Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
For this month’s instalment, let’s let Scripture speak to us about what RELIANCE ON GOD’S RESOURCES, especially His Spirit looks like. The verse is 1 Corinthians 2:12: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” What stands out as I read that is “freely given.” Usually things given for free are suspect. There’s the saying, “There’s no free lunch.” Other free things can leave us with gaping mouths; we are amazed that such a gift would be given–no strings attached! That may be a Christmas gift, or a generous donation in a time of need, or the intangible gift of love. In this case, we are being assured that believers have been given something more amazing than a tangible gift. The gift is “the Spirit Who is from God.” This is talking about a Person, not a small “s” spirit, like an attitude. May I make the analogy to the fuel in a rocket? The Spirit Who is from God is such an important part of a believer’s strength! It is the fuel, the power, the Person behind an effective fruitful Christian life! Without It, we are just noise-makers!
For this month’s instalment, let’s let Scripture speak to us about what RELIANCE ON GOD’S RESOURCES, especially His Spirit looks like. The verse is 1 Corinthians 2:12: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” What stands out as I read that is “freely given.” Usually things given for free are suspect. There’s the saying, “There’s no free lunch.” Other free things can leave us with gaping mouths; we are amazed that such a gift would be given–no strings attached! That may be a Christmas gift, or a generous donation in a time of need, or the intangible gift of love. In this case, we are being assured that believers have been given something more amazing than a tangible gift. The gift is “the Spirit Who is from God.” This is talking about a Person, not a small “s” spirit, like an attitude. May I make the analogy to the fuel in a rocket? The Spirit Who is from God is such an important part of a believer’s strength! It is the fuel, the power, the Person behind an effective fruitful Christian life! Without It, we are just noise-makers!
Later this month, in our Weekly News, we will consider the value of Christian day school in fostering lifelong learning: Lessons are given in a fun and exciting way that encourages children to be effective learners. A thirst for learning takes root in Kindergarten at ACCS and is nurtured all the way through to Grade 8. That is a great validation of your investment into Christian Education for your children!
Have you been following trends in education? Maybe you’ve heard of this one: Gamification & Game-Based Learning. The definition of gamification is the application of game-like mechanics to non-game entities to encourage a specific behaviour. Gamification is not game-based learning, nor does it require students to play games, with toys, use electronics. It also doesn’t necessarily require you to create elaborate systems of experience points, unlocks, and badges (though you could). When does it make sense to use? 1) To encourage a specific response or behaviour. 2) To increase the visibility and perceived importance of otherwise “minor” and less visible actions. 3) To promote competition; to engage students. 4) To help students track their own progress. Gamification is first and foremost about encouragement mechanics and the system that promotes them, while game-based learning is first and foremost about the game and its cognitive residue (whether from the game’s content, or academic content). They both can lead to content mastery, but neither are expressly designed for classroom use—which is why, done well, your students will probably like them.
Ask your clever young kids this: Can you get a sum of 99 by using all numbers (0-9) and only one mathematical symbol? (solution below) … And, did you know? Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” are the most replicated paintings of all time?
Your fellow-labourer in education,
Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal
PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this in our Weekly News and we thought we should pass it on to you here too. Christian Schools are Places of Belonging. Christian schools are asking of themselves, “Who is not here, that should be here?” In particular, there is a thirst for including students with a whole range of socio-economic backgrounds and special needs into the communities that our schools embody. This isn’t just about having students with special needs in the building, but still separated from the rest of the student body and the social life of the schools. This is about learning and living together. It is about growing and knowing together. The Christian School Foundation is supporting this by first funding research and information gathering, and then providing financial resources so that our schools can put what they learn into practice. If you share the vision of never seeing a family turned away because of a fear of their special needs; if you share a vision that sees every student with a daily opportunity to learn with and from their friends who may have differences, we’d love to hear from you.
Solution: 9+8+7+65+4+3+2+1+0