calvary chronicle june 2013
DESCRIPTION
This issue features mini-interviews with students about their experience learning Latin, an update on the Capital Campaign, a warning against the dangers of "busyness," and a book review about classical education.TRANSCRIPT
Calvary Chronicle A Publication of Calvary Classical School
Capital Campaign Update
Sound-off! Our students answer the question…
“What’s your favorite part about learning Latin?”
“ Translation, because I like
grammar.”—Ava Smith, 3rd
“I think it’s cool at this age
that you get to learn another
language.” —Abbie Arthur, 4th
“Mr. Mitzel. He’s a good teacher.
He’s patient and kind and tells funny
stories.” — Logan Puryear, 4th
“Translation. It’s fun to find out what
each word means. Sometimes I even
speak Latin at the dinner table!”
—Bennett Soles, 5th
It is part of our vision at CCS to offer families a complete classical Christian education consisting of the
entire Trivium, including seventh and eighth grade classrooms. As you may know, the Capital Campaign is
our fundraising drive to achieve the goals of having permanent facilities to support extra classes,
professional administrative offices, ample storage, and other co-curricular activities. The Capital Campaign
is in its second year, and it is now possible to donate directly online. CCS has a new school website, and the
Capital Campaign is highlighted on the site, including background information, our past fundraising
success, and a special section of the site where friends of CCS can donate. It is our hope that those in the
CCS community will take this fundraising project on as their own and will encourage others to join our list
of supporters and sign up for the Capital Campaign Online Newsletter. - Anthony Narkawicz
Classical Education Book Review Classical Education, The Movement Sweeping America by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. and Andrew Kern
Apparently our great little school is part of a
great big “movement.” I knew I loved our
school’s teachers and curriculum, but this book
opened my eyes to what is driving what I love
and taught me much I didn’t know about
modern and classical education techniques.
Gene Veith and Andrew Kern propose that
great education must be both intellectually
stimulating and morally disciplined. It should
foster the intellectual and creative powers of our
children while making them good citizens. If we
do classical education right, it will be
conservative in honoring past
achievement and defending
permanent values. Plus, it will
be radical in welcoming
creativity and individuality
and in encouraging new
discoveries. This book
examines six modern examples of schools that
are “doing” classical education. It then takes a
look at higher education and the option of
classical training at that stage.
The authors begin by comparing the classical
methods with contemporary educational theory.
In many of today’s schools, learning is being
separated from knowledge. For instance,
students create art rather than being taught to
appreciate it. They conduct experiments rather
than understand what scientists have discovered
and what led to those discoveries. Overall, there
is a continuing reduction of human knowledge
and morality because of our culture’s relativism.
(Relativism is the concept that points of view
have no absolute truth or validity.) This opposes
the more classical (and Christian) idea that there
is truth and knowledge for educators to draw
from and teach. So, we can literally “know”
truth, can teach our kids right from wrong, and
then that understanding can affect every subject
area of their education.
From this beginning, the book takes us through
an excellent tutorial on what Classical Education
really entails, examining what the education
experience would have been in the Middle Ages.
Back then, a comprehensive liberal arts program
began with the Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric
stages (the Trivium we model at CCS). From there
it moved to math, music,
astronomy, and geometry. Once
these were mastered, the
student could study the natural,
moral, and theological sciences.
This Trivium style is the universal
paradigm for learning. In other
words, it accounts for what education is supposed
to do: Factual knowledge is useless without
understanding. In turn, knowledge and
understanding mean little unless they can be
expressed and applied.
Pointing out that this classical education theory
worked for big names like Archimedes, Dante,
Newton, Burke, and Jefferson, the authors
proceed to the six modern models of the classical
school approach. If you’re wondering what you
got your child into, this book is an excellent
resource, and you’ll better understand what your
child is doing and why. If you’ve wished you could
better explain to others what classical education
is, here’s the book for you.
Bekah Lawing is a former CCS logic teacher and
K4 aide, and mom to two CCS students.
June 2013 Page 2
“Great education must be both intellectually
stimulating and morally disciplined.”
Honor Roll
All A’s
Makenzie Crosby
Ethan Guynn
Samantha Hope
Josiah Hughes
Jocelyn Hurst
Elijah Martinez
Matthew McCoy
Lauryn Mericle
Kaitlyn Parker
Wyatt Puryear
Alexis Sava
Bennett Soles
Ava Smith
Benjamin Yeh
Joshua Yi
A/B
Will Arthur
Abigail Emerson
Adam Flowers
Neelie Harris
Dylan Henley
Polly Hughes
Hannah Kurowski
Abigail Leyva
Derrick Matheny
Joshua McCloud
Emily Mericle
Kyle Nester
Amy O’Halloran
Logan Puryear
Sophia Puryear
Rebekah Schwenk
Justin Yi
H ave you seen the new CCS website? During the school year, families can use
the site to easily access the Community Bulletin each week, download hot
lunch and medical forms, and refer to the Family and Student Handbook. Don’t
forget to check it out this summer for school supply lists! Principal Lori Rogers
doesn’t want visitors to miss out on CCS’s other major web presence—Facebook.
“Facebook is where we really shine [as a school] online,” she commented. “People
can take a virtual tour of our classrooms and see our day-to-day culture there.”
The website’s various pages are peppered with prominent links to CCS’s Facebook
and Twitter feed.
