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Dear NCS family,
"Sixpence None the Richer" is a thought drawn from a book that our seniors are presently reading in Senior Bible: C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity". Lewis famously wrote, "Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. So that when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what that is really like. It is like a small child going to its father and saying, 'Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.' Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. When a man has made these two discoveries God can really get to work. It is after this that real life begins. The man is awake now."
If I may be so brazen as to extrapolate a further thought from that of this unmatched Christian apologist, this year, a separate, but related thought dawned in my mind as we have walked through our annual support of schools within the Isaac School District. When we give 'back' to our Heavenly Father, not only is He 'sixpence none the richer', in a very real sense we are also 'sixpence none the poorer'. What do I mean? Two things.
First, the Apostle Paul reveals in Romans 8 that: "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." It's an amazing realization and one that I hope that you and your family will reflect on often this Thanksgiving holiday: we are the 'adopted' heirs of a Heavenly Father who has already provided, despite our sinfulness, for us to live our lives as a reflection of His provision for us. As His heirs, there is literally nothing that we can give to Him which He has not already provided for us to inherit. The beauty of this is that we'll never outgive our Father. Quite, literally, all our generosity and benevolence only serves to reflect His benevolence and generosity to a needy world--a needy world which includes us.
Second, living in the great state of Arizona, we have been provided an opportunity to demonstrate benevolence and generosity to those in need in a way that quite literally costs us nothing. If you have an Arizona tax liability, there are a myriad of ways you can demonstrate generosity to those in need. As we roll towards the end of the 2016 tax year, please consider participating in any or several of these!
- School Tuition Organizations (STOs): This is the one that supports and can help NCS families. For single filers, up to $1,067 can be donated this year and this amount is doubled for married couples. There are many STOs you can use to make these donations. As you consider this option, if you don't have a specific student or family in mind, please consider designating "Northwest Christian School" generally so that the STO can help choose a needy student from within our own community. To donate, you can click on this LINK for a STO used frequently within the Northwest Christian community or you can download the list of multiple STO's HERE.
- Public School Extracurricular or Character Ed Programs: For public schools, single filers can donate up to $200 this year. Reach out to the public school of your choice and they can direct you to where to donate, or consider
- Qualifying Charitable Organizations (QCOs and QCFOs): This used to be called the Working Poor Tax Credit. For single filers, up to $200 can be donated to QCOs and another $200 to Qualified Foster Care Organizations (QFCOs) or you can allocate all $400 to QFCOs. Combined these cannot exceed $400. This is doubled for married couples. You can learn about Christian Family Care, a QFCO that has made an impact within many NCS families HERE. Or, as you will read below, as part of our annual J.B. Sutton service project, NCS has partnered with the BHHS Legacy Foundation in service of needy families in the Isaac School District. You can join this effort HERE to assist in our Christmas campaign. (Be sure to choose "Northwest Christian" from the "Other Health-Related Agencies" on the "Donation Type" list.)
- Military Family Relief Fund (MFRF): Northwest Christian is blessed to have many different military families and the MFRF is a way that we can express our support. For single filers, up to $200 can be donated. This is doubled for married couples. This one has a million dollar cap and it has already been reached this year, but for 2017 remains an option.
In the end, whether it is via the wonderful truth Paul unpacks in Romans 8 or our ability to express love and support through generous state tax credits, as believers we know that we are both 'sixpence none the richer' as well as 'sixpence none the poorer'.
Grateful for the opportunity to serve this school and your family,
Geoff Brown
Superintendent
Northwest Christian School
(623)225-5573 (cell)
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| Crusaders Celebrate! J.B. Sutton Thanksgiving Goal is Reached! |
Seven years later, God continues to surprise our students
 Literally, it was the final hour of the final day of the seventh annual NCS Thanksgving food drive for schools in the Isaac School District. As student body leaders began to wonder if this would be the year when we would miss the goal, word came in that their every goal had been surpassed.
