DECEMBER • 2014
•
Sports Shorts The football team wrapped up one of its best regular seasons since moving to Division 4. The team went 9–1 this year and received the number two seed for the Division 4 playoffs. Despite being moved up from Division 3 to Division 2, the CVC volleyball team won the CSL this year and competed at a national level tournament in Las Vegas called the Durango Fall Classic. They also took 3rd place at the highly competitive tournament called Spikefest II in Milpitas, CA. The Cavaliers received the number one seed for the Division 2 playoffs. Girls’ tennis finished one of their best seasons in the history of the sport at CVC. The team was given the number six seed in playoffs and ended up finishing as the runner-up for the Division 5 section title.
The Girls’ Cross Country squad is ranked in the top three in the state in Division 4. They are favored to win the Central Sequoia League, win the Division 4 Valley title, and finish the season in the top three in the state. The Boys’ Cross Country runners are competing well and should compete for a top-three finish at the Valley Championships in Division 5. The Girls’ Golf team was CSL Champion this year. Lindsey Vizzolini was the low scorer for the Central Sequoia League.
C VC ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPEC TIVE – by Doug Vander Schaaf, CVCMS Principal
Raising Our Ebenezer
A
s you peruse this issue of The Cavalier, you are most likely in the throes of the holiday season. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it is now the fast track to Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. For most of the CVC community, I imagine the focal point is Christmas. Despite all the commercialism, it is the high holiday where we especially recognize and celebrate God’s greatest gift, Jesus Christ. During the Christmas season it is likely that sooner or later one will hear the name Ebenezer Scrooge from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol fame. It’s probably the Scrooge part of the name that is most well-known and attention-grabbing. Scrooge is not so much a name anymore, but rather a term to describe someone who is not in a celebratory spirit and unwilling to recognize and participate in the joy of the season. The name Ebenezer is a much less-used name and term. Aside from the occasional Southern Baptist Church using it to identify itself, Ebenezer has not hit a high point in popular jargon. For those who know the story of the Bible however, Ebenezer does have a special significance and should be a bit more familiar. It is rather curious that Ebenezer, in its origin and meaning, is the opposite of the connotation of Scrooge. In 1 Samuel 7 we find the prophet and the people of Israel under attack by the Philistines. The Israelites asked Samuel to pray for victory in battle. Samuel then offered a sacrifice to God and prayed for His protection. God responded to Samuel by causing the Philistines to lose the battle and consequently, they were driven back to their own territory. 1 Samuel 7:12 records the response of Israel and Samuel after the victory: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up...and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” Ebenezer comes from a Hebrew term that simply means “stone of help.” On several occasions we read in the Old Testament that the people of Israel set up “standing stones,” like Ebenezer, as a reminder of His supernatural acts, protection and faithfulness. It was intended that the story behind the stone be passed down to future generations. This year we are celebrating 35 years of God’s faithfulness at Central Valley Christian School. In gratitude for all that God has done for us, we are looking to raise a number of standing stones. The new mural on the original CVC classroom building is one of those stones. Stones of special events and celebrations will be raised throughout the year. (“Ebenezer...” continues on page 2)