Chosen and Called
September 10, 2025
A note from Dr. Friesen:
Welcome to the 2025-26 school year! This year is especially meaningful to me, as it marks my final year serving as superintendent. Karen and I are extremely grateful for the 12 years God has allowed us to serve here at CCS and will soak up and cherish the many wonderful moments God gives us with you all throughout this coming year.
The first week of school has been absolutely amazing on every campus, and we are beyond excited to experience all God has in store for us this year. One of the first highlights is coming up this weekend: Convocation this Saturday, September 13. This is an event you won’t want to miss, so be sure to include it in your weekend plans and join us!
A new school year also entails a new spiritual theme. Our spiritual theme serves as a strong foundation for all the amazing things we experience during the year. I am pleased to give Courtney Petersen, a member of the CCS Leaders Team and the interim leader of our Spiritual Life Team, the opportunity to share our September focus, introduce the new members of the Spiritual Life Team, and provide helpful resources.
Theme and Updates from Courtney Petersen:
Chosen and Called
My prayer for us as we start off the year is that we can be mindful to align our strengths and character with Jesus as we walk in our calling.
In September we will read through the beginning of Ephesians, where we will focus on how we are chosen and called. Each of us is like a small puzzle piece in God’s masterpiece. God calls us, invites us into his family, and equips us with gifts, strengths, and roles so that we get the joy of working together with those around us to accomplish His greater purpose. In 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul writes again about being called for a purpose: “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,” (NIV).
We are called to a holy life. We are saved by grace, through Jesus, and we have a divine purpose and a holy calling that reflects God’s nature and His purpose. With hearts of unity, with a posture of teamwork, and in using our strengths and callings to draw others closer to Jesus, we believe God will do great things this year. I look forward to journeying through the first chapter of Ephesians with you this month.
Meet the Team!
We are pleased to introduce two new members of the Spiritual Life Team at Cascade Christian Schools:
Trevor Duplissey, our junior high and high school Bible teacher and head of the Bible Department will also take up the role of Junior High and High School Pastor. His role will include discipling junior high and high school students to grow in spiritual maturity.
Leah An is our Spiritual Life Coordinator and new to the Cascade Christian family. In her role, she will collaborate with CCS leaders and campuses to provide spiritual formation support and coordination.
RightNow Media
RightNow Media is a library of biblical video resources with helpful discipleship content for all ages. Cascade Christian Schools provides our CCS community with access to RightNow Media.
Create an account here if you haven’t done so yet.
You can also find resources in Cascade Christian’s library, which we will update throughout the year: CCS RightNow Media Library.
We hope you enjoy this resource as much as we do! My team and I are praying this school year is filled with joy, growth, and meaningful moments with Jesus as we journey through the book of Ephesians together.
References:
Strong's Greek: 2822. κλητός (klétos) -- Called, invited
Welcome Back, Puyallup Early Learning Families!
September 03, 2025
We are so excited to welcome you and your little learners to a brand-new school year! Whether you're returning or joining us for the first time, we are thrilled to have you as part of our early learning community.
This time of year is always filled with energy, anticipation, and joy as we prepare for a year of exploration, discovery, and growth. In these early years, children build the foundation for a lifetime of learning, and we’re both honored and blessed to be part of that journey with you.
Over the coming weeks, you can expect:
Lots of hands-on learning through play
Opportunities to build social-emotional skills
Strong partnerships developing between teachers and families
At Cascade Christian, we believe that family engagement is a vital part of early learning, and we look forward to working together to support your child every step of the way. Be sure to register and check SchoolStatus regularly for updates, classroom highlights, and information on fun upcoming events.
Here’s to a fantastic school year filled with curiosity, laughter, and growth!
SEPTEMBER IMPORTANT DATES:
9/8 First Day of Part-Day KPrep
9/12 Back to School Night at PELC, from 5:30–7:00 p.m.
9/13 Convocation (RSVP here!)
