CHS Blog

Have you ever experienced a phase in your life when a genuine and intentional community felt out of reach, leaving you wishing for a way to transform your situation?

That is what CHS Alum Kayty Helgerson (class of 2010) experienced when she lived abroad in Chaing Mai, Thailand, where she and her husband, Colby, used their backgrounds in social work to assist in efforts against human trafficking. While her work was fulfilling and meaningful, she found herself longing for community in this new place. This experience taught her the importance of creating community and inspired her to build a life skills training program for victims of exploitation, using food as a medium for building relationships.

After returning to the United States, Kayty founded Gather Wholesome Gourmet, a catering service focused on gourmet offerings for special diets. As she transitioned from the kitchen to education, this evolved into a lifestyle platform called Gather Intentional Living & Everyday Hospitality (soon to be rebranded under her personal brand, Kayty Marie Helgerson).

This platform would give birth to a multitude of opportunities for her to take her message of hospitality further through social media, public speaking, a YouTube channel, being featured on numerous lifestyle media outlets. Kayty has interviewed over 100 experts in food, design, and relationships on her podcast Making Room by Gather, and her work has been featured on Good Morning America and numerous local news stations. Most recently, Kayty has appeared as a hospitality contributor on the 700 Club! Check it out here. Her next segment with them for the holidays can be viewed December 16th on Freeform network at 10:00 am est. so be sure to check that out!

When thinking about her time here at CHS, Kayty states, “To say that my time at CHS drastically changed the course of my life would be an understatement. An opportunity arose for me to attend CHS my junior year, and I attended through graduation and my only regret is that I didn't start sooner. The CHS community showed me a Christ-like community in a way I hadn't experienced before and needed especially in that phase of life. The community of faculty and parents called out, and made room for gifts and talents in me that propelled me into a new direction for my future after CHS. CHS showed me God's heart for community, and excellence also what it looks like to operate in calling. When I think about all that has happened through my graduation in 2010, I very clearly can attribute so many of the milestones to the way CHS launched me into the world.”

Currently, Kayty is navigating big dreams and opportunities in her career along with raising her sweet and energetic 2 year old son alongside her husband Colby. We are proud to see how far this Kingsmen has come and excited to see where she is headed! 

If you want to follow along on her journey, you can find her on these platforms:
Podcast: Making Room by Gather podcast
Instagram @gatherintentionalliving
Gatherintentionalliving.com

Kayty can be hired for public speaking on hospitality topics including food, design, and relationships, along with the loneliness epidemic and friendship in adulthood. Kayty also can be hired for corporate and private event planning and food styling workshops.
 

Each season, as athletic director, I take time to step back and reflect — on our teams, our coaches, players, and the goals that were set. This fall, not only did every team rise to meet those goals, they exceeded them. 

At our Fall Awards Night, I shared a thought that has shaped much of my perspective this year:
“Learning to win is costly. Winning is hard. And once you’ve won, it becomes even harder to keep winning. Yet we continue to pursue victory because the reward is found in the journey — in honoring God with the gifts He’s given us, discovering what genuine teamwork looks like, facing adversity with courage, training both mind and body so we can trust the work we’ve invested, receiving faithful mentorship, and striving toward something greater than ourselves.”

This was our journey this fall…

Cross Country
The Boys Cross Country team capped off a strong season with a 3rd-place finish in the HVAL Invitational. Malachi Hayes earned First Team All-HVAL honors after placing 5th overall at the HVAL Championships.

Girls Soccer
Girls Soccer finished with an impressive 9–5–2 record, won their first-round HVAL playoff game, reached the semifinals, and returned to the NEPSAC Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Individual recognitions included:

• First Team HVAL: Jemi Ndjadi, Laura Landru, Luiza Ribeiro, Grace Flowers
• First Team All-NEPSAC: Jemi Ndjadi, Luiza Ribeiro
• NEPSAC Honorable Mention: McKenna Haggerty, Laura Landru

Boys Soccer
Boys Soccer also finished 9–5–2, their best record since 2019. They reached the HVAL Semifinals and competed in the NEPSAC Tournament for the first time in six years.
Individual recognitions included:

