Because of the “No Child Left Behind Act,” some schools have made cuts in their arts programs as they have focused on test scores in core academic areas. As a school leader, I understand the pressures to make such decisions, and we want stellar math, science and language arts programs. At the same time, we are pleased to be a school that values, celebrates and is not reducing arts and social/emotional development in the curriculum.

The evening of the day I listened to part of the talk show, I attended the Lancaster Mennonite Middle Schools Seventh Annual Fine Arts Festival. It was a wonderful evening that showcased students’ progress and success in the arts. It reminded me of the important role the arts play in social and emotional development, as well as research showing the connection between music and success in academic subject areas.

Additionally, I was reminded of the LMS core value of spiritual development, which we value along with social, emotional and academic growth. The arts are an important component of our core values that define success as going beyond test scores, which are important, to our students being transformed as we educate the whole child.

On Friday we put a note on the Lancaster Mennonite Facebook page about prayer for the Newtown community and the words of Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” This post has received over 100 “likes,” more than any post in the past, an indication of how this shooting of young children has impacted all of us and our yearning for the repentance, renewal and restoration that was the message of this third Sunday of Advent.

The teachers and staff of LMS love their students and have dedicated their careers to helping each one in their classrooms. We strive to have LMS be a place that is safe for our students physically, socially, spiritually and emotionally.

We will be alert to students who may need support, and our counselors are ready to talk with any student or parent who would like some help in processing this terrible event. We are seeking to respond in an age-appropriate way as students raise questions.

LMS has taken numbers of measures to increase school security during the past few years, and more are underway. School security was an important factor in the recently-completed Kraybill Gateway Project, and it is currently being factored into future residence hall planning. A few weeks ago a new gate was installed on the Greenland Drive entrance to the Lancaster Campus. In addition, campus security plans and safety procedures have been established and we will continue to review and update them.

Starting in January, all LMS staff will be required to wear school identification badges/lanyards as a measure to increase both hospitality and school security.

Please join us in prayer for Sandy Hook students, staff and families. Also pray for wisdom for our national and state leaders as they work for change to ensure the common good and the protection of all our children. “O, healing river, pour down your waters onto this land.”

Shalom!

One seminar said that to live for anything less than a dream means that one does not experience one’s full potential. I thought of our dream to transform lives that change our world through Christ-like love, peacemaking and service. In the seminar we learned that the measure of meeting goals is whether those who have been transformed go on to be involved in transforming others. When this was said, images of some of our nearly 11,000 alumni impacting our world came to my mind.

Upon my return I became aware of a note from a parent stating that their child, who came to LMS this fall, now speaks openly about his faith, and that there is now a new relationship between parents and son. Recently this young man handled an awkward situation with unusual grace for someone of his age and when complimented for doing so he replied, “Well, this new school has helped me get closer to God.”

This is a recent example of how changing lives one person at a time, multiplied by our students and alumni, means that LMS has an impact on thousands of lives. We appreciate our partnership with many friends who are a crucial part of this world-changing team through prayer, generous gifts, volunteer time and being an advocate. May God’s Spirit empower us to live the dream of changing our world through the transformation of lives in a Christ-centered school!

Yesterday the Gateway project at Kraybill was opened for use by our students, staff and community. The re-shaped facility reflects changes in our community since the other parts of the building were constructed. With this new entrance we have gained:

It was a privilege to be at the Kraybill Campus to see the smiles and to hear the words of appreciation from students, staff and parents. This is a facility that will serve us well many years into the future.

Thanks to the system and campus staff, the Site Council and the School Board who provided leadership for this wonderful facility. Thanks to all who were patient as school functions were impacted by the construction. And thanks to all who have invested dollars to make it happen. Currently an additional $30,000 is needed in cash and pledges to complete the funding of the facility.

Current facilities that need to be shaped so they shape us for today’s world include:

These facility visions, along with meeting the Annual Fund (for the difference between tuition and the cost of education) and increasing the LMS Endowment for a stronger future, are priorities for the school.

The seminar leader talked about past major technological changes in education delivery, such as:
• Inventing the printing press in the 15th century
• Translating the Bible into the language of the people in the16th century
• Introducing the blackboard in the 19th century
• Adopting the Carnegie unit of credit in the 20th century
• Developing adaptive computer technology in the 21st century

Adaptive computer technology enables a computer program to adjust to the individual person using it. This allows a student to progress at her/his own rate and to master material before moving to new material.

Today I talked with a student using an iPad about how it is helping her to achieve her educational goals. This year iPads are being introduced for students to use for math exercises in grades four and five. iPads are also being used by some high school students in Learning Support and also in a few elementary and middle school physical education classes.

The math app on the iPad adapts to the student, providing instruction needed for success. It also means that more rote material can be taught by technology, thereby freeing the teacher to spend more time with students and to teach higher-order mathematical thinking skills needed for success in the 21st century.

This is one example of how new technology is enabling Lancaster Mennonite School to advance as we seek excellence adapted to each student. Such is the possibility of 21st century learning.

Shalom!

These verses show Jesus gathering persons from every tribe, language, people and nation, making them a kingdom community to serve God on earth (Rev. 5:9-10 and Rev. 7:9-10).

When on earth, Jesus brought together persons across the divides of his world. The early Church understood the work of Christ on the cross to destroy dividing walls of hostility. Thus, we understand from Scripture that personal and structural racism is sin. This understanding guides us as a school seeking to undo racism and to embrace intercultural transformation.

Many of us in the dominant culture are learning about white privilege and structural racism. It has been sad to hear a mother share that, “Every day when I put my child on the bus, I need to say, “You are OK even if your skin is not white.’”

Seeking to undo racism and to embrace intercultural transformation are important next steps for us to take as we embrace a Revelation 7 Vision. This year we will do an inter-cultural development inventory and then have follow-up teaching conducted by Iris de Leon Hartshorn, a staff member of Mennonite Church USA.

We celebrate the growing unity in diversity that we are experiencing at Lancaster Mennonite School where about a third of our students are now from various nationalities, cultures and ethnicities. This growing diversity moves us toward the Biblical vision. It also provides a learning environment that reflects the future of the United States in which where no racial group will comprise the majority of the population. In addition, this is part of the Purposeful Plan of our sponsoring church.

This summer the news reminded us that the sin of racism is still part of the reality in which we live. Let’s celebrate this wonderful diversity at LMS where our unity is not in culture, tradition, ethnicity or nationality, but is in and through Jesus Christ.

Shalom!

Ever since LMS opened seventy years ago, the food services department has served a healthy meal to our students. This year we are pleased that lunches will include more fruits, vegetables and legumes, and the amount of starch will be reduced. Particularly at the elementary level, where parents bring snacks into the classroom, we ask that they bring healthy foods.

This year we will implement the Circle of Grace Curriculum, developed by Mennonite Church USA, at the elementary, middle and high school levels. This curriculum helps students maintain a circle of appropriate physical, emotional, spiritual and sexual boundaries. Students will learn how to recognize when boundary violations are about to occur and how to take action when boundaries are being threatened or violated.

Updating our school lunches and adding the Circle of Grace Curriculum helps the school to meet the part of its graduate profile that states: “our graduates will practice wellness of body, mind and spirit.”

In our 70th year we remember the past to discover a useable future to which God is calling us. Looking to the past frees us to embrace the new and to be faithful in this generation.

We can renew the sacrificial love of our forebears that makes it possible for us to be celebrating 70 years. This is a time for to recommit ourselves to passion for Christian schooling, not as a “private” education, but as holistic Christ-centered education that transforms lives to change our world.

For many alumni and friends, the Iron Bridge is a symbol of the hope of LMS. We are privileged to:

• Build Bridges to faith – to Jesus the Center that holds in a changing world
• Build Bridges between generations
• Build Bridges to the church as a community of faith
• Build Bridges of global connections
• Build Bridges to a successful future where students are prepared for living, prepared for life.

Lancaster Mennonite School: Centered in Christ—Transforming Lives—Changing Our World.

Shalom!

Change has been a constant during these years, which is reflected in so many ways. The comparisons below show a few of the changes between 1942 and 2012.

• Campuses: 1, 4
• Grades:9-12, PreK-12
• Accredited: No, Yes
• Enrollment: 150, 1500
• High School Courses: 30, 156
• Residence Hall Students: 60, 65
• Faculty & Administrators: 9, 128
• Interscholastic Sports: No, Yes
• Drama Performances: No, Yes
• Instrumental Music: No, Yes

Take a look a international languages offered. In 1942 German and Latin were offered. In 2012 LMS offers German, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English as a second language. This change in languages offered reflects the changing times and being part of a global community.

What has not changed through the 70 years is a commitment to the God of the Bible with a Christ-centered faith.

Our purpose is caught in our mission statement to provide an excellent education centered in Christ that transforms lives to change our world through the power of Christlike love, peacemaking and service.

Shalom!

Today, June 6, I received a notice that another member of the class of 2012 is receiving a $1,000 scholarship. It reminded me that several weeks ago in a high school assembly period, the student body was shown the scholarships that had been awarded to the class of 2012.

Scholarships were earned by 65% of the seniors who have been admitted to college. The value of the scholarships was about $2.6 million over four years of college.

I am proud of the academic success that the class of 2012 demonstrated by earning these scholarships and many other academic awards during the past school year. We wish them well in their college careers.

These scholarships earned by the class of 2012 demonstrate the LMS commitment to academic excellence. In addition to displaying academic excellence, the graduates have demonstrated a commitment to a Christ-centered faith in daily life.