Mrs. Staci Spoelstra
Our school was blessed as a result of the recent Christmas Bake Sale, with an approximate profit of
$4,028. Thanks to those who helped with this fundraiser, especially to the Bake Sale committee for
their hard work and organization. Thanks also to those who donated various sweet treats for many to
enjoy!!
We look forward to all the blessings God has in store for our school in the coming year. Thanks to all
who continue to richly support Oskaloosa Christian School!
We would like to thank all those who support our school by saving Boxtops for Education and Campbell’s soup labels, which can be brought to school or sent along with a
student anytime during the school year. Keeping the Campbell’s labels separate from the
boxtops would be a big help in time spent sorting by our volunteer moms.
•Campbell’s Labels for Education - Please save the UPC symbols (some require the lids) of products. Do not save the front labels, as we have done in the past. They are no longer accepted by the
company.
•Boxtops for Education - Just a reminder that boxtops are sometimes located on the bottom or sides
of packages, and are easily overlooked. Each boxtop is worth 10¢ to our school, so they really add up!
For more information on what specific products to save, contact the school for an updated list.
THANKS, EVERYONE!
The Willing Workers
would like to THANK all
those who are supporting our Papa Murphy
fundraiser. Our next
Papa Murphy’s Pizza
Day is Wednesday, January 7. Papa Murphy’s in
Oskaloosa will donate
10% of their net profit
for the entire day
to our school.
If you missed out on
our yummy decorated
Christmas
cookies this year,
never fear....
there will be decorated
Valentine cookies
for sale in February.
Watch for all the
details in next
month’s Highlites!
UPCOMING EVENTS @ OSCI
End of second quarter----------------------------------------------------------------------------December 23
Christmas Break----------------------------------------------------------------------December 24-January 2
Papa Murphy’s Pizza Day------------------------------------------------------------------------------January 7
Classes Resume-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------January 5
K-8th Chapel hosted by 5th graders, 8:20 a.m.------------------------------------------------January 16
Iowa Assessments for 3rd-8th-----------------------------------------------------------------January 19-23
Pastors Day----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------February 13
4th-8th Pops Concert-------------------------------------------------------------------------------February 13
Willing Workers Auction/Bake Sale--------------------------------------------------------------February 27
726 North “E” St.
Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577
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PUBLISHING INFORMATION
HIGHLITES will be published monthly, with the
exception of June and August, by the staff of the
Oskaloosa Christian School. If you would like more
information about Oskaloosa Christian, you can call
the Principal, Dr. Bob Stouffer, at 641-672-2174.
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
OSKALOOSA, IA
PERMIT NO. 19
HIGHLITES
Vol. 34 No. 4
726 North “E” St.
Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577
1946-2014
We are in the midst of a very busy time of year! The season finds us coming and going from one activity
to another. Despite all the preparations for gatherings with family and friends, may we take the time to
reflect on the true Reason for the Season, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!
December 2014
The mission of Oskaloosa Christian is to assist parents in equipping
t h e i r c h i l d r e n m e n t a l l y, p h y s i ca l l y, a n d s p i r i t u a l l y t o b e e f f e c t i v e
disciples of Jesus Christ by offering a qualit y Christ- centered education.
WILLING WORKERS
Office Telephone: 641-672-2174
web site: www.oskaloosachristian.net
PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE
WHAT JOY!
Dr. Bob Stouffer
MERRY CHRISTMAS! O, come, o come, Emmanuel! Come, Lord Jesus, come! What joy the celebration of Christ’s
birth should bring to us! It’s a busy time of year, but make sure you slow down enough to understand the real reason for Christmas.
Nothing ever slows down for me, and I like that! Since the last Highlite publication, all of the following activities
energized my life and schedule:
I committed to facilitating the work of the District V Christian Schools Task Force -- a group empowered to promote
the long-term sustainability of Christ-centered education in our region. Since then, I have been praying, seeking
the Spirit’s guidance, doing my homework, and considering the counsel of respected leaders about the best process and components for beginning and sustaining momentum with such a task force. Please pray for our work,
unity, AND POSITIVE ACTION.
The Thanksgiving music program on Friday, November 21st was FANTASTIC! I said what I meant. I meant what I
said. That was THE most Christ-centered Christian school music program I have ever seen.
On Saturday, November 22nd, I “made the ask” at the Iowa FAMiLY Leader fundraising event before 900 people,
including the speaker, Dr. Ben Carson, a possible Republican Presidential candidate. I was listed in the program as
Principal of Oskaloosa Christian School! Steve and Jan Boender were listed on the program as FAMiLY Leader Board
members. What GREAT recognition for the school!
