Praiseworthy and Excellent

Fall 2014

The Mount Vernon Christian School newsletter is published through the academic year for families, alumni and friends of Mount Vernon Christian School.

For change of address or to request a subscription, write or email:Mount Vernon Christian School820 W. Blackburn RoadMount Vernon, WA 98273360-424-9157360-424-9256 (Fax)Website:mountvernonchristian.org

Mission StatementMount Vernon Christian School,committed to education based on the infallible Word of God, seeks to serve God by preparing stu-dents to respond in loving service to God and their neighbors.

As an extension of the Christianhome we assist parents in nurtur-ing their children in the knowl-edge of the Lord and His crea-tion, thereby equipping students to embrace biblical values while being Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.

MVCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, nationality or ethnic origin in its policy of admission.

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year. We are excited about a year of learning and we look forward to growing as a Christian community. Mount Vernon Christian School has a great faculty and staff in place and we are grateful to serve the students who have been entrusted to us. It is a great joy to partner with families in the training and instruction of their children. It is our hope that as a community we will build each other up and give God the glory in all we do. We have many families who are familiar with MVC and we have many new families excited to join us in the task of Christian education. We begin this year assured again of God’s faithfulness as we have witnessed His pro-visions in many different ways. The MVC teaching team has been joined by four qual-ified Christian educators, John Burmeister, Jillian Hooyer, Renae Sloan and Liz McCoy. Our community of families added thirty new members. We met the prior year’s defi-cit and the current year’s budget. We again had many constituents, who care deeply about MVC and our mission, provide fi-nancial assistance and gifts to the school. Bargain’s Galore continues to prosper and help keep tuition costs affordable.

MVC continues to be a good steward of the resources God has given. We also began this year facing new chal-lenges and opportunities for growth. We expanded online offerings and opportuni-ties for our students. MVC faces quality op-ponents in athletics and strives to continue providing the highest quality educational programs with a consistently integrated Christian perspective. We have set goals to significantly reduce our debt and to develop a strategic plan for continued growth. Our hope is for the entire MVC community to work faithfully to accomplish what God has placed before us. Our theme verse for the 2014-15 school year is found in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, what-ever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admira-ble—if anything is excellent or praisewor-thy—think about such things.” Please join us this year in thinking about what is praise-worthy and celebrating what is excellent, so through what we do God receives the glory, honor and praise.Soli Deo Gloria,

Jeff Droog, Superintendent

Board Report, Memorials .................................2New Families, Students, Teachers .................3Gratitude and Heartfelt Thanks .......................4Middle School Sports, Walkathon ....................5

High School Sports ..........................................6Alumni News, High School Retreat .................7Camp Orkila, Harvest Dinner, Fall Calendar Barnabas Foundation...................8

In This Issue

You can make a donation at www.MountVernonChristian.org/Giving2

annual debt servicing by almost $75,000. This will allow MVC to maintain and repair our current buildings and grounds as well as look realistically at our next projects.

What are the plans for the Future? Increased efforts to increase enrollment through improved marketing and facilities. Proclaim-ing and telling the story of God’s faithfulness, sovereignty and provision through the dynamic use of people and technology. Ac-tively engaging the entire MVC community (faculty, staff, parents, students, alumni, and constituents) in the Kingdom work God has called us to. Expand facilities and programs to best prepare MVC students for 21st Century Kingdom work. Engaging MVC students as they learn, lead and serve.

To learn more about Vision 2020 please contact Jeff Droog, Super-intendent Mount Vernon Christian School. Also, look for more in-formation on becoming an active participant in Vision 2020. Please consider a one-time gift, monthly contribution or even a weekly contribution designated to the Vision 2020 Campaign.

Board stuff

Garamond type face for main textFutura for headlines and points of emphasis

Fred BoonstraClarence DeKiewit

Terri Williams

We gratefully acknowledge these gifts, and thank you for your remembrances.

FINANCIAL UPDATE: The 2013-2014 school year was one marked again with God’s provision. We began the year with a deficit from the prior year, a desire to pay down our building loan principal and a need for the MVC community to give generously of time, talent and resources. We again give thanks to God for his provision through his people.

