Being history makers

Smithville Christian High School's spiritual life director Gord Park launched this year's spiritual life theme by inviting students to be history makers.

Park said each one of us has the ability to have an impact, and we don't have to be famous or newsworthy to do it.

Instead, our ability to change the world is based on the power of God through the Holy Spirit in us, he said. Reading from the 1926 poem entitled One Solitary Life, Park said there was nothing about the external details of most of Jesus' life that made him remarkable.

Yet Jesus' greatness was based on the power of God in him, Park said, and that same power is available to each one of us.

Each one of us can change the course of history by saying "hi" to a new student, by stopping to pray with a friend before an exam, or by asking a friend in a difficult situation how things are going, he said.

"Behind every avalanche is a snowflake and behind every landslide is a pebble," Park said. In the same way, the real heroes are the people who pray for the Holy Spirit to shape the ordinary moments of their lives.

"Whenever you let the spirit of God into the ordinary moments of your daily life, you are a history maker," Park said.

He shared the story of his summer encounter with a young musician in El Salvador, and how God used a chance meeting at a high school there to lead to a life-changing moment for both that young guitar player and for Park. 

"Allow God to be real in your life and to live that with the person next to you," Park said. He challenged the students to listen to what God is saying to them and to pray for God to give them the courage to act on it.

"Help us to recognize your voice," Park prayed, "and to share you with others through how we live and honour one another. Through you, we can make all the difference."

The students also watched a video of the song "History Makers" by Delirious. 

 

 Click here to listen.

 

*  *  *

One Solitary Life

by Dr. James Allan, 1926

(Read by Gord Park at chapel)

He was born in an obscure village

The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three

His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of humanity's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of humans on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life

Why it's good to get involved

Morning devotions at this year's Grade 9 Blast focused on fear.

Mr. Neale Robb told students about his fear of heights, and his daughter's insistence that he try ziplining this summer. He said there are two possible responses to the things that frighten us:

F Forget
E Everything
A And
R Run

Or

F Face
E Everything
A And
R Rise

So when Robb faced his fear and stepped off that platform to zip across the waterfall, he found he actually enjoyed himself, he said.

Robb told the Class of 2017 that they might be frightened about getting involved in school activities, but they shouldn't be. God promises that when we turn to him for help, he will provide the help we need, said Robb, citing Deuteronomy 31:8 and 2 Corinthians 12:9.

To inspire you, here's an article from a recent issue of the school magazine, Echoes, on how getting involved in extra-curriculars is good for you:

Being busy is good for you

By Marlene Bergsma, Director of Communications and Admissions

While parents and teachers may think high school is all about learning facts and earning credits, ask any student and he or she will tell you that high school is really all about making friends and having fun.

That's because the truth is a good high school experience is turned into an excellent experience when a student gets involved. Often, when students participate in portfolio interviews, when they contribute to the three-minute yearbook or when they reflect on the four years they spent at high school, they say that extra-curricular sports and activities were the highlight. Sadly, some students look back on their high school careers and wish they had dared to try out or been brave enough to sign up.

Some are afraid they won't make the cut. Others are afraid to embarrass themselves or are afraid they won't know anybody. Still others are afraid they will be too busy to focus on schoolwork.

But what teachers have noticed is that for many students, the busier they are, the better they do. Being busy helps students focus their efforts, and forces them to be efficient. Busy students decide it's better to buckle down and get that assignment done so they'll be able to go on the choir tour, attend that sports tournament, or run the sound system at the upcoming event.

And don't let try-outs dissuade you from taking a chance: being in a small school means there is a greater likelihood you'll make the cut. So even if you think you're too short to make the basketball team or too slow to make the soccer team, try out anyway. Every team needs a manager and social media manager, and you'd still get to go to games and travel with the team. Other sports, like cross-country and track-and-field, welcome anyone who wants to run, jump or throw.

There are also many activities that are completely open and the more students who get involved the more fun it will be. You might think it's risky to take a chance, but don't let others miss out on the opportunity of getting to know you. You're guaranteed to be glad you joined.

Activities for which there are try-outs or elections

Praise team

Choir

Play

Student Council

 

Sports for which there are try-outs

Basketball

Volleyball

Soccer

Badminton

Each of these teams sports also needs a manager and a social media manager. 

