Spiritual Emphasis Week

Spiritual Emphasis Week at Christian Life Academy

During the week of October 22-26^th we once again welcomed our friends from Coastlands Consultants to join us for Spiritual Emphasis Week.

The annual practice of Spiritual Emphasis Week is very important to CLA. This year grades K-8^th gathered together for five mornings for Chapel services led by Mr. Matt Huffman. These meetings were filled with songs that filled our hearts with joy and encouraging lessons rooted in the Word of God.

Mr. Matt didn’t end his lessons with Chapel. Grades 6-8^th had the great opportunity to work closely with Mr. Matt on the theme of Team Work throughout the entire week. Whether they were participating in soccer games in the gym or thoughtful time in journal writing, students were learning valuable lessons. The results were spiritual enrichment for our students and productive group discussions. CLA middle schoolers say the “we before me” was one of the most important things they learned during the week. As a result, they would like to share their learning with the students in younger grades. It is so encouraging to see how our middle schoolers serve as leaders in CLA and can provide strong examples for the younger students!

Mr O’Neil, who teaches Middle School Science, summarizes our experience with Coastlands Consultants best when he said that “It was great how Mr. Huffman focused so strongly on team building—[it was] good for students and teachers alike!”

We cannot wait to carry forward the lessons we have learned from Coastlands Consultants throughout this academic year and the years to come! Thank you Dr. Brady and Mr. Huffman!

Middle School Leadership Conference

This year, four of our middle school students attended a OneDay Conference sponsored by ACSI. Many other Christian students gathered at this New Jersey school to focus on cultivating leadership skills.

This year’s theme was Hide and Seek. Each word was the focus of a session of learning and activity. Andrew, Zach, Sophie, and Isabella ventured out of their comfort zones to work with groups of other students during these session. The first session asked the students to discover how and why we HIDE. The second session helped them discover their leadership style and how our style AND their friends’ styles can work together.

The concluding session asked our students to work together to create a SEEK plan to establish in our own school.

The students were presented with Four Principles of Leadership.

#1: Leadership is Self-Aware

#2: Leadership is Others Aware

#3: Leadership Makes Others Aware

#4: Leadership Takes on the Issue

Our students have met together back at school to talk about and take action regarding gossip amongst their classmates. They feel that they have made good steps in that direction, as they have prayed, practiced some possible responses, and come together again with encouraging reports. They are not perfect yet, but each of them is more aware of the way to use their leadership ability and style to accomplish change. One of the recurring concerns in the whole group was the feeling of being alone. Our students are doing a great job of watching for those who are solitary, and reaching out to their classmates. We were glad to have the opportunity to learn and grow at this conference. We will continue in the New Year to build each other up in encouragements and inclusion.

2018 Fall Recap

This fall, CLA students had opportunities to give back to the community and focus on their spiritual growth. Click the links below to learn more about what our students have been up to!

Fall Collection Drives

Leadership Conference

Spiritual Emphasis Week