December 4, 2015

“Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”

Luke 2:15

     Let us now go even unto Bethlehem; those words uttered by the shepherds over two millennia ago still provide great advice to each person today.

Bethlehem is the foundation of all hope in the world. It is the only place where “peace and good will to men” can truly be found. Other leaders and politicians may make promises, but only the baby born in Bethlehem can deliver.

Not only does this birth promise a future peace, it also makes available a spiritual peace. Our age is one of turmoil and anguish caused by sin. The prince of peace offers eternal security to all who will accept it.

This Christmas season provides a reminder of the great opportunity available to everyone who will put his faith in that baby whose birth we celebrate on December 25. Jesus Christ is the answer to the problems of the world and those of each person living here!

Let us each turn our eyes toward Bethlehem, and even more importantly, to Jesus Christ and His free gift of salvation and peace!

This coming Tuesday, December 8, we have scheduled our fall picture retake day. If your child was absent, we will take a picture that morning. If you were not satisfied with the pictures you purchased, you may send them in that day for a new picture and replacement prints. Please contact Mrs. Kettlewood in our school office with any questions.

The students of Latham Christian Academy did a great job bringing in and packing shoeboxes for needy children around the world. We sent over 100 shoeboxes out two weeks ago along with a nice financial donation.

It is our prayer that these donations will make a difference for God’s glory in the lives of the children who open the boxes.

Please mark your calendars for our annual Christmas Break, Wednesday, December 22, through Monday, January 4. Our school and office will be closed through this period with no extended care available. We trust our families will have blessed times together celebrating the birth of our Savior and the start of a New Year together. School will resume on a regular schedule on Tuesday, January 5.

Please make plans to be here for at least one of our upcoming Christmas programs. These will be special opportunities to hear the traditional Christmas message in song and drama as put on by our students. All programs are held in the sanctuary of Latham Bible Baptist Church.

K5 – December 10 at 7:00 PM

K3 – December 15 at 10:30 AM

1^st-6^th and HS Ensemble – December 17 at 7:00 PM

The LCA volunteer librarian, Mrs. Donnelly, has compiled a list of lost and found items. If you recognize something on the list below, please stop by the bin in our school library to reclaim it.

• Black T-shirt- True Blood
• Navy over-head sweater- Gap Kids
• Navy sweater vest- Oswald
• Black Jacket- Gerry-red/white/blue ribbon
• Blue long sleeve shirt-George
• Navy trousers- Dickies

All LCA students automatically qualify for a subscription to Office 365 ProPlus through our licensing agreement with Microsoft. Students in Grades 7-12 may visit login.microsoft.com and login with their student email address and password (followed by the ! character) to download the latest version of Microsoft Office for PCs and Macs. You may also login the same way using the smartphone or tablet versions of Office.

If you would like to have a login and have a student below seventh grade, or if you have any questions about this program, please contact Mr. Fry at bfry@lcany.org.

You should have received an email from Mr. Fry regarding notification of weather delays and closings. With the approach of winter weather, it is only a matter of time before LCA is forced to close or delay opening due to weather and road conditions. It is important that each family takes notice of the school’s status.

Nearly all local television and radio stations post our closings on their websites and many also list us over the air on a crawl on the bottom of the screen.

You may also receive an automatic text message through a service provided by WNYT-TV by visiting this short link: http://s.lcany.org/text.

If you would like to receive an early morning phone call from LCA (usually before 6:15 AM), you may also sign up for this service at this short link: http://s.lcany.org/phone. To help keep our costs down, this service is limited to one number per family. (Families who register more than once will only receive a call at the first number given.)

If you have any questions about our emergency closing policies, please contact Mr. Fry.

LCA students in 11^th and 12^th grade will take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery this coming Tuesday, December 8 as a part of the guidance program here at LCA. The ASVAB is a multiple-aptitude battery of tests that is designed to measure developed abilities and to help predict future academic and occupational success, according to their website. This test is used by schools around the country to help students consider occupations—and even ministries—where they may be successful and had not previously considered. Any parents with questions about this test should contact Mr. Fry.

As we get into the more challenging weather of the school year, please remember LCA’s attendance policies. Each tardy counts as one-third of an absence, whether excused or not. These absences are recorded and become a part of a student’s permanent record.

In addition, our school has policies regarding maximum number of absences for any reason and policies for requesting vacation days from school. If you have any questions about our policies, please refer to pages 34-37 of our Parent/Student Handbook.

Dec. 8 – Picture Retake Day

Dec. 8 – Away Basketball Games at Mountainside

Dec. 9 – Progress Reports Sent Home (Grades 7-12)

Dec. 10 – Senior Lunch – Sloppy Joes

Dec. 10 – 7:00 PM – K5 Christmas Program

Dec. 11 – Away Basketball Games at Kings

Dec. 15 – 10:30 AM – K3 Christmas Program

Dec. 15 – Home Basketball Games vs Grace

Dec. 17 – Senior Lunch – Hot Dogs

Dec. 17 – 7:00 PM – 1^st-12^th Christmas Program

Dec. 22 – 9:30 – All-School Christmas Chapel

Dec. 23-Jan. 4 – NO SCHOOL – Christmas Break

See our full calendar at s.lcany.org/cal