PILGRIM Journey

The Lansing Christian School

Board of Trustees

Gillian Granger ’88, Chair

Rod Moore, Secretary

Brad Banasik

Stephanie Buchalski

Dave Greydanus

Laura Moody

Scott Wagoner

Rina Woodland ’85

Lori Wortz

WHAT OUR PARENTS

ARE TELLING US… By Wendy Hofman, Head of School

In a recent Parent Survey, over 80% of parents

responding said that the Christian focus and the

intentional integration of faith in every area of our

school is the single biggest factor in enrolling their

children at LCS.

Other important factors indicated by our parents

include: academics, college preparation, excellent

teachers, community, a positive learning environment,

and partnering with Christian parents. What does this tell

us?

Having a strong academic program that prepares

students for college and career. Helping students

understand all of learning from a Christian world view is

the heart and soul of what a Christian education is all about. We are preparing

students to live lives where knowledge and learning are important. This enables

students to be salt and light in the world, serve God’s people, and further

Christ’s kingdom.

LCS provides opportunities for students of all ages to be nurtured in their faith

through relationships, Bible knowledge, worship and service. This helps students

learn that faith is not separate from learning at school.

Programs that allow students to grow in their interests, gifts and abilities also

continue to be a priority for our parents. Co-curricular programs give students

opportunities to explore their special interests and God-given gifts and abilities

outside the classroom. Providing more of these opportunities for our students is

a priority as we move into the 2014-15 school year.

In this edition of the Pilgrim Journey you have the opportunity to read more

about what Lansing Christian parents value and what Christian education is all

about. Through strong academic programs, spiritual formation, fine arts,

athletics and co-curricular programs, we are teaching students to live lives

in service to God and to others.

Spring 2014

Photo by Tom Gennara

A group of students

designed four pairs of

Vans shoes for a

national competition.

This spring, senior

Dane Porter accepted

an award on the steps

of the state capitol for

the “In God We Trust”

art competition.

2 PILGRIM Journey

Classroom Learning Fine Arts

Excellence in the Arts At LCS we believe that the arts are a gift from

God and deserve no less than our very best.

The visual arts, music and drama are ways for

students of all ages to express creativity and

grow skills that are vital to participation and

leadership in the worship of our Creator.

All of our kindergarten through eighth grade

students participate and receive instruction in

the visual arts and in music at least twice each

week, and two-thirds of our high school students have a fine arts class this

year. A strong fine arts program is important to Christian education, where

our priority is preparing students to live lives of worship and service to God

with their minds, their hearts and their hands.

Creativity on Display By Katie Emery, Middle School and High School Art Teacher

Art class teaches students to see God’s creativity in the world and serves as a

reminder that they are created in God’s image. Being made in the likeness of

God means that each student has a God-given ability to create. This helps

motivate the teaching in each art lesson.

LCS art classes are relevant and meet state and national art standards.

Students at LCS are encouraged to enter local and even national art

competitions each year. It is humbling to be able to witness students at LCS

being creators of art on a daily basis. Their capabilities are truly inspiring and

God-honoring.

The 2014 MSUFCU Art Competition was a smashing success

for LCS students. Three of the nine students exhibiting won

awards: Dane Porter, 3rd place juried award and 1st place

popular choice award (left); Nikki Rakestraw won 3rd place

popular choice award (upper left); and Rebecca Hull won

2nd place popular choice award (above).

Photo by Tom Gennara

FINE ARTS

PILGRIM Journey 3

Fine Arts Night By Wendy Hofman, Head of School

On March 27, the commons of Lansing Christian School was filled with the sights

and sounds of middle and high school students engaged in the arts! Fine Arts

Night gave students, parents, and the LCS community a taste of what our

middle and high school students are accomplishing in each of the fine arts.

Fine arts enthusiasts entered the LCS commons to view walls and tables of

artwork by more than one hundred LCS art students! Middle school band

solo and ensemble winners performed alongside sixth grade choir

students singing their original compositions. At the same time, middle

school musical and high school play cast members gave “sneak peak”

performances of their upcoming shows in the media center.

