Dr. Fellers Head of School

ADMINISTRATION
MARCH 2016 ISSUE
Retention and Mission
Recently, I shared the exciting news of the school’s fantastic retention rate, which is
the percentage of current families who are re-enrolling for the next school year. A
school’s retention rate may be THE indicator of the overall health of a school. The
private school experts across the country say that a retention rate of 90% or above is
not just good, but great, and TCS sits at just over 92% for this next school year! As I
shared, I attributed this to God’s amazing grace, a dedicated staff who provide a high
quality school experience, and terrific parents who are involved in their child’s education. These three qualities bring strong parent satisfaction and a desire to re-enroll for
subsequent years.
Trinity Christian School
Dr. Ron Fellers, Head of School
Dr. Jeanna Bartel, Head of
Academics & Student Life
Sharon Waters, K-12 Dean
As an administrator, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. A higher retention rate
Mary Hollensworth, Preschool
means higher enrollment which
means more tuition which means a
Director
healthier budget which means
stronger programs and staff raises
Jeff Haynes, Athletic Director
and expanded opportunities, and the
list can go on and on. But the significance of a strong retention rate for
TCS is much greater than numbers
or budgets or programs. I believe in
the mission of TCS. I believe a high
Inside this issue:
retention rate in light of the mission
of TCS means an opportunity to serve more families and to impact them in a meaning- Administration
1
ful way.
Most of the culture sends their children to secular education to learn about the “real
world.” When they learn about the “real world” with no intentional mention or instruction of Christ as the foundation or His being integral to that world, they subconsciously learn that God is not relevant to their world. When we have a strong retention rate, it means more students in the Texarkana area will be trained to integrate God’s word into their daily lives, into their “real world,” making Him relevant to their daily lives. When families do not re-enroll, they miss out on what we
seek to provide through Christian education. When we retain a family, it means more
opportunity for TCS to influence students to impact the culture for
Christ.
Dr. Fellers
Head of School
rfellers@trinitywarriors.org
Academics
2
Apologetics
3
And This...
4
Athletics
5
Aspiring Warriors
6
Arts
7
PAGE 2
THE WARRIOR MONTHLY
ACADEMICS
Math Mastery
When we look at a bunch of numbers on a page, it can be intimidating. When we learned to make
sense of the numbers in lower elementary school, we grasped what the numbers symbolize. Our sweet
first grade teachers made certain we knew that “2” symbolized two apples, two blocks, two fingers. Our
young elementary to middle elementary teachers showed us how to use operations on those numbers
to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. When we get into advanced math, such as geometry and algebra, we need to learn to
change our focus. We have the tools in our toolboxes to do any
operation. It is time to stop memorizing facts about numbers
and begin taking dominion over them. In higher math, students
need to manipulate the numbers to make them do whatever needs
to be accomplished in a problem. They need to know those elementary facts so well that they can use them to do a hard job with perseverance. If students are still struggling with fractions or facts, that is
a key tool missing from their expertise. When assigned a real world
problem, they should be experts at assessing a problem, choosing
and using the best tool effectively, and sticking it out all the way
through the problem, even when it gets tough. Scratch
that...especially when it gets tough. Colleges want students who do
not give up on hard problems. Bosses want employees who are
not afraid of facing a hard task. God wants His people to finish
the race of life to His glory, pressing on to the finish, even
though life is hard.
Math prepares us well for all of these things. I'm grateful to be able to equip my students with character
traits which will serve them well in life. Trust me, I
must work hard to communicate these hard concepts to my students even when it is tempting to give
up and just move on. But I must be a good example
to my students and work hard all the time, as if I am
working for God. Looking for the easier way out is
human nature, but we must pray for God's grace to
grant us patience and work ethic. The question I get
most frequently in math class is, "When am I ever
going to use this?" My whimsical response is, "right
now, to pass my test, then to pass my class, then to
graduate high school, hopefully with a good
ACT math score, which can get a great scholarship. If you never use math again, but it helped you
through college to a fulfilling career, isn't that
enough?" But, math does not stay inside classroom
walls. It is everywhere in life. And the skills needed
to master math are needed to master life.
