Moms in Prayer and More

MS and HS blogs are the same so you only need to read one if you have children at both levels.

Tonight is the opening of CCS’ production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.  Performances are tonight at 7 p.m., Friday night at 7 p.m., and Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.  The cast and crew have been working hard in preparation for the performance. Come on out and bring the whole family for a night of fun entertainment.

Moms in Prayer

Moms in Prayer is a group of 2 or more women who meet regularly to intercede on behalf of children and schools through prayer. CCS mom Julie Allan would love to start a group here at CCS. Are you willing to pray for the children and staff at CCS? You don't need to be eloquent in prayer (or even audible), just committed to prayer!  It would be so helpful if you would take a minute to fill out this quick survey to help us figure out the best time to hold the group time. Go to  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WJDBGW3 to take the survey.  Thank you!

For grades 8-11, we are in the process of scheduling classes for next year. I am scheduling the 8th grade, and Mr. Greenly is scheduling the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students.  If you have questions or would like to set up an appointment to discuss your child’s schedule, please contact us.

Below is information on final assessments. Students in grades 9-11 need to turn in permission slips to leave early on finals days. So far, I have only received one form. There is a link below to the form. Please get those forms to me by May 27.

Below are some of the major events occurring in the upcoming days and weeks, including information on final assessments:

• The MS/HS musical this year is You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and will be held May 19-21.
• Our annual Athletic Banquet is on Tuesday, May 24, at 5:45 p.m. at Shady Maple Banquet Facilities.
• On Wednesday, May 25, HS and MS academic awards will be presented during chapel.  Parents are invited to attend.  Chapel is from 8:20 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
• On June 3 our band and IHL are traveling to Hershey Park to compete and perform at Music in the Park.  Students will be gone from school all day.
• Final assessments are May 31 - June 3.
• Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are expected to be in school all morning during end-of-the-year assessments.
• Students in grades 9-11 may leave after final assessments have ended each day (Tuesday - 1:15 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday - 11:20 a.m.; Friday - 9:55 a.m.)  If a student has no final assessment 5th period on Friday, he/she does not need to attend school, and the absence will be excused.  Students who do not have a way home will stay for the day and will have a supervised study hall. A permission slip to leave early was emailed to students.  See the link below for the early dismissal permission slip.
• During assessment periods, seniors only need to be on campus when they have assessments.  Seniors who are exempt from assessments or who do not have a scheduled assessment during an assessment period do not need to be on campus during that assessment.  They do, however, need to sign in and out as they come and go for their assessments.
• Seniors may be exempt from a final assessment in a class in which they have a cumulative average of 95% or higher.
• Below is the Final Assessments Schedule:
• Grade 9-11 Final Assessments Early Dismissal Permission Slip click here

HS Final Assessment Schedule 2016

Grades 9-12

Date	8:25-9:48	9:51-11:14	11:50 - 1:13
May 31	Period 1 Final Assessment	Period 3 Final Assessment	Period 6 Final Assessment
June 1	Period 8 Final Assessment	Period 7 Final Assessment
June 2	Period 2 Final Assessment	Period 4 Final Assessment
June 3	Period 5 Final Assessment

MS Final Assessment Schedule 2016 
Grade 8

Date	8:25-9:48	9:51-11:14
May 31	Period 1 Final Assessment	Period 3 Final  Assessment
June 1	Period 5 Final  Assessment	Classes Gr. 6-8
June 2	Period 2 Final  Assessment	Period 4 Final  Assessment

6th & 7th grade students will have classes during these days.

• June Term - June 6-8
• MS Activities - June 6-8
• Senior Trip - June 6-9
• All School Field Day - June 9
• Last Day of School - June 9
• Graduation - June 10; no school

As always, if you have any questions, please contact the school.

Only Five Weeks Left

MS and HS blogs are the same so you only need to read one if you have children at both levels.

May is here and there are only 36 calendar days until school ends, but who's counting? With the month of May comes a flurry of events and activities among the regular practices, rehearsals, games, and much more. This is a month when students often will feel stressed, fatigued, and overwhelmed. Some may struggle to keep up with academics. I encourage you to keep current with your child's grades and classes through RenWeb and Google Classroom. If you have any concerns or your child is struggling, please contact his/her teachers. We want to work with you and help you and your child in any way that we can to navigate successfully these final five weeks of school.