Another resource recently added to the website is an introduction on Classical
Christian Education. “It isn’t possible to sum up CCE into a soundbyte form, but it is
important to give a thorough introduction to what we do here at CCS,” Mrs. Rogers
continued. Rebekah Lawing, CCS parent and regular contributor to the Chronicles,
notes that many people are glad for the education CCS provides but may not be
well-versed in what sets CCE apart from other education philosophies. This
introduction includes links to other articles about CCE for further reading.
Keep checking back for new features (we hear a principal’s blog is in the works)!
The Capital Campaign’s section on the new site includes an online donation feature
and a link to sign up for the Capital Campaign Newsletter. We are delighted to see
how the Lord will bless CCS in our efforts and are thankful for new tools to assist
us.
Visit us online at www.calvaryclassical.org.
CCS Website Gets a New Look
June 2013 Page 3
Are We
Dangerously
Busy?
So, what have you been doing with all your extra
time? Like me, maybe you’ve noticed you don’t
spend a lot of time sitting around, and neither do
your kids. Just like the margins in a book, our
personal calendars must have set limits or we’ll
run right off the page.
In December, Pastor Kevin DeYoung of University
Reformed Church in Michigan blogged a three part
series on the Dangers of Being Crazy Busy*. These
were short but helpful discussions of how
busyness can affect our joy, our hearts, and
possibly even our souls. I really connected with
his discussion of joy since I’m a big fan of that. “…
Busyness can ruin our joy….As Christians, our lives
should be marked by joy (Phil. 4:4), taste like joy
(Gal. 5:22) and be filled with the fullness of joy
(John 15:11). Busyness attacks all that.” I
understood that right away and have felt the
attack. However, the more subtle attack may be
on our spiritual growth. DeYoung writes, “The
seed of God’s Word won’t grow to fruitfulness
without pruning for rest, quiet, and calm.”
I’d have to say that most of the things I plan for
my kids are things I hope will bring them joy,
whether now or at least in the future. They’re in a
great school because I hope it instills the joy of
learning for their whole lives. They’re participating
in sports because it’s fun. They do music because
maybe one day that will be joyful (although the
work of practicing may not be joyful right now).
These activity choices innately produce travel time,
waiting time, and lots of time away from home. To
quote DeYoung, “There is no doubt when our lives
are frantic and frenzied we are more prone to
anxiety, resentment, impatience, and irritability.”
Well, that certainly reminds me of me, but what
about the kids? These attitudes are anything but
restful, quiet, and calming. Our goal must be to
keep our schedules within their appropriate
margins and model for our children the activity
level that allows for a great appreciation of the
peace that passes all understanding.
Summer has just arrived, and for the second year in
a row, I’ve decided to work on doing nothing. Well,
we’ll swim and travel and play, but we’ll also do
nothing sometimes. And during that down time,
we’ll work on the most important stuff – loving the
Lord and relishing the peace and quiet He can give
our hearts as we rest in Him. One day when my kids
finish graduate school and are professional sport
stars or musicians, I’d love them to already be in the
habit of being quiet with God. Modeling this now
should teach my kids how to do the same – and give
my heart and soul the peace and rest it craves.
Bekah Lawing is a former CCS logic teacher and
mom to two CCS students. She is a frequent
contributor to the Chronicles.
*You can read Kevin DeYoung’s series on the
Dangers of Being Crazy Busy at
www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung.
June 2013 Page 4
June 2013 Page 5
The sixth graders memorized Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs & Ham in Latin for their assembly and Lewis
Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” translated into Latin for Grandparents Day.
The Chronicles Staff met with them and asked them a few questions...
“My favorite part about Latin is being
able to speak it. The words are fun to
say. [Thanks to Latin,] I can figure out
words in books if I don’t know what
they mean. If you want to learn
another language, go for it.“ - Wyatt
Puryear
“It’s really interesting how the
Romans used to speak. [Learning
Latin] helps you with pronunciation in
English and other languages….My
advice is to study hard, pay attention,
and do your best.” - Will Arthur
“Pay attention in the beginning when
you learn about principal parts, or else
translation later is difficult. Also,
memorize even the easy words or you’ll
start to forget them.” - Nathan Flowers
“Don’t fall behind on your study
record. Hang on for advanced
translation. The further you go into the
year, the more complicated
[translations] get, but then it’s more
fun. Practice the easy translations so
you can do the hard ones. ” - Joshua
McCloud
Regular Latin Scholars
Photos by Mere Reflections Photography
What advice
would you give
to rising third
graders as they
start studying
Latin at CCS?
What was your
favorite part
about studying
Latin?
Calvary Classical School 403 Whealton Road
Hampton, VA 23666 757.262.0062
Calvary Classical School exists to assist
parents in fulfilling their covenantal duty
to educate their children by offering a
Christian, classical, and biblically-
integrated curriculum, resulting in
students who think and learn
independently for the glory of God.
Christ-Centered
Rigorous Academics
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID Hampton, VA
PERMIT NO.
237
Upcoming Events
August 10—Volunteer Clean-Up Day with Breakfast
August 15—New Family Orientation, CCSA Meeting, and
Meet Your Teacher Night
August 19—First day of classes
September 2—Labor Day, School Closed
September 10—Parents’ Night as CCS
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED