The apostle Paul begins or states in many of his letters appreciation, encouragement, and thanks to those in fellowship and support of the ministry he was called to do as a servant of Jesus Christ. With Paul as a mentor, and in my role of ministry at Concordia, I too say, “thanks” while asking for your prayerful support for our school community during our accreditation visit later this month.
Concordia Lutheran High School is accredited by three organizations; AdvancEd, Indiana State Department of Education (IDOE), and the National Lutheran Schools Association (NLSA). A team of six individuals from AdvancEd and the network of Lutheran schools in the USA will be with us February 24-26 for our accreditation visit:
- Merry Clark - AdvancEd Accreditation
- Jon Mielke - LCMS Indiana District Education Executive (retired)
- Sheila Psencik - Principal, Lutheran South Academy (Houston, TX)
- Michael Brandt - Principal, Indianapolis Lutheran HS
- John Weber - Principal, Central Lutheran School (New Haven, IN)
- Cole Braun - CFO, LHS Association of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
During their visit on February 24-26, the accreditation team will visit classrooms, meet with various stakeholder groups (students, teaches, parents, administrators, etc.) and confirm/recommend the self-report for improvement Concordia annually submits as an accredited school in all three organizations.
What can you do in a day? Well, A Lot — if you are hanging around with Mr. Murphy and his energetic team of students and volunteers! Mr. Murphy, Concordia’s Drama Director and Fine Arts Department Chair, organized Concordia’s first, 24 Hour Theatre Festival. Over 90 students and adults participated in writing, director, producing, staging, and performing four separate plays on Saturday, February 9 at Concordia. A very unique event with 7 students receiving the theme for the festival on Friday night at 7 PM and by 7 AM Saturday, having a script to handover to a team of student directors, who spent the next 12 hours with a bunch of fellow students in rehearsal. Amazing talent! Thanks to the volunteers who assisted with writing, staging, feeding, and other tasks needed for a successful festival.
Thank you to the 125-plus parents who attended the Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday, February 8, to meet with teachers and school counselors about your child(ren) and their academic program at Concordia. Joining us also on the night were our friends from Cross Connections Counseling and a workshop presentation led by Nurse Reff and myself about the effects cannabis and vaping (e-cigarettes) on the teenage brain. This parent workshop was a reprise of Dr. Jay Fawver, psychiatrist from the Parkview Mind-Body Clinic, who spoke to our student body on January 26 during National Lutheran Schools Week.
Xin Nian Kuai Le! Happy Chinese New Year! Concordia is celebrating the ‘Spring Festival” with our students from Dalian, China. Red lanterns are hung in the student lounge during the first 15 days of the lunar new year. This is the Year of the Pig, which is characterised by good fortune, happiness, hard work, and individuals who enjoy life. Concordia is blessed by the 10 students from Dalian who are with us this year as they share their culture with us, while studying and contributing to our Concordia community. The Dalian students, their host families, and some of our Mandarin Club members attended a new year’s meal with my family on Friday night.
Speaking of spring, thank you for staying safe, and hopefully warm, during the recent cold blast via the polar vortex. We are fortunate to have eLearning capabilities in our access to continue educational studies during days when the winter weather keeps us away from the school campus.
Go Concordia!
Patrick Frerking,
Principal