Bartlett Christian Academy | A K-5 Christ centered elementary school

SUPERINTENDANT:

Please, move with caution!

When we are traveling and such words appear on a road sign we take them very serious. Either we have precious lives in the car with us or we value our own safety enough to heed the words. It is a wise person who reads such words and then adheres to their instruction.

I would also ask you to please move with caution regarding your child's enrollment at Bartlett Christian Academy. I know we live in economically challenging days. We all have had to reconsider how to tighten our belts, cut our budgets, watch our spending, and even eliminate some items we normally wouldn't have otherwise considered.

But one of my concerns is when I see parents that are economically challenge to reduce their budgets do so by "first" eliminating private schooling. I would hope that would be their last choice and not their first choice for several reasons.

First, private education for your child is an investment. It has great returns that cannot be measured in dollars and sense. Other investments rust, rot, or reduce in value over time. Your child's educational investment will continue to bring great returns for their entire lives.

Second, I often see families in today's society who sacrifice importance for indulgence. In other words they let go of essentials in order to hold on to extravagance. They struggle with making the proper choice between a need and a want. So they usually choose the want and let go of the need. Tragic but true.

Third, many struggle with their child's real needs. We often are misled in thinking our children need a constant schedule of extra-curricular activities from park district programs to private interest lessons. What we discover are parents who run themselves silly and children who are tired and have no personal time to just be themselves. We somehow have been led to believe that we must fill their time all the time with something. What most family researchers have discovered is what children need most is quality family time. Children don't really care how big the house is, how great the cars are or really how many trips they go on. They value family time more than anything else.

So please move with caution when you reconsider the budget cuts. It is a wise person who reads such words and then adheres to their instruction.

Pastor Jerry H. Gleason
BCA Superintendent

SCHOOL BOARD:

Dear Families and Friends of BCA,

Once again, the end of the school year is here. We have had many new and exciting things happen this year. We had our largest enrollment, Mrs. Lacher became our full-time principal, and we added a new class as well as new teachers. Sadly, we have to say goodbye to Mrs. Vander Plas - well, perhaps it is better to say till we meet again. After all, that is one of the wonderful things about knowing Jesus, we will all meet again. So, Mrs. Vander Plas, on behalf of the school board, thank you for the wonderful years you have given to us and the children. You have made a positive impact upon their lives and ours!

Also, it is time for me (Denise Bouquet) to say good-bye. My husband and I are moving to Southern Illinois where we will be taking on new undertakings. I have truly loved the time spent on the board helping to set the school's course. The board will continue to seek God's direction for the school, and I leave knowing that the Lord has placed committed workers on the board to help facilitate the academic growth of the students, as well as strengthen and deepen their love of God.

May God grant each and every one of you a wonderful summer and upcoming school year.

In His service,

Peggy Smith, Chairperson
Denise Bouquet, Secretary
Frank Czarnik
Bonnie Kochan
Brian Lawyer

PRINCIPAL:

As the end of the year has approached, I want to take this time to thank you for all of your hard work. Because of you, the children have had a successful year. Your love, patience, encouragement and devotion to your children, have given them the skills they need for next year. I thank God that He has given you such wonderful children to take care of and I Thank God that He has given them such committed parents to nurture them.

I also want to thank all of the teachers, volunteers, and staff for all of their dedication. While I look forward to seeing many of the same faces next year I, too, will miss seeing Mrs.VanderPlas here each day. However, I do wish her only the best as she seeks new opportunities.

Have a great summer.

Shebna Lacher
BCA Principal

MUSIC:

A Note from Mrs. Pal :)

The following is an excerpt from an educational article I recently read. Important Skills Your Child Learns by Studying Music:

Self-Confidence. Being able to go from learning notes and rhythms to producing meaningful music, instills in your child a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence.

Teamwork. Every child wants to be part of a group. Theory and musicianship classes, in addition to group performances and recitals provide just such unique opportunities.

Communication. Music offers the ability to cultivate our feelings and thoughts through nonverbal means and to respond to these nonverbal thoughts in others.

Conceptualization. Your child learns to classify by learning to identify different types and styles of music and to recognize how cultures use music for personal expression.

Making Value Judgments. Learning to comprehend, consider and evaluate in music can help your child make informed decisions and uphold value judgments in other aspects of life.

The Fruits of the Spirit are - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I was very proud of every class that got up on stage Friday evening & gave it their all. We were having some technical difficulties that were out of their control but they pushed ahead anyway. I think they did a great job considering some of the things going on that night.

