Calvary Chronicle A Publication of Calvary Classical School November 2012

Math, Daily Pointing to God and His Creation

throughout creation, from flowers to seashells to the human body. The profusion of mathematical forms brings to mind the words of Pythagoras: “Everything is arranged according to number and mathematical shape.”

Scripture also testifies to God’s orderliness in creation. He speaks to us in terms of measurement in this example from Job 38:4-7—“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its

footings set, or who laid its cornerstone – while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” He knows the exact dimensions of the universe He’s made, and we reflect His image when we take care in measuring His creation. Just as we use standards of measurement, God’s Word is the

ultimate standard by which we live. He is dependable! There isn’t a day when 2+2 doesn’t equal 4, and there isn’t a day when God goes against how He’s revealed Himself through His Word.

Every day at CCS, the students spend time memorizing math facts. They work diligently to increase their speed in math tables, and the repetition increases retention. As these children grow, their math foundations will be solid. We must work faithfully in establishing the foundations, just as we learn the basics about Christ before delving into the depths of His riches in the Word. God is a God of order and through His gift of math, we can seek to know Him more deeply. As a Christian and classical school, we can use mathematics to give our students an earthly picture of God's order, depth, and dominion.

Bekah Lawing is the K4 aide and parent of two CCS students.

At Calvary Classical School, we strive for excellence in teaching the core subject of mathematics. The fact that CCS is both Christian and classical gives us an even greater motivation for teaching math well.

The CCS curriculum guide highlights the worshipful attitude we can have when studying math: “In mathematics, we observe the beauty and order of God’s creation, a reflection of His image.” His infinite nature and sense of order are seen throughout all of creation. Galileo Galilei was right when he claimed that the universe is “written in the language of mathematics.” Mathematical concepts and the “descriptive power of numbers” provide clarity and structure for our understanding of God’s world. As we seek to know our Creator and His works more deeply, math becomes an essential tool in a Christian worldview.

We see God’s infinite nature in the realm of mathematics. If we ask our kindergartners to count, they would gladly begin, “One, two, three…” as far as they could go and after that ask for help to continue. They already understand the concept of numbers going on and on because God has set the concept of infinity in their minds. Likewise, our sixth graders understand the concept of fractions and the idea of zero. Using fractions, we approach the idea of something being “infinitely small.” Spanning the whole range of “infinity,” “zero,” and negative numbers, mathematics is an excellent aid for examining the depth and breadth of God’s creation.

Not only are numbers limitless, but so are the patterns. As fifth grade pointed out in their play “Donald in Mathmagic Land,” all of God’s works in nature have a mathematical logic. His patterns (such as the Golden Ratio) show up again and again

“God created everything by

number, weight, and measure.”

Sir Isaac Newton

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Ed and Tia Flowers and their kids—Zackary, Nathan, Andrea, and Adam—have been a vibrant part of CCS since 2004. Ed is an engineer at Newport News Shipbuilding, and Tia is a transcriptionist as well as busy mom and volunteer. Appreciating her understanding of our school as both a mom and past CCSA president, the Chronicles staff asked Tia to share what has been most meaningful about their time at CCS.

Defender Family of the Quarter The Flowers

All of our children started in Mrs. Sawanowich’s K5 class except Adam, who started with K4 (Mrs. Strader). Because he and Andrea were so inseparable at that age, I knew I could never send one and not the other. Zack finished with 6th grade in 2011, and Nathan will finish this year.

We had never even heard of classical education until our friend Mrs. Marsha Davis (then the 3rd grade teacher) introduced us to CCS back in 2000. Once we understood how the education worked, we never looked anywhere else. It really was the academics that drew us. Little did we know we would have such a wonderful crop of teachers. We watched a few teachers come and go in a number of the classes, but I must say I am most impressed with the lineup we have now. Of course, some of that credit has to go to Lori Rogers, who has done much to stabilize the staff and keep consistency throughout.

I've also been impressed with CCS's willingness to change when necessary. There have been a number of curriculum changes over the years, and even adjustments in expectations from the students, and from what I've seen, they've all been for the best. Thanks for that goes to Linda Sawanowich as the Dean of Academics, who is constantly looking for ways to improve CCS. I think she must not sleep, especially with two kindergarten classes this year!

Our son Zack struggled with school, but all his teachers (and especially Mrs. Paxton) were amazing encouragers and helped him do his best. It was Mr. Mitzel who first recommended we have him tested for learning disabilities, which we did, and he was diagnosed in the fall of

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1st Quarter Honor Roll

All A Honor Roll

Makenzie Crosby Abigail Emerson

Ethan Guynn Sammie Hope Josiah Hughes

Hannah Kurowski Joshua McCloud Matthew McCoy

Emily Mericle Lauryn Mericle Kaitlyn Parker Wyatt Puryear

Rebekah Schwenk Ava Smith Joshua Yi

~*~

A/B Honor Roll

Abbie Arthur Will Arthur

Nathan Flowers Neelie Harris Polly Hughes Jocelyn Hurst

Eniale Matheny Logan Puryear Bennett Soles Benjamin Yeh

Justin Yi

Defenders are eligible for honor roll

beginning in 2nd grade, 2nd quarter.

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Purposeful Design at CCS

A pair of runaway balloons floated over the playground. Looking up, a second grade student exclaimed, “Mrs. Crosby! They look like molecules in the sky!” First graders hopping on the blacktop called out, “I’m using my energy from food to jump rope!” On the playground and in the classroom, CCS students are making connections and getting excited about science. This year, CCS has adopted Purposeful Design Science from ACSI, and the results have been stellar.

Purposeful Design Science strongly supports CCS’s science curriculum goals. At CCS, the purpose of science instruction is to lead the students to stand in awe of their Creator’s “creative power, complexity, and design” as seen in creation. Because God calls us to care for the world He has made, skills in science are necessary to glorify Him. The teachers channel the students’ natural curiosity and equip them with tools for discovery. For example, Mrs. Paxton’s third grade class recently grew salt crystals. Though they peppered her with questions, Mrs. Paxton continually pointed them back to the experiment—“Let’s see what happens.” She guided the students to question the experiment—not her—to find out the information that they wanted to know.

Additionally, Purposeful Design Science continually stresses God’s loving intent in His design for creation, providing valuable material for the biblical integration that CCS teachers incorporate into all their lessons. How refreshing to have a science textbook which thoughtfully seeks to enlarge our knowledge of God!

When first grade was learning about teeth, Mrs. Emerson marveled that babies start getting their teeth at just the right time for their bodies to begin ingesting solid food. This is no accident but rather the perfect caring intention of their Creator. The teachers at CCS

enjoy bringing out His provision and wonder in all the science units—His sovereign hand is present in the weather as well as in an element’s chemical bonds.

Understandably, the hands-on activities have been the students’ favorite part of science class. All the teachers have expressed that the number and range of available activities is almost overwhelming—a great problem to have. Ms. Krasowski reports that the fifth

and sixth grades are doing more labs than before—growing brine shrimp, creating static electricity with balloons, even bravely dissecting a couple of unfortunate perch.

From K3 to 6th grade, science activities are designed to incorporate all the students’ senses; a holistic learning experience is both fun and helps knowledge retention. In the kindergarten building, budding young scientists are hard at work. In the spring, K3 grows a small garden and learns about the lifecycle of plants, K4 explores the scientific method by collecting and tracking data with their pumpkin seed experiment, and K5 tries out the concept of jet propulsion with a rocket balloon!

Classically speaking, science provides great opportunity for teachers to bring out science’s natural con-nections with other subjects. Taking advantage of the class’s study of Charlotte’s Web, Mrs. Paxton and the

third graders observed spider sacs on the outside of the school buildings; later, students announced that they had found another spider sac in one of the bushes! This excited spirit of discovery paired with a deepening knowledge of the Creator is exactly what we desire for our students. We look forward to the rest of the year with a purposeful design in mind!

Karin Dahl is the language arts teacher for the 5th and 6th grades and is especially fond of the science of astronomy.

2010 when he started the 6th grade. We had heard of the National Institute for Learning Development program (NILD) from outside sources, but it just so happened that a local therapist who did private lessons was also a former CCS teacher, Deborah Strader. CCS helped us coordinate therapy sessions for Zack after school. Zack's teachers were instrumental in making his schooling and therapy work together as we tried to find that balance between what Zack was able to do well and what he needed help with, allowing him to get the help he needed, but still challenging him enough to help him move forward.

By the time Zack was finishing 6th grade, it was pretty clear that Adam was having the same problem in 1st grade. Zack was unable to continue with Mrs. Strader (as Summit Christian has their own NILD program and therapists), so after testing Adam over the summer between 1st and 2nd grade, Adam was allowed to continue into 2nd grade as long as he was in therapy sessions after school with Mrs. Strader. Between the work he did with Mrs. Strader and an amazingly patient teacher (Mrs. Crosby), Adam made huge progress in 2nd grade and ended the year on the honor roll for the 4th quarter! This year, CCS has gone out of its way to make things even better and easier, allowing Adam to begin his therapy sessions even before the end of the school day. This has made a huge difference, specifically in Adam's attitude toward the whole thing. He doesn't feel so much like he has ‘all that extra work to do’ because he's finishing those days earlier instead of having ‘school after school.’

We are aware that we're paving the way for other students who come along and need extra help like our boys, and that's just fine. Everyone is learning through the process and in the end CCS (and my kids) will be better for it.

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Jesus Is the Light of the World—CCS Float The Coliseum Central Holiday Parade

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November 17, 2012 What a great float! Thirty-two CCS students along with sixteen adults represented CCS in the Coliseum Central Holiday Parade this year.

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New Faculty Join CCS Mrs. Stacy Burdett & Ms. Karin Dahl

Fun Facts! 1. Stacy is originally from Colorado and loves to paint. 2. Karin isn’t from anywhere in particular (Air Force kid) but has started to think of herself as a Virginian. 3. Both teachers have a connection to the Air Force Academy—Stacy’s son Josh and Karin’s younger brother Steven both attend.

Karin: You can see the faculty and staff’s love for Christ in how they interact every day—taking care of each other’s kids, helping each other move, following up on the events in each other’s lives. They are always ready to offer whatever they have—ideas, tips, worksheets, much needed encour-agement (very important for a first year teacher!). It’s a great place to work and learn.

What do you want your students to take away from your class? Stacy: I am excited to bring in art history along with the artistic techniques. I want my students to have a strong foundation in the basic skills (line, color, etc.) so they will be confident when they come to higher level projects later, such as painting a canvas. Art class provides a “space to breathe” in the midst of a rigorous school day. You get to try something new, and it’s okay to be at various skill levels and to express yourself differently. There are boundaries (like “no flicking the watercolor paints”), but there is freedom within the boundaries. Art class shouldn’t be a place where the students fear failure.

Karin: I want my students not only to understand English’s structure in reading and writing but to learn to love its sounds (poetry), expressive qualities, and the stories that people have deeply cherished. Language is a tremendous gift from God and an important skill to cultivate for all parts of life. The Bible mentions our use of words throughout Scripture (in James and Proverbs). Learning to communicate effectively is part of loving our neighbors well and about glorifying the One who gave us language.

CCS had two new teachers join the faculty this year. Mrs. Stacy Burdett is the new art teacher and Ms. Karin Dahl is teaching the fifth and sixth grade language arts as well as sixth grade Bible. They are excited to share their lives and talents with the CCS community.

How has CCS made your transition to teaching here easier? Stacy: You can tell CCS cares about its teachers through the preparation they provide! In July, CCS sent us to the Rockbridge Teacher Training Conference in Annapolis, MD. The conference was a good introduction to teaching classically and Christianly. Karin and I really enjoyed attending the sessions and fellowshipping together. I’ve also really appreciated meeting with Mrs. Paxton (my lead teacher). It’s been very helpful to discuss ideas with her.

Karin: Another thing—the community here at CCS is a HUGE source of grace. I love how CCS works toward creating unity of spirit and purpose. For the faculty, there are procedures set in place to keep us accountable. For instance, we turn in our lesson plans regularly and meet weekly with our lead teachers. I know we both appreciate the organization and support CCS offers.

Stacy: I really enjoyed reading Big God (by Britt Merrick) with everyone this summer. We discussed applying its truths about God’s sovereignty in our personal lives and in our classrooms. It is also very encouraging that the CCS teachers meet on Friday mornings to pray for each other and for the school.

Calvary Classical School 403 Whealton Road Hampton, VA 23666

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Christian, classical, and biblically- integrated curriculum, resulting in

students who think and learn independently for the glory of God.

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Grades K3 through 6th

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Upcoming Events Sixth Grade Assembly—December 5 Christmas Program—December 18 Christmas Break—December 19 - January 2 End of Second Quarter—January 11

“Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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