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Dear NCS family,
You probably don't know little Ellis O.
But you will. Believe me, someday, you will. Just barely out of preschool, she's a miniature sparkplug and the boundless energy and unbridled enthusiasm she has for learning and life will someday be used by the Lord in some powerful ways. Her dad was my student when I taught high school--and Ellis is definitely a 'chip off the old block'. She's also one of my favorite stories from the start of this school year. One day, a couple of weeks ago, as my wife was walking across campus, little Ellis hollered at the top of her lungs, from across the playground, "Hey, Mrs. Brown, look at me! I'm in kindergarten! I finally made it!"
Finally made it to kindergarten. I love that! Even as I type this letter, I cannot help but chuckle as I think of a little firebrand of a girl who has been on the planet for all of sixty months and "finally made it".
The same week that little Ellis announced to the campus that
she had arrived, I received two competely separate emails from associates at Arizona State University.
The first email came from a leader within the Navigators college ministry at ASU and told the story of a young man named Jonah H., a freshman at ASU, and his three dorm-suite roommates. Apparently, the four young men demonstrated what this Navigator leader called a "very rare attitude among college freshmen". Where many freshmen, having escaped the bounds of home and parental oversight, are ready to party, these four had approached the Navigators in the first week of classes with the idea of hosting a Bible study open to the dorm within their room. Jonah H. and his three friends had all graduated from Northwest Christian this past spring and, knowing these young men and their stalwart stance for Christ, I can tell you that the Navigators better buckle up because these guys are going to take that dorm for a ride.
The second email came from a leader within one of the school's favorite local non-profits, Feed My Starving Children. This email started with the caveat that FMSC frequently sees aspirational college students who want to host FMSC packing events on campus but, in the words of this particular leader, "they lack the ability to organize and follow through". His email went on to say, "Not this time! This ASU student had already contacted multiple organizations on campus and looked at possible locations for the packing event." The enthusiastic email went on to say that the young man was going to see this event come together. Of course, when he said the student's name, Luke M., I knew it was going to come together as well. Luke M. also just graduated from Northwest Christian and I know firsthand that once he's felt the Lord's direction, you can't stop him.
But, despite all that I've written here, this Spotlgiht-opening-letter isn't about Ellis, Jonah, or Luke.
This letter is about your kid. Yep, your kid. Why? Because, as you read these stories, you know that your kid is on the journey somewhere between little Ellis and the unstoppable forces that are Jonah and Luke. Some may be closer to Ellis and some may be closer to Jonah and Luke...but they are all somewhere
"in between". And, I know, because I walk this road with parents, that the road
"in between" sometimes gets a little rough. Sometimes, it gets so rough that we wonder
if we'll ever really get there. But we do. And, in truth, the
"get there" does have to do with parenting and partnerships like NCS but there is something more. It has everything to do with surrendering what we're tempted to think of as "ours" into the grandest realization: our kids are "His". Further, it has to do with Isaiah 55:11 where the Lord tells us that investing God's word into the education of our children is never done in vain:
"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."
Parents, no matter where you are as you read this, no matter whether your kid is closer to Ellis or closer to Jonah and Luke, stay the course and do not grow weary in your prayers for your kids. God's word in their lives will not return empty.
Today, they may be "in between" but I know that they will "get there".
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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| NCS Parent University Welcomes Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Policy |
Within a tumultuous culture, this Parent University will underscore the importance of Christian worldview
On Thursday, October 4th, 2018, Northwest Christian parents will have the opportunity to hear from four leading experts from within areas that are under siege within the contemporary culture. With midterm elections approaching in November that carry huge implications in key areas like religious liberty and school choice, this next Parent University will equip parents to understand how best to arm their children with Christian worldview and scriptural perspectives on the rising tide of issues confronting students.
The key note speaker for the evening will be Cathi Herrod, the president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a nonprofit advocacy organization committed to defending life, marriage, family, and religious freedom. A total of one hundred and sixty-five CAP-supported bills have been passed into law since CAP made its first appearance at the state capitol in 1995. As a mother, lawyer and family advocate, Cathi knows that what happens at the state capitol directly impacts our daily lives. She is an  award-winning public policy leader and Arizona newspapers have recognized her as one of the ten most influential leaders at the Arizona capitol. Cathi is excited to walk the NCS community through the biggest issues running rampant in contemporary culture.
Following the key note, during which parents will enjoy a complementary dinner from Chick-Fil-A, attendees will be able to choose between three different break-out sessions based on the age and needs of their students. These three break-outs will be led by Dr. Misty Adame, Marian Eberly, and Dr. Tamara Wisely.
