A Culture of Success

Dear Parents,

No one failed! At the 1^st quarter mark of the first semester, not one student of the 289 students failed a single class. Considering that most students take 7 classes, in approximately 2023 graded periods of instruction, no one failed! We are a week away from seeing if this trend continued through the rest of the semester.

In the book, Becoming a Great High School, by Tim Westerberg, an entire chapter is devoted to building a school culture around a “ We-Expect- Success-Attitude”. Some of the criteria of that culture / attitude include the following themes:

1. What we are doing is important here.
2. 2. You can do it!
3. 3. I’m not going to give up on you – even if you give up on yourself.

This is a school culture we are building towards. We introduced CRAM, the program where kids stay after school on Mondays to finish late work, because we students to stay caught up – we want a culture of success. We hired additional support staff to go after more students who were slipping through the academic cracks because we did not want to give up on them.

At the foundation of our effort is the promise Christ gives us. I will not give up on you, even when you give up on yourself. That promise is at the heart of motivating us all to move forward into 2012.

Have a great week!

In Christ,

W. Dykstra

Merry Christmas!

Dear Unity Family,

“ Yet he has made an everlasting covenant with me.”

2 Samuel 23:5

I wonder if author fathomed what he meant when he wrote this verse. It is certainly prophetic. When Jesus arrived in a stable and went to the cross, he manifested that everlasting covenantal promise.

Everlasting is an amazing word. It goes beyond our finite sense of time. It makes the uncomfortable parts of life fade like a mist.

I remember learning about covenants in 7^th grade Bible class. When God made his covenants he did so, knowing we had no way of upholding our end of the deal.

That makes the stable and the cross even more amazing.

Rejoice with me. We serve a God who is faithful in His covenant promises, and eternally everlasting. And we are invited to live and fellowship with Him!

Merry Christmas,

Wayne Dykstra

He Came Anyway

Dear Parents,

As Christmas approaches, I feel the tension in myself to steer away from the worship of our King to the pursuit of what I am going to spend my Christmas bonus on. Do you suffer from the same tension?

I stumbled across this Max Lucado quote this morning.

“There is no way our little minds can comprehend the love of God. But that didn’t keep him from coming.”

― Max Lucado, America Looks Up

What I love more and more about God, is His ability to look past our misguided priorities. He came into our lives “while were yet sinners” and removed our sins – past, present and future. He came in spite of our mess. He lived in our mess and redeemed us from it.

I will Sing of My Redeemer is not a typical Christmas hit that you will hear on the radio, but you can sing it. Sing it because “he came anyway.”

May His love unwrap in your life like an ongoing Christmas present.

Merry Christmas Unity Family,

W. Dykstra

Living Thankfully

Dear Parents,

Thanks-giving has come to a end for another calendar year. I love Thanksgiving. As a former Canadian-now-US-Citizen, I can say that this is one holiday we Americans have nailed down to perfection. It is the worship time together, the food, the family and the football that make it all worthwhile.

This past Thanksgiving, I heard one of the best sermons ever. Probably, what made it a top 10, was my need to hear it. The theme was living thankfully. The church was /is Faith Reformed Church in Dyer, Indiana. The pastor of this sermon - Mike Pitsenberger. I strongly encourage you to listen to it. You can cut and paste this link in your browser or download it to your i-Pod.

http://faithchurchonline.org/grow/media/podcast-audio/item/204-live-thanks

If we chose to live thankfully before God we are able to walk through the valley of suffering and reach the mountaintop of joy, being thankful.

Ephesians 5: 15-20 was the sermon passage.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do we give God thanks in the midst of illness, marital struggles, depression and all the other issues we face? Listen to this sermon.

Wayne Dykstra

Parenting in a Social Networking World

Dear Parents.

Last night almost 100 parents attended our focus group event Parenting in a Social Networking World. We had a great night sharing with each other and encouraging each other on ways to guide our kids.

We learned last night that we are living in an incredibly exciting time and an equally dangerous time. As a Christian community we want to lead in healthy Internet usage. Last night was a great chance for families to be encouraged and challenged.

Here are some ideas and resources that I feel are worth sharing for all Unity parents, whether you were here last night or not:

Concerned about bullying? www.stopbullying.gov. This site is a government site and not all the information on it is in line with a biblical worldview. Use discernment when needed. It does provide great resources.

Not sure how to use the internet? Want to get educated on Facebook? Twitter? Consider this website. www.getnetwise.org

Survey Results from 139 students at Unity:

• · 61% of our freshman and sophomores on Facebook have not shared their passwords with their parents.
• · The number place to be harassed or bullied is not the internet. It is still the school hallways.
• · Facebook is in decline and Twitter is increasing in popularity. One reason why is the increased usage of Facebook among adults: grandparents are even now on facebook. That makes Twitter the hot new place for teens to communicate.

Great Filter Suggestions: Check out the I-Boss: www.iboss.com This filter allows parents to control the wireless signal into the home. You can shut all wireless down at anytime. This filter also sends parents a daily report that lists all websites that your kids go to. It will red-flag searches of inappropriate words and send you an alert message.

Students are telling us that while the school laptops are well filtered their home computers are not.

Concerned about pornography? It is a devastating addiction that experts are saying starts on average for 11 year olds. Consider reading one of the following books with your kids: Every Young Man’s Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker, and / or Every Young Woman’s Battle, by Stephen Arterburn and Shannon Ethridge.

Parents, this roundtable message is also on my blog. If you want to add to this written piece go to the school website, click on Principal’s Blog, and leave a post.

In Christ,

Wayne Dykstra