9/16 WATCH D.O.G.S. Launch Event (RSVP here!)
Honoring 2025’s Salutatorian and Valedictorian
June 11, 2025
Back when The Lion King roared into theaters and a little start-up named Amazon was just getting off the ground, Cascade Christian Schools marked a milestone of its own: the first graduating class of 1994 crossed the stage, turned their tassels, and stepped into the future. Now, 31 years later, we proudly celebrate another remarkable group of students who have witnessed history and created memories unique to their generation. Congratulations to the Class of 2025—you’ve made it!
Two discerning leaders in this wonderful class of students were selected as valedictorian and salutatorian and
+received the honor of speaking at Commencement. We are so proud of all they have accomplished and would like to honor them here.
Alexandra Altomare, 2025’s salutatorian, completed her academic career at CCS with a 4.00 GPA. She demonstrated strong academic commitment by taking seven AP classes, one honors class, and one concurrent credit course. Beyond the classroom, Alexandra was an active member of the cheer team and served faithfully on the worship team for three years. She led with authenticity and heart, making a meaningful impact on her peers and the school community.
Alexandra’s AP English teacher, Mr. Ziesing, has shared this about her:
“Over the past two years, I have been blown away by Alexandra's humility: she is incredibly intelligent and yet entirely down-to-earth. It would be easy for her to become arrogant; instead, she consistently expresses humility in her learning. One of the clearest pictures of her has been her consistent dedication to a life with God. There is seldom a day when she does not have her Bible within palm's reach.”
Alec Schumacher, 2025’s valedictorian, concluded his academic career at Cascade Christian with a 4.00 GPA. Throughout high school, he pursued an ambitious academic path, completing two honors classes, five AP courses, one concurrent credit course, and enough dual enrollment coursework to earn his Associate of Science degree. In addition to his academic achievements, Alec served as the lead programmer and driver for the school’s robotics team. His contributions were instrumental in helping the team secure a championship title this year.
Alec’s math teacher, Mr. Manchester, says this about Alec:
“Alec is in a class of his own with regard to his excellence and consistency in academic achievement. He has shown a sincere love for STEM content and has reached great heights through countless classes, internships, robotics competitions, and much more while in high school. He has also been a great role model and leader among his classmates. He is uniquely gifted and will continue to accomplish even greater things beyond CCS.”
Once again, we congratulate the Class of 2025 for finishing high school at CCS. While the road ahead may be filled with occasional potholes or traffic, we know that God will equip each of you to face those challenges when they arise. God is with you, He is for you, and He will never forsake you. You can be still and trust Him; even when.
Verse chosen by the Class of 2025:
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
—2 Timothy 2:22 (NASB)
Even When...
June 04, 2025
As we wind down the final days of the 2024-25 school year, I find myself reflecting on the many ways in which we have been able to apply our spiritual theme of “Be Still” throughout the year. And, interestingly, we have had the opportunity to experience the second phrase of the theme, “even when,” to a greater degree than we may have liked and/or chosen.
We had the opportunity to be still, even when it took way longer than anticipated to receive approval from the City of Puyallup to place portable classrooms on Pioneer Campus for Puyallup Elementary.
We had the opportunity to be still, even when various athletic seasons ended sooner than we wanted them to.
We had the opportunity to be still, even when we didn’t perform as well as we had hoped on final academic assessments.
We had the opportunity to be still, even when we experienced extreme losses or hardships.
We had the opportunity to be still, even when we were tempted to be angry, frustrated, or doubtful.
The bottom line is that life can bring us many “even when” moments. However, when they do come, we can lean into God’s goodness, God’s peace, God’s strength, God’s comfort, and a long list of other attributes God equips us with for the moments we are experiencing. My prayer for us all is that we would continue to “Be Still” in whatever form is warranted as we experience all that life brings us and that we would maintain the confidence that God is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
In His service and with deep gratitude,
Ken
