UPCOMING EVENTS
   
Parent/Teacher Conferences
SCS is committed to communicating student learning gains on a continual basis. Principals have recently emailed first quarter report cards.

Middle teachers will be available on November 2nd from 3:30-6:30pm in the gym for drop-in brief conferences. There is no need to sign up in advance for these conferences.   
 
Elementary families were emailed a link to sign up for a conference meeting to be held this week. Teachers of elementary encore classes will be available on November 2nd between 3:30-6:30pm in the gym to meet with elementary parents.  
 
Thank you for partnering with us for your student's academic success. 
Hurry get your votes in for Best Private School!
The past four years we've won Best Private School by Family Living Magazine Readers.  Help SCS win for the 5th year in a row and vote today!  Voting ends soon. 
 
 
   
 
Help SCS win Best Private School in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Readers' Choice Awards and vote today!  Voting ends November 30th. 
 
  
 
The past four years we've come in second place in Best of SRQ Local for Best Private School.     Help SCS finish in first place this year and
vote today!   Voting ends February 12th.
 
 
 
 
Keeping Your Kids Safe Online - Parent Workshop
SCS, with the support of our PTA, is hosting a Parent Education Workshop "Keeping Your Kids Safe Online" presented by the Child Protection Center.  The workshop is offered to SCS free of charge, and parents of High School, Middle School, Elementary School, and PreK students are all invited to participate. 
 
We will offer the same workshop in the Auditorium at two different times:    
  • Wednesday, November 8, 2017 from 3:15pm - 4:15pm 
  • Thursday, November 9, 2017 from 6:30pm - 7:30pm
The Child Protection Center will also present an Internet Safety Workshop for students in grades 3 - 8.  See the email from Mrs. Bradford for more details about the student workshops that are also scheduled for next week.
Invite Your Friends to Discover a Christ-Centered Education

PTA Meeting - Everyone Welcome
Please join us for our next meeting of the SCS Parent Teacher Association on Thursday, November 9th at 3:15pm in the Media Center.  
 
Come join this forum for parents, teachers, students and administrators to communicate ideas regarding Sarasota Christian School.  
 
Help us build the SCS community by strengthening relation-ships and by providing opportunities for Christian fellowship together.
Student School News Channel
The Blazer School News YouTube Channel is the go to source for student news and is aired twice a week during first period.  The student-produced channel includes upcoming events, campus footage, guest anchors and more.  

Check out this month's episodes to see elementary student interviews about the book fair and fall break, watch Mr. Neuenschwander eat bugs, and see the surprise Mrs. Shine put in student lunches.
It's Gift Gathering Season!  
Have you sent items to your child's class?  NOW is the time to be getting those auction items for your class baskets, so that your student's class will be eligible to win one of the great prizes we are offering.
 
Gift Gathering is easy!  Here's what you need to do:
  1. Take the request letter and donation form with you when you visit  restaurants, retailers or businesses and ask them to support SCS. If you need more letters or forms, let us know; we have plenty more!
     
  2. When you have secured the donation, please complete the form and give the pink copy of the form to the donor.
     
  3. Bring the item and donation form back to the school by Friday, November 17th.
It's that easy!  If you have any questions, please contact Amy Schlabach.
 
Thank you for your support of SCS!
8th Graders - Join Us to Learn More About High School

New Family Feedback
Thank you to all who responded to the SCS new family survey.  Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us improve your experience here at SCS.  We love hearing from our families and appreciate the many thoughtful responses we received.   
 
Thank you returning students and parents for connecting with new families. 100% of respondents said their child felt welcomed into the SCS community and 100% would recommend SCS to someone else!   
 
The names of those that participated were put into a drawing for a pair of blazer socks or a spirit t-shirt, and the lucky winner was the Henegar family! 
After School Enrichment - Session 2

Session 2
November 27th - December 21st

4 New Classes Offerings
Monday - Thursday Options
For Grades K - 7th

Watch for more details coming soon.
Classes fill up fast, so be ready to sign-up.
Campus Happenings
Stay informed of campus happenings through our Facebook page!  Here are few of the recent activities posting.

Today's high school chapel was extra special - 4 students accepted Christ as their Savior!

As a faculty and staff we have a special calling to help students grow in their faith as well as in their academics. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing students develop a relationship with Jesus Christ! 

Principal Conner agrees, "Seeing God at work in all our students' lives each day and watching them become Kingdom workers is what makes SCS so special. The momentum of the student body desiring to be Christian leaders is off the charts this year."




The environmental science class gathered copepods and amphipods today for the biospheres they are building. see post with more photos





The community building and academic assistance happening during W.I.N. period has been awesome! Here's a peek at today's middle school enrichment classes - Line Dancing, Barbershop Singers, and Board Games. Intervention classes included Reading, US History and Math. 

