Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Off to a Great Start!

The MS and HS Blogs contain the same information, so you just need to read one if you have children in both MS and HS.

The students arrived yesterday with smiling faces and much enthusiasm. As I talked with teachers and students, I believe we had a great first day of school. This year we have 68 new students and 42 new families at CCS! We praise God for the opportunity to serve them and you, their parents. 

You or your child may have questions about your child’s schedule. If your child is a high school student, you should contact Mr. Greenly. You may call him here at the school or email him at jack.greenly@conestogachristian.net. If your child is a middle school student or is taking an online course (MS or HS), you may call me at the school or email me at randy.hepler@conestogachristian.net.

By the third week of school, 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 he/she has homework, quizzes, tests, and projects 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 and Media, 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. However, if you have any questions or concerns about class, please contact your child’s teacher before contacting me. 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 third 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, and worship team. Starting on Tuesday, September 26, we will be checking for eligibility for all participants. Students who have failing grades in any of their classes will be ineligible for a period of time. If you have a student in any of these extracurricular activities, you may want to remind him/her of this and together be checking ParentsWeb.

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


August 30 -31 8th Grade Retreat
August 31 HS Trip to French Creek State Park
September 1 & 4 No School
September 20 Picture Day
September 21 NHS Retreat
October 11 11th Grade PSAT
October 20 Half-day of School
October 20 & 21 Annual Chicken Barbecue and Country Auction
October 25 Health and Vision Screening


Randy Hepler
MS/HS Principal
Conestoga Christian School
2760 Main Street
Morgantown, Pennsylvania 19543
610.286.0353

randy.hepler@conestogachristian.net

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

It's August Already!

The MS and HS blogs are the same, so you only need to read one if you have children in both MS and HS.

It’s hard to believe that the first day of August is here. It’s only a few weeks until the beginning of school, and we are busy here at CCS getting ready for the return of teachers and students. As the first day of school approaches, you may have several questions if you are new to CCS or if you are a veteran family. You may have questions about things listed on the calendar the week before school as well as the first week of school.  


One of the ways we inform parents of what is happening at CCS is through our Cougar Update, which during the school year is a weekly newsletter that is emailed to all of our patrons.  A summer edition of the newsletter just went out this past week. If you missed it, you can access it by clicking on Cougar Update in the first sentence of this paragraph.


Another way we communicate with parents about events in the school is through our head of school's and principals’ blogs.  Periodically, I and Mr. Parris will be sending out a blog to inform you of upcoming events, reminders of changes in policy, information that can help you work with your students for their success, volunteer opportunities, and more.


We will also use RenWeb periodically to get information out to parents or to ask for help with various projects or needs of the school. ParentsWeb is a feature of RenWeb that allows parents to access their student’s schedule and grades as well as other information about their student and the school.  If you do not yet have a ParentsWeb account, you can learn how to create one by clicking here.


CCS also has a wealth of information for our families on the CCS website.  Simply go to www.conestogachristian.net and click on “Resources” and then on “Current Families” to find a plethora of information and forms needed for the school year.  While on the website, take time to search the entire site to learn more about the school.


High school students who have scheduling questions should contact me through August 18.  Starting August 21, they should contact Jack Greenly (jack.greenly@conestogachristian.net), our Director of Student Life, who is also our HS guidance counselor.


Middle school students with scheduling issues should contact me.  Students who have not turned in their Middle School Elective Description Sheet, should do so by August 14.


In looking at our calendar, we have a few events coming up the last two weeks of August.
  • August 24 is our Back-to-School Night.  Parents and students can meet at 5:45 to fellowship and enjoy a meal together before the main meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. You may access more information as well as order a Chick-fil-A meal by going here.  (Meals must be ordered by August 21.)
  • August 28 is the first day of school. Transportation forms to set up busing with your district, student parking space request forms, school supplies lists, and our Parent/Student Handbook can all be found on our website under “Resources” and then “Current Families.” If you are planning on using bus transportation through your district, it is imperative that you get your request in as soon as possible because it can take a week or two for districts to process your requests.
  • August 30-31 is the 8th Grade Retreat at High Point Camp in Geigertown, PA. Students will leave on Wednesday after chapel and return on Thursday before the end of school.  More detailed information about the retreat, the cost, and permission forms will be sent out in the weeks ahead. Keep a look out for it in your email. If you have any questions, you may contact our Director of Student Life, Jack Greenly, who is organizing and planning the retreat. He can be reached at jack.greenly@conestogachristian.net.
  • August 31 is a High School Day Retreat away from campus in order to foster a community spirit and fellowship among the high school student body. All HS students will be bused to French Creek State Park for the day where they will have several options of activities that will encourage relationship building.  Our Director of Student Life, Jack Greenly, will be sending out more information in the weeks ahead.  If you have any questions, you may contact Mr. Greenly, who is organizing and planning the retreat, at jack.greenly@conestogachristian.net.


As we approach the beginning of the school year, if you have any questions, please contact the school office.  If you are doing some shopping for school clothes, remember to refer to our school’s appearance code which can be found here and in the CCS Parent/Student Handbook. Remember, it is still not too late to enroll, and if you have friends or family who are interested in CCS, they can contact Michelle Parris at michelle.parris@conestogachristian.net. We look forward to seeing you and your children in the near future.


Randy Hepler
MS/HS Principal
Conestoga Christian School
2760 Main Street
Morgantown, Pennsylvania 19543
610.286.0353
randy.hepler@conestogachristian.net