity enables us to better recognize and worship him.

To begin the school year, MPCS adopted a “Campaign for CommUNITY - Love One Another” theme. Ten high school visual arts students created artwork embodying their interpretation of a chosen Bible verse inclusive of the diverse body of Christ. The artwork was transformed into powerful banners displayed across campus as visual reminders of our unity in Christ.

Students continue to lead the way in relationship-building and asking hard questions. Two student-created groups meet regularly during the high school activity block to examine diversity. The People’s Club focuses on activism, while Speak On It provides a safe space to discuss issues. Isabelle Garofalo ‘21 started Speak On It, she shares, because “I REALIZED MANY OF MY FRIENDS AND I WERE RELATIVELY IGNORANT OF LARGER POLITICAL ISSUES THAT AFFECTED US DAILY. I WANTED TO CREATE A SPACE TO ENGAGE WITH A VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES AND BACKGROUNDS OR LEARN ABOUT A NEW TOPIC COLLECTIVELY.”

For Isabelle, Speak On It provides a place of empowerment for students. “I BELIEVE ACTIVISM AND POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE TO YOUNG PEOPLE. I REALLY WANT TO EMPOWER MY PEERS TO GET INVOLVED IN CAUSES NOT ONLY IMPORTANT TO THEMSELVES BUT IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITIES.”

Likewise, Sydnee Brothers ‘21 co-founded The People’s Club to create a safe space for students to share and learn. The People’s Club provides all students the opportunity to form community and promote understanding. As the group grew and gained members, Sydnee noticed it transitioned into an outlet for students to find their voice, become empowered, develop leadership, and handle conflict with grace, dignity, and respect.

As MPCS builds its capacity to engage in courageous conversations, we will continue to provide safe spaces where people can be transparent and vulnerable. Inspired and sustained by love, such spaces cultivate healing and change. When we have conversations in the context of love, division loses its power. The world is not a perfect place, but we are striving in pursuit of the heart of God in all we do. We will continue to learn, to build relationships, and to strive to love one another the way God intends. W

philosophy

BLACK HISTORY BOWL

BY HASANI GEORGE, ASHLEY LOVATO, AND BETH PARSONS. MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS

People’s Club founder Sydnee Brothers and her triplet sisters, Kailer and Tristyn Brothers ‘21.

Teaching about diversity and empathy can be a challenge, but innovative instructional techniques help MPCS achieve meaningful results. One such strategy includes participation in the Black History Bowl — an academic competition run by the Kennesaw Teen Center. Teams of four to six elementary and middle school students compete in multiple rounds of competition, culminating in a Championship series. Teams answer a variety of Black history-related questions in a fast-paced, buzz-in format. The Bowl seeks to raise awareness of the vital role played by African-Americans in the rich history of our country.

The Black History Bowl team at MPCS was first formed during the 2019-2020 academic year. The inaugural MPCS team took home the Championship title in 2020, with the 2021 team securing the runner-up spot in the Championship series.

While the study process for participants is challenging, it is also personally meaningful. The real reward is the experiential learning that takes place as students gain a deeper understanding of the material, with an overall focus on commUNITY. The more engaging and personally relevant, the more students want to learn.

The MPCS team says that learning and fun can go hand-in-hand: “The Black History Bowl has brought together unique students across grade levels to learn and fellowship together for a common purpose. We can’t imagine doing anything more fun!” W

SHAMARIA JENNINGS ‘22 SERVES AS A CHAPEL PRODUCER, OVERSEEING OUR LIVE-STREAM FEED.

interactive worship

BY STEVE KYLE, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR CHRISTIAN LIFE

Te start of the 2020-2021 school year brought many new and unique challenges and opportunities to MPCS.

ONE OF THOSE CHALLENGES WAS HOW TO CREATE A MEANINGFUL WORSHIP EXPERIENCE IN WEEKLY CHAPEL SERVICES WHILE MAINTAINING COVID-19 PROTOCOLS. As

an integral part of Christian Life at MPCS, not hosting chapel was never a consideration. However, pulling off three chapels each week for almost 1,200 students and staff was not going to be without its challenges. e first priority was to determine the number of students who could safely congregate in the Kristi Lynn eatre to experience chapel “live.” Once it was determined that allowing one grade level per chapel would meet physical-distancing requirements, the next challenge was to discover how to deliver chapel to the rest of our school community. After considering many options, such as pre-recording chapel, we concluded that simultaneous live-streaming was the best option because it allowed students and staff to experience chapel “together,” helping maintain a sense of community.

Each week, a different grade would rotate into the Murray Arts Center to experience chapel in-person, while the remaining students in each division would gather by grade-level groups to watch together remotely on classroom screens. As in the past, we continued to offer dynamic worship from our chapel band and engaging messages from both staff and local student pastors. Although the experience was not the same as when entire divisions worship together, this model still provided the opportunity to provide spiritual impact in the lives of our students. ough not ideal, the move to a new worship format offered some long-term benefits. First, we were pushed to consider a new means of community-building at MPCS: live-streaming. Because of the experience gained by hosting chapel livestreams, many other opportunities to reach our community during the pandemic were created. We used live-streaming for our Spiritual Emphasis Days, as well as our annual Night of Worship, allowing these events to continue, albeit in a modified format.

Second, we were given the opportunity to share chapels with our school community outside the walls of MPCS – something we had been wanting to do. Many families, alumni, and supporters were now able to experience chapel together, and we plan to continue to do so in the future.

Finally, adding this new technology has created opportunities for our students to serve in new and unique ways. Students Shamaria Jennings ‘22 and Charlie Monroe ‘23 served as chapel “producers,” learning and running the live-stream software each week for chapels.

While our prayer is that we will be all together again for chapels moving forward, we are pleased to say that “tuning-in” for live-streaming is here to stay. W

IMMERSION OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

When considering and planning for the future of our school, the most important component of the strategic plan is to continually keep Christ at the center of all we do at MPCS. To that end, MPCS has moved Mr. Steven Kyle into the new role of Assistant Head of School for Christian Life.

This newly-created position places an intentional and comprehensive focus on Biblical worldview immersion in every facet of MPCS. We realize that every decision we make, lesson we teach, practice we hold, conversation we have, and interaction that takes place at MPCS is shaping the way our students see the world. Making sure Christ is always at the center must be a priority. To continue to remain true to the vision and mission of partnering with home and church to create students who “honor God, love others, and walk in Truth,” we must continue to create and sustain learning environments, not just in the classroom, that are saturated with a strong biblical worldview. Mr. Kyle said of this new opportunity, “I AM HUMBLED AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO STEP INTO THIS ROLE AND LEAD IN THIS WAY. MY PRAYER WILL BE THAT AS A COMMUNITY WE WILL GROW CLOSER TOGETHER, AS WE GROW CLOSER TO CHRIST.” W