The teacher becomes the student

This morning, as the students arrived off of the bus, I was greeted by cheers of delight:  'Mr. Huinink, the snow came!!"  Together, we revelled in the possibilities that their time outside would bring: the forts, the snowmen, the snow angels....

Recess time brought more of the same:  a true delight in the moment, in the gift of a snowfall.

Admittedly, I love snow but had been caught up in the 'business' surrounding it. Snow clearing contracts, possible bus cancellations, shovelling the wet and heavy sludge left by the snowplough.... delight was not my first reaction.

In our schools, one of our deepest hopes is that our children will learn to intuitively delight in the works of the Lord... that they will acknowledge Him for his good works.

Today's prayer requests from the students as we began the day were peppered with a true and deep gratitude to God for the snow this morning.  This teacher became the student as I watched and allowed them to share with me their delight in our Creator.  Perhaps this is what Christ meant also when he informed his disciples that they should have the faith of a child.

Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
    as I meet with his godly people.
How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
    All who delight in him should ponder them.
Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
    His righteousness never fails.
He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
    How gracious and merciful is our Lord!

Psalm 111:1-4

Growth Mindset - not just for students....

We've been talking more lately about growth mindset for students, how to encourage learning, how to think about failure and success, and really believing that students can grow and learn.  Intelligence is not a fixed point, but one that can be moved with learning, persistence and hard work.  

An important part of encouraging this growth is engaging in it ourselves not only to model that for students but also to see that learning is never done.  Our success as a school or as teachers is not based on our innate abilities, but on the fact that we work at growing developing our methods.

This Thursday and Friday, our administration team and two teachers from each school will be travelling to Rochester, New York to join a large group of Christian School teachers from around Ontario in a visit to a charter school there.  Together we will observe, interact, and stretch ourselves to see how we can grow, learn and benefit our schools with great teaching and learning methods.  The benefit of travelling with other teaching professionals allows us to encourage one another not only within our own schools but to grow a network of engaged educators dedicated to making Christian Education better.

Please pray for open hearts and minds to growth, not only of our own practice in individual classrooms and schools but of Christian Education overall.  May God be glorified in our constant and restless seeking of relationship with Him and in our daily act of worship in our work!

'Tis the Season

If you've spent any time outside of your home and in the world of commerce, you know that it's beginning (already) to look a lot like Christmas.  Regardless of your feelings about this (I sense some reactions both of delight and of disgust!), Christmas is entering the mindset of our kids, like it or not!!!

In a Christian community, this is a holiday season that we can jump up and seize the opportunity to teach our kids just how amazing 'Christ came down' really is. One of the blessings of a Christian school is the opportunity to daily orient our students to Christ and what God accomplished in sending his son, and to spur them on to a faithful response.  As I write this, the following things are happening in our schools:

1. Christmas Carol rehearsal for singing at the Stoney Creek library (next week!!)
2. Band rehearsals for our appearance in the Smithville and Grimsby Christmas parades (this Saturday and next Saturday!)
3. Gifts are piling up for Rose City kids annual Christmas party. (CCS)
4. Donations arriving  for City Kidz, and planning for the Mitten tree. (JKCS)
5. Planning and rehearsing for our Christmas assemblies on December 23 (9 am at JKCS, 11:05 at CCS)

Christmas is the perfect time to answer the question so many of our kids ask:  'Why?'.  As we move into advent and journey together in anticipation, we at NACE pray a blessing over your family and your activities that will highlight the coming Saviour.  Together, we will ensure that our children know without a doubt the 'Reason for the Season'.

Am I included, or do I belong?

I was speaking with a friend recently on the topic of inclusion, and how or whether we, in private Christian schools really are inclusive.
I don't have a reference for it (let me know if you know who said it!), but she left me with a quote that took a while to mentally digest:  "Inclusion means that we will include you if you show up.  Belonging means that we will look for you if you aren't there."
On the heels of an amazing weekend of support for our Christian schools, I'm watching (and celebrating) as our community diversifies.  There are some who have been a part of the fabric of our schools since before we opened.  There are others who have just discovered who we are and what we are about.  Coincidentally, this latter group is the one that often comes to us and reminds us "Do you KNOW what a great thing you have here?"  
Another long-time supporter of our schools said to me about a year ago: "I know that we're warm and friendly.  I think we can be hospitable, but we need to be taught how..."
What cultures exist in our schools that make it difficult for people to feel like they belong?  Can we build a culture that makes it easy for people to become one of 'us'? A parent new to our community celebrated with us the other day that their child had been invited to a birthday party.  That child was not just included but invited into relationship beyond the structure of a school day.  That simple act communicated to the child that they were not only included, but that they belonged.
Perhaps we have a lot to learn from our kids!  
In our adult world, what opportunities do we have to make sure that those who are new or different (or even just starting to check us out) feel welcome, and that we would look for them if they weren't there?  Are they just included, or do they truly belong?
Matthew 25:35-40   Mark 10:45

Friend-raising

We are in the season of fundraising for our schools.  We have come through successful peach-peeling, apple pie-making, a golf tournament... we are in the midst of our annual fall drive and are about to launch into our Family Fun Fest.

