Everyone,
I wanted to put together a short summary of the discussion at yesterday's "Coffee with the Principal" meeting. We had 25 - 30 people there in the morning (I forgot to count to give you an actual number) and another 10 in the afternoon. I thought both meetings were great.
The opening devotion was from Genesis Chapter 1. The account of creation shares that God said that what he had made was good after crating on days 1,3,4,5, and halfway through day 6. There is no account of day 2 other than God saying that "it was so." At the end of day 6, after creating man and woman and instructing them to work and be fruitful and multiply, God said it was "very good." Human beings and their sexuality were created by God and deemed very good by Him. Creation is a gift. Our body and our very life is a gift. Sexuality is a gift. And they all need to be understood as great gifts to value. That framed the context of our entire conversation about how to implement a cohesive sex education program throughout the school.
Both the morning and afternoon groups seemed very favorable to a plan for sex education that places the parents as the first instructors with good materials before the teachers also go over the same materials in order to support parent's instruction and foster on-going communication with parents as issues related to sexuality arise. We also talked starting as young as 3 year old preschool with appropriate materials about hand washing, keeping your body which is God's temple clean, and learning that you are unique and valuable. I would work with the faculty to develop a comprehensive curriculum that would be used each May for instruction, but parents would receive materials ahead of time in order to review it all with their child ahead of time. Parents present expressed an appreciation for this approach.
A stewardship and savings program for the students was discussed, and I hope we will get that program started in January. The essence is that students would be able to begin a savings account through Church Extension Fund (CEF) that would provide CEF with money to loan to churches and schools while the kids earn interest on their investment. The students would get a prize every time they invested, and we'd make it available once/week before school (so just come a few minutes early to make your investment). I've done this at my previous schools, and I really try to teach students about saving, stewardship, and compounding interest.
We are planning a Christmastime assembly for the students, and we may need some parents to help with that. You can contact me if you'd like to assist.
We talked briefly about dress code feedback and suggestions. As I expected, we had thoughts of loosen it up, keep it the same, and tighten it up. Good points were made by everyone, but nothing was decided or recommended for the future. It was good for me to hear parent's thoughts though.
I think that adequately summarizes things for everyone who couldn't make it (including faculty). I appreciate the great and respectful communication that occurred! Great job and thank you!!
In Christ,
Julian Petzold, Principal