Dr. Misty Adame has a doctorate from GCU and holds a dual masters from Ottawa University with two certificates, one in trauma abuse and the other is addiction. She is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in trauma, early childhood, adoption, foster care, marital conflicts, anxiety, behavioral issues, OCD, developmental disorders, eating disorders, and learning disabilities.
Misty will be
speaking to parents of early education through fourth grade students as she addresses the best way to coach our children as they demonstrate curiosity about their bodies in the midst of a highly sexualized culture.
Marian Eberly served for twenty-five as the chief clinical officer for two Christian treatment centers: Remuda Ranch (AZ) and Selah House (IN). Presently, she has private practice offices in Phoenix and Surprise. She specializes in eating disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, autism, sexual trauma in children and adolescents, self-injury, and substance abuse. Marian will be teaching parents how to walk with our kids in a developmentally appropriate way through the LGBTQ issues that abound in our culture. She will be joined by a panel of area youth pastors who will also offer their experienced help.
Finally, with degrees from GCU and ASU,
Dr. Tamara Wisely serves as an assistant dean within the Grand Canyon University College of Nursing. As a NCS parent of alumni and current students herself, Tamara understands the school's culture and ideals. As such, she is perfectly positioned to teach parents of children aged 9 to 13 about how to talk about changing bodies and pre-adolescent sexual curiosity. As part of this session, she will be addressing the school's fifth grade health and reproduction curriculum with parents and helping them to anticipate and address potential questions.
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| Northwest Christian Musical and Play Earn Awards through National Youth Arts |
It is exciting news as the Northwest Christian Fine Arts Department gears up for its two fall productions
Based in San Diego, California and founded in 2000, National Youth Arts is recognized as a leading resource in high school and university level fine arts. NYA recently announced the winners of the 13th Annual National Youth Arts Awards honoring outstanding work by youth in the arts. This year, more than 600 productions were considered for the awards, including shows from more 220 different member schools spanning seventeen state. This year's award winners were selected from nominations by a panel of more than fifty judges and reviewers.
Northwest Christian School was excited to learn that it nabbed three top NYA awards for productions staged in the last year. JoyAnna Eans and Kaitlyn Wyse both won for "Lead Performance in a Musical" with Eans earning the honor for "The Music Man" and Wyse earning it for "White Christmas". Katie Casey, the school's choreographer, also won for the work she did with students in "The Music Man".
These awards came on the heels of a whole host of Northwest Christian  nominations: Best Lead Performance in a Musical: JoyAnna Eans as Betty Haynes in White Christmas; Best Lead Performance in a Musical: Nicolas Graffanino as Harold Hill in The Music Man; Best Lead Performance in a Musical: Nicolas Graffanino as Phil Davis in White Christmas; Best Lead Performance in a Musical: Nolan Peterson Ause as Bob Wallace in White Christmas; Best Supporting Performance (Junior Division): Isabella Del Rosso as Susan Waverly in White Christmas ; and Best Ensemble: White Christmas.
With this wind in its sails, the Northwest Christian Fine Arts Department is looking forward to this fall's productions, both set to debut in November.
The fall film, which will debut on November 15 at the AMC Deer Valley 17 as part of the 5th annual NXNW Film Festival and as the fifth school film in partnership with Cabin Fever Films, is a tongue-in-cheek 'mockumentary' about a Christian death metal band called "The Rise and Fall of Death Chicken". The NXNW Film Festival also presents an opportunity for aspiring high school filmmakers to exercise their video skills. The "North by Northwest" Film Festival encourages students to submit digital shorts as part of this competition. For more info on that event, click on this link.
Also coming in November is a "live radio play" dramatization of "It's a Wonderful Life". Held at the Glendale Civic Center as a dinner theater, there will only be three performances with available tickets limited to 100 for each performance. Tickets for this event are sure to go fast. Look for more info in the next few weeks.
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| Three NCS Teachers Honored with Outstanding Christian Educator Awards |
The honor is afforded annually for commitment to the mission of the school
"Built on the Rock" is a private foundation which has served the interests of Christian educators and schools in the state for many years. Among the several programs that BOTR offers, the one with the greatest impact into the lives of teachers is the "Built on the Rock Outstanding Christian Educator" award. As part of this effort, Northwest Christian is able to nominate eight teachers for consideration by the BOTR Board of Directors.
Nominations are based on teachers' commitment to the mission of the school, professional efficacy in the classroom, and efforts above-and-beyond the classroom that align with the school's missions learning aspirations. The BOTR board considers the nominees and can select up to three teachers as recipients of the honor. The honor includes a $2000 cash prize.
