Dallas Christian School - The Review February 2018

Upcoming Events 60th Anniversary Partnership Dinner, Omni Hotel Dallas. . . . . . . . February 10 Spring Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 12-16 Athletic Banquet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 18 The Sound of Music Musical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 12 & 13 (Granville Performing Arts Center) Owen Miller Memorial Golf Tournament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 30 Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 20 Summer Sports Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June-July

Do you have a friend that would be a great addition to the Charger family?

Encourage them to take the next step and come for a tour.

Find more information on our website or contact: jclevenger@dallaschristian.com (972-270-5495)

REVIEW

The

FEBRUARY 2018

Dallas Christian School 1515 Republic Pkwy.

Mesquite, Texas 75150

FROM THE PRESIDENT We would very much like to share more about Dallas Christian School with you and your family.

Our biblical and spiritual convictions will not appeal to everyone. But if you desire for your student to be well-prepared to launch into higher education and life with a firm foundation and respect for God and others so as to make a difference for the better in our world, Dallas Christian is the place for you.

This is an exciting year for Dallas Christian School celebrating our 60th anniversary as a fullyaccredited Christian school. There are few schools in our area that have six decades of tradition, legacy, and generational influence. While a lot has changed since 1957, we are still committed to some of the same motivations that are compelling us to excellence in academics and spiritual relevance in the lives of our students. We recognize that our culture today, similar to 60 years ago, does not embrace the need or utility for a biblical life view that can equip and sustain a person’s faith in order to navigate the turbulence of life. Today, students in our country are graduating and launching into life lacking the necessary framework to identify, defend, and sustain a life view that arranges reality into a system that provides an answer for: • Their existence.

• Their purpose and significance for life that anchors them when life’s storms beset them.

• A good explanation for the need to be a person who lives morally and ethically, who defends those who are hurting and marginalized, who embodies the creative force to transform evil into good, and who subscribes to a higher calling that is bigger than just making money and consuming our environment and others.

Now more than ever, the narrative arch of the Bible resonates because we are seeing a new epidemic of emptiness that manifests in clinical forms of anxiety and depression. As a result, both older and younger

generations are held hostage to the chaos and depressions of life. Dr. Jean M. Twenge, in iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy, and Completely Unrepared for Adulthood, provides the following data from a 2016 study of 400,000 students on over 100 campuses: College students’ mental health is also deteriorating. In a major over-time survey administered by the American Collegiate Health Association, college students are now more likely to say they feel overwhelming anxiety and that they felt so depressed they could not function. Just as with high school students, anxiety and depression ticked up recently just since 2013. The American Freshman Survey of entering college students shows similar trends. Every indicator of mental health issues on the survey reached all-time highs in 2016 rating emotional health below average (increasing 18% since 2009), feeling overwhelmed (increasing 51%), expecting to seek counseling (increasing 64%), and (perhaps most troubling) feeling depressed (increasing 95%, or nearly doubling), with noticeable jumps just between 20152016 (Twenge, 2017).

Not withstanding chemical imbalances that require medical treatment along with the recent hypothesis correlating digital addictions to depression and suicide, there seems to be a general absence of a meta narrative (overarching story) to interpret life and to provide deep meaning. According to clinical psychologist and Professor Jordan B. Peterson, human beings have the distinct capacity to be self-conscious or self-reflective. As a result, there seems to be a fundamental need for people to have a narrative or story that makes sense of life and undergirds their need for meaning and purpose, particularly, a narrative that will guide them through the catastrophes of life. This is not only a psychological realization; the neuroscience and neurocognitive community also supports this reality. Our brain architecture is such that we innately process reality and consciousness through story. Jonathan Gopttschall says it best, “Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” This explains God’s preferred format of revealing Himself to His creation in the form of a story (the Bible).

Central to the student experience at Dallas Christian are the ways we are intentional to integrate

NOW TRENDING #dallaschristian #dc60years #proudtobeDC

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Table of Contents 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

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60-Year Celebration DC by the Numbers High School Middle School Elementary/ECLC Spiritual Development Introducing the Renovated Wheeler Field Fine Arts Athletics Special Events Alumni Updates DC Connected

a biblical life view. We recognize that for our students to be fullyequipped and well adjusted for life they need to be grounded in the truth of the faith narrative of the Bible as well as developing a desire for spiritual growth. School becomes more than just a place to focus on academics. Instead, a student’s formative years should be a time to learn and gain appreciation for the ways God has structured and organized our world. From this awareness, a student should grow into a firm security of their place and purpose in our world. It is this security and stability that provides the mental and spiritual construct needed to make sense of what will be a chaotic existence. Life is chaotic. Without a biblical framework as the catalyst for directing one’s decisions, outlook, and purpose, individuals lack the necessary navigational equipment to journey through life.

