JANUARY
Friday, January 13
Minimum Day- Teacher Inservice
Monday, January 16
Martin Luther King Day
NO SCHOOL
Thursday, January 26
End of First Semester- CCHS
Friday, January 27
Teacher Inservice Day
NO SCHOOL
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Ski Club Takes To The Slopess |
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Now here's a great way to enjoy a Friday afternoon in January! The ski and snowboard club of fourth through eighth graders from Grace Cascade Christian Schools took to the slopes of Mt. Ashland for some fun in the snow.
As you can see from the photos, our students and chaperones had a great time. Our hats off to Lynsey Turek for spearheading this activity every year. We also offer a tip of the ski cap to teacher Sha Orton for the pictures.
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Grace Cascade Christian Schools will be hosting Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU) on Monday evenings, January 30 - April 3 (not meeting on March 27), for parents of Grace Cascade students. FPU author and radio host Dave Ramsey’s nine-week video series on how to eliminate debt, manage your money, spend and save wisely, and much more!
Infused with biblical wisdom throughout, you will be challenged and motivated to make a plan for your money and change your family tree forever. The cost is $79.99 per household and includes everything you will need for the class. Register REGISTER HERE by by Sunday, January 29.
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3rd Grade Creations On Display |
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If you stop by the office at Grace Christian you will see the creativity of our third graders on display. Mrs. Fretz has been working with the students on drawing with continuous lines.
Here you see some crazy owls. What a fun project!
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We're almost halfway there! Our kids are just $56 short of having fully funded three students at our sister school, El Padul in Managua, Nicaragua. As each student becomes fully supported, our students get to see a picture of whom they are helping.
$400 helps supply what is needed for a child to attend school for a year at El Padul. The goal at Grace Christian is to fund education for six students in this impoverished community. Second grade teacher Elyssa Vanlandingham is serving as our ambassador to El Padul.
As the year progresses, your students will be letting you know of ways you can help. Over the years, students have done such things as bottle and can drives, candy grams, and much, much more.
It's so neat to see the care for others that our kids are developing. It's also fun to see the excitement as they make progress.
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Worshiping At Friday Chapel |
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The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.- John 10:10 ESV
One of the great things about being back in school is having chapel again. It's a real treat to hear the kids singing their hearts in praise of our Lord.
Reinforcing our school theme of "Fully Alive," Mrs. Fretz taught a new song- complete with motions. Hearing the children sing so enthusiastically brought smiles to the faces of the adults in attendance, and no doubt brought joy to our Heavenly Father.
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It's easy to forget, but technology has taken us through incredible changes, especially in the last 35 years. Looking at these photos makes some of us feel old. Remember rotary dial phones, the original "brick" cell phones, or those phones that used to attach to the walls?
Mrs. Amann collects old phones from summer yard sales so 4th graders can explore & learn how telephones have changed over the years. Students enjoy turning the rotary dial, using the push buttons, and holding the brick cellphone—yep it can only make phone calls. This experience gives students the opportunity to imagine life without phones that text, take pictures, & search the Internet.
Isn't it something, how innovations have come along just in these last 15 years?
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7th Grade Families: DC Trip Meeting |
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Our U.S. Heritage Tour is being planned for November 8-17, 2023!
Cascade Christian Middle School’s 8th grade students have been participating in this U.S. Heritage Tour for over 25 years. The US Heritage Tour is an opportunity to travel to the East Coast to learn about our country’s history, culture, and government firsthand and to see God’s hand in the founding of our nation.
The tour takes students from our country’s beginnings at the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, to the workings of our government today in Washington D.C. Highlights include Colonial Williamsburg, The Battle of Yorktown, The Battle of Gettysburg, Mount Vernon, Monticello, Philadelphia, Fort McHenry, and our nation’s capital.
We will have a parent meeting, Thursday, January 19 at 6:00 PM in the High School Commons.
WorldStrides will be sending the cost and details any day, but we wanted to get the meeting date out to you. Be looking for this informative email coming to you soon.
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Mrs. McMahan Shares At Chapel |
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One of the great things about assembling together is what we learn as we share our testimonies with one another. Among the things we learn are the fascinating ways in which God draws us to himself.
