theSTEWARDf a l l 2017

A publication for friends of Ames Christian School.

INSIDENewsletter Name .................................... 2

School Calendar ..................................... 2

Making Connections ............................... 2

Prayer Requests ...................................... 2

Upcoming Gala & Auction Fundraiser ....... 2

Grandparents are Great! ......................... 3

New Third and Fourth Grade Room .......... 4

Lockers .................................................. 4

Focus on Art .......................................... 5

Focus on Music ...................................... 6

New Staff .............................................. 7

Preschool and Early Kindergarten News .... 7

It is hard to believe that the first quarter of school has concluded at ACS! I am blessed to be a part of a team that promotes God’s great work of educating academically, physically and spiritually those children whom parents have heard Him call, “let the little children come unto me...” Mark 10:14.

This year we have seen a few chang-es at ACS. A major change occurred this past summer when the wall that separated the library and computer lab was knocked down to convert those two rooms into a new 3rd/4th grade combination classroom. The library was moved to the room locat-ed off the multipurpose room, which housed our 4th grade class last year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers that spent their time making this room possible! Also, the Lord provided our school with a new teacher and Childcare Supervisor. Ms. Jennifer Leichty is our new 3rd/4th grade teacher. She

comes to ACS from Melcher-Dallas where she taught for 10 years. Previously, Ms. Leichty taught for six years at Mt. Zion Christian School in Greenville, South Carolina. Ms. Bethany Madden takes over as our Childcare Supervisor. She is responsi-ble for the overall day-to-day activities of the childcare program at ACS.

Please remember that we invite and encourage you to join us for school activities, field trips, fundraisers and special school events. The importance of parent, extended family and community volunteer commitment to our school is realized through your willingness to serve. Your involvement is vital to our success. You will help with establishing support for our teachers, and a lasting God-first rela-tionship with our school community.

Each morning the staff meets for devotions before the school day begins. Monday mornings are devoted to praying for the students

at ACS. Each staff member pulls a student’s name from a jar and prays for that individual student during this time and throughout the week. During the remaining days of the week, we utilize this time to start our day as a team by drawing near to God through readings, videos, and prayer.

Our current enrollment is very consistent with past years. The total enrollment in early childhood through sixth grade is 85 students with K-6 accounting for 50 students.

Reminder: The eighth annual One Starry Night Gala will be held Sat-urday, December 2 at the Scheman Building on the Iowa State campus. Reservations are due November 20. The school Christmas musical will be held on Thursday, December 14 at Stonebrook Church in Ames.

Please use the following Scriptures as you pray for ACS this school year.

Dear Friends,

save the date

Nov. 22 – 24, 2017: Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 2, 2017: One Starry Night Gala & Auction

Dec. 14, 2017: ACS Christmas Musical

Dec. 21 – Jan 2, 2018: Christmas Break

Jan. 22 – 26, 2018: ACS Spirit & Book Week

Feb. 16, 2018: Family Game Night

Feb. 22, 2018: Kindergarten On Tour

Mar. 9 – 16, 2018: Spring Break

Apr. 9 – 13, 2018: Iowa Assessments K-6

Apr. 20, 2018: Kindergarten Roundup

Apr. 30 – May 4, 2018: Teacher Appreciation

May 2018 TBD: ACS Bike-a-thon

May 22, 2018: Field Day

May 23, 2018: Awards Chapel

May 24, 2018: Last Day of School

May 25, 2018: ACS Golf Outing

2017-18

dates to remember

Steward is a word seldom used in our society, but is a precise description of the role of the school. A steward is a person who administers the property, house, finances, etc, of another. This is the role of everyone at ACS because everything – our children, donations, time, volunteers – belongs to God. The teachers, staff, and board understand our role is doing our best work as stewards of God’s gifts.

theSTEWARD

Prayer Requests

• of Praise for the baby Jesus, who changed the world forever and frees us to share His love

• of thanksgiving for new families who joined ACS this fall

• of thanksgiving for donors who continue to lift up ACS with their gifts

• for God to lead more families to learn about the value of Christian education

• for God’s grace and love to continue to abound and grow in the hearts of our students, teachers, and staff

• for God to raise up additional wise parents with Christ-like hearts to be leaders in the school

• He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

• The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors….Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him. Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today. Deuteronomy 7:7, 9, and 11

• Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

• To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude 1 and 2

• When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Isaiah 29:23

Your fellow worker in God’s Kingdom,

Floyd Athay, Administrator

Ames Christian School • 925 South 16th Street • Ames, IA 50010

515-233-0772 • www.ameschristianschool.org

Making Connections with Our Community

Ames Christian School recently hired Barb Vincent to serve as our part-time development director. Barb is serving in an interim role to help the

school make progress on expanding our connections to businesses and individuals in the Ames area, and provide support for the school’s marketing activities.