Seven years ago, the Student Council-driven project began as an effort to provide 125 Thanksgiving meals for needy families at J.B. Sutton Elementary within the Isaac School District, the needist school district in the state. Since then, the project has grown to include over 1,200 meals at six schools in the Isaac School District and partnerships with neighborhood church Calvario, Scottsdale Christian Academy (who now covers the meals and support for Esperanza Elementary), and a unique funding relationship with the BHHS Legacy Foundation. Legacy permits Crusader families to contribute to the project via the Qualifying Charitable Organization Tax Credit and then the Legacy Foundation generously matches funds. This year's goal included canned food items (collected by Northwest Christian Early Ed and Elementary classrooms) and $22,500 for turkeys (collected by the middle school and high school students). Working through Legacy, this year's drive captured $28,159, a total reached on the final day of the effort. As part of that, high school students had set the goal of reaching $6,000 uniquely through their efforts. That total was literally reached in the final hour of the final school day of the Thanksgiving drive.
The relationship with Calvario Church has also been a vital piece of the whole initiative. A Spanish-speaking church that resides in near the geographic center of Isaac District, Calvario includes invitations within the meal boxes to services where families have the opportunity to hear the gospel and plug into a local church community.
Of the Thanksgiving 2016 campaign, Student Council sponsor Kate Estes said, "Student Council really wants to thank our families and students for seven years of faithful support and sacrificial giving. Over the years, God has continued to use this effort to literally amaze our kids with His faithfulness and to stretch their faith. Every year, we have alumni come back and participate--and they all report how influential this effort has been for them. Now, we get to start to look towards Christmas as we work to assemble nearly 1,800 gifts for kids in Isaac that otherwise might not experience the fun of a gift on Christmas morning."
To understand the scope of the J.B. Sutton Elementary/Isaac School District project over the last few years, take a moment to view the following video:
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JB Sutton Project description
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Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes
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| NCS Alumni Planning 1Mission Trip over Christmas Break |
Nearly 20 alumni from '15 and '16 organize trip to build a home for a needy family
It's not uncommon: after graduating, well-intended high school alumni aspire to 'stay in touch', reticent to give up the relationships they have built over the previous years. For Northwest Christian alumni from '15 and '16, those intentions took a noble twist as the group--representing students from GCU and GCC--worked to put together a four-day 1Mission trip to Puerto Penasco over their Christmas 2016 break. More than just "staying connected", the group has enjoyed mission-driven fellowship over the past semester as they have fund-raised and planned the trip. (On the left, members of the group are pictured at a car wash where a Phoenix Fire truck stopped to help support the cause.) The trip had originally been a brainstorm of '16 grad Jake Huey (playing baseball at GCC) who initially pulled the trip's pieces together.
In addition to current staff members from NCS, the trip will also be joined by the family of Paul Wilson. Paul served the school as senior Bible teacher through May of 2016 at which point he took over the admissions department at Manhattan Christian College. "I was thrilled to hear about this trip," enthused superintendent Geoff Brown. "We are always so encouraged to see alumni serving the Lord but this was cool because it was NCS alumni serving together and serving despite the 'busy-ness' of college. And, I love that Paul and his family are going. All said, it's an expression of what we all want for our kids: lifelong, Christ-centered relationships."
If you are interested in learning more or supporting the efforts of this group, consider visiting the following link:
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| Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes |
| Crusader Football Wins 3A Sportsmanship Award |
The recognition is determined by the AIA officials who officiate the games
Though the season ended this past Saturday afternoon one game sooner than everyone had hoped, the Crusader football squad earned another accolade that serves to underscore the prevailing purpose of Crusader athletics overall.
According to the notice sent to varsity football coach David Inness and high school principal Josh Schlesinger: "The Arizona Football Officials Association is pleased to inform Northwest Christian High School of your selection as recipient of the 2016 Varsity Football season Sportsmanship Award for the 3A Conference. After the conclusion of games during the season, officials have provided feedback in several areas used in the selection of recipients for this award which is presented to one school in each division who displays exemplary sportsmanship during the season."
