Merry Christmas!

From all of us at DPCA:  We hope you have a very merry Christmas! As we celebrate the birth of Jesus and reflect on all His good gifts, may we rest in His provision and love.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Stars Challenge Update

At the beginning of December, DPCA received a challenge grant of up to $30,000 to help raise funds to support the school's Financial Aid Fund for the 2013-2014 school year.  Called the Christmas Stars Challenge,(see our earlier blog article, to the right or below) the campaign to meet the challenge and raise a total of $60,000 is well underway!  As of today, we're excited to report that our total raised is just a little over $12,000!  The photo shows the display in the foyer at school, where we are putting up a new star for each $1000 raised.

We're also pleased to let our readers know that once again it is possible and easy to support DPCA on-line. If you'd like to help us get 60 stars displayed, please click here.  Thank you for your gifts and prayers toward our goal! 

Varsity Girls and Boys Open 1 and 1 at Home

Heather brings the ball down court...

Tuesday evening, December 10...  In a match up with Faith Baptist from Longmont, the DPCA Varsity Girls and Boys teams split the evening, with the girls dropping their first game at home with a final score of 23 to 40, while the boys came out on top at 51-43.

The Eagle girls played with heart for all four quarters, but were unable to catch the Pioneers. Scoring for the Eagles was led by Heather Burdges, who added 12 points to the scoreboard, followed by Alli Dages with 8.  Cailyn Willis and Sarah Dages also contirbuted some points to the evening's total.  Katie Busch led the team in rebounds, followed closely by Alli Dages.

Alli getting ready for a lay-up.

Joel gets 2 of his 26 points.

The Eagle boys started off with strength, winning the tip to start the game, but then began to fall behind and ended the first half trailing the Pioneers 16-25.  In an exciting second half comeback, the boys rallied and were able to begin regular season play with an opening win at home.  Joel Parker had a big night, leading the Eagles' scoring with 26 points. Behind Joel was Noah Ritschard with 13, with Jase Staudt, Seth Turner, and Levi Jelinek all adding points to the scoreboard as well.  Joel led the Eagles at the boards with 14 rebounds, followed by Noah and Hawk White.

Noah driving in...

Schedules for DPCA Eagles basketball can be found at www.dpcaweb.org.

What If There Were No Christmas?

Mae's manger scene

What if there were no Christmas?  Chapel services on Friday, December 6th explored this question with both the K-6 and the 7-12 students.  K-6 students considered the question as a group, and came up with all kinds of great answers:  "We wouldn't have any good Christmas songs to sing." "We wouldn't be able to know God."  "We wouldn't have any presents." "We would have no Savior." 

After the students thought for awhile, they were given paper and drawing tools and asked to draw a picture of something important about Christmas.  A couple of samples are provided here; the pictures are currently displayed in the Cafetorium.

Raimi's manger scene with Christmas trees

Older students were asked to reflect on the same theme.  For the 7-12 chapel, the question was divided into two parts: "What would the world be like if Christmas had never happened?" and "What would my life be like if Christmas had never happened?"  For the first part, students were divided into teams and worked on lists of things they felt would be different in the world if Jesus had never been born.

Team AofPE brainstorms what the world would be like without Christ

Samples of ideas the teams generated include: "People would be more mean." "There would be no DPCA." "The USA might never have happened." "Tons of literature would be gone." Slavery might never have been stopped."  "Our nation would not be 'under God'  - no pledge of allegiance." "There would be no Operation Christmas Child." "No Christmas trees, wrapping, presents, foods, songs, etc." "No salvation."  "No hope or promise of the future."  "No New Testament." "We'd be pagan." "No purity."  "No Chick-Fil-A." And several teams had on their list: "We would have no reason to live."

Students then were given time to individually work on their own list, "What would my life be like if Christmas had never happened?"  Though students did not share those lists publicly, Mr. Ben Little encouraged all of us to think purposefully about that question.  How are our lives different because of Christ and His coming?

Following the more reflective part of chapel, junior high and high school students rejoined their teams and enjoyed a Christmas games contest.  Team Rudolph - Kate, Sydney, Tori, Lauren, Heather, and Sarah - captured first place and won gift certificates to the mission cafe.

During the game time, team Rudolph works on blindfolded wrapping

What was clear from both chapels is the enormous impact that the coming of Jesus Christ has had in individual lives and in the world. His birth truly is the central point in human history, and everywhere the gospel has spread, change has followed.  As we celebrate this year, let us remember again all the multiplied blessings of Christmas and the Christ-child, who came to be both Savior and Lord!

Readers who wish to explore in greater depth how our world has been changed as a result of Jesus' birth, life, and resurrection may be interested in some further resources:  The first is Alvin J. Schmidt's book How Christianity Changed the World.  For a summary in .pdf form, click here.  A second work on the subject is Dr. D. James Kennedy's What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?  A YouTube video on the subject can be found here. More information on both books can be found at Amazon.com, at other booksellers, or by searching the titles online.

