Surviving Spiritual Snow SquallsThis has been one of the longest and coldest winters I have in my memory! We have had more indoor

recesses because of frostbite warnings this year than all of my other years here combined. If you’re like me, you’re tired of the cold weather and the confines it puts on our daily lives. We need to shovel our

driveways, bundle up our kids, scrape off our cars, drive slower and generally just be colder than most of us would like to be. There is a loss of freedom in winter and we long for the ease of spring and summer.

When I think of a winter like this it reminds me of the effects of sin on our lives. This sin in our lives, and the choices we make, can also put significant confines on our freedom. Our true freedom is a freedom rooted in the sacrifices of Christ so we are free to live for Him and follow His will. Sin is like a deep freeze and heavy snow which stops us in our tracks. We need to shovel off areas in our lives which have already been cleared, but have been covered again. These frigid temperatures slow us down and even stall our desires to serve Christ in the way He deserves.

Students and staff at SCCS can also be caught in spiritual snow squalls and whiteout conditions. Thankfully, many students are living for Christ and rely on God for good days and a perspective on the future. Students know spring is on the way!

Our school theme of Build Your Kingdom Here reminds us that we work for a Kingdom which will be fully established one day. Despite some horrendous working conditions and bitter wind chills at times, the promise never fails that Jesus will sustain the work. Jesus is transforming His school into a place which gives great honour and glory to His name. The impact of a spiritual deep freeze lessens as Jesus gives us the strength to do the shovelling, scraping and bundling necessary to continue learning about Him. It may be hard to imagine now but God has designed some amazing landscaping as part of His kingdom which will soon be in full bloom! We need to keep encouraging each other in the cold times and be reminded of God’s promises. His love endures forever! Hopefully as you are

reading this you can see evidence of spring outside, but also in your heart as it blossoms for Christ.

Blessings, Ken VanMinnen

Principal

7880 Walkers DriveStrathroy, ON N7G 3H4 519-245-1934www.sccs.caoffice@sccs.ca

Providing quality, Christ-centred education

The Community ConnectionMARCH 2014

From the BoardThe past few years have been a time of much reflection, forward-thinking discussion and action for the Board. As an organization, we have experienced God’s never-ending grace and faithfulness through this time of tremendous learning and growth. What follows is a brief recap of where we were and what God has led us through.

In August of 2011, the Board of SCCS adopted a new vision statement and Strategic Plan and began the 3-5 year process of implementing the strategic planning goals. The vision “to provide transformative education of mind, body and spirit so that God will be glorified in the Strathroy community” is bold and calls us to have faith and trust in God’s leading. During this time, the Board and school reflected often on the story of Elisha found in 2 Kings 3. In this story, Elisha calls a war-weary and thirsty nation to dig ditches in preparation and faith, trusting God to send the rain. As the story unfolds, we learn that after a night of back-breaking labour, God sent water flowing through the valley so that the nation was restored and refreshed. What a great reminder about inspiration and preparation for us at SCCS!

Not only was the vision one requiring intention and diligence, the strategic plan called for innovation and creativity. We knew this would require the SCCS community to dig ditches of faith and preparation, all the while trusting that God would send the rain to fill the ditches and showcase His glory. The strategic plan seeks to develop excellence throughout the school in program and instruction, financial stewardship, and community engagement; it also calls for making distinctive changes in the governance of the school society. Early on, it became clear that in order to achieve the vision, it was essential for all Board actions to be aligned with the vision. This statement itself is simple enough, but in reality this alignment required much ditch-digging by the Board; taking action in faith to ensure the school was honouring to God in and through all things.

Much of the work of the Board over the past two years has been invested in ensuring Board structure, roles, responsibilities, policies, procedures and decision-making process are consistent with the mission and vision of SCCS and provide clear direction for school operations. Establishing and communicating this clarity permits the Board to focus on where God is leading SCCS in the future as the day-to-day operations of the school are managed by the principal.

While working toward these changes, the Board has experienced God sending the rain time and time again to fill the ditches. Consider these few examples: students learning about Jesus and accepting His love and leading in their lives; a principal who leads the operation of the school in such a way to reflect God’s glory in all things; teaching staff who

care about each student and get to know how best to teach them; support and administrative staff who are dedicated to making the vision come alive; SCCStore volunteers who are excited to support Christian education; a community of school supporters and volunteers who are sharing their gifts and talents and asking God to use them for His glory; and abundant financial giving to support the operations and future plans. All of these examples are a fulfilment of SCCS’s bold vision. Aren’t these remarkable examples of God’s abundant and unfailing love for us?

The Board has been encouraged by the prayers and supporting words from teachers, school Society members, parents and community members. With grateful and humble hearts, we thank you for your support and consider it our privilege to serve God as Directors of the Board and stewards of His school.

In His Service,Gabriella HoogstraChairperson of the Boardhoogstragsccs@gmail.com

On March 3, birds of prey swooped into SCCS to show students and staff their awesome beauty and power.

www.Facebook.com/StrathroyCommunityChristianSchool

Stay Connected to the Community!Join the SCCS community online, stay up to date with happenings and show your support! ‘Like’ us on Facebook today!

Principal Ken VanMinnen with Allan Jang and Evan Park (students’ English names). Both students were part of a group of seven who spent time at SCCS for a short-term study.We were blessed to have them attend with us!

Important Dates!March 26 – Wacky Hair/Hat Day (yes, this is important!)April 1 – Pre-Budget meeting April 12 – Spring Dinner Celebrate Canada May 5–9 – Christian Education WeekMay 7 – Grandfriends’ and Grandparents’ DayMay 7–28 – Spring DriveMay 17 – Golf TournamentJune 14 – Touch A Truck

SCCS Spring Drive!The Annual SCCS Spring Drive is coming up May 7–28. Our goal this year is $50,000, which is the highest ever. Please prayerfully consider supporting this very important cause for SCCS. Funds raised over the $50,000 goal will go toward a badly needed replacement of the HVAC units on the roof.

