Marking Milestones

Monday marked a milestone in Beacon history and in 18 young peoples' lives. 

On this day, Beacon's first JK class graduated from Grade 8. 

10 years ago they began their journey at Beacon, looking much different than they do today.

The students carried a rose 

during their processional 

which they gave to their parents.

 This particular group of Grade 8 students has  been blessed with wonderful musical gifts and they shared one of their band pieces with us.

 The students framed this evening with God's word in verse...

...and song.

Mr. Mulder was the parent speaker and taught us all how to make cupcakes!

More importantly, he reminded the students that they know what good things 

should go in to their lives so that good things can come out in their lives. 

It was a wonderful analogy!

 Sara and Sean, the student speakers, spoke of their class family photo album and 

being a part of God's larger family album and what this has meant and will mean in their lives. 

Our graduates received their diplomas and a Bible. 

There was time for congratulations and hugs...

...and come silliness, too!

Above all, we pray that God will bless and keep these students 

as they move on to the next stage of  their journey.

We will miss them!

Grade 8 Road Trip!

 The Grade 8 students have been an integral part in digging into our monthly chapel theme or throughline.  Each month, these students have presented a play written by Mr. VandenBurg.

Mr. V took all the throughline plays from each month and

 wove them together into one play called Wholines. 

  

The Grade 8 class performed this play for some of our sister schools and parents, grandparents, students and friends a few weeks back. 

Last Thursday and Friday, the students took the play on the road!

After a 4:30 am departure, the first stop was Trenton, Ontario. 

The students performed several of their band pieces under the direction of Mr. T.

They then shared the Wholine play. 

Then it was on to Ottawa to tour the parliament buildings. 

 The students were able to learn about their history and heritage.

While waiting for the bus, the students did a "flash mob" with a fun song they shared at the talent show. There were a lot of  residents of Ottawa, 

in rush hour traffic who amused and entertained!

                                After an interesting Question and Answer period, 
                    a tour of the parliament buildings  and a quick hello with MP Rick Dykstra, 
                       the students traveled on to Metcalfe where they were billeted for the night.

The next morning, our students share their music and play again. 

After packing the bus for a third time, it was off to Cobourg for a third and final presentation. 

The students did such a wonderful job! Each of our hosts were full of thanks and praise for what the students had shared. 

It is wonderful when we can share gifts with others and to God's glory.

Image Reflecting

Our final throughline this year is image reflecting.

In Genesis 1:27, we read that "God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them"

What a powerful statement!

God made us like Himself.

While we are sinful and not perfect, we are reflections of God. 

Therefore, we can show God's character, love, kindness, grace and mercy. 

We have to let God work through us by using our hands, feet and mouths. Each of the hundreds of choices we make each day are opportunities to reflect His image, from the choice of what we wear, to how we greet our family, to how we wait in line at the grocery store. 

We also then need to see God's image in others around us. 

Earth Keeping

Today was our fourth chapel on Earth keeping. 

We can't just talk about keeping up God's creation, 

we need to do something about it! And today we did!

In our GIFT groups (Growing In Faith Together), we geared up with gloves and a garbage bag...

...and hit the neighbourhood streets!

We dug in ditches and picked up garbage on the side of the roads and front lawns.

One group had a neighbour come out and appreciatively thank the students. 

She said cleaning the garbage out of the ditch was on her husband's "to do" list and our students had done it for him.

It's great to do some community building while creation keeping!

Have we inspired YOU to act and be a creation keeper in some way, large or small?

Track and Field

Today we held our annual track and field day for our students. 

It is a day filled with many different emotions for all. 

For some, it is the favourite day of the year. For others, it can be filled with anxiety or other negative feelings. What the students have been focusing on during the past many weeks of training is focusing on  personal best. 

Did you jump your highest, run your fastest and throw your farthest today?

Those are the goals we should have in mind and strive to beat as we participate on field day. 

This morning, during our opening devotions, we were reminded that we were performing for 

an audience of One. God is the One for whom we should try our best, no matter what the task at hand.

We also heard:

 and...

With that in mind, our students set out to run, jump, play, throw, leap, laugh, encourage, cheer, eat treats, receive hugs from family and friends and enjoy pushing healthy bodies to their limits.

And for all of those things, we feel blessed.