Greetings, Twin Oaks Community! I am grateful for the opportunity to connect with you and update you on significant developments in the life of our school. One of the highlights of this past week was our 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala where we showcased fifty years of God’s faithfulness to Twin Oaks Christian School! It was a special evening of looking back at all the Lord has accomplished over the years and also an opportunity to think about where we’re headed for the future. I’m eager for us to follow Him into a new season of growth in fulfilling our mission.

One of the initiatives I’m most passionate about is building the habit of scripture engagement among our students as another way to nurture their spiritual development. What exactly is scripture engagement? It is the practice of reading God’s Word and then applying Bible study methods to dig deeper into its meaning. We want students to be informed by the content of scripture, but we also want them to be transformed by experiencing it as living and active, not just another subject in their school day. Recently we demonstrated and then had students put into practice a method where they hear a passage read aloud, and then “mark up” that passage on a sheet of paper that provides plenty of space for them to underline or star keywords, make notes, write questions, draw pictures, etc. that help them “engage” that particular passage in an active way. We practiced with our theme verse, since it was familiar, and I’d like you to see what one third grade student noticed when he slowed down to really chew on God’s Word.

Notice how looking more closely at this scripture allowed him to make a key observation–If God’s Word calls you to work with all your heart, you first “have to have a heart to work.” This puts him in a position to consider a very important question, “Do I have a heart for God?”–and is a chance for the Holy Spirit to speak to his heart and mind as he slows down and looks more intently at the scriptures. This is one example from one student. Imagine the impact this practice could have schoolwide as students begin to truly engage their hearts and minds in this way!

By: Julie Cordray, Head of School

One of our favorite traditions at Twin Oaks Christian School is the Thanksgiving Chapel and Feast, leading up to Thanksgiving Break.  The Kindergarten and 1^st grade classes lead Chapel together, followed by a delicious feast with Crew Groups. Both of these events provide an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to reflect on God’s goodness and thank Him as a school community.

During Chapel, the Kindergartners and First Graders recited scripture, sang songs thanking our good God, went through the “ABCs of Thanksgiving” and acted out a fun poem about turkey, corn, and mashed potatoes.  Many parents and other visitors joined us for this Chapel tradition.

After Chapel, we split into Crew Groups for lunch, which are small groups of Kindergarten through 8^th grade students who meet once a month during Chapel with their designated teacher.  The Crew Groups enjoyed spending time together during lunch, eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal prepared by our Hot Lunch team and volunteers.  The Middle School students helped serve and clean up as well.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 100:4

Happy Thanksgiving from Twin Oaks Christian School!

There’s an exciting new learning opportunity underway for the 7th and 8th grade students at Twin Oaks this fall with the launch of our inaugural year of Lego robotics!

The program is comprised of two components–a Thursday morning exploratory class involving all of our 7th and 8th grade students and a Thursday afterschool club for some of these same middle school students.  The dream of bringing a STEM program, such as robotics, to our middle school classes has become a reality. 

The program is being led jointly by TOCS middle school teachers Mrs. Traci Runge and Mrs. Janna Hickel and is being supported extensively through a partnership with Westminster’s Cyborg Cats robotics team through the involvement of three senior members of their team. These WCA seniors are donating their Faith in Action service hours to support the Thursday morning class and Cyborg Cats alumnus Carter Hickel is helping to lead the afterschool club. 

More info

During the Thursday morning class, students have been learning basic robotics construction and coding skills through a curriculum written by FIRST Robotics.  What contagious excitement swept through the robotics lab the day the students first made their robots light up and move!  FIRST Lego League designs a series of missions each school year around a central theme.  This year’s theme has to do with various sources of energy and their delivery to consumers. Once students have learned the basic robotics construction and coding skills through the class curriculum, FIRST asks them to design and build their own robots to complete the various missions on that year’s game field.  There is a considerable amount of strategy involved in choosing which of the missions to attempt to complete within the two-and-a-half-minute time limit for the game. 