The evening concluded with mini-performances by the middle school

band and high school choir and chorale. In just one hour, guests were

able to experience a full palate of Lansing Christian School students

engaged in the arts!

A HIGH SCHOOL PLAY

“I didn’t expect to laugh this hard tonight,” was the

sentiment expressed by many parents and LCS supporters

at the performance of The Rules of Comedy, a One-Act

Physical Comedy Extravaganza, and Sincerely, a One-Act

Readers Theatre. Under the direction of Michael Partridge,

20 high school students came together, some who had

never acted before, to perform two very different plays at

the Pennway Church of God. The experience left students

and parents alike wanting more. LCS is currently working on

developing more acting and theatre opportunities for high

school students.

▲ Elementary art teacher

Jenny Cronin shows

students how to mix

colors.

◄ Third grade students

learned about Russian

architecture, looking at

the bright colors, patterns

and onion domes which

characterized this style.

Students drew their own

buildings inspired by

Russian architecture.

Photo by Tom Gennara

4 PILGRIM Journey

Classroom Learning Student Life

Math-R-Rama By Sheila Dykstra, Elementary Principal

Math-R-Rama is a competitive math activity sponsored by the Lansing School

District for students in fourth through sixth grades. Students compete four times a

year in teams of eight to solve a variety of types of math problems.

The first meet tests a student’s ability to perform

whole number operations. The second meet allows

students to play Krypto, a number operation card

game. The third meet has work with decimals as its

focus, while the final meet has geometry, fractions,

and probability items to be solved. Each meet also

has a mental math activity and problems requiring

students to use grocery store ads to find unit prices,

calculate tax, and make change.

All four LCS teams had successful results this year,

with seven 1st place trophies, one 2nd place trophy

and three 3rd place trophies.

Lansing Christian Middle School students

were outstanding in their April

performance of Willy Wonka

Photos by Jen Wagoner

Students enjoyed

reading with each

other during our

“March is Reading

Month” festivities.

PILGRIM Journey 5

Student Life

Science Olympiad By Kelly Joos, High School Science Teacher

Science Olympiad is a national extracurricular program

that engages students in exploring various specialty fields

in science at a deeper level than they may encounter in

their traditional science classes. Each year the Science

Olympiad committee offers over 20 different

events ranging from astronomy to anatomy and forensics

to building events such as the bungee drop. Students

compete in these events at the regional, state and

national levels.

For the past four years, LCS has participated in Science Olympiad. Students train

for their events with the help of volunteer coaches, which include LCS parents

and teachers, MSU science students and community science experts.

This year, Lansing Christian sent a team of 24 students to the regional

competition at Lansing Community College. We placed fifth or better in 10 of

the events, and came in fifth place overall! Way to go Pilgrims!

We are always on the lookout for parents, alumni and other members of our

community to help coach these events. If you are at all interested in learning

more, contact the LCS main office and we'll be in touch!

LCS Mileage Club Sparrow’s Feelin' Good® Mileage Club® is de-

signed to make exercise fun by offering ele-

mentary students the chance to walk or run

during recess. Lansing Christian has partici-

pated for over 14 years. This year we have

177 students running or walking. Why?

“I like running around, so I can meet

new friends.” Second grade student

“l like to bond

with my friends

while running.

I also want to

earn a water

bottle.”

Fifth grade student

Learning with

Legos Fifth grade students

explored Science,

Technology, Engineer-

ing, and Math (STEM)

and supply chains in

action with Judy Whip-

ple, MSU professor of

Supply Chain Manage-

ment and Cheryl

Dalsin from Intel® in

Arizona. Working with

MSU students, the 5th

grade students formed

teams with suppliers,

quality control engi-

neers, and deliverers.

Students designed

and built their own

Lego cars and compet-

ed to see who could

best satisfy their

customer.

"I liked working

with my friends on

a team along with

MSU students.

I like the way the

lesson was set up.

