Off to a Good Start

 

We've gotten off to a good start this week at CCS. Students are settling in , learning their schedule, figuring out the combination to their lockers, and getting into the rhythm of school. 

As school progresses, you may have questions or concerns about a class your child is taking. If that is the case, please reach out to the teacher. If after contacting the teacher you still have concerns, please feel free to contact Mr. Hepler and he can arrange to meet together with the teacher and you to resolve any concerns. that you may have.

If there are other general questions or concerns that you have about the MS, please contact Mr. Hepler and he will gladly talk or meet with you.

MS/HS Grandparents Day on September 26

Because CCS' student body has grown so large, we are no longer able to accommodate all of the grandparents on one day for Grandparents Day. As a result we are having two Grandparents Days.  The first is the MS/HS Grandparents Day on September 26.  The second is the PS/K-5 Grandparents Day on May 8, 2025.

Please mark your calendars and be on the lookout for more information as we get closer to September 26.

As we move into the month of September, you should be able to see grades, attendance, and homework (in lesson plans) posted in your child's classes through the Family Portal in FACTS, our school management system. If you have not already set up your Family Portal for FACTS, click here for instruction to set up your Family Portal account.

If you are not sure how to navigate the Family Portal in FACTS, please contact Mr. Hepler or Mr. Smoker, CCS' Director of Technology.

Learning Support Plans

You may have a child in MS that has learning needs for which CCS has developed a Learning Support Plan (LSP) that identified the educational strengths and weaknesses of a child and recommended accommodations to be used in the classroom.

Other children who are new to CCS may come with an Educational Evaluation and/or an IEP.  In either case, for the beginning of school, the educational needs and recommended accommodations of the present LSP, Educational Evaluation, or IEP have been shared with a child's teachers.

In late September/early October, Mrs. Moffa, our Director of Assessment, will be reaching out to the parents of students who presently have an LSP and the parents of new students with an Educational Evaluation/IEP to schedule a meeting with a child's teachers and the parents. This meeting will be to update any present LSPs or write new LSPs (for new students with IEPs) based upon teacher input and other documentation we have on a child.

If you have any questions about the process and how your child's needs are being met at CCS, please feel free to contact Mr. Hepler.

Today's technology through computers, tablets, and other smart devices (phones) has given our children access to a virtual world where many danger await.  Protect Young Eyes is an organization created to educate parents on how to defend your children from online dangers. There are a plethora of resources available to parents to help them as they try to keep their children safe from the dangers of the virtual world. If you have not seen it already, I would encourage you to watch Childhood 2.0 a documentary on YouTube put out by Protect Young Eyes on the dangers of social media. Keep an eye out for more information to follow.

Back to School In Two Weeks

 

In two weeks students will be entering the doors of Conestoga Christian School. Below is some important information as you prepare for the new school year.

Next Thursday, August 21, is Back to School Night. We encourage all MS families and students to visit the school and catch-up with classmates and other families. MS students will report to their homerooms (MS Homeroom Lists) and meet their homeroom teachers as well as pick-up their schedules and receive their locker assignments. The schedule for the evening is as follows:

• 6:00-6:30 - Family Picnic Out Back of the School
• Bring your family, food for the family, and some lawn chairs and fellowship with other families
• 6:30-7:00 - School Gathering in Gymnasium for CCS Important Updates and Introductions
• 7:00 - 8:00 - MS Students report to homeroom to pick-up their schedules and locker assignments
• Families and students drop-in classrooms and meet the students' teachers
• Parents who pick-up their children at the end of the school day get their dashboard signs in homeroom
• Families and students may also drop off school supplies

On the first day of school, Monday, August 25, MS homeroom will begin at 8:00 a.m. Please note the following for arrival in the morning:

• Students arriving before 7:50 a.m., either by bus or parent drop-off, should report to the gym in the high school building.
• Parents who are dropping off their children should leave early enough that their students will arrive to school by 7:55 a.m.
• Traffic is really busy on routes 23 and 10 and parents dropping off their students and student drivers are often delayed.
• Students report to homeroom
• Teachers will have student schedules available for students who did not attend Back To School Night and students who may have left their schedules at home.
• Students will start the day in prayer.

