“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.” - Arthur Ashe

For the past few years, third-grade teacher, Miss Betori, has been taking her students on an “Others-Focused” field trip to the Feed My Starving Children organization. It is a mission-driven facility that uses volunteer manpower to package food which is then sent to underprivileged people around the world.

Taking her students is, “My favorite trip of the year,” says Betori. “The whole day is about other people. We come together as a class and serve those less fortunate. We put aside our differences to work as a well-oiled machine, cranking out as many meals as we can in a 90-minute session. We put on hair nets, take silly pictures, and have fun working together to further God’s kingdom. It’s a trip both the kids and I look forward to; the day is always a blessing.”

When I was a little girl, I’ll never forget that every time I was feeling low, my mom told me to, “Get out and volunteer.” From soup kitchens to visiting quadriplegics in the hospital, the act of service was always such a blessing to me. I remember telling her that I felt selfish, because I was supposed to be thinking of others, but helping people just made me feel so good. “That’s the whole point,” she would say. “God is using you the way you’re meant to be used, and following His plan for your life feels good.” It’s like my soul was in communion with the purpose of life … to love one another.

Mother Theresa once said, “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” It has been my experience here at Westlake, that Miss Betori is a part of the rule, not the exception. This is a cultural norm here, to give, and to be blessed by giving. From the kids who reach across the lunch table to share half of what they have with the friend who didn’t have so much, to the child who chose to spend his recess sitting out on the stairs with a friend who was injured, and couldn’t play … the spirit of Christ’s serving heart is alive and strong, and it beats with a rhythm sweet and true. Thanking God for the melodious minds that are humming the tune of service and salvation in these … our own hallowed halls.

- Mrs. Harris
5th Grade Teacher

This week, as I focus on mentally preparing for Thanksgiving, I found myself in a delicious conversation with Mrs. Anna Taylor who has been teaching first grade here for the last 13 years. She was telling me about a wonderful unit on the Pilgrim’s Journey to America on the Mayflower.

This multidisciplinary unit involves: reading about pilgrims, journaling about their journeys, illustrating the voyage, creating Wampum bead necklaces, writing Thanksgiving comparative papers, and playing a Native American stick game that involves mathematical concepts. Mrs. Taylor shared that they have even been playing Pilgrims on the playground at recess! Needless to say, I was very impressed.

Inspired as I was, what affected me the most in our conversation was hearing the purity in Mrs. Taylor’s thankful heart. She told me that she was wandering her room, giving encouragement to the kids on the quality of their journals, (a pretty routine practice). When she said, “Oh, that’s lovely,” to one student, the little girl (Ellie Adkins) stood up with a look of bewildered appreciation.

“Thank you SO much Mrs. Taylor,” she said excitedly, amazed that HER art and work was praised.

Mrs. Taylor then told me that she was led to pause, as God lavished her with a sense of love and rapt appreciation for these little lives she has the blessing to teach. Her revelation made me think of Henry David Thoreau who once said, “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”

This Thanksgiving, I pray that our hearts reflect the same love and thankfulness as Anna Taylor’s. I pray that we find joy in ordinary circumstances, and that our joy will transform our lives into continuous moments of thankfulness.

Here are just a few precious comments from Mrs. Taylor’s little Pilgrims. I hope they bring you smiles, and make you (like me) ever-so-thankful, for teachers like Mrs. Taylor, and places like Westlake.

Out of the Mouths of Pilgrims:
* “I would be sad to be a pilgrim, because more than half of them died on the trip, and my grandpa died, and I know I felt sad.”
* “My favorite part so far is when they landed in America because I’d be excited to GET OFF THE SHIP!”
* “I liked the picture that showed the lady covering her eyes, because she was embarrassed that the Native Americans didn’t have much clothes on. I would be embarrassed too!”
* “I liked when they made a new friend that could speak their language!” (Squanto)
* “My favorite part was when they all became friends.”
* “I liked the part about building houses because I like construction!”

- Raquel Harris
Fifth Grade Teacher

I always think it’s dumb when I hear people say something is “the new” something else. Like, “Pink is the new black,” or “30 is the new 40.” It never makes any sense to me. However, I will concede that while I don’t believe in re-naming things that still exist … there is a trend in education to recycle old ideas and call them new. One of the biggest fads is called “Makerspace.” It is the idea of creating a communal space where people are able to use: tools, materials, education and technology to create projects. Forgive me, but isn’t that just called school?

American author Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “We are students of words: we are shut up in schools, and colleges, and recitation -rooms, for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words, and do not know a thing.” And you know what? In some schools, in some classrooms, I would agree. But not here at Westlake. From my experience (both inside and outside) I have observed that Westlake is not a bandwagon school, but a branch of Christ-centered, wholistic, deep-thinking, problem-solving educators, educating with hands-on, minds-active, multi-intelligent-driven activities and lessons. Technology is infused applicably, and crayons, scissors, and paper-based projects are equally balanced to reach every learner, every day. This is not a buzz-word, fad-forward place of learning … this is an institution dedicated to expressing Christ through wisdom, action, and intelligence.

Just a few weeks ago, Mrs. Ptasienski, the 4th grade teacher here, had her students create an animal-themed book report that took the shape of their creature. Besides the hands-on element, there was study they were required to research, there were verbal speech deliveries, written-facts of various categories, and question and answer sessions that prompted higher level thinking. Mrs. Ptasienski herself said, “I couldn’t believe how much I learned!” Students needed to literally tap into almost every facet of what might now be needed in a Makerspace situation. I think Westlake is famous for this. For joining old and new ideas, blending and forming them into something beautiful for your child’s educational experience.

So I ask you to consider telling your friends, your church, your neighbors all about Westlake, about the kind of one-on-one quality projects and lessons that infuse Biblical understanding into real-world application of knowledge. What might it take to have Westlake make more space for more kids to enjoy this kind of quality education? Who knows? Maybe we can even start our own new buzz phrase … Westlake is the new School of choice.

Yours,

Raquel Harris
5th Grade Teacher

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

In my 25 years of teaching children, it just might be an understatement to say that I have had many opportunities to engage in the ministry of reconciliation. The need for reconciliation is the same no matter where or who I teach. However, it has been only the past eight years that I have been able to do it openly and with the freedom of full expression. Being a teacher at Westlake Christian Academy has allowed me to freely pray with my students and bring the Word of God into all aspects of my relationships with my students and our daily lives without restriction. Blessings upon blessings!

A few weeks ago, I had a very real opportunity to bring the ministry of reconciliation to a couple of students in my class. It all started with an email from a mom. “Mrs. Coombe, my son is upset about something that happened at school. Can we come in and speak with you?” My heart sank at the thought that one of our new students was struggling enough for his mom to get into contact with me. I immediately started to pray for my student, for his mom, and for the other boy who was involved.

When “Peter” and him mom and I met together the next morning, he shared with me that a boy whom he thought was his friend had said a couple of hurtful things to him. As he shared his heart with me I was again in prayer for wisdom and sensitivity. “Lord, please help me to infuse the gospel into this situation.” I explained to “Peter” and his mom the way I would like to handle things and they agreed.

As the school day started, I asked “Chris” to join me in the hallway. As I started to explain the situation, “Chris” immediately hung his head and admitted that he had said what was reported. I asked him if he would have been hurt if someone had said that to him and he agreed that he would. I asked him if he’d like to apologize to “Peter” and he immediately responded with a yes. As he apologized to “Peter” tears started rolling down his face. I asked him if he was crying because he thought he was in trouble, and he shook his head in a no. Was it because he felt bad that he had hurt his friend? He nodded his head yes this time.

God provided an opportunity to explain that we all sin and we all say hurtful things sometimes. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all deserve punishment and death. What a wonderful thing it is to have salvation and forgiveness through our Savior Jesus. We are able to love and forgive each other because God has loved and forgiven us. We are given an endless number of chances with God, and it is a blessing to give many, many chances to each other. We experienced a sweet time of reconciliation, prayer, and forgiveness together.

Our God is a God of reconciliation. He passes this ministry of reconciliation on to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. I praise God that He has led me to be a part of a school that honors and encourages this ministry

- Paula Coombe
6th Grade Teacher

I once heard someone say that the Greek culture didn’t deliver eulogies when a person died. They simply asked the question, “Did he live with passion.” I think there is something really beautiful about the power packed within that one, seemingly simple question. As educators, especially of younger people, we are constantly pulled in a thousand directions, and it makes it difficult to always have the deep, meaningful conversations one meant to have, back when we planned our intellectual dream lessons. The awesome thing that I’ve noticed however is, God has placed resiliency in the hearts of the teachers here at Westlake.

Knowing your clientele is the key to success in any business plan, and school is no different. Mrs. O’Malley is a master at her craft in this area. This week alone, she has transformed my students’ perspective in Science from one of vague interest, to interactive, story-laden, kinesthetic wonder. Last week she came in and discussed Matter and the physical and chemical changes that take place when we manipulate elements. This week, the Science team found a guest speaker “Mr. Energy” come and discuss the different forms of energy with all the literal bells and whistles one could imagine, including a Frank Sinatra inspired ballad about energy! Today, Mrs. O’Malley dove into (pun intended) a lesson on solutions!

Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Instead of diving in with a vocabulary lesson, Mrs. O’Malley created a lively historical fiction tale to enlighten and enhance her teaching. Born in Hawaii, she talked about the European explorer Captain Cook, and his not-so-welcoming early demise due to his lack of cultural respect for the natives of Hawaii. The Hawaiians decided to “cook Captain cook,” and drop him into a volcano. Before they did, the Captain, being a military man, decided to “Solute” and then fell into the “solVENT” of the volcano (the opening) and was sadly, “Dissolved.” It was the native’s “SOLUTION” to end his life, but he taught us a lot about science in the process. I feel so blessed, and so privileged, to teach in an environment with other educators who inspire me by their dedication to teach with such enthusiasm. Mrs. O’Malley has truly been, as Ecclesiastes says, been, “Living a life worthy of your calling.” Thank you to her and every teacher who lives and teaches, with passion.

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, once said that, “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” Today I had the delightful, unexpected pleasure of being invited to dance … literally. In his current curriculum of cultural studies in music, Mr. Pugh has collaboratively added dance to the academic menu! Today in particular, the focus was on Irish and Scottish dance. From the infusion of ancestral music, to the introduction of rich dance and harmonic vocabulary, the students literally “promenaded” their knowledge in kinesthetic wonder! Laughing, cantering, and creating space for turns and skips, the energy was as high as the engagement. Mr. Pugh has been and will continue to be commencing culture as they experience music and dance from countries across the globe. What a true joy to know that our children are learning to praise our great Creator through honoring and becoming familiar with the customs and characters of other nations. In this nation’s state of education, it is easy to become lost in our own complacency, placing value on only that which WE know or have been taught. But this innovative lesson is teaching students that there is more to life than meets our neighboring streets, and music is truly a work of heart, and transcending communication.
According to one of the 20th century’s leading Indian philosopher’s, Osho, “To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” I consider it nothing short of a blessing that Mr. Pugh is crossing music curriculum with cultural studies, and is inherently teaching our students to find value in all life. Today was a beautiful reflection of integrated learning, and loving the life we are graced to dance through. Raquel Harris [email protected]

Sometimes when a student of mine is struggling with an idea, I tell them to write. There is something about getting your thoughts out of your mind and in front of you that make them seem much more approachable. Journaling in education has long been deemed an essential practice for aspiring writers and readers. In the words of a teacher I used to work with, “How do I know how I feel until I see what I say?” This simple mentality, of “seeing” what one is thinking, opens up a sense of freedom and ability to young writers. Over the last few weeks, Miss Betori’s third grade class has adopted this wonderful practice of writing, and not just writing, creative writing! Aside from the traditional benefits of writing (increasing fluency, confidence as a writer, and the ability to form text to text, world and self-connections) Miss Betori and her teacher’s aid are seeing character growth in the students like never before. Miss Betori shared that some of the students who suffered from shyness and lacking confidence to speak publicly were inspired to open up and share their thoughts and feelings through writing. Students are blooming and blossoming as authors all over, and to share some of the joy, here are a few posts from the linguists themselves:

How did you feel on the first day of school?

“On the first day of school, I felt nervous because it was the beginning of the new year. But I was also excited because we have a class pet!” - Zoe

“On the first day of school I felt happy because I was finally in 3rd Grade!!” - Griffin

What are the best things to do on a hot summer day?

“On a hot summer day I like to go to the lake and swim. I get to go fishing and go out on the boat.” - Alice

“On a hot summer day I like to go to The Freeze. I like to ride my bike, and also my skateboard. Anything that’s outside, I like to do on a summer day.” - Cody

If you had one wish, what would you wish for and why?

“If I had one wish, it would be to fly. Because then I could fly to places instead of being in my car.” - Abby

“If I had one wish, I would wish for one million books because I love reading!” - Katie

“If I had one wish it would be to own my own baseball league.” - Nathan

And so you see, with a little bit of prompting, a set-aside time, and practice, these young learners are discovering that they absolutely DO have something to say! Write on young scholars … write on.

 

Raquel Harris

“It was an initiation into the love of learning … as a matter of interdisciplinary cognition that is, learning to know something by its relation to something else.” Leonard Bernstein

 

Where can you get a lesson that’s one part Social Studies, one part Science, one part Art, and a whole lot of hands-on, kinesthetic fun? An interdisciplinary-based class, that’s where! For the last five or so years of my career, I’ve tried to implement interdisciplinary studies into my curriculum. I am happy to report to you that Westlake Christian Academy believes strongly in this educational paradigm, and I’ve been blessed to co-teach “Fossils and Dinosaurs” with the help of the High School Science, Social Studies, and Art departments collectively. When you really come to think of why teachers became teachers, it most likely had to do with our overwhelming passions for the subjects we teach. Nerdy and proud, we just cannot wait to share what we know and discover more with our students. It is the teacher-way! The gift, however, comes from the time we spend with one another, creating connections that will grow mindsets and retain information long after an assessment has passed. My favorite memory of second grade was when my teacher put tiny dinosaur erasers into an ice cube tray filled with plaster. Like mini geologists, we tinkered away, excavating our treasures. It is more than twenty years later, and I still remember that tiny project. It goes to show that sometimes the spin-off lessons are where the sweet spot of study truly lies. Already in our class, my students have had the privilege to examine and identify types of fossils that Mrs. O’Malley shared with us. Today, they created their own fossil casts in art with Mrs. Iverson. Careful to pre-pick the exact replica-worthy seashell patterns that looked most authentic, students were enamored with the process of literally re-creating history. Next week, we hope to have a “text-to-world” connective conversation with a “real, live archaeologist” involved in actual digs … our very own Mr. Naegele! Looking back from and forward to the rest of this unit, I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude at the community surrounding our elementary learners. Having worked in over ten schools, I can tell you that this level of collaborative teaching is not the norm. Only at Westlake would three, high school professionals, take time out of their curriculum-packed days to nurture the growing curiosity and critical thinking development of fifth graders they do not necessarily even know. Only at Westlake is there the allowance of coverage for extension projects that truly resonate with our students and our staff. Only at Westlake is Christ interwoven throughout each and every facet of interdisciplinary connection. And so, it is for this reason that my own two children will continue to attend school … only at Westlake.

I am in that frame of life where a lot of my friends are having children. Blessed to have married early, I now have a nine and seven-year-old where others my age are just entering the baby stages. Whenever those friends ask me what surprises me most about being a parent, I say that I am surprised at how strict I am, because it really isn’t my personality. If you’ve known me more than a day or two, I’m sure we have shared jokes, laughs, and even, perhaps, a bit of playful banter … so “strict” isn’t something I self-identify with. That being said, my expectations for my children’s work ethic and behavior are pretty up there. After ruminating as to why, it took all of ten seconds to figure out where this learned character trait came from – teaching.

