Return to flip book view
IN THIS ISSUEMAY 2022VOLUME XLII, ISSUE III6488 TOWNLINE RD.P.O. BOX 40,SMITHVILLE, ONL0R 2A0PH. 905.957.3255FAX 905.957.3431smithvillechristian.caCONTACT:MARLENE BERGSMAmbergsma@smithvillechristian.caPAGE 1 INVESTING IN CHAPELSPAGE 4 BY THE NUMBERSPAGE 4 KEEPING SMITHVILLE CHRISTIAN ON AN EVEN KEELPAGE 5 A TUITION RATE THAT’S FAIRPAGE 6 INVESTING IN RECRUITMENTPAGE 7 STRATEGIC PLANNINGPAGE 8 IT’S NOT CHARITY, IT’S AN INVESTMENT IN GOD’S KINGDOMPAGE 10 ALUMNI SURVEYPAGE 11 STEWARDING GIFTSPAGE 12 WILLSPAGE 13 FOUNDATION UPDATEPAGE 14 EXPANDING YOUR IMPACT COAST-TO-COASTcontinued on page 2 . . .The ability to be a worshipping community is a huge blessing in the lives of students and staff of Smithville Christian High School. Gathering weekly to build community, to praise God, and to celebrate milestones and accomplishments is a major way we live into our core values: Belong, Believe, and Succeed.With the relaxing of pandemic restrictions and the recent retirement of long-time spiritual life director Gord Park, we are taking the opportunity to think about what we value about chapel and our spiritual life program. At a recent staff research and development session, director of program Will Lammers invited staff to think about the importance of welcoming as a way of creating belonging. When we welcome God, we grow in our ability to welcome others. Investing in chapels: we are what we loveBY MARLENE BERGSMADIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVANCEMENT
2ECHOES MAY 2022. . . continued from page 1Lammers led staff in a reection based on Mark 9:33-37, and what Jesus taught his disciples about being welcoming. Jesus challenged his followers’ need for security, approval, or control, and instead invited them to make themselves vulnerable and humble, reminding them that with God, it is the least who are the greatest. The closing prayer continued with this reversal of expectations. Staff then brainstormed things that they value about chapel and spiritual life, and what things they might want to change or improve.Making chapel a central part of our week, being intentional about what we include and what we leave out, and investing signicant resources of staff time and school budget to make chapel a signature event for our school, are ways in which we train students to live as responsible disciples of Jesus Christ.Here are some of the thoughts contributed by staff in their brainstorming session:What we like• Good to be in the gym compared to the lounge: less claustrophobic, better sight lines.• Having a dedicated spiritual life director.• Having a spiritual life theme for the year.• Sharing hosting duties among staff and having a variety of speakers helps reect the diversity of our student body, which comes from more than 45 different churches.• Student praise teams are back! And they are getting better as the year goes on, bringing great energy to chapels.