Open sports and activities

Cross-Country

Track and Field

Art Club

Audio-visual Club

Book Club

Computer Club

Christmas Parade Float

Culture Club

Graduation Planning

Homework Club

Photography Club

Play Make-up and Hair

Play Publicity

Play Set Decorating

Yearbook

Intramural Sports

Ambassadors

 

To read more articles in Echoes, go to the school website at www.smithvillechristian.ca and click on the "About Us" tab.

Starting the year with a jubilee attitude

Smithville Christian High School principal Ted Harris started the school year with a reflection on the fact that he's turning 50 this week, and a look at the significance of the number 50 in the Bible.

In Leviticus 25, God introduces the concept of the 50th year as a "year of jubilee," saying it's a time for freedom, for forgiveness and for renewal, Harris said. "It's a time for things to be 'set right.' "

Borrowing from the inspiration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech (also 50 years old), Harris said he has a dream that life at Smithville Christian High School can also be like the year of jubilee, where things can be 'set right' for students and their teachers.

"We want to be the kind of school where you can be at home," he told students. "Where you can be comfortable where you are as a learner."

Harris promised that learning will be more important than evaluation, that teachers will be constantly finetuning project-based learning, and that the school's new online learning management tool will aide student achievement and success.

But more importantly, Harris said his dream is for a school where "we are forming community in a way that no one is pushed aside, where we are aligning our thinking with the kingdom of God and where we are taking our faith perspective seriously.

"Let's consider having a jubilee attitude," he said, "where you emphasize enfolding the new student sitting next to you, where we are returning every square inch of creation to the one who created it, where the sowing and reaping will be in the fertile ground of your minds and your hearts."

Harris told students he has a dream "that you will be dreamers, and that the dreams you have will have great cultural significance -- both here at school and in the wider community."

Harris told students they have the potential to change the world.

"The dreams of our young people can have a massive impact in our world, and we encourage you to be culture makers," he said. "Dream big."

Chapel began with a time of worship, led by a team of staff members. Students sang "Mighty to Save," "How Great is Our God," and "10,000 Reasons."

Students also learned about the many activities getting underway:

• Praise and worship team auditions - sign up in the office

• Grade 12 Retreat planning meeting for all interested students Wednesday at noon

• Homework Club starts next week and runs every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

• Boys Volleyball, Jr. and Sr., first tryout after school today
• Girls Basketball, Jr. and Sr., first tryout after school Wednesday

• Cross Country team starts this week. All are welcome

• France Trip short meeting Wednesday at noon, Room 113

Returning vice-principal, Fred Breukelman, said his two-year stint in Indonesia emphasized to him how "absolutely critical it is that we are a community together." Breukelman said things won't always go perfectly this year, but the book of Leviticus is an "incredible story of forgiveness" and we can be the kind of school where forgiveness is both sought and graciously extended.

Breukelman ended with the blessing from Jude:

"But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God’s love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!"

* * *

Chapels are held weekly, usually on Wednesday mornings at 9. They usually feature praise and worship led by student worship teams, and all are welcome to attend. Next week's chapel will be on Tuesday.

Check morning announcements on the school website or via Edsby to find out what's happening daily.

P.S. Mr. Harris's 50th birthday is on Saturday.

Here are a few more photos from the first day of school. We are GLAD to be back!

 

God is a wild God!

Students at Smithville Christian High School pray daily, but they don't always pray effectively, they learned at this week's chapel.

"You thank God for your day, you pray for God to bless your grandma," said educational assistant Ruth Thiessen, today's chapel speaker. "That is a good prayer, but that is just the beginnning."

Thiessen used examples from her own journey from unbelief to a joyful walk with God to show the secret to powerful prayer.

The secret is expecting God to answer, Thiessen said.

Thiessen said when she was young she prayed for a boy with dreamy eyes to ask her on a date, she prayed for high marks in classes in which she was a disruptive influence and did no work, and she prayed for God to bless her grandma.

In each case, God answered her, she said. The answers were "Nope," "Are you Kidding?" and "Yes!"

 

But in each case, Thiessen was too busy focusing on her friends or her activities to notice that God was, indeed, answering her. She turned away from God and the church.

In hindsight, Thiessen said she knows God was always with her and always communicating with her -- in dreams, visions, signs, other people and his word.