Of the honor, Mr. Schlesinger said, "I want to thank all of our coaches for leading the team in such a way that this type of notice is taken." Mr. Schlesinger's observation is particularly acute in that over half of the Crusader varsity coaching staff is made up of alumni, young men who have donned the Crusader jersey themselves at one point and are now helping to shape other young men as part of the program that once helped to shape them.
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Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes
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NXNW Film Festival and Debut of NCS Film "The Big Score" Make for a Memorable Evening
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As part of an event complete with limousines, a red carpet arrival, Hollywood-style search lights, papparazi, and all of the trappings of a movie premiere, the evening of November 10th represented the 3rd annual NXNW Film Festival and the debut of the Northwest Christian feature film, "The Big Score".
The NXNW (North by Northwest) High School Film Festival took place in four theaters at the Harkins Norterra theater and saw short film submissions from aspiring film-making students at Northwest Christian, Valley Christian, Scottsdale Christian, Moon Valley High School, Sunrise Mountain High School, Liberty High School, as well as several homeschool students. The five minute films were judged by a jury made up of film industry professionals and cash prizes were announced that evening. The 1,000+ audience was also able to join the judging by voting on their smart phones. The evening also included special messages from the head of Dreamworks Animation and one of the stars of AMC's "The Walking Dead". These were filmed uniquely for NXNW festival as a way to encourage the student filmmakers in their craft.
The cornerstone of the evening was the premiere of "The Big Score". For the third year, working with director Damon Evans and Cabin Fever Films, Northwest Christian students had the opportunity to make a 45 minute feature film. This year's film centered around one of the Northwest Christian service projects. In the seventh grade, in the spring, Bible teacher Tyler Collins gives every student $10 cash and challenges them to use their time and talents to turn the cash into a larger donation for Feed My Starving Children. Since Mr. Collins has started this project, his students have earned nearly $40,000 for FMSC. Through a unique partnership with FMSC, this service project became the impetus for the film which was a comedy/musical.
To experience highlights from the evening, including the red carpet arrival, spend some time with the video below.
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3rd Annual NXNW Film Festival 2016
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Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes
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Take a moment to relive the fun of Crusaders Roar!, the 2016 Northwest Christian homecoming event. Click on the video above!
Pictured above are Northwest Christian elementary students who placed in the American Chemical Society's National Illustrated Poetry Contest. The theme was "Solving mysteries through chemistry."
2nd place: Brad Carr
Honorable mentions: Gracie Clark and Karis Bagby
Kudos to Crusaders volleyball! The 2016 season culmininated with the young squad earning the Division 3A state runner up trophy. With only one senior graduating from the team this year, the next few seasons look especially promising!
Congratulations to the 2016 Crusader Cross Country team! Both boys and girls qualified for a berth at state. As well, the boys squad won their section.
Pictured above: This past month, as part of the annual Veterans Day assembly, elementary-aged students took time to honor those who have sacrificially served our nation. The students were also thrilled to hear from Soldiers Best Friend, an organization that connects combat vets suffering with PTSD with rescue dogs trained to offer service and support.
On Saturday, November 19th, the Jr. Crusaders elementary cross country team participated in the 1-mile Iron Kids race which took place as part of the Iron Man competitions at Tempe Town Lake. Pictured above, the team was joined by Patrick Bass, high school ASL teacher and assistant coach of the Northwest Christian high school cross country program. Mr. Bass completed his third Iron Man on Sunday, November 20th.
In early November, thirty 8th graders travelled with Mr. Gardiner to Imuris, Sonora as part of Northwest Christian's support of the Kids Kingdom orphanage. While there, the students painted a newly constructed dorm space and distributed food pantry staples to members of the Kids Kingdom church.
This past month, high school principal Josh Schlesinger announced that senior Matthew Johnson has been named a Commended Student in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. The commendation means that Matthew placed in the top 5% of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2017 competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
To blow off steam, have some fun, and build community, middle school students had the chance to participate in a Super Smash Bros. video game tournament this month during lunch break. The packed classroom was also treated to free pizza and winners all walked away with theater-size boxes of candy.
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| Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes |
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