Thank you for joining together to make MCS's 30th Birthday party a memorable milestone! Parents, teachers, grandparents, alumni, and friends were united with a common purpose of supporting the past, present, and future of Mariners Christian School. If you have not yet had the chance to read the recap letter from Mr. Moore, please read it here.

Thank you to our Auction Chair Natalie Hill and Auction Operations Lead Stephanie Harrington and their Committee for putting together another fantastic Gala and Auction celebration. And, most importantly, we give thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His goodness to Mariners Christian School.

"I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever."

Psalm 86:12

We hope that you will join us for our upcoming Legacy Mornings for our Dads and Moms.  These are two separate events that you do not want to miss!  Come and hear from parents who are one step ahead of us in the parenting journey (Dads will get to hear from Ken Verheyen & Moms will get to hear from Lolo Beshore), and connect with other MCS parents who are in the trenches of parenting just like you. Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to attend on or before 3/28 (see links above).

 

Click for LEGACY Dads details

  Click for LEGACY Moms details

Be sure to send a lunch to school with your child or drop one off by their lunchtime.  We are running out of Choicelunch emergency lunches due to the high volume of forgotten lunches.  Thank you for your help!

The purpose of Gulu Spirit Week was 2-fold:

Monday - Gulu Chapels

Sixth grader Selah Steinle was the middle school and TK-third grade chapel speaker sharing about her recent trip to Gulu, how God paved the way for her to go, and the gratitude of the kids in Gulu for MCS! It was a powerful testimony which further deepened our students' hearts for Gulu, and for a moment we all lived vicariously through Selah! The students were shown a series of pictures and videos providing updates of the building progress and the joy with which our Christmas presents were received. It was the perfect way to start off the week! Singing worship was led by one of our middle school worship bands comprised of guitarist, James Crowell; drummer, Andrew Karges; bass player, Luke Swardstrom; and vocalist, Sophia Saulic.  The fourth and fifth graders were challenged by Mrs. Heather Harrison to be a telescope for His Glory, since we are a uniquely created part of God's handiwork, just like the heavens. Do people look through our telescope of words, actions, and attitudes and see Jesus? (Eph. 4:1)

Tuesday Gulu Middle School $ Dress & Elementary Bake Sale

Middle School Gulu $ Dollar Dress Day was our most participated of the year, with many students bringing in more than the required $1. We raised a total of $460 that morning! Elementary ASB hosted a bake sale with treats brought in by 3rd-5th graders, which produced mass amounts of delightful goodies for our elementary students to select from. The elementary bake sale brought in $520 for Gulu!

Wednesday - Middle School Bake Sale

Sixth grade families donated the amazing treats for the middle school bake sale, which spanned over 2 days, bringing in another $877! The middle school students were beyond generous by donating their change to our goal of helping CTCM hire 4 new teachers so the 8th graders can begin school. We are so thankful for their giving hearts, and clearly it made a HUGE difference in our total raised!

Thursday - MCS Dine Out Night

We couldn't hold a Gulu Spirit Week without an MCS Dine Out Night, and what better location than House of Yogurt! We are so thankful to the Garabedian family for offering to host us at the House of Yogurt location in Newport! Not only did 20% of every cup of yogurt purchased go to Gulu, but what a great way for Mariners families to strengthen our MCS bond outside of school hours!  Thank you to all who showed up, brought their flyer, and enjoyed some yogurt! What a double win for us and Gulu!

Friday - Launch at Lunch

The first ever MCS Launch @ Lunch was a huge success, with over 350 of our students hurling water balloons at MCS faculty and staff who were willing to "take a hit" for Gulu!!! Thank you to all parents who volunteered to help, all parents who purchased water balloons for their children, and all faculty and staff members who gave up their lunch and braved the balloon launching! 

Glory be to God!!!

Fourth grade praying for Gulu in class.

We are pleased to report that we have more than surpassed our goal of bringing our total to $6,000 by the end of the week!!! The students opened their hearts, they prayed, they acted, and God answered! We are so humbled that God would use us to help open the doors for more people to come to know Him in Gulu, Uganda. We are proud of every MCS student who answered the call, and played a roll in helping us surpass our goal! Glory be to God!!!

