What a day! October 13, 2014 will be a day that I will not soon forget!  As many of you know, that was Apple Valley Christian School's first day in our new campus!  It's been a full two weeks now and we are getting settled into our new home.  I must tell you, we are blessed.  It is great to be standing out front, drinking my coffee, encouraging cars to keep pulling forward, and connecting with the families.  I love hearing the students go from classroom to classroom, talking and laughing as they fill our enormous hallways.  It is fun to see people's faces as they enter the building for the first time and see our grand entrance.  Our younger students are enjoying their new playground and playset, and I can't wait to see them enjoy the new grass that was installed last week.  

 

The point is...we are blessed!  Our mission is to be "Training Christian leaders committed to excellence."  We recognize that the only way we can do this is if we, first and foremost, keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!  So thank you for joining us on this journey - our journey - God's journey for us!  I know for me personally, I wouldn't change a thing! 

Our very first Harvest Festival in our new location.  Don't miss it!  Lots of fun for the whole family!  The gate opens at 5 p.m.  Fun and games until 9 p.m.  No scary, evil, or provocative costumes.  Bounce House, obstacle course, giant slide, dunk tank, cake walk, maze, senior bake sale, lots of games, and great food!

Amil the "Taco Guy" will be there serving tacos ($1.50 each), enchilada meals with rice and beans ($4.00 each), taquitos ($1.00 each) and taquito plate ($2.50 each) - which will include homemade tortillas and all fresh ingredients!  Yum!!

See you there!

Parents and students - please stay updated on the latest AVCS news at our school's Facebook Page! Just search "Apple Valley Christian School" and hit the "Like" button! It's that easy!  Or... just click on this Facebook "button" to the right and it will take you directly to our page.  Then just select "Like" to join our page.

Prepare to have some good "Old-Fashioned Fun!" Come and enjoy a variety of tasty desserts, while bidding on some wonderful auction items!  This year we will feature a fun photo booth and chances to win raffle prizes.  

Join us in welcoming Apple Valley Christian School "Home Sweet Home" at our Annual Auction & Dessert Bar Fundraiser. You will be helping to raise funds for:

Dates and events to remember:

Report cards have been sent home.  In the meantime, please check ParentsWeb.  Teachers have completed their grading process and the grades update immediately in ParentsWeb for your student(s).

 

All 9th-11th Grade Students:

The PSAT tests went well on Wednesday, October 15th.  Watch for the results to be sent home in December.

 

Senior Parents:

• The College Entrance SAT dates that will satisfy college application requirements are November 8 and December 6.  Please go to collegeboard.com to register.              
• November 1 to November 30th is the deadline for UC applications for all seniors interested in attending a UC in the fall.  This is also the 'Preferred' application time for the Cal State colleges.  Applications may be completed online.                             
• Parents of Seniors will want to plan to have their taxes done early this year if at all possible for the filing of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which will have to be completed by March 2nd, 2015.  On this form you can estimate your tax information if need be, but is a smoother process if you have them done.  Watch for more information as the time approaches!

All High School Students:

The Harvest Festival is this Friday, the 31st  of October.  Check with your class representatives to find out what else they may need from you.  Make sure you bring in those bags of candy!

On Wednesday and Thursday, November 5th and 6th, present the attached flyer to earn $$$ for our school!  20% of all proceeds are donated to our school!  2 days is 2 times the fun!  

Rainbow Frozen Yogurt is located at 14898 Dale Evans Pkwy (Suite 220) in Apple Valley, across from the Town Hall, near Target).

Select this link to print out your flyers to take to Rainbow Yogurt!

We made it!! Home, sweet home. Praise God for the churches that came alongside us in the first weeks. Thank you First Assembly of God who took such great care of secondary. We felt loved and very much at home... I almost hated to leave. But God has provided such an incredible place for us to settle and grow for the years to come!

 

We are in full swing here at Apple Valley Christian Middle School.  With first quarter under our belts, second quarter will fly by.  Look for all the activities over the next months, and see where you can participate in the life of the school.  Harvest Festival is coming up this Friday, we hope to see all our families come out and join the fun! Get pre-sale tickets before and after school.  We need volunteers, and middle schoolers can earn Community Service time for coming out and pitching in. It's fun and you earn credit, can't beat that! 

 

Our Annual Silent Auction is being held on Saturday, November 15.  We are still accepting donations to the baskets sponsored by your student's class.  If you would like to make a monetary donation or donate an item, please send it with your student directed to Mrs. Patag, or drop it off in the front office.  

 

Get ready to have a blast!! We have set the dates for the class study trips! We encourage everyone to participate in the wonderful adventures that are in store for them: 

• 6th grade will be going to Alpine for science camp, May 5-8; Mrs. Noonan is the coordinator. 
• 7th grade will be going to Catalina marine science camp, May 11-13; Miss Seaton is the coordinator for that trip. 
• 8th grade will be going to Washington D.C./New York, traveling from May 3-7; Mrs. Patag is the coordinator.  

If you have any questions please feel free to contact any of the coordinators concerning your student's participation. 

 

As we move toward the close of  2014, we look forward to all that God has in store for Apple Valley Christian Middle School. We are continually reminded of God's grace and provision and seek to remember to give Him the glory and praise for the things He has done, continues to do, and will do.

 

Thank you again for entrusting your precious children to us. We continue to endeavor to instill in them a love of Jesus and a desire to serve Him with their whole lives. So pray without ceasing, serve with the heart of Christ, study hard, and take advantage of opportunities to be involved.

