From the desk of the superintendent...
Dear NCS family,

Each summer, just as it does today, the final day of the school year, my mind returns to the Animas River, a 126-mile long tributary of the San Juan River which runs directly through Durango, Colorado. I love kayaking in all its forms--river, ocean, and flatwater--but my favorite place to kayak remains the Animas. This, in spite of the fact that it's nearly where I lost my son.

George was in sixth grade at the time and had grown up kayaking. I recall that it was early June and the run-off coming down from the mountains meant that all the rapids on the river that day were Class II and III. In my mind on that day, both George and I should be able to handle it.

And, in my defense, he did. All the way up to the Smelter Rapid which is adjacent to Santa Rita Park, just south of town. That's where he got thrown.

I never felt so powerless as I did in that moment. He and I were both in the white water--we knew what to do to improve our odds of making it--but there was a sick feeling that settled over me as I watched my son, clearly in distress, as he was pummeled by 2,500 cubic feet of water per second running him up against huge river rocks and submerged tree branches.

As his Dad, I couldn't help him. Quite literally, the only recourse that sixth grade George had was to trust his training. And, that's what he did and, thank God, George made it--a little worse for wear and tear--but George made it.

The truth is that there are moments in life where we cannot help. We are forced to watch helplessly as life buffets our kids to and fro, left to realize that their only option is to trust their training. Proverbs 22:6 says it this way, "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." It is in these stressful moments, the moments where we fear for our kids, that we are forced to grasp that the relationship which you and I enjoy--the relationship between home and school--is sacred. You trust us to assist you in your sacred, God-given responsibility to train up your child. And, someday, that training could very well be a lifeline.

This is the very reason that the annual online parent survey is so critical. If the trust is sacred and the stakes are high, we need to understand how we are performing. The 2022 NCS Online Parent Partnership Survey kicked off last Sunday and runs through Saturday, June 4th. You will find access to the survey in last Sunday's Week-at-a-Glance email as well as an email that hit your inbox on Monday, May 23rd. We are looking forward to reviewing your feedback as parent partners, reassessing our strategies and priorities within continuous improvement, and reporting the outcomes of the survey (as well as so much else) in the 2022 Rowing Not Drifting report.

