Weekly Warrior
Stay in touch. Stay informed.
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (I Cor. 1:3)
What’s Inside:

Letter from the Head of School

Week at a Glance

Quick Links

Elementary News

MS/HS News

BCS and You

Prayer Warriors

School-wide Announcements

Warrior Spotlight
We did it! Thanks to you, we raised $18, 741 on Giving Tuesday! That nearly doubled our original goal! Thank you for your generous support of our teachers who selflessly give so much. Christmas Bonuses are on the way!
Week at a Glance

Monday, Dec 9
MS/HS: Red/Green Day

Lunch: HS girls softball mtg

5pm: MS girls BB @ Concordia

Tuesday, Dec 10
8:30am -Elem Chapel

MS/HS: Christmas PJ Day

4pm: MS boys BB @ home

5pm: MS girls BB @ Keystone
5pm: JV boys BB @ home

6pm: Varsity girls BB @ home
7:30 Varsity boys BB @ home

 Wednesday, Dec 11
MS/HS: Ugly Sweater Day

8:50am: Pep Rally

Thursday, Dec 12
MS/HS: Christmas Character Day

Friday, Dec 13
Elementary: Ugly Sweater Day
MS/HS midterm exams

All day: HS boys BB tournament @ NBCA

Saturday, Dec 14
10am: MS 5/6 BB playing @ SACS

All-star football game in Waco
BCS participants:
Travis Wolf, senior
Hosea Stredic, Head Coach for the South team.
Greetings Bracken Family,
Another month has flown by, and we’re bearing down on Christmas already! What a joyous season of activity and opportunities to celebrate our Lord and Savior.  Maybe the reason time seems to pass so quickly is that we’ve been so busy here at Bracken. Everywhere we look, our students and staff are demonstrating their servant hearts in our community and representing Bracken in a most admirable way. Our Veterans Day ceremony packed the gym with veterans of the Bracken family and Bulverde community. Our elementary choir has been singing their hearts out and bringing joy to military veterans and residents of assisted living communities during several Veterans Day and Christmas performances while our Praise and Worship team joined them for the Christmas performances. We served the parents and children of our community by hosting the Santa House at the Bulverde Christmas Lighting. (You should have seen some of those smiles!). The SALT partners came together to create 100 gift boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Last, but certainly not least, the middle school and high school engaged in their second service day for this year where we provided needed assistance to over 20 service organizations in the local area. 
I could not be more proud of this selfless service from our students, staff, and family volunteers. Thank you!  These activities and more exciting events are continuing, so please scroll through the newsletter completely to be sure you know about upcoming events, updates from our principals, and other Bracken activities.
In closing, thank you for your outpouring of love and support during Giving Tuesday. Your generous sacrificial giving totaled over $18,000 which will go toward teacher and staff bonuses for Christmas. 
I pray that God blesses you and your families.
I would like to invite you to join me for coffee and open discussions this Thursday Dec. 12 at 10:00am in the Conference Room.
 
Bracken Christian. One.
Blessings,
Jerry S. Beene
Quick Links
(DEADLINE to order: Dec 9
Use code: 6BL5A91B6151)
(Email to Ms. Kerby)
(Enter Bracken19)

*Scroll down to find out more!
Elementary School News
Sheila Kerby, Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving Break and is ready for what the next few weeks brings. 

First, here's a quick look back on the week:
On Friday, the elementary choir joined the high school praise and worship team to bring Christmas songs and joy to residents at two assisted living communities in the local area. After singing, the members of the choir spent time with the residents doing Christmas crafts and talking.
Elementary Chapel on Tuesday, was a preview of the Elementary Christmas program coming up soon on Dec. 20th. Students played the drums, bells, and the third and fifth graders sang for all. There was a special visit from the faculty reindeer! The students loved seeing their teachers having fun and getting into the Christmas spirit.

Around Elementary classrooms, 4th grade is working on an engineering project looking at stored and potential energy. 1st grade is observing bird feathers and recording their findings.
2nd grade is collaborating on a plan to create the longest paper chain. Kinder made graphs of how many students preferred cookies, suckers, or candies.
On Nov.22nd, third grade took a fun educational field trip to the Mamman Family Public Library. The students received their Mini-Master's Library Science certificate after receiving lessons on how a new book becomes a library book that can be checked out. They also learned about the technology used in the process of checking out and returning library materials. They had a great afternoon with Miss Montana Rindahl, the children's librarian.
Coming up in December:
  • Friday, December 13th: Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, classes are looking for 100% participation.
  • Tuesday, Dec.17: Grade book turned off for parents/ teachers input grades.
  • Thursday, Dec 19: Most class Christmas parties will be held. Check with your child's teacher to confirm.
  • Friday, Dec 20 at 9am: Christmas program in the gym. Christmas dress for all. Half day/school ends at 11:30. Parents may take their child after the program.
  • Tuesday, Jan, 7, 2020: School resumes.
Middle School/High School News
Tashi Land, Principal
Dear Parents,
A few announcements:
  • Monday (or before) check your email for elective course selection options for secondary students.
  • Monday the Midterm Exemption Forms will be handed out in class. Students are responsible for making sure that everything is filled out properly and turned in on time.
  • Midterm exam reviews are scheduled for Friday 12/13 and Monday 12/16.  
  • Midterm exams are scheduled for Tuesday 12/17 - Thursday 12/19.
  • Middle School - no change in schedule
Next week is Christmas Spirit Week for the middle and high schools. Please see the flyer for each day's theme!
The Praise and Worship Team visited two assisted living communities on Friday to spread some Christmas cheer along with the Elementary Choir. Thank you for sharing your God-given gifts with others!
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BCS and You
There are many ways you can support YOUR Bracken Christian School. Choose to volunteer, donate classroom items, participate in fundraising campaigns, and make monetary donations. See below for many opportunities to help your Warriors thrive!
Magdalena House Charity

Our students worked as ONE to support Operation Christmas Child in November. In December they will work together again to support the  Magdalena House , a transitional home in San Antonio that serves mothers and children who have fled dangerous and abusive lives . Last year, we raised enough funds to provide each mother a $300 WalMart gift card so that she could purchase gifts for her children. Our goal is to make this happen again. We have ONE week to gather as many WalMart gift cards as we can for the 12 families. Here’s how you can help:
  • Purchase a $25 gift card from the school office. (This also supports the Bracken Scrip Program.)
  • Give a donation by check in the office or on the website by clicking here https://bit.ly/2OYNGka
  • Bring your cash donation of any amount to the office and place in the jar
Raise money for BCS with gift cards through SCRIP.
DEADLINE to order: Dec 9 to receive cards before Christmas break .
When you buy a gift card from Scrip, you give a gift to Bracken.
700 merchants.
See Tammy G. in the elementary office or go to ShopWithScrip.com and click "Join a Program." Enter code 6BL5A91B6151 .
SO EASY!
Use your own Amazon account to login in to smile.amazon.com , make Bracken Christian School your charity, and start shopping!
AmazonSmile is operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference: on AmazonSmile, 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products can go to Bracken!
Just make sure you're on smile.amazon.com and have selected Bracken Christian School as your charity.
Note: AmazonSmile does not work on the iOS Amazon app.
If you can not locate Bracken in the search feature, try changing your browser.
You have to buy groceries. Why not let General Mills send some money to Bracken when you're done?
No more clipping. No more sending Box Tops to school. All you need is your phone.
Download the Box Tops app, shop as you normally would, then simply scan your store receipts to find participating products. The app will automatically credit your school's Box Tops earnings online.
Teacher's Appreciation Lunch
Hosted by the Bracken PTO
Thursday, Dec.12 in the library
Bring your favorite soup, chili, chowder or dessert along with a recipe card to share!
Sign up HERE .
The Giving Tree
BCS classrooms have several needs that you can help meet. ALL of the classroom needs can now be found on an online sign-up form where you can note the items you will donate. We will only list weekly featured items below.

