As teachers and parents work with and guide children through school, there are a number of character traits that should be nurtured. These should be infused in school work, after school activities, and in life.

Student Character Traits

Our character is a very important part of who we are – our character is made up of our attitudes and values. Character traits greatly determine how we think and how we live. Character traits are developed over time and there are many things that we as adults can do to help nurture these traits in our children.

Properly rooting our words, attitudes, and actions in God’s truth is a main way that our children learn these traits as we model them. Positive character traits are important in all parts of our lives.

Discernment in making choices – An individual must be able to seek and know the right, godly choice and realize that our choices, right or wrong, have consequences for which we are individually responsible.

Diligent Effort in all things – a commitment to excellence allows us to build our gifts and talents as God has blessed us. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23)

Honesty in all things, even the small things – Honesty is not just truth-telling but also truth-living. This trait leads to reliability, trustworthiness, and integrity in individuals.

Responsibility – we all have responsibilities on a variety of different levels – to each other, to our families, to God, and to our jobs. Students must learn that their learning and school work is their responsibility and that some responsibilities provide us a challenge that requires diligence. In nurturing students, we must give them support when obstacles appear, but we should not eliminate these obstacles. Growth comes from these experiences.

Respect – all people are worthy of respect and honor because all are created by God and are image-bearers of God. When those in authority are properly respected, a solid foundation for our relationship with God is also reinforced.

A sense of wonderment and awe in God’s creation – This is trait is a force behind our motivation and desire to continually learn. This attitude helps up to develop higher-level critical thinking skills as we observe our surroundings and study God’s word.

Positive Self-Esteem – we all have self-esteem at varying degrees. Because we are all created in God’s image we have no need to impress others. Understanding who we are in Christ should provide us with our self-worth – that He loves us and that His love is a lasting source of assurance.

Paraphrased from Tammy Darling

Check out this recent article on the place that mistakes play in student learning.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coach_gs_teaching_tips/2012/01/dont_prevent_students_mistakes_prepare_for_them.html

The weeks and days leading up to Christmas at LCS are a special time for our students and teachers. Being a Christ-Centered school allows us to focus intently on Christmas as the celebration of Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Salvation.  Our  pre-kindergarten through grade 5 students, presented the age-old story of all stories – the story of Christ’s birth to the virgin Mary, the shepherds, the angels, the stable, the wise men, and the baby Jesus. The story of Immanuel – God With Us. Each day our students also learn how this story continues and they are a part of this story. Each of now do as the shepherds did many years ago – we go and tell all of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  This story is one that we never grow tired of hearing and pondering on – more deeply as we become adults.

Our junior high students also celebrated the birth of Christ by sharing the story through music through out the Lafayette community. Our choir at Purdue, our handbells at the Tippecanoe Mall to help begin Salvation Army’s Bell Ringing Christmas Season, and our band performed to those at the Indiana Veterans’ Home. It is deliberate that we take our junior high performing groups at in the community as an outreach to spread the Christmas message – of salvation through Jesus Christ.

LCS also conducted a food drive to support the needs of Lafayette Food Finders Food Bank. Just over 1,300 opunds of food was collected. The theme of what can we give at Christmas time was put to the forefront – rather than how many presents will I receive. Just as the wise men came bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. They came with gifts rather than seeking gifts.

Christmas blessings to each of you for the season and each and every day of the year to come!

Joy to the World – the Lord Has Come!

A vital part of the Lafayette Christian School mission is that we assist students in their development of being sensitive to the needs of others and serving as servants of Christ. This desire to serve comes from a heart commitment of following Jesus as Lord and Savior.

As a school and as parents we provide opportunities for our students to practice this in a variety of ways. At times as a whole school – other times as classes and as individuals. Recent examples of this include:

The 7th grade class helping give Thankgiving food to the community’s needy with St. Anne’s Soup Kitchen,

Junior high students giving a neighborhood Habitat for Humanity family a home warming basket and praying over their new home,

3rd grade students leading our school in a Christmas Holiday food drive for Food Finders Food Bank,

5th grade students are pen pals with the elderly at Westminster Village and visit their pen pal,

Junior high students complete individual service projects throughout the community.

All of these give a picture of the ways that our students learn to be the “hands and eyes of Christ” to others in our community.

