November 9, 2018

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

     A pastor named Elisha Hoffman shared these words with a dear saint in his flock who was struggling with sickness and with sin in her own life.  After pouring out her problems to her pastor, she had asked him, “Oh, Brother Hoffman, what shall I do?”

After sharing Matthew 11:28 and a few other verses with her, he added, “You see, my dear sister, God wants to bear all these sorrows, whether great or small.  The thing we can do is to take them to Jesus.  We must tell Jesus.”

After praying with this lady, Pastor Hoffman left with the words, “I must tell Jesus” on his mind and burning within his heart.  Before the end of this day, he had penned the words to what has since become a beloved hymn by that name.

I must tell Jesus all of my trials.

I cannot bear these burdens alone.

In my distress, He kindly will help me.

He ever loves and cares for His own.

In all of our lives, moments will come which seem to overwhelm us.  In these times of trials, we must remember to go to the only One Who truly can help us, the One Who loves and cares for His own!

There we will have true rest from our labor.

In celebration of the Veterans’ Day federal holiday, LCA will be closed on Monday, November 12.  School will resume on Tuesday, November 13, on a regular schedule.  We appreciate all of those who have served our country in the Armed Forces!

LCA will be closed from Wednesday, November 21, through Friday, November 23, for Thanksgiving Break.  We hope many of our families will be able to spend some quality time with family and friends as we celebrate God’s goodness to us and to our country.

Please don’t forget about our special Operation Christmas Child program we began a few weeks ago.  Samaritan’s Purse, through Operation Christmas Child, distributes shoeboxes full of Christmas presents to needy children around the world and includes the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  We are already collecting small items that can be included in these boxes that the classes will be packing in class next week.  Please be sure all items are sent into your child’s teacher as soon as possible.

Please contact your child’s teacher or our school office if you have any questions about the types of items you can send in.  Remember that all items must be small enough to fit into a standard sized shoebox and cannot include candy, liquids, or “war” toys.  Small stuffed animals, toiletry items (like toothbrushes, washcloths, and bar soap), and small school supplies can make great gifts.

All families who ordered school pictures should have already received their portraits.  If you are not satisfied with the quality of the pictures, please return the pictures with your child this coming Tuesday, November 13.  We will retake pictures that day and will offer pictures to any students who were absent on the original picture day.  If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Kettlewood in our school office.

Parents of students in K3, K4, and K5 should remember to send their children to school with sneakers/gym shoes each day to wear in the classroom.  Children may want to wear boots, but their feet will get too hot in them while they are in the classrooms.  To protect the floor, boots also may not be worn in our gym.  Students in boots may be required to sit down rather than play with their friends.

In snowy or very cold winter weather, students may wear boots into school, but must change into sneakers once they arrive in their classroom.  Thank you for helping!

This week, Mr. Fry had the opportunity to attend a conference at the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio, sponsored by Bob Jones University Press.  This conference was focused on integrating a biblical worldview in all subjects and classes and brought in Christian leaders from around the country as speakers, including Dr. Ken Ham, the founder of Answers in Genesis (pictured below).

The forecast is reminding us that snow may be coming sooner rather than later this year!  Although this is rare, LCA will close or delay opening when the roads are unusually dangerous in the morning.  LCA may also take the unusual step of dismissing early if an unexpected storm comes in and the roads appear to be getting worse in the afternoon.

Our school will generally follow the schedule of the North Colonie School District since they have more information available to them than we do.  From time to time, however, we may do something different.  We encourage you to monitor local media for our school specifically.  When we need to change our schedule, we will send an email to all families and notify local media.  Most area TV stations will carry this information on the air and online.  One site we recommend is WNYT Channel 13: https://wnyt.com/closings/.  You can even download their app to your phone and receive notifications whenever LCA posts a schedule change.

LCA also provides a voice phone call for school closings and major schedule changes.  You will need to sign up for this service, even if you have received these notifications in the past.  To help make this service affordable, we do limit this to one phone number per family.  Most phone calls are generated early in the morning (generally between 5 AM and 6:15 AM.)  If you would like to receive this phone call, please complete the form on our website: http://s.lcany.org/snow.

I trust you will make plans even now to be here yourself and invite friends and family to be here for our special programs coming up in November and December.  The children will work very hard to prepare music and drama, and they love seeing those familiar and friendly faces in the auditorium.

K4 Thanksgiving Program: Thursday, November 15

K3 and K5 Christmas Program: Thursday, December 13

Elementary Christmas Program: Tuesday, December 18

If you have any questions about these programs, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.  All programs will begin at 7:00 PM and be held in our church auditorium.

On Monday morning, November 19, starting at 8:30 AM, LCA will be hosting a representative from Pensacola Christian College in Florida, for our secondary chapel time.  This representative will also be speaking to our elementary students for a special 9:30 AM chapel that morning.

Many of the textbooks we use are written by A Beka Book, an extension of PCC.  Mrs. Mein, Mrs. Coonrod, and Mrs. Kupeyan are graduates of this college, and Mrs. Mein and Mrs. Coonrod also have children who are students there this year as well.

It is exciting for us to have colleges like PCC where we can be confident our children will receive a Christ-centered education centered on a biblical worldview.

Nov. 12 – NO SCHOOL – Holiday

Nov. 13 – Picture Retakes and Senior Picture Day

Nov. 15 – Senior Lunch – Chicken Strips

Nov. 15 – 7:30 PM – K4 Thanksgiving Program

Nov. 18 – Pastor Walter’s Birthday!

Nov. 19 – Basketball Pictures

Nov. 19 – Pensacola Christian College in Chapels

Nov. 21-23 – NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 29 – Senior Lunch – Macaroni and Cheese