"I am sitting in my office with the door open listening to these beautiful hearts praising God with voices and instruments and my heart is so full that tears fall out of my eyes."  A note from Mrs. Harding while hearing the Elementary Praise group rehearsing.

We are on day 24 of the 40 days of Lent in preparation for Good Friday and Easter. Let us continue to journey through Lent as families who are becoming more aware of how much we have been forgiven, and out of that awareness, may our worship and love for Jesus expand accordingly. Ali Bray Community Connector

March commUNITY Connection Newsletter

Parents in Prayer - Meets Weekly on Fridays
 

Please contact Carrie Olson at [email protected] if you have questions.

This list is provided to you by our Parent Teacher Fellowship.

"The Peter Pan production is well on its way. A special thank you to our Tech Students who have such amazing hearts for service. They work so hard and are a joy to see at work. They are filled with wisdom and joy from the Lord." Mrs. Harding

Please note the change of date for our upcoming Boys and Girls Golf Tryouts. Please contact Mr. Thompson if you have questions.

Boys & Girls Golf (6th-8th grade)

Monday (4/3) & Thursday (4/6)

3:15-4:30 at Newport Beach Golf Course

Please attend both tryout dates. Athletes may only play one sport in the spring. Questions? Contact Mr. Thompson at [email protected]. 

Check out the new middle school lunch club coming Tuesday, March 28th

Are you interested in drawing and animation? Our very own Mr. Sebastian is a talented animator and illustrator. If you have a talent or even just interest in learning more and being part of a fun lunch time club, this opportunity is for you! Join the Drawing Club!

The Art Club is an after school activity that provides materials, instruction and support for those students who are seeking a creative outlet in addition to their academic schedule. The club will take place every other Tuesday at lunch beginning March 28th in Mr. Sebastian's room. 

Bring your lunch and your drawing supplies. Hope to see you there!

Our next Shalimar Gathering is almost here!  If your middle school student would like to join us as we visit our friends at Shalimar Drive and connect over activities, Bible Studies, and games, please fill out the  Permission Slip and turn it in on or before Tuesday, March 28th. We will meet just outside the MCS front office at 3:15 and will return back to MCS at approximately 5:45.  We utilize parent drivers, so if you are available to drive, please indicate how many students you can take on the permission slip. 

We hope your child is able to take part in the amazing work God is doing through the MCS/Shalimar partnership.  Please contact Srta. Peña at [email protected] if you have questions.

Parents, you may have noticed this week that your child's Schoology course info might have disappeared on your phone or tablet. Schoology ran into an error Monday that they ended up fixing by releasing a new update to the app. Please download the new app on your phone or tablet and re-login so you can continue to view your Child's Schoology courses and take advantage of all the great features Schoology offers our students!

If you have any questions, please email our Digital Learning Coach, Mr. Rahm [email protected]

Do you have a passion for helping others? Do you have high school, ministry, or organization service hours to complete? Do you have a special place in your heart for MCS and middle school students? If you have a desire and heart for helping middle school studentsm you are invited to apply to be a MCS Tutor! 

MCS Middle School is launching an after school tutoring program, and MCS Alumni are warmly invited to apply as volunteer tutors. The program will offer after school tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00-4:00 on campus. 

We are looking for dedicated tutors, particularly in the subjects of Math, Science, History and English. If you are interested in applying, please click here for the application packet. 

If you are interested in finding out more, contact Mrs. Willis [email protected] or 714-437-1700. MCS Middle School would love your partnership in creating this after school tutoring program for our amazing middle school students! 

Did you know the middle school has a Student Success Center? The goal of SSC is to support students in achieving academic goals by providing homework help and strengthening skills in organization, time management, and test preparation. We want to teach students strategies that will help them achieve success in both their academic careers and for the rest of their lives beyond MCS. Students who want to take advantage of this tremendous resource can stop by the SSC located upstairs next to the administration office to meet Mrs. Willis, receive more information, and sign up for the after school help. The SSC is open to students during the following times: 

• Monday: 3:00-4:00
• Tuesday: 3:00-4:00
• Thursday-3:00-3:30 

To provide the best support, it is imperative students sign up prior to attending. We are excited to provide this great resource to our students and are thrilled to work with students throughout the year!