While all of the students are working in peer groups to design, build, and code a robot, our afterschool club students will have the opportunity on December 10 to take their robot to a FIRST Lego League competition where they will compete against other middle school students from around our area for the opportunity to advance to a regional competition.  Through this program, our students are not only learning designing and coding skills but also how to work effectively as a team, how to strategize, and how to iterate a product to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency.  Watching talents and strengths that are not used and seen in a traditional middle school classroom shine through in our students in the robotics lab has been a rewarding experience for the teachers just as seeing moving robots has been an exciting one for our students.

I have a deep question for you to consider regarding the first few weeks of school–How is it the middle of September already?! August was so full of back-to-school flurry that I blinked and it was gone. One thing is certain, however. Whether the days seem long or short, God has had His hand on every one.

From before time began, He ordained that Twin Oaks Christian School would open its doors this year for the 50th first day of school. He knew that you would want your children to have a Christian education, and He made a place for them here. He knew those children would need skilled, godly teachers, and He has brought them. From generation to generation, since1972, God has been leading, sustaining, and growing the ministry of the school. I don’t know about you, but that gives me a lot of confidence as we look ahead to the future.

Here are just a few short stories to illustrate God’s faithfulness to Twin Oaks as we have begun our new school year.

• Three weeks before school started we had not yet met our enrollment goal of 155 students and were contemplating whether we needed a third Early Childhood class. Within the next two weeks we had almost filled our Early Childhood program, including that third class we weren’t sure we would need, exceeding our enrollment goal.
• Both our new music teacher, Mrs. Graham Behnke, and our new 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Natalie LaRose, both described a strong sense of calling to apply for those positions. Mrs. Behnke received an unexpected nudge to contact someone unconnected to Twin Oaks, who happened to know and then share with her that we were in need of a music teacher. Mrs. LaRose wasn’t planning on coming back to the classroom at all this year after having a newborn last January, but developed the impression that God wasn’t ready for her to step out of the classroom and applied for the position.
• Last year adding Robotics was just an idea, but the Lord provided the resources, teachers, and coaches needed to begin our first-ever middle school Robotics class and competitive after school club. We now have a Boeing sponsor, Westminster Christian Academy Robotics Team seniors to assist during class on Thursday mornings, and a college sophomore Robotics Team veteran who have joined our teachers in leading the competitive club.
• A “chance” connection with a parent in the school parking lot in the middle of summer led to us adding Elementary Drama Club to our after-school activities, providing more opportunities for our students to learn and grow.
• We have welcomed over twenty new families this year, and God has assembled a team of teachers and staff who are intentionally taking time to connect with and get to know them as individuals. Many have made a point of sharing how they have felt embraced and accepted into their new school home. In the words of one young enthusiast, “This is the best school I’ve ever had!” Friends, God is the author of this type of loving community. Let us praise Him for it!

Continue reading “From the Eagle’s Nest – Quarter 1 – 2022”

We were happy to welcome our students and families back to campus this week for the start of the 2022-23 academic year! Kicking off with a family picnic and Back to School Night, students had the opportunity to catch up with friends and meet their teachers before the First Day. The STL Bubble Van provided some fun entertainment as well!

The First Day of school began with welcoming smiles, First Day assignments, and Convocation.

We look forward to seeing what the Lord teaches our students and staff this year as we learn more about His Word and world!

Greetings, Twin Oaks Families! I hope you’re enjoying summer break and have had some time to rest and refresh from the busyness of the school year. Isn’t the Lord is good to recognize our need for seasons and to give us periods of time when we can enjoy a more relaxed pace?

Though the office is operating on reduced summer hours, we have been steadily preparing for the return of our precious students (We miss them!) and are committed to continuing to fulfill our mission for their good and God’s glory. As we look ahead to August, we know that the Lord is faithfully paving the way for another wonderful school year.