End of Fiscal Year 2013 -129,449.96Payment of Loan Principal 2013 -104,298.00Net Income Fiscal Year 2014 +363,979.11Payment of Loan Principal 2014 - 99,729.00Net End of Fiscal Year 2014 +30,502.15

VISION 2020: A Comprehensive Plan to Reduce Debt and Build for the Future. We continually seek to be stewards of the resources God has en-trusted to us, provide the best educational program possible and grow the community of MVC. In order to do this work more ef-fectively we need to pay down our current building debt and plan for future projects. We have been faithfully using the resources entrusted to us by lowering our expenses while still expanding our programs. Now that MVC has taken care of immediate day to day operations it is time to take on a debt reduction drive while planning the for the future.

VISION 2020 Goals:Building Loan Principal 2010 4,892,000Building Loan Principal October 2014 3,938,305Loan Refinance Date March 2015Loan Refinance Goal 3,250,000Six Month Debt Reduction Goal 688,305

Why the Goal of 3,250,000? In the original feasibility studies this was the target debt amount. Lowering our principal amount and refinancing will lower our monthly payments by $6,000 and our

Keith Houtsma, Board President (15)........Mission Advancement and Superintendent ReviewSteve Boon, Vice President (15)..................Building and Grounds and Auction Task ForceJayne Hammingh, Secretary (17).................Policy Review and EducationRandy Oostra, Treasurer (15)......................Finance and Mission Advancement Jon VanderKooy, Vicar (17).........................Finance and Auction Task ForceTed Cummings (17).......................................EducationJerry Dodd (17)..............................................Policy Review and Superintendent ReviewDave Rudy (17)..............................................Strategic Planning and Superintendent ReviewEliot Blom (17)..............................................Association LiaisonGuy Corp (17)...............................................Mission AdvancementTom Twedt (15).............................................Mission Advancement

Thank you MVC Board Members for the time and effort you give to MVCS.

Vision 2020...... God’s Provision for MVCS

Cookie Walk & Craft BazaarSaturday, December 13

Cookie Walk - 9:00 to 11:00 AMCraft Bazaar - 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

High School Hamming Commons820 W. Blackburn Rd.

Mount Vernon

Mark your calendar for PTF’s annual Cookie Walk and Craft Bazaar. The HS Commons will be full of cookies and gifts just in time for Christmas. You can purchase different sized containers that you fill with the cookies of your choice, or you can purchase

pre-filled containers. There will be a lot of special treats to choose from, and cookies make great gifts too!

MVCS 2014-2015 Theme: Think on These Things Philippians 4:8 3

Welcome to our New Families and Students!

Andrew & BreeAnna Ackermann—Bailey KAntonio & Leidy Alatorre—Carlos K, Anthony 2ndJosh & Sarah Baldwin—Levi PreBrett & Brandy Farrar—Payten PreColette Gott—Hannah 10thJonathan & Heather Granger— David KThomas & Sandra Heaphy—Taylor 9thMarcus & Melinda Kephart—Ava 6th, Ellison 7thJohn & Brooke Knoester—Francesca KMatthew & Stephanie LeCren—Melia PreDavid & Rebecca Lowell—Lyla PreBronwyn Malloy—Thomas 2nd, Estella 5thPaul & Erika Miller—Maxx 1stSarah Navarro—Reagan K, Kylee 7thLoren & Jennifer Ness—Oliver 4th, Mary 6th, Abigail 9th, Sydney 10thJon & Megan Pederson—Olivia 10thTitus & Shelley Price—Quinten 1stMarvin & Kaarsten Richards—Jefferson 12thKeltan & Erica Roodzant, Autumn 7th, Alextan 9thMichael & Beverly Sarchet—Nathan 9thPatrick & Sarah Slyman—Maddox 3rd, Alexandra 5thJennifer Starkenburg—Landon KStephen & Laurie Top—Marie 9th, Emily 10thJacob & Christina Wall—Ryleigh PreJeremiah & Sara Wohlgemuth—Nolan KAndrew & Larisa Wood—Jace 7th, Sophia 7th