In the non-profit world of development, some of this activity is often referred to as 'Friend-Raising'.  Definitions vary wildly around this made-up word, but it is a concept I've grown to love as it refers to some of our efforts here at NACE.  Developing friends and relationships with people who love our schools and want to see them thrive is the central tenet of this activity, and with acknowledgement to the writers atwww.101fundraising.org, I give you the following thoughts around our activity this year:

• F - Fun. Fundraising can be fun.  Connecting new people to NACE and building friendships as we work together are added benefits to the funds generated by our activity.
  
• R - Relationship.  By running similar events year after year, we grow relationships with people willing to give a second, third, fourth time, and actually expect and look forward to our call for assistance.
  
• I - Innovation.  New people coming on board help us to see how we've done things and how to improve them.  Our fundraising is constantly changing to adapt to what people need, want, and how to connect even more people to the cause of Christian Education.
  
• E - Everyone.  In an organisation like NACE, there is a chance for 100% involvement in fundraising.  If not with one event, then another, or a few!
  
• N - Network.  Each of us is involved in multiple organisations.  By getting together, we see each other in other venues and can carry the vision of NACE beyond our own small community.  Many relationships have been forged long term due to the networks you are connected to!
  
• D - Dialogue.  As we meet together over activities and fundraising, and carrying forward our mission as a school society, we get to know one another and get to appreciate our commonalities.  We get to know our support community and why they love NACE.  This dialogue is important to keep our friendships alive and flourishing.
  

As you involve yourself in our fundraising, challenge yourself to make new friends - with donors, with supporters, with others in the NACE community.  That new person you meet is NACE's next long-term friendship in the making!

F2F

It's that time!  We are ready for that hallmark of the school year: Parent-Teacher interviews.  This regularly scheduled meeting has a number of goals and objectives, but the most central of all is to 'ensure that our students are on the right path to learning'.  

When I bring up the topic of parent-teacher interviews, both parents are teachers alike can respond in fear and trepidation.  In mainstream media, we hear stories of confrontation, defensiveness, shame, etc etc etc stemming from the PTI.  This popular rendition, thankfully, is not what we experience on a regular basis at NACE.  In a community where the parents are so invested in their children's education and the school, these meetings quickly convey the shared support and investment we have in our children's well-begin and education.  

So now that the year has begun and the emails, newsletters, class reports, and other modes of communication have flown back and forth, it is time for some dedicated discussion on how the year has begun.  The Face-to-Face, or F2F as our texting teens refer to it.  Even the avid online communicator knows that eventually, we need to bridge the gap that other connections miss and sit down together face-to-face.

While I'm on popular media, sayings, and culture, perhaps an often used cliche applies to the feeling I get before and after a round of parent teacher interviews: "We're all in this together!"  Thank God for a community focussed on raising our children together in the light of God's word and faithfulness!

Weaving Christ into Habit and Celebration

I watched over the weekend as my family pulled away from the 'busy-ness' of everyday life and was able to enjoy a long weekend.  Thanksgiving.  It was a relatively typical Thanksgiving weekend as I look through my Facebook feed this morning and see that so many other families engaged in similar activities: Driving to family, preparation of a large meal, hikes in the fall colours, and games with siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.

I spent some time yesterday with a cousin paging through a photo album of 'Thanksgivings past' which documented my father's extended family and their celebrations over the years.  Along with comment of how styles have changed, how some of our family members are no longer with us, and how we've grown, there was a distinct sense of God's faithfulness and providence.  I recall over the years the ways in which Christ was made present at and invited to each gathering and how instrumental my family and extended family was in affirming and re-affirming that God is good, all the time.  Even, and perhaps especially, in the not-so-good times.

As a school community, it is that same habit that we seek to build daily.  God is here in our hallways.  He is in our every day.  He is present when we celebrate, and in the everyday routine;  when we begin the day, and when we end it; and when we learn everything in between.  God is good, all the time.

Some day in the distant future, when your kids look back to school days past, it is my prayer that they will remember that most poignantly, and that it will have carried on into their everyday and into their celebration.