Mrs. Robertson
High School Math Teacher
srobertson@trinitywarriors.org
THE WARRIOR MONTHLY
PAGE 3
APOLOGETICS—BELIEVE, CONFESS, DEFEND
There is a great battle raging in America today - the battle for the hearts and minds of young people. Americans age 16-29 are increasingly becoming skeptical of any absolute moral or truth claims. The lies of subjective truth and moral relativism are sweeping
across our postmodern culture. For the majority of young people, truth means what is true for me, not what is absolutely true for
all people, and morality means what is moral for me, not necessarily for anyone else. One of the great freedoms we have as Americans is our freedom of choice. We choose everything in life; where we live, where we go to school, who we marry, how many children we have, where we work, how we spend our money and free time, etc. The natural tendency is to extend that freedom of
choice into the realm of truth and morality. Christian Americans, especially in the 16-29 age range, are equally susceptible to this
kind of thinking. This is the reason that we have to teach our children and students how to think biblically. Biblical Worldview training is an essential part of Christian discipleship for today’s world.
At TCS the first step in training students to think biblically is to teach
through selected books of the Bible verse by verse. There is simply
no substitute for Bible study. Reading and studying the Bible is the
foundation from which all related study is understood. As the Apostle Paul said, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a
worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the
word of truth” (2 Tim.2:15). As students read and study the Bible,
they begin to think like God, viewing the world from His perspective,
and then they begin to act like God, living their life as Christ lived
His. “Be imitators of God as dearly loved children, and walk in love,
as the Messiah…(Eph.5:1-2).
The next step is to bring apologetics alongside of Bible teaching. This
is simply providing supporting evidence in the form of reasonable, rational, and logical arguments for the truth claims of Christianity.
The heart won’t accept what the mind rejects. What students believe about God, Jesus, and the Bible will be questioned and opposed; they need to be able to meet that challenge. Apologetics gives them the tools to do so successfully. Peter understood this
and encouraged the first century believers to be ready, “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason
for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
The third step in training students to think biblically in order to prepare them to resist the lies that are prevalent in their culture is
through worldview training. At TCS we start with the Biblical Worldview, which is teaching students what Christians should believe
and why. This is a topical or “big picture” approach to Bible study. As they are learning what their worldview should be as Christians, they also begin studying what other worldviews believe. This helps students to be prepared for the many different views that
they are going to encounter today in a very diverse and confused culture. “Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of this world, and not based on Christ” (Col.2:8).
We want our students to think and live like Christ, not the culture. “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of
God,” (Rom.12:2).
Students not only need to be intellectually satisfied with the
truth claims of Christianity, their hearts must be captured by the
love of God so clearly expressed in the person of Christ. Because Christianity is about a personal relationship with Christ,
the heart is captured most readily through personal interaction
and relationships with other Christians. Just as it is true that the
heart will not accept what the mind rejects, it is also true that
the mind will not stay where the heart does not find satisfaction.
The mentoring/modeling relational impact a Christian adult has
on the Christian student cannot be overstated. If parents, church
leaders, and Christian school teachers intentionally develop
Christ-like and Christ-honoring relationships with young students, the impact on their faithfulness to Christ will be dramatic.
If they know that you love them, they will listen to what you have to say. If they know that you love them, they will pay
attention to what you do. They will believe what you believe, do what you
do, and love who you love. The ultimate goal at TCS is for all of our students to love the Lord with their entire being - heart, soul, mind, strength
(Mark 12:30), to love others in the same way (Mark 12:31), and to do so
gglover@trinitywarriors.org
for their entire life.
Mr. Glover
High School Bible Teacher
PAGE 4
THE WARRIOR MONTHLY
AND THIS...
Destination Imagination Competition at Genoa Central
Congratulations to our 9th grade Shield winners!
Senior High got 1st place in their instant challenge and 2nd place overall
Read Across America Day!
1st and 2nd Grades had
shared reading groups
Both middle school teams won 2nd place in their challenges
Elementary won 1st place in their
challenge and 1st place in the instant
challenge
Even though there is no placements
for little ones, the Rising stars also
did an amazing job
THE WARRIOR MONTHLY
ATHLETICS
Spring is in the air! Which means spring sports are priming
up and getting ready to roll. The Spring brings baseball,
softball and track to the front lines.
