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Our chapel time this school year has been great! We have 165 students and teachers all singing, praying, and growing in God’s Word together. Chapel for K-4th grade is on Wed. in the RNC. We have had a variety of speakers. Starting in January 2011, our preschool students have joined in our worship time!
2011 - 2012 School Year Chapel Highlights
Chapel was led by Mrs. Hardesty, first grade teacher, on February 1st. She read the book, “Because I Love You” by Max Lucado. The book reminds us that everything God does throughout our lives, He does for one reason only, and for the best reason of all: because He loves us. Thanks for the great reminder!
Pastor Joel Zaborowski, youth pastor of Church of the Open Door, was our speaker in chapel on December 14th. He spoke about being a good friend because Jesus came to be a friend to sinners. He came to be a friend to me and you! Pastor Joel taught us about 5 ways that we can be a good friend. We can share, pray, encourage, love, and listen to others. During this chapel we also prayed for our high school missions team going to El Salvador. They leave on Dec. 30th. We have collected so many pennies for the team to purchase pencils for the school in El Salvador. We are excited to see what God is going to do in El Salvador!
Commissioning of the ODCS Missions Team
On December 7th, our chapel was led by Mrs. Donnelly second grade teacher. She taught us about the true meaning of Christmas. We should have joy in our hearts because God sent His Son for us. She also taught us that Jesus is the light of the world, the bright and morning star, the lion, and the lamb. He is both loving and just. There is so much to understand about the baby in the manger. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
Chapel was led by Mrs. McCourry, third grade teacher, on November16th. It was the first Praise, Prayer, and Share chapel for this school year. The students in all grades 1st – 4th and even some middle school students shared what God is doing in their lives. It was a great time of praising our great God and praying for our school. It was great to hear what God is doing in the hearts of ODCS students. “Praise Him, Praise Him tell of His excellent greatness!”
Our November 9th chapel was led by Mr. Wilkes, parent of ODCS students. He recently went to El Salvador on a mission’s trip. He shared with us Mark 16:15 which says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” Mr. Wilkes told us to live our life for the Lord so others will see and remember to pray for the lost. We also learned some important facts about El Salvador; students ages 6 and up work to help their families, they live on $1.00 per day, and their homes have dirt floors. Then, Mrs. Mindling reminded us that the students there have very few school supplies and how in the future, we are going to get an opportunity to bring in pennies, so we can buy pencils to help out the school. This goes right with our S in ROCKS—to serve others. Thanks to Mr. Wilkes and Mrs. Mindling!
Rachel DiCesare, ODCS Kid Friendly Care Supervisor (KFC, our extended care program) and parent of two students, led our chapel on October 26th. The topic was shining our light for Jesus. She led in songs about God and even had a pretend campfire showing light. We sang, “This Little Light of Mine” holding glow sticks to show light. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”. May we show our light to this dark world.
Mrs. Wilkinson led our chapel on October 19th. The whole chapel was on praising the Lord. She defined praise as: to commend, to applaud, or magnify and for the Christian, praise to God is an expression of worship. Three of our elementary classes read verses on praising. All of our songs were about praising God. She helped us understand that sometimes we get busy and forget to give God the glory He so deserves!
Pastor Rick Young, Pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Elyria, was our chapel speaker on October 12th. He taught us about Nicodemus who asked Jesus how to be born again. There is only one way and that is through Jesus Christ. Pastor Young taught us that Jesus performs a miracle every time someone is saved. He is the only one who can perform miracles. Pastor Young performed some very fun and exciting tricks like coins reappearing and then disappearing. The students really enjoyed listening and watching Pastor Young. He left us with the idea that anyone is capable of doing a trick but only God can perform miracles! Thank you Pastor Young.
On the September 28th, Dr. Burton, ODCS president, was our speaker for a very special Parents Day chapel. Dr. Burton spoke on Jesus’ commandment to love Him and to love each other. This commandment is found in Matthew 22:36-39. We were encouraged by his message as we seek to be imitators of Christ. Thanks to Dr. Burton.
