All of our WCA families have been affected by this pandemic, some more than others. Families have had to shut down businesses, have been laid off, or had hours cut due to the shut down. If you are able, would you join us in fighting for Christian education by CLICKING HERE to give a gift toward our tuition assistance program?   
It is amazing how much of our “normal” has changed in such a short amount of time! I pray the Lord uses this threat to life and the chaos in its wake to bring us all to a point of complete surrender to the God of creation. He brings us through life’s storms and challenges as long as we are willing to give Him the controls. I pray that all of our WCA constituents are healthy and safe. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he might lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1Peter 5:6-7)

As I write this Excelsior introduction from my office in mid-afternoon of a school day, the hallways are clean and quiet. But the stillness in the facility does not mirror the educational commotion that is taking place remotely. Remotely is code for “at home.” Our amazing teachers are being stretched, albeit joyfully, to use electronic tools to communicate with students and parents, to provide instruction in new ways, and to stay connected in important relationships. We are striving for the basic content of our classical Christian program to stay intact, while also preserving our culture and taking advantage of new opportunities. Our WCA parents are wonderful, but please pray for them! Parents are juggling so much with social distancing mandates, the temporary closing of the school building, keeping lessons on a schedule, working from home, closing of some of their businesses, and concerns about loved ones. Right now, the earliest WCA will be back in normal session is May 4. It may be August, however.

As an organization, we are also planning differently and carefully in the areas of: 1) Admissions and how to engage prospective parents when coming into the building is not possible; 2) Finances and weighing the potential impact of current events both in this fiscal year and the next; 3) Fundraising and how we will make up a gap now that our spring golf event is cancelled and so many supporters of WCA have been hit financially; 4) Operations and how we can conserve resources and also take care of our facility needs; 5) How we can best partner with our parents in this time of hardship. May the Lord establish our steps. Thank you for standing alongside us!

What are you learning during this pandemic? What is God teaching you? What new or creative things have happened as a result of our cultural shift? We would LOVE to hear from you and compile a list of the GOOD things happening to you or your family. Just click HERE to share! Your answer (without your name) will be one among many we will share in our next Excelsior and use to encourage our families.

Please Pray:
  • For our families to make the most of this challenging time and that God will use this to strengthen them.
  • For our seniors whose special final year is now different than planned. Pray they will find fresh joy and new ways to finish the year strong and together.
  • For our teachers to be able to persevere and to connect with students and families in excellent ways.
  • For our school and the complexities of providing education remotely in keeping with our mission and values. Pray for God to provide financially and that we will be able to assist struggling families.
  • Thank God for His goodness, faithfulness, and surprises.



Imago Dei,
Jim Whiteman


WCA is launching some summer programs! Just click HERE for details . This, of course, assumes that such programs will be allowed by that time
The Eternal Things
by Caleb Sasser
Chair of Upper School Humanities Department
After a whirlwind few weeks we have found ourselves living in a world where terms like “social distancing” and “shelter in place” are common parlance. We live in a world so different from the way it was just a few short weeks ago that we question whether anything is the same. When we do see things that are completely unchanged, such as the relentless approach of spring, the song of a Robin, or the bloom of a flower, they strike us as almost odd or discordant. Our world seems frozen in place, so it is strange to see spring move on. As we feel gloomy and downtrodden, it is odd that crocuses and daffodils are as beautiful as they ever were.

We live in a time when it seems like everything is changing, when history is being made, a time of upheaval; and we are not particularly enjoying it. As Tolkein reminds us in The Fellowship of the Ring :

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Scary as these times are, they are historically the times when the Christian church is strengthened. There are many reasons for this, but one is that tumultuous times cause us to be hyper-aware of the mutability (or changeability) of things we formerly thought immutable and direct our attention to the truly eternal, unchangeable, immutable things. That is what a WCA education is all about. Our desire is to direct our students’ attention to the eternal things. We desire to be constantly directing our students to love God and the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty that we see in the light of Him.

Have you ever noted that one of the primary reasons for praising God in the Psalms and throughout the Old Testament is that God does not change? Remember the refrain of Psalm 136? “His love endures forever”? God does not change, though all the world around us does. David praised Him for this, so did Moses, Jesus, the apostle Paul, and so has the church throughout the ages. As God does not change neither do the things we see only in light of Him: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Truth is still true, goodness is still good, and flowers are still beautiful. That is why our educational endeavor at WCA is more important now than ever, we all are badly in need of a vision of the eternal things.

I will conclude with the words of the Apostle Paul as he points his students to the eternal things:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
Truth, goodness, and beauty form the centerpiece of WCA’s art education. There are people who can learn how to appreciate art, and have the understanding of what makes a creation true, good, and beautiful. There are also people who can learn to create art which is lovely. At WCA, we teach children to do both. Art for the believer is observing God’s creation in a detailed way in order to know Him better. As a child takes time to saturate his vision with the details of God’s creation, he understands more deeply that God is a loving creator. The student sees that creation is beautiful, and can see himself as one of God’s glorious creations.  

At WCA, we teach students from Kindergarten through twelfth grade the skills that allow them to create 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art. Building upon the foundation of the grammar school curriculum, standards for seventh and eighth grade students move to the next level of quality work. They now have the skills necessary to produce detailed and engaging art. It is during the dialectic stage that students decide if they will pursue their study of art and art history during their high school years. For WCA high school students, art is an elective, although it continues to be integrated in all their subjects. Those who choose to continue in art will take classes such as pencil drawing and sketching, watercolor and acrylic painting, and 3-dimensional work including sculpting and clay. Ultimately, the high school artist will create a portfolio, which could culminate in a thesis presentation.

Table Talk
What to discuss around the breakfast or lunch or dinner table
By Kristen Zuccola
It is good to make plans. It is good to forge ahead. It is even better to do so with an attentive ear to God’s plan redirecting our steps. Proverbs 16:9 says: The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. So, as many of our steps are far fewer in number and cover a significantly smaller distance, may we tread attentively listening to God’s will. I planned to go to the grocery store when it was convenient to me. I planned to go to the recreation center. I planned to go to Florida to visit my cousin over Spring Break. God did NOT plan for me to do these things. Many of our students are getting their first big taste of what life is like when it does not go according to our plans. It seems as if this lesson is going to be one that we might have a few months to learn well. But, we know that Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” Indeed. Surely none of us planned for this. To an extent we were prepared; however, it is certainly not our will. May we find joy in God’s will for us during these times.

Ask: What is God’s will for you today? How can we better prepare to be attentive to His will? How can we willingly surrender our plans to His? What examples from the Bible feature a person surrendering his will to God’s? What were the consequences of that? What examples do we have of people NOT
surrendering their will(s)? What were the consequences of that?
Alumni, we want to hear from you!
We would like to share what has been happening in your life. How is the Lord leading you? Email Andrea Poltrone @ apoltrone@westsideacademy.org with your updates and photos for our Alumni section in future editions of the Excelsior.