It really helped our

learning to relate it

to something we

like to do."

Fifth grade student

6 PILGRIM Journey

Classroom Learning Nurturing Faith

High School Chapel

NURTURING STUDENT LEADERS By Tim Blamer, Director of Student Life

Every week middle and high school students participate in two

chapels. On Tuesdays, the students hear from an outside speak-

er with a focus on our theme verse for the year, Micah 6:8.

Speakers have included area youth pastors, missionaries, staff

members, MSU athletes and more.

Students lead chapel on Fridays which helps develop spiritual

leadership gifts and gives students increased ownership of the

chapel program. Our goals this year for Friday chapels have

been to make them God-centered, student led, participatory

and an encouragement to student spiritual growth.

Over 30 students have volunteered throughout the year for

chapel planning, and it has been wonderful to be led in worship by

them. The students have been working in smaller groups to plan a

chapel every few weeks.

Chapel is an important part of our Christian community and the spiritual

growth of our students. We look forward to next year and the continued

growth of our chapel leadership program.

“Being a leader on the chapel team has

not only helped me grow in my faith but

has instilled a passion for helping

other students also grow in their faith.”

Joe Bustamante, Class of 2014

Stephen Jacobson, Class of 2014,

joined the chapel team “to encourage

students to pursue God with all their heart.”

Stephen felt called to be a leader on the

chapel team to help encourage students in

their relationship with God.

Photo by Tom Gennara

PILGRIM Journey 7

Nurturing Faith

LCS Teachers Take Time to GROW IN THEIR FAITH By Wendy Hofman, Head of School

Spiritual leadership is a part of what it means to be a Christian

teacher. It is an opportunity – a sphere of influence that all our

teachers have in their classrooms, on the athletic field, through

co-curricular activities, and in their ongoing, everyday relationships

with students.

This winter, our PreK-12th grade teachers participated in a spiritual

retreat. The retreat provided time away from planning and

preparing in order to invest time nurturing the faith of our teachers

and leaders. In our day together we learned the importance of

cultivating the spiritual disciplines in own lives, and ways to grow

our spiritual capacity for daily work and interaction with students. Time was also

spent praying for God’s Spirit to work in our school and in the lives of our students

and families.

As teachers and leaders in Christian education, our goal is for our students to

become more like Jesus. That means we need to continue to be more like Jesus.

The retreat allowed time for God to work in us. For the teachers and leadership of

Lansing Christian, the spiritual retreat is an investment of time – time focused on

allowing God to speak to us and fill us with His Spirit so that we can be imitators of

Jesus to our students.

We are grateful

The annual LCS faculty

and staff retreat is made

possible by an endow-

ment from Jim and Ann

Bowden, who faithfully

and sacrificially served

LCS in the early years.

DID YOU KNOW?

The annual fund helps

to bridge the gap

between the cost of

an LCS education and

the tuition each family

pays.

Your gift to the annual

fund is spent within

the fiscal year it is

given—so each

student will benefit

from the gift you give

today! Make your gift

in the enclosed

envelope or at

lansingchristianschool

.org

Bible Lessons for Life By Sheila Dykstra, Elementary Principal

Every day our students face temptations that try to

lead them away from God. How do students learn to

be anchored in their faith? What will help keep them

focused on continuing their walk with God?

At Lansing Christian, we believe the answer to this is

the word of God. We know that our students need to

stand firm by studying the Bible. We also believe in

the life-long value of writing God’s word on their

hearts through the memorization of scripture.

Our goal is for our students to learn passages from the Bible that will guide them

throughout their lives. It is for this reason that we have a Bible memory plan that

encompasses all levels of our school, so that all students, from preschool through

12th grade, memorize scripture. Our desire is that God’s word will shape our

students and be a light that guides their daily walk.