The first day of school will be a regular school day with 8 periods where MS students will attend their 5 core classes and 2 rotation classes. The 8th period of the day Mr. Hepler will meet with the students to review several initiatives and policies. Below is a list of several things that we will go over:

• Our School Theme - "United in Christ"
• For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. - 1 Corinthians 12:12
• The them song for the year is United in Christ by The Songwriter Initiative.
• Our prayer 10:05 a.m. prayer initiative continues - The whole school pray silently everyday at 10:05 a.m. for two minutes.
• We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ . . .  2 Corinthians 10:5
• Christ likeness in relationships.
• Phone policy
• Chromebook cases & Use
• Block day breaks
• Clubs, Study Hall, Choir, and service
• Reminders of the consequences for the MS Discipline Policy
• Appearance Code
• And Much Much More.

The school day ends at 2:39 and students go to their lockers and then report to homeroom. Students will then be dismissed at various times depending whether they are bus riders or car riders. Below are the procedures for dismissal:

• Parents/grandparents who arrive early before the buses have emptied the school parking lot (around 2:45) should get in the car line at Conestoga Mennonite Church. 
• Parents/grandparents are not to park in the Re-Uzit parking lot waiting to pick up their student.
• Parents/grandparents should not stop on route 23 in front of the school waiting for the buses to empty the parking lot. 
• This backs up traffic and makes dismissal much more chaotic.
• Parents picking up only MS and/or HS students should pull into the first lane as they enter the CCS parking lot.
• Parents/grandparents in this line should exit onto route 23 only turning right.
• Parents picking up only ES and/or MS/HS students should form two lanes in the lane closest to the HS building in the CCS parking lot. 
• Parents/grandparents in these lines should exit in front of the MS building and exit the CCS property turning right onto Short Rd.
• Make sure when picking up your child, make sure you display your dashboard sign with your student's name to make it easier for the parking lot supervisors to quickly and safely get your child to you.

Over the years I find that parents have the same questions that they frequently ask.  Click here to see some of those questions and answers.

Click here for the school calendar for the year and see below for a few upcoming dates.

August 25                            First Day of School

August 29                            No School

September 1                        Labor Day - No School

School is Just Around the Corner

 

It’s hard to believe that the month of August has arrived. It’s only a few weeks until the beginning of school. Vacations will be ending, school shopping started, athletic practices commencing, and parents rejoicing that the kids are back in school. 😁

We at CCS are busy getting ready for the return of teachers and students. As the first day of school approaches, you may want to access the school calendar to plan your year. As a school our goal is to communicate clearly and regularly to keep you informed of all that is happening at CCS.

A couple of ways we communicate with parents about events in the school are through our head of school's and principal's blogs.  Periodically, I and Mr. Parris will be sending out a blog to inform you of upcoming events, reminders of changes in policy, information that can help you work with your student for his/her success, volunteer opportunities, and more.

We will also use FACTS SIS to periodically get information out to parents or to ask for help with various projects or needs of the school. The Family Portal is a feature of FACTS SIS that allows parents to access their student’s schedule and grades as well as other information about their student and the school.  If you do not yet have a Family Portal account, you can learn how to create one by clicking here.

All MS schedules have been entered into FACTS SIS for the 2024-25 school year except for MS Clubs, 7th and 8th Grade Service, and 7th and 8th Grade Choir. All 6th grade students must take choir, but 7th and 8th grade students may choose between Choir and Study Hall/Service which are 7th period on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday in the schedule. Simply go to the CCS Website and click on the Family Portal tab. The, select "Student" and then "Schedules" to see your student's schedule.

Middle school students with scheduling issues should contact Mr. Hepler at randy.hepler@conestogachristian.net .  

CCS has a wealth of information for our families on the CCS website.  Simply go to www.conestogachristian.net and click on “Resources” and then on “Current Families” to find a plethora of information and forms needed for the school year. This includes the appearance code, Google Classroom - Information for Parents, Inclement Weather Info, the Pre-Planned Absence Form, & the Sports Physical Form. Or click here to gain access to these forms and so much more. While on the website, take time to search the entire site to learn more about the school.

MS Boys Soccer (August 14) and MS Girls Volleyball (August 19) will be starting later this month. If your child is interested in playing either of those sports and has not done so already, they should contact Mr. Yoder our Athletic Director at phil.yoder@conestogachristian.net . You may view our sports schedule by clicking here. Please note that students must submit a completed sport's physical form to participate in practice and games.

In looking at our calendar we have a few events coming up the last week or two of August.

• August 21 is our Back to School Night.  Parents and students can meet at 6:00 p.m. to fellowship and enjoy a meal together before the main meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. (Bring your own meal.) The open house ends at 8:00 p.m.
• August 25 is the first day of school. School supplies lists and our Parent/Student Handbook can all be found on our website under “Resources” and then “Current Families.”

As we approach the beginning of the school year, if you have any questions, please contact the school office.  If you are doing some shopping for school clothes, remember to refer to our school’s appearance code which can be found under “Current Families” and in the CCS Parent/Student Handbook found on the Family Portal under "Resource Documents." When shopping for school supplies, you can reference the school’s supplies lists on the CCS website.

As we enter the new year, please feel free to contact Mr. Hepler at randy.hepler@conestogachristian.net.

The Last Month of the School Year

 

Yes, May is the last month of the 2024-25 school year. There are lots of culminating activities for the month. Below are some of the important happenings for the month.

The CCS MS Athletics Reception will be held on Monday, May 12, at 7:00 p.m. in the gym. Come on out and support all of the MS athletes who participated in various team and individual sports this year.

On Friday, May 23, CCS will have an all-school field day. Teams will be competing in various mixed-grade team activities and individual grade-level activities to earn points for their teams.  CCS parents should have received a Sign-up Genius email to volunteer to help with the field day.  

Friday, May 16 is also the secondary school's Evening of Science and the Arts. The art and science projects developed by our secondary students will be on display starting at 6:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. our MS and HS choirs will perform in the gym. Come on out for a great evening of Science and the Arts.

8th-grade final assessments will be May 27-29 this year. Teachers will be preparing the students for the final assessments the week before. 6th and 7th-grade students will meet with their regularly scheduled classes.  Click here for the MS schedule for the finals week.

Friday, May 30, is the last day of school for the 2024-25 school year.  School is a half day, and students will be dismissed at 11:30. We will follow our normal dismissal procedure with buses dismissing first, then car riders, and then driver and their passengers.  More detailed transportation information should be out as we get near the end of school.

 April looks to be a busy month with much on the schedule:

This past Friday, April 4, our middle school choir competed with three other Christian schools at a fine arts festival in Oxford, PA.  Our middle school choir sang African Psalm by Patrick Liebergen.

Nine of our MS students entered artwork. 

• Ella Perechinsky placed first in Painting
• Dylan Martin placed second in Watercolor
• Alanah White place second in Mixed Media

Congratulations MS Students!

Below is a picture of some of the artwork our middles school students are producing.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week, middle school students will be taking the Iowa Achievement Tests in Reading Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  To prepare for the tests we ask that parents

• Make sure that their child gets a good night's sleep.
• Make sure their child eats a good breakfast, low sugar high protein.
• Assure their child that these tests are not graded and than they should do there best.
• communicate to their child that this is to help the school see how their learning in different areas is progressing. 

Besides being the day that income taxes are due, April 15 is the first day of CCS' Easter Break. Students will be off school from April 15 to April 21 and return to school on April 22. May you and your family have a wonderful Easter week worshipping our Lord as the churches worship his death, burial, and resurrection.

On Monday, April 14, the day before Easter break begins we will have an all school chapel at 2:00 p.m. to celebrate Easter.

Coming to the CCS Stage

This year's CCS musical is Emma based on the book by Jane Austen.

Performances are April 24 and 25 at 7:00 pm and April 26 at 3:00 pm.  Seven of our middle school students are part of the cast: Brock Harkins, Candace Hendricks, Nova Lewis, Giana Oliva, Hannah Petersheim, Clara Stratton, and Amelia Yos

For more information on Emma, click here

While it is not in April, CCS' annual Race for Education for all grades is on May 1, 2025. This event is to raise funds to support the school and will begin at 1:00 p.m. on May 1. Parents, friends, and family members are invited to come out and support the students as they run laps to raise funds for our school.

