FEBRUARY ⢠2014
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Stories Wanted During the 2014â2015 school year, Central Valley Christian Schools will celebrate its 35th Anniversary. To properly celebrate the story of Godâs faithfulness to this school, weâd love to hear the individual stories of everyone in the CVC community. Please share your very own âMy CVC Storyâ with us. Whether itâs a specific memory
of your time as a student or the general tale of how CVC became home as a parent or the gripping play-by-play of a thrilling CVC game you witnessed as a fan or something entirely different, please share your story. Visit the CVC website and click on the âMy CVC Storyâ graphic to share your story and join us in preparing for this momentous occasion.
CVC Wins the âMilk Bowlâ
C VC ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPEC TIVE
â by Larry Baker, CVCHS Principal
Focused on Things Above
A
pastor once told me that a good sermon is one that is still remembered on Tuesday. Perhaps my pastor should set a higher bar, but if that is the measure of a good sermon, then back in 2006 I heard an outstanding graduation speech. Eight years later, I still remember it. Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff urged the graduates of Calvin College to develop two eyes as they approached their career and calling in life. One eye, he explained, is the eye of knowledge and discernment, the eye of the mind. The other eye is the eye of the heart, the eye of feeling and compassion. A nurse, for example, walks into the room of a young woman whose little daughter died in childbirth. The nurse must do her job with two eyes. With one eye, she must check the I.V.; with the other eye, the eye of the heart, she must cry. One eye is not enough. She needs two eyes. During our first-hour Friday devotions, here at school, we have been reading and reflecting on the book of Colossians. In the first verses of Colossians 3, Paul challenges students and staff to set their hearts on things above. If we have died with Christ and have been raised with Christ, then we are to set our minds, not on earthly things, but on things eternal. In a sense, we are to develop two eyes. With one eye, we are to pay attention to the task at hand. We are to teach and learn how to write in complete sentences, how to analyze literature, how to solve complex equations, how to develop and test hypotheses in the science lab, how to produce beautiful music in our choir and band rooms, and how to work with our hands in shop and art. We are to teach well, and we are to learn responsibly. Students must know more when they leave than they knew when they arrived. The other eye must be set on things above. We must develop an eternal perspective. This is the eye that sets us apart. With this eye, we must develop discernment. We must explore and discover our role in Godâs plan. God expects, even demands, that CVC prepares students to be excellent writers, scientists, mathematicians, doctors and nurses, accountants, and pastors. The God we serve deserves excellence. We must do our very best to equip our students and prepare them to be the leaders and experts in whatever God is calling them to do. But we have the additional challenge, responsibility and privilege, to develop that second eye of eternal perspective. This is the eye your tuition buys; this is the eye you cannot and will not get in the very best public school. I still feel new to CVC, but Iâve seen plenty of evidence that convinces me that CVC takes seriously the responsibility to develop the eye of eternal perspective. (âFocused...â continues on page 2)