As you think about your child’s educational experience, which will comprise a large part of their formative years and the majority of their waking hours daily for about 13 years, are you content that they are surrounded by a quality network of educators, coaches, mentors, and peers that will value their giftedness and sense of belonging? Are you content that they are receiving training in more than just an academic outlook on life? I like Theodore Roosevelt’s accurate statement, “To educate a person in mind and not morals is to educate a menace to society.” I would adjust this statement to read, “To educate a person without a deep sense of why they were created and for what purpose they were created is to only partially educate them.” If you are interested in this type of education for your child, come by and learn more about us and about all of the ways we provide financial assistance to make Dallas Christian your school home.

Sincerely,

Chris King, PhD President, Dallas Christian School

Editors: Susan Newhouse Contributors: Tama Barnes Joseph Burnam Chris King Christina Lang Jodie McAngus Courtney Pine Kathryn Potts Shane Scott Tammy Seabourn Autumn Walling Jennifer Webb Thomas Whitaker Design: Staci Killian Photographers: Martha Leeson Jill Hatfield Rita Siska Rhonda Cameron DC Yearbook Staff Ivey Photography Printing: Allcraft Printing

Update your contact information: Please send any changes to your contact information by emailing: snewhouse@dallaschristian.com.

If you wish to be deleted from our list, please let us know.

Published by: Dallas Christian School 1515 Republic Parkway Mesquite,TX 75150 972-270-5495 www.dallaschristian.com 1

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BRAT E I L 60 60YEARS YEARS

DC 1957-2017 Celebrating 60-years of Christian Education

1957

1975

Original charter drawn by 15 trustees under the name of White Rock Christian Schools.

1958

WRCS opened at the Garland Road Church of Christ building with three faculty members and 65 children enrolled in two kindergarten classes and one first grade class.

The first Partnership dinner was held at the Fairmont Hotel.

1963

DC graduated its first 12th grade class.

1981

The official name of the school was changed to Dallas Christian School.

Dr.Vaughn Luster, Jr. was name chief administrator.

1984

Additional classroom space was added to the high school.

1959

The name of the school changed to Christian Schools, Inc. Frank Alexander named superintendent. Two permanent buildings were built, one on Lake June Road in Dallas and the other on College Street in Garland. A third campus was established in the Love Field area of North Dallas.

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1974

Campus moved to its current Mesquite location.

The campus facilities were formerly occupied by a college first known as Christian College of the Southwest and later as the Dallas branch of Abilene Christian University.

1985

The Early Childhood Learning Center housing K3 through first grade was built.

1997

Cox Event Center, a multipurpose complex serving athletics, music, drama and other event-oriented activities was dedicated.

2017

1989

The elementary school was rebuilt from within to undergird its structural safety.

Wheeler football field completely renovated and a new four-lane track was constructed.

2003

Science and Technology Building completed.

1990’s

Baseball: 1984, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007

Unprecedented campus expansion, including a remodeled junior high building, a remodeled library, a new junior high science lab and a new women’s softball field.

1994

New high-school computer lab completed.

1995

New high-school cafeteria was built.

History of Dallas Christian Athletic State Championships

Football: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2008 Boys Basketball: 1996

2004

Early Childhood Learning Center and Elementary school won the Blue Ribbon Award by the U.S. Department of Education.

Girls Basketball: 2016, 2017 Boys Golf: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1997 Girls Golf: 2004 Girls Tennis: 2005 Volleyball: 1981, 1986, 1997 Girls Track: 2006 Boys Track: 2009

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DC By The Numbers If you were to Google, “Education is the key to…” you would have millions of answers to finish the statement in less than a second. But, we do not need Google to tell us the importance of education. The Bible tells parents in Ephesians 6:4b to “nurture their children.” Nurture in this context means to train, educate, instruct and discipline.