3www.smithvillechristian.ca• Being intentional about building community blesses our school.• Holding chapel every week and not constraining its length signals its importance. • Getting students involved.• Successful chapels require good communication between all the participants: chapel committee, student praise teams, speaker, student AV crew, set-up crew and more.• We invest time and money because chapel is so important to the life of our school.What we want to remember/ try/ improve• More student input in planning chapels.• More student involvement in presenting at chapels.• Share and celebrate student work at chapels.• Consider inviting the spiritual life director to have more input in school spiritual life throughout the year: e.g. classroom devotions, mentoring students, starting prayer groups.• We are not a church and we do not replace the home – we need to work together.• Having a spiritual life director does not take away responsibility from the rest of staff – we are all responsible for the spiritual growth of all the students.• Keep dreaming big.Staff Prayer“O God, I want so to belong; teach me to accept.I want to be close; teach me to reach out.I want a place where I am welcome; teach me to open my arms.I want mercy; teach me to forgive…I want life; show me how to die.” – Ted Loder, Guerrillas of grace: Prayers for the battle (1981)BEHIND THE SCENES AT CHAPEL SET-UPScan this QR code or click on this link to see what it takes to make chapel happen each week – turning a sweat-lled gymnasium into a community worship space. www.bit.ly/SmithvilleChristian_ChapelSetup
4ECHOES MAY 2022Smithville Christian by the numbersOUR ANNUAL SNAPSHOT OF SOME FUN THINGS TO COUNTNumber of students and families – 220, 169Number of teaching staff – 22, 14 full-time, 8 part-timeNumber of remote learning days this year - 7Percentage of graduates from June 2021 going to university – 56% (9% went to a Christian university – 9 %), to College 28%, to work or a gap year – 26%Number of local churches represented at our school - 49Number of students on praise teams – 18Number of students in choir – 22Number of students on sports teams so far this year – 160 (with a number of repeats)Number of in-person chapels so far this year – 33 (as of publication)How early our praise teams get to school to rehearse before chapels – 7:45 amNumber of families supported by the bursary fund this year – 42Amount of support received by these families – $177,000Amount of money in our bursary fund for next year and beyond – $416,000Keeping Smithville Christian on an even keelMANAGING THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF THE SCHOOLBY TED HARRIS, ADMINISTRATOR Our school has a nance committee, which meets up to six times per year. It consists of the administrator, the nancial administrator, two board members and two to three additional school supporters. Here is the mandate of the committee:• To assist the Administrator in the development of a proposed operating budget for each fiscal year.• To support the treasurer and the administration in collecting all dues, fees, and assessments.• To make recommendations to the administration regarding methods of administering the business affairs of the institution.• To implement such directives regarding the finances of the corporation as given to it by the administration.• To investigate the qualifications of candidates for financial positions and recommend their duties and remuneration to the administration.• To provide input on initiatives that relate to finance where indicated in the strategic plan.You could sum that up in one short phrase: to support the nancial stability of the school.At its meetings, the team prays for the school and its nancial affairs, hears updates from the board and administrator on things that are relevant to their mandate, takes stock of how budgets and tuition income are tracking, gives advice in setting tuition, reviews protocols for how funds are collected and managed, and works at setting budgets for each new year.
5www.smithvillechristian.caIt all sounds quite mundane, but I come to every nance meeting with open ears, ready to learn from others whose wisdom can add to my own. In an era when schools tend to be run with fewer committees, this is one I would not want to do without. School administrators aren’t necessarily hired because of their knowledge of nancial matters, and our training and course work don’t always involve enough about such matters. Thus, I rely heavily on the wisdom generated in conversations at the nance committee table. We are blessed to be well served by our nance committee. If you are interested in serving our school in this way, mention it to me. In addition, you can thank any of the following for the beautiful work they do for this committee: Matt Dam, Caroline Eyk, Suzanne Haynes, Shelley Munnings, Charlene Oudman, and Dwight teBrake.A tuition rate that’s fair to families and to the schoolBY TED HARRIS, ADMINISTRATORAs an independent school, Smithville Christian High School receives no government funding – everything that happens is paid for by parents and donors. So how do we devise a tuition rate that is both fair to tuition-paying families and appropriate for the needs of a school that pursues excellence?One of the policies that governs our work is that Smithville Christian High will offer Christian education at a cost comparable to other Edvance secondary schools. Setting tuition for each year is a big discussion. It starts with this perspective: we intend every year to charge what our education is worth, to count on families to pay this tuition if they are able, and to offer generous bursary support to families who are not able to pay the full amount. But what does it mean to charge what a Smithville Christian High education is worth?There are several factors we look at in setting tuition.• The budget situation: For example, currently, budgeting has been impacted by a lower number of international students we have been able to enrol. The global pandemic has brought some recent challenges here. • Stafng: Since stafng is (not surprisingly) the highest budget expenditure line, the number of teachers and other staff we hire and their salaries are a major factor.• The play between per student and per family costs: Since our tuition structure blends these two, there is a formula that we adjust and employ to devise the specic tuition rates each year.• Median income levels: Two sets of statistics we gather every year compare our tuition rates to the national and regional median household income. By the way, our tuition rate has actually gone down slightly in comparison to these two indices over the last several years.• Comparisons with similar schools: We pay attention to the tuition levels and structures of Christian high schools of similar size and in similar socioeconomic areas.Whereas it was formerly our pattern to set tuition in the late spring, after a spring membership meeting, it has recently been our practice to set tuition prior to Christmas. Allowing prospective families to know the nancial details while deciding about high school honours these families in the decisions they need to make.We are pleased to say that tuition raises well over 90% of our budgetary needs. Because of this, funds donated to the school, unless specically earmarked for other needs, are used to bless around 40% of our families with varying degrees of bursary support. One of the best parts of my job is seeing families who never thought they could afford Christian school tuition realize the blessings of a Christian high school education.
