GCS Christmas 2021 Newsletter

CHRISTMAS 2021 EDITION

FOR OUR PARTNERS SUPPORTING CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS Wow. It's hard to believe that this is our 10th year of providing Christian Education to children in our community. We are so thankful to Jesus Christ for His faithful provision to our school. It took a tremendous leap of faith by the founding board members, teachers, and families of the school to begin the process of becoming a registered and recognized entity. From deciding upon a facility, to filling out paperwork to become a 501(c)(3), to meeting with the Regional Office of Education, finding desks, supplies, computer equipment, hiring teachers, seating a board, naming the school, etc. the list could continue on with multiple pages of every item that had to be completed to open up a school in just 3 short months. Yes - I said "3 short months" - from the time the decision was made to start the school to the first day of school with students in the fall, it was all done in 3 months. Plus, the big question laying on our hearts was how would we be able to fund the private school with no local, state, or federal funding. This would have never been possible without consistent prayer and petition to Jesus. At times, it felt humanly over-whelming, but we knew that Jesus would be with us every step of the way if we trusted in Him for our strength. And on September 5th, 2012 Grace Christian opened up the doors for 13 students and 3 teachers. (We now have an enrollment of 43 students and 8 teachers) There are many "God Stories" that I could tell that would amaze you in how He works for the good of His purpose. One particular story, took place on December 31, 2013. We needed to make payroll for our teachers on this day and we were exactly $1000 short to cover this payroll. We had been praying diligently and patiently trusting God to intervene on our behalf and meet our payroll needs. Our teachers faithfully live out the mission for Christ when they walk through the doors of the school and impact children every day and we knew we needed to provide for them so that they can provide for their own families. We checked the mailbox daily to see if any of our faithful donors were lead to give to GCS for the week leading up to this payroll date. Then the exact day we needed the money to deposit for payroll, a check was in our mailbox for the exact amount that was needed to meet payroll. We wept tears of joy and thanked God for providing for us! God has provided for us in more ways than we could ever understand. He has opened and shut doors, given us parents that are committed to raising up their children with a Biblical Worldview, and given us teachers that LOVE the students. We are so grateful for the prayers, gifts, and support that we have received over these 10 years. We look forward to partnering with you for many more!

Pictures to the right are from our early years. We have accomplished many things over the years including partnering with agencies from both near and far to help those in need with: Food drives for local pantries, raising funds to provide Bibles in foreign countries, packed food to be sent to inner cities, bought a bike for a Christian student in Bangladesh, just to name a few. There is more to come in the next 10 years!

Many years ago an emphasis was put on the 3 R's (reading, writing and arithmetic). At GCS, we add a fourth R - ROAMING. Educational trips have a positive, lasting impact on our students because the students are engaged and intellectually curious and interested in what is outside their normal learning environment. These field trips give our students the opportunity to experience things first-hand and from primary resources, rather than texts; real objects rather than photos. Educational studies show that youth who take educational trips have better grades, higher graduation rates from high school and college, and greater income. Enjoy our photos from our field trips we took this fall to Radar Farms, Tanners Orchard, the Thesherman's Reunion, Gridley Fire House and Library, the Art Center, and the Braidwood Christmas Tree Farm.

At GCS, we love to host our friends for some good, old hospitality and some entertainment. So, we would love to have you join us for our upcoming events. On Saturday, March 5th we will be hosting our Annual Pancake and Sausage Breakfast . This is an all you can eat dine-in event that is certain to fill your belly. If you don’t want to dine-in, you are more than welcome to take your order to go. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance from a GCS student or teacher, or you can buy them at the door. In late April (date pending), our students will be hosting their annual Spring Musical. This year’s spring musical, Back to the Cross , will be another highly entertaining musical! GCS will host 8th Grade Graduation for our three 8th graders on Thursday, May 19th. To keep up with all that is going on at GCS, make sure to Like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram or visit our website at www.gcsgators.org.

Last spring the students and staff decided to partner with a newly formed Christian school in Paraguay to help meet a need they had to help give each student at the school their own Bible. We take for granted how lucky we are to live in the United States and each one of us already has a Bible or maybe even 2 or 3 in our household. The people living in Paraguay don't have access to Bibles like we do and therefore the students and staff at GCS raised enough money for all 17 students at Barrio Parque School to recieve a Bible in their native language.

Have you seen us out in the community caroling and ringing bells for Salvation Army?

“THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING ; GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS . " LAMENTATIONS 3 : 23

FROM THE DESK OF MRS. MORRISON

Director of Advancement and Outreach

Christmas greetings to all of our friends and families of Grace Christian School! On behalf of everyone at Grace Christian School, I’d like to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season! We’re so thankful for the opportunity to pour God’s Word into our students daily. We pray you have had a healthy and happy year and hope you find yourself thankful for all God has shared with you. What a beautiful autumn we’ve had with the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets that we are so blessed to experience here in Illinois. In Lamentations 3:23 we’re reminded that His mercies are new every morning. We have experienced God’s mercies over these last 20 months. We have remotely learned and in-person learned and have gone with the flow in both scenarios. Much like one cannot predict the weather, we’ve not been able to predict the recommendations of our government. But, we have done our best to encourage our students in all areas. Here at GCS, we have been caring for the spiritual and academic growth of our students. We are hopeful that our students will take their faith far beyond the walls of Grace Christian School. We have been able to see our GCS graduates accomplish great achievements and are so proud of the lives they’re living. Most recently, 4 of our graduates were inducted into the National Honor Society at Pontiac Township High School. As our students continue to flourish, we can’t give enough praise to God for giving us the opportunity to encourage them and the children currently enrolled at GCS. Many of our accomplishments are a reflection of your generosity and partnering with us so that we can give extra for our students. All throughout this newsletter you will see the many extra opportunities that students at GCS are given on a daily basis and we use those opportunities to serve others. We are a growing community but still small enough that your partnership is vital and so appreciated. We have grown from 18 students to 43 students in the last 5 years…… Praise the Lord! We’ve been blessed with a staff that is flexible and excited to grow. Our goal at Grace Christian School is to educate our young people to lead lives that positively impact themselves, their families, and their communities. Please take a moment to reflect on the blessings that God has given you and then consider sharing a part of that with us here at GCS. We pray that you have a Blessed Christmas and that you remember the reason for the season! Wishing you a wonderful Christmas!

G I VE A CHR I S TMAS G I F T TO A S TUDENT AT GCS

To make a tax deductible gift by PayPal, Venmo (@GraceChristian-School) or credit card, go to our website at www.gcsgators.org. Or send a check payable to Grace Christian School in the envelope provided. thank you for your continued support Grace Christian School is a 501(c)(3). All donations are tax deductible.

Greetings Grace Christian School family and friends!! My name is Tim Fairchild and I joined the GCS family in July of 2020. Prior to my time at GCS, I worked 33 years in the El Paso Gridley School System: 17 years as a classroom teacher and 16 years in administration. I’m onsite at GCS on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and available as needed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It has been my pleasure thus far to work with the talented staff and students at our school. I love their dedication and the positive culture that has been established over the years. I’d like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the positive changes that have happened over the last 18 months as well as exciting goals we have on the horizon. Benchmarking students 3 times a year Academic Benchmark testing is an assessment that measures students in comparison to other students at their grade level. We benchmark our students 3 times a year: in the fall, winter and spring. This allows us to gauge students’ academic progress and growth during the school year. Based on the assessment results and teacher input, we’re then able to establish enrichment or remediation activities to best meet the needs of each student.

If you have any questions regarding our school, please feel free to reach out to me at tfairchild@gcsgators.org . We welcome visitors and feedback as we continue to serve Our Father and the students at GCS.

Heggerty Curriculum Implementation The Heggerty Phonemic Awareness program was added for our PreK and K-1st students in the winter of 2020. The researched based program assists our primary teachers in developing necessary phonics and fluency needed for our students to become good readers. The teachers have embraced the added resource and the students enjoy taking part in the mini-lessons each day. Curriculum at GCS The primary curriculum for our students is the Christian based Bob Jones University Curriculum. This accredited program provides our students with a sound academic foundation and has every lesson in all subjects rooted in Biblical scripture. In addition, we supplement our curriculum in math and reading with Study Island, an online academic program. This program provides our students with extra practice in the reading and math standards at each grade level. Technology Each student has access to a touchscreen laptop at GCS. This allows us to utilize technology in providing our staff and students with additional resources needed to meet each child’s academic, social and spiritual needs.

Reviewing our report cards Educating parents on social media challenges What’s on the horizon for 2022 and beyond?

Establishing a mentoring program as our students transition to high school Following up individually with parents regarding family social and spiritual needs

GCS students have been very active partnering with local schools to participate in IESA sporting events. So far this year, we have had: Softball (Natalie Zimmerman, Carley Vitzhum, Courtney Krause, and Adalyn Pulliam); Baseball (Chancy Haas and Sam Dewald); Cross Country (Brody Karr); Cheerleading (Carley Vitzhum, Violette Torkelson, Adalyn Pulliam); Basketball (Natalie Zimmerman, Carley Vitzhum, Courtney Krause, Adalyn Pulliam, Brody Karr, Sam Dewald); and Volleyball (Natalie Zimmerman, Carley Vitzhum, Violette Torkelson, Courtney Krause, Trinity Smith). Athletics is an integral part of the overall educational experience providing students with valuable lessons in time management, discipline, integrity, hard work, and physical fitness. If you get a chance to come out and support our student-athletes, they would love to see you.

The students and staff paid tribute to our heroes when they presented their annual Veterans Day program. Directed by Miss Brianne Sanders, the students sung beautifully and the night was perfect. Thanks to our GCS alumni for singing the Military Medley song with the students. It was great to have you back. Let's not forget what our veterans have done for us!

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Just go to smile.amazon.com and set Grace Christian School as your charity of choice. Best of all, you don't pay anything extra!

10TH ANNIVERSARY FIELD TRIPS

UPCOMING EVENTS PROJECT PARAGUAY UPDATE FROM MR. FAIRCHILD ATHLETICS VETERANS DAY PROGRAM

1314 Indiana Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764