Parents of Dallas Christian students have chosen DC to partner with them in this nurturing through its mission to be a college preparatory school committed to biblical values where students are prepared for Christ-centered lives of purpose, service, and leadership.

So, how do we measure if we are accomplishing this mission through nurturing students? One tool that Dallas Christian utilizes to measure the academic progress is formal testing with comparative national norms. When comparing Dallas Christian scores to national levels, students in all grades are well exceeding the norms.

First grade through Fifth grade students consistently score one complete year ahead of the grade level

Average Number of U.S. Testing Days

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expectation in Mathematics, Reading and Language.

Dallas Christian Middle School students average post high school (4+ years) in Reading, Language and Science. These same students consistently achieve two years above grade level in Mathematics.

High School students’ ACT composite score of 24 is almost 4 points higher than our local districts and SAT 1083 is well above local scores averaging 954.

Although formal testing is a tool to measure the academic progress, preparation for the tests does not dominate the instructional time in a Dallas Christian classroom. Testing is limited to just 3 days in the Lower School and up to 5 days in the Middle School.

National average is 39 days.

Striving to meet academic goals is not to overshadow the importance of living Christ-centered lives. Therefore, preserving classroom time to ensure students are nurtured in their faith development is vital to the success of accomplishing the mission before us at Dallas Christian.

Average Number of DC Testing Days

5

Elementary School Middle School

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FACULTY SPOTLIGHT Shane Scott Accepts New Position as Dean of Students / Campus Minister Dallas Christian was thrilled to add Shane Scott, DC graduate of 1996, as our new Dean of Students and Campus Minister for the upper school this fall. In this role, he will be working with our upper school administration to provide consistent enforcement of the student handbook and promoting spiritual formation in our students. Shane has led our students in collecting items for the Hurricane Harvey relief in Houston and took a group of high school students to serve with Church of Christ Disaster Relief in south TX. His role also involves organizing chapel and teaching the Bible Leadership class in the high school.

Shane’s history with Dallas Christian runs deep. He attended DC from 1992-1996 and has been teaching and coaching at DC since 2002. He previously served as middle school and high school Bible teacher, coaching football, basketball, and track. He and his wife, Mandy, attend New River Church along with their three children Drew, JT, and Landry who are in third grade, first grade, and kindergarten at DC.

Accreditation Renewal Process Completed Dallas Christian completed our accreditation visit this fall with the National Christian School Association and AdvanceED. NCSA partners with AdvancED, to offer dual accreditation to participating private schools. The NCSA is recognized by the Office of Non-Public Education in the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Educational Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. The accreditation process verifies that private schools stress academic excellence in a Christian environment.

Every five years private schools go through a process to renew their accreditation. These organizations conduct rigorous, on-site reviews of educational institutions and systems to ensure that all learners realize their full potential. Their goal isn’t to certify that educational institutions are good enough. Rather, it is to help institutions continuously improve. We are proud that Dallas Christian received excellent reviews and completed the process for renewal.

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HIGH SCHOOL Senior & First Grade Buddies Our 2018 Seniors continued the tradition of “adopting� first graders this fall. The pairs get together once a month for fun activities and have already developed special bonds.

Class of 2018 Senior Retreat

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Every summer the incoming Senior Class gets the experience of going on a senior retreat. This year the Senior Retreat was held at Lakeview Camp and Retreat Center in Waxahachie. The purpose of the retreat is for the class to reconnect before the start of school. They held team competitions, devotionals, lots of fun outdoor activities and had guest speakers who talked to them about their senior year and beyond. It was truly a bonding opportunity that created a sense of unity and commitment for a successful senior year.

Engineering Class Our Engineer Your World class offering was started this fall in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin. Our students gain knowledge in the engineering design process through project-based learning and daily group work.

The students have enjoyed learning about different personality types and how to capitalize on each other’s strengths within their groups.

They have been busy designing and building pinhole cameras, developing black and white film, and reverse engineering a flashlight. The class even spent a day interviewing students from the Elementary and ECLC about their opinions on the use of the flashlight. Upcoming projects include units on: Understanding Data - Designing Coffee; Designing with Data - Safer Buildings; Programming - Electronic Music; and Systems Engineering - Aerial imaging.

Film Making Class Another new class offering that began this fall is a filmmaking class. Two sections of this class quickly filled up. The class is learning how to use video, lighting, sound and editing. They have already completed several projects that the school has been able to use on our website and social media.

