What Was the Highlight of Your Week?

Mrs. Euler's 3rd and 4th grade class.

Recently, Mrs. Euler published her students' responses to that question in her class newsletter.  We thought we'd share them here, as well...

P.E. was my favorite thing this week because we played a game." - Jake

I really liked library because there's a lot of books to choose from and i really like to read." - Kaya

“I love doing art because I am good at art.” – Riley 

 

“My highlight of the week was that my dad was off for 3 days! I love when he is off from work!” –Mary Louise 

“I loved lunch, recess and science because I like learning about bones.”- Royal 

“I liked P.E. because we had a hula hoop contest.”- Nicole 

“I loved P.E. because we get to run, play and stretch. I love running two laps and that’s awesome.” –Eli 

Samuel working diligently

“I liked Math because it gets me thinking about adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.” –Ryan 

“I loved when we learned about Math and Jesus Christ.” –Thomas 

“I liked Math this week because we learned how to regroup.”-Dixie 

“I loved recess because I got to pull my friends with a hula hoop.” –Samuel 

"I liked music because we are learning how to play the recorder." - Emma

ACTS of Prayer: Elementary Prayer Chapel September 13th

By Amy Austin,  Elementary Principal

I have learned so much about prayer by being a Kindergarten teacher!  Kindergarteners have no fear about approaching the Lord in prayer.  They don’t question themselves about whether they are doing it “right” or whether or not they should pray something.  They just pray what is on their heart.  They are also quick to pray for others and to thank God for all He provides.  Kindergarteners keep prayer simple.  They “talk” to God like He is their best friend.

This inspired me to talk about prayer during our September 13, 2013 elementary chapel service.  When I asked the students if they thought there were rules to follow in order to pray correctly, some hands went up.   I shared how Jesus models prayer for us in Matthew 6:9-15, but that prayer was not intended to be a list of rules to follow.  

We used a simple acrostic to pray the way Jesus taught us: ACTS.  A is for Adoration.  We begin our time of prayer praising God for who He is, His greatness, and anything else we can think of!  C is for Confession.  We discussed how this can be a private time with the Lord or shared with others we love and feel safe with.  We take this time to cleanse our heart before God daily and to be ready to forgive others who have sinned against us.  T is for Thanksgiving.  We simply say, “Thank you,” to the Lord.  So often we ask for His blessings and provisions and then forget to express gratitude for His many good gifts.  S is for Supplication.  This is our time to share our concerns with God for others and for ourselves.  We seek His direction, strength, and healing.  

After the teaching time, the students broke off into small prayer groups and prayed together.  There were student prayer leaders from the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grades who opened the time in prayer and then encouraged other students to participate.  It was a beautiful sight and sound!  It is our desire to train up our students to be comfortable with prayer at a young age so that they can be in constant communication with their heavenly Father for their entire lives.

Every Monday morning at 7:45 a.m., we hold a prayer chapel in the cafetorium.  This time of prayer is led by Cindy Lewis and Kathy Akers.  We would love to see students and parents participate, so please plan to join in whenever you are available.  We value the power of prayer for DPCA, its board members, staff, students, and families.  Psalm 5:3 “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

Were Those Students or Mountain Goats?

Becca, being entirely serious, takes the lead in the girl's cook group. Whatever they made seems to meet with Sydney's approval...

Friday and Saturday, September 6 and 7, Ekklesia Mountain High Students Joel Parker and Becca Wade put their mountain experience and expertise to work by helping guide seven freshman and sophomores up 14,229' Mt. Shavano, a "14'er" in the Sawatch range just a little south of DPCA.  Along for the climb also were EMH instructor Mr. Jordan Euler (the climb leader), Spring Canyon Camp guide Lisa Wermuth, and Mr. and Mrs. Ritschard.

L to R Sydney, Noah, Joel, Becca , and Juan on the way up

The group backpacked to a campsite a little way below timberline Friday evening, then completed the climb to the summit on Saturday.  For several in the group, the climb marked their first ascent of a 14'er.  The entire group made the summit, and were rewarded with great views and a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Isaiah, Juan, Elena, Lisa, and Patrick in the saddle, with the summit in the background.

Mr. Ritschard was impressed with our students: "We were moving up the mountain at a pretty steady pace, and the students were just laughing and talking and walking along like the hike was no big deal," he noted. "At one point I was thinking, 'Are these our students or did we pick up a group of mountain goats?'"  "Even toward the top where it got pretty steep, they just kept going. Mr Euler set the stage for us at the beginning of the hike by reminding us to 'Have a great attitude at altitude,' and the students really lived up to that."

It's hard to tell: Mr Euler may be refreshing his cologne. With him at the summit are Isaiah, Lisa, Sydney, Becca, and Patrick.