{"id":3297,"date":"2018-01-30T09:06:43","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T14:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/school\/?p=3297"},"modified":"2018-01-30T09:11:59","modified_gmt":"2018-01-30T14:11:59","slug":"2018-state-of-the-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/school\/2018-state-of-the-school\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 State of the School Address"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/253429090\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" title=\"FCS State of the School 2018\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Scott Grass \/ Superintendent<\/h2>\n<p>Hi parents! Thanks for taking a little time out of your busy schedules to join us tonight.\u00a0 I appreciate the opportunity to share some updates and vision of Faith Christian School with you during this time together.<\/p>\n<p>Have you noticed that we live in a society that is characterized by being critical, complaining, and generally negative in general?\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to get caught up in that and as a result become cynical yourself.\u00a0 One of my favorite authors lately is Jon Gordon, and in one of his books he encourages his readers to make it a practice to take \u201cthank you\u201d walks to practice gratitude, enjoy the surroundings, and feel grateful instead of being stressed.\u00a0 I\u2019ve started to incorporate this practice on a daily basis and I wanted to share some of the blessings that I see at Faith Christian:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I see teachers and staff who care deeply for their students!<\/li>\n<li>I see resources, facilities, and equipment being used to help educate our students and help provide a great program here at FCS.<\/li>\n<li>I see students helping each other and being good friends.<\/li>\n<li>I interact with local pastors and church leaders and see partnership and friendships being strengthened between churches and FCS.<\/li>\n<li>I see international students interacting with national students and providing a deeper understanding of different cultures.<\/li>\n<li>I see our Special Needs program doing great things in strengthening our students and providing them special services and support.<\/li>\n<li>I see a staff who desires continued growth and wanting the very best for our students.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019m thankful and grateful for all of our parents and all of our families \u2013 who faithfully and sacrificially support Faith Christian School.\u00a0\u00a0 Thank you for all you do!<\/p>\n<p>The future of Faith Christian School is before us \u2013 and we are so excited about the future!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We are anticipating our building renovation and expansion project!\n<ul>\n<li>5 new elementary classrooms!<\/li>\n<li>A dedicated band room<\/li>\n<li>Enhanced security measures and school reception area.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>We are also planning a lot of changes and growth in our Athletic Program!\n<ul>\n<li>We view our Fine Arts and Athletic Programs as the Front Porch of our school!<\/li>\n<li>We want to get better and we plan to put a significant amount of time, energy, and resources into our Athletic Program in the coming days!<\/li>\n<li>Excited for the future and we are seeking to take some important and measured steps!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Our Academic Program is going to be on the receiving end of a lot of new and exciting development and resources!\n<ul>\n<li>We plan to announce a new \u201cExcellence in Academics\u201d program in the coming months.\n<ul>\n<li>With the advancements in technology \u2013 we will be able to offer more and more class offerings and support to our students.<\/li>\n<li>We also believe that we can stretch our high ability students more effectively and also continue to support our students<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Lately, I\u2019ve also been challenged with a commitment to be Christ-focused in everything that we do! And so, we are going to seek ways to be Christ-centered in our classes, our teaching, our philosophy \u2013 and literally every component of our program here at Faith Christian.\u00a0 This includes:\n<ul>\n<li>Continuing to hire teachers and coaches who are growing in their love for Jesus and for their students.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s seeking ways to bring the gospel into our teaching, our daily interactions with students, and in how we communicate with others.<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s being committed to having excellent chapels, speakers, Bible classes, etc.<\/li>\n<li>We desire to be \u201cunashamedly\u201d Christian in everything that we do and we want to remain committed to this mission and this focus!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019m thankful for the ministry of Faith Christian School in my own life and family.\u00a0 My wife Debbie and I have 3 children who have all graduated from FCS \u2013 and who have reaped many of the opportunities that our students have on a daily basis.\u00a0 The opportunity to be taught and to be coached by men and women who love the Lord and who are outstanding teachers.\u00a0 The opportunity to be in positions to \u201clive out their faith\u201d whether it\u2019s on the athletic field or out in the community serving others.\u00a0 The wonderful blessing of having friends \u2013 who strengthen them and who serve as good encouragers, in their walk with Christ and through their actions.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m thankful for every family that we have the opportunity to partner with!\u00a0 I realize that each one of you \u201cCHOOSE\u201d to send your children to Faith Christian \u2013 and I trust that we will continue to be your 1<sup>st<\/sup> Choice again in the future!\u00a0 I\u2019m encouraged about our future \u2013 we have a lot of goals that we hope to achieve and I trust that the Lord will be at the center of our plans and dreams!<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for joining us tonight!\u00a0 Please join us for a GREATER future and let\u2019s pray together that the Lord will be magnified and glorified in our combined efforts.<\/p>\n<h2>Jonathan Lambeth \/ Elementary Principal<\/h2>\n<p>As we follow our theme of \u201cGreater\u201d this year along with the Fruit of the Spirit, we are currently focusing on Greater Faithfulness.\u00a0 God has certainly been demonstrating His faithfulness this year in clear ways.\u00a0 He also calls all of us to be faithful.