6ECHOES MAY 2022Investing in recruitmentBY MARLENE BERGSMA,DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVANCEMENTThe promotion and recruitment activities of Smithville Christian High School take place with the budgeted support of staff time and promotion spending. There are funds allocated in each year’s operating budget for things like events, hospitality, advertising, and some cool school swag.A signicant portion of this year’s promotion budget is being spent on implementing a new contact management system, called NOVA, which allows us to use digital marketing tools to attract parents’ attention, and then communicate with and track the school’s conversations with these prospective families.But there is no better promotion tool than word-of-mouth from satised customers. We experienced this very dramatically this year, when a slideshow presentation, made by a Grade 9 student to the parents of her best friend (who was enrolled in another school), brought that friend and her siblings to our school at the start of Semester 2.Myvell Bekhet used her new MacBook computer, her experience as a student, and her powers of persuasion to win over the hearts of Tayler Sinke’s parents. Here is a summary of some of the benets of Smithville Christian, according to Myvell and Tayler.• Small classes• Caring teachers• Biblical perspective in every subject• Easy access to many clubs and sports teams• Quality of education• Help for struggling students• Teachers who care about your relationship with God and your relationships with others, in addition to caring how well you are learning• Friends and classmates who share your faith and your valuesWell done, Myvell and Tayler! We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!MyvellEmmaTayler Brandon
Strategic planning – big picture thinking that moves us forwardBY TED HARRIS, ADMINISTRATORWhenever I get a reminder in my calendar or from an email that I have work to do in regard to our school’s strategic plan, I nd motivation when I look back on all that similar plans have helped us to achieve. We wouldn’t be able to start our school tours in such a nice atrium, we would likely have more debt, and we would not have the excitement we currently have with the outdoor project due to begin this spring. Many things have been accomplished over the years because brainstormed ideas were given focus, specicity, planning, and accountability through our strategic planning process. Here are the facets of this year’s plan that began as ideas at a previous brainstorming session:The conversations about our mission, purpose, core values, opportunities, threats, and trends are revisited each year in order that strategic planning is ongoing. Most of our annual plans are devised by the staff and the board, but within a couple of years the board will likely widen the discussion, as we have done cyclically over the years, to include other school supporters who want to join us in dreaming and brainstorming. When the time comes, we hope many are ready to roll up their sleeves and join us.7www.smithvillechristian.ca• Develop a tracking system for alumni outcomes that connect with worldview, faith, and societal impact• Develop a Transition plan for leadership in Spiritual Life (after a recent retirement)• Convert all key Board documents to a cloud-based platform• Develop a bank of alumni testimonials• Make a plan for the school’s involvement with Teaching for Transformation (a methodology for meaningful connection of faith with learning)• Establish best practices for maintaining unity in the face of contentious issues• Develop a tool for ongoing analysis of giving patterns of all school supporters• Develop a plan for new opportunities for off-campus learning• Ofcially launch of Donate-Your-Year program to increase more widespread support for our bursary campaign • Increase the percentage of students enrolling from our partner elementary schools
8ECHOES MAY 2022It’s not charityIt’s an investment in God’s kingdom.BY MARLENE BERGSMADIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVANCEMENT“It’s not charity, it’s an investment.”These powerful words are a gift to families who desire Christian education for their children, and this gift is made possible by the prayers and gifts of supporters.Smithville Christian High School’s bursary fund allows more than three out of every 10 students to attend our school, and their presence is a gift to this learning community: we would be poorer without them. Research has also proven that graduates of Christian schools go on to be more generous with their time and money than their counterparts from other schools. That’s why we hope – and pray – that all our alumni, including bursary recipients and their families, might have the opportunity and desire to pay it forward, that the blessing they experienced is something they want to give to someone else.We have begun the habit of holding an annual celebration of what God is doing in the lives of students at Smithville Christian, and calling it our Annual Bursary Celebration. We use the occasion to tell stories of what we’re learning, of what we’re doing to train disciples of Jesus Christ, and of God’s goodness and faithfulness. It’s also our chance to thank and remind our supporters how important their partnership is.