• First Team HVAL: Leighton Pelaccia, Esteban Sanclemente, Jack Allen, Eli Coburn
• First Team All-NEPSAC: Leighton Pelaccia, Esteban Sanclement
• NEPSAC Honorable Mention: Jack Allen, Eli Coburn

Girls Volleyball
Despite graduating many starters, Girls Volleyball returned with focus and determination, finishing 17–4, claiming their fifth straight HVAL Championship, and battling in a close five-set match in the NEPSAC Finals.
Individual recognitions included:

• First Team HVAL: Emma Beers, Ava Austin
• First Team All-NEPSAC: Emma Beers, Ava Austin
• NEPSAC Honorable Mention: Cheyenne Petion, Ava Sheckfee

Fall Highlights

• A Homecoming sweep over Wooster in Girls Soccer, Boys Soccer, and Volleyball
• Girls Soccer, Boys Soccer, and Volleyball all qualified for the NEPSAC Tournament — the second time in school history and the first time since 2019

The CHS athletic teams had an outstanding fall season, with incredible determination, character and sportsmanship. We are looking forward to a great winter season of basketball! Go Kingsmen!

Coach Katie Levis is in her fourth year as the Athletic Director at CHS and also serves as the Varsity Girls Lacrosse Coach. Before taking on these roles, she spent four years as a classroom teacher and contributed to the volleyball and basketball programs as a coach. With coaching experience spanning middle school, high school, and college levels, Coach Levis has also worked in athletic departments at previous schools.

Recently, I had the great joy of stepping back and watching as fourth and fifth-grade students respectfully shared their opinions, presented their research, and confidently addressed a packed room of peers and adults. It was the final session of Debate Club, and I couldn’t have been more proud of how much these courageous kids had grown over the past several weeks.

At Christian Heritage School, we believe that true education reaches beyond the classroom. Our goal is to nurture the whole child: academically, socially, spiritually, and emotionally. One of the most meaningful ways we do this is by giving students opportunities to learn in new environments, explore their interests, and grow through hands-on experiences. This begins with the “specials” woven into each school day and continues through a rich offering of extracurricular activities designed especially for our lower-school students.

Research has long shown that learning outside the classroom strengthens children’s social skills, emotional well-being, confidence, and creativity. This philosophy shapes our extracurricular programs. Students can choose from a growing menu of opportunities that allow them to explore new hobbies, strengthen existing passions, and develop character in a supportive, Christ-centered community. Taekwondo encourages discipline, respect, and focus. Strategic Games Club for grades K–2 fosters critical thinking and patience through games that challenge the mind. Our Science Club for grades 3–5 gives young explorers a chance to experiment, question, and discover the wonder of creation, and the Bee-Bots Coding Club introduces K–2 students to sequencing and problem-solving through playful robotics.

This year, we’re excited to introduce even more programs. Math Olympiad invites fourth and fifth-grade students into a nationally recognized problem-solving community where they can stretch their reasoning skills and learn to approach challenges with perseverance. The Spelling Bee offers students the chance to expand their vocabulary, strengthen their memory, and build confidence speaking in front of others. Our new Debate Club for 4th- and 5th-grade students teaches students how to listen carefully, articulate their ideas thoughtfully, and engage in respectful dialogue. And coming soon, our Baking and Books Club for K–1st graders will blend creativity in the kitchen with the joy of stories — nurturing both imagination and emerging literacy.

Whether students are building robots, solving math puzzles, stepping onto a debate stage, or discovering the beauty of music and art, we want to create a space for every student to steward their God-given gifts or challenge themselves by trying something new, growing in confidence and character in ways that will stay with them for life.
 

Beth Maree is our Lower School Principal.  She received a Bachelors of Education at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and majored in English, History and Special Education. Beth began her career teaching 4th Grade and then discovered her love for teenagers when she transitioned to a High School English teacher. She is also experienced in school leadership, leading an English Department, overseeing Student Academic Services, and finally serving on the Senior Leadership Team of a busy, all-girls school in South Africa. Beth is now our Lower School Principal at Christian Heritage School and loves every minute of it!   