Below are some of the major events occurring in the upcoming days and weeks including information on final assessments:

• The evening of May 5 is Open House.
• May 6 is Race for Education starting at 1:00 p.m.
• Next week, May 9, 10, and 12, is the annual student/faculty softball tournament. The high school classes play on Monday and Tuesday, and the winner of the student tournament plays the faculty on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. CCS patrons are invited to come and join the student body on Thursday as they watch the faculty defeat the students.
• The MS/HS musical this year is You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and will be held May 19-21. Tickets are available now.
• Our annual Athletic Banquet is on Tuesday, May 24, at 5:45 p.m. at Shady Maple Banquet Facilities.
• On Wednesday, May 25, HS and MS academic awards will be presented during chapel. Parents are invited to attend. Chapel is from 8:20 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
• On June 3, our band and IHL are traveling to Hershey Park to compete and perform at Music in the Park. Students will be gone from school all day.
• Final assessments are May 31 - June 3.
• Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are expected to be in school all morning during end-of-the-year assessments.
• Students in grades 9-11 may leave after final assessments have ended each day (Tues. - 1:15 p.m.; Wed. & Thurs. 11:20 a.m.; Friday 9:55 a.m. If a student has no final assessment 5th period on Friday, he/she does not need to attend school, and the absence will be excused.). Students who do not have a way home will stay for the day and will have a supervised study hall. A permission slip to leave early was emailed to students. See the link below for the early dismissal permission slip.
• During assessment periods, seniors only need to be on campus when they have assessments. Seniors who are exempt from assessments or who do not have a scheduled assessment during an assessment period do not need to be on campus during that assessment. They do, however, need to sign in and out as they come and go for their assessments.
• Seniors may be exempt from a final assessment in a class in which they have a cumulative average of 95% or higher.
• Below is the Final Assessment Schedule:
• Grade 9-11 Final Assessment Early Dismissal Permission Slip click here

HS Final Assessment Schedule 2016

Grades 9-12

Date	8:25-9:48	9:51-11:14	11:50 - 1:13
May 31	Period 1 Final Assessment	Period 3 Final Assessment	Period 6 Final Assessment
June 1	Period 8 Final Assessment	Period 7 Final Assessment
June 2	Period 2 Final Assessment	Period 4 Final Assessment
June 3	Period 5 Final Assessment

MS Final Assessment Schedule 2015 Grades 8

Date	8:25-9:48	9:51-11:14
May 31	Period 1 Final Assessment	Period 3 Final  Assessment
June 1	Period 5 Final  Assessment	Classes Gr. 6-8
June 2	Period 2 Final  Assessment	Period 4 Final  Assessment

6^th & 7^th Grade Students will have classes during these days

• June Term - June 6-8
• MS Activities - June 6-8
• All School Field Day - June 9
• Senior Trip - June 6-9
• Last Day of School - June 9
• Graduation - June 10; no school

As always, if you have any questions, please contact the school.

Where Has the Year Gone?

The MS and HS blogs are the same, so if you have a child at both levels, you do not need to read both.

Where has the year gone? We are almost half way through the third trimester and seven weeks away from the end of the year, yet there is much learning and many activities that will be packed into that time. Right now through Saturday, several of our middle school and high school students are competing at the TSA state competition. Several of our high school students are participating in baseball, lacrosse, and track as well as rehearsing for the CCS presentation of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

We are presently working on setting up the master schedule for next year at both the HS and MS levels. For HS, the course selection sheets should be given to students somewhere around the middle of May. More information for the MS schedule will also come out around that time. We will also be holding a scheduling evening meeting for incoming 9th grade students and their parents

As often happens with the change of seasons into spring and the approach of the end of a school year, students can lose their focus on academics. I encourage you to continue to check ParentsWeb regularly for your student’s grades as well as assignments. What your child is doing in class and when assignments are due can be found under “Lesson Plan” for each class. Also, I encourage you to ask your child to see his/her Google Classroom accounts for each of the core subjects. There you will be able to more specifically see the work that has been assigned, as well as other classroom information. If you have a question or concern about a class, please contact the teacher.

As we approach the end of the year, mark your calendars for the following events:

April 21 - Senior Presentations
May 4 - National Day of Prayer Chapel
May 5 - Open House
May 6 - Race for Education

May 12 - Faculty/Student Softball Game

May 13 - Junior/Senior Banquet

May 19-21 - You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
May 26 - Evening of Science and Arts

May 30 - Memorial Day

May 31-June 3 - Final Assessments

June 6-8 - June Term
June 6-9 - Senior Trip
June 9 - All School Field Day

June 10 - Graduation

Moving into Spring

Middle and High School

This week brings warm weather and a feeling of spring. As we move from one season to the next, the school year also moves on in the academic calendar as well as the calendar of events. As of the end of the day on Tuesday, March 8, CCS will be officially two-thirds finished with the school year. (Report cards will be sent home March 18.) Schedule change requests should be made within the first week of trimester 3. HS students should see Mr. Greenly with any schedule change requests, and MS students should see Mr. Hepler with any elective change requests.

