In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"                                                                                                                                              Matthew 3:1-3

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" ... "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "  And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.                     Mark 1:1-4

In the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day, the church celebrates the season of Advent (a word derived from Latin meaning "to come or arrival").  It is an anticipatory set which causes us to want to prepare and be ready for this big event that is coming.  Our homes and often our churches display different decorations like Christmas trees, candles, lights, blue paraments, wreaths, etc. which are carefully selected and prepared to make everything look just right for Christmas.  The time to coordinate everything, let alone the time to shop and buy presents, bake cookies, wrap gifts, hang lights, etc. is substantial, for sure.

What about us?  How much time will we spend preparing for Christmas - for one day of the year? Hours upon hours of planning and preparation so that everything is just right and beautiful for others to see and admire.  Obviously, Christmas is a very important day of the year - as it should be, especially for Christians as we celebrate God's greatest gift to mankind, His Only Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior.  God prepared to send His Son to earth to save us from our sins thousands of years before Jesus arrived as a baby in the manger.  And, God promised and is preparing to send His Son again to gather all believers and take us to heaven on judgment day.  John the Baptist prepared the people a couple of thousand years ago and the Bible is our current reminder that we need to be prepared for Jesus' second coming.

So, are you ready?  How much time are you willing to take to prepare your heart, your life for that one day when Christ returns?  Are we willing to take the time to make the right preparations (repentance, forgiveness, faith, service, etc.)?  Is the world's celebration of Christmas more important in our thoughts and actions than the Christian's perspective of what Christmas is really all about - the celebration of Christ's birth?  May God's grace and mercy allow us to focus on the real reason for the season - I mean, this one day is named after Him - Merry CHRISTmas!

                                                                                                In HIS Service,

BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

WISHING YOU THE PEACE AND JOY THAT COMES FROM THE KNOWLEDGE

OF THE CHRIST CHILD'S BIRTH.           LUKE 2:10-11

Principal Bahr and the CLHS Faculty and Staff 

2^nd Semester Schedules

Second semester schedules will be given to all 9 - 12 graders on Friday, December 5.  Students are allowed to make requests for changes to their schedules until Monday, December 15.  

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Course Selections

The counselors will be in the classrooms on January 9, 2015.  They will be distributing the following materials to take home to parents which will guide them in choosing course selections for the following school year:

• Course selection sheets for 2015-2016 school year
• 4 year plans (9^th & 10^th); Credit earned sheets (11^th)
• Instructions on how to complete the course selection sheets

Students have until Wednesday, January 14, to review the information, speak with parents, and decide which courses they wish to take next year.  Following their 4 year plans or their course selection sheets and knowing first semester grades will be invaluable in helping make these choices.  Parents must sign off on the course selection sheet stating satisfaction with student's options. 

***Students who sign up for dual credit classes for the following school year must go through the qualification process.  For information about this process, please follow the link below.  

Advanced Programs 

 Theater Highlights
    

CLHS traveled to San Antonio and won the TAPPS Division I State One-Act Play Championship with their performance of Sweet Nothing in My Ear by Stephen Sachs. The play was directed by Koy Domann and assisted by Melanie Schultz. It was presented with the help of Concordia's American Sign Language department.

Congratulations to these students for earning individual awards:

Nick Garig -- Best Actor (MVP male actor award)

Colleen Catania -- All Star Cast (All state performer)

Raphael Jaquette -- All Star Cast (All state performer)

Maddie Nutt -- All Star Crew Member

 Academic Highlights 

Speech and Debate

Senior Collee Catania and Junior Jessica Lawrence qualifed with their duet scent for the

National Individual Events Tournament of Champions at the Cy-Creek/Westfield invitational tournament. They will have the opportunity to represent Concordia at the national tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska this spring.

Academic Team

The academic team has participated in two Virtual Meet Challenges so far this year. Virtual Meet Challenge allows students to compete against other students across the state of Texas (public and private schools).

Students placing in the most recent tournament included:

Current Events: Angus Brooks and Amy Jackson

Literary Criticism: Ryan Street

Social Studies: Angus Brooks

Spelling: Ty Lindquist and Justin Salamone

Music Notes  

 

ATSSB All-Region Band

Congratulations to the following students who made ATSSB/TMEA 4A All-Region Band.   Those with stars are advancing to audition at Area in January.

 

*Brett Paulson, Junior - Alto Saxophone, 1st Chair (best in region!)

*Avery Graves, Freshman - Oboe, 2nd Chair (2nd in region!)

*Reid Wilson, Sophomore - Clarinet, 6th Chair

Wyatt Kiel, Junior - Clarinet, 12th Chair

 

Congratulations to these students who earned All-Region Alternate spots:

 

*Maggie DeWulf, Sophomore - Bass Clarinet, 1st Alternate

 Corbett Fong, Freshman - Baritone Saxophone, 1st Alternate

           Andrew Thomas, Sophomore - Clarinet, 2nd Alternate

           Wyatt Keil, Junior - Clarinet, 12th Chair

 

 

TMEA All-Region Choir

On Saturday evening, Nov. 22, senior Gabe Longoria and junior Michelle Privette represented CLHS in the 176-voice TMEA All-Region Mixed Choir, an honor they had each earned earlier by placing first chair in the Bass II and Alto II sections, respectively, of the Small School (UIL 1-4A) TMEA District competition.  The Region IX Mixed Choir is largely comprised of competitive vocalists from 5A and 6A high schools in a 15-ISD region which includes Spring, Conroe, Tomball, Magnolia, Montgomery and Klein ISDs. Gabe and Michelle are pictured with Z. Randall Stroope, all-state clinician, professional conductor, and composer.

 

Gabe and Michelle will move on to the TMEA Area competition in January, each working to earn a seat on the TMEA All-State Choir.

 

 

TPSMEA All-State Choir

Congratulations to James Swanson for making the Texas private school TPSMEA All-State Choir as a Bass I.  James will be traveling to San Marcos in January to perform in the All-State Choir