Wondering what W.I.N. period is? "What I Need" provides extra support for our students and additional enrichment activities. The focus is supplemental instruction or re-teaching and enrichment opportunities such as subject area clubs, worship and spiritual life, and campus life activities. Each week the offerings change, giving students the flexibility to work on areas of need or explore new interests.  see post with more photos

Check out our new Makerspace in the media center, a place where students can create, invent, and learn. Each week the projects and tools will change to inspire creativity and engage imaginations.  see post with more photos




The entire high school recently spent the morning volunteer at 13 local non-profit organizations during our annual High School Service DayStudents cleaned and organized spaces, played with children, completed Christmas wish lists data entry for the Angel Tree program, washed planes, wrote notes to missionaries, cleaned horse stalls, mulched, sorted food donations, cleaned animal cages, sang to nursing home residents and much more.

The agencies included: Agape Flights, All Faiths Food Bank, Beyond the Spectrum, Big Cat Habitat, Boys and Girls Club, Community Haven, Easter Seals of Southwest Florida, InStride Therapy, JoyFm, Remnant Cafe, Salvation Army, Save Our Seabirds, and Sunnyside Village Senior Living Community

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10  see post with more photos

Students danced the night away at the Sock Hop! Great job Student Council & Student Ministries Team, everyone had a blast!  see post with more photos












Blazer Cheerleaders had awesome experience today performing at USF's football game at Raymond James Stadium! see post with more photos




After School Enrichment Classes are off to a fantastic start! K-2nd grade students began creating Eric Carle inspired artwork in Art Club and 3rd-5th grade students began developing a church logo and tagline in Digital Design.  Next session's offerings will be announced soon. Classes fill up fast, so be ready to sign-up.  see post with more photos









Congratulations to sophomore Nora Murphy on advancing to the State Swimming Competition in 200 and 500 meter freestyle! Only the top 24 swimmer times in the entire state per event in each class advance, way to go Nora!!!



Beautiful day to have art class outside! High school painting class working on their stippling technique.





Pre-K students were surprised with a new playground when they came back from Fall Break and they are loving it!  see post with more photos




Mr. Neuenschwander must really want students to read, because today he ate bugs to encourage readers!  For each book students purchased at the Book Fair they got to vote for one lucky teacher to eat bugs. Mr. N was the lucky winner or loser depending on how you look at it! Regardless, we think it's pretty cool of him to be willing to eat a cricket sprinkle donut, a silk worm smoothie, and a GIANT water bug to get students excited about books!! see post with more photos







Yesterday 13 SCS students and staff members spent the day volunteering with Mennonite Disaster Service in LaBelle, Florida. They removed molding drywall from a 92 year-old woman's house which flooded during Hurricane Irma.

We are thankful for MDS Florida Unit Chair and SCS parent Ervin Miller and Superintendent Ryan Lehman for coordinating the effort during Fall Break!  see post with more photos
Der Dutchman Pie Vouchers Now Available
The Global Family Committee is offering Der Dutchman pie vouchers; proceeds will benefit our 13 partner schools around the world.  Orders are due
Monday, Nov. 6. Order forms are available in the literature rack, or can be downloaded for your convenience.  
 
Vouchers will be delivered to students by Friday, Nov. 10.  Due to anticipated volume, Thanksgiving pie orders should be placed with Der Dutchman by Mon., Nov. 20 for a Wed., Nov. 22 pickup. 
Sweatshirt Orders Due November 10th
There is a chill in the air, so make sure you'll be ready for the cooler weather and order your sweatshirt today.

There are 3 styles to choose from:
  • Pullover Hoodie
  • Full Zipper Hoodie
  • 1/2 Zipper Moisture Wick Pullover
Long-sleeve uniform shirts are also available. 

Order Deadline 
Friday, November 10th  
College Corner
Just a reminder to students and parents that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opened Oct 1st.   Start your application on the FAFSA website. 
Before starting the application, it will help you to have the following documents:
  • Social Security Number
  • Driver's License
  • Alien Registration or Permanent Resident Card (if not a US citizen)
  • W-2 tax forms and other records of money earned
  • Federal Income tax return for 2016 (if not completed yet, use 2015)
  • Foreign tax return (if any)
  • Untaxed income records (such as child support received and untaxed pensions)
  • Bank statements
  • Other investment records
*Note: On the site it says the IRS Retrieval Tool is not available.  However, we have had parents report that they have successfully used it recently.  If it's available, it makes that part of the application much easier for you.  You will still want to check through the info once it is populated to be sure it is complete and correct.

Hurricane Make-up Days
Due to Hurricane Irma, three of the four missed school days will need to be made up in order to fulfill State and accrediting body obligations.   Thank you for your understanding and flexibility. 

Make up days are as follows:  
  • Friday, December 22 - with early dismissal of 11:00am for elementary and 11:16am (end of 4th period) for middle & high school
  • Monday, February 19
  • Friday, March 16
  •