Do you feel overwhelmed when it comes to making decisions about college? How do you know which school is the right fit? Is a big or small university environment best? And do you have enough credentials to get accepted? Based on an honest assessment of your strengths, special talents, and what you desire in a college, you should begin evaluating what schools you may have an interest in attending early in your high school career. Though applications aren’t required until senior year, planning ahead will help formulate these important choices.

We know what you’re thinking. College? In middle school? Your child isn’t even a teenager yet. The middle school years are a formative time to begin thinking about what possibilities may be available for your child. After all, he or she will be on his or her own in just a few short years.

"Providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment" is the opening phrase of the Mount Paran Christian School mission statement. While we do strive to provide the most academically challenging education in Atlanta, it is our commitment to become a strong, diverse, and inclusive environment that reflects the richness of what a Christ-centered environment is and how that sets us apart. In keeping with this core truth, MPCS has come together to initiate CommUNITY.

Keeping up with the latest teen trends is an exhausting and often impossible task. Just when we parents think we have wrapped our minds around a social media app or trendy phrase, a newer and “cooler” trend is born. Our teens face so many obstacles and pressures — ones that we have never had to face. Before we address a few teen trends, it’s important to understand the profile of a teen in today’s world..

 

Saving is never easy, but it is perhaps one of the most important things parents can do to protect the future for themselves and for their child(ren). With no way of knowing what the future holds, we are nevertheless bound to be ready for it… or not ready for it, as the case may be. Employment changes, health changes, family needs change. All we can do is decide what is likely, what we hope to do, and what is a predictably possible, then do our best to prepare.

 

I teach physics and engineering and I coach high school robotics. While I teach very different kinds of courses at MPCS, they all have one thing in common. I am always trying to teach students how to solve problems. So, my interest was piqued when I ran across a quote this weekend, made by the esteemed twentieth-century mathematician Howard Eves:

"An expert problem-solver must be endowed with two incompatible qualities: a restless imagination and a patient pertinacity."

 

What is the core purpose of a Christian school education? In other words, what is a Christian school’s Why? Not peripherally, but at its core. First, because human beings enter the world with brains, not minds, it is imperative that Christian schools inspire their students to view their brains as magnificent gifts from God and, furthermore, view the development of God-honoring minds as one of life’s most important priorities. In addition, if a Christian education is to be excellent in service to both God and people, it must facilitate students’ acquisition of critical knowledge and skills through a biblical lens, equipping learners to thrive in the present and the educational and vocational arenas of the future.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:18

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 marked one month from the senseless school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in South Florida. If you have been following the news, students in schools all over the country were joining together in remembrance of the event in a planned 17-minute walkout... many schools except ours. A group of students at Mount Paran Christian School decided to do something more — to not just walk OUTside... but to look INside.

In the early 1950’s racial tension was filling America’s borders. No part of society was untouched by this. Even our churches were shamefully segregated each Sunday. It was in these times that the Rev. Billy Graham did something unthinkable; he held crusades in the South where hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children of every race stood together and worshipped the Lord. Well as many of you know, on March 21, the Rev. Billy Graham went home to be with the Lord. He was 99. Billy Graham boldly proclaimed the Gospel for over seven decades of his life, preaching the Word of God to more people of all races than anyone else in history. In the end, Graham's legacy is one that is filled with a message of love, togetherness, and unity — a message that, even during Black History Month in 2018, is still needed.

We live in a world that is changing exponentially with each passing day - change that can bring much turbulence and great uncertainty. It is in these times that our society must have leaders who put the needs of others above themselves and provide a sense of stability and hope to those who follow. But from where do these leaders come?

 

GUEST STUDENT AUTHOR

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but rather of the lifelong attempt to acquire it,” said Albert Einstein. How has your education contributed to who you are today?

Imagine that friend who has been there from the start. The one who is your rock in hard times and your happiness in good times. The one who teaches you how to look at life differently. The one who pushes you outside your comfort zone but comforts you when you feel nervous. Education has been that friend for me. It has come in many forms and from many directions, but it has always been there.

 

Mount Paran Christian School invited Brenda Fitzgerald, Ed.S/Curriculum Specialist, to help bring understanding about dyslexia to our parent community. The evening offered parents and educators a time to learn from Mrs. Fitzgerald, who specializes in reading and reading disabilities. It is not only our goal to set up our students for success, but also to be a resource for our parents and the local community in encouraging children who may need additional academic support, such as those who have dyslexia.

Mount Paran Christian School teenagers are using the power of the written word to influence and encourage others in their faith. For over a decade, students in select English and Creative Writing courses at MPCS have embraced the challenge to write devotional articles for a Christian teen magazine. Upper Room Ministries’ Devozine, written by teens for teens, has an online and print readership of almost 200,000 this twentieth year of publication. Whether for group Bible studies or private meditation, students can access daily devotionals on their website at www.devozine.org.

 

They are popping up on almost every corner. Vape shops — with their flashy neon signs and catchy names, they are luring our kids to come in and explore what they have to offer. Admittedly, the flavors are enticing: watermelon gummies, root beer float, chai tea latte, apple caramel drop. How can something that sounds so delicious and harmless pose a threat to our kids? After all, it’s not smoking, right?

 

While the beginning of a new year causes me to look forward with excited anticipation of what God has planned for MPCS, it also allows me to reflect on the people who have brought us to this moment in time. A school is best defined by the people who commit long-term to the mission of a place; those who share in both the growing pains and struggles that naturally come with the educational adventure, as well as the joys and rewards of seeing a mission advanced and student lives transformed.

 

Over the past few decades, the legendary Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog has featured some pretty amazing gifts. Their catalog in the 60’s offered his-and-her submarines for $18,000 and a hot air balloon for $6,000. In 1970, you could buy a life size Noah’s Ark, complete with some animals for $588,000. And this year is no different...you can purchase a New Year's Eve Times Square party for a measly $1.6 million.
Maybe a million dollar party isn't at the top of your wish list this year, but perhaps you have certain expectations of what you hope to find waiting for you under the Christmas tree. If you put your hope in what gifts are found under the tree, you will be very disappointed. However, if you have put your trust in the Christ of Christmas, you will never be disappointed. Look with me at the Christmas “symbols” of the gifts Paul talks about in Romans.