I participated in my first set of OSCI Thanksgiving activities from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26th. I loved moving from room-to-room with one Chapel group – experiencing an abundance of thankfulness,
worship, fun, and fellowshipping.
On December 1st and December 2nd, I accompanied Board President Joel Groenenboom on two calls to TD&T Financial Group and Hunt and Associates, offices which specialize in tax preparation. Joel did an EXCELLENT job with
both presentations about the School Tuition Organization (STO), which were well worth our investment of time.
When you see school parents Lori Swope and Russell Terpstra, please offer special thanks to them for opening the
doors to these presentations. If you’re interested in the 65% state tax credit and federal deduction, it’s still not too
late to claim those credits -- for your benefit and for the financial assistance of qualified OSCI families. Call Board
President Joel Groenenboom to claim your credits (641-295-2003)
The teachers and I completed our assignment for the Christian Schools International (CSI) accreditation self-study
– Strands 2 and 3! I am extremely pleased by the work of the teachers. Now, all of the assessments for all of the
strands (1-4) will be given to the steering committee for prioritization of issues which will form the basis of the OSCI
school improvement plan.
Several staff members and Board members “re-envisioned” the OSCI campus when interacting with Mike Espeset,
President, Story Construction, on Wednesday, December 3rd. Special thanks to Joel Gronenboom and Tim Westercamp for representing the Board.
I experienced my first-ever Oskaloosa Christmas Parade on Thursday, December 4th. What a blast! Many students
and parents filled the bus or walked the route, with the copy written about the school read over the sound systems
at least 5 times in 5 different locations of the route. The bus looked great! Special thanks to all of the members of
the Advancement Committee who decorated and/or dismantled the generator and lights!
continued on page 2
continued from page 1
I helped with my first year-end OSCI
mailing. Patti and Greg Westra prepared
the labels and letters for the staff volunteers, parent volunteers, and Advancement Committee members to assemble
the mailing materials. Mission accomplished! I am particularly grateful to
Patti and Greg, since former Principal Jason Alons had handled the printing and
organization of the materials in the past
(and I don’t have that same skill set). Oskaloosa Christian doesn’t pay Patti Westra enough. She is a dream.
ROBOTICS
A BIG Thank you
to our volunteer
Coaches:
On behalf of the entire Oskaloosa Christian staff, Board, committees, and students, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May the love of Christ dwell in you
richly, as you give witness to those who
are worshipping all of the wrong things
and people at Christmastime! God bless
you with sweet times of fun, food, fellowship, and joy that comes through the
Holy Spirit!
Chris Fynaardt
Mit Williams
Gloria De Bruin
Jeremy Visser
Ken Slagter
Karen De Bruin
Laura Evan
Stephanie Campbell
Tamara Knudson
William Rees
TRIP News
(Tuition Reduction Incentive Program)
Mondays - order by 12:00 noon
Fridays - pick up 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Order dates: January 5, 12, 19, 26
2014 Sales to Date: Total Sales to date:
$279,000+. Of that, over $258,000 is from
Cash & Carry and Voucher Sales. Credit Accumulated: nearly $7,900!
We have had 12 weeks of Cash & Carry
Sales that were over $5,000; …10 weeks over
$7,500; and 2 weeks over $10,000!
Pizza Ranch cards @ 7% are now available
in Cash & Carry, and can be used at any Pizza
Ranch location.
Coming Soon....TRIP is going online!
Look forward to some changes in the future.
Bear with us as we transition over to this new
system.
TRIP cards will not be available over the
Christmas holiday. The first order date
of the new year will be January 5, 2015.
Merry Christmas from your TRIP Crew:
Sarah Hol, Katrina Thompson, Ruth Veenstra,
Patti Westra, and Rachel Yang.
GEOGRAPHY BEE
Miss Van Kooten
During the first week of December, we held the seventh annual National Geographic
Bee at Oskaloosa Christian School. All students from 4th through 8th grades competed at the class level. The top scorer in each grade along with the next 5 top scores
in all the grades combined moved on to the next round. The top 10 competed in the
school level competition on December 17. The entire school came out to encourage
them. The class-level winners were Caden Albright, Olivia Van Arkel, Jaren De Bruin,
Katie Spoelstra, and Alan Carmichael. The other top scorers to round out the top
10 were Rachel Boender, Eric Mulder, Noelle Ruckman, Kendra Branderhorst, and Ki
Boender.
CONGRATULATIONS to our Osky Christian GearHEDZ Robotics Teams! We had a big day at competition on Saturday, December 6, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. We were all exhausted, but the teams did awesome. Even though our robots did not perform as well
as hoped, we learned some great lessons along the
way. GearHEDZ Camo did receive 8th place on the
robot game. It was a great way to end their season!