"I was given eyes to see God," she said. Once she could see God and once she began expecting him to answer, she saw him everywhere. "And he is a wild God, guys."

She shared stories of how God used her to have a positive influence on others -- a heroin addict, a member of her church, or an addiction program she was running. But she also admitted that each victory caused her to take pride in her own accomplishments instead of in God's love and power.

 

She also came to recognize that she was a judgmental person who criticized and condemned others.

"What God had done with grace in my life, I had taken and owned and turned it into judgment," she said. Her journey away from legalism "is still ongoing," she told the students. "When I get into trouble, I tend to lean to law, rather than lean to grace.

"But God never condemns," she said. "God will convict. Condemnation comes from law and conviction comes from grace.

God loves her and God pursues her, she said, and she continually sees evidence of God answering her prayers and working in her life.

"And God loves you," she told students.

"God does everything for you. You just have to ask and believe," she said. Our ability to pray and our ability to see God's answers comes from lining up our hearts with the word of God.

"God loves the socks off you," she said. "If you dwell in his love, you can ask anything and he will do it for you. And dwelling in that place is the best place in the world."

Thiessen closed by inviting each student to reflect on an issue in his or her heart, and to think about the feeling that goes along with that issue: whether it's fear, anger, insecurity, inadequacy or more.

"Take that feeling and focus on Jesus and who he is," she said. "He is love. He is gentleness. He is faithful and tenacious and can never let you go.

"And you are so valuable and important to him," she said. "God will guide you and protect you. You may be an ordinary person but you will live an extraordinary life."

 

Today's chapel began with Mr. Park's prayer of thanks to God that this is a school "where we recognize that there is something bigger going on."

A student praise team led us in worship with "I Am Free," "Give Me Your Eyes," and "I Am Not Ashamed." 

 

 

 

 

And then the winners of the school hockey tournament signed the Stanley Cup! 

 

Here's a short clip from today's chapel, in which Mrs. Thiessen describes "the first miracle" God worked in her life. Mr. Park says she sounds like Shrek!

 

 

 

Encouragement and advice for a fresh start

We began our second semester of the school year with a chapel on Thursday morning, at which we welcomed four new students -- Andy, Nick, Jason and Brianne -- and a new teacher, Mr. Eli Banta.

Principal Ted Harris gave students a brief account of his recent travels to California, when he and five other staff members visited High Tech High in San Diego.
Mr. Harris told students that High Tech High is world-renowned for its emphasis on project-based learning and the spirit of cooperation between students and teachers.

But he told students that their exhibitions at January's Open House and Presentations of Learning evening were equally amazing.

"Wow, did you ever impress us," he said. "You produce top-notch work."

(Displaying the Trails and Corridors Project at Presentations of Learning.)

And the Smithville Christian High School community also enjoys a tremendous spirit of cooperation, he said, "and we celebrate that."

He said the teachers who visited High Tech High came back with some inspiring ideas, and that all the teachers at Smithville Christian are committed and "eager to seek out the best ways to meet your needs as learners in the 21st century."

While students can expect to see changes, Mr. Harris said there are already great things going on in our school that are worth celebrating.

"You need to be aware of the blessing you have, of the potential you have and the opportunities you have."

As advice for a new semester, Spiritual Life Director Gord Park gave students eight rules to live by.

1. Have high expectations for yourself. Jeremiah 29:11

2. Try something new. 2 Timothy 1:7

3. Keep a positive outlook. Romans 8:38-39

4. Don't compare yourself to your peers. I Corinthians 12: 14-27

5. Be smart with social media. Proverbs 13:3

6. Don't give in to normal. Romans 12:2

7. Be kind and compassionate. Ephesians 4:32

8. When you dream, dream big. Psalm 37:4

Park said the advice is not about things like studying harder or not losing your notebooks.

"This is more about your character than your grades."

 

San Diego Update

While our students and colleagues write exams and battle the cold in Ontario, we are enjoying balmy temperatures and (mostly) sunny skies, walking to and from school every day.

The school we are attending is about two blocks from the hotel, and we have to be at school by 8:30 every morning, which is where we are served breakfast.

There are about 80 people attending the course, which has two tracks running simultaneously -- presentations and workshops or opportunities to wander among the various buildings on campus observing classrooms and talking to teachers and students.