Summer is just around the corner, but before we get there, there are many classes to attend, assignments to be completed, practices and rehearsals to be held, games to play, performances to present, and events to enrich and recognize our students and school community.

Founders Event

Tickets are still available to our Founders Event at Shady Maple featuring Willie and Korie Robertson of Duck Dynasty. To purchase tickets you may go here. For further information call the school.

CCS Students to Attend Regional Bible Quizzing Event

CCS 10th grade student Savanna Brubacher and 11th grade student Mindy Beam will be traveling to Ohio the weekend of March 18-20 to compete with their churches in the ACC Bible Quizzing Tournament. There will be 70-80 teams representing 300 students from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia quizzing on the book of Acts. Please pray for Savanna and Mindy, and if you cross their paths, give them words of encouragement as they prepare for the tournament.

TSA Conference

Mr. Everhart and several parents will be taking 15 talented MS and HS students to the State TSA Conference in Sevens Springs, PA, on April 13-16. Students have been working hard to prepare their projects and presentations for the conference. Please pray that God will help them to maximize their time and efficiency so they may be well prepared for the conference.

Open Houses

Coming in March and April are our MS/HS open houses. On March 30 and April 13 from 8:15 - 9:30 a.m., interested students and families may join us for chapel and a tour of the school. If you have any friends or acquaintances who may be thinking about Christian education, tell them about the open houses.  If they are planning to attend, they should RSVP the school at office@conestogachristian.net. Also, remember that if you refer a family to CCS and they enroll, you are eligible for a $600 tuition discount for the year. Click here or contact Mark Detwiler in the school business office if you have any questions about our referral program.

Mark Your Calendar

Things are starting to pick up again as we head towards spring.  Below is a list of events and dates for upcoming events:

March 8 - End of Trimester 2

March 13 - Daylight Savings Time

March 18 - Report Cards Go Home

March 18 - Founders Event - Willie and Korie Robertson

March 23 - 28 - Easter Break

March 30 - MS and HS Open House

April 8 - Grandparents Day

April 13 - MS and HS Open House

April 13- 16 - TSA State Conference

April 15 - Elementary Musical

April 21- Senior Presentations

April 29 - Piano and Vocal Recital

Planning Ahead

The MS and HS Blogs are now combined, so if you have children at both levels you only need to read one of the blogs.

Thinking of June Already?

The Christmas break and season seem to have blown by quickly and with it the warmer weather. With the cold finally arriving and reminding us that it is winter, here at school we have already been focusing and planning for events in May and June.

Over the past several months the middle and high school staffs have been planning for end- of-the-year activities. The middle school staff has been planning enrichment activities for June 6-8 while the high school staff has been planning for June term and the senior trip. Information for the middle school will be shared in the coming months. At the end of this month or beginning of next month, 9th-11th grade students will receive information and a registration form in order to sign up for June term offerings.  Priority in selections will be by grade with juniors registering first, then sophomores, and then freshmen.

Next week, I will be meeting with 11th and 12th grade students to discuss the Junior/Senior Banquet. They will be receiving the Junior/Senior Banquet commitment form which outlines expectations and the appearance code for the banquet.  We want students to have this information before they start shopping for the banquet.

Below are some of the important events that will be occurring in the MS and HS later this year:

• TSA Regional Conference - February 6
• Pastors Luncheon - February 11
• Band and Strings Recital - February 16
• Grandparents Day - April 8
• TSA State Conference - April 13-16
• Junior/Senior Banquet - May 13
• School Musical May 19-21
• Evening of Science and Arts - May 27
• MS End-of-Year Enrichment Activities - June 6-8
• HS June Term - June 6-8
• Senior Trip - June 6-9
• All School Field Day - June 9
• Graduation June 10

Multiplying Your Talents

In our first HS chapel of the year, Mr. Parris shared with our HS students from the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-30. He then challenged each of the students to take $20.00 of the school’s money and find ways to multiply it and return the fruits of their work or investment to the school at the end of the year.  If you have a HS student, you may want to check with him/her to see how he/she is meeting the challenge.

