Wisdom and Remembrance: We Will Remember

“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” N.Postman

Camp Westerbork in the Netherlands was originally a safe haven for Jews fleeing Germany just before WWII. After Germans took hold of it, it became a gateway for Jews and others to be moved through to other concentration camp locations throughout Europe. Desiring compliance and control, an illusion of a good, civilized life was created by music, sports, a school, hospital, and more. Each Tuesday more than a thousand left the camp by rail and eventually died at the hands of those who
believed absolute power and tyranny could create a better life for some. It was a place of deceit that led to death for more than 100,000.

When the camp was torn down, a decision was made that the railway line that carried so many in, never to return, should both stand as a memorial and act as a public statement to the future. The two rusty railway tracks were visually made impassable by bending them up to the sky in memory of the loss of life, and so badly mangled to say “this will not happen here again.”

There is great pain in remembering the high cost of peace and the atrocities of war each Remembrance Day. Those who have personally and directly felt those costs have experiences that awaken remembrance within them all the time. Those who have not, which includes most of our students who have no such direct connection or experience of present or past pain, depend on others to prompt them to listen to the stories of sacrifice and the gift of peace. Growing in wisdom means teaching the value of remembrance for our students, who will live in a time we will not see. Remembrance Day reminds us of a world torn apart by the depths of sin, and yet entirely loved by its creator and rests in His care.

We will remember.

Students from JK-6 will participate in a special assembly of remembrance at the school from 10:45-
11:15am on Wednesday. Grades 7 & 8 will travel to the downtown area of London to participate in
the cenotaph proceedings. The LCES community is welcome to come and join us in the school gym.

We will remember.

SJ

Power in a Christian School

"I am stunned by the ability to care for the whole person seen in Christian education" A.Crouch

Power in organizations and human relationships is a word some first associate with misuse and heavy-handedness. Many creation stories in religion begin with conflict and absolute power being used at great tension resulting in chaos and violence. The creation account in the bible records something different – power given in order and abundance for the flourishing of human life. Like all aspects of the perfect original creation, power was first intended for good and was a part of God’s design for how our world should work. Granting power and authority to humans was part of God’s plan to see a flourishing creation – where every creature of God comes to the fullest realization of its created possibilities.

Big ideas to consider on a Monday morning, and even more challenging perhaps to bring them back to our school and meaningfully connect and apply them. They are from the Edifide Educator’s conference last Thursday and Friday which our teaching staff attended. Encouragement, networking, spiritual nourishment, challenging ideas and specific training filled the days for the close to 1000 attendees. A highlight for many was the singing with treasured colleagues aligned in purpose and mission with great solidarity that raised the roof in the auditorium. The privilege of attending such an event with this large group of professionals committed to kingdom education was both memorable and helpful as we aim to offer quality Christian education at LCES.

Our school is a place where there are many “power intersections” that have the ability to cause tension or growth, friction or flourishing, pain or healing, isolation or community, stagnation or greater wisdom. Our days are filled with these opportunities and their outcomes shape our students' futures. LCES students, parents, teachers, administration, board and more all create a web of relationships  with power running through them. One of our main speakers, Andy Crouch, challenged us that leadership in this area might best be described by noting where power is exchanged and acting in those areas with intentionality and purpose. Jesus modeled for us power fully rooted in divine authority and absolute vulnerability – our pattern to emulate as his dearly loved image bearers.

We pray for God-given wisdom and spirit-led follow through in using power for His glory and praise
at LCES each day. SJ

The learning in service

If our students graduated in grade eight believing that every other school-aged child in the world lives exactly as they do in their school-home-church universe, we would be missing an opportunity. Similarly, if the only mention of money and fundraising in their elementary years at LCES were efforts to direct funds back toward themselves and/or their school, something would be missing.

One of our goals at LCES is to shape hearts and minds toward future learning and giving when our students become adults. As an expression of thanks to our faithful God and in response to the instruction to be a blessing to “all nations” (Genesis 12:2), students participate in a Student Service Project each year. Each class invests time and effort in some kind of initiative that generates funds that support the chosen project. Examples of this include bake sales, a fun fair, ice cream refreshments at the Shakespeare play in May, and much more.

The actual project is chosen each year after staff deliberation, looking for projects that encourage either a local or international opportunity of giving to become a learning endeavor. Through chapels and classroom activities, students learn about the need, pray for those who will receive the help, and see the results at the end of the project in a chapel. This year we have chosen to partner with Compassion Canada, who links us to “..the developing world to end poverty in the life of a child, in Jesus’ name.” (https://www.compassion.ca) Specifically, safe homes for families in Kenya and water sanitation for children in Tanzania and Uganda are our chosen projects for this year.

It has been our experience that these service projects offer unique opportunities for learning. Students are challenged to meet the brokenness of this world in ways that are not otherwise familiar to
them. They can see themselves as part of returning this world to the way it was intended to be by
God’s design and for His glory. Economic, cultural and geographic differences that become clear in
unique ways and empathy for others and recognizing the call to be of Christian service (see LCES 
Graduate Profile) are valued outcomes.

May our student’s minds, hearts, and hands be changed by this learning opportunity. SJ

Fall Questions for Students and Parents

As week seven of school gets underway today, I can’t help but notice the symphony of autumn colours on display across the street through my office window. Time moves along quickly in a school year and we trust that you and your children have experienced a positive initial beginning to the 2015-16 school year that is nearly 20% complete. We believe each day and each moment counts as we move through the year. We are thankful for the fresh new opportunities the Lord provides us with each morning to live and learn together as a community of faith.