CCMS Principal Diane McMahan shared her testimony Thursday. A churchgoer from an early age, she had a passion to want to know God, but had the idea that this was achieved by "being good," and "doing good things." That can be challenging for a child, especially when one gives in to childhood temptations.
Spending her earliest years in Illinois, Mrs. McMahan was devastated to learn she and her family would be moving to Oregon. She would have to start all over again making friends in a place where there was no one she knew.
Early on, Diane made a friend who just captured her heart. A free-spirited adventurous young lady, she was a counter to Mrs. McMahan's more cautious nature. One day her new friend asked if she knew Jesus as her Savior. She learned that she could actually talk to God and that if she asked and believed, Jesus would take residence in her heart. It's that simple? Mrs. McMahan rushed home, went to her room, began to pray, and she shared that the Lord has NEVER left her.
Some great reminders of how if we seek the Lord, we will find Him. Once we find Him, Jesus promises that He will never leave us, nor forsake us.
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Cascade Christian Middle School is excited to announce that the Lord has brought us, Casey Petty, to be our new History and Geography teacher. We look forward to the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the position.
Along the way, Mr. Petty had a radio show called in high school. He says he was also once a competitive dancer before he "lost the beat."
Mr. Petty did his undergraduate studies at "the" Penn State University, before completing his work for a Master's degree at the University of Oregon. He is a member of Willamette Writers and is currently writing a manuscript for his first novel.
Being the writer that he is, Petty shares this story of his coming to Cascade:
"About three years ago, I stepped off of my school's bus to coach a basketball game feeling ill-equipped to be a coach, but clinging to a love of the game and a passion for maximizing the potential of the players I had with me. I recall having conversations the day before with parents regarding a player's amount of playing time and wondering if I had said all the right things to bring them peace about the situation. I also felt a heaviness foreseeing the possible outcome of another loss for my JV boys team who worked hard, and had great attitudes but were hard-pressed to win a game. I sighed knowing they would most likely need another postgame moral victory speech once our game concluded against the home team.
I did what I always do -- sent a little prayer up, committed to let the chips fall as they might according to God's will, and got to work.
My boys played as they always had before. They left it all on the court and kept it close, but ultimately fell a little short of winning. I reminded my players that the wins and losses of basketball didn't matter as much as how they played the game and reminded them how proud I was of the gutsy game they had just played against a good team.
Shortly after, I was gathering my belongings when I heard a few of the home team's parents attempting to speak with me. My initial reaction was "Oh great, what did one of my players do this time?" I was glad to find my assumption was wrong. The parents wanted to congratulate me on a well-coached game and complimented me on my ability to motivate my players to play their best.
I remember leaving the gym beaming. I felt my doubts begin to wane as I was validated by the other team's parents. I got on the bus and did a quick Google search on my way back. I typed "Cascade Christian jobs."
Where else do you find a school where the focus is on loving others as God loves us? Moreover, where else do you find a school where the mission statement is not mere words on a page, but a palpable reality experienced by the words and actions of believers who call this school a home?
Cascade Christian has been ministering to me long before I received my job letter offer. I'm proud of what we get to do every day for our students, our families, and our community. Thank you for adopting me into the Cascade Christian family!"
Casey and his wife Ciera have two young sons- Morgan and Luke. They attend Journey Church.
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Taitum Connick & Jecca: A Girl & Her Horse |
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CCMS 8th grader Taitum Connick is one of 35 young people selected to participate in the AQHA's Ranching Heritage Young Horse Development Program this year. Youth in this program are engaged in the horse industry at a fundamental level that is both fun and educational.
Taitum received Jecca last week from AQHA Ranching Breeder, Box O Quarter Horses of Gordon, Nebraska- a filly born the previous year. Working with Jecca, she will experience a hands-on training opportunity.
What a great opportunity.
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Friday, our Cascade Christian girls take to the gridiron to engage in a little bit of friendly competition and benefit a good cause. It's time for Powder Puff football at Lithia and Driveway Field #10- the football field.
