Open the Eyes of Our Heart...

Mrs. Akers sets the scene...

The Army of the Lord visited Elementary Chapel this morning, as Mrs. Akers recounted from 2 Kings chapter 6 the story of the prophet Elisha and his servant surrounded in the city of Dothan by the soldiers of Aram.  Elisha's servant, afraid, asked Elisha what to do, and Elisha prayed that the eyes of his servant would be opened.  In answer to Elisha's prayer, God granted the servant the ability to see the Army of the Lord which surrounded Elisha and outnumbered the Arameans. 

Elisha prays...

Mrs. Akers noted that Paul prayed a similar prayer for the Ephesian believers in Ephesians 1:15 - 19a: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..."

Following the Elementary Chapel, the DPCA junior and senior high met for their chapel session.  Mr. Ritschard continued his series on the differences between cultural and Biblical norms for life and living.  This morning featured a fairy tale involving the Prince and the Princess, and previewed next week's look at the differences between cultural and Biblical models of marriage.

And the Army of the Lord is revealed!

Our prayer for our students and staff, from Busy Bees through high school,  is that the Lord will continue to "open the eyes of our hearts"  at DPCA, that we might know the riches and fulness of life in Christ, and how best to serve Him and His world.

Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and Johnny Appleseed Come to DPCA

Jake, Ryan, and Malachi as Lee, Appleseed, and Lincoln

Three icons of American history visited DPCA today! Represented by Malachi, Jake, and Ryan, we were blessed to have Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and Johnny Appleseed arrive in Mrs. Kinnane's classroom and give reports about themselves and their places in American history.

Malachi reported to his class on the considerable achievements of Abraham Lincoln, and noted that he "liked the book because it tells a lot of things I didn't know."

The class learned from Jake that Lee, despite being born into a poor family, was able to overcome that poverty and rise to become the leader of the Confederate armies during the Civil War. Lee's Christian faith and service to Virginia earned him wide respect, even from his enemies.

Ryan told the group of John Chapman, a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed, who taught the Bible to Indians and others living in the west.  His apple orchards, Christian teaching, and friendly manner made Johnny Appleseed a welcome figure on the American frontier.   Ryan particularly liked that "Johnny made friends with everyone he met."

Good work, boys - thanks for helping bring these American "greats" to life!

 

 

DPCA Celebrates "Love Came Down at Christmas"

The Thursday evening prior to Christmas found the DPCA Cafetorium echoing with the sounds of joyful children's voices, bells, guitars, dulcimers, and more as the kindergarten through 8th grade musicians brought the glad Christmas message to parents and friends.

Beginning with the Christmas story read by select students from the 4th - 6th grade class, and continuing through songs from the kindergarteners, 1st - 3rd graders, and the 4th - 6th grade class, the program led the audience in remembering that Love came to earth at Christmas -- that Jesus' birth is the great good news of the Christmas holiday.  Many of the songs featured accompaniment on the guitar and dulcimer by Mr. and Mrs. Randy Barnes, and on guitars, bass guitar, and dulcimer by the eighth grade instrumental musicians.  In addition to singing, students also showed their growing musical talents with xylophones, bells, and autoharps during the program.

Featured music included How Great Our Joy; Away in a Manger; Lullaby, Jesus; I Saw Three Ships; Joy to the World; Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming; Christ Child Lullaby; and many more - plus, of course, the title song, "Love Came Down at Christmas."

The program was compiled and directed by Randy Barnes, with accompaniment assistance from Carol Barnes, Mary Anna Brasser, and student musicians Sam Austin, Chase Macnab, Shelby Phillips, and Cailyn Willis.  Stage assistants were Mary Johnson and Carmen and Linsey Curro, while lights, sound, and program photography were provided by Noah and Micah Ritschard. Jill Van Deel, Austina Campbell, and Kathy Akers handled programs and publicity.

Following the program, Mr. Ritschard announced the winner of the Mission Tree decorating/fundraising contest:  the 1st through 3rd grade class won with their tree for the Arkansas Valley Mission.  Their efforts with the tree and support for the Mission earned the class an ice-cream party later in the new year.

Cookies for the Mission

Is Justin going to eat them himself?

