Dear Northwest Christian Crusader family,

As this promised Sunday, March 22nd, 2:00pm email hits your inbox, I want to begin by reiterating my appreciation to the Crusader family for the inundation of encouragement that you have sent me personally as well as the school staff.  Quite literally, your support has been used by the Lord to make a verse I'd earlier mentioned ( Philippians 4:6) come alive.  As I had written within an earlier email, Paul writes ( from prison, no less), "...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  In these last 24 hours, as your emails and texts have cascaded over me and the balance of the Crusader team, you have made that little caveat, "with thanksgiving", come to fruition in ways that I'd never imagined.  A simple "Thank you, Crusader family!" seems too understated...nonetheless, "Thank you!"

A few updates for you this afternoon as we gear up for the week ahead...
  • Below this brief update is the whole of the email that went out to the Crusader family on Friday.  There is a lot of very pertinent info provided within it so I thought it prudent to resend as we prepare for classes to begin on Wednesday, March 25th.
  • As have many of you, we have also heard rumors that Arizona may be moving towards "shelter-in-place" at some point in the near future.  I want to assure you that, if this is the case, we are ready.  It would mean that many of the directions that you have received in the email below will need to be revised but we have a team preparing to send that communication to you if it happens.
  • Given that we are now aiming for the week of April 13th for a return to campus, it is possible that some students may have meds stored within the office of the school nurse that you will need soon.  If that is the case, please email Michelle Johnson, mjohnson@ncsaz.org , and we will make arrangements to connect you with the medicines.
  • Given the Governor's mandate to close schools until April 10th, the Arizona Interscholastic Association has followed suit and postponed all interscholastic competitions until that date.  High school athletic director David Inness has been in touch with each of the high school coaches and each team has a different strategy for practices.  If you have any questions regarding high school athletics, please email Coach Inness at dainness@ncsaz.org .
  • Band students will need their instruments at home in order to participate within online band instruction.  If your instrument is at school, families can come to school between 8:00am and noon on Monday, March 23rd and Tuesday, March 24th, for pick-up.  Mrs. Hutson will be sending her students more communication uniquely.
  • There are so many elements of the Northwest Christian community that I cherish but one of my favorites is our "Missions Learning" program.  And, frankly, it is one of the pieces that I will miss the most this next week.  Because of this, I want to make you aware of an opportunity for your family to persist within Missions Learning in partnership with one of our Missions Learning Partners, the Choices Pregnancy Center.  CPC is transforming their annual "Walk for Life" into a "virtual walk" on Saturday, April 4th.  Would you consider joining your family to mine as well as other Crusader families and participating?  You can find out more at this link.  Be sure to register as part of the "Northwest Christian School" team.
  • Another part of the traditional school week that I will miss is when the school's administrative team gathers and prays for needs that we are made aware of within the community of the school.  In this new, virtual setting, we are still hoping to do that.  If your family has a need, please let us know by emailing us at prayer@ncsaz.org .  The school's Spiritual Formation Coordinator, Chris "Mr. G" Gardiner, will make certain that your family is being covered with prayer.
Please take a moment to review the email below...and know that we are looking forward to school resuming in a virtual environment this next week!

Geoff Brown
Superintendent
Northwest Christian School
(623)225-5573 (cell)
gbrown@ncsaz.org



Reminder:  Below is the email that went out to families on Friday, March 20th...

Dear Northwest Christian Crusader family,

"Unprecedented times."  Time and time again, you and I have heard this quote ad nauseam over the past few days and weeks.  But, the reality is that the moment that you and I are walking our families through right now is not unprecedented.  Though it may escape the fleeting memory of the hysterical media or our collective, national id, the truth is that for this great nation and the even greater Kingdom that resides across His creation, this moment is not unique or unheralded.  For the Ecclesiam Dei, God's eternal church, this is business as usual.  In truth, there has never been a time when great men and women within this nation and His church have been without adversity.

And, be encouraged:  this is a moment for which you have already gone to great lengths to prepare your family.  You have sacrificially invested in Christian education and partnered with teachers whose love for Jesus and His word is at the root of every lesson and each piece of classroom instruction that your children have experienced at Northwest Christian School.  Now, in times that others might describe as "trying", your kids are ready and will ultimately realize the benefits of having been transformed by trusted Truth.  And, further, as a community of parents and educators, we are ready to press forward within that mission--no matter the form it takes--in the week ahead.