Photo by Tom Gennara

Photo by Tom Gennara

8 PILGRIM Journey

Classroom Learning Serving Others

SERVICE WEEK: A LCS Tradition By Cathy Bowden Bytwerk ’69, Service Week Coordinator

With spring comes Service Week at LCS. Ninth and

tenth grade students are put into groups that go

out to various places in the community to make a

difference in the lives of others for Jesus Christ. This

year students will serve at the Greater Lansing Food

Bank, Stoneleigh Hospice House, Youth Haven

Ranch, Hidden Treasures, Trinity Church, Mustard

Seed Biological Warfare, Rainbow House and LCS.

The values of serving others, working as a team,

and using God given skills to make a difference in another person’s life are

essential to giving our students a complete and well-rounded education that

brings glory to God. Our students get their hands in the soil,

paint murals, sort clothes and a variety of other good deeds.

How does Service Week affect our students’ lives? Looking

back to the last few years, Class of 2014 students say:

“I came away with a bigger heart for serving others.”

Gwyneth Wortz

“Realizing the needs of those in our community

heightened my awareness of the many ways to serve.”

Rosemarie Falsetta

We are grateful for our faithful

volunteers, Dr. Niemeyer and

“Miss Judy” Montgomery, who serve

weekly as Kindergarten helpers.

Kindergarten Volunteers

PILGRIM Journey 9

LCS Community Life

LCS SUMMER CAMPS By Sheri Shank, Summer Camp Coordinator

Why attend a Lansing Christian Summer Camp? The instructors

make the difference. LCS instructors integrate faith into every

aspect of learning, activity and sport, giving students an opportunity

to grow in their God-given gifts and abilities.

The instructors of the athletic camps teach students to grow in their

faith and relationship to Jesus Christ. Athletic Director Zach Van

Duinen said, “Our student athletes view the gym, field or pitch as

their mission field; a place where they can let their light shine while

doing something our athletes love to do—compete.”

English high school teacher Andrew Kleyn’s camp is “Integrating Faith Into Contemporary Popular Novels”.

Mr. Kleyn encourages each student’s love for reading and creates discussion regarding biblical truth in

contemporary novels such as Hunger Games and Harry Potter.

Garrett Anderson, Elementary Physical Education teacher, is running a “Circuit Riders” camp that serves as

evangelism training for middle and high school students and adults. The group will learn how to simply share

the gospel, then bike around Lansing and talk to people about Jesus.

For more information, click “Latest News” on the LCS website homepage (www.lansingchristianschool.org)

or contact Sheri Shank at 517.882.5779 x126, sshank@lansingchristianschool.org.

Why LCS? By Todd & Karen Schulz, LCS Parents

LCS family: The Fishers (parents Mike and Michelle; sons Gannon, third grade;

Trevor, eleventh grade; and daughter Stacey, a 2011 graduate.)

Their story: Tuition grant and scholarship support has helped the Fishers enroll

their three children at LCS for the past seven years. With Stacey now a junior

at Indiana Wesleyan University and considering graduate school, the family

can see first-hand the long-term value of the LCS experience. And they

expect the same positive influence for their boys. “We wanted there to be

consistency in what they were hearing and being taught during the formative

years to help ensure a strong, Biblically based foundation,” Michelle said.

The impact: “Our family has been so blessed by attending LCS that only

eternity will truly reveal how much,” Michelle said. “All of our children have

been supported and encouraged, academically and in all areas of life.”

Why LCS is special to them: “I cannot express how amazing the staff and teachers are and have been,”

Michelle Fisher said. “It is such a huge blessing to have teachers who are not only knowledgeable in their

fields but also are authentic and unashamed of their faith. It speaks volumes to the kids.”

Photo by Tom Gennara

10 PILGRIM Journey

Classroom Learning Honoring God and Pursuing Victory

COACHES: Role Models & Mentors By Zach VanDuinen, Athletic Director

Coaches have both a responsibility and an incredible

opportunity to mentor student athletes.

As coaches work with student athletes, they model life skills like

goal-setting and communicating. Most importantly, coaches

have an opportunity to be a spiritual mentor to their athletes.

