From the Eagle’s Nest – Quarter 1 – 2023

We’ve only been back at school a little over a month, but already we’re settling into the rhythms of work and worship that define our days at Twin Oaks Christian School. What a joy it is to know that God is sovereign and good, orchestrating circumstances in the life of the school so that we are sanctified and He is glorified.

It’s important that we all understand who we are and where we’re going as a school, so we can pull in the same direction and grow into ever-increasing effectiveness. I thought I would use this first quarter communication to remind us of our school’s mission and to describe the ways in which we’re seeking to faithfully live it out as an entire community.

Our mission is to glorify God by nurturing spiritual development, academic excellence, and servant leadership in an environment where each child is known and loved. It sounds like an amazing pursuit! But what are we doing to fulfill it?

Spiritual Development: Your child’s growth in Christ is our top priority. It doesn’t mean we pause all of the other good things necessary to provide a quality education for a spiritual “time out.” It means all we do is grounded in God’s truth so that everything, from learning math to resolving conflict to hanging out with friends, becomes an opportunity to point them to Christ. Assistant Head of School Chris Rensink has been hard at work preparing professional development for our teachers that will help them identify and take advantage of these opportunities even more. For those of you who didn’t see last week’s social media post on the subject, teachers will be studying the book Beyond Biblical Integration by Roger Erdvig, learning and applying principles designed to immerse students in a biblical worldview throughout their whole day.

As Mr. Rensink points out, “This book study with our staff will propel us forward as a school community in living out our mission statement. As Jeff Meyers of Summit Ministries says, ‘Something exciting happens when we immerse ourselves in a biblical worldview. We realize that deep, biblical thinking is possible in every subject. We find that we can have the mind of Christ. So can our students. It will change all of us. In the past, Christians transformed science, education, the arts, healthcare, human rights, and more. It is time for a new era of innovation – and innovation starts with immersion.’”

Please pray for our faculty as they learn how to help shape the desires of our students and equip them with the tools necessary to navigate their growing worldview and continue its development well beyond their years at Twin Oaks Christian School. This is one way we live out our mission.

Academic Excellence: The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 teaches us that what we do with our gifts and talents matters to God. That’s why we encourage our students to do their best and why we look for ways to support their individual academic growth.

The ERB is a new assessment tool that will help us do just that. Instead of one test at the end of the year to measure growth, students in grades 3-8 will participate in two additional milestone tests throughout the year. Milestone tests are formative assessments meant to provide teachers with valuable insights that can inform their ongoing instruction. Milestone tests will measure reading and math performance for each student, which will help teachers differentiate instruction according to each student’s needs. The first ERB Milestone test took place last week. This week, after our noon dismissal on Friday, September 29, teachers will participate in training with an ERB specialist, who will show them how to analyze and interpret test data to respond to their students’ needs.

This means that student growth will be monitored throughout the school year, teachers will have ongoing information to inform their instruction, and parents will have a clearer picture of their child’s academic growth as well as ideas for helping support from home. Commitment to your child’s academic excellence is another way we live out our mission.

Servant Leadership: When meeting with prospective families, I usually tell stories about all of the opportunities students have to serve and lead, but this time I would like to go a different direction. The quality of servanthood is mostly “caught” instead of “taught,” and at Twin Oaks, your children are immersed in an entire community that lives out servant leadership in bold and beautiful ways. So far this year our teachers and staff have had some big needs that our community has responded to with grace and generosity. Meal Trains, gift cards, cash donations, and encouraging cards and notes from our families and staff have promoted a culture of serving one another in love as the Spirit has led.

In addition to these spontaneous opportunities to serve on another, we look forward to our upcoming Change for Haiti change drive, our Thanksgiving Food Drive, and our One Heart Ministries pajama day fundraiser, each one designed to bless our community through the hands and feet of our students.

Where Each Child is Known and Loved: If you’ve been part of our community for very long, I don’t have to tell you how much joy our teachers and staff derive from getting to know your children and providing for their individual needs–because they truly love them! At Twin Oaks, students who struggle are not problems to be solved but children to be nurtured and educated according to their needs. Whether we’re working to find resources to challenge a student who can go further, helping a student work through feelings of anxiety, or adding features like Music Kids to enhance their experience, our focus is to honor God by caring for your child. Our partnership with parents is a vital part of fulfilling this part of our mission, and we are grateful for the sense of connection and common purpose that we share with each one of you.

What each part of our mission has in common is a focus on our students and a desire for the way we serve them to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. From Genesis to Revelation, the whole counsel of God’s Word teaches us to love, first Him, and then others. I love these words from Jeremiah 17:7-8: “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Our school year is off to a strong start. With our trust and confidence in God, we can be sure that He will continue to bear good fruit in the life of Twin Oaks Christian School. I hope you’re as excited as I am to see what He does next.