CHS has two primary objectives in putting together our Veterans Day Program:  to have our Veterans feel welcome, honored and appreciated; and to reinforce with our students the reality that our freedom is not free but comes at the supreme sacrifice and cost to many families.

On Thursday, Nov. 6th, at 9:00am CHS will open its doors to veterans and their families, as we are honored to host them and say thank you!

Captain James Morgia, who recently had his 103rd birthday (yes, you read correctly 103!), sat down with us for an interview that we will show during our program in which he describes graduating from High School in Bridgeport in 1940, joining the reserves and eventually being called up to train for and eventually join the “D-Day” invasion of southern France on the second wave of forces that landed at Normandy to liberate Europe.  Jim gives great detail of his involvement in the subsequent march toward Germany, including his action during the “Battle of the Bulge”.  We also get a fun glimpse of his return to the states after the war as he helped his mom in their grocery store and the interview concludes with Jim singing for us “God Bless America.”  

This is an interview you won't want to miss. I felt so honored to be in Jim’s home and able to listen to him reminisce about that time period in his life and the incredible sense of patriotism and pride that exuded from his every word and expression.  Jim is an active and real life part of our American history. What a privilege to include him and his family in our Veterans program through this video interview.

In honoring and expressing gratitude to our veterans, I have noticed that, without exception, they convey their appreciation for our recognition. However, they also emphasize that the true gratitude and honor belong to their comrades who did not return home, as well as to the families who have endured the ultimate sacrifice by losing a loved one in the fight to preserve the freedoms we should hold dear, yet sometimes take for granted.

We are honored to have Kelly, the sister of Specialist William Maher III who lost his life in the service of preserving freedom on July 28th, 2003 in Iraq.  We are grateful to William's family for allowing us to recognize and bring attention to Bill’s service and his/their ultimate sacrifice.  This is a profoundly personal and deep family loss that is never forgotten and the void left is never complete again in this lifetime.  With full respect for the family we hope to in some small way come alongside this family, draw them into our community and bring Bill’s memory and sacrifice to light.

This summer, I had the opportunity to meet Bill's sister while she and her father were selling a bicycle that Bill had received when he was just eight years old. As I listened to the story about how they had kept the bicycle in the garage all these years, unable to part with this tangible reminder of Bill, I quickly understood that this was “not just a bicycle.”

For his family, the bicycle is a connection to Bill. For us, the bicycle can be a physical connection to the “cost of preserving freedom”, a symbol that I hope, particularly for our students, allows us to more deeply feel and connect with the real cost. Every young child gets a bicycle at some point in their life, often during what is typically a sweet and innocent age.  This bicycle helps bring the reality to life that these men and women that serve, and who in some cases make the ultimate sacrifice are our neighbors, cousins, friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, dads and moms, are not simply a number or statistic, but a cherished family. A family member that if they don’t come home will be forever missed, a part of us that can never be replaced.

I explained to Kelly that we wanted to use this bicycle for our program to bring these realities to life.  She was very touched, and I so appreciated her willingness to share as she briefly recalled Bill’s life, humor, service and sacrifice. When I invited Kelly to our program, she readily accepted our invitation and is so grateful for the chance to help honor her brother and bring his life and memory to our community.  We look forward to having Kelly on our campus.

We will conclude our program with what is quickly becoming a beloved tradition, approximately 50 men, students, alumni, parents and faculty singing “How Great thou Art”.  This is a tremendously special and powerful part of our program. There are more than a few of us at this point in the program that have a wet eye or two, because it’s very moving and impactful as the components of honor, gratitude, sacrifice, and ultimately praise to our Lord come together.

We hope you can join us, let CHS be a place that is known for its open expressions of thankfulness to all who have served and sacrificed for the nation.

God Bless America!

John Naeher is the Director of Student Life & Operations.  He started at CHS in the fall of 1981 and began his 43rd yr in the fall of 2023.  His daughters, Amanda 06', Alyssa 06' and Abigail 10' attended CHS from K-12.  John has had the privilege of coaching several teams, sponsoring many Senior Classes and been a part of building community at CHS throughout his career.  “CHS has been a rich part of my family for which I will always be grateful.”

