When Our Loss Becomes An Opportunity: Academy Online Goes Live!

Written by Mr. Muñoz, Elementary Vice Principal

I recently walked around the empty halls of our school building, and I felt a little sad about all the missed moments with our students over the past few weeks and the weeks to come. I miss hearing the kids laughing in the hallways and giving each other hugs. I miss seeing teachers smile at each other and share their stories. I miss glancing in the door windows to see teachers interacting with their students. While it does feel like a loss, I am reassured by remembering that with God even our losses can become opportunities.

Romans 8:28 “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose.’

As a school community, we have a calling and love for God. I am challenged by this scripture today to focus on the opportunity that can come from God’s work on our behalf.

Elementary students check in with their teachers and classmates for a live session each morning, then begin their lessons for the day!

The Academy Online is one of those works, and our staff has been working with such diligence, creativity, and collaboration to prepare something special for our students. Mrs. Benoit, one of our elementary lead teachers had this to say about the program, "I am excited about the new program the Academy is rolling out and incredibly blessed to be part of something new and exciting! I'm thankful to be part of a team that works together to ensure that our students get access to the best education possible, despite the inability to come together in person. The dedication of the teachers and staff at the Academy never fails to amaze me. I'm always encouraged by the way everyone works together to continually strive to maintain access to our holistic education in a stress-free and fun manner for our students."

As we launch our program today, I can’t help but wish the doors of our school were open! At the same time, I couldn't be more excited for the opportunity in front of us through this new program. It will not only bless our students, but open up the door to bless students all over the world!

Education That Sticks

Written by Ms. Rebekah Davis, Specifics Level Lead Teacher

It is the hope of every educator that the lessons students learn at school stick with them and serve them well in life. Luke Loeffler is one student where that is certainly the case!

In 2018, Luke’s class raised the funds for this portable chicken tractor, which allowed their class pets to be moved from bed to bed in the Academy garden, fertilizing the soil with their manure. Not long after they received 6 chickens at just 2 days old!

In the fall of 2018, Luke’s homeroom class (10 yr. olds) undertook a project of raising chickens. They researched chicken care, fundraised for the necessary supplies and equipment, and finally welcomed 6 fuzzy yellow chicks into the corner of the Academy STEM room. All that school year, Luke and his classmates were responsible for the chickens’ care. They gathered scraps from school lunches for chicken feed, and when the chicks were mature enough to transfer outside, the students were responsible for daily letting them out of their coop and making sure the chickens had clean water and fresh bedding. 

“When our class chickens were younger, I learned how to take care of the chickens and how to hold them properly so they wouldn’t freak out. I learned about basic care of several animals that semester,” says Luke, now 11. “It helped me a lot and taught me what to do before I got them on my own.”

Luke's parents today say they trusted that he was capable of caring for their family chickens because of his class experience!

This year, Luke’s family decided to start their own project of raising hens for fresh eggs! “We thought it would be a fun family project and great to get fresh eggs every day. It also helps my little sister get over her fear of animals.” Luke says with a grin. His family ordered 11 chicks, and just a few weeks ago, the mature hens began laying their first eggs. 

“Now we get about 8-10 eggs a day, because they don’t all lay every single day,” Luke says knowledgeably. “One of my jobs is to make sure they have enough food and water each day. It’s very important that when they’re laying eggs the chickens have a good amount of food and water, otherwise their energy can’t go to producing eggs.”

These days Luke is responsible for feeding, watering, locking the chickens up at night to protect them from predators, and daily gathering their eggs!

His mother, Lyssa Loeffler, says that Luke was empowered through his school project of raising chickens. “It was a wonderful experience.  I loved how the kids took responsibility for the chickens as a class and all the while receiving training in the responsibilities. It was definitely a positive experience for Luke, and when we started talking about getting chickens Luke really enjoyed being the expert on the topic!”

We are so thrilled to see students like Luke taking what he’s gained from school and putting it into practice at home, growing confident in animal husbandry, and contributing to the nourishment of his family!

An Update on our El Salvador Team

For several months Academy students have been preparing to be a part of a 58-person mission to El Salvador. Participants from the Academy for G.O.D., the Institute for G.O.D., and G.O.D. Latin America have been preparing to facilitate the annual SLAM Youth Bible Conference, the “Club de Niños” after school program, teach ESL at the village school, and perform various development projects.

Academy Principal, Alex Castro, facilitates team-building exercises for students during their layover in Houston airport.

On Wednesday, two groups began their journey to El Salvador. The initial group, including some core leaders, landed. Incidentally, the other was not allowed to fly. The President of El Salvador issued a quarantine for his country and restricted all incoming flights at the very moment the second group was boarding their plane. We’re thankful for the way the Lord has guided our Academy team. At this time, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in El Salvador.

The 46 who had to endure 24 plus hours of delays have handled the situation amazingly well. Leaders said they were fighting back tears as they watched these young people maintain positive attitudes, spending much of their time at the airport in worship and prayer, inspiring other stranded passengers, some of which joined in.

During their airport layover, students engaged opportunities for prayer and worship and demonstrated exemplary character despite challenging circumstances.

As for the team of 12 who made it into El Salvador, they are doing well. This group includes some of G.O.D. International’s most experienced development workers in Latin America. They’re taking all necessary precautions to keep safe, faithfully assessing the plans they believe God gave the overall team to implement, and have chosen to remain in El Salvador to carry out the mission.

