December 4, 2020

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

John 12:32

     As we approach the Christmas holiday and consider the meaning of this special day, we think quickly of the divine Baby born to a virgin in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago.  Of course, the real meaning of the season is a day we celebrate each spring when we remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to earth for one reason.  He truly was born to die.  He came for more than just a cruel death, however.  He was also born to rise again from the death as a firstfruit and concrete demonstration that all of us will also rise someday ourselves.

Perhaps you’ve read the popular children’s poem called simply the “Christmas Candy Cane Poem”:

Look at the Candy Cane

What do you see?

Stripes that are red

Like the blood shed for me

White is for my Savior

Who’s sinless and pure!

“J” is for Jesus My Lord, that’s for sure!

Turn it around

And a staff you will see

Jesus my shepherd

Was born for me!

Even though the words are simple, they capture the message of the Gospel.  Jesus did come to die in place of us, but He also loves us enough to guide us each day as a shepherd lovingly cares for his sheep.

As we gather with our loved ones this Christmas season, let’s remind ourselves of the blessing of Jesus’ birth as a little child.  Let’s also remember His death, resurrection, and eternal life as well.  We have much to praise Him for this Christmas!

A Note from the Administrator

As we began planning for what we all knew would be a very unusual school year, our entire leadership team here at LCA was determined to create as safe of a learning environment as possible.  We already knew—and research has continued to demonstrate—that students learn considerably better in-person than through even the best remote methods of teaching.  Along with that safe environment, the leaders and each teacher here desired to continue our school’s rich tradition of high academic standards.

While we hoped and prayed we would not see any cases of COVID-19 among our students or their families, as you all know, we did have a positive case in our high school a couple of weeks ago.  The affected student is recovering and all of our high school students, Mrs. Mansfield, and I have been working from home since last Tuesday.

As we mentioned in the previous edition of our Knightline newsletter, we have plans in place that we feel will provide the best possible learning environment for our students if we must shift any other part of our school to remote learning for any period of time.  We are equally determined to help any student who must quarantine at home because of exposure outside of school.

We are redoubling our efforts to keep our school clean, sanitized, and as full of fresh air as possible, even starting to measure levels of carbon dioxide in our classrooms next week.  As far as we can tell, the student who tested positive was not exposed here and no spread has happened at LCA.  In fact, we are learning that schools overall are very safe places and that the novel coronavirus does not like to spread with the precautions most schools are taking as a regular course of education this year.

I know I can speak for everyone here when I thank you for your support, especially this year with the new challenges we are all confronted with.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out.  We are all still learning together how to fight the spread and stay healthy.  As partners in your child’s Christian education, we all desire to work with you to see God’s best in the life of your child.

Mr. Bryan Fry

Most years, we have a spirit week in late January or early February to help all of us celebrate our school and demonstrate good school spirit.  In 2020, however, our students and staff will hold an earlier spirit week focused on Christmas.

The week of December 14-18 will be a fun time around the school.  Each day has a different theme with lots of ways to dress up and celebrate the Christmas season as a student body.

We have sent home an information sheet with full details and will also be reminding our families as these days come up.  Contact your child’s teacher with any questions about our new Christmas Spirit Week 2020!

To allow for greater flexibility in travel and perhaps in allowing for quarantine time, we have changed our Christmas break to begin on Monday, December 21, and end on Friday, January 1, with a January 4 return to school.  This adds one school day to the break and another weekend to it.

If your family has already scheduled a trip and will not return until January 5, please send a note to our school office.  January 4 will be treated as an excused absence in this case.  Of course, if you have any questions, please contact our school office.

Each LCA family is invited to attend the annual Christmas cantata presented by Latham Bible Baptist Church.  The cantata titled “A Child This Day” will be presented on Sunday morning, December 20, starting at 10:45 AM.  Our church choir has been working hard and praying that this will be a blessing to many people.

Two weeks ago, our students, all the way from K3 through 12^th grade, prayerfully packed shoeboxes of gifts for children in need around the world.  I am excited to report that our school sent out 54 boxes, nearly one per student!  Thank you so much for the support of each of our families to make this happen!

If you would like to help financially toward Samaritan’s Purse and their efforts to ship and distribute the boxes around the world, it’s not too late!  You can contribute through their website or send your money to our school office and we will send the funds in all together.

Based on our experience so far this year, our administration, faculty, and school board have made some changes to our state-mandated COVID-19 re-opening plan.  This revised plan is available on our school website.  If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Mr. Fry.

We will plan to have the students outside for recess time as long as possible into the winter so that they can get fresh air and to help them stay as healthy as possible.  Please send in hats and mittens or gloves for your child along with a warm coat so they can enjoy the time outdoors.

Please remember that families who pay their second semester tuition by January 4 will receive a $25 discount.  Please see Mrs. Kettlewood in our school office if you have any questions.

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

Dec. 21-Jan. 1 – Christmas Break – NO SCHOOL

Jan. 4 – Classes Resume for All Grades

Jan. 13 – Progress Reports Issued (Grades 1-12)

Jan. 18 – Holiday – NO SCHOOL

Please take a few moments to read through this letter from Mr. Fry.  Each year at the Christmas season, we encourage all of our parents, families, and friends of the academy to remember the teachers and staff in a very tangible and practical way.  This letter gives more information on how you can be a blessing to our staff members.