Aim to Serve Kick-off Party

Many thanks to all our friends and family who came out for the Aim To Serve Kick-off Tuesday evening!  We had a great time eating banana splits, watching some in the audience win some great prizes (congratulations, Sydney!), and learning about our 2nd Annual Aim To Serve fundraising event.

Austina Campbell, board member and Aim to Serve event director, led off with acknowledging our team of board members, staff, and volunteers who are leading the charge for Aim to Serve: Les Stencel, Josh Bearss, Jill Van Deel, Michael Courson, Erik Ritschard, Kent and Beth Mason, Krystal Griswold, Susie Hoppen, Cindy Lewis, Amy Taylor, and Deb Wade.

Beth Mason gave a brief parent testimony regarding why she values a DPCA education for her children, followed by a student testimony from junior Joel Parker. Austina, Erik, Michael,and Josh, along with Truman Abbott from Champion Events, took turns on the stage explaining how the events will work, encouraging faithful participation, giving away prizes, and showing the audience how to sign up to participate.  There are three main components to this year's program:  the Serve Day on May 2nd, the Clay Shoot on May 18th, and the Silent Auction, also on May 18th.  The DPCA school family and friends of the Academy from all around the community are invited to participate in the events and help our school achieve our $45,000 goal.

For further information on DPCA's 2014 Aim to Serve, or to sign up to participate, click here.  To find out more from the school office, please call 719-395-6046 or 1-877-395-DPCA.  Thanks again to all the Kick-off Party attendees, and a special thanks to so many who have signed up to participate to help raise funds toward our goal.  We appreciate you!

One Day at School...

Joel (and Ellen and Becca) working on a Bible study.

Every day at DPCA is filled with a variety of learning, serving, activities, projects - all the elements that make for a dynamic educational environment!  A few pictures from today give a little glimpse into normal life at DPCA...

Mr. Euler guides the 9th and 10th grade English class in studying a play.

Adam, Tori, and Kandice serving lunch to Noah, Addiline, and Mrs. Chambers.

5th and 6th graders with their labeled rocks.  That's Faythe, Jessee, and Misty.  In the background, they're monitoring the "eagle cam" - it's hatching season!

Dean, Alli, and Ryan are working on grammar...

Enthusiastic Singing - and a Reminder to Guard Our Hearts

Palm Sunday and Easter are rapidly approaching, so in chapel today we brought out the tried-and-true (and FUN!) "Shout Hosanna" song by Donut Man Robert C. Evans. As you can see from the short video, the students (the video is K-6, thanks to Mrs. Akers) were having a good time!  (we didn't get any video of the 7-12 students singing the same song - that was great fun also!)

Following the singing in the elementary chapel, Mrs. Julie Little (with help from Mr. Little and a little from Mr. Ritschard) presented a skit designed to help us remember to "guard [our] heart[s] for it is the wellspring of life."  (Proverbs 4:23)  Mrs. Little also used tea bags to help the students and staff think about "what comes out of us when we are in hot water."

The secondary chapel after lunch featured student testimonies from Sarah Dages, Becca Wade, and Keely Campbell.  Each of the young ladies shared some of their personal journey with Christ with the student body and staff.  We're grateful for their courage in sharing, their heartfelt testimonies, and their reminder, each in their own way, that we can "guard our hearts" for the Lord.

Brian Schwartz visits DPCA Chapel

DPCA welcomed Brian Schwartz, the pastor of Renovation Church in Lafayette, Colorado, to the Secondary Chapel on March 14, 2014. Schwartz, a former NFL player, challenged the students to commit to Christ and a counter-cultural lifestyle.

A Warm Day

With so much cold weather in recent weeks, it was fun to see the students enjoying some time on the playground recently...  They look pretty excited about being outside, don't they?

DPCA Friends and Family Meeting February 24

We enjoyed meeting with all the folks who were able to come out for our DPCA "Friends and Family" meeting on February 24.  Thank you again to all who were able to be there!

We know a number of folks who are interested in our school were not able to make the meeting, so we've turned the presentation into a short video which will at least give you an overview of some of the central ideas that we shared about DPCA.  We didn't record the actual presentation, so this is just a summary version - but as we mention in the video, we'd be happy to talk further about our meeting presentation or to answer questions.  Thanks for taking a few minutes to watch...

EMH Hut/Leadership Course

"Leadership begins with myself. If I can't lead myself, how can I lead others?"

This question formed a key focus of the recent EMH Hut Course. The course gets its nickname from the Sangree Froelicher Hut just north of Leadville. On December 13, nine students, four instructors, and one EMH alumnus trekked the 3.5 miles to the hut on backcountry skis. Designed in part to introduce the students to winter travel and teach them the basics of backcountry skiing, the four-day course also included the annual EMH Leadership Seminar...

Read More at the Ekklesia Mountain High blog...


Ekklesia Mountain High is a boarding and day-student program for high school juniors and seniors at Darren Patterson Christian Academy, in which approximately forty days of wilderness experience and leadership training is integrated with rigorous academics in DPCA's Biblically-centered environment.  To learn more, please visit the school's website at www.dpcaweb.org, and the EMH program's website at www.emhweb.org.