Nov 25, 2019

Weekly Warrior Stay in touch. Stay informed.

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What’s Inside: Week at a Glance Quick Links Coffee with the HoS K4-12 News Senior Scoop BCS and You Prayer Warriors Warrior Spotlight School-wide Announcements

On Tuesday, DEC .3, support those that you trust enough to educate your children throughout the years. Support Bracken teachers. Click to go to the donation page or scroll down for more information.

Week at a Glance Nov 25-29 No School Happy Thanksgiving! Monday, Dec 2 Tuesday, Dec 3 8:30am -Elem Chapel 4pm - MS Girls Basketball game @ Home 5pm - MS Boys Basketball game @ Home    6pm - HS girls Basketball game @ Home    7:30pm - HS Boys Basketball game @ Home  Wednesday, Dec 4 *Nothing scheduled* Thursday, Dec 5    5pm - MS Girls Basketball game @ SACS  Friday, Dec 6 Elementary Choir and MS/HS Praise Team sing at local nursing homes     4:30pm - MS Basketball game @ MSSA

Quick Links #Giving Tuesday* Volunteer or Donate Items* Search Committee Survey* Raise $ for BCS with SCRIP* (DEADLINE to order: Dec 9 Use code: 6BL5A91B6151) Raise $ thru AmazonSmile* After-School Job Opportunity* (Email to Ms. Kerby) BCS Website BCS Facebook Waldo Photos (Enter Bracken19) Bracken Business Network* *Scroll down to find out more!

Will you attend coffee with the HoS at either 7am or 10am? LOCATION BCS library DATE AND TIME 12/05/19 7:00am - 12/05/19 10:00am Two options: 7:00 am or 10:00 am. I'll attend at 7:00 am. I'll attend at 10:00 am

Elementary School News Sheila Kerby, Principal Dear Parents and Guardians, The fourth grade chapel on Tuesday was all about the first Thanksgiving. The students did an awesome job of acting and knowing their lines. There were Pilgrims and Indians along with the TNN News crew. The message to all was to give thanks to God. About four hundred years ago many brave Pilgrims who sailed to the new land, America, were thankful for many things. After risking their lives and enduring many hardships, they gave thanks for their new land and the gift of worshiping the one true God in freedom. Wednesday's SALT Chapel, where we prepared shoe box gifts for Operation Christmas Child, was amazing! Each MS/HS student led their SALT partner around the tables and helped them fill their Operation Christmas Child boxes. The students filled 100 boxes that will be sent around the world to bless children in need. Thank you to the teachers who collected and kept count of the items and to Mrs. Thompson for graphing the elementary contribution throughout the collection process. A special thanks to all parents and grandparents who took their child to purchase the items for children in need. We received a letter from Clare Helminiak, President of the Friends of Bulverde Area Rural Library District, thanking Bracken Christian School and Mrs. Wolf for the elementary choir's Veterans Day performance at Mammen Family Library. She stated that many of the approximately 150 attendees were moved to tears by the inspiring and patriotic performance. We are so thankful for these opportunities that send our students and faculty into the community to share some of the beautiful gifts and talents God has given them. On Dec. 6th, Mrs. Wolf will take the elementary choir and MS/HS praise team to local nursing homes to share Christmas music with them. As we reflect on the many things for which we are thankful, I want to take this opportunity to let you know how thankful we are for our students who come to school everyday ready to learn. We are thankful for our faculty, staff, and our volunteers who enthusiastically contribute so much to our school. Most importantly, we are thankful for the parents and family members who have kept the faith with us. You continue to share your most precious possessions with us and partner with us in your children 's education. For all of this, we are thankful. Have a safe Thanksgiving and enjoy your family and friends.

Middle School/ High School News Tashi Land, Principal

Dear Parents, Wednesday's Operation Christmas Child SALT Chapel was a big success with over 100 boxes packed! A big thank you to all who supported this ministry opportunity! Also on Wednesday, our juniors had an exciting and informative visit to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum and Library in Austin.

On Thursday the eight and tenth graders traveled to the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio and learned about the rise of the Nazi regime and the sad truth of the Jewish death camps. The most memorable part of the trip was being able to meet and hear from a Holocaust survivor, Anne Rado. Hearing from her was an amazing gift that none of us in attendance will ever forget.

The middle school art class experienced an exciting tour of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio on Friday. They took a portrait tour for an enhanced self-portrait lesson.

Also on Friday, six members of the National Junior Honor Society and their sponsor sorted, marked, and shelved over 1000 pounds of donations at Provisions Outreach. They then were able to drop off over 100 Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes - collected and organized by BCS students - to a local drop-off site.

Senior Scoop Grayson Smith, class of 2020, has committed to attend and play baseball for Wisconsin Lutheran College. We couldn’t be more excited and proud of his choice to become a Warrior. Known for its Christ-centered student experience with courses taught by Christian faculty, WLC will provide Grayson an excellent education where he will pursue a degree in biology/pre-med. From WLC's new state of the art baseball training facilities and science labs to opportunities for internships with the Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee, Grayson has chosen well. It is our fervent prayer that Grayson will be led by Jesus’ truths- faithful in purpose - to see His purpose in everyday life and work. Grayson And Coach Schwartz, head coach WLC Warriors baseball.

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!

GIVING TUESDAY Tuesday, Dec 3rd SUPPORT BCS TEACHERS. Only a few days to go until #GivingTuesday. This year, it's a matching challenge at BCS! We have a generous donor who will match, dollar for dollar, all donations up to $5,000! All funds raised will go directly back to our teachers and staff in the form of bonuses and salary increases.  You can reach the link on the Bracken website by clicking here: BCS GIVING TUESDAY

Let the businesses where you shop donate to BCS for you! Below are three ways to help BCS earn money this holiday season and throughout the year that couldn't be easier and with no extra cost to you! Sign up today before you start your holiday shopping!

Raise money for BCS with gift cards through SCRIP. DEADLINE to order: Dec 9 to receive cards before Christmas break . It's time to Christmas shop, but why buy just one gift when you can get two ? When you buy a gift card from Scrip, you give a gift to Bracken. Brands offer rebates up to 20% of the face value of the card that go straight to Bracken! With over 700 merchants, there is something for everyone. 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: when you shop on AmazonSmile, 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products is donated to the charity you choose. E ligible products are marked "Eligible for AmazonSmile donation" on their product detail pages. On your first visit to smile.amazon.com , select Bracken Christian School before you begin shopping. Every eligible purchase at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation to BCS! 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. The app will also track how much you have earned for Bracken and how much Bracken has received throughout the year from all donations. EASY!

Volunteer

Calling all fixer-uppers, do-it-yourselfers, and Christmas elfers!! Bracken will have a chance to share some goodwill with our community by providing "Santa's House" at the 29th Annual Bulverde Christmas Lighting! We need your creative skills to transform this shed into a house fit for pictures with jolly ole St. Nick. We also need some elves to help man the house that evening. (You don't have to dress like an elf, but you can!) Click here to view and sign-up for available slots. Join us for some fun and to get into the Christmas spirit!

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: Front office: 48 to 50" TV and wall mount for announcements and photos/videos of students learning for families and visitors to see! K5- Bob Books (Set 5, long vowel sounds) Featured PE Needs : 2 hockey goalie sticks. 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 to the Walker family for donating items to the library and elementary art classroom!

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. The Moore Family (alums Grant and Lyndsey) are asking you to join their prayer army for their daughter Remmie. Remmie has been recently diagnosed with a very rare genetic disorder (only 40-50 cases worldwide). Please pray for God to work a miracle in Remmie and, as Lyndsey prays, "that she be a testimony of the wonder of our God. The WONDER of his works. The WONDER of His love." 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

UPDATE: BCS Head of School Search Committee The search committee chairman has sent an email to the BCS community requesting participation in a survey. A copy of the email can be found by here: Email from chairman

If you have not already taken the survey, you can find it here: Search Committee Survey

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

Can you spot the Bracken grad? It's Brady Beene, BCS Class of 2017, standing third from the left! He successfully completed the US Army's three-week jungle operations training course. Brady is currently a junior and member of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University. He is studying construction engineering.

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 Click here for email contact information.

Bracken Christian School | 670 Old Boerne Road, Bulverde, TX 78163 www.brackenchristian.com | 830-980-3267 ‌ ‌ ‌