Last Friday marked the first of many times this year that your child will be given a formal and more
summative indication of how learning and growing at LCES is going for them. Teachers in grades
one through eight sent home a Learning Skills Rubric with your child which was a checkpoint on the
journey from September to June. They are designed to confirm and celebrate great patterns of stu-
dent conduct already observed, and to pinpoint areas for personal growth that can be areas of focus
before we get to the first report card which is sent home on November 27. Our hope and prayer is
that they stimulate productive conversations with parents, students, and teachers that help a student
to flourish.

It can be challenging to dialogue with your child about school and get meaningful answers. Here are
some examples of great questions that I have encountered in various places that encourage stu-
dents to process their day with their parents:

• If I was your teacher tomorrow, what would you want me to teach?

• What happened today that you wished would happen everyday?

• Did you have a chance to help or encourage someone today?

• What was the funniest thing that happened today?

• Was there anything that frustrated you today?

• Tell me about three different things you did in your classroom today.

• When were you happiest today?

• Was there a question you or your teacher couldn’t answer today?

• Is there a part of today you wish you could do over?

We are excited about working with our students, your children, every day. We do so in the sure
knowledge that God goes with us in this most important task. SJ

Cost, Value, and Christian Education

Cost, Value, and Christian Education

Around the age of 10, I spotted it. A sophisticated flashlight that I thought was the neatest thing ever. It was a door-crashing deal at bargain store that nearly sold out immediately. I think I got one of the last on the shelf and felt myself fortunate in my timing. I bought it. With much anticipation, I packed it along with my other items on a family trip. It brilliantly lit my pathway for all of 3 minutes before it broke. Since it was a promotional item, there were no returns. I was in the dark, out my hard earned paper route money. Life lesson learned.

Since then, more than once I have stood at a checkout counter and decided to abandon a purchase after thinking through its financial implications. Other times, I have wished I had reconsidered a purchase longer when, like a dishwasher I own, items break and become unusable 6 weeks after their
warranty period is over. Sometimes, I’ve regretted my choice to pass by what would have been a
great purchase.

A campfire or coffee table discussion will flush out the fact that everyone has a story like this in their
life. Why do these things bother us so much? I would suggest that they irk us as they do because we
feel the cost of things was out of alignment with value. When we see great value in the product or ser
vice we celebrate, when we feel like there is low value we grumble and complain.

Sometimes we need to compare our situation with the alternative. We don’t love paying what we feel
are really high prices for hydro, water, or natural gas. But do we really want to make candles, dig a
well, and stack wood? An investment opportunity comes our way and we hesitate, but perhaps the
missed opportunity cost is too big to pass by?

Over the weekend I noticed an exceptional editorial discussing these questions of value, opportunity,
and trust as they relate to Christian Education and its cost. I encourage you to spend just a few
minutes to read through Dave Koetje’s article and see if it might help you along the financial pathway your family is on. I trust that even if you don’t fully agree with all of it, that it will challenge and invigorate you as it did me. SJ

Grateful Thinking

Baking apple muffins in JK classroom

I was challenged by an author recently to ensure that the calendar event of Thanksgiving is not only a quantitative listing of items that we have received in the last year from the Lord, but also a

reminder to live looking forward with a mindset of thankfulness and gratitude. When we live grounded in gratitude, we face challenge and tragedy with an underlying faith that there is also hope. This kind of gratefulness opens our hearts and assures us our God is with us in ways far beyond what we can imagine. God is good, of that we are sure. Living
in gratitude helps us realize that we live in grace
before the Lord who looks on us with love.

I think that is good advice for a person, and also for an organization.

Looking backward, I am thankful for:

• A legacy of faithful parents and leaders who have nurtured, protected, and guided LCES
• planned and spontaneous moments of fantastic learning that bring joy to our days at LCES
• a network of financial supporters who give generously and sacrificially
• the time and talents given by volunteers
• challenges our board has faced that have been eclipsed by evidences of God’s great provision.

Looking forward, I am grateful for:

• committed and industrious staff, working in unity and truth to achieve our school’s vision
• the space and freedom we have to operate a Christian school in our city and province
• the areas of growth and change that we will encounter to continue to make us flourish
• the energy and excitement new families and new staff members bring to our school
• growing interest in young parents in the parental choice of Christian Education
• the “Bright Futures” campaign and its future benefit for our school.

May God bless our families as we pause with gratitude and thankfulness on our hearts and praise
our great God. SJ

Running Out of Letters in JK

The happy noises of learning and living in community are always around me, especially so at my desk in my office since both the JK and SK classrooms are immediately across the hall. While I am busy with my work I frequently hear the pulse of play, social trials and successes, joyful songs, and sometimes loud complaints and frustration. Once I overheard two students waiting to go outside for recess just outside my door. One commented to the other “So many letters. Why couldn’t they just make five of them?” immediately answered by “Then we would run out of things to learn too quick.”

In the middle of it all, the positive, encouraging voices of our teachers steering the group on their
safari of learning keeps things going where they need to go. I’m amazed at their ability to create the
order and atmosphere they do. I had the opportunity to become another voice in the room when I
read a book to JK two weeks ago. The book was on creation, telling the story of God’s handiwork
with beautiful artwork. We had fun reading through the story and trying to imagine all these things
happening for the first time. “I am one of God’s creations!” shared a jubilant child with me. That was
a highlight of the week for me – both in its truth and its spontaneous offering.

Watching and listening to our youngest learners at the start of the year is exciting to me. With fresh
eyes and in circumstances and surroundings very new to them, they are experiencing the gift and
challenge of living in a community of learning. They are learning to look with their eyes in a more
focused way at God’s world and recognize with their heart God’s claim and purpose for them. I really don’t mind the noise that process creates and it is a sound I won’t grow tired of soon.

SJ