\u00a0 Humanly speaking, that is made easier by the dedication of our teachers, your partnership and support, and the joy of seeing your children grow and learn.<\/p>\n<p>We currently have 260 elementary students in 13 classes\u2014we were able to add a third kindergarten section this year!\u00a0 Early in the school year, our 5<sup>th<\/sup> graders enjoyed their overnight retreat at Camp Tecumseh learning about Foundations for Success.\u00a0 That trip depends heavily on solid parent leadership, and this year was one of the best.<\/p>\n<p>Our monthly character qualities and theme verses have strengthened the focus and impact of our chapels school-wide.\u00a0 We welcomed hundreds of guests for Grandparents Day to build relationships and build \u201cGreater Faith.\u201d\u00a0 Our Veterans Day Chapel and Thanksgiving Chapel helped us teach children to honor and thank persons God has provided who sacrifice for us and care for us.<\/p>\n<p>We continued to establish or extend elementary clubs this year with the Lego Club and with a pilot Chess club.\u00a0\u00a0 Parent engagement is a key to sustaining opportunities like these.\u00a0 Some of our upper elementary teachers are also able to provide regularly scheduled \u201chomework or help\u201d sessions, and the after school care program enjoys occasional special activity days like science day.<\/p>\n<p>Two highlights of our Reading Extravaganza this year were the increased amount of READING that took place with reading buddies and school-wide reading times, plus the unique opportunity to have a live video call and orca demonstration with educators and animal trainers at Sea World Orlando.<\/p>\n<h2>Lynn Heusinger \/ High School Principal<\/h2>\n<p>We have been blessed with a very good first semester in our Middle school and High school. Our staff is one of the best we have ever had and they work exceptionally hard to reach the hearts of your young people.<\/p>\n<p>This year we have tried to emphasize key character traits throughout the student body by highlighting one fruit of the Spirit each month and using that as our theme in our chapels, in our classes, as well as our day-to-day activities. Our middle school has even decorated their homeroom doors to go along with each theme.<\/p>\n<p>We are excited for the new technology enhancements in our classrooms, along with two new computer carts that are being put to good use in our middle school classes. This has freed up more time for the elementary to use our computer labs and thereby add to their academic programs. The Indiana Department of Education has also approved us for E Learning days, which has helped us to make special arrangements for classes to continue at home in the event of a school cancellation because of inclement weather.<\/p>\n<p>We thank the Lord for the privilege of partnering together with you to help train and equip your children to live effectively in God\u2019s world and we look forward to what the Lord will do in the months ahead.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u00adDenny Vauters \/ Recruiting Director<\/h2>\n<p>We have had a full and busy first semester. And this current spring semester is absolutely chock full of fun learning and growing activities in all areas of Faith Christian School. There is always a lot going on at Faith Christian School and that is because we are committed to providing opportunities for students of all levels to participate in many aspects of growing into the person God has called them to be.<\/p>\n<p>As we look ahead, that\u00a0 mission \u2013 helping students develop patterns of pursuing Christ in every aspect of their life \u2013 will infuse every subject, every day, every trip, every project, every single aspect of our school will be built to help students live effectively in God\u2019s world.<\/p>\n<p>One student recently shared with me her perspective of FCS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c As a student athlete, Christ has shown me the impact of his love and the way it infiltrates every aspect of our lives. When someone asked me why Faith, I began to consider all the good things that come from attending this school such as strong academics, the ability to play multiple sports, and weekly chapels and daily bible classes. But when it came down to the real answer, I would choose Faith for reasons deeper than the surface. I would say the incorporation of Christ into every aspect of life, the friendships centered around Christ, and the constant accountability which is offered, are the reasons why my family and I keep saying yes to Faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Our world is changing fast. Which means our school will need to change quickly in order to properly prepare students for their future. We are adding on to our building, we are adding academic programs to better serve students at every level. One thing that won\u2019t change is our commitment to partnering with parents to produce students who follow Christ, are academically prepared for the next step, and have the character necessary to succeed. We embrace the opportunity to get better at what we do, by providing more programs for our students, continually develop our staff so they are well positioned to equip students, and define and communicate our mission to ensure all school families are heading with us in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p>We are making concrete plans for the next five years. The future at FCS is bright, we are grateful you are a part of our future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scott Grass \/ Superintendent Hi parents! Thanks for taking a little time out of your busy schedules to join us tonight.\u00a0 I appreciate the opportunity to share some updates and vision of Faith Christian School with you during this time together. Have you noticed that we live in a society that is characterized by being&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/school\/2018-state-of-the-school\/\">read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.14 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>2018 State of the School Address - Faith Christian School Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/school\/2018-state-of-the-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2018 State of the School Address - Faith Christian School Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scott Grass \/ Superintendent Hi parents! Thanks for taking a little time out of your busy schedules to join us tonight.\u00a0 I appreciate the opportunity to share some updates and vision of Faith Christian School with you during this time together. 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