Baseball - “ We are a very young talented team that is
building on a State playoff team from last year”, quotes
Coach Cory Duke. “ We have 17 kids out for the team
this year, and they all could help out our team during the
stretch run”. Some of the key returning starters will be
Grant Nolen at 3rd base, Jay Pearcy at shortstop, Blake
Waters at 2nd base, and Garrett Hines in center field.
Softball - 3rd base Lexie Mills, catcher Scarlett Leeper,
and 2nd base Emily Diles are the leaders of the Lady Warrior Softball Team. “ We are lacking game experience. We have a lot of younger players this year that will
be battling for starting positions”, states Coach Shawn
Cree. “ We are hoping to improve over our last year’s
third place finish in the conference”.
Jr High Boys Track - There will be lots of expectations
of this year on Rhett Nelson. After a great initial season,
Rhett has gotten much stronger and has worked hard to
improve his skills in the pole vault. He also will be a strong
force in the hurdles as well as the distance events. Kole
Bridges will
also be one
of the leaders on this
Jr High
team. Kole
will lead
the distance crew
in the 4 x
800 Meter
Relay, Mile,
and 800
Meters.
Jr Girls
Track - A
couple of
the leaders in this group will be Freshman Anna Grace
Jackson and 7th grader Kadie Bowman. Anna Grace has
worked very hard over the last year. She was “bumped
up” for Varsity Cross Country and ran well at the State
Championship. She will be leading the way in the distance
PAGE 5
events for the Jr High Girls. Kadie will be more of a utility
student athlete. Kadie will be pivotal in the field events
along with the middle to longer distance events. We are a
little down in numbers this year, but the ones that have
come out for track work very hard.
Sr Boys Track - The Sr Boys are coming off two years of
being the State Runner-up. This year the Warriors are
ready to
bring the
championship
back home to
TCS. The
Warriors will
be led by Sr
Tanner Hamilton. Tanner
will be participating in the
High Jump,
Triple Jump,
Long Jump
and will be
running the
400 Meters
and on the relays. Freshman Jakob Martin should help with
the title run in the distance events. Jakob had a great 8th
grade year in the 1600 meters and I have been waiting a
long time for him to get to the Varsity level. Newcomer
Tim Hawthorne will also be an asset on the championship
title hopes. Tim had a very good indoor season and I am
excited to see him outdoors. Tim will be running the 400
Meters and 800 Meters.
Sr Girls Track - The Sr Girls will be vying for their 4th
straight state championship. We do not have the numbers
of participants that we have had in the past, but the ones
we do have are pretty good. This squad is led by AllAmerican Cross Country Runner Elizabeth Gillette. Elizabeth will be shooting not only for state titles, but also state
records. The state 1600 Meters, 3200 Meters, and 4 x 800
Meter Relay records are all in her sights. Most of those
records were set before Elizabeth was born. Sydney Cowgill is also another Sr leader for the Lady Warriors. Sydney
will lead the way in the 800 Meters, 400 Meters, and the
relays. Sydney also participates in the Triple Jump for the
team. Maddie Bowman is one of the team members that
can fill in anywhere the Lady Warriors need points. She
triple jumps, long jumps, runs middle distance, and on the
relay teams.
Giving Him ALL the Glory,
Jeff Haynes, Athletic Director
jhaynes@trinitywarriors.org
PAGE 6
THE WARRIOR MONTHLY
ASPIRING WARRIORS
Closing out the month of February is bittersweet, as the month brought about
new traditions and wonderful memories - a month all about love! Our Aspiring
Warriors learned about the greatest love, Agape love, the unconditional love
that God has for us and has commanded that we have for one another.” Love
one another, as I have loved you” in John 13:34-35 is reinforced daily into our
Aspiring Warriors’ hearts and minds, as we strive to help our children understand that by doing this, we are setting ourselves apart - we are Warriors,
God’s Warriors!
How can we love one another? How do we make love an action? By serving
one another. Sharing, showing empathy, and praying for one another are wonderful ways to teach children how to actively love one another. Aside from
conscientiously modeling the behavior ourselves as parents and
teachers, one way we teach empathy to our Aspiring Warriors, and help them to relate to one
another is through storytelling and acting. A good story is the
beginning to all of our moral and academic lessons, as it helps
our children’s hearts and minds open up, connecting our students socially and emotionally. Stories show us how to make
good choices and become good role models for one another.