My name is Eli Coburn and I am a Junior here at CHS. This past summer I had the opportunity to have a summer internship set up through our CHS Academic and College Counseling office at Medtronic. Medtronic is a global healthcare technology company that develops, manufactures, and distributes medical devices and therapies that is located in North Haven, CT.

During my internship at Medtronic, there were several challenges that I faced and different moments that taught me different traits about myself. I gained valuable exposure to working in a corporate setting, working on a team within a larger company, and more specific insights into the biomedical field. 

Throughout my internship, because the safety training would have taken up a significant portion of my time, I was not able to do as much hands-on work as I was expecting and hoping for the various tests that were being conducted at Medtronic. I did a lot of observing and asking questions rather than active work. It was still very interesting and educational to see how the tests were conducted and to have my questions answered about the reason and function of the tests. 

I was able to find ways to be helpful during various tests, especially one where another intern was dissecting arteries from sets of kidneys. I helped with the measuring and storing of the arteries, and it felt good to be able to help. I found my desire to be of assistance and my willingness to be flexible and adjustable to different tasks very useful during this internship. I think that these traits will be useful for me during my career, as well as eventually taking charge and doing more myself.

Secondly, as silly as it sounds, going to several meetings across the two weeks was very helpful for me. It was good for me to get some exposure to corporate life, which I’ve learned involves many meetings! Wherever I end up in the future, it is likely that I will have to go to meetings, so getting some early experience with them was very rewarding for me. 

Throughout the internship, getting exposure to different aspects of having a job was one of the most rewarding parts of the summer seminar. In one of the team meetings that I attended, one of my colleagues was explaining to the team how she had been assigned to a project with very little prior information. There were several very expensive pieces of equipment with little records about them, no labels, and the person who had worked with this equipment previously had left the company. This showed me the importance of communication and documenting your research, as this project was lacking them and therefore very difficult to complete. It is very important to document what you do so that you or others can go back and look at your research at a later point. Good communication is crucial for a functioning company, as demonstrated here.

Although different from what I was expecting, the internship this past summer was a great experience for me. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to gain this experience and this exposure to work life. It has helped me a lot when thinking about my future and what type of job and field I may be interested in the future. I had a lot of fun and am very glad that I decided to do the summer seminar internship program offered through our Academic and College Counseling office this year.
 

Many of you likely visited the ocean or sea this summer. But none of you visited one without water. Our theme verse for this year is Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” In this verse, the prophet Habakkuk envisions the glory of the Lord filling the earth, just as waters cover the sea. The Hebrew word for glory is kabod (כָּבוֹד), meaning “weight” or “heaviness.” Throughout Scripture, God’s glory is experienced as a real presence with weight. During times of revival, people often describe feeling this heaviness. But what exactly is the glory of the Lord? That question takes us to the heart of who God is. The glory of God is central to his character. A clear answer emerges in Exodus. Moses asks God to show him his glory (Exodus 33:18). How does God respond?

“And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exodus 33:19).

The glory of God is his goodness, mercy, and compassion—his goodness, mercy, and compassion toward sinners like you and me. This is an amazing truth! After this, the Lord speaks to Moses again. He tells Moses that his glory is about to pass by him.

“There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by” (Exodus 33:21-22).

How does God reveal his glory to Moses when he passes by?

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7a)

The Lord is compassionate and gracious. He is slow to anger. The Lord abounds in love and faithfulness. This is how God reveals his glory to Moses, and this is how he reveals his glory to us! The glory of God is heavy. The glory of God is weighty. But it is heavy with compassion!  It is heavy with grace! It is heavy with love! And that is the kind of weight we need! But is there a place in the Bible where God reveals his glory even more clearly? Is there a place where it is revealed even more clearly than it is revealed to Moses? Yes. In Jesus Christ. We see the glory of God in Jesus Christ. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). The Apostle John tells us that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

And this brings us back to the vision of Habakkuk. The prophet desires to see the whole earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. Completely filled—as the waters cover the sea! This verse is the spiritual vision for Christian Heritage School this year. That our hallways would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord! That our classrooms would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord! That our chapels would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord! That Christian Heritage would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea! But our hope is that it would not stay within these four walls! But that it would go out into our community. As we go out in local service trips to show the love of Christ and share the gospel. And beyond that, may it go out into the world! As we go out on mission trips to show the love of Christ and share the gospel in other parts of the earth.

