Upper School Newsletter
November 6, 2017
Dates to Remember:
November 9 - Informational Parent Meeting 7:30PM BBC Sanctuary
November 9 - Winter Sports "Meet the Coach" Night, 6:30PM
November 13 - 6-7PM Vision Therapy Presentation, Lower School Room 208
November 18 - Forensics Tournament
From the Principal's Desk:
Why Are We Here?
One of my favorite thinkers is G.K. Chesterton. His witty insight into human nature and society is truly timeless. This week in my reading, I ran across one of his classic set of lines in his work Orthodoxy. He writes,” Once I remember walking with a prosperous publisher, who made a remark which I had often heard before; it is, indeed, almost a motto of the modern world. Yet I had heard it once too often, and I saw suddenly that there was nothing in it. The publisher said of somebody, "That man will get on; he believes in himself." I said to him, "Shall I tell you where the men are who believe most in themselves? For I can tell you. I know of men who believe in themselves more colossally than Napoleon or Caesar. I know where flames the fixed star of certainty and success. I can guide you to the thrones of the Super-men. The men who really believe in themselves are all in lunatic asylums."
If you have not read Chesterton before, perhaps the quote causes you to take a step back in offense. I can assure you that his intention in the quote is not to make light of mental facilities or those in them. Rather, he is striking at the heart of the modern human’s trust in themselves. His point is to say that if we really had our faculties about us we would never trust ourselves. It is sheer lunacy!
We at WSCA do not believe in ourselves. We are an organization made up of sinful people that are helpless without the Lord’s blessing. If God does not bless our efforts in Christian education, this school will surely fail. A wiser man than Chesterton wrote in Psalm 127, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” To my fellow builders and watchmen (you), I say, “Let us continue to pray for the Lord’s blessing because without it, our labor is in vain and we are lunatics.”
School Culture Update
I wanted to take some time to outline an important coming attraction in our upper school academic calendar. Starting this year, we will be scheduling midterm exams before Christmas break as part of our academic calendar. We still very much value cumulative exams as part of our curriculum, but want to lessen the impact of final exams on course grades while lessening the content burden placed on students (final exams will focus on the second semester rather than the entire year). Also, many of the junior and senior level courses are one semester in length, so now each course will be able to have a final exam that is administered during the midterm and final exam time windows.
In an effort to provide you with timely communication, I have sketched some important details regarding midterms and final exams for you and your child’s plans. If you are new to WSCA or a sixth grade parent, I am sure you will want to pay especially close attention to these details. Also, I am sure some of you are already beginning to finalize your Christmas vacation plans. Should you need to miss a midterm exam due to travel plans, please make sure to clearly communicate your intentions to the main office and the teacher(s). Please read the following details carefully and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you!
NOTE: Midterm Exams will take place December 20-22 with review days scheduled for December 18-19.
Midterms (High School)
- Full year courses: 10% of final grade, focused on first half of the year
- Semester courses: 20% of final grade, “midterm” is the course's final exam
- ALL students grades 6-12 take midterms (including seniors regardless of course grade)
- Spanish is giving a midterm
- English is doing an alternate assignment that will carry the same weight as a midterm
- Bible is not administering a midterm
Final Exams (High School)
- Full year courses: 10% of final grade, focused on the second half of the year (final exams can have cumulative elements from the beginning of the year but the focus is second half)
- Semester courses: 20% of final grade, this exam is the course's final exam
- Seniors or juniors in a senior level course (AP or the highest level course within a department) are exempt from the final IF they are carrying an unweighted cumulative average grade of 94% or above
- Spanish is administering a final exam
- English is administering an alternate assignment that will carry the same weight as a final
- Bible is not administering a final
Midterms (Middle School)
- Vision: expose students to a cumulative test without too much pressure
- Will be counted as a test in the second marking period (lessen the impact of the test on their final course grade)
- Study guides will be distributed- 6th grade: very detailed, 7th grade: a bit less detailed, 8th grade: less detailed
- Expectations for the exam will be scaled back for 6th grade as opposed to 8th grade
- English is doing an alternate assignment that will carry the same weight as a midterm exam
- Spanish is giving a midterm for the 8th graders only
Finals (Middle School)
- Vision: expose students to a cumulative test without too much pressure
- Will be counted as a test in the fourth marking period (lessen the impact of the test on their final course grade)
- Study guides will be distributed- 6th grade: very detailed, 7th grade: a bit less detailed, 8th grade: less detailed
- Expectations for the exam will be scaled back for 6th grade as opposed to 8th grade
- English is doing an alternate assignment that will carry the same weight as a final exam
- There is will be no final exam for the 8th Grade Careers Course
Thank you Irene Tyler for your many years of service to our school! You will be missed, but we are filled with joy to see you off to your next adventure! Best wishes and blessings to you always! - WSCA
Volunteer Cashier Needed
WSCA's Forensics Team Needs YOU!
Hello, friends of the West Shore Christian Academy Speech and Debate Team!
We are looking forward to hosting our first ever Forensics Tournament on November 18, 2017. There will be many different volunteer opportunities available. These include: judging, baking/cooking food for the judges lounge, working in the concessions stand, set up and tear down of tables and decorations, tabulation of results, and more! We have a TimeToSignUp link at the bottom of this email- use the link to confirm the area in which you would like to volunteer. Please mark the date of Saturday, November 18 in your calendars and pass along the information to any friends or family who may be willing to support our team by volunteering! Hosting a tournament is an important opportunity for West Shore Christian Academy, and every volunteer is deeply needed and appreciated. If you have any questions, please direct them to pstonge@westshorechristian.org.
Volunteer here: ttsu.me/yhstdy
CATS Parents Prayer Team Update
We have changed the day that we gather as parents in prayer for our school to Tuesday afternoons from 2:00 to 2:45 in the Lower School Conference Room. We pray for staff members, teachers, and students by name and any special requests for that week. If you aren't available on Tuesday afternoons you can get the prayer requests via email each week to commit to pray at home. For more information contact Gretchen Carvella at CatsPrayerTeam@westshorechristian.org .
Here's a link to a prayer calendar which all of us can use to pray each day for our children, our children's friends, their teachers, and all who are in the WSCA family. Just follow the date, no matter which day of the week it falls on each month -
http://www.motherhoodonadime.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/September-Prayer-Calendar1.pdf (Copyright Bob Hostetler (www.bobhostetler.com). Used with the permission of the author. Also available as an iPhone/iPad app in the iTunes app store.)
Thanks for lifting our WSCA community before the Lord in prayer!
RenWeb Update
This morning we made a change to ParentsWeb. Under the Student Information section, you will now see a choice for Attendance. Clicking on that section will show you a list of all absences and tardies recorded in RenWeb for your child. You are able to see whether absences/tardies are excused or not and any comments entered, such as a sign-in time for homeroom in the upper school. For upper school students, you will see attendance for each class as well as homeroom. The current default is for the 2nd quarter but the 1st quarter is also available on the screen.
We hope that this update in information available will help answer questions you may have about your child's attendance. You are still welcome to call the office if you have additional questions about what you see in attendance.
Health Screenings
Register Your GIANT BONUSCARD for WSCA
West Shore Christian Academy – ID#: 20565 has the opportunity to participate in and earn CASH from A+ School Rewards, a great fundraising program run through your local Giant!
Last year WSCA Raised over $3000.00 though this program but there is limitless potential to what we can earn for our school and all we need to do is register more Giant bonus cards to WSCA!!
PLEASE NOTE:
You DO NOT need to re-register your card if your school selection(s) remains the same as last year.
This does not personally affect your own bonus/gas point etc.
To participate:
- Visit www.giantfoodstores.com and select Savings & Rewards.
- Follow the prompts to create your online account if you do not already have one. You’ll need your 11-digit BONUSCARD® number and the School ID #
To earn points:
- Use your registered BONUSCARD® each time you shop at Giant, and you will earn CASH for our school. You can track the number of points you are earning for our school by checking your grocery receipt.
- At the end of each month, your points are calculated and converted to CASH rewards. These CASH rewards for our school are updated monthly.
- Our school will receive one CASH awards check at the end of the program.
Call for Cola-Thank you!
Parent Meeting
Vision Therapy Lecture
We invite all PreK-12th grade parents to attend this insightful presentation: "Understanding How Vision Disorders Interfere with Reading, Learning, Motivation, and Self-Esteem" presented by Dr. Craig Henry. Even with 20/20 eyesight, undiagnosed eye coordination and eye movement problems can interfere with learning and reading. If you attend the event, your child qualifies for a FREE learning-related vision screening, to be held at WSCA in the future. Mrs. VanHart and Mr. Shirvinski can testify to the difference vision therapy has made in their families. RSVP to Mrs. VanHart at lvanhart@westshorechristian.org. No children at the lecture, please.
Save the Date!
Save the date for the Annual CSAGH Association Meeting to be held at 7 PM on January 22 at Harrisburg Christian School’s Fine Arts Center (2000 Blue Mountain Parkway, Harrisburg, PA 17112).
This meeting will provide updates on the CSAGH Strategic Plan, review of CSAGH’s Financial Plan and Tuition Schedules for 2018-2019, and the election of new CSAGH Board Members. For information about CSAGH’s Board of Directors and Board Code of Conduct please go to either of the following links:
WSCA: http://westshorechristian.org/about/csagh-board-constitution-requirement-code-of-conduct
All Board nominations are due by Tues., Oct. 31 to CSAGH Board President Jon Bassoff via email at jbassoff@harrisburgchristian.com. Board nominees must complete the CSAGH Board Application, be an active member in either school community and be approved as a nominee by the current Board of Directors.
The CSAGH Board of Directors looks forward to seeing you January 22!
Volunteers Needed for Musical
Get your 2017-2018 Ski Roundtop Club Card!
Attention All Skiers and Snowboarders! We are offering the Roundtop Resort Night Club Card for all students, parents, and alumni. This card can be purchased online at www.skiroundtop.com click passes/cards and then click night club card. You will then select purchase online. Our user name is 4716 and password is wsca Registration is now open and early bird discounts will apply until November 7th at Midnight. Then the rates for the club card will increase. You can purchase the following items through our group. Night Club Card, NCC Night Season Pass, 4 Visit Cards, or Season Passes. The details about all of those option can be located online. Please feel free to email me with any questions. Jen Cornetto jcornetto@westshorechristian.org.
Hope to see you on the mountain!
College Financial Aid Seminars
If you think college classes are difficult, try understanding the financial end of it, including the FAFSA! But it's more manageable if you have a little bit of help. For those families who live in the Cumberland Valley School District, CV High School is hosting a FAFSA presentation on November 10 at 7 PM.
SAT/ACT Registration Dates:
West Shore Christian Academy
Email: info@westshorechristian.org
Website: www.westshorechristian.org
Location: 201 West Main Street, Shiremanstown, PA, United States
Phone: 717.737.3550
Facebook: www.facebook.com/westshorechristian
Twitter: @WSCA1