Cleaning house: words from my past

While it may not be spring yet, I have been cleaning. In an attempt to set up good “digital habits” I have been working through old information I have stored from my past – both the paper-and-pen sort and the digital variety. Old pictures, letters, even a few high school papers I had to write. CD’s, disks (remember those?) and even a few journals.  What do you do with all this stuff?

Last weekend I came across a set of three papers I had to write in high school that asked me specific and pointed questions about marriage. It’s amusing to read through what I thought then, with all of the wisdom a fifteen year old might bring to the topic. I smiled and laughed while reading it – not because I was so far off base, but it was so interesting to hear my own voice so obviously still in the process of figuring out my world. Clearly I wasn’t finished yet.  I heard some echoes in that writing too.

I heard the echo of a family structure that created a warm and nurturing place for me to hear the Word of God and see faithful living as important. Growth in the life of faith starts at home.

I heard the echo of a Christian church which emphasized a praise-filled response to God and regular and consistent teaching of Christian discipleship. Worship and discipleship continued at church.

I heard the echo of a Christian school environment that equipped and challenged me to look at the patterns of this world and consider “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is admirable” (Phillipians 4:8). Discernment and wisdom in living faithfully were cultivated at school.

I’m glad I did not throw out or delete those pieces of my past. They stand now as a touch points for me, and motivation for me as principal and parent to provide the same for our children. Every moment, every word, ever action counts for our students as they grow and learn in faith. To God be the glory.  SJ

Acorns and Oak Trees

In the brilliant blue western sky of our backyard, we have an oak tree. That oak tree was around long before our house was I’m sure. It stands tall and proud, with its massive trunk anchoring it deep into the ground. Though there is not even a single leaf a flutter in the winter winds, I’m very confident that a canopy of green will offer us shade again in a matter of months when the winter drifts have gone. 

I learned by recent experience that oak trees don’t necessarily create and drop acorns each year. Plenty of variables come in to play like soil conditions, tree stress, and climate conditions which shape whether the tree attempts to propagate. If the acorn is surrounded with warmth, moisture, and nutrient-rich soil it has a much greater chance of emerging as a young plant and maturing into a majestic oak itself. The majestic oak, though quite vulnerable in its infancy, becomes more viable and has a greater ability to withstand summer heat and bitter cold as it matures. 

You may have noticed that a pair of acorns appear in several places in LCES promotional items, our website included. It’s a great visual to remind us of the important work that goes on at LCES every day of the week. Parents, looking to give their young children optimal conditions for them to launch, surround them with love and care, direction and protection – all with the goal of having them mature to become healthy and independent children of the faith as they move toward the future God has prepared for them. 

Christian teachers challenge and nurture our children with the truth of God’s Word and arm them with knowledge and discernment as they grow in awareness and ability. Although we are sad to see them go when they graduate grade eight, we are delighted that they have reached that point and are ready for a larger place to grow.

LCES. It’s a delightful tree nursery to work in. SJ

How to fail in a Christian school

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:19-20

I have a confession. When I was young, I couldn't do the triple jump. No matter how hard I tried, I could not force my mind to correctly direct my body through the succession of hop, skip and jump needed. My attempts were a sharp contrast to several classmates around me that, over several years of field day preparation, grew in their skill and precision and started to look like soaring eagles launching into flight. Convinced that I just couldn't, I simply stopped believing that I ever could it. My mindset got the better of me.

In the educational and professional reading I do there has been a lot of talk lately about how incredibly significant one’s mindset toward learning and failure is to the progression of learning and reaching one’s potential. A mindset might easily be understood to be the combination of attitude and actions, each affecting each other.

A fixed mindset presumes that you are or are not something (smart, resourceful, musical, athletic, etc) and there is little one can do to change that. You have it or you don’t and you can’t change much about it. It discourages people from reaching or stretching beyond where they are already at.

A growth mindset suggests that although people are very different from one another, everyone can grow as they try, fail, repeat, stretch, grow, and learn. Some of the most import and most significant learning happens not with what you first get it right, but rather where you initially struggle and wrestle with it until you have it. Studies show that many people define key learning moments in life as being connected with things that were failures before they were a success. The key is to not give up before that learning path is complete.

This is certainly consistent with a Christian view of education. We don’t teach children believing they will instantly find success in all things. God calls each student, teacher, and parent to realize that failure and weakness are opportunities, not endings. In our failures and weakness, we meet opportunities to see God’s grace make us stronger as he works in and through us. Take heart, don’t give up. “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” C.S.Lewis 

 SJ

Who works at LCES? (Part 2)

It takes more than teachers to run our school. We are blessed to have a team of support staff that
work very hard to help make LCES a great place to live and learn.

Our bus drivers are a group of people who rise early and work late as they shuttle our students to and from school. Did you know that they travel more than 500km collectively each day? Think of how many starts and stops, turns, pickup and drop-offs that is. We are thankful for their steady hands and precision driving.

Our educational assistants work to support classroom learning for individual students, small
groups, and in some cases entire classes. They give time and attention with task-specific help for
students who flourish under their care, and in other situations they free up a teacher to do the
same while they supervise.


We have an office administrator who is the front lines of communication, ordering, dealing with sick children and injured children, accepting and sending deliveries and so much more. We get dizzy when we watch her work and can’t imagine what it would be like to work without her as the first face many people see at LCES.

Our bookkeeper keeps us straight in all things finance, ensuring that all funds coming in and going out are carefully reviewed. She spends hours poring over pension contributions, benefits, invoices, deposits and ensures that we are using money in ways that are responsible and stewardly. Not an easy task!

Our custodians bless us with a clean and bright place to work in every day. Daily routines of taking
care of everything from slush covered floors to germ covered doorknobs are handled with care. We
appreciate their diligence in handling many jobs that most people who prefer not to do at all.

And while they are paid only in the delight of helping where needed, we have dozens of volunteers who work here too. They contribute with the gift of time and talent to help our school achieve its mission and vision. Our school is made stronger by their willing efforts.

Praise God for these rich blessings of people who make LCES a great place to be! SJ