Grateful for the opportunity to serve your family,

Geoff Brown
Superintendent
Northwest Christian School
(623)225-5573 (cell)
gbrown@ncsaz.org
Northwest Christian School learned this week that its athletic department had earned 2022 Don F. Stone Overall Excellence Award for the 3A conference. The Don F. Stone award and banner is awarded annually by the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Executive Board for overall excellence in interscholastic competition. Excellence is determined by a point system approved by the AIA Legislative Council. The award commemorates the outstanding service of the Don Stone, an AIA Executive Director who moved the organization forward significantly in its early years.
The Crusader Class of 2022 Celebrates Graduation. On Thursday evening, May 26th, the class of '22 enjoyed a milestone at the Grand Canyon University Arena. With family and friends on hand, the school celebrated the 36th graduating class. To enjoy the ceremony, please click here or on any of the links above or below.
The Boys of Summer. With 3A state tournament wins over Winslow, Thatcher (an exciting come-from behind 8-7 win), and a 2-1 three-game series against Valley Christian, Northwest Christian's Varsity baseball team faced off against American Leadership Academy (Gilbert) on Saturday, May 16th. The championship bout was a pitching duel with senior Dale Fry pitching the entire game for the 2-1 win, allowing just two hits. All said, Fry allowed just three hits over thirteen tournament innings. The 2022 state championship is Northwest Christian's (27-4) third baseball title in seven years - the others were in 2017 and 2015.
Crusaders Charge into Summer 2022 Reading! Northwest Christian's annual summer reading program launches on Monday, May 30th, and continues with a podcast and weekly videos throughout the summer! Our book for the Crusader community for Summer 2022 is Janet Ruth's "Finding Your Part in God's Master Story--An Exploration of Christian Worldviews"...an accessible book that uses movies and stories to help students and families better understand Biblical worldview. Click here or on the images above and below for a "movie trailer" of the fun ahead!
Galileo has the school seeing stars. As the school year ends, Northwest Christian has also just ended two weeks of standardized testing. This year's testing represents a jump from the ACT-Aspire (which is being phased out) to a new test, the Galileo Comprehensive Assessment System from Assessment Technology Incorporated. Despite the fact that this is Galileo's debut year, and a baseline-establishment year in which curriculum maps are not yet aligned, Northwest Christian teachers were very pleased, if not a bit surprised, at the early indications of a strong start within the assessment feedback process. "We were stunned by the demonstrable proficiency," said elementary principal Dawna Underwood. "We are very encouraged as we look to begin the alignment process." The whole of the results will be reported in the 2022 Rowing Not Drifting report later this summer.
Senior traditions. This past week saw the Northwest Christian class of '22 enjoying a number of long-standing Crusader traditions. Of course, the year-ending senior trip was designed to produce a number of wonderful memories and help students to reflect on both where the Lord has had them over the last few years and where He's pointing them in the next few years. This year's iteration of the trip saw the soon-to-be-graduating class travelling to California this past week. A special part of the process occurs annually in the "senior sunrise/sunset". At the start of the school year, seniors assembled on the bleachers early in the morning, enjoyed a type of praise and worship, sharing, and watched the sunrise. During the trip to California, the seniors gathered together on the beach (pictured above) and watched as the sun set. This special time included seniors sharing memories and reflecting on their time as Crusaders.
Treat for the the last chapel. The final few elementary chapels of the school year include some special treats. These include a volunteer appreciation chapel, a celebration chapel (in which students who performed well in different academic endeavors (Spelling Bee, Math Olympiad, etc.) were celebrated--more on these events elsewhere in this newsletter. But, the culminating chapel for the 2021/2022 school year featured an extra-special treat. Immediately after chapel, elementary principal Dawna Underwood arranged for sno-cones to be served to every single elementary chapel.
Can you take a field trip from a field trip? Is that even a thing?
During this week's senior trip to California, on the day that other seniors were hitting Disneyland, a few seniors decided that baseball was more their thing. As a result, they recruited senior Bible teacher Brandon Southall, ordered up an Uber, and bought $5 cheap seat tickets to the Anaheim Angels vs. Texas Rangers. After nine glorious innings of baseball and So Cal weather, they Ubered back to the hotel and no-one was the wiser!
A Final with a Twist. This year's American Sign Language 5/6 final took an interesting twist under the direction of Mrs. Hillorie Schrock. The group, mostly seniors, participated in an "Escape Room". But, here's the twist--the only communication within the group as they worked to free themselves from the room was American Sign Language. The group passed their final, escaping the room with two to three minutes to spare on the clock!
Fourth Grade Wax Museum. On Friday, May 20th all of the fourth grade classes (Mrs. Becki Burke, Mrs. Chelsey Lawson, Mrs. Krissy Miller, and Mrs. Somer Shulda) put on a "Wax Museum". The students each did research projects on different historical figures and then on May 20th, stood still like wax figures until someone came by and asked them a question and pressed “play”. At that point, dressed as their research subject, they answered questions about their birthplace, childhood, accomplishments, character traits, and any advice they could give based on what they had learned about that individual.
All Systems are Go! On Monday, May 23rd, the City of Phoenix approved the permit application that allows for construction to begin on the new turf field on the south side of the campus (under the new solar structure), an amphitheater for outdoor assemblies, and improved fencing around the Early Education playground. Construction is slated to begin shortly after the last day of the year, this Friday, May 27th.
Some real Math Whizzes! The 2022 ACSI Math Olympics yielded some very strong performances from within the elementary Crusader community. The Math Olympics is a series of timed tests that are given in a series of rounds. Each student competes against other students in his or her grade and category. The areas of competition include arithmetic computation and mathematical reasoning. In the reasoning category, the following students exceeded 85% and placed within the region for ACSI: Jude Moore (2nd place for 3rd grade), Payton MacCarthy (1st place for 5th grade), and Burton Hendrix (3rd place for 5th grade). In the computation category, the following students placed: Hannah Yee (1st place for 3rd grade), Jace Hasting (5th place for 3rd grade), Rachel Huss (2nd place in 4th grade) and Kayla Fabrick (3rd place for 4th grade), Gia Larson (1st place for 5th grade, and Caleb Yee (2nd place for 5th grade). Two Crusader competitors also performed unbelievably well on their respective tests: third grade Hannah Yee scored 94% on the computation test and fifth grader Payton MacCarthy scored 100% on the reasoning test.
Eighth Grade Celebration at The Great Wolf Lodge. As eighth graders prepare for the 8th Grade Promotion Celebration on Friday, May 27th, this year's eighth grade trip went to a new destination. In light of the fact that the traditional trip to the Long Beach Marine Institute on Catalina Island was not possible due to persisting Covid restrictions, this year the group spent two days and one night at The Great Wolf Lodge in Scottsdale.
RightNow Media is your chance to enjoy the Northwest Christian community -- in your living room!

All free of charge and via your phone, smart television, desktop computer, or tablet. RightNow Media is the Netflix of Bible studies and family-friendly movies and children's programming. It's also the home to a huge amount of video-based Northwest Christian content. On Northwest Christian School's RightNow Media page, available at this link, you can enjoy chapels, concerts, senior graduation, eighth grade promotion, Crusader's Got Talent, missions trips, and so much more.

The NCS RightNow Media page is also providing access to the NXNW 2021 student film, "Do-Gooders", as well as all of the other NXNW student films!

Registration takes just a few minutes and is absolutely free!
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