The accompanying graphic has all the details. We had a great turnout when the boys did Volleybuff in the fall- it would sure be wonderful to have the stands packed full of fans in support of our girls, and our Sparrow- Ryan M.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Here are some helpful resources for those students looking to further their education after high school:
A wonderful resource for a scholarship search, college search, paying for college, and career search:
This is a great site to assist with the college search process:
Learning how to write an essay for college admission:
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God Is At Work Even When It Seems He Isn't: Mr, Walker's Chapel Message |
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We're told that God is good. It's written in the Bible, and people at church say it all the time; but sometimes, we may be tempted to wonder. There are those difficulties that may produce moments or even seasons of doubt. With all that has happened in the last two or three years, it may seem like God is not at work.
CCHS Principal Toby Walker spoke to that subject at our most recent chapel. As a former principal at Phoenix High School, he found himself right in the thick of a community experiencing the trials of a ravaging wildfire, while also coping with a pandemic. While all that is going on, it seemed as though the Lord was tugging on Walker's heart to move towards Cascade, or was He?
He had served in the Phoenix-Talent School District for a number of years and felt quite at home there. Still, while learning of an opportunity to become assistant principal, the timing just didn't seem right. Sure enough, at the onset of COVID, and then later the Almeda fire, Mr. Walker's work at Phoenix wasn't done yet. During this season, he had an opportunity to minister to someone- an unbelieving colleague- who was experiencing the loss of a spouse.
Then, an opening cleared for him and his wife to send one of their kids to GCCS. While working through that, he learned of an opening for principal at Cascade Christian High School. As Walker pondered that, while telling a friend about one of his kids coming to Cascade, out of nowhere (or so it seemed), the friend asked, "When are you going to go to Cascade Christian?" That friend had no idea what was on Walker's mind.
Now, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see that God was at work all along. So it is the same with our lives- it may seem like God isn't doing anything, but we often don't know on this side of the story that the Lord really is at work. The story of Joseph in Genesis comes to mind.
That's one of the wonderful things about having weekly chapel services here. We get to hear and be encouraged by the testimonies of others.
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UPCOMING GAMES, MEETS & MATCHES
SWIMMING
Saturday, January 14th
Henley Freeze
Klamath Falls
TBD
WRESTLING
Saturday, January 14th
Nick Lutz Memorial
Siuslaw High School
9:30 am
BOYS BASKETBALL
Wednesday, January 11th
at Lakeview
7:30 pm
Saturday, Jan. 14th
at St. Mary's
3:00 pm
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Wednesday, January 11th
at Lakeview
6:00 pm
Saturday, Jan. 14th
at St. Mary's
1:30 pm
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GIRLS BASKETBALL
Overall, the Challenger girls are 6-6, and 2-1 in league play going into this week. Saturday, Cascade Christian scored a dramatic 41-36 come-from-behind victory over North Valley. Jordynn Jones led with 20 points, and you can see with the maturation of the younger players, Jeff Roberson's team is becoming more complete to go with the 1-2 punch of Jones and junior Timnah Roberson. Grace McCauley continues to emerge as a scorer, Emma Coats is an aggressive defender, Taylor Folin adds a knack for doing the "little things" that add up, plus senior Erin Law gives Cascade rebounding off the bench, along with a core of reserve players who give the team productive minutes.
WRESTLING
The Challenger boys and girls took a road trip to Dayton to take part in their invitational tournament. Coach Jesse Everett says his team is continuing to grow and progress in the sport. Ezra Padilla and Caleb Brougher picked up wins along the way. Zachary Hutcheson, Eli Young, and Kenzie Kuitert all picked up valuable wrestling experience.
SWIMMING
The swim team is coming off of a solid showing over at the Oregon coast. Swimming outdoors, Our boys placed 2nd in both the 200 medley and 200 free relays, while our girls relays placed 2nd in the 200 medley relay and 1st in the 200 free relay. Our girls secured the first four spots in the 50 free while also placing first and second in the 100 free. Our boys placed 1st, 2nd, and 4th individually in the 50 free. Also placing 1st and 5th in the 100 free. Every single swimmer was able to score points in at least one of their events at this meet!
BOYS BASKETBALL
The boys are 9-2 after reeling off three league wins last week. The defending 3A champions scored victories over Rogue River, Brookings-Harbor, and North Valley. Newcomers Jaren Fronckowiak and Drew Hall are mixing in well with key returners such as as the Maurer brothers, Cannon Anderson, and Triston Wallace. Cascade Christian is also getting good minutes off the bench, among them, Eli Bryant and Anderson.
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