Do you love books?

Many of you know that we are aggressively building a quality school library, entirely with donated cash, books, and time. Right now we are most in need of TIME. We have hundreds, many hundreds, of books ready to be cataloged and put on the shelves. This is enjoyable work (if you like books) and can be done from home if you have an internet connection. I can train you to do this job in about one hour, and then you can do as much or as little as you like, whenever you like. Please give me a call at the school if you are interested. Thanks. David Roller 426-7616 or 463-0997

See the Buttons

With Christmas still ahead of us, Forest Festival seems a long, wet winter off. But preparations are already underway, including the Festival button design contest. Be sure to see our students' entries that are displayed in the hallway of Building 3.

Christmas Cheer

Fourth and fifth graders did double duty today. They practiced for the Christmas program and blessed local nursing home residents at the same time.

The Great (temporary) Noodle Ban

After repeated pleas and reminders, students are still leaving messes of noodles/ramen on the table and in bathroom sinks. So, no noodles or ramen will be allowed in 4th-8th grades in December. We will try again in January. We can do this correctly, students.

The Mason County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team and K-9 Unit converge on MCCS (and the kids loved it!).

On November 18th the Mason County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team members and K-9 Unit visited the Mason County Christian School campus. Each class was given the opportunity to meet members of the SWAT team, climb inside SWAT’s armored vehicle, try on a SWAT bullet-proof vest, and just see how heavy all the special tools and equipment are. Also in attendance was Dep. Sean Dodge and his narcotics detecting K-9 Kona. Students found out how Kona is trained and how she searches for narcotics. The students enjoyed themselves and continued to talk about the experience for the remainder of the day.

Back for a Day

Mrs. Foster never planned to leave this job. She loves the kids, the staff, and the parents. But after four years as school coordinator, God called her to move out of her comfort zone. Be stretched.

She is the new Children's Minister at First Baptist Church. God has been preparing her for this ministry since her teenage years. She oversees the Sunday school program from nursery through 7th grade, works with the AWANA commander, is a mentor mom at MOPS, and works with the
children's ministry team.

She misses her friends from MCCS and welcomes visits to her new office at the church. She is there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Please Paint Me!

As you can see by these pictures, we still need some painting done in the new bathroom in building 3. Painting may be completed anytime (except during school hours), and all the materials including paint will be provided. Just give the office a call and set up a date and time and we will make sure you are able to gain access to the building. Another great opportunity to get your volunteer hours completed!

Moms have Homework Too

The Wednesday morning Bible Study Fellowship class in Olympia has a Shelton delegation. New members are welcome to attend orientation the first Wednesday of the month. A children's program is available for 2 years through kindergarten, but you must make arrangements before attending. They are adding a baby's program in January. Bible Study Fellowship involves daily homework assignments and a structured Bible study format. This year's study is the book of John.

If you want more information or a ride to Westwood Baptist Church, talk to BSF veterans Sharon or Martha or rookies like Mary or Marlene.

Pictured: Former MCCS teacher Esther Butler, Mary Lofthus, Sharon Murphy, Martha Sandquist, and Angela McGuire. Missing: Marlene Payment

Have Board Will Travel

To the chapel room and back. Fourth graders gave their first oral reports of the year. The students researched Christian biographies, made note cards, created visual aids, and practiced in preparation for this day. They learned important public speaking skills while being inspired by Christian heroes who have gone before. Good job, Mrs. Carpenter's class!

Ask Your Fourth Grader

Can you put on a life jacket in 30 seconds?
What does a sea cucumber and sea star feel like?
How does our water get polluted?
What is a bivalve?
What is filter feeding?
How and why do we safely dispose of pet waste?
What is the inside of an ambulance like?
What did you learn about garbage and recycling, with a little help from Captain WasteNot?

What else did you learn at Kids' Day at OysterFest?

MCCS Grad Gives Back

The entrance to our school continues to become more attractive (removal of old pasture gates and posts; rock wall borders, etc.) with the completion of a pergola over the benches. The work of a former student, the pergola is Nathan Swanson's senior project. THANKS, NATHAN! for thinking of MCCS--for planning, sourcing and constructing it. (For those of you new to MCCS, Nathan is the son of teachers Bill and Cindy Swanson.)
Perhaps next Spring we can plant some shade-tolerant flowering vines to cover it. Any ideas?

One step closer--well, 35 steps, actually.

The steps are done! We now have a safer way to go between the buildings and the field. Our thanks to Bill Perreault, John Deere, Eric and Caleb Nelson and Robbie and Ezekiel Dale for putting all the rock in the step frames.

Pass the word; bring them on!

Betsy Sawyer called the school yesterday to see if we wanted some books she was weeding out of their home library. Definitely. We want to get the word out that we accept all used books, not just children's titles. I sort donated books, cataloging those needed for our school library, pricing duplicates to sell in our book store, donating the rest to thrift stores, and recycling anything that is beyond further use. So, Pass the word; bring them on!

Mason County Urinal

Although it didn't make the Headline News on CNN or FOX, the big news today is that the remodel of our bathrooms took an important step forward when Carl Camp, a friend of the school, came from Tacoma and spent the better part of two days reinstalling the urinals, with all new fittings and valves. Working on old plumbing is a humbling experience; Thanks, Carl, for your volunteer service.

Screens

Our thanks to Huntington Glass for putting new screens (no charge) in frames for the Chapel room windows. It's been more than ten years since the Ellerbroeks had kids at MCCS, but they continue to be good friends of the school.

Parents--Sell the school!

In her Edutopia blog entry for August 3, Molly suggests six ways parents can market our school: Be a champion; Host a conversation; Start a blog; Use the news; Be consistent; and Prepare successors.
Why are these ideas important?
1. By far the most effective advertising for private schools is parent word-of-mouth.
2. Increasing student enrollment is the one single thing that will assure the future prosperity of MCCS.
3. We have space for more students and would love to reach more kids in our community.
4. Traditional approaches to marketing--radio, newspaper, TV, bulk mail and Open Houses are not very effective.
So, let's get the word out about MCCS.