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MIDDLE SCHOOL

Service Day

Every student in our middle school spent a day this fall serving others. The grade levels served at the following locations: 6th Grade- Life Message in Rowlett; 7th Grade- Our Calling in Dallas; and 8th Grade- Cornerstone in Dallas.

6th grade

Life Message in Rowlett Students sorted food, clothes, and cleaned the floors and grocery carts.

7th grade Our Calling in Dallas Students separated large amounts of clothes into different sizes and genders, then prepared lunch and delivered them to the homeless.

8th grade

Cornerstone in Dallas Cornerstone is a place where among other things the homeless and underprivileged go once a week to receive a hot meal. Our eighth graders helped prep for the food service by picking up trash, wiping tables, cleaning hot food tray holders, and stocking and organizing their food pantry area.

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ELEMENTARY

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ECLC

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SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

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Lower School Chapel

Upper School Chapel

Lower School chapel is a great time of worship and community for our younger students. ECLC students meet Monday and Wednesday for worship, Bible study, and application. Elementary students meet Tuesday and Thursday covering the same lessons as the younger students but being able to go a little deeper in study. The second through fifth graders take leadership roles in chapel time and everyone brings their Bible so that we can find the scriptures we’re studying in the word. This year both age groups are following the curriculum “Kids Own Worship” as an outline with the wisdom and direction of our teachers rounding out this wonderful worship and learning time.

On Fridays, ECLC and Elementary students combine for a large corporate worship in the Charger gym. It is such a wonderful time of praise! We also enjoy guest speakers from our school community and student led worship from our high school students at times.

One aspect of our chapel studies is challenging each other to follow “The Charger Code.” The Charger Code focuses on relationships, actions, character, and honoring God. Each week we honor a class who has met the requirements of the Charger Code and been nominated by teachers in the lower school. Many of our lessons center around these qualities and what they look like in Christ-followers.

Chapel time is a priority in the lower school.

We want our students to head into middle school knowing God and having the tools to serve Him, particularly through the act of worship.

When the twelve Bible leadership students were gathered at the beginning of the year, a question was placed before them: What will the theme of the upper school chapel be this year?

The students decided to not focus on one message, but on several of the important messages that spoke not only to their hearts but the hearts of their fellow students as well. The topic of “Showing Truths and Breaking Lies” spearheaded the idea for the beginning of the year, with several students who felt passionate on the subject testifying to the truths of Christianity while simultaneously shining light on the spots that needed to be talked about with their fellow high school peers.

The I AM statements finished out the second half of the first semester, with another group of students touched by the topic speaking.

From “the salt of the earth” to “being worth more than many sparrows,” students in the high school were given a chance to hear about many aspects that could affect their everyday spiritual life.

Serving Others...

A group of high school students and teachers went to South Texas this fall on a trip to help our Texas neighbors that were affected by Hurricane Harvey.

DC families also collected items needed in the Houston area and those items were loaded up and delivered through Impact Church of Christ in Houston.

DC partnered with Ft. Worth Christian this fall and sold bracelets in support of Westbury Christian School in Houston. Many families at Westbury were affected by the hurricane. We were able to send a donation down that went directly to help those families.

Bake a Difference Some of our DC students were looking for how they could serve others and started the “Bake a Difference� Club. These students sold baked goods during lunch periods in order to help others.

ATEIKU: Once again DC will be sending a group to Ateiku, Ghana this summer. The trip, led by Martha Leeson, filled up quickly. Ms. Leeson has been to serve in Ateiku 18 times and has led 15 trips with students.

Our students consistently return from this trip with a changed world view and with a stronger desire to serve others.

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INTRODUCING THE NEWLY RENOVATED Dallas Christian School’s new football field was ready in September for our first home game.

Our new field was prayed over and a Bible was placed in the sidewalk before the concrete was poured.

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The first home game was a huge celebration complete with a ribbon cutting, press box dedication and fireworks after the game.

A new 4-lane track was completed this fall. It is the first time that DC will have a track to practice on.

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DALLAS CHRISTIAN

FINE Music & Drama

DC Spring Musical

April 12 & 13 7:30 pm Granville Performing Arts Center Garland, Texas •

•

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ARTS Art

Choir

The collaborative sculpture piece above was created by DC art students for Mrs. England, DC’s Upper School Principal.

