A torrent of talents

“No one can do everything; everyone has a talent to contribute.”

The above words of wisdom came from the student chapel grade four led this morning. It led me to think about several things going on in the life of students and in the life of our organization in the next number of months. Here they are:

“Caribbean Breeze” Spring Auction: Last Saturday’s event was very clearly the sum result of many people with organizational, relational, financial, and especially creative talents. None of those talents on their own would have made the night what it was and we are so grateful for their contribution. (See details later in this newsletter).

Spring Membership Meeting: Just like students are talented in different ways, we have parents
contributing with their talents across the organization. Our school would not be able to do what it
does without them and we give them our sincere thanks. Come out and hear all about what these
talented volunteers have been doing tomorrow at 7:30pm.

LC’s Got Talent: Believing that all students are diversely and uniquely equipped by the Lord, we
want to take opportunity to showcase, celebrate, and enjoy those talents as a group. I can hardly
wait to see music, drama, and the spoken word on display this Friday. Come join us at 1:30pm!

May Soirée: Part of playing in a musical group, be it a group of two or twenty, is the ability to
organize differently talented people to work together to produce something of excellence and
beauty as a response to God. Musical talent will be on full display May 13.

LCES Field Day: I’m excited to hear our students practicing to give their personal best and top
their previous year’s achievement against our standards based field day as they showcase their
talents. We pray for great weather on May 15!

Shakespeare Play: You will be amazed at the talent of our students (and their teacher!) to make
“Romeo and Juliet” come alive on May 29. It is not something you want to miss.

Graduation: Work begins at this time of year to design an experience for our community to
celebrate the gifts and talents of our graduates who have reached a milestone in their educational
journey. I encourage you to come June 24 to gain a wide perspective on the journey from JK (or
SK) to grade eight!

God’s gift of talents to our community is a rich blessing to us and I’m thankful for places those
talents can be identified, used, and oriented back to God in faithful service. SJ

Information Overload

“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.” E.O.Wilson

This quote grabbed my full attention when I saw it last week. The author of these words is an 85 year old biologist from Alabama who watches with interest as research has revealed more and more about how the natural world works. He theorizes that the intense period of growth of discovery 
and knowledge that began in the 1960’s will continue for many more decades. In short, information continues to flood our understanding of things as we dig further, deeper, and wider into the natural world in our understanding. But we aren't necessarily wiser for it. 

In the information-rich culture our students are immersed in, I found myself thinking about the role of wisdom. Perhaps more than their parents or grandparents, student learning needs are less centered on opportunities to be provided with more information, but rather they have a pressing need to have a means by which to connect information meaningfully, sort what is of value, and ultimately what is true and faithful. I’m thankful that this is the kind of wisdom that we endeavor to help our students develop and practice at LCES. 

The original 1962 LCES keystone boldly proclaims that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalm 111:10) The faithful who placed it there could probably not really comprehend the age we live in today, but their choice of that text is as contemporary as ever. Knowledge alone will not fully help the future inventors, scientists, parents, business people, politicians, entrepreneurs, and much more that exist in our student body. 

The potential of knowledge in the hands and mind of someone armed with biblical wisdom – now that’s something that can change the world back to how God intended it. May God bless us in pursuit of that worthwhile goal. SJ

Of hidden things and eyes to see them

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Waking up to a spring morning as we did today, it is hard not to notice the welcome advances of spring with the greening of lawns, the return of the birds and their morning symphonies, and even the first plants emerging from the soil. After a harsh winter has temporarily caused us to forget the joy in these things, it seems that they can’t help but captivate us and draw us in when they reappear. There is nothing new about spring, after all, it happens every year. However, our delight in it is the result of our eyes and ears being focused on it, captured by its newness and freshness. The promise of new life in Christ is mirrored by new life in nature.

But what about the other 45 weeks of the year? God is present there too, even if we don’t have the same overwhelming spring-like feeling of God with us. This morning in chapel we were reminded at
school that travelers alongside Jesus on the road to Emmaus lost perspective in that they couldn't
recognize Jesus and although seeing the things around them, they had lost true vision of God with
them. Their eyes were open, but their hearts were closed. Jesus’ response was to teach them, eat
with them, and pray with them. Proper perspective takes practice, discipline, and a community to sustain both.

Christian education follows that pattern of teaching, working, and praying to train young eyes and
ears to see God at work in our world. We want our children to have at the ready questions like “What
will I see new about God’s world today?” and “How does God’s world praise him?” and “How is God at work in my community?” as their first responses to the new things and even the mundane things they encounter. We seek to train their hearts to notice God with the same eagerness and delight with which we look for something green after a harsh long winter. SJ

The power of two minutes

In 120 seconds, what would you chose to say about our school? Three parents have recently recounted with me conversations that they suddenly found themselves in regarding their choice to send their children to a Christian school, specifically LCES. The surprise they felt was both in their timing and the people with whom they were having the conversations. One took place at a sports event, one in a grocery store, and another at a car repair shop.

These parental exchanges of “here is why we do what we do” conversations are of the utmost importance for our school. Frequently they result in those parents choosing to contact me at school, arranging a visit, and in some cases eventually enrolling their child(ren) at LCES.

For those reasons, it may be wise to take the time to sit down with a spouse or friend and ensure the “elevator speech” is actually ready when the moment arrives. Talkative parents who deliberately promote our school remain one of the most persuasive and effective means to boost enrollment and welcome more people to the opportunity of what Christian education has to offer.

One of the challenging parts of these conversations is knowing what to say. While every conversation needs to be matched to the context of the relationship, what often works best is to talk about what it is that you want for your child at LCES, what brings you lasting satisfaction, and what things (songs, questions, truths learned, observations) your children take home with them from their days here at school.

I encourage you to check out www.whychristianschools.ca to be affirmed about the choice you are making to send you child to LCES and to perhaps be well supplied with further talking points regarding what Christian education has to offer. The content is fantastic and organized very well.

Please encourage any family you might know is or should be considering to consider coming out to
our April 21st Open House event from 7-9pm.

For our school, SJ