Kevin & Diane Berhow—Caleb 7thChad & Sandra Bonner—Claire PreJeff & Allison Boon—Jacob KVasiliy & Natalya Borisov—John KAleksander & Inna Dekhtyar—Jonathan KJason & Becky Denham—Caleb KSpencer & Janelle Donaldson—Kaden PreTodd & Pam Dougliss— Samantha 12thChaz & Jennifer Dugaw—Benjamin KJim & Michele Feddema—Joshua PreRichard & Heike Flury—Emma 3rdMatt & Shannon Glasgow—Lydia PreCraig & Krista Henriksen—Zimri PreJoel & Joy Hoksbergen—Reese PreKermit & Julie Houck—Kenzie KWayne & Arielle Jones—Bode PreSteve & Liz McCoy—Shelby PreRonda Paulsen—Emma 4thKen & Nicole Turner—Cole PreTom & Becky Twedt—David 6thJason & Kari VandenBosch—Myra PreJason & Shelby VanderKooy—Andy KJon & Catherine VanderKooy—Noah PreMike & Treva Votipka—Carolanne K

This fall MVCS is blessed to have four teachers join our faculty. They are Mr. John Burmeister, is teaching PE, Miss Jillian Hooyer is teaching MS and HS math and Science, Mrs. Liz McCoy is teaching Preschool, and Mrs. Renae Sloan is teaching 5-12 music.

Please welcome the following new families and students to MVCS:

Please welcome these new students of current MVCS families:

Welcome to our New Teachers!

Mrs. McCoy was raised in Washington and graduated from Western Washington University with a BA in K-12 Special Education. Mrs. McCoy has spent time in the preschool, and has subbed for MVC during the past three years. The McCoy’s have been at MVC since 2008 and have three children currently attending.

Mrs. Sloan grew up near Pella, IA and graduated from Trinity Chris-tian College with a BA in Music Education. This is Mrs. Sloan’s 5th year teaching. She believes God has called her to be a teacher and she is excited to serve at MVC. Mrs. Sloan enjoys running and hik-ing - this past August she climbed Mount Adams.

Miss Hooyer grew up in Visalia, CA and graduated from Dordt College with a BA in K-8 Science, Math and Social Studies. Since moving to Washington she has discovered that she enjoys the milder climate in Mount Vernon!

Mr. Burmeister is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from Dordt College with a BA in K-12 Physical Edu-cation. Mr. Burmeister loves working with kids and developing their knowledge, skills and attitudes. He enjoys being ac-tive indoors and outdoors, but does miss playing hockey.

You can make a donation at www.MountVernonChristian.org/Giving4

One of the foundations that is fundamental for a healthy community of faith such as Mount Vernon Christian is that of gratitude. It is with a sense of gratitude we recognize the list of people who have recently gifted our school with their donations of time, service, and financially…it is an amazing testi-mony to God’s faithfulness!

•Numerous individuals and families who answered our appeal in December 2013 for matching funds to a gifted challenge of $50,000, and in doing so met the amount and went beyond, allow-ing the school to pay down building debt.•Support from throughout the Skagit Valley for Bargains Galore Thrift Store through donations, and for the tireless work of the Board of Directors and the volunteers and staff from the school and community.•Bob and Andy Pippel, who volunteer to take care of our landscap-ing around campus.•Clarence Klunder for his additional mowing and work around our campus grounds.•Chris VanderWekken, who is always on a project to assist with maintenance needs.•Jeff Kaptein and Ace Hardware for discounting and donating items to provide paint, supplies and more.•Kurt Ackermann and family for their service and labor on a major electrical projects, as well as other installation work.•Tim Hibma for operating the sound boards various functions school-wide throughout the year.•Dennis DeKok, who directs our transportation needs, supervises events, and much more in his retirement.•Becky Twedt and friends for their food prep and coordination of Winter Banquet and JSB.•Treva Votipka and the Parent Teacher Fellowship whose tireless efforts assist so many on our campus.•Eric and Julia Johnson and family, who donated a lovely piano for the school to have and enjoy.•Memorial gifts received in honor of Fred Boonstra that will be used to assist our music department,•Memorial gifts received in honor of Lori Visser which were used for new library items on campus.•Memorial funds used from the Annema and Kuiper families to develop the planter boxes at the elementary school. •Memorial gifts received recently in honor of Clarence DeKiewiet. •Designated memorial gifts received this past year in honor of Helena Haarsma, Bertha VanderPol, Doug DeJong, Otto Rouw, Gert Visser, Pete Stuurmans and Ida Annema.•Estate gift received through the Barnabas Foundation from Anna and Henry VanderPol.•Supporters who pledged money for the 2014 Auction “funded item” to repair pipes, replace curriculum, and provide general updating of some areas of the school buildings.•The volunteers and attendees who supported the annual auction.•Our school’s Moms in Prayer group, who meet weekly to lift our students, teachers, staff and the school to the Lord.