Dangers of the Internet

The Internet is a wonderful tool for information, education, entertainment, shopping, and much, much more. However, it is also fraught with many temptations and dangers for our children in various forms.  The Internet is a realm where spiritual battle can take place. As Christians we need to remain alert and alert our children to these dangers (1 Peter 5:8; Eph. 6:10-18; Phil. 4:8). CCS has software and systems in place that monitor and record all Internet usage. Internet usage is filtered, and sites visited are logged. At any time online activity can be monitored as it happens. No student should have any expectation of privacy as to his or her computer or Internet usage, or as to any information stored in the computer or on the network as well as a student’s Google Drive and email.

If we, as a school, discover your child has been frequenting inappropriate or dangerous sites or having inappropriate email contacts, we will inform you immediately.

There are many resources and tools available to help you provide safety for your children in the world of the Internet. Below are some links to sites that provide information and tools that can help you as parents protect your children.

http://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/protect-kids-internet/#page-1

https://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/protect-kids-online

http://parental-software-review.toptenreviews.com/parental-software-protecting-a-child-online.html

Conferences Next Week and More

The MS and HS blogs are the same this month, so, if you have a child in both schools, you only need to read one.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/teacher conferences are next week on November 23 & 24. Mrs. Lodge sent out instructions last Friday about how to sign up for conferences. If you did not receive that information, you may click here to download the instructions.

As you approach conferences with the teachers, if you have specific issues or concerns that you would like to discuss with any of them, I would recommend that you send them a brief email in regards to what you would like to discuss so they may be better prepared to address your concerns.

Also, if a teacher has several of your children in their classes, you may want to book two consecutive time slots to have adequate time to discuss your children.

The Value of Perseverance

As parent/teacher conferences approach, parents often reflect upon their children’s abilities, successes, failures, progress, as well as their futures, especially if they are graduating in a year or two. Questions often arise as to what determines or what can be done to facilitate growth and success. What research is beginning to show is that it is determination and perseverance through struggle (grit) that brings growth and success. In a short Ted Talk, former teacher and now psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth shares what research has shown. Click here to see her Ted Talk.

It is only natural that we as parents do not want to see our children under stress, in pain, or struggling in life. (We want the best for our children and want them to be happy.) For many of us, often our first reaction is to try and alleviate the pain and suffering or try to remove what is contributing to the stress or unhappiness whether it be in academics, sports, work, or other areas of life. However, in doing so, we may be unintentionally preventing our children from learning the value of struggle and perseverance and enabling a pattern of avoiding or giving up when struggle or suffering occurs.

The scriptures teach that God uses perseverance and suffering for our growth and sanctification. They also teach that Christians are to come alongside and support one another in perseverance and suffering:

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing . . . . We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 & 14

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.  Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Ecclesiastes 4:10-12

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

As your children struggle with homework, projects, and material in various subjects or in a sport or performance, I encourage you to push them to persevere and continue to work at it. (We will do the same here at school.) If you can, guide them in working it through, but don’t do it for them. If you don’t know how to help them (after Algebra 1, I’m pretty useless for help in math), encourage them to see their teacher, coach, or director and arrange to get help after or before school, during lunch or a study hall, during Wednesday Workout, or at practice or rehearsal. Feel free to contact teachers with your concerns about how you can work together with the teacher, coach, or director to assist your child. If the teachers do not know your concerns, they cannot address them.

Our country is growing more and more hostile to Christians, and our children are likely to face more challenges to their faith than believers have in the past.  Our prayer is that their time at CCS will prepare them not only for college or future employment but for the challenges of life---the challenges they will face in this world and from the evil one as they are part of God’s calling to serve Him, fulfill the Great Commission, and establish His Kingdom.

Long Term Substitute Needed

Conestoga Christian is seeking a long-term substitute, preferably with a social studies or history background, for Mrs. Kolb who will be going on maternity leave in January for 9-12 weeks. If interested, please contact Ken Parris at 610-286-0353 or ken.parrris@conestogachristian.net for more information.

Upcoming Events

Nov. 20 Middle School Social

Nov. 23 End of Trimester 1

Nov. 23-24 Parent/Teacher Conferences

Nov. 24-Nov 30 Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 1 Trimester 2 Begins

Dec. 4-5 Cougar Classic

Dec. 10 TCS HS Christmas Concert

Dec. 17 ES/MS Christmas Program