On Wednesday, December 10th, I recorded a Christmas commercial for advertising of the school on KBOE Radio.
Hopefully, the advertisement will raise
the level of awareness of OSCI, especially
with parents who may be interested in
Christ-centered education for their children.
I also GREATLY ENJOYED my first-ever
Christmas dinner on Friday, December
12th. My wife Cheryl, daughter Molly, and Grandaughters Gracelynn (20
months) and Lily (18 months) and Norah
(1 month), Ruth and Ken Groenenboom
were my guests! (I pulled an executive
order by inviting so many, because, typically, each family may only invite only
Mom and Dad. Thanks to all of you for
indulging me!) The set-up was efficient.
(Thanks junior high teachers and students!) The chapel led us to a better understanding of the Beatitude of meekness, as it relates to Jesus coming to this
earth as a baby and living a strength
under control during his earthly lifetime.
(Thanks, Tanya Bouma and 7th graders!)
The food was fantastic! (Thanks Carol De
Ronde and Linda Taylor!) The fellowshipping was fabulous! (Thanks to all who
came!) What a unique way of expressing our love for and worship of Christ by
gathering around the table as individual
families and the unified family of Christ
at Oskaloosa Christian School!
Mrs. Vickie Van Donselaar
Thanks to all the parents who joined us
for our Christmas Dinner and Chapel.
The final two participants were Jaren De Bruin and Alan Carmichael. Alan pulled out
the victory by correctly answering all three of the questions asked. He will take a
written test after Christmas break, attempting to qualify for the state-level bee. We
wish him well and thank you to all our participants.
BOARD HIGHLIGHTS
December
•Dr. Jim Else presented an apt devotional on Christmas. Christmas has been emptied
of its meaning and power. Cancel the craziness of commercial Christmas. Celebrate
the birth of our Lord! God is with us! Let us worship Him!
•Local Barnabas Group Representative Devin Reimer gave a brief overview on the
work of Barnabas, introducing himself to the Board, and offering the organization’s
services to any and all who should be engaged in estate planning. At no expense,
Mr. Reimer will be scheduling presentations and individual conversations for this assistance to Oskaloosa Christian families.
•The Board conducted a first reading of the 800 Series of Board policy. Those policies
center on the financial practices of the school. The Board was very appreciative of
Treasurer Anne De Bruin’s work in preparing the first drafts for the first Board review.
•The Board formally admitted new third grade student Anna Coniglio. Please welcome Anna and her parents, Doug and Laura!
•The Board approved Steve Boender and Kurtis De Bruin as members of the District
Christian Schools Task Force, a group which will be facilitated by Dr. Bob Stouffer, Principal, Oskaloosa Christian School.
•Technology Chair Marty Roberts facilitated a discussion about the technology infrastructure, hardware, and software needs of the school at this time.
•The Board discussed the recent visit of Mike Espeset, President, Story Construction of
Ames. Mr. Espeset facilitated a conversation about re-envisioning future use of the
building and campus with teachers and Board members. This discussion gave rise to
the possibility of a joint conversation with the SonShine pre-school Board and staff
sometime in January.
•The Board discussed possible objects for the “Shares” auction item. Those in attendance at the auction typically bid on a Shares item which benefits the entire school,
like the wireless microphones and system of 2014.
•The Board engaged in a period of Board training by answering scenarios in which
they may very well find themselves.
•The Board discussed the topic of the 2015-2016 school calendar, given the recent
pronouncement by the Iowa Department of Education that schools will no longer
automatically be granted waivers for school start dates earlier than the week of September 1st.
•The Board engaged in a period of assessment -- of their own individual contributions
to Board work and of the group’s effectiveness and efficiency as a Board, particularly
during this meeting.
Geography Bee Winners!
1st Place: Alan Carmichael
2nd Place: Jaren De Bruin
For Generations
to Come
Many man and woman hours and much
expense went into the composing, printing, organizing, collating, folding, stuffing, labeling, and mailing of the 2014
year-end mailing. If you are reading this
publication right now, you probably received one of those letters. I realize that
you receive dozens of written and spoken appeals for your money. But I humbly request that you give VERY serious
consideration of Oskaloosa Christian’s
request for a year-end investment in the
education of OSCI students. Schooling done well takes significant financial
resources. We at OSCI attempt to give
an excellent return-on-investment. We
will do everything in our power to be outstanding stewards of every penny you
donate to the school. Please give joyfully, sacrificially, consistently, and AFTER
you have supported your church. God
bless you for your consideration!
Attention, Pastors!
Our Pastors Day will be held Friday,
February 13, 2015. Save the date to
be our special guests for the morning!
Rejoice!
A Savior has
been born to you!