This vision has driven new spiritual life initiatives at Christian Heritage this year. One of these is the formation of a Spiritual Life Council, a group of students who will lead and plan various spiritual activities for the school. Their responsibilities include organizing events such as worship nights, evangelism groups, and gatherings like “See You at the Pole.” Additionally, a “Chapel Overflow Room” will be available for students who wish to continue worshiping or praying after chapel services conclude. In the spring, the school will host Spiritual Renewal Week, where we will pray that the Lord would pour out spiritual renewal upon our campus. As the psalmist writes, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6). This is our spiritual vision for this year. I am looking forward to seeing what God will do. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).

-Pastor Vin

Pastor Vin serves as the Chaplain of CHS. He is happily married to Nicole and is blessed to be the father of his three sons: Vinny, Timmy, and Lucas. In addition to his role at CHS, Vin is the Teaching Pastor of his church. In his free time, he enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, working out, studying theology, hiking, playing video games, learning about history, and spending time with his family. Vin is a CHS graduate and is grateful for the opportunity to return to this incredible community. 
 

When the opportunity came up for our family to travel to Spain with CHS, we could not pass it up. It is our son’s senior year and a chance to travel with the CHS group was something we had been looking forward to for quite a while. We left school all excited about the journey ahead. We traveled overnight and arrived early in the morning in Madrid and hit the ground running.  We loaded up the vans and headed for Toledo, which is one of the oldest cities in Spain. While having some free time to grab lunch, we quickly realized that not a lot of people spoke English, so Google Translate and high school Spanish became our friends. It was exciting in many stores as they tried a few words in English, then we tried some words in Spanish and we had success. (Amazing how that works when you really want to shop or eat!)  It was so cool to see the students using their Spanish to communicate, try local cuisine and really immerse themselves in the beautiful Spanish culture. After lunch, our wonderful tour guide took us to a beautiful, gothic church with over 700 stained-glass windows.  We toured the Jewish section of town where, occasionally, you would see tiles in the cement walls and ground with Jewish symbols.  We rode a zip line called Fly Toledo which went over a large gorge after a lot of walking, enjoyed our first gelatos of the trip, had dinner, then some of us went to a local rooftop restaurant to watch the sunset. It was amazing looking over as the cathedrals and historic buildings there all started to light up. 

On Friday we were in Cordoba. We went into the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, which was brimming with history. The cathedral is officially known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. We learned from our guide the history of Spain and how the building was originally a Mosque, but when the Christians took over Spain, a cathedral was built inside the Mosque. The outside walls are still the walls of the original Mosque, but the church was consecrated as a Christian cathedral so it can no longer be used as a Mosque. Cordoba is a beautiful town with stone walls and cobblestone streets.  In the evening, we attended a horse and flamenco show at The Caballerizas Reales (Royal Stables). As we left the show, we ran into one of the Holy Week processions with solemn music and a large float with statues of the crucifixion.  It was quite emotional to see this very large float with statues of the crucifixion moving slowly through the street with so many people silently watching.  These are moments that were completely unexpected and there were many of them. Even while strolling back to our hotel, we noticed a sweet smell in the air and we realized we were walking under trees with fragrant orange blossoms. It was a smell some of us immediately recognized because we had purchased this very scent while in one of the quaint little shops during the day.

Saturday we were off to Seville. As we drove through the beautiful countryside, we would see huge black metal cutouts of bulls on some of the hillsides. We googled it while on the ride and found out they were originally an advertisement for the Osborne Group in 1956. Now they have become a national symbol of Spain. Some are 14 meters tall; some are 7 meters tall and there are 92 of them on hilltops and roads throughout Spain.  We arrived in Seville, and then were off to a tour of another beautiful cathedral. The craftsmanship of these cathedrals is absolutely breathtaking. You could spend hours just looking at the beautiful level of detail in every part of the cathedral. Everywhere we looked we wanted to take a picture to try and capture the beauty. There were statues of soldiers carrying a coffin in this church. At first, I didn’t understand what significance that had. It is not something normally seen in a church setting like that. We were told the coffin contained the remains of Christopher Columbus. In each church there were so many stories about the history of Spain and how the specific cathedrals were impacted during the shifting times of control throughout history.