Conducting team devotions, team prayers, and being a godly

example both on and off the field teaches the students how to

live a life that is honoring to God and to people. This is

something that stays with our student athletes for their entire lives.

Many of our coaches at LCS actively mentor their student athletes.

This is what makes our programs stand out from other schools.

BASEBALL By David Miranda, Varsity Baseball Coach

There is something about our national pastime that allows our student athletes

to learn much about life: working as a team, giving maximum effort, pursuing

individual and team goals, and mastering the skill sets to be successful.

As the head baseball coach at LCS, I am an ambassador of Jesus

Christ to the baseball team. I have emphasized that accountabil-

ity, desire, dedication, determination, and discipline need to be

demonstrated in the classroom and on the baseball field. In some

cases I have withheld a student athlete from practice in order to

take care of business in the classroom. Additionally, I challenge

each player to walk closely with Jesus Christ as they represent

God and LCS as a student athlete.

Through individual and team sessions, I have challenged each

player to personalize Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have

for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm

you, plans to give you hope and a future." Without question, this

verse demonstrates that God has a great plan. Could it be that each student

athlete that is under my tutelage can pursue and find the plan that God has in

store for him? I say yes.

It is my hope and desire that each player will commit themselves to Christ like

never before and allow His Holy Spirit to reveal Himself in a manner that will

allow each young man to draw closer to the King of kings. What an opportunity

and what an awesome challenge to be the head baseball coach at LCS!

Our students look to

their coaches as an

example of how to

compete with

exemplary

sportsmanship, but

also of how to live

godly lives.

Photo by Tami Rakestraw

Photo by Tom Gennara

PILGRIM Journey 11

Honoring God and Pursuing Victory

Lansing Christian’s new conference, the Greater Lansing Activities Conference (GLAC), introduced its

new logo in front of the State Capitol. GLAC charter members are Lakewood, Leslie, Perry, Maple Valley,

Lansing Christian, Olivet and Stockbridge schools.

Photo by Dick Hoekstra / Lansing State Journal

SPORTS

HIGHLIGHTS

Boys Basketball

Jordan Terry was

named All-State

Honors and LSJ

Class D First Team.

Girls Basketball

LCS won the Regional

Championship for the

second time in three

years.

Mikayla Terry was

named First Team

All-State Division 4.

She set the LCS

school record for re-

bounds with 700,

and joined the LCS

1000 points club.

TENNIS By Dick Winters, Head Tennis Coach

Since 2006 it has been my joy, privilege

and responsibility to develop Lansing

Christian’s Tennis Program and to coach

and mentor LCS’s remarkable student

athletes.

Tennis is a lifetime sport, one that I have

championed since I was 10 years old. As

one who has continued to actively play

this sport for 63 years, I recognize that the

passion that I have for this sport goes far

beyond wins and losses on the courts. As a coach,

I understand and embrace that my role involves a

variety of inter-related duties that go well beyond

teaching our student athletes about tennis skills.

As a coach, I have four general objectives: to help

athletes develop psychologically and socially,

develop physically and learn physical skills, have

fun, and raise their performance bar and level of

achievement. I believe that student athletes can and should learn positive values

and skills from playing sports – such as teamwork, sportsmanship, fairness, the value

of hard work, motivation, time management, goal setting, listening and communi-

cation skills, taking personal responsibility for one’s actions, and accepting wins

and losses gracefully. As a coach, I exist to serve and mentor our student athletes --

in their growth and development in sport and life skills and to implement strategies

that do so.

GO PILGRIMS!!

KEEP UP

ON ALL THE NEWS!

Check out the new

LCS Athletics web-

site for the latest

information:

www.lcpilgrims.com

Photos by Keith Granger

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PERMIT NO 410

LANSING, MI

3405 Belle Chase Way, Lansing, MI 48911

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GROWING MINDS. NURTURING FAITH. PREPARING LIVES.

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JOIN US!

LCS Class of 2014

Graduation

7:00 pm, Friday, May 30

Trinity Church, Lansing

For information on all upcoming events, visit www.lansingchristianschool.org

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