The sculpture is titled “Family.”

Mrs. England is represented by the figure with the heart and each student made an image to represent themselves.

Band & Drumline

Congratulations to the DC Drum Line for winning 2nd place overall in the TAPPS competition.

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2017 Varsity Cheerleaders:

Sydney Stevens, Catherine Wolfgang, Graci Granberry, Berkeley Loeffler, Haylee Hullett, Leslie Breeden, Ally Chaves, Abbie Walker, Madison Hartley, Kallie Stockton, Maddy Burkham, McKenzie Losher, Brenna Talley, McCartney Kirk

2017 JV Cheerleaders

Brooke Henrichson, Rose Peng, Kaitlyn Neuwirt Julia Martin, Taylor Henrichson Faith Beach, Kaaliyah Joseph, Avery Saucedo

2017 Chargerettes Drill Team Julia Bailey, Angelica Money, Josey Mayes, Elizabeth Ratzer, Nell Shelton,Viola Du

Cross Country

Coach Tonya Parsons, Alayna Hughs, Hailey Esch, Jocelyn Pickrell, Alyson Wurster, Carson Blauser, Bryce Wurster, Tyler hatfield, Jenna Rasbury, Amy Langford,Payton Denklau, Brenan Boyd, Francisco Medrano, Carter Hoelzle, Jackson Southers, Austin Hunt, Noah Walker, Assistant Coach Ernie Bueno

Cross Country Awards

Jackson Southers: District Champ, All State Runner 9th place Jenna Rasbury: All District

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2017 All District Volleyball 1st Team: Graci Granberry, Junior Natalie Connelly, Senior Caroline Davis, Junior 2nd Team: Abby Marshall, Junior Madison Sharp, Senior Kenzie Stevens, Junior Honorable Mention: Madison Pavelka, Senior Rachel Chandler, Junior Abigail Ginnings, Freshman

Academic All-Star Volleyball: Caroline Davis Graci Granberry Natalie Connelly Abby Marshall Madison Sharp Varsity Team: Madison Stevens, Lydia Degner, Graci Granberry Madison Sharp, Kenzie Stevens,Caroline Davis, Lauren Bueter, Natalie Connelly Abigail Ginnings, Abby Marshall, Rachel Chandler, Madison Pavelka

JV Team

Natalie Garrett, Brooke Henrichson, Abigail Hodges, Reese Roberts, Landry Martin, Hope Smith, Mackenzie Greer

NEW 2017 TEAMS Bass Fishing Team This fall Dallas Christian high school started the DCHS Bass Fishing Team. The team is part of Texas High School Bass Association.

Teams consist of two anglers on a boat with one boat captain.

Our team has done well in their tournaments this fall and will continue competitions in the spring.

Wrestling Team

DC formally launched a wrestling program this year that is open to middle school (7th/8th grade) and high school boys. Troy Mercer was hired to lead the team. Troy is a recent Graduate of Lyon College with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Management. He’s also the owner of Apex Grappling Academy based in Heath, TX. Troy is a decorated college and high school wrestler and is still active in competition.

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2017 VARSITY FOOTBALL

Nate Zeller, John Holt, Blain Bills, Jeffery Sims, Cody Hatfield, Justin Webb, Carter Willingham, Taylor Hicks, Zach Reid, Justin Vaught, Tyner Dale, Brandon Thomas, Patrick Reid, Joshua Wilburn, Jensen Barnett, Tristan Mellorn, Jack Platz, Garrett Gilcrease, Isaac George, Cody Peterman, Cameron Paul, Alex Cerra, Cooper Robertson, Gabe Knapp, Beau Liles, Trevor Russell, Mikey Stockton, Jaylin Smith, Marcus Knox, David Hamill, Davis Baucum, Peyton Vesaley, Sam Johnson, TJ King, Caleb Estes, Palmer Nix

2017 FOOTBALL AWARDS TJ King - Freshman of the Year Palmer Nix - District MVP

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1st Team Brandon Thomas Davis Baucum

TJ King- Defensive Garret Gilcrease Jeffrey Sims Josh Wilburn Tyner Dale Palmer Nix Brandon Thomas