9www.smithvillechristian.caWhen the pandemic ended in-person gatherings, we couldn’t host our annual celebration. Instead, we partnered with a local winery restaurant to provide a grab-and-go heat-and-serve dinner, with a link to a video with some of the stories we want to tell. We had that event last fall and it was a huge success. Our guests enjoyed their delicious dinners and our donors came through in a big way. Good news! You can still watch the video or make your contribution. Watch this year’s Annual Bursary Celebration videowww.bit.ly/Annual_Bursary_CelebrationIt is a joy to be able to tell families that their dream of a Christian education for their child can be a reality.To join the campaign, you can send an eTransfer to finance@smithvillechristian.ca, send a cheque to the address on the cover, or donate online with a credit card at www.bit.ly/Donate2SmithvilleChristian
10ECHOES MAY 2022Did you graduate from Smithville Christian High School?IF SO, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU AND YOU COULD WIN A PRIZE!BY MARLENE BERGSMA, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVANCEMENTIf you are a graduate of this school, your experiences while you were here -- whether they were good or not -- are important for us to hear. We are launching a survey for alumni who graduated ve years ago or more. We want to know what you think about what you experienced while you were here, and whether you feel you were well-prepared for what came next – academically and spiritually. Scan the QR code with your phone or visit www.bit.ly/SmithvilleChristian_AlumniSurvey to participate. There are 12 required, mostly multiple-choice, questions, with the ability to elaborate on some of your responses. Depending on how much detail you provide, it could take you from seven to 20 minutes to complete the survey. We hope you have good memories and feel good about how you were prepared for the next stage of life, but we realize that is not always going to be the case. If your experience was negative, we want to hear that too, and we invite you to request a follow-up. If we need to apologize or can learn how to do things better, we will receive that feedback as a gift. The names of the rst 200 alumni who complete the survey will be entered into a draw to win one of ve $100 gift cards. We are serious! We want to know what you think, and we look forward to hearing from you.100$Gift card
11www.smithvillechristian.caStewarding gifts, large and smallThe Smithville Christian High School Annual Bursary FundBY TED HARRIS, ADMINISTRATOROne of the numbers shared in the “By the Numbers” section of this Echoes notes the amount of money in our bursary fund. There are two factors that converge in allowing this number to be as high as it is: (1) Donor support has been far higher over the last two years than we have ever seen. We have been blown away by the desire of our donors to see families blessed with a Christian high school education, and this desire connects directly to the annual giving of these donors. If this is you (dear reader), we humbly thank you! (2) We have been the beneciaries of larger gifts of late. We have been told by our Foundation experts that the transfer of wealth from a prosperous generation would be changing hands at unseen levels in the coming years. It seems this has begun. This latter development, larger gifts coming our way, is the impetus for current conversations at the nance committee table. We are in the process of working out a plan for how we steward unspecied major gifts in ways that honor the giver or the family of the giver, and in ways that demonstrate wise use of God-given resources that bless the future of our school’s mission. We are so blessed to be a school that many think of when they consider annual giving, but also dispersal of wealth or nal giving. We count it a huge blessing to be positioned to help families who send their children to our school, but we are also devising approaches to wisely steward gifts that push beyond the immediate needs of our annual bursary fund. Open House for Gord ParkCome to a retirement open house for Gord ParkSATURDAY, MAY 282 - 4 P.MScan the QR code or visit https://bit.ly/Memories_of_Mr_Park to share a memory of Gord Park or to send good wishes to himComments and memories will be compiled in a memory book.
