Northwest Christian School Doubles-Down on Biblical Worldview, Requires Biblical Worldview Course of Parents as Part of Re-enrollment

Beginning with the launch of re-enrollment for the 2024/2025 school year, Northwest Christian School is "requiring" parents to participate in an online Biblical Worldview foundations course.  Titled "NCS Parent University: Foundations of a Biblical Worldview", the course, consisting of all-original content wholly developed by the school, results from a partnership with the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Summit Ministries, and Christian Family Care.

The goal for the course is to produce a three-fold advantage to re-enrolling families. First, families will have the opportunity to see and experience the wonderful Biblical truths that are being presented to their children. Second, participation within the course will allow school and home to strengthen and reinforce their vital partnership. Third, when that vital partnership is sincere and legitimately in play, it will produce a profound impact in both the school and home.

"We've reached a cultural tipping point," explains superintendent Geoff Brown, "in which Biblical literacy and meaningful investment in a local church is at historic lows. The results are dangerous and, unfortunately, the risks are wholly adverse for our kids. When they see home and school pointed in different directions regarding the fundamental truths that should be framing our lives, they wind up confused and hurt. Unapologetically, we are a Christian school with a covenant enrollment model. Given the stakes and the cultural risks in front of our students, it's time to vet and strengthen the legitimacy of our enrollment model."

In order to "require" the course of parents, Northwest Christian is doubling the annual registration fee to $400 and immediately, upon making a digital commitment within the online re-enrollment process to finish the 90-minute online course by August 1, 2024, giving an immediate $150 credit, reducing the fee to $250.

The course is hosted within the learning management system of Christian Family Care, the same LMS that houses CFC's Family Care Learning Library. "This is a treasure trove of courses and resources that we are making available for free to our families," explains Brown. "As soon as they finish the course, they have immediate access to an incredible number of tools that will further grow Biblical worldview and strengthen the home."

Watch this video for more information or visit this website.

Go Off-Road with the Red Letter Challenge! During elementary chapel on Wednesday, January 24th, Mr. Brown, Mr. Dowdle, and Mr. G launched the Red Letter Challenge. The Red Letter Challenge is an annual Bible reading plan in which students are encouraged to read through the four gospels, one chapter per day, over three months. As an extrinsic reminder that intrinsic motivation to read God's word daily is its own reward, students have the opportunity to earn rock climbing and off-road jeep trips through the program. "In chapel," explains Mr. Brown, "I explained that every once in a while, life gets a bit bumpy when we get off the road. The best way to be prepared and stay on course is daily time in God's word!" For more information, please watch this video or visit this web page.

Snow Day becomes Snow Night!

The long-standing Northwest Christian Early Education program's tradition of bringing snow to campus in January has taken a fun turn thanks to the early education center's new director, Mrs. Bree Tarbutton. Formerly, the event took place during the daytime with staff, students, and just a few parents. But moving it to the evening of Friday, January 19th meant that students had the chance to enjoy the memorable evening with their parents and families.

The evening included snowball fights, free hot chocolate, snow men, and an artificial snow hill for sledding. The event capped off two weeks of learning about seasons, weather, snow, precipitation, and words that start with the letter "S": snow, sled, snowball, and more!

STREAM THE NEW NC STUDENT FILM, "TEST TAKERS" FOR FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME AND CELEBRATE TEN YEARS OF THE NXNW FILM FESTIVAL! On Friday, January 19th, as part of the 10th Annual NXNW High School Film Festival, Northwest Christian rolled out the red carpet, fired up the limousines, and threw up the Hollywood-style sky lights (literally!) for the premiere of "Test Takers". As part of an amazing partnership with Red Five Media, and formerly Cabin Fever Films, for the past decade, Northwest Christian has created an opportunity for students to participate in the making of an actual film! This year's premiere and festival took place in three theaters at the Harkins Norterra theaters in North Phoenix. 

To celebrate ten years of great films and hard-working students, please, take a moment, click here, and enjoy this wonderfully done student-driven heist film! (Available for a limited time!)

Early Education History! This semester, the NCS Early Education program is making history with its very first chapels. The chapel experience has long been a staple of the K-12 program but January saw the first forays into a preschool-wide time of age-appropriate worship and teaching.

January and February are about to get exciting... In the next few days, the new NCS 12-room classroom building will take some exciting steps forward. Plumbing started this past week and electrical conduits go in place next week. The concrete slab will be poured on February 5th meaning that the pre-fab walls could be up as early as February 8th with trusses up by February 16th.

Phase 1 of the school's "Build Here, Build There" campus improvement plan is beginning to take shape as that behind-the-scenes and off-campus, the new classroom building has already been built. Geoff explains: "We are using a newer building technology called Hercuwall which allows for us to build with maximum efficiency." Hercuwall is an ICC-certified construction solution which far surpasses typical "stick-built" construction methods. Made of concrete, steel and EPS, everything about Hercuwall’s power is in its unique, patented structure. Hercuwall delivers R31 insulation and is three times stronger than 2 x 4 wood studs, delivering superior strength, unsurpassed energy efficiency, sustainability, fire resistance, sound rating and overall building quality. Meanwhile, planning is already underway for the next phase - the Crusader Creation Commons. A state-of-the-art technology center, the Creation Commons will house the just-announced Siemens-driven engineering partnership, robotics, audio-and-video recording studios, 3-D printing, HAM radio, and many other chances for Crusaders to enjoy university-level technology. For more information on the Build Here, Build There campaign, please follow this link.

Banner turnout for Junior Crusader Cross Country! An aspect of the ministry of the high school's cross country team, coached by Jenna Young and numerous Northwest Christian High School cross country athletes, Junior Crusaders Cross Country is the opportunity for elementary-aged students to develop stamina, athleticism, and self-discipline. Now in its seventh year, Spring 2024 is seeing the team grow to its strongest numbers yet!

Souper Bowl champions! The yearlong 2023/2024 Great Crusader Cook-Off competition continued in January with faculty and staff bringing in soups to compete in three categories: thin soup, thick soup, and international soup. The winners were Mary Hall, Debbie Yee, and Sherry Muscari.

This just in! Congratulations to the Middle School's wrestling team for winning their first state championship! More info to come as we recap winter sports next month!

A very special guest! On January 24th, when Gordon Wickert of Hope in Numbers came to speak in elementary chapel, he brought a very special guest: a Lightning McQueen-styled car that is meant to inspire scripture memorization. The car also represent the memory of Gordon's son who passed away. To hear Gordon's inspiring story, click here to hear him on the school's podcast.

The 10th annual NXNW High School Film Festival is Friday, January 19th! During various elementary chapels this month, the middle school worship team demonstrated how far they have come in just one semester. The middle school's worship arts elective is taught by Ethan Burson (pictured above) and Melissa McGuire.