Write on! Grade seven students practiced their calligraphy in an experience reminiscent of monks copying manuscripts.

YEEHAW

Grade 3/4 Pioneer Day

Grade 7 Students Love Their Lego!

From Finance Development & Planning

The Finance Development & Planning (D&P) Committee has been spending some time analyzing the

approach that SCCS takes to fundraising. We know that there is a broad spectrum of feelings that people have for fundrais-

ing; some people embrace it as a challenge and love the way it encourages creative thinking, and others hate it and wish it had

never been invented!

We sent out a survey this fall asking parents and Society members about their thoughts on fundraising. Thank you to all who took the

time to complete the survey; it would be irresponsible of us to have this important discussion without the input of the SCCS community!

There are a few guidelines that we have to follow as we develop a fundraising strategy for SCCS:

• SCCS is a not-for-profit organization, so we cannot randomly fundraise for the sake of raising money. There always needs to be a purpose for the fund-raising, and it needs to be done well. Thankfully, the goal of keeping tuition affordable is a worthy and valid purpose!• There are CRA rules regarding fundraising. For example, the SCCStore must rely on donations only and cannot buy inventory. If we break that rule, then the store will be considered a business rather than a fundraiser, and we would lose the bonus of not charging HST on sales. • SCCS exists as part of a larger community; church, sports teams, dance clubs, Scouts…everyone seems to want your support! We need to be respectful of the needs (your time and money!) and existing fundraising events of other groups in our community. It’s a way that we can show God’s light to others.• Fundraising that is not intentional is not Godglorifying! Spending 100 volunteer hours to raise $600 is neither stewardly, nor responsible. We get a limited number of ‘asks’ (marketing lingo!) of our volunteers and supporting community; we need to use them carefully, respectfully and strategically!

It is the goal of the Finance D&P to have a Fundraising Strategy ready to implement for our next school year. It will require faith and trust from all of us, as we venture out to saying ‘no’ to certain fundraising choices that we have made in the past. It will also require creativity and support as we search for

some new ways to raise funds for SCCS that reflect God’s will, align with SCCS strategic goals, and meet CRA requirements!

Thank you for the time and money that you give to SCCS. We ask for your continued prayers as we finalize the Fundraising

Strategy! While you are waiting for that to roll out, the SCCStore is looking for volunteers, and another VIP

order deadline is coming up.

in SK

SN

OW No Joke…

The annual Pre-Budgetmeeting is scheduled for April 1, 7:30p.m. atSCCS. This is your op-portunity to hear what considerations have gone into the budgetplanning for the 2014–15 school year, and give us your ideas!

Are you a VIP?If you want to be a very important person, you need to participate in SCCS’s Voucher Incentive Program (VIP). The VIP is an exciting opportunity for everyone to help reduce the cost of parents’ tuition while raising funds for SCCS.

Simply put, it is a fundraising program that works while you shop!

Here’s how it works: SCCS buys gift cards/certificates in bulk at a discounted rate and sells them at face value to the VIP participants. Every participating family is given an account in which their purchases are recorded and 50% of the profit goes into this account to be used toward their tuition. SCCS keeps the remaining 50% for the school’s budget. The gift cards/certificates are used by VIP participants just like cash at participating retailers – without having cost them anything extra.

Please review the FAQs online to learn more. If you still have questions or would like to register, please email vip@sccs.ca. SCCS needs your participation in this fantastic program!

JK Just Kidding AroundJunior kindergarten students learned how to make very cool Valentine’s Day crowns!

This period of a child’s life is very impor-tant and SCCS is glad to be able to provide the hands-on education that it does, often centred on Christ, even at this young age.

If you have a child entering junior kinder-garten this fall and wish to have a no-obli-gation tour of the school, contact principal Ken VanMinnen at principal@sccs.ca or 519-245-1934 today.

Your Business’sLogo Here!

We’re looking for an amazing business or two in our school community to help cover the cost of printing the Community Connection, which is sent quarterly to churches, parents and Society members.

If you’re interested, please contact our Director of Marketing, Darren Hakker, at dhakker@sccs.ca or 1-519-491-0404.

What’s New in Store?The SCCStore continues to be blessed and be a blessing in the community! We are now open Mondays, and despite a crazy winter, we have shown a profit every month – even December when we were closed for almost two weeks.

YTD profit (August to present) is over $42,000! Since opening in June 2012, we have raised over $130,000 for SCCS. Praise God for His faithfulness!

More reasons than everto sponsor!

Eagle Sponsor $1,000Birdie Sponsor $500

Par Sponsor $250

Value-added benefits, including golf/dinner for each category. Please contact Sponsorship

Director Chris Kaastra today!

chris.kaastra@gmail.com 519-525-3878

GOLF TOURNAMENTStrathroy CommunityChristian School

The 21st Annual

Registration includes: • 18 holes of golf with cart• Coffee & muffins• Starter kit• Chicken & beef dinner

Register your foursome today!Jana Hamstra at 519-245-1715

or Juanita Holman at 519-245-8876

Saturday, May 17Widder Station Golf & Country Club

Register today for the best price:$110/golfer prior to April 25$125/golfer after April 25Students $60 – before April 25. $70 – after

STRATHROY COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL’S

Cost is donation to the school (tax receipts will be issued, less event costs)

Saturday, April 12Appetizers at 5p.m. Canadian Dinner at 5:30p.m.

Reserve your tickets today, eh?Call Strathroy Community Christian Schoolat 519-245-1934 or Jane at 519-264-3258

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

2 Peter 3:18