•School Board members who serve faithfully, attending meetings and dealing with important school matters.•Standing Committee members of the Education, Building and Grounds, Finance, Mission Advancement, and Policy Review Com-mittees that assist in the continued growth of the school.•Jennifer Case, Michele Hood and Wendy Lervick, who coordinate and stock our concessions for home athletic events.•Concession workers, gate/ticket takers, linesmen, bookkeepers and others who volunteer to support athletic events.•Chapel speakers and music guests who share their gifts and talents with our Elementary, Middle and High School students at their three separate chapels each week throughout the year.•JoAnn Wright, MVC staff, parents and community members involved in supporting the MVC Drama Department’s plays and mu-sicals: directing, coordinating staging, make-up, costuming, and more.•Go-to families and community members who fill in whenever there is a need on Picture Day, Walk-a-Thon, Harvest Dinner, Cookie Walk, Grandfriends’ Day, Art Emphasis Week, etc. and enrich our students’ lives.•Room parents, who coordinate celebrations for our staff members’ birthdays and gift them at Christmas on behalf of each class’ fami-lies, and work on auction baskets each year.•First CRC for allowing the school to use the church for Opening Convocation and Eighth Grade Promotion.•The Janson Foundation for their grant to assist the school with further development of Technology.•Scott Taylor, Jeff Brook and Prime West Systems for their generosi-ty in supplying computer technical support. •The Sakuma Family and The Bender Family for their athletic dona-tions for uniforms and supplies.•Playground and recess volunteers who provide additional support while our students are enjoying play.•Numerous Elementary, Middle School and High School Library volunteers who assist students daily.•Hot Lunch volunteers who assist Mrs. Hood in preparing and serv-ing students their Friday noon meal.•Nancy Nations and Steve Bounds from Alpine Fire and Safety for donating athletic and first aid supplies for our teams.•Kermit Houck, Eliot Blom, Spencer Donaldson, Keith, Daniel and Tyler Houtsma who volunteered numerous hours this summer on major repair and maintenance projects.•Scrip mothers who volunteer each week to sell gift cards that garner monies for the Booster Club to be used for co-curricular projects.•And so many other people who have stepped in when a need is not-ed, often behind the scenes, usually without being asked and without any credit received. May God bless you richly for your gift of service here at Mount Vernon Christian.

Note: In doing a list like this, we will inadvertently have overlooked some people whose gifts have been appreciated. Please accept our apologies if we have not included you directly.

With Gratitude and Heartfelt Thanks

MVCS 2014-2015 Theme: Think on These Things Philippians 4:8 5

Walkathon 2014

Back Row: M. Clodfelter, C. Vanderwal, B. Hill, O. Kuipers, T. Schlee.

Front Row: A. Roodzant, J. Droog, J. McCoy, K. Lervick.