The school continues to seek an individual who can serve in a full-time capacity as the ACS Development Director. Primary duties would be donor relations, expanding community relationships, and marketing the school to potential families. If you or someone you know has an interest in this position, please contact the main office.

office@ameschristianschool.org

515-233-0772

theSTEWARD — 3

Grandparents are Great!

Ames Christian School students honored their grandparents on Friday, October 6 at their annual Grandparents Day event. Grandparents and special

friends of the students gathered at the school for a special program put on by the K-6th graders and their teachers. The program was co-hosted by Administrator Floyd Athay and 5th & 6th grade teacher Britta Sjoberg. Each class presented a special song or reading that honored their grand-parents and highlighted how loved & respected they are. Grandparents were also invited to each classroom to read, observe and have a snack. A highlight this year was a fun photo booth, complete with props. Students and their grandparents had fun posing for the photos. The ACS Preschool classes also presented a program for their grand-parents and enjoyed snacks and playtime.

Celebrate Christmas & Young Christian Hearts

The One Starry Night Gala and Auction makes it possible to provide children with a Christ-centered, high quality education both today and in the future.

Come join us for an evening of elegance and fun on Saturday, December 2, 2017. The Gala includes an extensive silent auction, a live auction, dinner, and live entertainment. More information on how to attend or donate to the event is available by visiting our Facebook page, contacting the main office, or emailing Barb Vincent at bvincent@ameschristianschool.com.

PHOTOBOOTH FUN WITH THE GRANDPARENTS

N E W & I M P R O V E D !

New Lockers at ACS

If you’ve visited ACS lately, you might have noticed a change in the hallways. New, (gently used, actually) blue lockers now line the walls. Everyone is enjoying

the fresh new look and the fact that the lockers now open and close with ease! The lockers were made possible by donations from golfers at the annual ACS Golf Outing last May, along with other generous supporters of the school. We’re very thankful!

NEW: Modified ClassroomsThe new lockers aren’t the only change at ACS this year. What was once the computer lab and school library, is now

one big 3rd and 4th grade classroom. A huge thank you to the many parent volunteers, staff and supporters who worked so hard this summer to take down a wall, reconstruct the ceiling and floor to make this new classroom possible. Thanks also to the many volunteers who helped move all the library books and shelves to their new home on the west end of the school. Volunteers play a very important role at ACS!

Above: The new third and fourth grade classroom, previously two separate rooms. Right: Our new lockers.

PARENTS Q/A: WHAT DO YOU VALUE ABOUT AMES CHRIST IAN SCHOOL?

“Ames Christian is so much more than just a private school. Our children are getting a Christ-centered,

high-quality education. They’re being equipped to live lives of integrity and faith in this crazy world. That’s a

big deal and something to be highly valued.”– EMILY HILLEMAN

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S P E C I A L S F O C U S

ART, MUSIC, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND SPANISH ARE WHAT WE CALL OUR “SPECIALS” CLASSES.

IN THIS ISSUE, WE’D L IKE TO TELL YOU ABOUT ART WITH MELYNDA VAN ZEE.

My name is Mrs. Melynda Van Zee and I am in my second year of teaching the Art program at Ames Christian School. On Thursdays, I have

the privilege of nurturing the God-given creativity of our ACS students. It is fascinating for me as a Christian edu-cator to watch as students engage their creative gifts and problem-solving skills through a wide variety of art-making processes in the art room. I enjoy having a “front row seat” watching as they learn new skills, use their creative imagina-tions and try out new things they have never done before. One thing we have discussed often this year is that in art we have a very special time to come up with a wide variety of possible answers to any problem. I love watching as their imagination and creativity pours out into their projects as we work with art tools such as pencils, crayons, oil pastels, paints, modeling clay, glue, and scissors.

This year we started the year in art with a large group art project that involved all K-6th students collaborating on a project together.

First, we laid two long sheets of mural paper outside on the sidewalk. Various “roadblocks” were placed on the paper and students were given brushes and paint to create color-ful roads heading in all directions on the paper and going around the “roadblocks”.

After the paint was dry, we took the opportunity to talk about God’s gift of communities. We discussed questions such as…What is a community? • What makes a community safe and healthy? • How do we help each other in our ACS community, our

Ames community, and other communities in our world? • How have you seen people helping others in our

communities recently?

