Advent Continued...Henri Nouwen

The Peace That is Not of This World 

 

Keep your eyes on the prince of peace, the one who doesn't cling to his divine power; the one who refuses to turn stones into bread, jump from great heights and rule with great power; the one who says, "Blessed are the poor, the gentle, those who mourn, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness" (see Matt. 5:3-11); the one who touches the lame, the crippled, and the blind; the one who speaks words of forgiveness and encouragement; the one who dies alone, rejected and despised. Keep your eyes on him who becomes poor with the poor, weak with the weak, and who is rejected with the rejected. He is the source of all peace.

Where is this peace to be found? The answer is clear. In weakness. First of all, in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. Why there? Because there, our familiar ways of controlling our world are being stripped away; there we are called to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are weakest the peace which is not of this world is hidden.

In Adam's name I say to you, "Claim that peace that remains unknown to so many and make it your own. Because with that peace in your heart you will have new eyes to see and new ears to hear and gradually recognize that same peace in places you would have least expected."

 

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HCOS NEWS

Heritage Christian Online School Invites you to join us for:

Adonia Spring Break Camp - Presenting Jacob  

Camp description:  
Students in grades 1-8 are invited to a Spring Break musical theatre camp to present the story of Jacob. Each family gets a practice CD beforehand to learn all the songs and lines. The camp will be 5 days in length consisting of singing and acting practices, crafts, and devotions.  The end result is a performance of the musical.  Each camp day is 5 hours in length (Mon-Thurs 10-3, Friday 1-6 with the performance included in the final hour).
For further Information: https://fluidsurveys.com/s/adonia-2015/

RICHMOND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

 

 Go to these links and sign up your children in Grades 1-9 for Terms 2 and 3:

https://fluidsurveys.com/s/community-connections-richmond-2014-term-2/

https://fluidsurveys.com/s/community-connections-richmond-2014-term-3/

Something Hardly Noticeable - Thougths During Advent

"A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him." (Isaiah11:1-2).

These words from last night's liturgy have stayed with me during the day. Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is the Creator of the Universe, comes to us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness.

I find this a hopeful message. Somehow, I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God's saving power; but over and over again I am reminded that spectacles, power plays, and big events are the ways of the world. Our temptation is to be distracted by them and made blind to the "shoot that shall sprout from the stump."

When I have no eyes for the small signs of God's presence - the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children, the words of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends - I will always remain tempted to despair.

The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown young man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he asks for my full attention. The work of our salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. But the promise is hidden in the shoot that sprouts from the stump, a shoot that hardly anyone notices. 

 

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HCOS RESOURCES

Math

Johnnie's Math Page: http://jmathpage.com/

Adrian Bruce's Math Games: http://greatmathsgames.com/

Sparkle Box: http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/maths/#.VIYSAjHF_WH

Reading

40+ of the absolute BEST books for boys in their pre-tween, tween and teenage years.

Let me start by saying that my now-teenage boys are not avid bookworms. They’re decent readers, but they don’t just hunker down with a book whenever they’re bored.  They’d just rather be doing something like throwing a baseball or watching hockey game.  However, they always loved ME to read to THEM, and I did, every night, from the time they were babies until they were far too old for bedtime stories. I won’t tell you exactly how old they were when I stopped reading to them at night.  They’d never forgive me.

Want to know a secret though?

Check out this blog for more information: http://happyhooligans.ca/best-books-for-boys-ages-8-16/

Learning Camps

HCOS invites you to join us for
Lego Robotics presented by Gateways

https://fluidsurveys.com/s/2015-ft-langley-lego-robotics/

HCOS invites you to join us for the

Vancouver Symphony Orchesta's
Once Upon An Orchestra

https://fluidsurveys.com/s/vso-once-upon-an-orchestra-feb-2015/

Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA's)

Please note if you have a student in Grade 4 or Grade 7 then be aware that information from HCOS will be coming out in the coming weeks about upcoming FSA's that will take place January 12 - February 20, 2015.

There is more information on the Ministry of Education website: https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/assessment/fsa/

Second Term and Other Notables

Hard to believe, but today marks the beginning of second term at HCOS.

Congrats! You've all navigated your way through the world of online learning, and you've succeeded at completing your first term!  Well done!

I want to say a particularly huge THANK YOU for all the hard work you did to get portfolio's completed.  I thoroughly enjoyed home visits, sharing in the joy of your children's learning and spending time with your families.

I am quickly looking to finish up report cards and get information posted in Encom. Remember, if you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Moving into second term, let me encourage you to keep up the wonderful updates that you have been providing. They have been extremely helpful in not only understanding your child's learning, but also in helping with reporting required by the Ministry of Education.  

Reporting Tip!

Looking to strengthen your reporting and updates?

One way to do this is to focus on both the activity, but also the skill that is being developed.

Here is an example:

Susan completed page 21 of Math-U-See.

She can count 1-10

A stronger reporting statement: 

Susan completed page 21 of Math-U-See. Adding and subtracting double digit numbers.  

Completed 10 minutes of IXL Math.  Scored 94% on quiz on identifying numbers 1-10

Thanks again for all your hard work!

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ADVENT RESOURCE

Yesterday began the ADVENT SEASON.  It is a wonderful time of year to remember, to wait in anticipation, the seek the Kingdom of God.

If you're looking for meaningful ways to engage your children in the season of Advent here are some creative ways to do so. 

Check out this website. 

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HAITI

Thank you all for your prayers during my trip last week to Haiti.  It was fantastic!  I thank God for the safety he provided during my time there, and more importantly for the amazing opportunity to see rural Haitians thriving!

I'm sharing a few pictures with you of my visit to the community and some of the awesome people that I met along the way.

School built by Community
 Funds Provided by FH Canada

Local Boy  

Accessing produce
grown in the community.

Rural Farmer