Why does our foundation talk about wills?BY TONY KAMPHUIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHRISTIAN SCHOOL FOUNDATIONLet me share three statistics that have convinced me of the importance of speaking to Smithville Christian High School supporters about leaving a gift for the school in their wills.1) 90% of Canadians who have given to a specic charity three times or more, claim they would be willing to consider leaving that charity a gift in their will. Have you given a gift to Smithville Christian three or more times over the years? Less than 10% of this group currently has such a gift in place. Why? These faithful donors report that either they have never been asked that question or that they thought it sounded complicated to get in place.2) 40% of the gifts that Canadian charities received through people’s wills in 2015 had been arranged or updated within the past four years. Four years! These are not all gifts that will have impact far in the future!3) The average annual gift to charities in 2018 was $531. The average gift left in a will in 2018 was over $52,000. When people pass away their resources become available to make a transformative impact on God’s world in a way that just isn’t possible while they still need to use those assets.The obvious conclusion is that gifts left in the wills of Smithville Christian High School supporters can make a huge difference as our school works to expand the inuence of Christ in our culture, in every square inch of God’s amazing world. And this impact isn’t always very far off.We know that our supporters have generosity for Kingdom causes baked right into their DNA. Think about yourself and your friends: almost all of them will say, “Everything I have has been a gift from God. I truly believe He has given me the gifts and the opportunities to have accumulated these blessings and I want to be faithful to Him in the way I put these resources into action.” So the question isn’t, “Will Smithville Christian High School supporters be generous in their wills?” The real question is, “Will our supporters who have faithfully shown that they believe our school is a powerful way to inuence this world for Christ, remember to include our school in their nal arrangements?” And what will that Last Testament say about their faith, their faithfulness, and their desire to shape this world that ultimately belongs – every square inch – to our faithful saviour, Jesus Christ? 12ECHOES MAY 2022
www.smithvillechristian.ca13Tui on Assistance 2021 $653,000 389 Families 704 Students 68 Schools Including Smithville Chris an Impact on School Budgets $5,158,000 $1,576 per family $870 per child FFoouunnddaa oonn TTuuii oonn AAssssiissttaannccee 2014 2017 2016 2018 2019 2020 2015 $800,000 $600,000 $400,000 $200,000 An Average of: 2021 Total Founda on financial support to Smithville Chris an High School 2018 — 2021 from grants and the growth from the school’s fund: $163,388, averaging over $50,000 per year.