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST AND TO SELECT ITEMS YOU WILL DONATE.

Featrued Elementary needs:
Pre-K: Treasure box items. ( Happy Meal toys, party favor toys etc.)
Science: Paper bedding for the rats and gerbil. And... If you are upgrading your tablets or phones this season, consider donating your old device to Elementary science. There are many activities, computer programming, virtual reality, and robotics programs we can add to daily lessons.

Featured Clinic Needs : Thermometer covers and Aveeno hand lotion.

Featured MS/HS Needs:
Historical movies on DVD (Ask history teacher for specifics)
Graphing calculators (Math)
Gift Cards from Sam Ash Music store, Walmart, HEB, Guitar Center (Music)
Donations for script purchases and set/prop purchases (Drama)
THANK YOU t o the Warren family for donating hockey sticks to PE and to the Wood/Basaldua Family for the TV's for the offices.
Thank you to our Santa House volunteers (aka Elves) and our amazing Santa for helping us share some goodwill with our community at the Bulverde Christmas Tree Lighting last week!
Prayer Warriors
 Please be in prayer for:
  • BCS Search Committee as they evaluate applicants for our new Head of School
  • Health and safety for our athletes
  • Enrollment
  • The right leadership
  • Safe travel for all of our BCS family during the holidays.

If you have a prayer request that you would like to share in the newsletter, please contact one of the principals or Amy Day to have it included here.

Administration Announcements
Bracken Uniform Sale
Nov 16 - Dec 20, 2019
15% off available in-store uniforms only.
Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO)
Join the newly-formed PTO! Their first event - a teacher's appreciation lunch - will be held on Dec. 12. Sign-up for the event by clicking HERE .

The next meeting will be on January 23 at 6pm in the library.

PTO officers:
President: Christa East
Vice President: Tonya Brand
Secretary: Aarin Farrell
Treasurer: Jennifer McGarity
2019-2020 Bracken Business Network
Please consider supporting our Bracken family business owners when in need of services such as day care, plumbing, dentistry, and more! You can link to the directory for the full list and contact information here: Bracken Business Network.
Employment Opportunity
BCS is currently seeking a dedicated individual to join our after school program staff! This is a part-time job on Monday-Friday from 3:15-6:30 p.m. Contact Ms. Sheila Kerby, Elementary School Principal, for more details at 830-438-3211 or click here to email.
Warrior Spotlight
Ms. Rosalind Witcher
Middle School and High School Science Teacher

“Society is becoming more and more hostile towards Christian faith,” said Mrs. Witcher when asked why she prefers teaching science at a Christian school. She explained that if she cannot teach children the truth about science, which is that God created everything, then she does not want to teach science at all. Ms. Witcher was born in New Jersey but moved away when she was two years old since her dad was in the military. Her family often moved to different states and even countries; for example, she lived outside of the U.S. for 16 years of her life. She has one daughter, who is a registered nurse that specializes in trauma and one son, who is a senior at Smithson Valley High School. One of her hobbies is crafting; she especially likes paper crafting. She received a biology degree from UTSA. Ms. Witcher used to work at Highlands High School, but on April 23, 2018, two of her students were shot and killed. She retired temporarily because the tragedy was too difficult to bear. She returned to teaching as a substitute teacher at Smithson Valley High School and later moved to Bracken Christian School. Many of her students were heartbroken by her retirement because she was very close with them. Ms. Witcher is very glad that she returned to teaching at Bracken Christian School.
By Makayla Sundberg, BCS 10th Grade
Administration:

Head of School:
Jerry Beene

Academic Director:
Jill White

Financial/Business Director:
Jerry Beene

Advancement Director:
Amy Day

HS/MS Principal:
Tashi Land

Elementary School Principal:
Sheila Kerby

Athletic Director:
Terri Sanders

NILD Coordinator:
Kim Miglicco