Our hearts are warmed when students hear of the needs of others and they themselves bring an idea for service to their class. This happened last year in our 7th grade when learning of the Tsunami in Japan in social studies class. They were touched by the need of the Japanese people and planned bake sales to raise funds to assist the needs of those people through Samaritan’s Purse.

This month our first graders are raising money for Heifer International to provide a gift of a farm animal to people in Africa. In this case a goat. Through this the students are learning how something such as a goat can help the fight over hunger and poverty. 

We continue to pray for God’s working in the hearts of our students – developing a spirit of serving others as Christ and in doing so, become the light of the world. When so many in our culture are focused on the gifts they will receive – we are helping our students see how they can give of themselves to others.

The Indiana Department of Education announced recently that handwriting instruction will not be required of public schools throughout the state. It is an option for individual school corporations. This decision on the state’s part is due to their interpretation of the newly adopted Common Core State Standards which do not include any specific standards requiring handwriting be taught.

Here at Lafayette Christian School we continue to teach handwriting through the grade levels (print and cursive). We see the importance of handwriting as a communication skill as well as a tool in student learning. It is interesting to note that recent research at Indiana University by Dr. Karin James supports handwriting instruction as being important to children’s brain development and reading ability.  According to her study “teaching young children to write letters activated parts of their young brains that become critical for reading”. 

How many times do you find yourself as an adult needing to write something down to remember some bit of information? Many times teachers have students take notes during instruction to aid in learning the material or developing understanding. The tactile act of forming the letters to form the words and ideas, does help us in our learning and memory. According to the research cited, the act of typing does not show the same results in brain activity as does handwriting. With the ever increasing use of technology as a communication tool, we also need to continue developing and teaching the use of handwriting as a communication tool as well as a learning tool.

I have included links to articles that discuss this topic.

Why handwriting still matters: new study says it makes kids smarter

by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff, Thu Jun 16, 2011

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/why-handwriting-still-matters-new-study-says-it-makes-kids-smarter-2498025

Why Schools Should Keep Teaching Handwriting, Even If Typing Is More Useful

September 29, 2011 | 11:43 AM

By Kyle Stokes

http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/09/29/why-schools-should-keep-teaching-handwriting-even-if-typing-is-more-useful/ 

Still the Write Stuff: Why We Must Continue Teaching Handwriting

by Sherrelle Walker, M.A.

http://www.scilearn.com/blog/teaching-handwriting-skills.php 

Classes in kindergarten through grade 5 are receiving reading instruction within a 90-minute uninterrupted reading block this year. This state guideline for Indiana schools (public and accredited non-public) is part of the ”Read On Indiana” program. This includes the I-READ assessment that is being implemented for students in grade three.

At LCS grade levels have scheduled the 90-minute block at various times to accomodate the school schedule.

K – grade 2: Reading Block 9:55-11:25

Grade 3 – 4: Reading Block 12:30-2:00

Grade 5: Reading Block 8:20-9:50

Instruction and learning during this block includes activities to develop students’ ability to “make meaning from their reading”. Phonics instruction, reading fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and building student reponsorial writing and speaking are all parts of the reading block. The 90-minutes is planned with these types of learning activities within the framework of whole-group and small-group instruction .

As I walk through classes, students are actively engaged in these activities. The frequency of instruction and explicit instruction are developing our students’ level of “making meaning from reading”. All parts of literacy, listening – speaking – reading – writing, are involved in building reading and language skills.

How can parents help at home? A few suggestions: Read books together at home, stopping to ask questions and to make connections with other topics or experiences. (This reminds me of ……; What would happen if……; Why did this character do that….)

Turn off the television and computer and have a silent or group reading time.

Read the Bible in family devotions and discuss what is said. What is God saying to me in what I read?

Point out words in everyday life. What is that word on the billboard? What does it mean? Try to figure out words – pronunciation, meaning within context, etc.

Use new words with your child. Increased vocabulary knowledge and usage will increase levels of reading comprehension.

Need more information on I-READ, Read On Indiana, Reading development or how you can help at home, follow these links:

 http://www.doe.in.gov/assessment/iread_resources.html

http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/ 

http://markusjmcduffin.tripod.com/parents_tips.htm

Welcome to our new blog, Knight Time.  On it you will find general education and parenting news and tips, as well as updates on happenings here at the school.  So, if when you ask your kids about what went on at school today, and their answer is usually “nothing much”, now you’ll know better!  We have a great community here at LCS and lots going on that we want you to know about.  We hope you will subscribe to Knight Time!