In supporting the learning of our young people, it is instructive for parents and educators to take a moment and think back to their youth. When reflecting upon when they were young children, many people will likely recall the vast and varied things in which they were interested — some of them random, some of them comical, and some of them remarkably deep in their quest for knowing more. Many will likely recall asking a lot of questions that started with why?  Why this mommy? Why this daddy? Why, Why, Why! In other words, when most people reflect on their early years, they likely recall being extremely curious, almost insatiably so.

REPOSTED VIA BLACK DRESS | RED WAGON MAGAZINE

You’re a great parent. Just skim through your Facebook mobile uploads and an array of magical memories (pumpkin patch, summer vacations, special outings) will reveal your parenting prowess. You love your kids—which is why you coach them, teach them, play with them, and pray for them.

It’s also why you’ve likely thoughtfully weighed where your children will attend school. After all, children will spend more waking hours at school than at home between the ages of 5 and 18. That’s a big deal.

As the new year begins, we often spend time reflecting on the year that has just passed. We glow in memories of joy, success, and contentment, and we ache over hardships, struggles, and trials. As I reflect on the past semester as the head of Mount Paran Christian high school, I can honestly say there were hardships – but far more moments of sheer joy.

The hum of florescent light bulbs overhead, a cardigan-clad teacher scribbling on a chalkboard, students yawning as the clock ticks monotonously: this educational system requires radical overhaul as our learning climate is affected by the globalization technology affords. If student academic learning is no longer restricted to textbooks and lectures and libraries, what is the best method of education? What if traditional approaches to teaching Shakespeare were married with the opportunities to interview locals in Stratford-upon-Avon, walk through his childhood home, watch a play performed at the Globe Theatre, and create a web-based presentation of discoveries?

For most of us, the beginning of the day can be hectic, and our school is no different. Parents are dropping off kids as they rush to work or begin the long list of tasks they have to accomplish that day. Kids are hurrying to their classrooms, unpacking backpacks, talking to friends, and looking over notes for the test in first period. Faculty are finalizing the lesson they will teach that day, catching up on e-mails, and organizing their schedule so they can accomplish as much as they are able on their to-do list.

Over the years, many have asked me what they can expect if they bring their children to an independent private school like MPCS. Of course, as parents, we all expect rigorous academics and sports opportunities combined with loving, qualified teachers. Those should be the basics. But what allows those elements to develop the mind and heart of my child? How does an independent school versus a public school accomplish this? Each time I have shared:

CO-WRITTEN BY BRAD SMITH

With technology changing every industry on the planet, computing knowledge has become part of a well-rounded skillset. Lower school STEAM classes at Mount Paran Christian School (MPCS) join millions of students across the globe by participating in the Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week. The Hour of Code is an international initiative enabling schools to offer a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. The Hour of Code event was created to raise awareness and exposure to coding for all kids of all ages. 

Generally speaking, cheerleading in America is not what it used to be. Questionable dance moves, bare midriffs, cut-throat competition, and trash-talk toward the other team are becoming the cultural norm. Fortunately, there is an alternative: Christian cheerleading. In this world of cheers, "spirit" means the theme is wholesome and the talents and skills of the competitors are recognized as being from God. For many schools, the focus is on self promotion and the “spirit” is completely focused on the accomplishments of the team and individual athletes. At MPCS, the cheer program has a solid focus of investing in the lives of these young ladies for God’s eternal purposes.

What is this all about anyway; this place called Mount Paran Christian School? Does it truly matter? In a local community in which PK3-12 educational options abound – many of which are Christian schools – why is it important that we even exist? Or is it? Why is it important that we seek to be better than good at this business of Christian education? Or is it? If we can get our heads and hands around that question, we will have spent our day well.

Academic excellence is not a foreign term in most schools. As that which both guides and promotes, the term academic excellence proliferates in mission statements and program descriptions.  Its almost ubiquitous presence in the language of schooling, however, raises important questions.  What is, in fact, academic excellence? Should its conceptualization be uniquely different in a school dedicated to orthodox Christian education? And for parents and students seeking to learn more about the DNA of a Christian school, how does a school’s definition of academic excellence shape all student experiences?  To address these questions, it is formatively instructive to consider the subject of human intellect within the context of a school’s mission and programs.

Co-written by Janie Niswonger

30-Year History

During the more than thirty years of athletic programs at Mount Paran Christian, the success of athletes and teams has been based primarily on the focus to further the school’s mission of developing servant-leaders who walk in Truth, love others, and honor God. MPC established its athletics program during in 1986 as it became a member of the Georgia High School Athletic Association. The program began with only three sports: baseball, basketball, and tennis – with softball and soccer starting in subsequent years. These founding programs have recorded numerous successful seasons since their start. In fact, the varsity baseball team has finished as the Class A State Runner-Up the last two seasons. MPC athletics has now grown to a total of fifteen sports in its program – adding competitive cheer, cross country, equestrian, football, golf, lacrosse, track and field, swimming, volleyball, and wrestling.   

At Mount Paran Christian School, our mission is to develop servant-leaders who honor God, love others, and walk in Truth. Our desire to live out this mission is at our core. In the classrooms, on the fields, courts, and stages — it is who we are. There evidence of Christian life in everything we do, but we are also very intentional about joining with the church and home to help our students become who God created them to be.

 “The meaning of life is to discover your gift; the purpose of life is to give it away.”

MPCS senior band student and percussionist Josh Arrants shared this thought during his talk at the 2015 MPCS band banquet, and while it was a statement aimed to honor his musical mentor, band director Billy Flood, the statement also goes to the heart of the mission-driven approach to arts education at Mount Paran Christian School.

Students throughout the world may participate in band, chorus, drama, orchestra, musical theatre, visual arts, as well as other unique arts programs such as dance, digital arts, technical theatre, and audio engineering — all of which are offered at MPCS to students in various grades, PK-12. Some schools still see the importance of these various arts programs because of documented evidence that reveals the benefits of arts education in the lives of all children and how it forms their academic, social, emotional, and maturational development. This is also a truism for MPCS. But it is more important to note that involvement in MPCS arts plays an added critical role in the life of our school as it applies to the school’s mission of creating servant-leaders. In a pop-culture world that is rife with ever-increasing moral decay, MPCS is developing visual, fine, and performing artists to change the world of the arts for Christ through behavior modeling and servant-leadership.