Last Friday I had the pleasure of accompanying several elementary and middle school students to the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools Jr. Fine Arts Competition. There were over 200 young people from schools throughout Region 7 who came to participate. Several more students submitted art work, crafts, sculptures, and other visual arts. The atmosphere was electric as young people streamed into the rooms to perform their numbers. The hallways were abuzz as the visual arts display impressed each visitor.
SHCA was well-represented at the awards ceremony. Each young person performed very well and received high marks from the judges, which reflects the hard work of the participant as well as the instruction by their teachers. The music, speech, and art were all a delight to their audiences. For most of the students this was the first time they had competed in anything like this, so the fact that we have so many who have advanced to state is quite impressive.
Even more impressive than the number of awards we brought home was the student's behavior. All day they stayed with their assigned adults and were on-time to all of their events. In fact, many of the events got started early due to their diligence. Each student was an absolute delight to have along! Thank you, parents, for allowing them to participate and learn through this exciting experience and for training your children to be so respectful.
A special thanks to Ms. Prichard, Mrs. Lopez, and Mrs. McNeely for working with each one to prepare them for the competition. Your investment in young talent will pay big dividends as they continue to develop in the days and years ahead. Thanks for giving them the opportunity to discover their talents!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Main Thing
If I may borrow from reputed author Steven Covey, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." This thought is especially relevant at this time of the year. Let's look at this within a couple of important aspects of school life.
The first is for students (and faculty!). In looking back over the school year we all realize that it has been a very busy year so far. And now we look over our calendars and see that there are only a few more weeks of school left, so it's tempting to take ourselves out of "Drive" and shift into "Neutral" to coast to the end of the year. For all of us, let's keep the main thing the main thing and finish this school year strong academically. Make sure you can look back at this year with no regrets.
The second aspect is for parents (and perhaps students). Education is important for all of us, but not all education is the same. So what is it that distinguishes SHCA from other schools? Beyond excellent academics and caring teachers, the spiritual dimension is integrated into every subject. With weekly chapel services, daily Bible classes, and Christian curricula for the academic subjects SHCA remains committed to providing a quality education within a Christian environment. We will continue to keep the main thing the main thing. I trust that you, the parents, will continue to keep the Christian aspect of your child's education your main focus.
The first is for students (and faculty!). In looking back over the school year we all realize that it has been a very busy year so far. And now we look over our calendars and see that there are only a few more weeks of school left, so it's tempting to take ourselves out of "Drive" and shift into "Neutral" to coast to the end of the year. For all of us, let's keep the main thing the main thing and finish this school year strong academically. Make sure you can look back at this year with no regrets.
The second aspect is for parents (and perhaps students). Education is important for all of us, but not all education is the same. So what is it that distinguishes SHCA from other schools? Beyond excellent academics and caring teachers, the spiritual dimension is integrated into every subject. With weekly chapel services, daily Bible classes, and Christian curricula for the academic subjects SHCA remains committed to providing a quality education within a Christian environment. We will continue to keep the main thing the main thing. I trust that you, the parents, will continue to keep the Christian aspect of your child's education your main focus.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Enjoying Some R & R!
Well, my schedule is off this week so I'm just updating the blog. It's Wednesday of Easter Break, and so far I've been fishing twice and still got my taxes finished! Taxes are nothing exciting, so I'll talk about fishing for a bit.
It doesn't take a meterologist to know that this has been a very cold winter, which translates into "no fishing" for those of us with limited time. With the spring weather here and school out for a week it was high time to revisit some of the old fishing spots. Or to find new ones. It really didn't matter to me. I was just happy to have some time on the water again with my dad. You see, my dad and I have been fishing buddies for over 17 years now and have a lot of great memories of times together.
We started the day rather leisurely. We didn't even get to the water until about 9:00. The perfect start to vacation! After trying a few spots with no success we focused on a part of the map that was new to us. The large area of grass made a perfect haven for the sea trout. The water's still too cold for the redfish, so it's a trout outing today. And here we stayed the rest of the day. Though most of them were slightly short of legal, we caught over 20 trout, not counting any other species we might have happened upon (Amber Jack, Blowfish, Porgie, etc.).
Now that my daughter is getting old enough to enjoy some smaller excursions, Mrs. Willis and I have enjoyed some time together with her on the water as well. She loves to see the various forms of wildlife we encounter, but my guess is the dolphins thrill her the most. Of course, nothing takes the place of feeling the weight of a fish on the other end of the fishing line!
Someone has said that a fisherman is a jerk on one end of the line waiting for a jerk on the other end. While I don't want to completely identify with that statement, I must admit that I love to fish.
It relieves stress, clears the head, and provides a change of scenery. But most of all, it gives me a way to spend some fun time with the ones I love the most.
It doesn't take a meterologist to know that this has been a very cold winter, which translates into "no fishing" for those of us with limited time. With the spring weather here and school out for a week it was high time to revisit some of the old fishing spots. Or to find new ones. It really didn't matter to me. I was just happy to have some time on the water again with my dad. You see, my dad and I have been fishing buddies for over 17 years now and have a lot of great memories of times together.
We started the day rather leisurely. We didn't even get to the water until about 9:00. The perfect start to vacation! After trying a few spots with no success we focused on a part of the map that was new to us. The large area of grass made a perfect haven for the sea trout. The water's still too cold for the redfish, so it's a trout outing today. And here we stayed the rest of the day. Though most of them were slightly short of legal, we caught over 20 trout, not counting any other species we might have happened upon (Amber Jack, Blowfish, Porgie, etc.).
 |
| Quincee with one of her prize catches! |
Someone has said that a fisherman is a jerk on one end of the line waiting for a jerk on the other end. While I don't want to completely identify with that statement, I must admit that I love to fish.
It relieves stress, clears the head, and provides a change of scenery. But most of all, it gives me a way to spend some fun time with the ones I love the most.
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