With Read Across America and Dr. Seuss’ birthday on Wednesday, March 2, Preschool through second
grades celebrated with a wacky Dr. Seuss Week! Focusing on his books in class, we’d like to invite our parents to follow up at home. Let this jump-start a nightly reading tradition in your household!
As February is Community Helpers Month, we have loved
hearing from different people in our community. Just before
Valentine's Day, we had a visit from Ms. Kim, our Postwoman.
After creating Valentines for our parents, Ms. Kim spoke to us
about what she does, what she drives, and her uniform. She
sold each of the children a stamp and brought us out to see
her mail truck, where everyone loaded up their Valentines to
be delivered! We hope that our sweet Valentines light up
someone’s day as much as Ms. Kim lit up ours! Les Munn, a
TAPD Police Officer, spoke to our children about how he
works to keep everyone safe! The children were so excited to
see his car (lights and siren!) and learn about all his uniform
and the supplies he uses daily. Ms. Joyce, our school nurse,
spoke to our students about what she does daily, and how she cares for our students when they are sick or
injured. What would we do without our wonderful Ms. Joyce? Our Junior Kindergarten enjoyed a visit to our
neighbor’s, Fire Station #5! Ms. Reel and Ms. Lucas’ classes received the grand tour, and learned all about
what our firemen do daily, their awesome fire trucks, and their uniforms. We are so grateful for our firemen
and police officers and their selfless acts of love! Thank
Mary Hollensworth
you, Community Helpers!
Pass along the love to someone in your community!
Preschool Director
mhollensworth@trinitywarriors.org
THE WARRIOR MONTHLY
PAGE 7
ARTS
I want you to take a moment and imagine a life without the arts. When you turn on the radio, there is no music. There are no worship songs at church. No artwork is featured on your walls. There are no actors, so TV shows, plays, and movies don’t exist. There are
no concerts to look forward to. Ballets and dance recitals are unheard of, because no one knows how to dance. You can’t even play a
video game, because there is no one to design it.
It sounds pretty bleak, doesn’t it? It’s shocking to me that people expect art to be everywhere but don’t desire to pay for it (though
that’s another article for another day). What’s worse is that many members of the public demand Super Bowl halftime shows, art on
their walls, and blockbuster movies, but somehow keep insisting that the arts are a waste of time.
In December the arts won a major victory with the Every Student Succeeds Act. This
replacement for No Child Left Behind is not perfect, but by recognizing the arts as a
core subject it acknowledged that music, visual art, dance, drama, and media art are important for a child’s development and quality of life. Congress is finally catching on to
something that many Christians have known all along!
Christians know that we serve a God who loves beauty. We see this in the poetry of the
Scriptures and in the majesty of the world around us. Who but the Lord could create
such gorgeous mountains or paint such magnificent sunsets? Our God desired to make
the earth a beautiful place, and in my opinion artists are the best way to see this aspect
of His character. Christian artists realize that every time a dancer creates new choreography or a musician composes a song they are mimicking the first act of Creation. Our
own works of art can’t compare to the Lord’s, but by creating them we find a new way
to praise Him.
The arts are a valuable part of any education and should play an active role in a Christian school’s curriculum. Sometimes drama or
music may not be a student’s “thing”, but by studying how art is made students learn to appreciate the work that gifted artists put into
their creations. Trinity recognizes this and has made some strides to offer more artistic avenues for its students to travel:
 Destination Imagination allows students to create plays and build props and sets (though that’s only the tip of the iceberg; they do
much more!). They get to perform in front of a small audience at competitions and use their creativity to solve unique problems.
 Drama Club trains students in the basics of acting. Students use monologues and short skits to learn how to project their voices and
convey emotion with their bodies and expressions.
 Art classes teach students how to draw and paint using many different mediums. Art students
learn how to see form and perspective and how to use color and shading to make masterpieces.
 The Yearbook class teaches valuable media arts skills. These students learn about photography,
creating page layouts that are pleasing to the eye, and editing for a polished product.
 Elementary music teaches the basics of rhythm and melody through songs, chants, and movement. These activities are valuable for creating a sense of pitch and an inner pulse. They are also
great ways for students to learn how to coordinate parts of the body -- skills that are important
for any child, but especially for developing athletes and dancers.
