calvary chronicle june 2013

6
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?” Translaon, 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 paent and kind and tells funny stories.” — Logan Puryear, 4th “Translaon. It’s fun to find out what each word means. Somemes I even speak Lan at the dinner table!” —Benne Soles, 5th It is part of our vision at CCS to offer families a complete classical Chrisan educaon consisng of the enre 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 facilies to support extra classes, professional administrave offices, ample storage, and other co-curricular acvies. 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 informaon, our past fundraising success, and a special secon 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 Newsleer. - Anthony Narkawicz

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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.

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Page 1: Calvary Chronicle June 2013

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

Page 2: Calvary Chronicle June 2013

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.”

Page 3: Calvary Chronicle June 2013

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

Page 4: Calvary Chronicle June 2013

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

Page 5: Calvary Chronicle June 2013

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?

Page 6: Calvary Chronicle June 2013

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