There was an unfortunate mishap during the 3rd grade presentation when the children did their first song. Laughter was heard from the audience which the students interpreted as meaning that they were doing a bad job on their performance, thus causing the laughter. This most definitely was not the case! As their music teacher I was very sad because I knew how long & hard they worked to get that song right. For the first time, all the boys sang the right pitch in the right key. I was so excited for them because they sang it in the range that is appropriate for their age. When they heard the laughter from the adults they were embarrassed and I've been doing damage control ever since. We must always be very careful how we respond during school presentations. If you have a 3rd grader you may want to re-enforce your appreciation for what they did.

Children can perceive our actions completely different than we intended.

All of the children did a great job!! And the perk is - They know the fruits of the Spirit.

Think about it. Self-control, patience.hhmmm.

Now, go & give your child a great big hug and tell them how proud of them you are! :)

Mrs. Pal

FOREIGN LANGUAGE :

It has been a rewarding experience teaching Spanish at Bartlett Christian Academy. We all learned in the classroom about Jesus. The kids have memorized four Bible verses in Spanish which are are as follows:

Dios es Amor - 1 Juan 4:8 / God is love - 1 John 4:8

Jehová es mi Pastor - Salmos 23:1 / The Lord is my Shepperd - Psalm 23:1

Dad Gracias en Todo - 1 Tesalonisenses 5:18 / Give thanks in everything - Th. 5:18

Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo - Juan 316 / For God so loved the world - John 3:16

As an incentive, we promised a prize to the kids who could recite the four Bible verses without the teacher's help. It is exciting to see how they make an effort! I was delighted to listen and reward them with Mexican goodies.

All the children, kindergarten to 5th grade, recognize the colors in Spanish, and they are able to count to thirty - treinta. They could greet people using los saludos: buenos días, buenas tardes, o buenas noches. We visited three Hispanic countries during these months which included Mexico, Bolivia, and Spain. They learned about their culture, traditions, and history. The kids are able to pronounce some parts of their body while they sing Christian songs. They know the days of the week as well as the seasons of the year. They recognize family members such as mama, papa, hijo, hermano, hija, hermana, abuelos, tío, tía, primo, and prima. Also, they are knowledgable of some fruits, animals, and school items in Spanish.

All the kids have surprised me! They are really trying hard to learn the Spanish language. Parents, I encourage you to continue this small effort. During vacation time, please emerse them in Spanish language by letting them talk to any Hispanic friend or watch any Spanish Christian movie so that they do not forget what they have learned so far.

I want to express my appreciation to the parents and Staff of the Bartlett Christian Academy for your small token of love to me. Thank you for the opportunity to serve God in this capacity. I look forward to next school year! May the Lord prosper your life and family.

Mrs. Lydia Vazquez
Spanish Teacher

ART:

What a wonderful year! The younger grades have experimented with many new techniques and materials. They are learning that it is necessary and good to make "mistakes". Sometimes our mistakes can turn into our greatest piece of work. In the beginning of the year they somehow were able to complete an hour long project within 5 minutes. Now, they can't stop themselves from working until the next class shuffles in.

Our older grades have continued to practice learned techniques. We have talked about how many re-known artists will paint the very same picture over and over and again and again. The students are eager and excited to try anything new. They don't even mind getting messy and sticky anymore. All of the classes especially liked modeling clay by Play Doe. Big tubs are available at Hobby Lobby.

Have a Happy Summer,

Mrs. Raleigh

PHYSICAL EDUCATION :

As a reminder our primary objective for our Physical Education program is to instill a desire for physical fitness in each child, our goal is to help develop coordination and control. We also emphasize leadership and we strive to develop a sense of fair play and good sportsmanship. We also have incorporated the four F's -FUN, FITNESS AND FRIENDSHIP thru FUNDAMENTALS of physical education.

This semester we played new games. Through these games, the children we able to work on their large motor skills, by throwing, catching, kicking, and dribbling.

The children also were exposed to gymnastics as well as lots of cardio-vascular activities.

Once again we place great emphases on leadership, sportsmanship, physical fitness, coordination, responsibility, acceptance, self worth, loyalty, honesty, kindness to others, and a love of playing sports

COMPUTER:

This quarter in computers, the younger grades have been working more on improving their typing skills including typing speed and accuracy.

As for 2nd through 5th grade we have focused on power point and researching on the internet..

Grades K through 5th have also been working on Kidspiration which is a program to help them organize their thoughts and use this to organize writing pieces.

Download BCA 4th Quarter Newsletter