For more information on CCS' Race for Education and to donate click here

Marching Into Spring

 

March is here and spring is just around the corner.  With March come middle school spring sports. This year for the first time CCS will have a middle school boys baseball team.

CCS also has MS boys and girls track.

If your child is interested in participating in either one of these sports, please contact Mr. Yoder, our athletic director.

The second trimester ends on March 6 and on March 7 teachers have an teacher-in-service with students having no school.

Another Day Off

On Monday, March 10, there is no school as part of a March break. 

On Sunday March 9 at 2 a.m., Daylight Savings Time returns.  Before you go to bed on Saturday night March 8, remember to set your clocks and watches ahead an hour.

Every March the NCAA has it March Madness men's and women's basketball tournaments.  Well, CCS middle school has its own form of March Madness. CCS' mission is Educating the whole student—BODY, MIND and SPIRIT—for God. So each year the middle school takes 3 days in March to focus on the body, mind, and spirit. On March 24, 26, & 28 middle school students will be engaged in the following:

• March 24 - 6 groups of students will travel to serve Christian ministries in the area.
• March 26 - Students will spend the day on campus worshipping, being taught the scriptures, and participating in various growth and mind stretching activities.
• March 28 - Students will travel to Refreshing Mountain Camp for various educational, teamwork/team building, and challenge activities.

Permission slips will be coming out shortly for the off campus activities that week. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Hepler.

CCAC Mathletics Games

On February 21, nine of our middle school students, three from each grade, traveled to Lancaster County Christian School to participate in the CCAC Mathletics Games with six other Christian Schools.  Students were divided into groups of seven, one student from each school, to complete various tasks..

The competition included individual math processing challenges, group problem solving challenges, and a STEM project challenge.  Students were engaged and had to work collaboratively to complete the challenges.

Three of our CCS students were on the winning teams for each grade level. The students that attended indicated that they enjoyed the games. Way to go CCS students!

MS Information for February 2025

 

Middle School Spirit Week Next Week

For MS Spirit Week there will be dress up days. Grades will be awarded points each day by the percentage of students who dress up. On Friday, each grade will be awarded points for each student that attends the MS basketball tournament.  The class that has the most points on Monday will receive donuts for homeroom one day the next week. Below are the dress up days:

• Monday→ School Color Day

• 6th- Maroon 

• 7th- Black

• 8th- White/Silver/Gray

• Tuesday→ Represent your favorite sports team

• Wednesday→ Business on the top, party on the bottom (No shorts)

• Thursday→ Anything but a water bottle

• Friday→ Cougar gear

Mrs. Luna is Going on Maternity Leave

Mrs. Luna is expecting her second little one in late February/early March. She originally was planning on February 13 being her last day, but has been experiencing some medical difficulties with the pregnancy.

As a result her last day before she takes her leave will be February 10.  She plans to return in Mid-May. Mr. Ben Perlis will be her long-term substitute. Mr. Perlis has a degree in History and is seeking to become a teacher.

He has been substituting for CCS this year and has substituted for Mrs. Luna several times.  Mrs. Luna and Mr. Hepler have been working with Mr. Perlis to prepare him to take over on February 11. The week of February 3, Mr. Perlis will be shadowing Mrs. Luna and she will be preparing him for the transition. 

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Hepler.

Krispy Kreme Donut Delivery

The Krispy Kreme Donuts will be delivered on Thursday, February 6. Orders may be picked up between 2:45 and 3:45 p.m. that day.

MS Basketball Tournament

Our Middle School Boys and Girls CCAC Basketball Tournament is on Friday, February 7 at CCS. The girls tip off at 3:30 p.m.  Followed by the boys. Come on out and support our MS boys and girls.

                                          

Winter Break

Winter break this year is from February 14-17.This is to give the students a break from the long winter schedule between Christmas Break and Easter Break.

CCAC Mathletics Games

Nine of our middle school students will be traveling to LCCS on February 21 to compete in the CCAC Mathletics Games.

The games are individual quizzing & team competitions that focus on the following math skills:

• Geometry & Algebra
• Data Analysis
• Problem Solving
• Fluency
• Modeling 
• Application of Skills

It looks to be an exciting and learning experience for some of our middle school students