 Patrons served by the Arkansas Valley Christian Mission will enjoy some Christmas-cookie treats again this year thanks to the kids and parents of DPCA's 1st - 6th grades.  In a combined effort between the classrooms, the students enjoyed crafting cookie canisters and loading them with cookies to deliver to the Mission last week.

We asked the students why they made the cookie containers:  "We made the cookies because a lot of kids like cookies, and so they can have a good Christmas," Royal Lundy said, while classmate Klayt Staudt added: "It's fun for them to have good things, and they like it."

"We wanted to help out, and help people celebrate God's gift to us,"  Miss Davidson's students said. "I had fun doing it," Marshall Swarny added, "because it is nice to do something for others."  The students in Miss Davidson's class have been working on Haiku poetry this week, so they wrote the following Haiku while reflecting on their cookie mission:

The cookies are sweet.

We give to people we meet

A nice Christmas treat.

Reid adds a cookie to Jake's canister

Royal is all smiles...

Varsity Boys Repeat at Home

From the beginning of the first quarter it looked like the DPCA Eagles could capture a victory over the Denver Eagles, and except for a brief portion of the third quarter, the DPCA home team held a commanding lead throughout the game and brought home a 42-24 victory, their second in a row in the DPCA gym. The Denver team managed to close within nine points in the third quarter in FRCAA league play Tuesday night, but the DPCA Eagles bounced back in the fourth and then ran away with the game.  Several of the boys had a good night at the bucket. Hawk White capitalized on a memorable fast break and ended up scoring five for the evening, while Noah and Micah Ritschard tied with fourteen each.  Sophomore Joel Parker was close behind with nine points scored. 

Strong supporting roles were played by Jase Staudt, Levi Jelinek, and Seth Turner.  The team will miss Levi after the break, bidding him farewell as he returns to the Bahamas for the spring semester.

The Eagles will be taking a break in the season for Christmas, with the next contest scheduled for January 10 at home against Love Christian.  Following that game, the Eagles Varsity will have a series of away games, returning to their home gym at the end of next month. 

For the current schedule for the varsity and junior high teams, please go to www.dpcaweb.org and click on "Programs" followed by "Athletics."

Varisty Boys Open Season

The Eagles played consistent defense against the Falcons

Noah drives in for one of his two-point buckets.

Hawk looks for Joel coming up the middle.

Micah goes for the jumper just inside the three-point line.

Following a pre-season tournament in Leadville during which the boys tested their skills against some challenging public-school opponents, Front Range Christian Athletic Association season play for the Eagles Varsity opened on December 4th at home against Front Range Baptist from Fort Collins.

With the Eagles capturing just a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, it looked like the game  would be close - and indeed the Falcons did manage to stay within a few points until the 4th quarter, when the home team came on strong and pulled away to a 41-35 victory. 


Scoring for the Eagles was led by Hawk White, with 15 points, and Joel Parker, with 9.

The Varsity Boys are scheduled to play again at home on Tuesday, December 18th, at 6:00 PM. 

Athletic schedules are posted at www.dpcaweb.org: click on "Programs," then "Athletics," and select the sport.

Fall Family Night -- Fun!

Following Parent/Teacher Conferences, on November 2, the DPCA school community was invited to Fall Family Fun Night -- an evening of food, family games, and dancing to celebrate the end of the first quarter and God's goodness to our community.

A chili supper prepared by Kathy Akers and helpers began the evening.  Following supper the family game began, with four teams completing five stations:  Bible Brains; Presidential, Patriotic Puzzles; Music Masters; Artists in Residence, and Math Minds.  Competition was strong among the Pot-Bellied Unicorns, the Smarties, the Incredible Hornets, and Team Lewis and Clark, but in the end the Smarties prevailed with a final score of 80 out of a possible 100. 

Artwork from the Artists in Residence table

Which brother gets the favor of the rose?

"Music Masters" debut their original song

Our esteemed judges deciding their favorites...

Game play led into the dessert judging contest, won by Marla Pranger and Cindy Lewis, and then into some folk dancing called by Mr. Barnes.  As usual, "The Favor of the Rose" proved a favorite, and the evening wound down with "Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing."