School’s out for the Summer!
By Samantha DePriest
That’s a wrap! Trinity Christian School celebrated another wonderful school year. Our Lions came into the school year back in August ready to learn, grow, and develop a better understanding of God’s calling on their lives. They were warmly greeted by teachers, staff, and coaches who saw potential in each of them and had been praying for them by name while preparing spaces for them to thrive in. Our students joyfully made new friends, developed meaningful relationships with new teachers and mentors, tried new foods, visited new places, studied new scriptures, mastered content in a variety of subject areas, participated in many extracurricular activities, and hopefully grew stronger in their Faith walk. Whether this school year year was their best yet or a year of striving to overcome adversity, one thing is for sure, every one of our TCS staff has been cheering on each and every one of our Lions along the way as they seek God’s purpose.
Dr. Anthony shared in a recent all school Campus Development meeting, “With over 230 churches represented in our school, we are united in investing in the emerging generation and see that they have the ability to hear a strong Gospel message and to live out what it means to be a faithful Christian and a Christ follower and do it in a strong, safe, and secure environment. To reaffirm our unwavering commitment to our core Christian beliefs. At the heart of our school is the belief that each one of our children bear the image of God.“
What a gift and blessing to be surrounded by other like minded Christians as our students develop a firm Faith foundation. This is important not just for after Senior graduation, but also as our children go out into the world over the next 8 weeks of summer. We hope each of our students and parents will find rest in the margins of all the fun and adventures planned in June and July. We pray that our familiies will enjoy time to reconnect without car line, calendars, and the crazy that comes along with a school year rich in activities and to do lists. We pray our students stay strong and committed to their beliefs and all that has been poured into them during the school year.
Each summer we hear about our families seeking ways to keep students connected to God’s word while they are away from school. Many of them have shared their own tips or ones shared by their youth pastors over the years for helping their students stay close over the summer. Below are just some of the ways we can help our students to continue growing closer to God:
1) Hang 10 - Students are encouraged to “hang out with God” for 10 minutes each day through Bible reading and prayer. They can set an alarm at the same time every day as a reminder that it’s time for “Hang 10”,
2) Put a sticker on a calendar every day your child reads his/her Bible. At the end of the summer, count up the stickers and celebrate your child’s Bible reading success with a simple treat, like an ice cream cone or an afternoon in the park.
3. Go God scouting. Visit a nature preserve, a zoo, an art museum, or a family reunion armed with a pencil and notebook (or a camera). Record everywhere you see God–in a friend’s laugh, in a cardinal’s wing, in a cool cloud formation. Consider keeping a God scouting journal or bulletin board for keeping all your summer God-sightings in one place.
4. Keep a prayer journal.
5. Visit a nursing home. Make cards for the residents. You might also gather a group of kids and plan a mini-concert. Just call ahead and see if your kids can perform in the cafeteria at lunch.
6. Pass out bottled waters to the homeless on a hot day or make care packages with energy bars, crackers, mouthwash and a handwritten Bible verse.
7. Attend a VBS other than the one at your church.
8. Take balloons and a cupcake to someone who’s feeling discouraged
9. Read a book about a Christian who made or is making a difference in the modern world (Corrie Ten Boom, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Joni Erickson…).
10. Order a copy of “A Faithful Student’s Survival Guide to the Summer” written by our very own TCS Bible Teacher and TCS Dad to 4 Lions, Mr. Chris Paschal. This wonderful resource for students can be found online on Amazon.