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December And He shall be called Wonderful Counselor Almighty God Everlasting Father Prince of Peace Isaiah 9 6 DECEMBER 2017 IN THIS ISSUE For Unto Us A Child Is Born By Barbara Whitlock As I sat down Christmas morning to read my devotions I expected it to be about the story of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus But this author decided to do something different this year She decided to make her devotions a prayer I found it so simply yet so powerful that I would like to share it with you with the hope that it will be a prayer for you and your family O Father God We thank You and praise You today for the miracle of Your Son s birth Thank You for bringing great JOY to the whole world We re humbled You chose to become human and make Your home among us so full of unfailing love and faithfulness John 1 14b We re amazed how this now gives those of us who believe in Jesus as the Lord and Leader of our lives the absolute certainty we ll spend eternity with You that one day we ll see Your absolute glory We thank You Father for the many reasons we ve been given a merry Christmas And we rejoice for each blessing New life New love A home A job New opportunities Second chances And more Lord we know You are the King of kings the invincible ruler of the entire universe You bring the sun and the moon and You set the stars in motion You tell the ocean where to stop and the snow when to start And we thank You for the mighty gift of Your creation We re so grateful Father for spiritual leaders and faith filled friends who keep encouraging us when we re weary and simply want to give up We pray for those experiencing loss this Christmas whether it s relational financial spiritual or physical We pray for those coping with loving a prodigal and we lift up all our friends and family members whose hearts are far from You We pray for Your provision and protection for everyone dealing with a job loss or an addiction or chronic sickness and ask that You bring healing to unending pain and grant divine wisdom for our earthly frustrations Thank You Lord for being the Wonderful Counselor and the Prince of Peace even in the midst of our notso merry circumstances Finally Lord we ask You to grant us peace Peace in our homes peace in our churches and peace in our hearts especially when it feels like the world all around us spins out of control Help us stay focused on You this Christmastime and always Thank You for loving the whole world enough to send the greatest gift Your Son so we might truly have a very merry Christmas even in a not so merry kind of world In Jesus Name Amen

DECEMBER 2017 Issue 13 2 Blessing Others After collecting toys as a school for Restoration Ministries the student council had the blessing of serving at the Toy Store on Wednesday December 13th Student council members helped the families that were coming in to purchase toys select gifts and carried each item as the families shopped Each student was assigned to one family at a time and this gave them opportunity to talk to them and share the love of Jesus with those who attended 1A Jose Rodriguez 1B Evan Reese 2A Robyn Collier 2B Bryce Cook 3B Lauren Harrison 4A Makenzie Hendrix 4B Cameron Daniels 5A Jadin Hoskins 5B Nathan Brannon 6A Delcena Sawyer 6B Jeremiah Lockwood 7A Michael Charles 7B Quentin Jones 8A Loren Polk 8B Jordan Walker Students had the opportunity to follow families through the entire process from selecting toys to the actual wrapping of presents Student council members also had opportunities to utilize their Spanish as many of the families were Spanish speaking It was a blessing to see how the toys donated were being used to bless others Spirit Week Who Wore It Best What s more fun than an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest Winning the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest Many of our th th students grades 5 thru 8 put on their holiday best which included lights tinsel and ornaments st Congratulations to Charlie Brown 8A who was our 1 Place nd Winner Jadin Hoskins 5A won 2 Place and Krista 7B and rd Kirstin Smith 7A tied for 3 They were each awarded a Target gift card

DECEMBER 2017 Issue 13 3 A Great Finish and A Hopeful Beginning The Winter Sports season continues to roll along with a couple more teams finishing th their season and the 6 grade girls getting ready to start th The 6 grade boys basketball team was one of the youngest teams in the conference th They had eight 5 graders on their team and th four 6 graders It was a skill learning season for this year s squad Coach Gilbert helped them learn the basics of basketball and had them apply what they learned into a game They continued to improve as the season progressed and are looking forward to competing as an older team next year th The 7 grade boys finished up their basketball season with an end of the year tournament at DeMotte on Saturday December 16 The team started off against one of the top teams in the conference Crown Point Christian The fought hard and did their best to challenge the Crusaders They ended up coming up short in the end both in the game against Crown Point and rd also DeMotte in the 3 place game Coach Wortham enjoyed coaching these young men and is looking forward to the opportunity next year Good work boys The JV cheerleading season is winding down as they have been cheering since the middle of October They are working hard preparing for their performance at Homecoming on Friday January 12 Coach Surrett and the girls have done a great job during the games cheering our teams onto victory Keep it up ladies The 8th grade seasons for the boys and the girls is just getting started with each of them playing one game They are working diligently for Coach Bolkema and Coach Ritzema preparing for a very busy January schedule With hard work determination and encouragement both teams will be very competitive every time they take the floor Keep on working hard Calvary s varsity cheerleading team has been practicing for the past month prepping for their first game on Thursday December 21 Coach Kelley has done an excellent job with the girls and is looking forward to Homecoming on Friday January 12 The girls are also preparing for their cheer competition on Saturday February 24 If anyone would like to come watch and support the team please feel free to join us at any home game this season th Coach Barrett and the 6 grade girls basketball team starts practicing on Monday January 8 The girls team consists th th of six 4 graders four 5 graders and four th 6 graders They will once again be very young and inexperienced but will be excited to start the basketball season in the new year The Calvary coaches are proud of all of our athletes as they continue to strive to do their best in honoring God within competition and in the class room Keep it up Wolverines

DECEMBER 2017 Issue 13 4 UPCOMING EVENTS February January January 8 Back to School January 8th 12th Spirit Week th Jan 8 Comfy Day No PJ s or Slippers Jan 9 High School College Day OR Dress Like your grandparent Jan 10 Sports Day Jan 11 Imitate a Staff Member Jan 12 Blue and Gold Day February 14th February Birthday Jeans Day February 15th 16th No School February 19th No School February 23rd All School Jeans Day January 12th End of 2nd Quarter Homecoming Game th January 13 January Birthday Jeans Day January 15th No School January 26th All School Jeans Day December Newsletter Mission Statement Calvary Academy is a private Christian school with the mission of challenging its students to know Christ as Lord teaching them to know and apply biblical truth and training them to pursue academic excellence in order that they may engage and transform their world for Jesus Christ 16300 S State Street South Holland IL 60473 www calvary academy com