 

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

 

Mrs. Patag

When every minute matters, Parent Alert speeds instantaneous notifications to parents and the school community via cell phone text messaging. This system allows school officials, faculty, or staff members to send alerts as needed for any incident ranging from in-school emergencies to school closings, schedule changes, or important reminders of deadlines.

 

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you:  Take your everyday, ordinary life -- your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life -- and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.  Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.  You'll be changed from the inside out.  Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it.  Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."  (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)

 

These ideas from the pen of the Apostle Paul capture what we are trying to do at AVCS.  We want our students to live their everyday lives to the glory of God.  We want them to see that embracing God's thoughts will cause them to grow as Christian leaders.  We want them to serve their culture, but not to be dragged down to its level of immaturity.  A Christian leader is one who thinks excellently.  As Philippians 4:8 puts it:  "Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious -- the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse." (The Message)  This is what we do daily.  We desire our students to grow to truly be excellent servant leaders.

 

We believe that excellence is only achieved when God is the center of everything we do as a school.  Our goal is as II Corinthians 10:5 states:  "To bring every thought [everything we learn] captive [in obedience] to Jesus Christ."  We believe our Classical-Christian model of learning uniquely achieves this goal.  This allows your students to be prepared for a future of leadership.

 

As you see your students grow in excellence, we hope you will be willing to tell your friends about the unique learning environment that equals AVCS.  Invite them to visit us.  We believe they will see unique learning that is very difficult to find.

 

AVCS is a community of many dedicated to training Christian leaders committed to excellence.  To parents who are  active  in  their  students'  learning,  to  PTF,  to coaches, we say "Thank you!"  You give so much.  You are deeply appreciated.

 

The result is amazing students.  I encourage you to participate in as many activities as you can in the coming weeks.  AVCS students are truly amazing.

 

It is our great desire to serve each family that attends AVCS and be prepared to serve those who will come in the future.  Thanks for a great first quarter.  Let us join together to make the second quarter even better.

Open this link to check out the lunch menu for November.  You may also print it to keep on your refrigerator as a reminder, too.           

I used to raise Peacocks. And, well, when you have Peacocks, you have Peacock poop.  And when you have Peacock poop, you have to clean up the Peacock coop.  And on this particular day, the poopy coop duty was mine.  So I got my brand new big green rake, and went into the Peacock coop to scoop the poop.

 

The coop was very large, about twice the size of one of our classrooms.  There were a couple of nice Creosote trees in there, some big rocks the birds liked to stand on, and a little pool for the Peacocks to enjoy.  There were 8 Peacocks in there, including two who we named He-Pea and She-Pea who were the mommy and daddy of all the others.  He-Pea ruled the roost, and She-Pea loved him and always stayed as close to him as she could.  They were a match made in heaven.  Until . . . . . the green rake came along.

 

My green rake was made of plastic, with a wooden handle.  It was a very bright green and very wide at the bottom. When I raked with it, I could rake a large area.  I was raking away, gathering the Peacock poop into a pile when I noticed He-Pea was acting peculiar.  He left She-Pea, and was walking very near my rake, even prancing a little.  His little head was bobbing up and down and he was making a strange sound.  He would square off toward the green rake and puff his chest out. Then suddenly, with a loud swoooooooosh he threw open his big tail into a beautiful, giant, colorful fan!  His fanned tail was about 6 feet across at the widest point, and boasted of some of the most brilliant colors God created! Once He-Pea's tail was up and fanned, he brought it down over his head almost like a hood, and then he began to shake it.  The sound of his shaking tail was like the sound of the wind blowing through crisp, dead leaves in the trees, rattling until they find their way to the ground below.  It was impressive to be sure, but why in the world was he acting this way toward my green rake? I'd only seen him behave that way toward his beloved She-Pea!

 

I glanced over to where She-Pea was, near the rocks.  She looked unimpressed, even disgusted. I looked back at He-Pea, and saw him again puffing out his chest and, wait, was he flirting with my rake?  He was!  He-Pea was putting on a show trying to impress my green rake!  He-Pea mistook the color and shape of the rake for another Peacock, and he was doing his best to impress the new arrival!

 

I used my rake to try to push him away, but he just kept it up, dancing and prancing and showing off his grand tail!  I have been known to talk to myself now and then, and I often talk to my pets, so I said to He-Pea, "What in the world do you think you're doing?  This rake has nothing for you! Do you really think this rake can make you happy? Do you think this rake can make you feel good?  Do you think this rake will snuggle with you in your nest and take care of your babies?  Are you out of your Pea-brain?"  Then I continued and told him, "Look at your beloved She-Pea watching you act like a bird-brain!  With She-Pea you have the real deal, the love of your life, your beloved, your soul-Pea, how foolish of you to take your eyes off of your beloved for even a moment to look at this green rake!"

 

Then it hit me.  How often am I distracted by something appealing or tempting to me? How easily are my eyes drawn away from my Beloved Jesus and focused on a green rake?  Anything, and I mean anything, that takes your eyes off of Jesus is a lie!  It cannot make you happy or fulfill you. Anything that takes your eyes of Jesus is nothing but a green rake. And we all know what my green rake was used for . . . . .

 

Lord Jesus, Thank you for making me your Beloved! Help me to keep my eyes on You and You alone! 

 

Contact:

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