As we launch this great adventure, below is the information that you need...
  • Going forward families should expect an email from me twice a week:  on Wednesdays and Sundays at 2:00pm.  These update emails will also be posted on our social media.  If you do not receive these updates, you can text, email, or call me, even outside of office hours, using the contact information provided below.  As well, if this email has been forwarded to you or you wish to subscribe additional email addresses, you can do so at this link.
  • At this point, given the order from Governor Ducey's office earlier today, the school has decided to remain closed through Friday, April 10th.  We are approaching our closure decisions very conservatively and on a week-to-week basis.  In other words, closure will not persist past the Governor's orders.  If closure does persist past April 10th, we will announce the closure within the 2:00pm Sunday email of the previous week, if not before.  For example, if the decision is reached to close school for the week of April 13-17, you will receive this communication no later than Sunday, April 5th, at 2:00pm.
  • The school recognizes that, due to the community-critical nature of the vocation of some parents, providing daycare may become difficult.  For that reason, we are developing a plan that will allow for provision of childcare in certain instances.  This plan will be communicated to our families at 2:00pm on Wednesday, March 25th.  Parents should expect that this will be an opportunity available only to preschool through fifth grade students, that there will be limited availability as part of the effort to comply with the Governor's directives, that there will be no additional expense to families, and that these spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • A reminder:  the school office will be open this next week each day, Monday, March 23rd through Friday, March 27th, from 8:00am to noon.  After noon, you can still reach school staff by phone.  And, again, my cell phone number is at the bottom of this email...please feel free to use it for text or call outside of office hours.
  • Classrooms will remain closed on Monday, March 23rd and Tuesday, March 24th.  However, if your child needs something from their desk or locker, including textbooks, you can come to the office on each of these mornings (8:00am to noon) and you will have access.
  • On Wednesday, March 25th, classes will begin online for all grade levels, Early Education through 12th grade.  The current plan is for online learning to persist through Friday, April 10th.
  • Prior to Wednesday, March 25th, please review the instructions for logging into the Northwest Christian online learning environment.  Also, please be sure that your students have reviewed the information.  You can access that guidance here.
  • The school is prepared and staffed for any technology-related questions.  The preferred method to contact the technology team is to email onlinetech@ncsaz.org .  However, we have also set up a phone number for time-sensitive situations.  Beginning Tuesday, March 24th, (480)651-4986 will be available Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm.  Please keep in mind that questions specific to online classroom assignments should be directed to the teacher via email.  Additionally, frequently asked questions are posted on the "Materials" section of a student's Google Classroom.
  • Students and staff are already preparing separate online, asynchronous chapels for both elementary and secondary students on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning Wednesday, March 25th.  On these days, you will receive a link to these chapels in an email.  As well, you can view that chapel (and other past chapels) via our RightNow Media app.  If you have not already signed up for this free service, please do so at this link.  If you have any issue accessing this app, please reach out to Jeff Parsons at jparsons@ncsaz.org .
  • If a family is worried that they do not have a device available at home that will support online learning:  The school has a limited number of iPads available for check-out beginning on Tuesday, March 24th at 8:00am.  But, please be aware that learning will be supported on most desktop PCs, laptops, IMac's, MacBook's, Chromebooks, and tablets.  Because we are also working to arrange schedules and assignment scopes so that a single device can support multiple siblings within a family, only one iPad will be checked out to a family.  If your family does not have a printer and needs an assignment printed, please email the teacher when necessary and those assignments will be made available for pick-up in the office during office hours.
  • Please consider assisting other Crusader families.  As families work through the challenge of COVID-19, some within the Crusader community may be impacted financially.  If that is not your situation, please prayerfully consider lending some support to others.  We have until April 15th to support tax credit scholarships.  You can visit this link to accomplish that and, when you do, be sure to indicate "Northwest Christian School" families.  Additionally, we are committing any funds that come in through this giving link to our Jog-a-thon fundraiser between today and the end of March to provide financial assistance to struggling families.
  • Please consider assisting needy families within the Isaac School District.  For ten years, Northwest Christian has partnered closely with impoverished families within J.B. Sutton Elementary School and other schools within the Isaac School District, arguably the poorest district within the state.  We will not forget these families now.  As you visit school, we will be collecting canned goods and toilet paper in the school office that will be provided to the food banks within these schools.  Please prayerfully consider using this as an opportunity to remind your students that, even in adversity, our Jesus-directed mission is to put the needs of others above ourselves. 
  • Each spring, I look forward to encouraging students within the elementary program to develop the discipline of daily time in God's word through the "Red Letter Challenge".  It is a simple Bible reading plan that will take us through all four Gospels, one chapter per day, over three months.  I want to use this opportunity to reiterate my invitation to the entire K-12 family to join the fun.  Even though we are partway into the plan, it is never too late to start spending daily time in the Bible.  Imagine the dynamic of families reading through God's word together...and students hearing hope and peace directly from Jesus Himself as opposed to the hysterical voices that are out in the world.  You can view and download the Red Letter Challenge at this link.
Finally, in my earlier emails, I have been referencing Paul's admonition regarding the peace available to us as believers in Philippians 4.  In keeping with my backwards pattern--I started with  Philippians 4:7 in my first email and then referenced  Philippians 4:6 in my last email--I now want to draw our attention to Philippians 4:4-5.  Here, the Apostle  Paul, writing from prison, writes:  "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice!  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand..."  This final caveat, "The Lord is at hand...", is not a threat...it's a trusted truth that extends to you today.  No matter the difficulty of your family's circumstance, the Lord is near.  And because He is near, we can rejoice even in adversity.  Beyond that, as Paul asserts, the world will see our reasonableness in a season of hysteria and be drawn to the peace promised through our wonderful Savior.

Geoff Brown
Superintendent
Northwest Christian School
(623)225-5573 (cell)
gbrown@ncsaz.org