Soccer

Back Row: Coach Taylor, C. Wyatt, J. Camacho, M. Darnell, K. Navarro, C. Boon,

J. Smith, K. Lervick, Coach deVries. Front Row: R. DeVries, E. Symmank,

C. Hilsinger, L. Gott, L. Bridge, G. Taylor.

Volleyball

The K-8 students made their own sunshine in bright yellow t-shirts as they tallied laps to raise money for class activi-ties. Two records were broken

as Devin VanZanten in 5th grade completed 24 laps (the old record was 23 laps held by Rusty DeVries and Joshua

Gerrish), and Rusty DeVries in the 7th grade completed 24 laps (the old record was 23 laps held by James Hurd, Jayson Withers, Kendall VanZanten and Gabe Taylor).

The sounds of Christmas will fill the air at the

Elementary Christmas Program December 11 at 7:00 pm

and at the Middle School and High School

Christmas ConcertDecember 18 at 7:00 pm

Middle School Fall Sports

You can make a donation at www.MountVernonChristian.org/Giving6

Back Row: O. Pederson, D. VanZanten, A. Roodzant, E. Lam, T. Clemo, E. Top, L. Blom. Front Row: A. Inman, J. Schwer,

A. Messmer, G. Vanderwal, M. Nehez.

Back Row: E. Johnston, J. Swanson, T. LeClair, S. Ness. Front Row: K. VanZanten,

N. Klein, D. Droog.

Team verse: I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heaven-

ward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

Cro

ss C

oun

try

Hurricane 2014 Fall Sports

Back Row: Coach Warman, B. Berryman, L. Hebert, H. Camacho, A. Bender, L. DeVries, G. Gott, D. Heggie.

Front Row: E. Klein, C. Rocha, H. Hood, S. Rocha, K. Houck, Taylor Heaphy

Girls S

occer

Varsity Volleyball

JV Volleyball

Back Row: M. Whitener, J. Case, G. Kuipers, L. Noste, T. Clemo. Front Row: A. Lervick, K.

Anderson, J. Withers, M. Nehez.

Boys Soccer

Back Row: Assistant Coach R. Adeline, L. Pimentel, J. Bender, D. McIlrath, B. Smith, C. Annema, I. Corp, M. Hancock, T. Ketcham,

T. Houtsma, Coach J. Adeline. Front Row: L. Gott, J. Withers, J. Hammingh, C. Twedt, R. Hood, J. Twedt, T. Cummings, J. Hurd, A. Bridge.

Team verse: No discipline seems pleasant at the

time, but painful. Later on, howev-er, it produces a harvest of right-

eousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

Team verse: There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven Ecclesiastes 3:1

MVCS 2014-2015 Theme: Think on These Things Philippians 4:8 7

High School Fall Retreat

Twenty six graduates, the biggest graduating class in the high school’s history up to that point, reunited this last August to remember that “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”- Proverbs 16:9 (Our class verse). Twenty years would seem like a long time to a teenager, but it seemed like just yesterday that we were all together in school. Alumni and spouses/friends met and had dinner at LaConner Seafood and Prime Rib. (Owned by our class of ‘95 friend Jason VandenBosch and his wife Kari). We had an amazing time re-membering the fifth grade trip, the freshman hike, breaking rules, playing sports, tormenting teachers and even arguing Bible class doctrine. Mrs. Annema, a current kindergarten teacher, was our kinder-

garten teacher, although she was Miss Kuiper then. Mr. Westra was calculating oxygen content in the room back in our day too, and Mr. Fikkert was a new administrator. Twelve of the twenty six graduates went to school together for twelve or more years. We were so grateful that we had two classmates that could make it all the way from Australia and one from Missouri, and we really missed those that weren’t able to be there. Twenty years brings some life experiences that have matured all

Alumni News

Like every HS retreat, it was a great day packed with fellowship and worshipping our great God while taking a day off from our normal routines. But what made this specific retreat extra special was our “venue”! Going back and forth between Bowman’s Bay and the other side of the Deception Pass bridge, we had the perfect atmosphere for growing closer

together and closer to God while being in the midst of His creation. We had opportunities for group games, free time, lunch, chapel, music by some members of the worship team, and exploring and hiking the trails around the island. “This Is My Father’s World” was truly the perfect hymn to begin and end this HS retreat with and complete the experience we all shared.

