Hello Concordia,
I am writing this week from the southern shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. A beautiful part of the world where the Blue Mountains of the Niagara Escarpment plunge into Lake Huron. This area north of Toronto was shaped by God’s hands through the work of glaciers and running water. Some of the resulting work of the Niagara Escarpment happened quickly in geologic time, to some of the oldest rock on the earth’s surface. Everytime I visit this area I am reminded that God’s beauty in nature and love of people is consistently at work: yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
This past week Concordia’s students received scores from the Advanced Placement exams our students took in May. The results are exciting and a testament to the hard work and dedication our students and teachers put forth in their academics. Highlights include:
- CLHS students wrote 394 AP exams in May 2018, an increase from the 284 AP exams our students wrote in May 2017.
- On average, CLHS students earned a higher score in 80% of our AP courses this year than compared to the same course a year ago.
- Concordia offers 13 AP courses, with three new AP courses added this past school year, Environmental Science, Psychology, World History.
- Concordia will continue with plans in adding the AP Capstone to our academic program in the 2019-20 school year. The AP Capstone is a two-year program which takes a student through an independent research project that culminates with a presentation of learning.
In late June, Rev. Jergus Olejar, stopped by Concordia to say thanks and goodbye. Pastor Olejar was on a sabbatical this past year from his home and ministry in Slovakia to study at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. Thankfully, his family joined him with his oldest daughter, Lumi, joining us a student at Concordia Lutheran High School. Jergus and I talked often throughout the year, relating and sharing stories of our ministry experiences in foreign lands. Jergus is and will be a life-long friend to me. Near the end of our last conversation at CLHS, Jergus paused and then said, “Lumi, and our family, were so blessed to be in the Concordia community this past year. We, you, are so fortunate, to have a Christian based education, in which people care for one another and share the love of Christ freely. We do not have this in my country”. Thank you Jergus for reminding me of the importance and purpose of this school community as we work, educate, and touch the lives of people from all over the world who call Fort Wayne home.
Sometimes I focus too much on the numbers of school, (enrollment, scores, budget), and sometimes I focus too much on the heart of school (discipline, justice, mercy), but it is through the quiet moments such as a conversation with Jergus, or a few minutes of solitude on Georgian Bay, that I hear God the loudest. I wish you a happy and restful summer.
Go Concordia!
Patrick Frerking,
Principal