Offense Tight End Offense Receiver & Defensive Secondary Secondary Offensive Back Offensive Line Offensive Line Defensive Lineman Defensive Linebacker Defensive Linebacker

2nd Team TJ King Isaac George

Jaylin Smith Cameron Paul Palmer Nix

All District Athlete Offensive Receiver & Defensive Secondary Defensive Secondary Offense Kicker Offensive Back

Caleb Estes Offensive Quarterback Tristan Mellorn Defensive Lineman Alex Cerra Defensive Linebacker Marcus Knox Defensive Linebacker

Honorable Mention Alex Cerra Offensive Back Marcus Knox Offensive Receiver Nate Zeller Offensive Line Taylor Hicks Offensive Line Cameron Paul Defense Punter Cody Hatfield Defensive Lineman Cooper Robertson Defensive Secondary Academic All-State Football Joshua Wilburn Palmer Nix Tyner Dale Alexander Cerra Cameron Paul

2017 JV FOOTBALL

Jack Platz, Nick Chaves, Alex Lunn, Jax Ortiz, Austin Hughes, Beau Liles, Garrett Tillett, Trevor Stegman, Zach Reid, Justin Vaught, Patrick Reid, Clay Holliman, Jensen Barnett, Lane Seaman

BRAT E I L

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Christian Colwell, Andrew Baucum, Jackson Cequina, Landon Cook, Parker Robertson, Brett Judd, Matthew Mata, Blake Thomas

60 60YEARS YEARS

Homecoming Queen: Madison Sharp Homecoming Court: Morgan Tillett, Maddie Perkins, Presley Nix, Faith Beach, Kaaliyah Joseph, Mfon Abasi Owot, Samantha Sorrells, Graci Granberry, Hope Smith, Marilyn Gafford, Madison Pavelka

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SPECIAL EVENTS Back to School Picnic & Pep Rallly

Our DC families were excited to reconnect at our annual Back to School Picnic & Pep Rally in August.

New families were introduced to DC with hamburgers, shaved ice and an amazing pep rally.

Magazine Drive The “More than Magazine Drive� is our main fundraiser each year.

The students get very excited about the prizes they can win.

The PTO organized a fabulous new event in December called the Jingle Mingle & Holiday Market.

Local businesses set up booths for families to do their Christmas shopping and there were fun activities for the children including face painting, cookie decorating and even pictures with Santa.

There was a great turnout of DC families and friends in the community.

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Our annual Grandparents’ Day celebration was on November 17th. We had a huge turnout this year and enjoyed performances from our band, choir, and lower school students. Grandparents ended the day with a tour of the classrooms and an art show in the high school. We are thankful that so many of our DC grandparents were able to attend.

The PTO Carnival & Renaissance Fair was held November 4th. It was one of our biggest and best carnivals and even included a real jousting show at the end.

Our families enjoyed costume contests, inflatables, games, food, and more.

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Dallas Christian School Pa r t n e r s h i p D i n n e r

60 60YEARS YEARS

Saturday, February 10, 2018 6:00 PM Omni Hotel Dallas E-mail: partnership@dallaschristian.com Phone: (972) 270-5495, ext. 300 Ticket & Table Sales available online at www.dallaschristian.com

Featuring

Jordan Smith

Winner & best-selling artist of The Voice.

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Thank you to our PTO! Our PTO hosts a monthly meeting, providing an opportunity for parents to pray for our students and school.

Our dedicated PTO hard at work!

GAGA Ball Pit Donation This year our PTO purchased and installed a Gaga ball pit for the Elementary playground. Our students have thoroughly enjoyed using it this year.

Our PTO has their own facebook page. If you want to see what is going on with PTO, find them at: Dallas Christian School PTO. 25

ALUMNI NEWS Congratulations to Zach Turner, DC Class of 2000, who was featured in the November edition of the Dallas Business Journal. Zach is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Techni-Tool, Inc. based in Dallas. TechniTool uses data and analytics to make manufacturing companies as efficient as possible, helping them reduce their spending on inventory. After Dallas Christian, Zach studied finance at Southern Methodist University and went into banking. But in his late twenties, he made the transition to Techni-Tool, Inc. where he has helped the company grow and expand.

Class of 1977 Reunion The Class of 1977 reunited this fall for their 40-year reunion. They donated a park bench to the school in memory of their former classmate, Ramona Miller. It was a great day full of nostalgia and memories as they toured the campus together.

