Aim True
Weekly Newsletter, January 5
Chapel
Ascension Academy parent, Mr. Josh Thornwall, spoke at our chapel this week. He spoke about new beginnings. We think about new beginnings with every new year, but Mr. Thornwall reminded the students of Lamentations 3:22-23, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Mr. Thornwall told us that the Bible is full of new beginnings. He mentioned creation, Abram to Abraham, and Saul to Paul. God changes people's lives. Mr. Thornwall ended by encouraging us to be quick to repent and forgive. He said that not forgiving someone is like carrying around a weight all the time.
At our next chapel on January 9, Pastor Matthew Earls from Northern Lakes Church will be our chapel speaker. Chapel is at 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday at the dome (next to the main building). You are invited to join us!
Art Classes
Mrs. Derousseau brought in one of her own art pieces
this week to inspire our student artists! We are blessed
with such wonderful and talented teachers! It is so
fun to walk through the hallways and observe
all the fun learning that takes place daily.
STEAM Classes
Our students have many opportunities to explore with hands-on learning, collaborative projects, and discovery opportunities that will help prepare them for life inside and outside the classroom. Here is a glimpse of what happened in STEAM this week!
Renewable Energy
Students learned about air pressure and how it is affected by temperature, specifically how chimneys work and how wind is created. They also learned about solar updraft towers - another possible way of harnessing the sun's energy to sustainably generate electricity.
Wind Power
Students studied wind power, using wind turbines to generate electricity and charge a rechargeable battery.
Sky Tree Book Fair
Ascension Academy will be hosting an online book fair from January 2 through January 9. The books available are quality, wholesome books. From their website, "We believe that every child in school deserves access to the highest quality children's books, which both entertain and enrich the mind of the child. All of our book fairs carry carefully selected and wholesome titles, free from explicit material, foul language, sexual content (including LGBTQ), pornography, critical race theory, and dark magic. We have a variety of titles from a wide range of authors and publishers."
Parent/Teacher Conferences
The date of our spring parent/teacher conferences has been moved from March 4 to February 29. Sign-up options will be available in February.
Lunch Menu, January 8-12
January 8, Orange Chicken
January 9, Tacos
January 10, Enchiladas
January 11, Swedish Meatballs
January 12, Pizza
Please remember to order lunch for the week by 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning. If you need to order after that time or change your order, email us at office@ascensionarrows.org.
Annual Meeting
Join us for our annual meeting. Learn about the following important details:
- Accreditation Process
- School Choice
- Parent Chapel, John Pederson
- School Highlights
- Academic and Spiritual Achievements
- Our budget
Thursday, Jan 11, 2024, 06:00 PM
825 8th Avenue, Cumberland, WI, USA
Bible Class
There is quite a bit of narrative as we learn what happened in Jerusalem’s last days from the perspective of Jeremiah. Students will read God’s announcement of a coming New Covenant in
Jeremiah 31:31-34. Be certain to discuss this new development, and look up the additional verses listed in the discussion questions. The Old Mosaic Covenant was written on stone and taught to the people. The covenant required the continual shedding of blood—the sacrifice of animals in the temple. The New Covenant, which we now live under, was to be written on our hearts and taught to us by the Lord. Jesus gave us the sacrament of Communion to remember his final, complete sacrifice. He paid for the sins of those who believe and follow him.
You will want to note the comparison of King Zedekiah, a Jew, and Ebed-melech, a Gentile
servant. The actions of each man reveal his true heart for the Lord, and God rewarded each according to his heart—not according to his station or ethnicity.
Lamentations is a short book of poetry, written soon after the exile of Judah. In the original Hebrew, Lamentations is written as four chapters of acrostic poems, with chapter five being the only exception to the acrostic pattern. While the book is traditionally attributed to Jeremiah, we don’t actually know the author of Lamentations.
Lamentations can be difficult to read, but there are several very important points you can
discuss as a family. God did not completely destroy the people of Judah for their sin against him. Rather, he disciplined them. That discipline served to turn their hearts back to the Lord. Hebrews 12:1-17 addresses God’s discipline and should be read this week along with Lamentations. Speak to your students of the importance of following God wholeheartedly. This is also a great time to talk about repentance.
--From our Bible Roadtrip Curriculum
Students are memorizing the following verses for the first week:
K-3 Students - Jeremiah 31:33-34
4-5 Students - Jeremiah 31:33-34, Lamentations 3:22-24
6-8 Students - Jeremiah 31:33-34, Lamentations 3:22-17
Jeremiah 31:33-34, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all. know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Reading this week included the following:
Jeremiah 31, 38, 42, 52; Lamentations 1 - K-3 Students
Jeremiah 31, 33, 38-39, 42-43, 45, 50, 52; Lamentations 1, 3, 4-5 Students
Jeremiah 31-33, 36, 38-39, 42-45, 49-50, 52; Lamentations 1-3, 6-8 Students
Questions to ponder:
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Re-read Jeremiah 31:31-34. What was the Old Covenant? How was it written? Read Matthew 26:28, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, and Hebrews 8-9. What is the New Covenant? Where is it written?
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What was Jeremiah’s situation at the beginning of chapter 38? Was Ebed-melech a Jew? How did he care for Jeremiah? What does that imply about the condition of his heart? Who did Zedekiah fear: man, or the Lord?
- What did the men of Judah decide to do? How did they justify it? What message did God send? Do you ever find yourself rebelling against God’s will for you (what you see outlined in Scripture)? (Jeremiah 43)
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How did grief over God’s discipline help the Jews recognize their guilt before the Lord? (Jeremiah 1:18) Read Hebrews 12:1-17. What is the purpose of God’s discipline? Why should we be glad when he disciplines us? (Lamentations 1)
Upcoming Events
January 2-9, Sky Tree Book Fair
January 11, Annual Meeting at 6:00 pm
January 18, End of the quarter
January 19, No School, Teacher Professional Development
January 26, 2nd Quarter Report Cards Available