We thank God for his protection and guidance. We’re grateful for the prayers and kindness given by parents, spouses, and friends. Please join us in prayer for the remaining group of 12 who have chosen to fulfill the objectives of the trip with a significantly smaller team, including 5 junior high and high school students.

If you’d like to donate to this courageous team’s efforts, please do so below.

The Gift of Learning New Languages

Written by Mr. Stephen Ownby, Specifics Lead Teacher

There are so many languages in our world. There are the languages that are understood via
speech, and then there are the languages that are demonstrated, acted out, and creatively produced. The students at the Academy for G.O.D. are getting experience in all of these languages.

Students will spend time with Spanish, English, and even Hebrew at our school. Additionally, they are learning the value of communicating through the creative arts such as music, drama, and even athletics. All of these skills and expressions are ways that people communicate, and it is preparing them not only for the future, but also for their present interactions with one another and their greater communities.

Jr High students, alongside Vice Principal Muñoz, lead the student body in worship during a school wide chapel service.

During times of worship you can see older students effectively leading worship for their peers. Throughout the building you'll hear the languages I mentioned above, but it's also possible to hear Hindi, Swahili, Tagalog, and multiple other languages spoken from around the world. I believe that the education our children are receiving is better than we could have ever imagined for them. Our students are incredibly intelligent, and they are growing in wisdom and discernment every day as they experience the Spiritual, Ethical, Social, Emotional, Academic education that they are receiving.

I use the word experience because I witness our teaching staff facilitate creative moments every day for your children to grow closer to our God who has demonstrated His great love for us. These kids are learning to speak many of the various forms of communication that exist in our world, and mostly they are learning how to love in the way that God has instructed us to do through our words and actions.

Deut. 4:5-8 -- "See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?"

John 13:35 -- "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Academy Staff Instruct Educators in the Philippines

Written By Alison Sherrod

In 2011 I spent six months teaching Kindergarten at a rural barangay (neighborhood) school in Sariaya, Quezon, Philippines as part of a study abroad program with the Institute for G.O.D. Being in a crowded classroom with 30 five year old children who primarily spoke Tagalog was not the most comfortable experience in my life, to say the least. 

Alison teaches math in a rural classroom of 30 kindergarten students in Sariaya. Quezon in 2011.

Furthermore, because the children were too young to travel alone, many of them coming from the coast, the mothers were also present, peering through the open windows, observing my cross-cultural class management skills, delighted at the scene while giggling with one another over the “American teacher”. Fast forward 8 years later to August 2019 when I visited the Philippines for a week-long leadership summit conference with the Association for Christian Schools International (ACSI) Global. My perspective on education in the Philippines has grown much deeper after spending the past 6 years as part of the school administration and start-up team at the Academy for G.O.D. I have learned lessons in school administration and a holistic approach to education for children that can be transferred into any culture, and that’s just what I was blessed to teach at the conference last month. 

Leafa Vagatai and Alison Sherrod were blessed to be invited to the ACSI Summit Leadership Conference, hosted by ACSI Philippines Director, Ces Tajales and ACSI Global Vice President, Dr. David Wilcox.

Dr. David Wilcox speaks to hundreds of Filipino educators and school leaders on the current generation and the enduring values that should be present in Christian education curriculum.

My teammate and co-worker at the Academy for G.O.D. Leafa Vagatai and I were invited to attend and facilitate breakout sessions at the ACSI Convergence Conference in Palo, Leyte with over 400 Filipino school leaders and teachers. The annual leadership summit is held in a different location throughout the Philippines each year, and this year’s conference just happened to be in the same town as our ministry hub. Our week was filled with insight from Filipino educators and leadership from ACSI Global, including Dr. David Wilcox, Vice President of the Asia region. 

It was after my experience in 2011, that the Lord impressed upon my heart a need for accessible, alternative Christian education in the Philippines. I was moved by some of my kindergarten students in Sariaya who endured physical hardship, or others who had social-emotional challenges, and several other students who could only attend school on certain days due to familial obligations. The opportunity for quality education is not available to all. A couple of years later when the Academy for G.O.D. began in Old Hickory, TN, I learned what could be possible in children’s education under the direction of our Headmaster, Gregg Garner. Other regional team members were also involved like Leafa with the kindergarten program, Craig Duffy with upper-elementary students, and Michelle Madron with special needs services. The Lord is continuing to connect all of our work at the Academy with what we hope to see in the Philippines.

It was a blessing to be among so many Filipino Christian educators in Palo last month, to hear their stories and connect with their experiences in the classroom and working with parents. Many of the private school teachers in the Philippines receive less pay than public school educators as they do not receive government funding, so they consider their work ministry, a service of teaching God’s children. 

Academy elementary teacher, Leafa Vagatai, facilitated workshops on early education and music as a tool in the classroom. Leafa has over a year experience teaching in Filipino schools.

Please join us in prayer for these men and women in the Philippines and around the world who give themselves to this work each day. Opportunities like the Convergence Conference are a special time for these individuals to collaborate, learn from one another, and develop friendships with those who are like-minded in terms of philosophy and motivation. God willing, some of the educators we met last month will become wonderful resources and co-laborers for our schools in the Philippines as we look into the coming years in faith!