 Choir trains students to use their voices correctly, create harmony, and coordinate with an accompanist. Singing is a lifelong skill, and these students are already using it during student worship!
 Band allows students to play instruments, read music, create musical compositions, and work as
a team to combine many independent parts into one voice. Many band students continue to play
their instruments long after graduation as part of a worship or a community band.
Our school has a culture that emphasizes athletics, and for a good reason -- our athletes are insanely talented! The Lord has blessed them with amazing ability and work ethic, not to mention wonderful coaches. (As someone
whose athletic ability is limited to weight lifting with tuba cases, I am in awe of their achievements!) But have you ever thought to congratulate our Destination Imagination teams? Have you thanked the Yearbook staff for their hard work? Have you ever attended a
band concert, or seen any of the art class’s paintings? Have you heard our students lead a worship service? If not, I encourage you to
get to know the artistic side of the student body. These students’ accomplishments may not be as visible as our athletes’, but they are
every bit as important.
This month, take a moment to appreciate how much the Lord loves us. He has not only saved us; He has blessed us with beauty and
imagination to make life on His earth better. He could have given us a world without the arts, but He wanted so much more for us
that He gave us creative ways to express ourselves and honor Him. As we enter Music in our Schools month, join me in saying prayers of thanks for the talents of all our
artists!
Kaitlin Shaw
Band Director
kshaw@trinitywarriors.org
PAGE 8
THE WARRIOR MONTHLY
As a ministry of Trinity Baptist Church, Trinity Christian School is committed to
partnering with Christian parents in providing a Biblical perspective in the education
of their children. The combination of the Christian home, the Christian school, and
the Christian church provide a unified whole that enables a 24/7 process of equipping a child to serve Christ. Missing any one of these segments inhibits True Education from occurring.
Trinity Christian School offers:

A biblical worldview infused into our curriculum and school
culture

A physically and emotionally safe, secure environment

Small class sizes that provides individual attention and greater
opportunities for students to participate in sports, activities and
clubs

An academic program that provides outstanding preparation
for college acceptance and post-secondary success

An environment where students appreciate others for who they
are as people
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 1st Jr High Track – Domtar Jr Relays @ Ashdown
March 2nd Don’t Sweat it, Coach Smith! Fundraiser
Day
March 3rd Sr High Track – DeQueen Leopard Relays
@ Dequeen
March 3rd Drop-in with “Dr. B” @ 2:00 p.m.
March 4th Baseball TCS vs Lafayette @ TCS 3pm
March 4th Early Dismissal – Extended Care Available
March 5th Softball TCS vs Bradley @ TCS 12pm
March 7th - 11th K5 thru 6th Grade Parent Teacher
Conferences
March 7th Baseball TCS vs. Bradley @ TCS 4pm
March 7th Softball TCS vs. Lafayette @ TCS 4pm
March 8th Picture Day-Senior Cap and Gown, Kindergarten Graduation, Cheerleading, and Cross Country
March 8th Jr High Track – DeQueen Relays @
Dequeen
March 8th Softball TCS vs Emerson @ TCS 4pm
March 10th K5-12th Grade Early Dismissal – Extended
Care Available
March 10th 7th-12th Grade Parent Teacher Conference
March 11th K5-12th Grade Early Dismissal – Extended
Care Available
March 11th and 12th Baseball – Arkansas High Tournament @ AHS
March 11th Softball – TCS vs Lafayette @ Lafayette
County
March 12th Pancake Breakfast – Applebee’s 8 a.m. to
10 a.m.
March 14th Softball – TCS vs Emerson @ Emerson
March 15th Jr High Track – Prescott Jr Relays @ Prescott
March 17th Sr High Track – Ashdown Domtar Relays
@ Ashdown
March 18th Baseball TCS vs PG @ Pleasant Grove
March 18th - 20th Softball Tournament
March 19th Select Basketball Try-Outs
March 19th - 27th Mexico Mission Trip
March 21st - 25th Spring Break
March 28th Softball TCS vs Fouke @ Fouke
March 29th Jr High Track – Genoa Relays @ Genoa
March 31st Sr High Track – Prescott Merchant @
Prescott