Insights: Fighting Lions and Bears
A businessman battles against the heavy weight of failure after his business goes under. A teen feels abandoned and rejected after the divorce of his parents. A husband suffers through the unexpected loss of his wife. A man drives a delivery truck through a crowded street, killing dozens. Trials come to us all. Our response to them can either make us or break us: we can either grow from them, or they can be our undoing. As Christians, we are even exhorted to celebrate trials, knowing that God can use them to produce virtue in us. Part of our responsibility as parents and educators is to prepare our students to not just survive trials, but to thrive in them. To grow from them. Even to celebrate them. The truest fruits of our labor will not manifest themselves in high SAT scores or admissions to the best universities (though we get those) but when our students cling to Jesus as their Lord despite temptation from the world, when they remain faithful to their spouse in a difficult season in their marriage, or when they love the unlovable child. How do we strive towards such a noble goal? We ask our students to fight lions and bears. Here is what I mean: in 1 Samuel chapter 17, David arrives at the Israelite camp; the Philistines are camped across the way, and Goliath their champion has spent 40 days challenging any Israelite brave enough to face him to a winner take all, fight to the death; David, just a teenager at the time, volunteers to fight Goliath, and all the Israelites mock him; finally David is referred to King Saul, who tells him more the same: “You’re a teenage boy. He’s a professional soldier. You can’t possibly hope to beat him!” Note David’s response: “’[I] used to keep [my] father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth…. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’ Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’” (1 Samuel 17:34-37) “Our natural inclination as parents and educators is often to try to make life easier, more comfortable, for our students, when in reality God is calling them to fight lions and bears.” David had a perfect confidence in God’s provision because he was in the business of fighting lions and bears. David knew that because God was faithful when he fought lions and bears, God would be faithful when he fought Goliath. And He was. Our natural inclination as parents and educators is often to try to make life easier, more comfortable, for our students, when in reality God is calling them to fight lions and bears. When our students go out in to the world and face their own Goliath, do not let it be the first fight they have been in. They need to be able to look back and see moments where they were pushed, where they were challenged, where they did the hard thing, and see God’s provision in their lives. They need to know that they can conquer any Goliath that life throws at them, because God has given them the victory before. It is true that at The Ambrose School students are required to do hard things. Reading Virgil as a sophomore is no easy task, but Virgil makes a great lion. Mr. Hosier and Mrs. Pauls will often expect more from students than they expect from themselves, but Chemistry and Precalculus make great bears. Our hope is that when students leave here and arrive on college campuses, in the workplace, or are confronted with difficult circumstances in life, they will have a perfect confidence in the provision of God because they first experienced it here. When faced with future trials, may our students say with confidence, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of Virgil and the paw of Chemistry, He will deliver me from the hand of this Goliath.”
Sexualized Kids: Pam Stenzel coming to Boise Feb. 26
Sexualized Kids Our children are under a constant stream of messages from the media that run opposite from a Biblical worldview on dating, sex and marriage. While it is the prerogative of the family to teach and protect our children, it is increasingly difficult in a smart-phone enabled, sexually saturated, hook-up culture world. If you have children 14 and up, you do not want to miss this opportunity to have them hear national Christian speaker Pam Stenzel and her talk “The High Cost of Free Love.” Her message is upbeat, compelling and age appropriate for today’s Christian teenagers to hear directly the reason and urgency for healthy relationships and abstinence before marriage. See a clip HERE. You are encouraged to attend with them. Sunday, February 26th 4:00pm to 6:00pm at Cole Valley Christian Church. Thanks to a generous parent who felt so strongly about this event they have underwritten the cost, it is only $5 per person in advance. Tickets are available in the Ambrose School office. Please stop by during office hours or email office@theambroseschool.org to reserve your tickets. $10 at the door day of the event. Tickets can also be purchased online through Eventbrite. This event is co-sponsored along with Cole Valley Christian School and Nampa Christian Schools. Questions? Email office@theambroseschool.org.
BaseCamp: “Real World” Ready – Will My Kids Be Prepared? March 7 @ 7pm
Few parents or grandparents at Ambrose grew up being classically Christian educated and are often left wondering if this unique form of education is the best for their child beyond early grammar school. What good is Latin when we need to learn Spanish or Chinese in today’s world? Why study “old dead white guys” when the world is becoming increasingly diverse and even suspicious of these old patriarch writers and thinkers? Is science education suffering at the cost of “esoteric” ancient Greek writings? Why work so hard when other schools make earning an “A” so much easier? Will Ambrose kids be able to keep their faith if they haven’t been exposed to more secular challenges until college? Should Christians even be reading pagan literature? Isn’t the Bible enough? Come hear answers to these and other questions at our next BaseCamp Forum . Tuesday, March 7th in our school library @ 7:00 pm. Join Davies Owens, David Goodwin (Former Head of School and ACCS president) and our special guest, 9th grade teacher and parent Joe Gerber. Joe is a former social worker with a unique perspective on education style and how it impacts lives. Joe has taught in both the grammar and upper schools at Ambrose. This BaseCamp will also be live streamed on the Ambrose Facebook page. PLEASE RSVP! To ensure we have enough seating, please let us know if you are coming. We will also be offering childcare. Tell us in your RSVP if you will be using the childcare services. $5 per hour for first child/$2 for each additional. RSVP FOR BASECAMP 3/7
BaseCamp: “Kids & Money” Thursday, January 26 @ 7 pm
How do you teach your children to be wise with money? Join us Thursday at 7 pm to learn from other parents and financial experts on some of the best ways to instill healthy money habits in your children. Our panelists will give short presentations and then there will time for Q&A. Let’s talk about: Allowance Consumerism Stewardship Giving Spending and Saving Panelists: Bruce MacMahon | father of five Ambrose graduates; Director of Accounting & Financial Reporting for Idaho Power Company; serves on the board of two non-profit ministries Brian Wiley | Financial Advisor; host of “Idaho’s Money Show” on 580 KIDO weeknights from 6-7pm Todd Krafft | MBA, RICP, FIC, Financial Consultant PLEASE RSVP! To ensure we have enough seating, please let us know if you are coming. We will also be offering childcare. Tell us in your RSVP if you will be using the childcare services. $5 per hour for first child/$2 for each additional. RSVP FOR BASECAMP 1/26
Insights: Would the shared instruction model be a good fit for your family?
Would the shared instruction model be a good fit for your family? By Mandi Moore Shared Instruction Consultant at The Ambrose School and Board President at Cross Classical Academy, Brownwood, TX As our oldest child approached school age in 2009, my husband and I began to research educational options. Through much prayer and research, we became convinced that classical Christian education is the most effective option for instilling a love for God, truth, virtue, and learning into the lives of our children. To make classical education available for our children and other Christian families in our community, we helped launch Cross Classical Academy (CCA), a hybrid educational model in central Texas that blends the best of traditional classical Christian education with the best of parent-based learning. Our children attended classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and completed teacher-assigned lessons at home under my instruction and guidance on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Before attending CCA, I had often felt the time I had with my children passed so quickly that I was not completely accomplishing the goals I had for teaching and training them. The structure of our home days at Cross Classical enabled me to be intentional and effective with our family time. Dinner conversations were rich and meaningful as we discussed what we learned together each day. I became deeply acquainted with my children’s individual strengths and weaknesses. It was helpful to be able to provide extra instruction and practice when they struggled with concepts or content. Additionally, there was freedom to invest extra time and energy in the areas in which my kids enjoyed and excelled. When absences from school were necessary, I was able to easily teach any make-up work because I had all of the materials at home. “I had often felt the time I had with my children passed so quickly that I was not completely accomplishing the goals I had for teaching and training them.” Along the way, I had many opportunities to disciple my children as we worked through character issues that naturally arose on home days. We also had time to discuss their time spent on campus with friends and identify any areas for growth. The flexible schedule of our home days also allowed us to enjoy time with friends and family, as well as attend field trips during the week when exhibits were less crowded. I was blessed to be highly involved in the education of my children. The model supported and equipped our family by providing curriculum selection, daily lesson plans, student assessment and accountability, as well as parent training. Shared instruction model was a great fit for our family, as it is for many families around the country. Ambrose has a vision to make this hybrid educational model available to families in the Treasure Valley in fall of 2017. I am excited to be a part of the team launching the Bridge Program, which will blend the best of classical Christian education (2 days per week on campus) with parent-based learning (3 days at home). Please spread the word to your friends and family! OPEN HOUSE FEBRUARY 2ND & 23RD! Any parents interested in hearing more are invited to attend an informational meeting in the Ambrose library on February 2nd or 23rd at 7:00-8:00pm. Childcare available upon request. To RSVP or for questions, contact Bridge Program Director Melody Tracy at mtracy@theambroseschool.org. READ MORE ABOUT THE AMBROSE SCHOOL BRIDGE PROGRAM
Idaho Statesman Athlete of the Week: Ethan Christianson
Ambrose junior Ethan Christianson was chosen as the Idaho Statesman Varsity Extra Player of the Week for Boys Basketball. Ethan’s outstanding efforts against Horseshoe Bend and Riverstone were noted by the sports editors of the Statesman as prompting his selection. Congratulations to Ethan! See the online Statesman Varsity Extra blog HERE.
Snow Day Guidelines
By policy, if either West Ada OR Boise school districts close, we close, as well. If you’re concerned about road conditions and want to know if our school is closed due to weather: Go to the website: www.theambroseschool.org. If there is a red banner across the top of the screen, it will have text saying if school is canceled. If there is no red banner, school is on. We aim to have it up by 6:30 am, but keep checking. IMPORTANT: Refresh your page each time you check. Check your email: We will send out a school-wide email if school is canceled. Check your phone: We will send a parent alert text message as well. Due to the higher than usual number of snow days this year, we will consider a delayed start instead of canceling under certain circumstances. Parents will be alerted as soon as possible when this occurs.
School calendar changes due to snow days
Because of the unprecedented number of snow days this past week, we are enacting the following changes in order to help us all catch up on the scheduled curriculum. The following days which previously had been “no school” days will now be regular school days for both the Grammar and Upper Schools: Monday, January 16th – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, now a regular school day. Friday, March 10th – This had been scheduled as a teacher work day but will now be a regular school day. Friday, May 5th – This day had been scheduled as a teacher inservice day. This day will change to an early release day (11:30 am) instead. This is also the day of Protocol. CHANGE FOR UPPER SCHOOL ONLY: March 20th – This is currently scheduled for Parent Teacher conferences. The Grammar School will still hold conferences as usual and have no school this day. The Upper School will now have classes this day, and the Upper School teachers will be available for conferences from 3 pm to 6 pm. You’ll note that we have done all we can to not touch key events – Feed the Need (Feb. 10), Presidents Day (Feb. 20), Spring Break (Mar. 27-31) or Summer Break (begins May 29). However, winter isn’t over yet! These changes have been reflected on our online calendar. Please note these changes on any printed calendars you may have.