We had an exciting chapel on the 23rd! Our speaker was Mike Blackaby, author and grandson of Dr. Henry Blackaby. He taught the Bible story called, The Good Samaritan. The students were very excited because he chose them to act out the story as he read it. They had so much fun acting out the story. Mike helped us see that everyone is our neighbor and we need to reach out and help those in need. He related this story to the theme of our school, “ODCS ROCKS”. It was a pleasure and a treat to have him here.
One of our third grade teachers, Mrs. Ereditario, led chapel on September 14th. She talked about God’s gift to us. This gift of eternal life is free and just what we need. The scripture Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that it is a free gift! We can’t buy it or work for it. She used a picture cube to tell the story of Jesus. We never grow tired of hearing it!
Annette McCourry, third grade teacher, led chapel on September 7th. Our verse for the year is Ephesians 5:1; which teaches us to imitate Christ. Students imitate many different people; movie stars, singers, or athletes. While some of these people may be good examples they may not be Christian models. The only example is Christ. We need to copy Him in everything we do! Each day our goal should be to say, “What Would Jesus Do?”
We had an exciting chapel on August 31st! Mrs. Andrea Mindling, accompanied by her daughter Caylie, shared about their mission’s trip to El Salvador this past summer. We were so touched by their lack of supplies and many, many needs for the elementary school there. We realize how truly blessed we are. The students in El Salvador share pencils and paper with about 30 students in each class!! She did a great job helping us learn about the area. The students were involved and learned many things. Thanks so much to both Mrs. Mindling and her daughter. We look forward to partnering with this school to help make a difference.
Click here to watch a video about what God is doing in El Salvador!
On August 24th, we had our first chapel of the 2011-2012 school year! Mrs. Watkins led us in our singing time. The students were excited to be back and praising the Lord. Mrs. Torode and Dr. Burton talked to the students about ODCS ROCKS! ROCKS stands for respect, obedience, consideration, kindness, and service. We want the children to see that as Christians, these actions should be displayed in our lives. The administration will be sharing more details about ODCS ROCKS in the future.
January 2011 - May 2011 Chapel Highlights
Chapel on May 25th was led by Vietnam veteran, Roger John. He spoke to us about honoring our veterans and the importance of Memorial Day. He reminded students about the freedom we have in America and how God has truly blessed us. This memorial day let us remember all those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Let us also remember Jesus who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Thanks to all the military personnel for your service!
Mrs. Abraham, 4 th grade teacher, led chapel on April 13th. She led the students through a sword drill. It was challenging for the students to find the books of the Bible and specific verses quickly. Even the kindergarten students got involved by finishing their memory verses that Mrs. Abraham started for them. It is important for Christian’s to know their way around God’s Word. We need to hide God’s Word in our heart so that we won’t sin against Him. Thank you for that reminder Mrs. Abraham.
Annette McCourry, 3 rd grade teacher, led chapel on April 6th. The lesson centered on the importance of God’s Word. Four students performed a skit about telling friends about Sunday School and church. Also, an object lesson was presented using a rock and a sponge. When it comes to God’s Word, we want to be like a sponge and soak up all we can! The scripture for the lesson was Psalm 119: 9-16. We need to hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word!
Chapel was led by Mr. Stewart, father of a 1st grader, on March 30th. He spoke to the K-4th graders about being a hero. He looked to Christ as our Savior who saved us from sin and gave new life. While we can’t save anyone, we can surely make a difference in someone’s life. We can share a kind word, a smile, or an act of kindness. There are many people to whom we can look up to in today’s world. But let us, as Christians, look to one who can transform us to be like Him! Thanks, Mr. Stewart.
Elementary chapel was led by the Salvation Army on March 23rd. There were several seminary students visiting from New York. They did a great job leading chapel. The students put together a Bible verse puzzle. The verse was John 3:16. Then, they were each given a bag containing all the materials to make a wordless bracelet. The students went over what each bead stands for and how to share the bracelet with friends. Last, we learned a new and fun song with some great motions! Thanks to the Salvation Army!!
Chapel was led by Mrs. Mann, high school Bible and drama teacher, on March 16th. She told the students how important it is to be excited about God’s Word. She brought with her four high school students, known as Bible Heroes, to do some acting out of God’s Word. As Bible Heroes they wore capes and masks! We may never know who they were!! The surprise was that the Bible Heroes couldn’t use words in their skit! Some of the Bible stories that they acted out for us were: Jacob and Esau, Creation, Peter walking on the water, and a few others. The Elementary students did a great job of guessing which story it was. Thanks to Mrs. Mann and her Bible Heroes!
Mrs. Abraham, one of our 4th grade teacher, led our chapel on March 9th. The lesson today focused on God creating each of us just the way we are supposed to be. God doesn’t make mistakes! He makes each of us with our own set of gifts, abilities, struggles, and talents. In order to emphasize and illustrate this focus, Mrs. Abraham used her class to perform a skit. The boys and girls did a great job in relaying this truth. 1 Timothy 4:12 says that even young people should set an example for other believers. Let’s appreciate how God has gifted each of us. Young people, too, can be an example to others! Thanks, Mrs. Abraham!
Our guest speaker for chapel on March 2nd, was Pastor Joel Zaborowski. He is the youth pastor for Church of the Open Door. He shared an Old Testament story that illustrated God’s attitude regarding children’s behavior. This example reinforced what we have been working on in our classrooms and as a school. The topic was respect. God’s Word clearly says that disrespecting others is a sin and has consequences. Our relationship with Christ should be one of respect for our parents, teachers, pastors, Sunday school workers, and friends. Pastor Joel created a list of those who we should respect in our speech and actions. Thanks to Pastor Joel for clearly teaching us God’s Word.
We had a special guest during chapel on February 24th. A friend of Mrs. Torode blessed us with a song in sign language. It was a special time of worship for the elementary students. Our guest speaker was Mr. Bever, father to Josiah and Madison Bever. He shared with us the importance of not judging others by what they wear or how they look. We were reminded of a Bible verse that tells us to think more highly of others than we do of ourselves. We are all created in God’s image and for His purpose! Thanks to Mr. Bever.
On February 16th, Michelle Meares Church of the Open Door’s Children’s Director, led our elementary chapel. Her presentation was on God’s love. The scripture reference was 1John 3:11. The Biblical account about 4 people who loved their friend so much and wanted him to be healed by Jesus that they let him down through a hole in the roof just to see Jesus. Jesus did heal the man, but better yet, forgave his sins. God is so good to us and we thank Michelle for this reminder!
Our chapel on February 9th was led by third grade teacher Mrs. Ereditario. She presented real life examples for the students to think about such as; being unkind, lying, and forgetting class work. Then, she used God’s Word to illustrate the idea that His Word is helpful to us in any situation. We will hide His Word in our hearts so that we won’t sin against Him. Thanks, Mrs. Ereditario!
Feb. 1st: snow day - no chapel was held.
On Jan. 26th elementary chapel was led by Mr. Jamie Stewart. He spoke about God’s creation from the book of Genesis. He helped the students and teachers understand that just as God created many things; we too have been created to encourage and lift each other up using our words. The key verse is found in Proverbs 16:24--Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
We can remember that words really can hurt someone and leave them feeling sad and empty just like the world before God placed us in it! Words can also make us feel very good just as honey is sweet. Thanks again Mr. Stewart.
Jan. 19th, our speaker was Mr. Jamie Stewart, father of Mason Stewart. He taught from the scripture found in 1 Peter 5:7 that says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Mr. Stewart helped us understand that God truly cares about our worries and troubles! Thanks to Mr. Stewart who will be leading chapel again next week.
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In partnership with the family and the local church, our mission is the salvation, the discipleship, and the education for life and service of the students entrusted to our care.