This fall, BOTR announced three different Northwest Christian educators as recipients of the 2018 award: Amy Yoder (high school), Cheree Burleson (third grade), and Marcie East (preschool). In the case of Mrs. Burleson, the honor represents the second time that she been recognized in this way.
"I'm excited at the generosity and focus of this foundation," says superintendent Geoff Brown. "It encourages us as educators to focus on the critical distinction that makes NCS a Christian school. These teachers, as with all of our teachers, invest the time to provide rigorous academics but, in addition, they sacrificially dig deep to provide the opportunities--discipleship, missions, missions learning--that see the faith of our students grow."
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Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes
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| Northwest Christian to See Partnership with Ottawa University Grow |
OUAZ scholarship opportunities among the most generous on the table for Northwest Christian grads
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Northwest Christian School has recently renewed its partnership to participate in the Ottawa Alliance for a Quality Christian Education Scholarship Program, a program that the university has worked aggressively to expand. This unique scholarship program provides NCS graduates the opportunity to
reduce the overall cost of a private, Christian education while earning their bachelor degree at the new Suprise, Arizona campus. With the university's established, exceptional perspective in higher learning and recognized educational benefits, prospective students will continuously be guided in "Preparing for a Life of Significance" at OUAZ and making an impact for Christ in today's world.
Based on a combination of unweighted GPA and ACT/ SAT scores, Northwest Christian grads automatically qualify for the following scholarship awards annually.
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Award
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Scholarship Amount
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Minimum GPA
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Minimum ACT/SAT
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Alliance Leadership
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$18,000
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3.25
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22/1100
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Alliance Dean
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$16,000
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3.00
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21/1060
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Alliance Excellence
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$14,000
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2.75
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20/1030
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Alliance OUAZ
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$12,000
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2.50
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19/990
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*scholarship is renewable based on maintaining a 2.75 GPA at OUAZ and remain in good standing at the university
Additionally, Northwest Christian School students are eligible to compete for the OUAZ competitive Presidential (full-tuition) and Provost (75% tuition) scholarships. Qualifications for this award include a combination of a 3.5 unweighted GPA and at least a 25 ACT or 1200 SAT score.
Ottawa University's new residential campus sits in the beautiful Civic Center Complex in Surprise and offers undergrad students twenty different degree programs as well as the opportunity to participate in a whole host of collegiate athletics for men and women.
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Three Crusaders Afforded National Merit Recognition
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One student moves on within the National Merit competition as a Semi-Finalist
About 1.6 million students in over 22,000 high schools throughout the nation enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). This test, a standard at Northwest Christian, serves to screen program entrants, measuring critical reading ability, mathematics problem-solving ability, and writing ability. Semifinalists are designated on a state-by-state basis and they are the highest-scoring program
entrants, representing the top 0.5% percent of the state's senior students.
Northwest Christian was excited to learn that senior Kaylena Berles has advanced within the National Merit Scholarship competition as one of Arizona's semi-finalists. From within this semifinalist group, Kaylena now has the opportunity to advance to finalist standing. By the conclusion of the competition, the National Merit Scholarship finalists are chosen to receive prestigious National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $35 million.
The school was also excited to learn that two of Kaylena's peers, Emma Patterson and Victoria Hendrix, have been recognized similarly as National Merit Scholarship Commended Students. Commended students are recognized within the competition because they scored within the top 50,000 scorers from within the national pool of 1.6 million students.
"The young men and women being named have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success," commented one of the spokepeople for the NMSC. "The students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishment, as well as the schools that play a key role in their development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success."
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| Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes |
| Generous Sponsors of Northwest Christian Athletes |
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Spotlight on a busy start to the school year...
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The Northwest Christian fire truck, a critical component within the NCS Fire Science program, was invited to be part of a local car show this past weekend...it drew some attention!
The Early Education program's "Dad's Day" is always a hit with both dads and kids! This year's Dad's Day actually spanned two days of fun with paint, shaving cream, Bible stories, and more.
After a big win over American Leadership Academy, the Northwest Christian Crusaders were invited down to the channel 12 studios to appear on "Friday Night Fever".
You can enjoy the video HERE.
Just over fifty Crusaders made the trek this past weekend to Imuris, Sonora to serve within the Kids Kingdom orphanage. As the Kids Kingdom ministry has grown to address needs throughout the city, the group also had the opportunity to serve within the local elementary school.
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Save the date! Homecoming 2018
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