And We're back....

After numerous destinations last week, we as a staff and learning community are now back to 'normal' to do the busy work of teaching and leading and learning. And by 'normal', I mean that we are running all separate ways from our 'centre' at Covenant to Pioneer camp (grade 7/8 trip this week Wednesday-Friday), hockey practices and games, basketball practices, field trips, preparing for fine arts festival, and the list goes on.  After viewing inspirational and innovative learning we return to ice rinks that need flooding, boilers that need repair (or replacement!), minor repairs, information evenings, committee work, planning work.......

It can be a difficult task to balance vision and the day-to-day needs of a school community.  What is our centre?  I've been struck again by this question as there are so many competing interests for our students, teachers, associations....

God's story is what pulls it all together and gives meaning to our work.  Unless we do our daily work, unless we look to the future, unless we manage our resources, unless we interact with one another with God's story in mind, we are left with a school that simply strives to grasp at great things in all directions.

So we return to our centre.  God is who formed and made us as image bearers of Him.  How now will we live in light of his promises?  It is this centre that gives all of the above meaning once more.  We are a school that can hang our hopes, dreams, ideas, work, teaching, learning, and growing all on Christ.

And that is worth coming back for!!

Big kids helping little kids

I've written about this in the past, and some of you will notice the above title "Big Kids Helping Little Kids" making its way into some posts on Facebook if you follow us there.

Covenant is a school that, even in name, seeks to make good on a promise.  God promises to be our God, just as he did with Jacob at Bethel.  As parents, we refer to our dedication or baptismal promises... we acknowledge that our children are covenant children.  I witnessed this again just a few weeks ago, and watched as a congregation affirmed their part and responsibility in raising that child up.  They promised to love, care and encourage them and to help them follow Christ.

Much of the research on moral education of children, of those who live out their faith, points to the importance of leading by example.  We can teach children why and how to follow Christ, to love our neighbour as ourselves, but unless they have that modeled for them, it does not always 'take'.

Practice is necessary in any discipline and lifestyle.  It's why at Covenant we ask, encourage, (and even require) our big kids to help little kids.  Without the practice of 'doing for others', we will not know how to live out our faith in a very real way to others.  Even the act of receiving help from others is important in community building.

Today was the first day of skating on our outdoor rink!  Skates are a difficult thing for young children to put on, to tie, and they need help.  For our big kids to come over and help little kids as a matter of necessity is one small step in building community and in having them practice the love of Christ in a real and practical way.  A few years from now, our little kids will be big kids - asked to tie the skates of others.  Our big kids will be adults, asked to love, care and encourage children and to help them follow Christ.  At that point, they'll know what that means, and how to go about it!!!

A new year, a continued story...

Happy 2015, and welcome back to the routines of this school year.  It's amazing how quickly we adjust and settle back in to classroom routines.  We are back to 'normal' here at Covenant.

New Year's celebrations come with their share of stories.  Stories of how the past year was with all of its high- and low-lights.  As time passes, so do people, events, relationships, institutions, hopes, and dreams;  realized or foregone.  The perspective that an entire year gives can be encouraging or bleak.  It's the same perspective, though, that can help us see God's faithfulness through it all.  A friend of mine, wrote the following as an introduction to this school year in his OACS blog, and it was as fresh to me today as it was when he wrote it then:

"...my prayer for all of us is that following the story comes with potent moments of joy in addition to the moments of suffering that we also know so well. I pray that our experience of the story is powerful enough to make meaning even out of suffering, and by doing so also allow us to experience unspeakable joy. We use vocabulary like shalom, culture-making, image-bearing, covenant, kingdom; and Christ's coming is concretely realised in Kingdom metaphors of feasting, vineyards, gardens, glorious cities, still waters… We want tastes and sights (spiritual fruit!) of his presence here and now; we want it to be tangibly experienced as we gather together: camping with friends, eating with our families, singing in church and school, coming together in June graduation ceremonies and August staff retreats. How do we personally and communally "hear the story?"..."

Blessings to each of you as we continue to 'Take Hold of God's Story' forward into 2015.