Randomly choose a dozen parents and ask them how they have been blessed by Community Christian School and chances are you will get twelve completely different answers. We know this to be true because we posed that question, and two others, to all the parents and past-parents who attended Café Ignite on January 27. One of our goals that evening was to have participants help us write our CCS story: what are we all about and why are we here?
Some parents wrote about our dedicated Christian teachers. Others highlighted our small classes and the feeling like we are all family. Still others mentioned strong academics, classes taught from a Biblical perspective, and Christian friends for their children. Many parents, many good responses to our questions. None of these things on their own can really describe our CCS story fully, but collectively they begin to paint a beautiful picture of how community, Christian, and school weave together.
When you read a sample of things written by CCS parents at Café Ignite (see below), I hope you are uplifted. As our school, and indeed many Christian schools in Ontario, deals with declining enrollment, changing demographics, fluctuating levels of community support, and a wide array of parental expectations, we need to adopt a full understanding that there is no area of life that does not fall under Christ’s sovereignty. May we be encouraged to realize that what goes on at CCS is very different from what is happening in secular schools. Our classroom lessons, our student-teacher relationships, our parent-teacher relationships, our field trips, our music and sports events, our volunteer tasks and our school culture all point to God the creator and the Lordship of Christ in everything we do. CCS provides opportunities for students to grow in faith, knowledge, service, leadership, and compassion. We strive to create a safe place, where students feel they belong, where they have friends, where their teachers care about them, and where they can be themselves. Parents’ comments testify that we are doing many things right.
In this, our 35th anniversary year, may God continue to grant us grace and wisdom as we work together to create a school where all of us – parents, school members, and children – are looking at the world through the lens of scripture.
How have you been blessed by CCS?
- “By the willingness of the teachers to work with us to help us understand our children’s needs.”
- “Watching my shy child come into his own.”
- “By witnessing the obvious changes in our children after switching them to CCS from another school.”
- “We have been blessed to see our child’s love for God and knowledge of God deepened and strengthened.”
- “Our child has learned sound interactive/social skills in a supportive environment.”
- “As parents, we have made great friends among the community and have been inspired by the faith, talent and dedication of the teaching team.”
- “Our children have benefitted from Godly Christian examples in both staff and volunteers. They have been prayed for regularly by teachers who long to see them reach their full potential; academically, spiritually and socially. They have received opportunities to develop talents in areas such as sports and music. We are very thankful for our time at CCS!”
- “Watching our oldest child start grade 9, confident that she has the educational foundation and character to thrive in high school.”
- “We cannot thank CCS enough for being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
- “We are blessed because our children come home from school happy!”
- “All our children credit CCS for giving them the foundation to succeed at the secondary and post-secondary level. All three are now educators themselves.”
- “Three children who love the Lord; three children who were taught how to pray; three children who have wonderful memories of teachers who shared their stories of faith with them.”