One evening, as we were waiting for our reservation for dinner, we sat overlooking the beautiful water and parrots started flying overhead and one landed in a nearby tree. It was like a scene out of the movie Rio and we could not believe we were seeing this in real life. Dinner was an open-air restaurant overlooking the water and part of the city. It was a beautiful place to watch the sunset while dining and discussing the adventures of the day. On the walk back to the hotel we had to stop for Churros of course. A sweet ending to the day!

Sunday, we attended part of a Palm Sunday mass at a small but gorgeous local church. It was so beautiful to see the processional of palms as the congregation walked around the outside of the building. We then went to the Royal Alcazar Palace which had beautiful gardens to stroll through with ponds, fountains, and flowers. Then it was off to a theatre to see a Flamenco Dance Show. After the show, I immediately looked up how many calories you burn doing flamenco for future reference – not enough for more gelato… too bad. Seville was very crowded because of Holy Week celebrations and parade processions. Getting around was a challenge but we were all up for it! It was awe inspiring to see the huge, somber processionals with thousands of people walking dressed in traditional dress from the medieval times. The tradition is a form of Penitence and include small children to older adults.  They are called the Nazarenes of Spain. There were huge religious statues on floats with people solemnly carrying them through the city with incense as they went along. There were many people in traditional costumes carrying huge crucifixes through the procession. The processionals go on for many hours and people carry the floats for 7-8 or even 13 hours through winding streets with thousands and thousands of people in the crowds along the streets. Some floats have over 100 people carrying them. They are that big and heavy.  

Monday we were off to El Caminito Del Rey for a hike along very high cliffs with narrow wooden walkways actually pinned to the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro. There were some regular hiking trails that led to the wooden mountain walkways. The views were spectacular but a little intimidating. There is a suspension bridge that goes across the gorge that we walked over and then like a beautiful mirage, stairs leading us back to the regular earthbound trails! Whew, we made it! That evening the adults stayed at a hotel overlooking the mountains and the water. The rooms were built into stone relics.  It was a very quaint place to stay. The area was very rural with the beautiful mountains and the water flowing below. The students and some chaperones stayed about a mile or so away at a B and B and the boys all got to stay in a yurt on the property.

Tuesday, the students had a full day of horseback riding and electric mountain biking. The adults headed off to Málaga to check into the B & B and have some free time. 

Wednesday, we were up early to meet for a 7-mile bike tour along the coast in Málaga. It was beautiful and thankfully flat ground to bike on! Especially after the student’s busy day the day before. Later we had a tour of a fortress and then a cathedral tour where we hiked up a tower and got to take pictures of the beautiful city and then watch a virtual reality show of the cathedral in old times. We had some free time and then we went on a beautiful sunset cruise. What a beautiful way to end the day. 

Thursday, we headed back to Madrid. It was about a 5-hour ride which gave everyone time to talk, catch up, play trivia games, sleep or sing, depending on which van you were in! We arrived in Madrid, checked into our hotel and met for our final dinner of our wonderful journey. 

Friday, we met for breakfast and headed to the airport for our trip home having built deeper friendships and reflecting on so many special memories. 

This trip went by so fast. It was a great experience for many reasons.  We saw a lot and really got to experience many parts of Spanish culture. We certainly saw a different view of Holy Week then we see here in the United States. Some people commented that it changed their view of Holy Week forever. I know that it changed mine. It has always been a special time of reflection for me. Seeing the rituals that have been followed for hundreds of years, the reverence the Spanish culture has for Holy Week, really touched my heart and my celebrations of Holy Week will likely be different going forward. 

