January 31 Home Communicator – Writing this introduction, I began asking myself “who reads this anyways and what is the point?” Like so many things in the world, is this simply a collection of words and stories vying for my attention? For some, it’s like directions on a middle school worksheet–something to skip over so I can get to the part that is important to me.
While this may seem like a random assortment of stories and insights, it can still serve an important function. Recently, schools have been somewhat shut off from the outside world. Students show up at our door at 7:45 and we return them to you at 2:40. Unsure what transpired for a third of their day, your 7th grade son simply says “it was good”.
Although these introductions seem like an inconvenient interruption to your pursuit of information, they hopefully serve an important purpose–to tell a story. They provide insight into what happens during the day while highlighting how God is working in our halls and classrooms.
We want to share stories of 8th grade boys asking a teacher to create a Friday morning Bible study so they can spend time with their classmates in Scripture. We want to share stories of students after a Spiritual Emphasis Week breaking down in tears, because for the first time, God felt real to them. We want to highlight stories from 7th grade camp when students openly expressed to their classmates concerns of “not being enough” or their struggles with anxiety and friendship–some so impacted by what they heard that they apologized to a classmate for how they treated them.
That is the point of this introduction; to tell the story. The true stories. The compelling stories. We enjoy sharing because we are excited about what is happening at HCS. A trusting relationship is founded on knowing someone’s story, so thanks for reading and listening to ours.
Chris Achterhof, Middle School Principal
The full Home Communicator can be found here January 31 Home Communicator