Christmas Stars Challenge Announced

The Fall 2013 SOAR!, published just a few weeks ago, noted that one of our blessings at DPCA  this year has been a significant increase in enrollment. The article went on to note that rising enrollment this year has also resulted in a rising need for funding for our tuition assistance program, DPCA's need-based financial aid program for families who need help with tuition.

Now one of our donors, who prefers to remain anonymous, has stepped forward to help with that need by issuing a challenge grant.  Gifts to the Tuition Assistance Fund during the month of December will be matched dollar for dollar up to $30,000!  This means that we have the potential to raise $60,000 for our financial aid program this month!  We are grateful for the challenge, grateful for this donor's generosity, and excited to see how the Lord and His people will respond!

The name Christmas Stars Challenge celebrates the season, and our students - who are both the "stars" of DPCA, and the generation that we work with who we hope and pray will be "children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..."  (Philippians 2:15-16 NIV)  What a privilege we have to be part of a school where we can help the children of God grow in their faith and their walk with the Lord each day!

Thanks for considering being part of the effort to reach our $60,000 December goal, and thank you for your prayers for a successful Christmas Stars Challenge!

Thanksgiving Chapel!

1st and 2nd graders share things for which they are thankful.

Parents, Grandparents, and friends joined DPCA students and staff earlier today for a fun Thanksgiving chapel followed by the traditional Thanksgiving luncheon meal. 

Chapel opened with our usual pledges to the flags and the Bible, then continued with our weekly offering for World Vision projects.  Following the opening, each elementary class gave brief presentations: things for which the students are thankful, Bible verses, and from 5th and 6th graders, the American's Creed.

5th and 6th grades give the American's Creed

Junior High continued with samples of poetry, Latin work, and a Thanksgiving skit.  Ninth and tenth grade students gave a short presentation about what they are learning in Apologetics class, and then the junior and senior English students did a short scene from Shakespeare's Macbeth.  High school foreign language classes were next: Spanish 1 and 2 recited the Our Father in Spanish; German students presented brief reports on Germany and The Diary of Anne Frank, and did a skit (all in German); and our French students recited several Bible verses in French, including a recitation brought via video from French student Katie Busch, who was unable to be at chapel in person.

Junior high demonstrates Latin skills

Chapel wrapped up with video "trailers" of the two Ekklesia Mountain High courses that our students have completed so far this year, with testimonies about the powerful nature of those courses from Hawk White and Joel Parker. Both Hawk and Joel commented that in addition to being hugely fun, the courses have been instrumental in their personal growth as young men.  (You can read more of Hawk's testimony by clicking here.)

9th and 10th grade Apologetics class

Following chapel the annual Thanksgiving luncheon began. Thanks to Mrs. Tritz, Coach Navarette, the team of junior high students, and a number of other parent volunteers, the whole school and guests enjoyed roast turkey with all the trimmings, and more pie than we could possibly eat!  Special thanks also to Bernadette Navarrette for coordinating turkey roasting, and to Beth Mason, Erik and Venus Phillips, Kandace Alkyre, Milly Austin, and Steve and Cindy Lewis for helping to set up and serve.  Thanks also to all our parents and our friends at St. Rose of Lima and in the community who donated turkeys and so much more. 

Shakespeare can get dramatic!

In the skit, two German foreign-exchange students come to DPCA

Now that we've finished our French Bible verses, what do we do with the mic?

We are deeply grateful to our Lord for our school family and Buena Vista community, for all the blessings we enjoy as Americans, for the joy of learning and growing together at DPCA, for our families and our children.  We wish all our readers a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of His wonderful acts.  Glory in His holy Name, let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.  Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.  Remember the wonders He has done...  1 Chronicles 16: 8-12

Food Wars Supply Mission

Food Fight!  Well, no - not exactly THAT kind of food fight....  The Food Wars at DPCA each year are part of our ongoing desire as a school to help the Arkansas Valley Christian Mission with food supplies  - and especially at Thanksgiving time. 

Kindergarten took third place this year, with 358 points, 3rd and 4th grade placed 2nd, with 650 points, and first place honors went to Mr Hoppen's 5th and 6th grade class, with 952 points. 

Some Beta Club members ready boxes of food

Food Wars is an all-school event sponsored by the DPCA Beta Club, our local student chapter of the National Beta Club, a nationwide honor society.  Students participate by classes, with a friendly "war" based on point values for various food items that the Mission has requested.  Students earn positive points for their class by bringing in foods that Beta Club has designated as having positive point value, and can "bomb" other classes with food that has been given a negative point rating.  In the end, the class with the most total points wins, and then all the items are boxed up and delivered to the Mission.

Jessee, a sixth grader in Mr. Hoppen's winning class, enjoyed the Food Wars and noted, "It was fun to watch the other classes try to bomb us.  A whole bunch of the teenagers came to bomb us, but we still won." Congratulations to Jessee and all the students in the 5th and 6th grade - enjoy your pizza party!