I have to thank John Naeher and Paula Greer for planning this trip. The amount of work, heart and talent that it takes to have so many moving pieces is a gargantuan undertaking.  They never missed a beat. Mr. Naeher is a combination of everyone’s favorite Uncle and Willy Wonka. How many times did I turn around to see him with Cliff bars for the kids/adults to snack on, bags of Tootsie Roll Pops, Twizzlers, Frozen Treats when it was a hot day. Then he would have fun awards at some of the dinners with prizes. Cowboy hats for all the students to wear to the horse show. As someone who is usually the planner of the family trip, I had a deep appreciation for what went into it. The other special part of this trip was really getting to know some of the other parents and students better. Students we had seen at school for years, in plays, playing sports, passing in the hallways at school, but had never really gotten to know. We got to have many conversations about all different topics, we laughed, enjoyed meals together, had GELATO and more GELATO,  and were sure in our knowledge that if we were ever on the Amazing Race show, trying to navigate Seville during Holy Week was really great training.

Debbie DeBlasi, PTL President

Hello, Hola, Olá, Bonjour, 你好, 안녕하세요 (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese, and Korean)!  We have a very special tradition here at Christian Heritage School that takes place every spring in the 4th grade.  Each student chooses one country of ancestral or adoptive descent on which to create their Heritage Report.  This assignment integrates three important class subjects: Social Studies, Writing, and Reading.  It enhances our Social Studies discussion on immigration to America and helps develop research skills, organize a report with specific requirements, and write an informational piece.  We also integrate reading with the novel Letters From Rifka, which is about a Jewish girl immigrating to America in 1919.  It’s a joy to celebrate our individual heritage as families at CHS and in this country!

Each week, students write one paragraph, revise, edit and bring it to presentation form using research materials from our school library, their local libraries, as well as websites.  Each student researches their country’s location and size, natural features, climate, capital and government, culture, and history, as well as their own family’s immigration story. They also create a photo section, landform map, political map, world map, a recipe of food from their country (cooked and brought to the Heritage Fair), a hand-drawn flag of their country, and prepare a short presentation.   

All this work is later compiled and presented at the Fourth Grade Heritage Fair, and we celebrate with food native to the students' heritage country, a presentation, and a time to view each child’s project where they excitedly display their newly found knowledge of their heritage country. The families join us in the cafeteria and enjoy the rich diversity and cultures represented, sampling delicious international flavors and foods; each of us truly Comes to the Table (this year’s chapel theme).  Every year, the Marketing department compiles a collection of the students' recipes into a cookbook to celebrate their respective countries. This cookbook is provided for each student as a cherished keepsake and a lasting memory.

We look forward to this wonderful project each year.  It is truly a blessing to see a bit of the world here in the cafeteria at CHS.  The Lord tells us in His Word that every nation, tribe, people and language will gather before His throne and the Lamb.  This Heritage Fair is a beautiful representation of this and shows the uniqueness of the Body of Christ.  

“The heritage project was a great experience for me to get to know my fellow classmates by tasting their country’s food and hearing fun facts about where they came from. My country of heritage was Switzerland, and my grandma helped me make a Swiss Apple Pie. It was difficult but rewarding to try a new Swiss food. She also showed me some pictures of where my great-great grandmother lived in Switzerland and this brought us closer together. Overall, the project was fun, challenging, and special.”  Paige Taylor -5th grade student

We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about His power and His mighty wonders. 
Psalm 78:4.

Mrs. Elizabeth Pelaccia is one of our fourth grade teachers.  This is her third year teaching at CHS.  She received her BS in Elementary Education from Messiah University.  She enjoys spending time with her family and her adorable chocolate lab, walking on the beach, gardening, farming, and hiking.  She looks forward to hatching ducklings and chicks in her classroom each year.  “I am so blessed to be part of this CHS family.”

This past summer, a cohort of rising juniors and seniors set off to internships across the state as part of our summer internship program, “Summer Seminar”. This unique opportunity allowed students to gain valuable skills and experience through hands-on learning and career exploration. Accumulating over forty on-site experience hours, students worked alongside professionals in various fields while earning 0.5 credits toward their academic portfolio.

