Parent Meet and Greet, Drama, Sports, Worship Team, and Academics

The latest HS and MS blogs contain the same information, so you need not read both.

On October 7 at 9:00 a.m. after an elementary chapel, Conestoga Christian’s Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) is hosting a parents’ meet and greet for all CCS parents grades Pre-K - 12. This is a chance to meet other CCS parents, socialize, and learn more about how you as parents may partner with the school. Refreshments will be provided.

As a school, Conestoga Christian’s primary responsibility is the education of our students. Our mission and vision statements emphasize the following:

Our Mission: Educating the whole student—BODY, MIND, and SPIRIT—for God.

Our Vision: CONESTOGA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, in harmony with the home and church, provides a quality educational program for Preschool -12th-grade students

in an environment which develops critical thinking, nurtures Christ-like character, and equips students for a life of discipleship and service.

Each Tuesday after school I will be running a failing grades report for all of our students. Students who participate in extracurricular activities are required to keep up their grades to continue that participation. Any student who has a grade in any class that is below a 65 percent will be considered ineligible. What does this mean for student participation? Our student handbook states the following:

Athletes must be good competitors in all areas, including academics. All students must comply with the following eligibility requirements:

1. A team member must maintain passing grades in all subjects in order to participate in practices or games. On rare occasions, a student's LSP or SST action plan may include a provision modifying this requirement.

2. Within an academic trimester, a high school student whose cumulative work from the beginning of the trimester does not meet the requirement as of any Tuesday will be ineligible from the immediate following Wednesday through the following Tuesday.

Within an academic trimester, any middle school student whose cumulative work from the beginning of the trimester does not meet the requirement as of any Tuesday will be ineligible until the grade is brought up to a passing grade.

Eligibility reporting will begin the second Wednesday after the season begins. A season officially begins on the date of the first practice. Teachers of athletes will respond to the Athletic Director each week to indicate eligibility. If a student is ineligible more than twice during a sports season, that student will no longer be eligible to participate in the sport.

Musicals/Dramas: Eligibility checks for participation in a musical or drama occur weekly. From the first practice until mid-way through the practices (date to be determined by Director and Principal):  Any student with one or more failing grades may not participate in practice until the grade is brought up to a passing grade.  A student with failing grade(s) will be expected to participate in a mandatory study hall each Wednesday after school. During this study time, the student may seek help from teachers where needed. After the designated mid-way point:  Any student failing on that date who has had a failing grade two or more previous weeks will be ineligible to continue as a member of the cast.  A student with failing grade(s) who has not previously had a failing grade for more than one week will have two mandatory after-school study halls each week until the grade is brought up to a passing grade. If a student fails a subject for a trimester, that student is disqualified from participation.

IHL and Worship Team Students participating in IHL and/or worship team must maintain passing grades in all subjects. (On rare occasions, a student's LSP or SST action plan may include a provision modifying this requirement.) Failure to maintain these passing grades at the end of a trimester may result in removal from IHL or worship team for the next trimester. Reinstatement may occur if passing grades are earned at the end of the trimester.

As parents, you can stay on top of your child’s academic performance through ParentsWeb. If you have not done so already, simply click here to get instructions on how to sign up for access to your child’s grades as well as lesson plans in all of his/her classes.

Last week, our high school English teacher, Shannon Bernard, received the following email from one of our students who recently graduated from Conestoga Christian:

Thank you so much, even though I was a terrible student. These kids in college are terrible at writing  . . . . THANK YOU SOOO MUCH MRS. BERNARD!!!!!! YOU ROCK!

Praise God how he is using Conestoga Christian to prepare students for the next stage of life which God has for them.

Below are some important dates to remember:

October 7         Parent Meet and Greet

October 15        PSAT/Powder Puff Game

October 21        CCS Chicken Barbecue

October 22        CCS Country Auction

October 31        Picture Re-Takes

Off To A Good Start

This month HS and MS blogs contain the same information.