Once a Charger, Always a Charger!

We want to keep up with what you are doing!

Send your updates to alumni@dallaschristian.com!

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Our DC grads are thriving in college!

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onnected

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Facebook: LIKE Dallas Christian School

Instagram: FOLLOW @dallaschristianschool

Twitter: FOLLOW @dcschargers

Snapchat: ADD dcschargers

FROM THE PRESIDENT We would very much like to share more about Dallas Christian School with you and your family.

Our biblical and spiritual convictions will not appeal to everyone. But if you desire for your student to be well-prepared to launch into higher education and life with a firm foundation and respect for God and others so as to make a difference for the better in our world, Dallas Christian is the place for you.

This is an exciting year for Dallas Christian School celebrating our 60th anniversary as a fullyaccredited Christian school. There are few schools in our area that have six decades of tradition, legacy, and generational influence. While a lot has changed since 1957, we are still committed to some of the same motivations that are compelling us to excellence in academics and spiritual relevance in the lives of our students. We recognize that our culture today, similar to 60 years ago, does not embrace the need or utility for a biblical life view that can equip and sustain a person’s faith in order to navigate the turbulence of life. Today, students in our country are graduating and launching into life lacking the necessary framework to identify, defend, and sustain a life view that arranges reality into a system that provides an answer for: • Their existence.

• Their purpose and significance for life that anchors them when life’s storms beset them.

• A good explanation for the need to be a person who lives morally and ethically, who defends those who are hurting and marginalized, who embodies the creative force to transform evil into good, and who subscribes to a higher calling that is bigger than just making money and consuming our environment and others.

Now more than ever, the narrative arch of the Bible resonates because we are seeing a new epidemic of emptiness that manifests in clinical forms of anxiety and depression. As a result, both older and younger

generations are held hostage to the chaos and depressions of life. Dr. Jean M. Twenge, in iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy, and Completely Unrepared for Adulthood, provides the following data from a 2016 study of 400,000 students on over 100 campuses: College students’ mental health is also deteriorating. In a major over-time survey administered by the American Collegiate Health Association, college students are now more likely to say they feel overwhelming anxiety and that they felt so depressed they could not function. Just as with high school students, anxiety and depression ticked up recently just since 2013. The American Freshman Survey of entering college students shows similar trends. Every indicator of mental health issues on the survey reached all-time highs in 2016 rating emotional health below average (increasing 18% since 2009), feeling overwhelmed (increasing 51%), expecting to seek counseling (increasing 64%), and (perhaps most troubling) feeling depressed (increasing 95%, or nearly doubling), with noticeable jumps just between 20152016 (Twenge, 2017).

Not withstanding chemical imbalances that require medical treatment along with the recent hypothesis correlating digital addictions to depression and suicide, there seems to be a general absence of a meta narrative (overarching story) to interpret life and to provide deep meaning. According to clinical psychologist and Professor Jordan B. Peterson, human beings have the distinct capacity to be self-conscious or self-reflective. As a result, there seems to be a fundamental need for people to have a narrative or story that makes sense of life and undergirds their need for meaning and purpose, particularly, a narrative that will guide them through the catastrophes of life. This is not only a psychological realization; the neuroscience and neurocognitive community also supports this reality. Our brain architecture is such that we innately process reality and consciousness through story. Jonathan Gopttschall says it best, “Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” This explains God’s preferred format of revealing Himself to His creation in the form of a story (the Bible).

Central to the student experience at Dallas Christian are the ways we are intentional to integrate

NOW TRENDING #dallaschristian #dc60years #proudtobeDC

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Upcoming Events 60th Anniversary Partnership Dinner, Omni Hotel Dallas. . . . . . . . February 10 Spring Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 12-16 Athletic Banquet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . March 18 The Sound of Music Musical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 12 & 13 (Granville Performing Arts Center) Owen Miller Memorial Golf Tournament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April 30 Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 20 Summer Sports Camps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June-July

Do you have a friend that would be a great addition to the Charger family?

Encourage them to take the next step and come for a tour.

Find more information on our website or contact: jclevenger@dallaschristian.com (972-270-5495)

REVIEW

The

FEBRUARY 2018

Dallas Christian School 1515 Republic Pkwy.

Mesquite, Texas 75150