Archives - April 2023
Amazing Staff!!
April 26, 2023
This week we have been showing our love and appreciation for several wonderful individuals on our campus.
We are grateful for our front office staff, Janice Daskam and Kelly Ehrhardt. Without them, I’m not sure what I would do! They keep us on track, answer phones, act as on-campus nurses, fill my calendar, answer parent and student questions, make copies, arrange for subs, organize events, and so much more. These two people serve our staff, students, and families in more ways than we can count. They each have a servant’s heart.
I am also thankful for our amazing campus enrollment manager, Kristen Sturm. Kristen tours all our prospective families and makes them feel welcome at our school. She is one of the most thoughtful and caring people I know. Every family that enters our school has been impacted in a positive way by Kristen. God has given her an amazing gift to do what she does.
.png/MicrosoftTeams-image%20(3)__240x320.png)
We also appreciate Jason Guffin, our wonderful recreation site coordinator, and his hard-working team—Jennifer, Julie, Tami, Chloe, Calvin, Marissa, and Riley. With them in charge, I never worry about our Cougar Club before and after school program. They keep things organized, communicate with families, and care for our students. We are grateful for our amazing Cougar Club team.
Lastly, we also showed our love and appreciation for our other support staff, including our recess duties, Mrs. Munson, Mrs. Brown, and Mrs. Sweet; our kitchen coordinator, Jewel; and our awesome TAs, Amanda, Lisa, Kaleigh, LeeAnn, and Jennifer. Each of these people are amazing members of our team! We are better because of them.
.png/MicrosoftTeams-image%20(2)__240x320.png)
We couldn’t do what we do without these wonderful staff members. They make our team great!
A Light in the Community
April 19, 2023
Wow, where did another year go? That is the way I feel both as a parent of CCS students and as the board chair for Cascade Christian Schools.
As I reflect on the past school year, I am grateful for the work the Lord continues to do at our school. The Board of Trustees are in a unique position to hear the updates district-wide. While we celebrate a record number of students across the district, the opening of the junior high classrooms, and the launch of a new capital campaign, all of that remains superficial when compared to the mission of developing discerning leaders who impact their world for Christ.
What encourages me the most is hearing about the spiritual growth of our students. We hear stories of how our students on I-Term are impacting the world for Jesus. We watch our teachers and staff at every campus lead our students in worship at chapel and in the classroom. We hear how Jesus is working in the lives of our families. This spiritual growth is truly what matters most and why we exist.
Cascade Christian Schools is a light in our community; it is a place where people are literally waiting to be a part of our school district across nearly every grade. This is all because of the work of Jesus in and on our staff and students.
I am humbled to be a CCS alum and grateful to be a CCS parent, and I remain excited to continue teaming up with our administration, who works so hard to make our school district better. Thank you for continuing to partner with us as we look forward to seeing what God has in store for us next.
May the Lord bless you and your family. Let your hope and trust be in His steadfast love.
Thriving in Worship
April 12, 2023
This past month, we hosted Spiritual Emphasis Week at the junior high/high school. We gave our students an entire week of opportunities to pause, reflect, and refocus their attention on God before entering the final stretch of the school year. On the basis of student feedback, the all-school chapel during which students came together and worshipped God was voted as one of their top favorites for the week.
For the Christ-follower, worshipping God with other believers is a staple. But did you know that worshipping God is so much more than singing songs with other people?
Some of the ways Scripture gives as to how we can give honor God and show our love to Him include being a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1), keeping His commandments (John 14:15), being generous with our money (2 Corinthians 9:13), being honest (Psalm 119:7), praying (Psalm 141:2), giving thanks (Hebrews 13:15), and honoring God through the things we say (Psalm 71:8).
Throughout the month of April, we will be exploring what it means for us to be thriving in worship. We want our students to see that worshipping God can look different depending on the time or circumstances:
- When God answers our prayer, we can honor Him by saying thank you to Him!
- When God gives us a gift, we can honor Him by sharing that gift with others.
- When faced with a decision that we need to make, we can honor God by asking Him what He thinks we should do.
- We want our students to see that worship is truly something that can permeate every area of our life not just in church on Sunday, but on Monday through Saturday as well!
My hope and prayer throughout this month is that praise and adoration of God would permeate more and more of our lives in all that we say and do—all day, every day.
Family Discussion Questions:
1. What is your favorite way of worshipping God?
2. From the list above, what is one way of worshipping God that you hadn’t considered before?
3. What is one way of worshipping that you would like to do more of?
4. Describe a time in worship when you felt God’s presence.