With Sharpies in hand, we drew our responses to these questions all over our community art project. We’d love to have you stop in school and see our creative responses on the huge mural hanging in the hallway.

S P E C I A L S F O C U S

ART, MUSIC, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND SPANISH ARE WHAT WE CALL OUR “SPECIALS” CLASSES.

IN THIS ISSUE, WE’D L IKE TO TELL YOU ABOUT MUSIC WITH LAURA GARDNER.

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts toward God.”

C O L O S S I A N S 3 : 1 6

What a great blessing and joy for us to live out this verse (to the left) in music at ACS! Each music class begins with worship leaders of the

day leading the class in a praise song to the Lord.

We practice melody parts of praise songs with Solfege hand signs (do, re, mi, etc.) and decode rhythm patterns. We learn about the order God created in music through rhythm, composition and notation.

It is wonderful to find out how God worked in the lives of hymn writers like John Bunyan and composers like J.S. Bach, who signed his pieces with “Soli Deo Gloria,” (“To the Glory of God Alone”).

Younger students practice a variety of ways to keep a steady beat and match pitches with children’s praise songs. We have fun singing and dancing to folk songs that remind us of the amazing creation of the world in weather, seasons, animals and more.

As our school choir rehearses and performs our musical dra-mas, we go deeper into the truth of how the timeless Word of God applies to our own lives!

Private investigators who are asked by King Herod to find out if the “King of the Jews” is a real king, (after the wise men did not return to Herod following their visit to Bethlehem to see Baby Jesus.) The investigators discover that the King of the Jews is the Messiah through eyewitness accounts of the shepherds, angels, innkeepers, and also the Old Testament prophecies in the book of Isaiah.

“ I’m really excited about this musical, as it is a unique way to tell the Christmas story from the Old Testament perspective!” – LAURA GARDNER

The Ames Christian School’s Christmas musical titled, “A Higher Calling to a Higher King” will be presented Thursday, December 14th at 7 p.m. at Stonebrook Community Church, in Ames.

Preschool and Early Kindergarten classes at ACS have been busy learning new things this fall. There are 21 students in the 3 year-old class this

year, with 7 more on the waiting list! The 3 year-olds have been working on identifying shapes. To make it fun and a little messy, they’ve been drawing those shapes in shaving cream. They are heading to the Ames Public Library soon for their very first field trip.

The 4 year-old class visited an apple orchard and learned all about how apples grow and are harvest-ed. They are currently learning about the letter T by studying turtles and trees. Mrs. Long says they love identifying and sorting letters. In Bible, they have been learning about how God keeps his promises.

The EK (Early Kindergarten) class also took a trip to an apple orchard. They recently enjoyed a fire safety talk by firefighters who visited the school. They enjoy reading with their 6th grade reading buddies and learning about the letter B by studying butterflies and birds.

Jennifer Leichty joined ACS as the 3rd and 4th grade teacher. Miss Leichty has 16 years of teaching experience and holds a degree in Elementary Education from Northwestern College, Orange City, IA. She also has reading, coaching and early childhood endorsements. Miss

Leichty says she loves getting to know each individual child and their unique personality. She values the support of parents, fellow teachers, and administration at ACS. She believes it is a privilege and blessing to be able to talk openly to the students, parents and staff about God and freely acknowledge that He is the One who gives the help and strength we need for each day. She appreciates all the wonderful help, support and encouragement she’s received from the other teachers and administration at ACS and looks forward to a wonderful first year!

Bethany Madden is the new Lead Childcare Teacher at ACS. Ms. Madden grew up in Davenport, IA. She graduated from DMACC with an Associate of Arts degree and formerly led a childcare pro-gram for a homeschooling group. Ms. Madden moved to Ames about 8

years ago, spent 5 years working as a nanny, and 7 summers serving as a counselor at a Christian camp. She says she loves the fun and exciting view of life that the little ones have, and enjoys watching them problem solve. Madden is excited to watch the children grow and develop into the wonderful people they will become. ACS warmly welcomes both of these new staff members and are thankful for the way they invest in the lives of the children and students.

ACS Welcomes New Staff

We welcomed two new staff members at the start of the 2017-18 school year.

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Preschool & Early Kindergarten News

Above: During free time, the preschool three year old class children choose a favorite activity. You see some of these students playing a game with Miss Sadie.

925 South 16th StreetAmes, Iowa 50010

S A V E T H E D A T E

D E C E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 7

G A L A & A U C T I O N

As we rejoice in the birth of the Christ child

at this event, we also celebrate the hearts

of our students who are learning not just to be

excellent students, but servants of Christ.