By your words and your actions...

There continue to be real and tangible ways that God offers our community to serve others and to make a difference in the world.  I am thankful to watch a few of them taking shape and providing evidence of God working in and through our communities:

a) The Caliper Project.  Both Covenant and John Knox are participating in the Caliper project - a small way that we can literally roll up our sleeves and give in order to benefit others.  We often ask God to provide healing where He wills it.  That often happens through the advances of medical research and the gifts and talents he's blessed health professionals with.  We are excited to participate in this in the knowledge that our contributions will help others understand the human body better, as God has created us!!!

b) The drama productions.  Practices and organisational work for our spring productions are underway!  These opportunities not only provide ours students with the opportunity to grow and develop in their gifts of expression and artistic production, but they also send a powerful message to our communities:  That all of life belongs to God, and we can honour Him in many different ways.  Look for more information on both plays.  The promise to bless those who come to watch them with a great experience and a beautiful message!!

c) The overwhelming response at our information evenings.  God is working through our schools, teachers, classrooms and students.  This is obvious because our current families are talking about it!  The reach and blessing that a Christian Education is and can be are being spread by word of mouth all over the region.  We had the pleasure to meet with families who have been planning to send their child since they were born, others newly considering when they hadn't ever before, and still others who are brand new to the idea of Christian Education.  We even had a family who found us by 'Googling' us......  They are looking for something better.  

Praise God for the many and varied ways He shows Himself through the expected and unexpected!

Young and Old

It's a pretty big week at NACE; one that highlights both our young kids and our old kids, and allows for a special view of the work we do nurturing children in their personal, spiritual, and developmental journey.

On Tuesday and Thursday this week, we invite families interested in Christian Education to spend some time with us in the evening, introducing our schools, our vision, and what those look like each day.  There are some that are looking to transfer into the older grades, but the majority of attendees are looking to see how their four- or five-year-old child will function and thrive in our schools.  (If you know of someone that should be there, direct them to our website for full information and encourage them to just have a look!)

Front and centre are our Kindergarten programs where children are respected and valued as God's unique creations, learning about and experiencing God's love for them and how to respond to that amazing love.  Our Kindergarten programs provide a literacy rich, stimulating, and safe environment that meets the needs of each child in his or her physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual development.

Our kindergarten students eventually grow up and into 12- and 13-year-olds, and our educational programs grow along with them.  One highlight for our grade 7 and 8 students is the leadership development that happens on our annual Pioneer Camp trip.  (NACE is there all week - JKCS from Monday to Wednesday and CCS from Wednesday to Friday!)  We have partnered with Inter-Varsity for the past number of years to work out a program that "is designed to help students develop leadership and interpersonal skills while promoting a greater appreciation of the environment they live in and the benefits of being physically active." Pioneer camps specialize in partnering with schools to develop a program that is designed to grow and challenge students and to help achieve learning objectives. They are committed to the transformation of youth, students and graduates into fully committed followers of Jesus Christ.

From the moment they step foot in our schools as eager and nervous four-year-olds to the day they graduate confidently on their way to high school, we work with our students to unpack the marvels not only in creation, but also the skills and abilities that God has blessed them with so that they are equipped to serve in His Kingdom.

Please pray this week for each step of our schools' programs, from the beginning in Kindergarten to the culmination in grade 8... that we would honour and glorify our Lord with and through our students and their growth as His children.

There's something different about this place....

You can sense and feel it immediately when you walk into Covenant or John Knox.  They are schools, and bear the many hallmarks of any regular school facility:  big yellow school buses, playgrounds, our nation's flag, a gymnasium and a library, computer labs, classrooms, letters, numbers, artwork, and even administrative offices.  But when people set a foot into one of our schools, this is often the impression with which they are struck, and even moreso the one with which they leave:  that there's 'something different'.

Speaking with numerous families who have experienced a few different schools, they echo this.  John Knox and Covenant are able to and do approach education differently.  We spend a lot of time using the word WITH in our staff discussions.  Education is not something we do TO our students, it's an endeavour we do WITH them.  We don't block families out of the educational journey, we work WITH them.  Communication, transparency, opportunities to help and get involved.... these are all things that make our schools 'different'.

But WHY do we take this approach?  It's because we ultimately view one another in a relationship.  You are created in God's image, you bear His likeness, our relationship honours God's workmanship throughout the world and in each other.  Christ truly is LORD of all, regardless of our personal abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.  It's this perspective that makes our schools so special.  We aren't perfect, but we strive on in God's grace and continue to work to 'get it right'.

That is what you can feel as soon as you step in the building... that there's something different...  and it's why we want to continue to bless children and families across our regions.

Do you know of someone who needs to just take a step inside?  Next week's information evenings are a perfect opportunity for them to come and experience what the love embedded throughout Chrisitan Education does and can do.  

John 13: 35 "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Renewing and Reminding Ourselves of our Priorities

Happy new year!!  Welcome to 2017, and to a return to school!  

As we return to our classes, greet the kids as they come off of their buses, and get back to the business of learning, the start of a new session is a good time to remind ourselves of our priorities.  What did we set out to do?  Are we doing it?  Where are we succeeding, where do we need to re-focus?

As staff, we continue to work on building our practice and craft of teaching - to inspire kids to learn, to do beautiful work, and to show them God's creative and redemptive hand in everything.  As students, we continue to engage in our learning, to work with our classmates and teachers, and to seek God in word and in deed.  As parents, we continue to instruct and empower our kids to understand this world in the light of Christ's sacrifice and our duty to not only study, but to proclaim that good news to all.

As a school community, we continue to live for Jesus, learn for life, and serve with gladness.

1 Thess. 5:11  "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."

2 Timothy 1:7  "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord."