Upper School Newsletter
September 18, 2017
Dates to Remember:
September 20 - Hurricane Harvey Dress Down Day
September 22 - Box Tops for Education Due
September 27 - CSAGH See You at the Pole, 7AM Revised Date
September 28 - Spain/Italy Informational Meeting, S202, 7PM
September 30 - Homecoming Weekend
October 6 - In-Service Day, NO SCHOOL
October 9 - Columbus Day, NO SCHOOL
Upcoming Sports:
Monday, September 18th
4:30PM Girls Varsity Soccer Game vs. Camp Hill
6PM JV Volleyball @Hanover High School
6:30PM Boys Varsity Soccer Game @Camp Hill High School
7PM Varsity Volleyball Game @Hanover High School
Tuesday, September 19th
4PM Girls Varsity Soccer Game vs. Linden Hall
4PM Boys MS Soccer Game @Harrisburg Christian School
4:30PM Cross Country Meet @Northern High School
6PM Varsity Volleyball Game @Berks Christian School
Thursday, September 21st
3:30PM Boys MS Soccer Game vs. Christian School of York
4PM MS Volleyball Game vs. Dayspring Christian School
4:45PM Girls Varsity Soccer Game vs. Lancaster County Christian
Friday, September 22nd
3:30PM Boys MS Soccer Game vs. Harrisburg Christian School
4PM MS Volleyball Game @Manheim Christian Day School
4:45PM Boys Varsity Soccer vs. Covenant Christian Academy
6PM Varsity Volleyball Game vs. Covenant Christian Academy
Saturday, September 23rd
10:45AM Boys JV Soccer Game vs. Antietam
12PM Boys Varsity Soccer Game vs. Antietam
Monday, September 25th
4PM Girls Varsity Soccer Game vs. Mount Calvary Christian
4PM MS Volleyball Game @Christian School of York
4:30PM Boys Varsity Soccer Game @Hempfield Brethren in Christ Church
6PM Varsity Volleball Game @Dayspring Christian Academy
From the Principal's Desk:
Why Are We Here?
Two weeks ago in chapel, I decided to indulge the students’ curiosity and allow them to conduct a brief question and answer session with their upper school principal, yours truly. The questions ranged from the trivial, “How many ties do you own and do you ever wear one in the same week?” to the more serious, “Why do we have a dress code?” One question, however, stood out to me, “Why don’t we have chapels every day?” The question drew some laughs of incredulity from the audience, but I quickly stopped the laughs. I told the students I thought the essence of the question got at an extremely important and fundamental aspect of the Christian life: we should live every moment of every day as an act of worship to God.
We often mistakenly think that we can or should worship God only when we are in church or chapel. We tell ourselves, “If there isn’t a pastor or praise band in front of me then I’m not worshipping God.” The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 10:31 disagrees. “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (Sorry, ESVers, I memorized it as a child in the NIV.) Our students could say, “Whether I’m in math class or on the soccer field, do it all for the glory of God.” Our theme passage this year is Romans 12. Paul probably shocked his readers when he wrote that they were to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to God. By referring to the core of Old Testament worship, the sacrificial system, Paul tells us that our entire lives should be an act of worship to God.
I do not know who asked me that question about having chapel every day. If they were crying out for more worship to God each day, I could not agree more. But if we find ourselves thinking God can only be worshiped in a church, we are forgetting he can be worshiped in how we take that English test we are worried about next Friday.
School Culture Update
I am sure your thoughts and prayers over the last few weeks have been with the hurricane victims in Texas and Florida. I imagine that all of us have close friends and family that have been affected. In order to show our solidarity with our school’s “close relatives,” we are sponsoring a dress down fundraiser this Wednesday, September 20th for Christian schools affected by the hurricanes.
As students plan to pay at least two dollars to dress down, I wanted to share a few guidelines regarding the attire for that day. The following guidelines have been shared twice with your students in homeroom.
- This is a general Dress Down Day, so WSCA Spirit Wear is not required.
- Dress Down Day attire should abide by the objectives of the Dress Code- modesty and moderation, neatness and cleanliness, community and conformity.
- If jeans are worn, they are to be of a consistent color (no bleach or paint spots) and are not to be frayed, torn, or have holes in them.
- Sweatpants are permitted but are not to be frayed, torn, or have holes in them.
- No athletic shorts are permitted.
- Non-athletic shorts may be worn, but they must come down to the knee.
- Students are not permitted to wear spandex type or tightly fitting pants.
- Students are not permitted to wear tightly fitted shirts.
- Shirts must have sleeves and are not to expose the torso or be sheer (see through).
- Girls are permitted to wear dresses, but they must have sleeves and be knee-length or longer. Dresses with long slits are not to be worn.
- Students may not wear clothing with logos that contain or promote ungodly themes.
- All shoes, “head gear,” and jewelry policies as stipulated for regular dress code days will apply to Dress Down Days.
I hope our students’ excitement about this dress down day is matched by their enthusiasm to help fellow Christian schools that have been devastated by these storms. May God be honored by our giving back to Him what He has given us!
National Merit Scholars Announced
It is with the greatest pleasure and honor that we announce Reagan Werner, class of 2018, has been named a National Merit Scholar. This extremely prestigious title based on a student’s PSAT scores is given to only 16,000 students nationwide. This honor will qualify Reagan for further scholarships and awards. Reagan is the fifteenth student in our school’s history (and the first since 2010) to receive this award. Congratulations, Reagan, we are very proud of your academic achievement!
Spain and Italy Educational Tour
The Spanish department is taking an educational trip to Spain and Italy in March 2019. There will be an informational meeting to explain all of the trip details on Thursday, September 28 at 7:00 in Mrs. Hartshorn’s room – S202. Come out and see what all of the excitement is about! Hope to see you there!
Hurricane Harvey Relief
Will you join ACSI in standing with our fellow Christian educators in their hour of need? Please consider donating today. All funds raised will be used to help Christian schools affected by Hurricane Harvey. Teachers will collect money the morning of September 20.
Students have been reminded that this Dress Down Day’s purpose is to raise money for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The purpose is not to push the boundaries of modesty and moderation. The following stipulations have been shared with the students in homeroom. I very much hope we can enjoy dressing down while we help the victims of these two hurricanes!
Dress Down Day Wednesday, 9/20 Stipulations:
- This is a general Dress Down Day, so WSCA Spirit Wear is not required.
- If jeans or sweatpants are worn, they are to be of a consistent color (no bleach or paint spots) and are not to be frayed, torn, or have holes in them.
- No athletic shorts are permitted.
- Students are not permitted to wear spandex type or tightly fitting pants.
- Students are not permitted to wear tightly fitted shirts.
- Shirts must have sleeves and are not to expose the torso or be sheer (see-through).
- Girls are permitted to wear dresses, but they must have sleeves and be knee-length or longer. Dresses with long slits are not to be worn.
- Students may not wear clothing with logos that contain or promote ungodly themes.
- All shoes, “head gear,” and jewelry policies as stipulated for regular dress code days will apply to Dress Down Days.
PSAT/NMSQ & PSAT Information
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 Financial Aid Night on September 26 at 7 PM. Their FAFSA presentation is on November 10, also at 7 PM.
Mechanicsburg School District families may attend Mechanicsburg High School's Financial Aid Night September 25 at 6 PM.
SAT/ACT Registration Dates:
CATS Prayer Team
Are You a WSCA Parent? - Then welcome to the CATS Parents Prayer Team! We consider you a member. :) 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.)
Another way in which we'd love for you to be involved is to join with other parents in prayer for our school on Wednesday 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 Wednesday 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 .
Please feel free to pass this on to others who want to keep WSCA in prayer as well - grandparents, relatives, friends... :)
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