Abundant Life Christian School

Chapel . . . Experiencing God

Each week, our students attend Chapel - on Tuesdays for Elementary (1st - 5th grades) and on Thursdays for MS/HS (6th - 12th grades).  K4 and K5 have a special Chapel just for them each week on Tuesdays as well.

Every week, I am so impressed with what's happening during the Chapel time from worship to the message to how our kids respond.  If you ever are free on a Tuesday or Thursday morning, drop by the City Church Sancturary where we hold Chapel and experience it with us . .. 8:15a-9:30a for MS/HS and 8:30a-9:15a for Elementary.

Today, however, was an exceptional day and i just have to share with you want happend in our MS/HS Chapel.  Our guest speaker was Mike Anderson from Bethesda Christian Fellowship.  He shared with our student's about the concept of God's will and how to have a better understanding of walking in God's will.  He gave them three 'tools' to use as they seek God's will in their lives - begin with the Bible and seeking answers from the Holy Scriptures.  Next , he encouraged them to enage in the church for Jesus is about His father's work and He is building His Church, so we should seek fellowship with other Christians.  Finally, the students were challenged to embrace the Holy Spirit and follow the direction He leads.

While the message was wonderful, it was the rest of Chapel that was powerful!  Our students who are part of the Bethesday TwentyFourSeven Youth Group put together a presentation that in just a few moments took us from creation to crucifixion and resurrection - they shared the entire good news of the Bible through music, motion, and emotion.  It was raw and powerful and reached inside you, tugging at your heart, drawing you closer to the One who is the Truth and the Way and the Life.

Kudos to our students who participated and thanks to the youth group members who don't attend ALCS, but came along today to share this powerful presentation!  I was able to snap some pictures throughout the performance and I have posted them on Facebook if you'd like to get a visual of what the perfomance looked like. (not great lighting, but gives you a chance to see what we saw)

Thanks to Bethesda TwentyFourSeven Youth Group for a powerful Chapel!

Vernon Johnson as God/Jesus

Nathan Feest as Satan

Zach Johnson as Adam and Mariah Kromanaker as Eve

Jonah Gustafson and Kaitlyn Gerry as demons

Dylan Rockwell and Hans Kromanaker as Roman soldiers

Justina Rinzel as a blind woman

Brittany Gerry as a tempter

Allie Gerry and Gen Feest as angels

Life is so busy for our students that Chapel is a wonderful opportunity to take a moment out of the hectic school day and focus on God, draw near to Him, and learn more about Him.  Chapel . . . it's all about experiencing God!

Gotcha Being Honest!

This year in Elementary Chapel  for 1^st – 5^th grade, our kids have been learning from The Children’s Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett. 

The book is known for its compilation of classic poems and timeless tales all grouped around particular virtues – courage, perseverance, responsibility, work, self-discipline, compassion, faith, honesty, loyalty, and friendship.  Such wonderful virtues to learn about and put into practice!

And that’s just what our elementary students are doing! 

Putting into practice the virtues learn about in Chapel. 

The first virtue they learned about was honesty.  In order to reward examples of honesty and honest behavior, the teachers in 1^st – 5^th created Gotcha Passes and whenever they spotted honesty in action, they would award a pass.  Then, all the passes went into a basket and names were drawn for prizes at Chapel.

We had a number of Gotcha Passes awarded . . . kudos to our students who were caught in the act of honesty.  (This was a tough but important virtue as we expect our students to be honest, but every now and then the urge to fib and get oneself out of a sticky situation arises . . . as students were honest in situations that might have been difficult, they were called out for honesty.  Passes were given for honesty – shall we say ‘above and beyond’ their normal level of honesty.)

Congratulations . . . Gotcha Being Honest!

KG:  Naomi, Austyn, Megan, and Wesley

1^st grade:  Angus, Bella, and Levi

2^nd grade:  Cruz, TJ (2x), Anna, and Tricia

3^rd grade:  Peyton (2x), Grant, Wyatt, Savannah (2x), Taylor,

                  Alisha, Lewcie, Sydney, Katlyn, and  Kara

4^th grade: Caleb B, Maeya, and Emma

5^th grade:  Claire, Blake, Teagan, Jimin, Sam, Anna, Precious,

                  Lydia, Boomer, Wyatt, Lizzie, Graham,David,

                  Anya, and Jacob

Great work, boys and girls! 

We’ll look for many courageous acts from you in the next few weeks as you work on your next virtue of “Courage!”

The Gerry girls shared their bear costumes to brighten the day!

Bear Day . . . a wonderful ALCS tradition! 

Last Friday, our 1st and 2nd grades once again hosted their annual Bear Day event.  What fun!!  Miss Rohrer and Mrs White planned a whole day of  activities that were both educational and fun for their classes.  Special fun included decorating bear shaped cookies (and eating them, of course!), doing gummi bear math, and learning about bears plus bringing a favorite bear to class and wearing t-shirts or clothing that have bears on them and wearing slippers.  It is a truly comfortable and fun day of learning!!

Bear Day is just another example of what I think makes ALCS special . . . it's bringing fun into the classroom and making a day of learning fun and special.  Our seniors remember Bear Day fondly and it holds special memories for them.  I think that speaks so loudly - that 10 years later, the seniors still remember Bear Day, how much fun it was and how it made a normal ol' school day special.

This year, Bear Day just happened to be our High Point Christian School Preview Day and at the request of the high schoolers we opened Bear Day up to our MS and HS students . . . wow!  A number of them participated, bringing in their favorite bears and wearing slippers (watch Facebook for a special photo set of "The Slippers of ALCS").  It was a comfy and cozy day as we hosted HPCS - and their students joined us in the fun by wearing slippers and bringing their teddy bears, too!  We couldn't have been happier than to have such a fun day in the high school while HPCS was here . . . not only did they see our great teachers and see the school, but they saw the spirit of ALCS - learning in a Christ-centered environment that is fun and supportive.

I want to give a special "Congratulations" to the following students in the MS/HS who competed for our special Beary Good Prizes for biggest bear, softest bear, and cutest bear. 

      Biggest Bear:  Abby Ferge                 Softest Bear:  Luke Kowald    

      Cutest Bear (tie):  Kira Frances and Jordan Rockwell 

I also would like to recognize our Honorable Mentions - so fun, we had to create a category for them!  

        Best Bear on the Head:  Joseph Cotter             Smallest Bear:  Jade Hein    

        Most Bears on the Body:  Jacob Berggren         Most Famous Bear:  Katie Ferge

All Honorable Mentions received a free cookie at lunch.  Our grand prize for the main awards is a surprise treat from Mr. Zehner to Abby, Luke, Kira, and Jordan - we hope they enjoy!

Bear Day is a fun tradition at Abundant Life Christian School!  I think it serves to prove - whether 6 or 16 - we can have a lot of fun while getting a great education.  A little silliness and a lot of laughter goes a long way to not only make great memories but to reinforce lessons in the classroom.