Drama, Retreat, Trip, Conferences, Thanksgiving, Hunting

After all the preparation, energy, frenzied and productive activity for last week’s auction, students and teachers returned to a normal school week without missing a beat. It’s hard to believe that we are almost through the month of October.  Before we blink, parent conferences and Thanksgiving will be upon us. But before the holiday arrives, there is much happening at CCS.

Starting November 1, students are no longer to wear shorts to school unless the forecast for Morgantown, PA, is 60 degrees Fahrenheit or above.

On November 5 & 6, middle and high school students will perform an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for our fall drama at 7:00 p.m. each night.  Cost is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for students.

On November 9-11, our eleventh and twelfth grade students will be leaving campus and traveling to Refreshing Mountain Camp in Stevens, PA, for our annual Spiritual Life Retreat. Mr.Thomm Starr, director of the counseling department at Lancaster Bible College, will be sharing with our students from the Scriptures in exploring with them spiritual gifts as well as doing some career education. The students will leave after school on Monday and return on Wednesday in time for the buses.

On Wednesday, November 11, the ninth and tenth grade classes will be traveling to The Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, to take a 2.5 hour tour of the old Dupont Gunpowder Works, exploring industrialization in America.  A permission slip and more information will be shared with students in the near future.

Students will be off school November 12 and 13 while teachers will be engaged in professional development to serve your children more effectively in fulfilling Conestoga Christian’s vision and mission.

Early in November, CCS will be contacting patrons about scheduling parent conferences for November 23 and 24. Look for more information in future issues of the Cougar Update.

Please note that our Thanksgiving break is from Tuesday, November 24, until Monday, November 30 (the first day of hunting season). Students return to school on Tuesday, December 1.

Finally, yesterday I reminded high school students about our cell phone policy. Students may use cell phones before school, at lunch time, and after school. Once homeroom has started, they may only use their cell phones with permission from a teacher or staff member with the exception being lunch time.

HS Update

High school is often an exciting, but sometime stressful, time in a student’s life with the many changes that adolescence brings. Students are changing physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Often this leads to difficulties or a crisis in their lives, which will manifest itself here at school. The faculty and staff want you to know that we are here for you and your child(ren) if difficulties or crises arise.  Your child should know that he/she may talk with any teacher, with me, or with Mr. Parris.  If boys would rather speak with a man, they can speak with Mr. Greenly. He welcomes being able to come alongside the students here at CCS. If he is not available, Mr. Parris or I are available to assist them.  

If girls have a concern or issue for which they need to talk with an adult but do not feel comfortable talking to a man, any of our female teachers are more than willing and available to talk with them.

As the school year continues, your child may come home and share with you something that happened in a class or in school that gives you concern. If it has to do with a specific class, please call the teacher and share with him/her what your child has told you, so that the teacher can verify the information you have received. If it is something that has occurred in school in general, please contact me and I will investigate the concern. One of my former bosses once stated that, “one’s perception is one’s reality.”  Often the perception our children have of what is going on in class or school is inaccurate, and the scriptures indicate that we should have a spirit of discernment, slow to judge and quick to listen, as we approach life’s circumstances.

Your child may have mentioned that we now have small groups in the the high school. On Thursdays during homeroom, small groups are led by students and supervised by teachers.  These groups are of mixed grades by gender with the purpose of encouraging interaction among students of the same gender in different grades and to provide a time to share, pray for one another, or share what God is teaching them from the scriptures.

This coming Monday marks the halfway point of the 1st trimester.  Please remember to check ParentsWeb to check on your child’s progress in his/her classes. If you have any questions about his/her grades, contact his/her teachers.

On October 14 most of the high school students will be testing all morning.  The 9th grade students will be taking the Aspire and the 10th and 11th grade students will be taking the PSAT. Seniors will not have to report to school until 10:45. When they arrive, they will go to the multi-purpose room where they will be measured for caps and gowns.  Students will have 5th period classes, lunch, and then the annual PowderPuff tournament. More details on testing and the PowderPuff will appear in the Cougar Update later this week.

Below are some important dates:

October 14     PSAT/Stanford Achievement Test - Grades 9-11, HS PowderPuff Tournament

October 16           CCS Chicken Barbecue

October 17           CCS Country Auction

Volunteers are still needed for both the chicken barbecue and the auction. If you have not signed up yet, we could use your help. Also please encourage your HS child(ren) to sign up to volunteer. You and your child(ren) can sign up to volunteer by going to the CCS website.