14ECHOES MAY 2022Expanding your impact from coast-to-coastBY TONY KAMPHUIS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHRISTIAN SCHOOL FOUNDATIONDid you have the chance to go to high school?If so, do you remember your high school years? How did those years shape you (in good and bad ways) into the person you are today?Do you have grown children? Do you remember their high school years? How did they shape your children?Do you remember the nearly fear-lled feeling of wondering how you might be able to meet the cost of providing the kind of education you really desired for your children?Every year we still see families who face signicant nancial obstacles that stand in the way of their desire to send their children to a school that honours the name of God. That’s why we put such emphasis on the need for bursary funds so that those of us who have faced those obstacles in the past – and have found God faithful – can now be the way in which new families see God’s hand at work! What could be more exciting than that?If you remember days of scarcity and you already support Smithville Christian High School’s bursary efforts, but you would be delighted to know you can have an even larger and wider impact, would you consider supporting the tuition assistance bursary efforts at the Christian School Foundation? They have faithful donors who are very generous but are also looking to see if others will stand beside them to meet this challenge.Imagine the impact if your gift – regardless of its size – could join with those from across Canada to ow to places where the needs are greatest! That’s what happens when you support the tuition assistance programs offered by the Christian School Foundation. Connect with Tony Kamphuis or Meghan VanPelt, or simply go to our website to stand with these families and push aside any nancial obstacles that would stand in their way!Contacting the Christian School Foundationwww.christianschoolfoundation.caTony Kamphuis, Executive Director tkamphuis@christianschoolfoundation.caMeghan Van Pelt, School and Grants Manager ofce@smithvillechristian.ca
15www.smithvillechristian.caToll Free 1-800-461-7374147 Main St. E., Grimsby • 905-945-2219184 Highway 8, Stoney Creek • 905-664-2810Come visit our Garden Centre in Grimsby!Flowers, plants and unique gift giving ideas for every occasion!Home DesignLife’s brighter under the sun*Mutual funds distributed by Sun Life Financial Investment Services (Canada) Inc. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies. © Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2019. Matt Dam* HON. B.A. BUS. Matt Dam Financial Services Inc. 905-892-5993Toll free: 1-888-889-4742 matt.dam@sunlife.com www.sunlife.ca/mattdamfinancial 165 Hwy 20 West, Suite 3 Fonthill, ON L0S 1E5 SHUTTERS • BLINDSDRAPERIES • SHADESQuality WindowFashionsat anAffordable Price905-945-8008GRIMSBY, ONWilliam and Christina Bezemer345 Argyle St. S. 214 Broad St.Caledonia, On N3W 1L8 Dunnville, On N1A 1G2(905) 765-5788 (905) 774-7576fax: (905) 765-1811 fax: (905) 774-9479cell: (905) 929-6783 email: peter_dieleman@cooperators.caPeterDieleman, CFPAgentINSPECTIONSRoger Heeg rogerheeg@ozainspections.comYOUR AD HERETo see your business or service advertised in Echoes, contact Marlene Bergsma at mbergsma@smithvillechristian.caBelong. Believe. Succeed.
We draw Christian schools and donors together toexpand the influence of Christ in our culture.www.christianschoolfoundation.caThe Echoes is a periodical published ve times a year by Smithville Christian High School. Editor: M. BergsmaWayne SchilstrabrokerSteven SchilstrabrokerDavid Hildebrand sales representative905.957.1188Wesley Schilstrasales representativeGrantham Plaza, 400 Scott St., St. Catharines, ON L2M 3W4Phone: 905-937-8833 • Fax 905-937-7196website: www.vandendooljewellers.com Accounting Consulting Personal & Corporate Taxation Succession Planning Agri-Business Programs, Accounting & TaxT. 905-899-2424 • F. 905-899-2426dwight@tebrake.ca • www.tebrake.ca42126 Hwy #3, R.R. #380100120140601604020180Dekkers Auto SalesService Automotive Sales • Repairs • A/C • Tires • Alignments • Diagnostics 905.386.6253Lorem ipsum30%is printed on 30%post-consumer recycled paper.30%1.888.BAYVIEW ext 344P.O. Box 2, 3764 Jordan Road, Jordan Station, Ontario, Canada L0R 1S0phone 905.562.7321fax 905.562.7851www.Bayviewflowers.com1051 Broad St. E., Dunnville, ON905-774-61152400 Highway 56, Binbrook, ON905-692-44151380 Fourth Ave., St. Catharines, ON905-688-5520Fred & Adrian KoornneefSuppliers of Greenhouse Vegetables and Tender Fruitwww.koornneefproduce.com