S am's Spotlight
Let's celebrate as a CCS family!

April 2018
Blessings, CCS families!  The purpose of "Sam's Spotlight" is to communicate the noteworthy accomplishments of our students and staff, so we can celebrate as a CCS family.  

If you have praiseworthy news items to share with the Cincinnati Christian Schools family that involve either CCS students and/or staff, please email 
Leah Perry 
at  leah.perry@cincinnatichristian.org .
 
Beyond the Classroom     

On April 5, almuni Phillip Lunt from the class of 2014 gave a speech at Miami Cru, which is a campus ministry at Miami University, formerly Campus Crusade for Christ. It exists to give every student at the university every opportunity possible to know and follow Jesus Christ. 

When Phillip attended CCS, he read the book Case for a Creator, which ignited a passion for challenging people to explore beliefs against truth. Anne Lunt, his mother, said, "To see him standing before a crowd of peers, every chair full and people sitting along the walls, and boldly talking about the truth that only comes through Jesus... I was humbled by God's mercy and just grateful." Phillip spoke to 300 students from differing backgrounds in faith and belief systems. He challenged them to reflect on their thoughts about truth with his lecture entitled "Is Truth Absolute?"

Watch his speech here!

He is graduating in May with Magna Cum Laude from Miami University with a degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. Congratulations, Phillip! 

 
Coloring the Gospel    

Teaming with 2006 alumnus, Juli Phelps, the CCS bowling team used an opportunity for outreach to be a blessing to others. Cincinnati Christian Schools Cougars bowling team collected 608 boxes-- that's over 12,000 crayons. Other students also chose to donate, and in total, there were 1,031 boxes put together with 23,210 individual crayons. All were donated to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. This hospital's Child Life Specialists have the privilege of delivering boxed crayons to patients, typically paired with coloring books and other goodies, for special occasions, such as holiday parties. Boxes are placed in the craft room, and overflow is kept in storage until crayons need replenishing. The hospital saved a minimum of $2,200 with the donation of these crayons. Fantastic job, bowling team! 

 
Math Olympics Results

Every year, CCS elementary students compete with other schools at the ACSI Mid-America Region Math Olympics. This year the competition was held on March 6. The competition tests are mailed to East Dayton School for them to be recorded. The students then see how they did compared to the other schools. This year's results came back, and we couldn't be more proud of how our students did! 

1st -
Claire Rutherford - 3rd Grade
Carson Settimo - Metal Award 6th Grade
Tytus McKay - 4th Grade

2nd
Alex Lewis - 3rd Grade

3rd
Wesley Lewis - 6th Grade
Michael Brown - 4th Grade

4th
Joshua Fallat - 3rd Grade
Tyler Booth - 4th Grade
Jolie Percy - Medal Award 6th Grade

5th
Carson Reed - 6th Grade

 
Festival of Fun   

The Chick-fil-A Leader Academy hosted a "Festival of Fun" for Focus on Youth on April 14. Focus on Youth serves neighboring counties by licensing quality foster and foster-to-adopt homes and providing behavioral health counseling. The children who attended enjoyed a fun day of games, face painting, bounce house, inflatable obstacle course, and many more activities! They enjoyed a lunch provided by Chick-fil-A Bridgewater and had the opportunity to feel cherished and free. What a beautiful day! 

 
First Grade Chapel    

The 1st grade class planned chapel for April 20 with the theme of "Creation." Scripture was read as students demonstrated it. Jonas Percy read about putting on the armor of God in Ephesians as Kaleb Payne put each piece of the armor on as it was read aloud.  Several students shared reading the creation account in the Bible, while other students carried items on the stage that reflected the story being told.  Ms. Emily Smith said, "They love learning about the Bible!" How wonderful is that? 

The service began with the students singing "Heart of a Cougar" and ended with "Yes He Is." 
More songs were sung, games were played, and videos were shown. It was a full time of praise and joy as these little ones led their peers in worship.  As always, Mrs. Gross did a wonderful job putting together the chapel! 
 
11 Countries in 11 Months  

Claire Macintosh, alumni from the class of 2014, is going on the World Race leaving this summer. She's doing the full 11 countries in 11 months World Race program. T his August, Claire leaves for Haiti, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, India, Nepal, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and Serbia. 

She said, "During the spring of 2017, I felt a huge tug on my heart that I was supposed to start pressing into my calling for missions,  so I signed up for a 10-day August mission trip to Swaziland. In the weeks before my trip I felt God calling me to something more. And that was when I found the World Race. I prayed and prayed and prayed and waited on the Lord and prayed and decided to apply! The day before I left for Swaziland, I got a call saying that I was accepted into the World Race. God's timing is everything! In this season of preparation, I have been witnessing firsthand that the Lord truly provides and equips the called." 

Claire will be graduating on May 4 with a film degree from Vanguard University. On her travels, she will use her degree to make documentaries of the people she meets, the stories she will hear, and the work that the Lord will introduce her to. She is still accepting donations for her travels, and the link to donate is  here.  Let's support our sister as she serves our Maker! 

 
Hands Against Hunger   

On April 21, members of  the CCS community participated in A Child's Hope International's program Hands Against Hunger. Twenty-six students and parents put together 90 boxes of meals that would serve 20,000 people! They packed ingredients into food packets and prepared the packets for shipping.  These food packets are sent around the world for the purpose of helping children recover from malnutrition and saving them from a painful and prolonged death by starvation.  You can learn more about the program here! 
 
Superior Voices 

The Cincinnati Christian Jr. High/Sr. High Choir went  to the Kings Island Festival of Music again this year and won a Superior rating, which is the highest rating an ensemble can receive. They performed " When I Fall in Love"  and " Nothin' Gonna Stumble My Feet ." This is their second year in a row participating in the festival and winning a Superior rating! 

The new group, Cincinnati Christian Men's
Vocal Ensemble,  we nt to the festival as well for their debut as a choir. They, too,  received a Superior rating for their performance of The Pink Panther and Seize the Day. Congratulations, singers and thank you, Mrs. Kennedy for leading our voices so well! 
 
Cappies Nominations
 
The Fall production of The Curious Savage  has been nominated for 7  Cappies  Awards, including Best Play. The Cappies of Greater Cincinnati allows student critics to vote on awards that their fellow theatre peers could win for outstanding productions, group and individual performances, and achievements in technical categories. Awards are presented at the annual Cappies Gala, which will be May 27 this year  at Music Hall. The following consists the award category and the nominees: 

* Set - Nia Everson, Jacob Flaugher & Crew 

*Ensemble in a Play - The residents of the Cloisters

*Featured Actress in a Play - Maggie Brown

*Comic Actress in a Play - Merrick Heid

*Supporting Actress in a Play - Mackenzie Turner

*Lead Actress in a Play - Delaney Slattery

*Best Play - The Curious Savage

Congratulations, nominees! 
 
 
 
If you have praiseworthy news items to share with the Cincinnati Christian Schools family that involve either CCS students and/or staff, please email it to
Leah Perry at leah.perry@cincinnatichristian.org.