“This is my Father’s worldAnd to my listening ears

All nature sings and round me ringsThe music of the spheres”

Submitted by Lauren Messmer

Class of ‘94 Celebrates 20 Yearsof us. Testimonies of God’s work in peoples lives were shared. We saw the new high school and God’s blessing on the current students and want to extend our encouragement and blessings to the current MVC students. In planning this reunion I discovered in a mighty way that God’s plans are higher than my plans and oh so much bet-ter. As a class we implore all of you reading this to give your life’s plans to God because He knows so much more than we do and can work things to our betterment with far greater reaching affects than we can even imagine.

Elizabeth Riley (‘11) was one of three juniors at Dordt College to be awarded the Alumni Association Scholarship.

Ben Hayes (‘05) graduated from the University of Washington (‘09) with honors and this spring he graduated from UCLA with a PhD in Mathematics. Ben will begin teaching and doing research this fall at Vanderbilt University.

Adriana deHaan (‘11) Recently returned from 6 months with YWAM (Youth With a Mission), an international and non-denominational organization whose primary focus is to bring the word of Christ to every nation across the world in the most cultur-ally appropriate way. The first three months were spent in training in Australia, followed by three months of outreach in Jordan. Since returning Adriana has committed to staffing at the Discipleship Training Schools with Youth With a Mission in Australia for two years. If you would like to talk with Adriana about her YWAM experience you can contact her at adrianakdehaan@gmail.com.

Josh Kelly (‘92) just had his first book published by Harvest House. The book is called “Radically Normal: You don’t Have to Live Crazy to Follow Jesus.” The basic purpose of the book is to show Christians the joy-filled, God-honoring path that lies in between complacent and obsessive faith.

Oct. 20-23 Book FairOct. 31 End of Quarter - Teacher Work Day No SchoolNov. 7 Harvest DinnerNov. 10-13 Barnabas FoundationNov. 11 Veteran’s Day - No SchoolNov. 26 Thanksgiving Vacation Begins Noon DismissalNov. 27-28 Thanksgiving Vacation No SchoolDec. 11 Elementary Christmas ProgramDec. 13 Cookie Walk & Craft BazarreDec. 18 MS HS Christmas ProgramDec. 19 Christmas Vacation Begins Noon DismissalFeb. 27 Grandfriends Day

It was a great trip with a great class! With any group of kids, you are going to have your ups and your downs, and this year’s sixth grade class was no exception. However, these kids ended their three days at Camp Orkila closer as a class, and much more willing to work together to achieve a common goal. It was sad to not have Mr. Bae-slack with us, but it was such a blessing to have Mr. Adeline come take his place to keep some of those kids in line when things got a little crazy! The helpers were amazing, along with all the camp staff. You can tell they really love getting to know the kids and encouraging them to get out of their comfort zone and try new things. This class is such a great group, and it is going to be a great year for them!

6th Graders Learn Together at Camp Orkila

What does being a “good steward” have to do with estate planning? It helps maximize the impact of the resources God has entrusted to you. Bob Zeilenga, a Christian at-torney from Barnabas Foundation, will show you how. A confidential Estate Planning consultation is available to you at no charge and with no obligation. Bob will meet with Christian families in our area Nov 10-13, 2014. Please call Jeff Droog at Mount Vernon Christian School at (360) 424-9157 or jdroog@mountvernonchristian.org to sched-ule a conversation with Bob. To help you get started, you may also request a free special report titled “Top 10 Estate Planning Mistakes” by simply sending an e-mail to info@barnabasfoundation.com.

Barnabas Foundation

Date: Friday, November 7 Time: 5:00 to 7:00 pm

Adults $10Seniors $8

Children Ages 5-13 $5Children ages 4 and under are free

Please join the MVCS community for the Annual Harvest Dinner. A traditional turkey dinner

including mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, vegeta- bles and all the trimmings will be served. Tickets are available from students in grades K-8, or at

the school office. We look forward to seeing you there!

MVCS Annual Harvest Dinner

Calendar Fall 2014