Things to Know this Week (Nov 17)

RCS Families,

 

I began last week in Phoenix at a conference with over 400 Christian school leaders from across America. Mrs. Hopp, Mrs. Barnes and I went down a day early to tour three incredible Christian schools in the Phoenix area to inspire and inform our plans for the RCS High School. We learned a lot and were inspired by specific ideas and opportunities. I love learning from other schools. With that said, I am humbled by what God is doing through Renton Christian. We are experiencing something special. I would not trade our teachers or staff for those at other schools. We have an incredible partnership with parents. I would not trade our parents for those at other schools. I am so excited about the future of RCS and the doors God continues to open for us. Thank you for your encouragement and partnership to make RCS the school God desires it to be!

 

Here are a few of things to know this week:

 

RCS Cares | OCC and Food Drive Results 

Thank you for partnering with us to instill a spirit of serving in our students! Over the past two weeks we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our families. Here is what we were able to do together:

• Operation Christmas Child – we received 492 boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We will help 492 children around the world receive a Christmas gift and the message of Jesus on Christmas this year!
• Food Drive – We received 4,485 food items for the Renton Salvation Army Food Bank. This food was picked up today and will provide much needed shelf-stable food for families in need during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. We loaded up all the food this morning in a truck from the food bank. The truck was packed! The food bank was overwhelmed with the generosity of our families. Thank you for helping us serve our neighbors across the street and around the world!

 

First Annual RCS Christmas Tree Lighting Event | Mon, Nov 27^th at 6:30pm

To start the Christmas season, RCS invites you to join us for a time of Christmas carols, Christmas cocoa and our first ever Christmas Tree Lighting. We are transforming an evergreen tree near the entrance into our Christmas tree! We can’t wait to see you on Monday, November 27^th at 6:30pm for this 30–45-minute Christmas experience!

 

ACSI Accreditation Visit | Nov 26-29

To ensure RCS operates with best practices, we are accredited with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). Every 6 years, our school goes through a reaccreditation process involving an exhaustive self-study and a visit from a team of current school administrators to observe our school and confirm the findings of our internal study. Our team completed a self-study toward the end of last school year. The visiting ACSI team will be onsite on November 26^th – 29^th. This team will highlight areas of strength and collaboratively identify opportunities to strengthen our school. We are looking forward to this visit to help us strengthen our practices and become a better school. This reaccreditation process will inform and strengthen our school’s strategic plan for the coming years.  

 

No School | November 20 – 24 | Teacher Professional Development and Thanksgiving Break

There will be no classes next week, November 20 – 24 for our Teacher Professional Development and Thanksgiving break. We pray for safe travel for those heading out of the area and for all to have an enjoyable time with family and friends. BASC and SLC will be open until 4pm on November 22^nd and both will be closed November 23^rd and 24^th.

 

Encouragement and Prayer:

Next week is Thanksgiving. This is a natural opportunity for us to reflect on the people and provision we enjoy every day. However, thanksgiving is a Christian virtue that each of us need to exercise throughout the year. Here are a few versus that help illustrate the breadth of this virtue:

1. Worship – We should come before God “with thanksgiving” (Psalm 95:2, Psalm 100:4) and our praise should be infused with thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30). 
2. Salvation – Thanksgiving is a natural outflow of the grace we receive through salvation in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:15).
3. Prayer – Our posture when making requests from God should include thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6)
4. Faith in Christ – thankfulness illustrates part of a fully devoted relationship with Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:6-7)
5. Response to God’s Love – we should express thankfulness to God for His goodness and enduring love (1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 106:1)
6. Provisions – Jesus frequently expressed thanks for God-given provisions (Luke 9:16, Luke 22:19).
7. All Circumstances – The Apostle Paul instructed us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
8. People – The Apostle Paul modeled this thankfulness for people by expressing his thanks to the people to who he wrote (Philippians 1:3-6). 

 

Thanksgiving properly postures us before God and toward the people around us. Thanksgiving forces us to look outward rather than inward. Thanksgiving prompts us to pause and ponder. Thanksgiving is an antidote to pride, and it fosters humility. Every breath, every moment, every day is a gift from God. Let’s live in a constant posture of thankfulness. 

 

I am thankful for you and your partnership. I am thankful for the passionate and committed teachers and team at RCS. I am thankful for each student. I pray God bless you with moments of rest over Thanksgiving Break. I pray He would bring to mind the endless reasons to be thankful and help each of us exhibit thankfulness in every circumstance. 

 

Have a great weekend! 

 

Thanks,

 

Randy McMillan

RCS | Head of School