Following are some updates and changes regarding this fall:
The 2022-2023 school year will mark Twin Oaks Christian School’s 50th Anniversary serving the greater St. Louis community with quality Christian education. This year special activities and events recognizing God’s faithfulness to sustaining and growing TOCS for 50 years are being planned. To help with these and other school events, TOCS parent Becca Fox will be joining our team this year as part-time Event Coordinator! Please congratulate and welcome Becca to her new role.

I’m also excited to announce that Katie Ragsdale will be moving from the 5th grade classroom to become our new TLC coordinator and teacher! Mrs. Ragsdale’s extensive experience teaching a wide range of grade levels, including students with learning needs, along with her strong leadership and administration skills make her a wonderful fit for this role. We are enlisting the services of St. Louis Learning Disability Association to provide highly specialized and customized consultation while Mrs. Ragsdale pursues special education certification. Please join us in congratulating her on this exciting transition!

One of our goals for this past year was to find a language arts curriculum for our Kindergarten through 3rd Grade classes since our current Treasures curriculum is no longer in print. The curriculum committee worked hard throughout the year, praying and pouring over a variety of options to identify the one offering our non-negotiables of academic rigor, opportunities for applying a biblical worldview, comprehensiveness, and adaptability. We are pleased to announce that McGraw-Hill’s Wonders curriculum came out on top and is Board-approved to be implemented for grades K-3 beginning this coming school year. This curriculum provides a wide variety of quality reading selections as well as robust and well-aligned vocabulary, spelling, and writing exercises. Online resources that can be used for supplementation at home if desired are also available. As part of the curriculum committee, I can vouch for the thorough, intentional way the review process was conducted and look forward to seeing how this new curriculum provides an edge for our students’ language arts learning.

Another big change is that middle school will join elementary school in starting class at 8:30 a.m. instead of 8:20 a.m. This past spring I worked with a school scheduling consultant to optimize our academic and co-curricular schedule. One of the necessary changes was to create 30-minute modules to help streamline transitions and create uniform blocks of time for instruction, co-curricular classes, and lunch/recess times. The result is that daily schedules are more uniform and students have larger blocks of academic time in the mornings when their minds are more fresh, but the 30-minute modules require the middle school day to begin at the same time as elementary. We hope the extra 10 minutes in the morning will be a blessing to our middle school families!

We are thankful to the Lord for new additions to our staff as well as those who are returning in the fall. I’m more excited than ever to be a small part of what God is doing through the ministry of Twin Oaks Christian School. By His grace, we have already made significant strides towards strengthening our ability to carry out our mission to glorify God by nurturing spiritual development, academic excellence, and servant leadership in an environment where each child is known and loved. And together, by His grace, we will continue to do so.

May God’s richest blessings of knowing Him and His Son continue to be your source of joy, hope, and peace as you enjoy the rest of your summer!

By: Julie Cordray, Head of School

Where has this school year gone? It seems the closer we get to the end of the year, the more quickly it rushes towards us! So many wonderful things have happened since the beginning of the school year, and I’m thankful for your grace, patience, and support as I have transitioned into the role as your new Head of School. I pray that we will finish as we have started, filled with the joy, hope, and purpose that the Lord has given us.

Staffing Updates 2022-2023:
As the end of this school year approaches and we begin to look ahead to the next, I have some staffing updates to share with you.

• TLC teacher Laura Quinn will be moving with her family to Cape Town, South Africa at the end of the summer, where they have been called to serve Mission to the World at Cape Town University.
• Bekah Marsh will be leaving her music classroom to devote more time caring for her family and focusing on her graduate studies at Covenant Seminary.
• Julia Bowman will be leaving her TLC classroom to finish her graduate degree in Reading Specialty, to tutor, and to spend more time with her family.
• Mike and Lydia Thebeau will be stepping down from their role as Athletic Directors as their youngest daughter Bailey prepares to graduate from our middle school program this year. Praise God that Jared and Rachel Messer have agreed to step in and pick up the mantle.

