FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

NewsletterOCTOBER 2018 | ISSUE NO. 01 | 1 JOHN 4:4

TOPIC 01

Mrs. Chastain’s tells us what the big boys have been up to in the “Newsroom”.

TOPIC 02

Kid’s Corner - Mrs. Hamson fills us in on the sweet things the littles have been learning in the first month of school!

TOPIC 03

Mrs. Neumann’s little class keeps her busy!

TOPIC 04

Our Administrator, Pastor Earl Ready talks about the chal-lenge question, “What would Jesus do?”

TOPIC 05

Pastor Blair Ecker talks about the new student-led programs at FCA.

TOPIC 06

Upcoming events at FCA

LITTLE YOUNG MENMeet the news reporters from the first, second and third grade class at FCA. Each week we receive the Monday paper from the Brainerd Dispatch. The students are assigned news, sports, weather, or anchor and advertising.

The news and sports reporters look through the paper and pick a story to write about while the weather reporter checks the weather forecasts and keeps his eye on the weather.

The anchor and advertising person, writes a commercial for our school’s thrift store and is the announcer for our broadcast.

After final copies are completed the reporters practice reading their reports to each other and their families at home. The high school podcast class records our news broadcast. The hardest part of recording is holding our papers still and not kicking the table.

The high school will be airing our news broadcast as part of their podcasts. The launch of the podcasts will be announced on our facebook page.

There are several benefits that come from this activity. The students are becoming familiar with a newspaper and learning about current events. They have a purpose for their writing and can see the value of having someone hear what they have written.

They are spending time with and learning from our older students. They are being introduced to many different careers. This activity is also preparing them for the future when they become part of our high school’s podcast program.

~ Mrs. Chastain

One of our central goals at Foothills Christian Academy is to develop a positive “Biblical Christian culture.”

Anybody remember those WWJD bracelets back in the 1990’s? They’re still around! The bracelets are based on an 1896 novel called In His Steps, in which a minister challenged his congregation to ask each day, What Would Jesus Do?” The book became one of the bestselling novels of all time and is part of our school curriculum. More importantly, this novel motivated thousands to make life decisions in response to God’s Word, not in reaction to their feelings and circumstances. More recently, that challenge question took the form of a WWJD bracelet, inspiring a whole youth movement to ask daily how Jesus wants them to live.

A truly biblical Christian culture emerges when school staff, students, and parents choose to consistently obey the commandments and principles of God’s Word with their own words, attitudes and actions at school, at home, and in the community. This begins by recognizing that we can’t live this way on our own – we need to invite Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives, asking Him to work in us “both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

It then takes intentional prayer and effort over time to develop this culture, yet already a number of our students have personally accepted Christ into their lives each year since our school’s launch. Our goal is that every activity, every subject of study, every interaction with our staff and volunteers will sow seeds in students’ lives for a lifetime of service to God and others, where our young people learn to ask in their daily lives, “What Would Jesus Do?”

So the challenge continues to challenge each of us daily: “What Would Jesus Do?”

Blessings on your home,

Earl Ready FCA Administrator

WWJD?

THE LITTLES

We have made it through a successful first month of school! What a wonderful month we have had! We have a classroom of three boys and two girls. They are so sweet, obedient and eager to learn! They have wonderful home training, which makes my job go so well!

My first goal this year, as their teacher, is to hide the Word of God in the hearts of my students. The children will have Bible stories read to them, we will dramatize them, create art projects centered around the stories, and learn songs to give praise to God. I also pray they will learn how very much they are loved by God.

My second goal is to make learning challenging and fun! It is my prayer that each child loves school. I hope that this classroom experience prepares the children well for their years of future schooling. We will learn the skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as learning important social skills. The kindergarten classroom experience teaches children how to share, resolve conflict, get along with others, and how to obey authority.

This month we have focused our attention on the routine of school and phonics skills. With the A Beka Reading Program, all kids can learn to read, spell and decode words. The stories in the readers have substance and value. I call it the curriculum that is time tested and mother approved! I would like to share with you a paragraph from the A Beka’s teacher manual:

“If our country is to remain a land of liberty, we must continue to teach each individual to read and think on his own. We cannot afford to allow even our slowest students to develop the attitude that others can do their thinking for them. Reading is necessary to a democracy. It is necessary for those who would expand the horizons of their own small worlds. It is especially necessary for Christians, because God has given us a written revelation, the Bible, and we need to be able to read it accurately and with understanding.”

What a blessing it is to teach in a school with such great curriculum! I am looking forward to getting to know my students and watching them learn and grow as we go through this school year!

Blessings,

Mrs. Hamson

The high school students have been busy with two new programs at FCA this year. The first program is “Christian School Radio”, a weekly podcast on the topic of Christian education.

The podcast team works daily on the production of recording and broadcasting the various interviews with local guests. Some of the interview topics have included Christian curriculum, home schooling, keeping Christ in school and the role of the United

States Constitution in our education system. The team has interviewed several guest speakers, such as Pastor Tristan Borland of Pine River, Pastor Earl Ready of Emily and Dave Kasperson who represents Christian school curriculum.

The second program is a sign and clothing company called, “Foothills Graphics”. This class is responsible for creating an operating business to sell and produce vinyl decal signs and vinyl pressed clothing. These students are ready to take orders for custom company shirts, outdoor event banners and business signage.

These are very interesting, relevant and exciting programs! The students are learning valuable social skills, business entrepreneurship and gaining ground for the Kingdom by including Jesus Christ in their new ventures.

You can find our podcasts on iTunes, under Christian School Radio, or visit our podcast web site at christianschoolradio.libsyn.com.

Thank you for taking the time to read our Newsletter, we look forward to sharing more exciting news with you in the future!

~ Blair Ecker Principal

HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

SMALL BUT MIGHTY

Upcoming EventsNovember 9

Veterans Day Program

November 21

All School & Family Thanksgiving Feast

December 14

Christmas Play - All community invited!

January 25

Chili Feed & Contest Fundraiser

April 6

3rd Annual FCA Silent Auction & Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

210 First Street East PO BOX 21Backus, MN 56435

218-947-3206

foothillschristianacademy.com

We have started the year out strong! With our small class size, we have been able to do more. Science experiments are one of our favorites. One of the highlights so far, has been microscopic observation. We have seen a variety of cells and single cell organisms under the microscope. Boy! Were we grossed out by pond water!

We are currently working on painting a classroom chair. Each student has a designated area of the chair to paint. Stop by to check out this work in progress!

~ Mrs. Neumann (4th, 5th & 6th Grade)

Please pray for us as we continue on with our 3rd year of operations at Foothills Christian Academy.

Thank You!FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 210 First Street East PO BOX 21 Backus, MN 56435email: foothillschristianacademy@gmail.com call: 218-947-3206 www.foothillschristianacademy.com

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. - 1 John 4:4