Welcome to Y’allywood! The state of Georgia has become a booming location for the entertainment industry. Building on its long history as a musical powerhouse, Georgia has become the undisputed “Hollywood of the South,” with film and television generating billions of dollars each year - an astounding $9.5 billion in 2018, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. The economic impact extends even further when considering the thousands of jobs that are created as a result of the Georgia entertainment industry. This is due, in part, to one of “the most competitive tax incentive programs in the country, along with a broad network of production and recording facilities, a large and skilled workforce, the latest production equipment and suppliers, gaming and interactive media developers, and technology and support services.”

This skilled workforce is being trained at schools across the state. While it is unusual for a K-12 school to have a recording studio, an increasing number of high schools and career centers in America are creating audio education programs to give students a head start on entertainment-centric college curricula and careers.

Often, when we hear the word innovation, our minds immediately journey to the realm of technology. However, innovation should not be limited to technology integration. Rather, innovation should be an innovative mechanism for advancing areas a school community deems important.

When teachers from various disciplines combine their efforts and plan course curriculum to coordinate across fields of learning, students are the beneficiaries. While it takes time and effort, cross-disciplinary collaboration offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of a subject. For Mount Paran Christian School third-graders, appreciation for nature has only strengthened because of a collaborative butterfly project between Spanish and Science classes.

After a lot of preparation, lower school students at Mount Paran Christian School now hear the charming call of dozens of baby bluebird hatchlings around the 68-acre school campus. February was bluebird month in Georgia, when the brilliantly-hued Eastern Bluebird began the process of seeking nesting spots and crafting its signature cup-shaped nest in anticipation of warmer weather. MPCS students are now front-and-center this spring, supporting the bluebirds and witnessing the entire hatching process.

In this blog series, WingTips has explored how the practices of truth telling, gratitude, and promise keeping create strong, sustainable communities. Successfully implementing these three actions in tandem leads to meaningful relationships and impacts the broader practice of hospitality. Author Christine Pohl describes hospitality in her book, Living Into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us, as recognizing the needs of others, while being open to their ideas and contributions, ultimately leaving those we meet feeling valued and with a sense of belonging. What this looks like in actuality is the topic at hand.

You’re only as good as your word. 

Pinky promise? 

I’m telling you the truth, I swear!

Making - and breaking - promises is commonplace, a daily occurrence. Promises are made often and easily broken, leading us to a culture that is jaded when it comes to promise keeping. As author Christine Pohl explores in her book, Living Into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us, making and keeping promises is central to a person’s character and identity. Why, then, is it so easy for so many to make a flippant promise and then later break their word? What does this relative ease with promise-breaking say about society? How can we function as successful, thriving communities if we cannot keep our promises? 

Thanksgiving is upon us, and with it comes thoughts of turkey, pumpkin pies, and an abundance of gratitude. This is the season of thankfulness. We are reminded every November to count our blessings. So, how can we carry an attitude of gratitude with us throughout the year?

In the second part of the Living Into Community blog series, we explore author Christine Pohl's insights into how gratitude plays a significant role in community-building and what embracing gratitude looks like on the MPCS campus on a daily basis.

One of the hallmarks of being a part of the Mount Paran Christian School family is that ours is a commUNITY - emphasis on unity. We are spiritual brothers and sisters, one in the body of Christ. But, what does a strong community look like? Why do we, as both a school and as a society, seek community? How can we ensure that we are the tightly-knit family we, at MPCS, proclaim to be? And, how can others learn from our experiences in community-building?

The summer of 2020 has certainly been one for the history books. From social distancing and uncertainty about the future, to calls for racial justice and reconciliation, 2020 has taken an emotional toll on much of our country. After too many months apart, the Mount Paran Christian School family rejoices in finally reuniting on campus for the start of a new academic year. As we do so, our school family brings great hope for the future, trusting in the One who knows all and who has a plan for us.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” —Jeremiah 29:11

Oh, the places they will go. The Mount Paran Christian School Class of 2020 will head off to a variety of universities in the fall, bringing with them the solid academic foundation built at MPCS. These rising college freshman will be pursuing career pathways as varied as Forestry, Athletic Training, Forensics, Vocal Performance, as well as Business, Engineering, or Medicine. Read on to learn more about how some of these seniors came to choose their career pathways. 

There’s no question that a Mount Paran Christian School graduate is remarkable. But, what exactly is it about an MPCS student that sets them apart? How can their remarkability be defined – the “secret sauce,” if you will – that characterizes MPCS alumni? 

The MPCS family is comprised of students who feature six key characteristics: MPCS students crave deeper faith; embrace intellectual curiosity; prepare completely; refuse to be bystanders; live courageously; and reach forward, pressing on toward their goals. What does this look like, in reality? The 2020 Senior Spotlights - the five students who earned the top grade point averages in the class - beautifully represent this “Portrait of a Graduate.”

Families in Cobb County and the northwest metro-Atlanta area have many options when it comes to choosing the best school for their children, from great neighborhood public schools to several private school alternatives. For those who feel certain about the value of an independent school education for their child, how should families make the decision on which school is the best for their family?

It's been a little over a week of Virtual Learning at Mount Paran Christian School. With many government mandates and suggestions that workplaces operate on a "work from home" basis, parents are also finding themselves navigating new territory. Feedback from this new experience is that families have managed the transition to working from home very well! To support parents' success at home both in supporting students as well as keeping up with work demands, we'd like to share seven helpful tips to make the most of your home office experience.  

 

We are in an unprecedented time in modern history, with a shift to virtual learning required for the very health and safety of our communities. In many ways, recent technological advances have been preparing us for this shift, with students becoming more and more adept at using smart devices and more schools incorporating technology into the classrooms via smartboards and apps. But moving to entirely online courses with children studying from home has not been the norm for American society. The question remains, how do we successfully navigate these uncharted waters?

 

Imagine walking into a high school classroom early in the morning and 16 teenage students are already huddled in a semi-circle anxiously awaiting the start of a leadership session. Yes, a lesson on leadership.  The students are dressed in oxford shirts, school ties, skirts, and khakis while posing studiously for the picture. A widescreen television is directly in front of the group with a picture of Robert E. Lee High School students from the toughest part of Jacksonville, Florida. These students are sporting t-shirts, jeans, and creative hair styles while positioned in fun poses for the picture.

As parents, we are constantly teaching our children, modeling behavior, and doing our best to help shape them into responsible Christian citizens. We take them to church, Sunday school, youth groups, and summer camps. We enroll them in arts, clubs, and sports teams, looking for teachable moments at every turn. We pray they develop relationships with role-models that develop their character. How can we ensure that our children are being influenced by godly people that will help to “train up a child in the way he should go?”