I want to thank these outgoing faculty and staff, who have faithfully and sacrificially served Twin Oaks Christian School and who have made knowing and loving our students a top priority. God has used their time here with us to grow and nurture our school, and the good fruit that has come from their service will be enjoyed for years to come. We look forward to what God has in store next, both for them and for Twin Oaks Christian School, knowing that His plan is always good!
I’m excited about some doors that are already opening for these positions to be filled. I came across scripture in the book of Exodus that has inspired my prayers for these open positions. The LORD had commanded Moses to assemble workers to build the tabernacle, which would serve as the Israelites’ place of worship. It was an important work, and God himself called and equipped the exact workers He wanted involved.

Please pray with me, according to Exodus 36:2, “And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.” I believe what was true of those called to build the tabernacle is also true of each open position here at Twin Oaks-that God already has specific “craftsmen” appointed to fill these roles and continue to carry out the mission of Twin Oaks Christian School with integrity and excellence. I will continue to pray that He will bring them to us.

As we head down the final stretch these last few weeks, may our hearts be filled with gratitude as we realize all the ways God has been present with us this year and how He will continue to abundantly bless Twin Oaks Christian School for all the years to come.

By: Julie Cordray, Head of School

Greetings, Twin Oaks Family! It’s unbelievable to me that the first week of April is behind us. I was talking recently with a teacher who wanted to borrow the balloon inflator we ordered to create the first-day-of-school balloon arch, and it seems like that was a few weeks ago instead of a few months ago. It’s said that time flies when you’re having fun, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year back at Twin Oaks. God has been so gracious and kind to allow me to have a front row seat to all the ways He’s been faithful to our school this year. The past couple of weeks have brought to fruition two major projects we’ve been working on-our school garden and the middle school cafe, recently dubbed ‘The Eagle Express.”

To launch our garden initiative, parents and students gathered on a warm, sunny day last month to transform what used to be a playground into a space where vegetables and flowers, planted by our students, can grow and bear fruit. I stopped working a few times to look around and take it all in-and let’s be honest, I’m not used to shoveling dirt. Watching students, parents, and staff working alongside one another was good for my soul. Students hunkered over newly tilled planting beds to search for worms and pill bugs, holding and studying them with their bare hands-pure fearlessness! Dads who had never met before fell into a rhythm, measuring, hammering, building our raised planting beds. Others dug up weeds and got to know each other better as they worked side by side. A number of seeds were planted directly into the beds, and soon seedlings that have been getting a head start in the first and third grade classrooms will be transplanted outside where they can continue to grow and bear peas, jalapenos, cabbage, and more.

But the garden is not the only thing that’s been growing here at Twin Oaks! On Friday, April 1, the middle school Eagle Express Cafe opened for the first time. When the 7th grade students presented their idea to me back in the fall, it was just that-an idea. But their perseverance, hard work, and creativity has led to a very successful start to their business. Already, it has raised over $400, some of which will go towards funding their 8th grade Washington D.C. trip next spring and part of which they voted to donate to our very own Mrs. Chan and her church, which is raising funds to improve their playground. It has been my privilege and joy to walk alongside them and watch them dream, problem solve, and push past discomfort and fears to make their dream of opening a cafe a reality. Right now the cafe is open to teachers, staff, and middle school students, but we hope to expand our menu and offerings to include more and more of our community, increasing our profits as well as our ability to bless others.

Hasn’t God been faithful? Look at what He has done! If someone would have told me last summer that we would develop a garden and open a cafe this year, I’m not sure I would have thought it possible. But God, in His infinite wisdom, opened doors at just the right time, putting just the right people and resources into place to bring these blessings to our community. And that in and of itself is a great lesson for our students-for me-for all of us­ to remember. He will equip us with everything good for doing His will, working in us what is pleasing to Him, to the glory of Christ Jesus. That’s something to get excited about!