One of the things that makes High Tech High remarkable in the American educational system is the fact that it is a charter school -- it is funded by the government but its founders were able to implement their vision for education that was authentic, hands-on and relevant. The students who attend this school are grateful to be here -- they have won the lottery, literally. While there are roughly 1,000 students between the three high schools, more than 8,000 apply every year, and the students are randomly selected by lottery.

During our stay, student ambassadors have toured us around campus, teachers have described the projects they have done with their students, and we have been awed by the amount of art and student work that is on display.

Teachers at High Tech High teach in teams, giving students opportunity to combine studies in science and humanities and leading them to produce innovative projects that use arts and technology to demonstrate science and math. We have seen beautiful artifacts, paintings, sculptures, podcasts, videos and many other examples of student ingenuity and creativity.

While High Tech High is doing groundbreaking and inspiring work, we are also realizing that so are the staff and students of Smithville Christian High School. There are lots of great ideas that we can implement at our school, but Smithville Christian is remarkable too. Our Portfolio Days, Sciencepalooza, Trails Project and the many other ways in which students are doing project-based learning are already innovative and authentic. We will be coming home with exciting ideas, but we are also grateful for the blessing of a talented and dedicated staff and students who seek to glorify God in all that they do.

Greetings from San Diego! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Mr. Harris, Mr. Lammers, Mrs. Greenham, Mr. Gerryts, Mr. T and Mrs. B

What we're hoping for.....

Our Christmas chapel featured lots of music and a reflection on hope.

Mr. Robb began his message with the lyrics of a song by the band For King And Country that had been on our school sign: "Endless hope, relentless joy, started with a baby boy."

 

 

He said it's normal for us to hope for things like good marks on tests, for acceptance from friends or for gifts for Christmas, such as the dog he once hoped for when he was a boy.

"Sometimes we are more certain than others of the things we hope for," he said. The Bible uses the word "hope" about 175 times, and "it's not just wishful thinking, it's much stronger than that."

Because of the promises of God, we have hope for the forgiveness of sins, for the strength to live our lives as Christ calls us to live, and for an eternal home free from the sin and suffering of this world, Robb said.

"Our hope is based on the character and promises of God, a God who cannot lie," he said.

We put our hope not in iPads or iPods or other I things, but in the God who loves us and who came to us as a baby boy, he said.

Hebrews 6:19 says "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." The image is of a ship at anchor, Robb said. "A storm may blow in tossing the ship about, but as long as the anchor holds, the ship is safe."

Similarly, the storms of life may toss us about, but as long as we have our hope in Christ, our anchor, we cannot be destroyed, he said.

Mr. Robb ended his reflection with the lyrics of the song "Baby Boy" by For King and Country:  

If you told me all about your sorrows
I'd tell you about a cure
If you told me you can't fight the battle
There's a Baby Boy who won the war
The war was won by a Baby Boy

Alleluia, we can sing it
Alleluia, Heaven's ringing
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

Oh, before that silent night
No Savior and No Jesus Christ
The world cried out so desperately
And the Baby Boy was the reply,
Yes, Heaven's reply was a baby boy

Alleluia, we can sing it
Alleluia, Heaven's ringing
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

See, the King is coming down
And He's here without a crown
The Baby Boy without a bed
Giving life back to the dead
And hear the angels shout it out
As the people are coming down
Unexpected majesty
Alleluia, what a King

Alleluia, we can sing it
Alleluia, Heaven's ringing
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

Alleluia, we can sing it!
Alleluia, yeah, Heaven's ringing!
Alleluia!
Endless hope and endless joy started with a Baby Boy

We sang What Child Is This, Angels We Have Heard on High and Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.

The choir performed "Hush," "Jesus What a Wonderful Child," "Sing Noel," "Testify to Love," "Wade in the Water" and an "Irish Blessing."Megan and Rachel sang "Do You See What I See?" Caleb sang "I'll Be Home for Christmas," Jon sang "All I Want for Christmas is You" and Samantha sang "Only Hope."

 

 

 

We were delighted to be joined by many guests and alumni. Next chapel is Wednesday, January 9 at 9 a.m. See you there!

Listen to Samantha sing "Only Hope."