We are now well into our second week, and the school year has started well.   Within the next week, you should see some grades appearing on ParentsWeb in each of your child’s classes.  Under lesson plans, you should be able to see what activities your child is doing in class as well as when homework, quizzes, tests, and projects are due.  I encourage you and your child to check ParentsWeb daily.  If you do not yet have access, you can find instructions on how to set up ParentsWeb by going to www.conestogachristian.net, clicking on Resources, and then clicking on Current Families. There you will not only find information on how to set up ParentsWeb but also a lot of other useful information. If you have trouble accessing ParentsWeb, please contact our Director of Technology, Ginnie Lodge, at virginia.lodge@conestogachristian.net, and she will assist you.

One of the keys to your child’s success is communication. With ParentsWeb we are trying to provide you with information that will enable you to work and communicate with your child for his/her success. If you have any questions or concerns about a class, please contact your child’s teacher before contacting me or Mr. Parris about a classroom concern or issue. If after talking with the teacher you still have a concern, then contact me.

One bit of advice someone gave me in the past is that, if I have a major concern about something, I should not email but instead should call or set up an appointment. Often, emotions or assumptions can be read into emails that were not intended by the one writing the email.  With conversation, there is the opportunity to hear the tone of voice, see body language (if conferencing in person), ask questions, give feedback, and more quickly and easily resolve an issue.

We are now in our second year of all high school teachers using Google Classroom. This application offered by Google allows teachers to upload documents such as assignments, projects, and rubrics as well as share with students other information and resources for the class. If your child has not shown you how Google Classroom works, he/she can take you to a class and show it to you. This feature may also give you the information needed when assisting your child with an assignment.

Many of our students are participating in sports, the fall drama, or worship team. Starting on Tuesday, September 20, we will be checking for eligibility for all participants. If a student has any failing grades in any of their classes, he/she will be ineligible for a period of time.  If you have a student in any of these activities, you may want to remind him/her of this and together be checking ParentsWeb.

Finally, we recently received an email from a parent who has two children who have recently graduated from CCS and are presently in college.  I wanted to share this with you.

I am sooo excited to contact you.  Here we are, on the other side of Conestoga Christian School.  Both my children have such great memories of their years at CCS.  Now they are both college students at the University of Valley Forge.  My son is in his second year as a youth ministry major and a music minor.  My daughter is in her second year too, as a surprise. She took her college general eds online at the same time she was in her senior year at CCS.  When she got to campus, she discovered she was only two credits away from completing her freshman year.  She is a psychology major.  

What I felt was important for you to know is how wonderfully prepared both of them were for college. The education they received at CCS prepared them so well for college that the professors are amazed.  Students often have to be shown how to write a proper paper, not my children.  They were taught so well that they were able to begin at a level very pleasing to the professors.  

I am also very proud to inform you of the high award my daughter has received.  She won an "award of merit" last month for a poetry writing she entered into a fine arts competition. This award was for number one in the nation!!  Her writing kept advancing to the next level throughout the year but never did she imagine she would receive the highest award.  Along with her trophy and certificate, she received a college scholarship for $1,500. A "Master's graduate program" professor from LBC read one of my daughter's writings and told us her level of writing was even higher than his master program students. We are very proud of her.  We will be running a notice in the local paper announcing her national award and in that announcement mention, she is a graduate of Conestoga Christian School.

I am very pleased with the education my children received at CCS.  It wasn't until they entered into college that I really understood how beneficial their education at CCS was. The high standard, caring faculty and staff have been a huge blessing to our family.  Please share this information with your faculty and staff.  They really are making a difference.  

I wish you all could have heard them talking about how much they appreciate what they received at CCS, how good it feels to be well prepared for college. I can hardly wait to see where God takes them in their lifetime.  Thank you for all you do that makes CCS the great place it is.

Over the next month, we have several things happening here at CCS. If you haven’t done so already, mark your calendars for the following events:

September 15       NHS Induction

September 21       Picture Day

October 15            PSAT/Powder Puff Game

October 21            CCS Chicken Barbecue

October 22            CCS Country Auction

October 31            Picture Re-Takes

Randy Hepler