By: Julie Cordray, Head of School

As I write, it’s snowing outside. Of course this isn’t the first of it. Starting in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning, our streets and homes have been gradually covered in a thick coat of white. The flakes are so fine and fall so delicately that it’s hard to believe the way they’ve piled up! Have you ever noticed the tendency for small things, persisting over time, to make a big impact?

We’ve been working hard this year to make changes that, at first glance, may seem small but are moving us forward in our pursuit of excellence for the growth of your students and for the glory of God. At last month’s Annual Meeting, we shared areas of growth as they align with our strategic goals–the specific ways we intend to address key aspects of our mission. Following are some highlights –

Programmatic Distinction:

• Outdoor Learning: We have plans to convert the “little playground” area into a garden space for our students. Stay tuned for further developments!
• Middle School Drama Club: Meeting once a week for the rest of the year, this after school club will culminate in a full-scale production of Peter Pan.
• Robotics–We are exploring ways to introduce this STEM initiative schoolwide, perhaps with LEGO Leagues and/or in partnership with Boeing.

Academic Distinction:

• Defining “Academic Excellence”: We believe “academic excellence” involves each child meeting his or her full potential by participating in rigorous, relevant, and engaging learning activities, using high quality curriculum, taught by dedicated teachers from a biblical worldview. This definition will guide us as in our growth.
• Language Arts Curriculum Review: Our students must be strong readers and writers. Our review process is targeted and thorough to identify curriculum that is rigorous and engaging, adaptable, and vertically aligned.
• Refining Vertical Alignment: We are committed to ensuring that the skills and concepts covered in each grade dovetail with the ones coming before and after.

Christian Community:

• Partnering with Parents: You are an important part of the”3-legged stool” between home, school, and church. Listening sessions and surveys invite you to partner with us.
• Read-a-Thon: We’re taking a fresh approach to our spring fundraiser by choosing an event that’s fun and academic. Stay tuned for more details!
• Early Childhood: We are intentionally planning to incorporate students from Preschool-Grade 8 in cooperative learning and fellowship opportunities, such as Grandparents’ Day and Crew.

Institutional Viability:

• School Board: The School Board is diverse and strong with new members and committees.
• Salary Scale: We are studying ways to more competitively pay teachers to attract and retain high-quality staff.
• Accreditation: We are preparing for our next CSI review, which will help us evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and culminate in an on-site visit in spring of 2023.

Like a seemingly gentle snowfall, the collective impact of these initiatives may not be immediately evident. But as we steadily and persistently steward all that God has given us, we can expect him to bring forth an increase that will leave Twin Oaks Christian School heavy–not with snow–but good fruit. We will never stop striving to bring our very best for the students we love and serve. Thank you for partnering with us to glorify God by nurturing the children He has entrusted into our care.

Throughout the year, we will highlight one of our teachers or staff members in what has been deemed the “Friday Five.” These features will be published on Fridays and will include a brief summary about the teacher or staff member followed by five fun things that others may not know. This week’s Friday Five comes from our Middle School History and Science Teacher Miss. Raina Norman.

Norman joined Twin Oaks Christian School last year as the part-time Middle School science teacher. During that time, Norman built strong connections with her students and inspired a greater understanding and appreciation for science. Now she serves as the history and science teacher for the TOCS middle school program.

Norman graduated in 2018 from the University of Missouri – St. Louis with a psychology degree and recently earned her Master of Arts in teaching general science in Grades 5-9.

Five Unique Things about Miss Norman:

1. I am the oldest of seven children (Family picture from my sister Emma’s wedding this past July)
2. I have a hidden passion for acting/musical theater
3. I am OBSESSED with ‘The Parent Trap’ (1998 version). It always has been and likely always will be my favorite movie. It even inspired my Bachelor’s degree graduation cap.
4. My favorite place in the world is France! I visited France the summer after graduating High School and completely fell in love.
5. I enjoy making clay jewelry for my small business ‘Morning Grace Company’.

You may check out Raina’s clay jewelry store here!