The thing is, there is a very thin line between feeling intrinsically motivated to do your best in a supportive atmosphere, and feeling pushed to achieve as a means of proving your worth. This is something I think we all have struggled with in one phase of life or another, but more and more expectations are being thrust upon our young people to achieve in every facet of life. The danger is, we need to recognize how our children are motivated by expectations. Athlete Kristin Armstrong spoke to this idea when she said, “Some people can shrug expectations off their shoulders like a cardigan, remaining cool and breezy. Others wear them like a parka with a stuck zipper, hot and stifling.” It is a constant battle that the enemy places in our hallways … and one needs only to pass by any conversation to hear comparisons being made. More than ever I feel it is vital to gauge the self-esteem of our young people to be certain they remain confident of who they are in Christ alone. We as educators know the commitment involved with high expectations. The world pushes us to simply, “Accept people for what they are,” whereas education demands that we grow students from where they are. With pressures abounding, I’ve been so blessed to witness the elementary teachers at this school, because they do not simply set high expectations, more importantly, they set their classrooms on the foundation of love.

Romans 12:9 tells us that, “Love must be sincere,” and I can think of no more sincere form of love than when I see these teachers set forth expectations where their students feel both confident and able to achieve great things. The patience, guidance, and dedicated love with which these students are surrounded is quite a cultural shift from the world where your value is only measured by what you achieve. Rest and know that each and every one of your children at Westlake are held to high standards based in love, growth, and the goodness of who Christ is raising them up to be.

Ever since I was a child, I absolutely HATED the monkey bars. True, it might have been
(and still be) my incredible lack of upper arm strength, but it was also: the blisters my hands
immediately formed, the way I would “lose steam” half-way through the mission and dangle like a stranded fish on a line, and finally, the dreaded drop I inevitably made to the impaling wood chips below. Yes, I do not have fond memories at all of that piece of equipment, and yet, it remains as popular as it has ever been, unassailably assigned to every playground from sea to
shining sea.

When my kids began attempting to cross them, it was a whole new batch of fear to
wrestle. Now I wasn’t only worried about my own scars, but the new, inevitable“owies” that might form. I’ll never forget my first phone call from the school office, “Your daughter fell from the monkey bars and hit her head.” And then my second of the same offense a week later, “Your daughter fell from the monkey bars and hurt her back.” We had a serious talk both times about how there’s no shame in avoiding them altogether, but kids will perform according to their own will, and hers was strong. She has since conquered what I never could, crossing from side to side with ease … but I know sleeping giants don’t sleep forever, and this week those monkey bars reared their ugly metal once more.

I just so happened to be passing the office earlier this week and saw a white-faced, bloody-chin-bearing, brave boy, sitting on the bench. “What happened?” I asked, unable to look away from the little bruiser.

“Monkey bars,” Patrick said with a wince.

“Say no more,” I thought glumly. The beast claims another victim.

Every mother dreads that phone call, the one I’d already had two of, but not every mother hears the report that her son literally bit through his bottom lip, and is now awaiting stitches. But here’s where the story gets good. Even though the accident was awful, and even though I’m certain poor Patrick was in great pain, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a bevy of immediate stand-in mothers and fathers as I did that day in the office. From recess supervisors to office administrators and passerby teachers, our little patient might arguably have had more attentive devotion than he’d ever have received before. The most steadfast of these instant caretakers was Ms. Lori Blair herself. There wasn’t a moment to pass that she was not kneeling in front of, or sitting beside Patrick, wiping him up, cooling his new forming bruises, and speaking lovingly with encouragement and confidence.

American author Edwin Louis Cole once said, “God never ends anything on a negative; God always ends on a positive.” And while we all know that no one wants to be hurt at school, away from the support of family, I must say that courageous as he was, Patrick was loved on and prayed over in divinely-inspired ways that day, right here in the Westlake school office. I’m
going to try to remember his story, and I hope you will too, the next time we get a call about those tricky-icky monkey bars.