WCCS CONNECTIONS  2/23/10
Looking Forward...Westminster Catawba Christian School
Weekly E-News
 
Welcome to the weekly E-News from the Leadership Team of Westminster Catawba Christian School.
Our desire is to keep you informed about upcoming activities/events as well as provide you with resources that may help you in reaching this mission at home.
 
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Admissions/
Development
Lisa McCutchen 
We are excited about a few upcoming events in the Development office. On Thursday, April 15 we will be celebrating Grandparent's Day on the Westminster campus for grandparents of students pre-school through 3rd grade. On Monday, April 19, we will be teeing up for the 6th Annual Westminster Cup Golf Tournament at the Tega Cay Golf Club. Register for the tournament by March 19 and get a chance to win a 3-night beach get-a-way to Seabrook Island, SC! Last year, over $21,000 was raised through this awesome event. If you are interested in volunteering for either Grandparent's Day or Westminster Cup, please email lmccutchen@wccs.org.
 
Athletics
Steve Cross 

Spring sports (junior high and varsity girl's soccer, golf, varsity boy's soccer and varsity baseball) practice is underway with games and matches beginning in a couple of weeks.  With the exception of golf, we will be charging admission as we have during the fall and winter sports seasons.  Admission to games and matches is $3 for adults and $1 for students. Athletic sports passes have been reduced and are available through the Athletic Department for $30 for adults and $15 for students.  Please contact Karla Jollie (328-5468 or kjollie@wccs.org) if you are interested in purchasing a pass. 

 

There are still spaces available on the club tennis team if you have a student that would like to participate.  Practice begins March 2nd and you can contact Tyanne McDonald at 803.324.7759 or mattmcdonald@fmtc.net should you have questions or concerns.

 
STAR
Janice Carter 
Thankfulness for Being Different 

During the latter part of last week, I had the privilege and the honor to be a part of an accreditation evaluation team for another Christian school.  Our job was not to say whether or not it was a good or bad school but to ascertain if they really are who they say they are and do what they say they do. The process required many hours of observation, reading, interviewing, writing and rewriting but it was a great experience. There were many commonalities between our school and theirs as well as many differences.

I want to speak about one difference in particular that is near and dear to my heart: the opportunity to respond to the needs of uncommonly gifted students, as well as the exceptionally gifted and talented students. We have the STAR program that provides services for students at both ends of the academic spectrum; for this, I am truly thankful.  As I observed in classrooms at various grade levels, I saw many red flags.  There were students who would potentially benefit from special services; however, there was not a formally organized program that responds to the learning needs of all of their students.

I was so thankful we have a program that provides information, resources and services to enable our students to experience success in the classroom as well as receive creative stimulation. Join me in thanking our board and leadership for making these services available. Let's also thank the parents, faculty and staff for supporting our efforts in the STAR Program. To God be the glory for allowing us to serve more of His children in a Christian college prep institution.  Special thanks to my STAR faculty who serve as key advocates for these students.

The school I was able to observe recognizes the needs present in their school and are proactively investigating how best to implement a program of services to meet the needs of their entire population.  I am also thankful for the opportunity for WCCS to be a resource to this school as they design their program of services. Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good!
Head of School - Ray Casey

One Heart, One Mind, One Purpose ... Philippians 2:2

 

The Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat 

 

"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" I Cor. 9:25-27.

The Winter Olympic Games has seen the best athletes in the world compete for the gold.  After four years of training endlessly, these athletes are measured down to the hundredths of a second at the highest levels of competition.  For some, there are remarkable comebacks, overcoming adversity, or surprising stories that capture the thrill of victory.  For others, the dream of standing on a podium and hearing their national anthem is swept away with a disqualification, miscue, or fall that results in the ultimate agony of defeat.

The Olympic spirit is a parable of the Christian life.  We are called to strict training, focus, fighting the right things, subjecting our impulses to kingdom purposes, and remaining qualified to pursue a prize that lasts forever.  The thrill of victory!  When we forgo the spiritual disciplines, become aimless, fight the wrong things, and allow self-gratification to subdue us, we disqualify ourselves and experience the agony of defeat.  Run your race for an enduring crown.

Catawba Campus - Dave Baniszewski

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."   Psalm 126:3

Julie Silverthorn Volleyball Tournament: The annual volleyball tournament honoring Julie Silverthorn is scheduled for Thursday and Friday evening, February 25 & 26. This event is sponsored by the WCCS Beta Club. We encourage all of you to come out and watch some of the games in support of this tournament fundraiser that is raising funds for Haiti. Mr. Keith Falde, one of our high school science teachers, is a former missionary to Haiti and through his connections, we will be able to support a church and Christian school located there.
 
32nd Annual USC-Lancaster Honors Day: A good number of our NHS juniors and seniors will be joining students from other area schools in this annual event that offers the opportunity to participate in Academic Quizzes, Creative Competition, and Honors Bowl. This event will be held on Friday, February 26, during the school day. We wish our participating students well and know they will represent WCCS admirably.
 
Teacher Appreciation Week is March 8-12. Please take the opportunity to honor and thank the dedicated teachers who minister, instruct, and invest themselves here at WCCS. God has blessed our school with a committed group of people who are passionate about their call to Kingdom education.
 
Women in Engineering Workshop: York Technical College is sponsoring a one-day workshop that shows young women, through hands-on activities, that engineering is a fun and exciting career. The workshop will be held in the college's labs and classrooms. The workshop takes place on Saturday, March 27, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and is open to the first 50 young women in the 6th to 9th grades and their mothers who register. The cost is $15 per person. If interested or if you need more information, please call the college directly @ (803) 325-2888.
 
WCCS Blood Drive: Coming up next month on Friday, March 19, from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm, the WCCS Service Initiative will be hosting a blood drive to support our local blood bank, Community Blood Centers of the Carolinas, in the Catawba Campus Chapel. This is a local organization and all the blood donated during this drive will stay in this area. CBCC provides most of the blood to our local area hospitals including CMC, Piedmont and Presbyterian. As an added incentive to giving blood, we are also partnering with CBCC in their "Pint for Pounds" campaign in which every pint of blood donated will result in 6 pounds of food donated to Second Harvest Food Bank!  So not only will we be able to save lives, but we will help to feed the hungry at the same time!  All donors will also get a free t-shirt.  You may sign-up for a time slot by visiting www.cbcc.us/donate and enter sponsor code: wccs.  You will then need to register if it is your first time visiting their site, but this is basic information (name, birthdate, email, etc).  It takes about one minute to register and sign up for a time slot!  Please join us in this effort and mark your calendars for March 19!
 
Westminster Campus - Sandi Jolly
ASP Accreditation Update: We have begun the Accreditation by School Progress (ASP) reaccreditation process for grades K-12.  ASP is a protocol for reaccreditation through institutional action research, involving the entire school community in an improvement process.  The components of ASP involve research, selection, planning, implementation, and peer review during a repeating five-year-cycle.  WCCS has proposed a project on Curriculum Mapping and the visiting team (April 11-13) will determine if we are ready to move forward.  

Curriculum mapping will allow us to address several faculty identified areas of needed improvement (Biblical integration, curriculum coherence, critical thinking skills, communication, and parent involvement).  Curriculum mapping will benefit WCCS in many ways, such as, current and accurate curriculum documents, effective communication with peers and parents, elimination of gaps and redundancies in curriculum, and curriculum controlled instruction instead of textbook driven.  Curriculum mapping is also an excellent resource for new teachers. 

Dr. Elaine Lindsay, the ACSI visiting team chair, was on campus this month to discuss the scope of our proposed project.  Faculty teams have been formed to study 12 different areas related to curriculum mapping and curriculum development.  Below is the process schedule:

2009-2010 - Visit of ASP Transition Team - Commission decision for ASP protocol

2010-2011 - ASP Project - take action steps for research/strategy

2011-2012 - Take action steps - implementation and assessment

2012-2013 - ASP Project - Take action steps for documentation/validation

2013-2014 - ASP team visit returns to validate work on project  

REACH Accreditation Update:  The preschool faculty continues to work on their initial accreditation through the REACH protocol.  They have been writing the required school profile, a snapshot of the preschool program.  Two members of the visiting team will focus their time on preschool, validating the profile information, talking with teachers, and conducting observations.  Once approved, the preschool will join the ASP process for curriculum mapping. 

Please keep both processes in prayer as we move forward to improve our instructional program and provide the best possible education for your children. 

Upcoming Events and Information you don't want to miss:

Parent Survey:  You should have received a Parent Survey by email on Monday, February 15.  If you didn't, please contact Patty Limerick at 366-1810 or plimerick@wccs.org.  We appreciate your help in completing this 10 to 15 minute questionnaire gathering information for the WCCS reaccreditation process.  The survey concerns the experience of WCCS parents in relation to all areas of the school including academics, spiritual development, and student services. 

Our research will only be successful with the generous assistance of parents like you.  This is your opportunity to provide valued feedback anonymously that will assist the Leadership Team in planning the future of WCCS. 

ExploreLAB:  Friday, March 5, the 3rd grade students will participate in a lab on "Chemical Changes."  Friday, March 12, the 1st grade students will use their imaginations at the "Build It Festival."

Special Events & Field Trips:  Kindergarten students will visit the Museum of York County.  Students will be introduced to the planetarium and preview the solar system unit about planets and orbit.

 

Friday, March 5 - Reynolds' Kindergarten class
           
Friday, March 12 - Weaver's Kindergarten class

Monday, March 8 - Terrific Kids Chapel

Thursday, March 11 - Browder and Hedstrom's K4 classes will attend a play at the McCelvey Center.  Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel is one the stories in their language arts curriculum.  

Teacher Appreciation Week (March 8-12):  Room parents will be contacting you with ways the class can show appreciation to the teachers.  If you have any questions, please call your room parent or Joy LeForce at 324-3759 or email JLEFORCE@aol.com. 

Parent Volunteer Policy: We wanted to thank all of you who volunteer your time so that we can offer a variety of opportunities for our students.  The teachers appreciate your assistance in the classroom, ExploreLAB, PTF, PArts, and the Indian Club.  Without your help, many activities we currently offer would not be possible.  At times, parents volunteer to relieve classroom teachers by taking their class to lunch or recess.  In an effort to provide the safest possible environment for students, the Leadership Team has adopted a new policy concerning parent volunteers.  Our goal is not to discourage parents from volunteering but to make sure they are equipped to handle any situations that might arise while the teacher is not present.  This safeguards both their best interests and those of the students.  The new policy reads:

If volunteers supervise students without the teacher present, they must be qualified as a substitute teacher through the school office.  Parents may only volunteer to supervise a class of students without the teacher present during their recess and lunch periods. 

Please note that the process could take at least a week to complete.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact either of us in the school offices.

Westminster Prayer Group:  We are fighting a spiritual battle for the hearts and lives of our children.  Prayer is vital to our defense.  Please join the parent prayer group that meets every Wednesday from 8:00 - 8:30 a.m. in MPB room 7.  Matthew 18:19 says, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven."  Your prayers make a difference!

Summer Camp Opportunity:   WCCS is hosting Camp Invention - Camp Create, June 21-25, 2010.  SPACE IS LIMITED!  Registration is available on line for current K-5th grade students. 

Early Registration $185.00 (valid through 3//31/10)
Standard Registration $210.00 (valid 4/01/10)
 
Secure Your Child's Registration Today with a $50.00 deposit.*
Please visit www.campinvention.org for detailed information and payment terms.