Summer internships provide numerous benefits, such as the opportunity to develop essential skills, expand networks, and gain firsthand knowledge of potential career paths. But we believe that, at Christian Heritage School, our students pursue career curiosity not just for these benefits but because they are responding to God’s call on their lives. They are testing, wrestling, and pressing into what our loving Father could call them to next.

To receive credit for Summer Seminar, students had to complete several assignments, the last of which was a reflection paper. Our students served and learned in science labs, hospitals, veterinary clinics, robotic engineering design labs, and educational settings (to name a few!). It is clear from their feedback that they made the most of the opportunity presented to them:

"The “mouse room” unexpectedly became an experience that bridged my personal values with my professional aspirations. It allowed me to develop the critical skills for dealing with these animals while simultaneously giving me a newfound appreciation for the lab rat."

"I was so used to being in school and having strict instructions that when I had a lot of freedom with my work, it was a challenge to do a good job. This project not only taught me marketing skills, but it also taught me perseverance and how to do a good job with lots of freedom."

"I was really grateful for this experience in a healthcare environment. I was able to gain first-hand exposure to this field where I otherwise would not have been able to. I was also able to network and connect with physicians and other employers to build valuable relationships. Lastly, I was fortunate enough to learn new skills such as learning how to work with others on a team and interacting with patients."

"This experience, though small, has contributed to my personal and professional growth in that it has given me more confidence to help struggling children by teaching them what I know in a way that is hopefully clear to understand. My success in teaching the little girl has also given me the motivation to pursue more knowledge and methods to be able to teach children more effectively. My goal is to find more methods and resources that will help me in my endeavor of teaching and explaining educational concepts. "

"In essence, this internship made my life more clear to me. It brought me so much clarity on what I want and what I don't want for my future, and I am very thankful for it. This experience contributed both to my personal and professional growth because it taught me so many things I did not know before and that could be useful for the future, like entrepreneurship and marketing. But it also gave me an idea of what I want my career to look like. Now that I know what I want and where I want to go, I can focus on everything I need to do to get there."

Summer Seminar is just one way we offer resources to our students as they face the big question of, “Now What!?”

One reassurance we give our students is that this is not something they need to figure out alone. We partner with them and their families, and we are privileged to have outstanding professionals in the CHS community share their wisdom and expertise with our students. This past summer, Mrs. Evelyn Hayes, Mr. Trevor Delmore, and Mr. Bruce Stempien presented to our Summer Seminar cohort over lunch meetings, and various professionals from our community attended our one-semester course, Life Calling to offer their guidance to our juniors.

In his lecture series Teaching for Tomorrow Today (1984), Nicholas Wolterstorff argues that “the Christian way of being in the world is a life of responsible, worshipful, and appreciative gratitude.” As our students walk through high school, our College and Career Program guides students through an intentional journey of discovering who God has created them to be and responding to it with praise and thanksgiving.

What a gift it is to see our students (some of whom have been with us since kindergarten!) continue to grow into the young men and women God has made them to be. Our prayer is that their ultimate vocation will be lived out as an act of gratitude and praise to the One who made them.

Beth Maree is our Upper School Academic and College Counselor.  Beth Maree received a Bachelors of Education at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She majored in English, History and Special Education. She began her career teaching 4th Grade and then discovered her love for teenagers when she transitioned to High School English teacher. Mrs. Maree is also experienced in school leadership, leading an English Department, overseeing Student Academic Services, and finally serving on the Senior Leadership Team of a busy, all-girls school in South Africa. She is now the Academic and College Counselor at Christian Heritage School and loving every minute of it!   
 

Our mission statement is:  Christian Heritage School exists to partner with parents and churches in fulfilling their God-given responsibilities to teach children that “In (Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3, KJV)  and to provide its students with an education of spiritual and academic excellence with which to serve God.  

This mission of Christian Heritage School was established almost 50 years ago when Pastor Paul and Mrs. June Anderson heard a call from God to start a school dedicated to teaching and training young people in an environment where Christ would be at the center of all things. You can see by our mission statement that there was a recognition that this ministry was always called to be in partnership with parents and the local church. It is parents who are given the responsibility to teach and raise their children, therefore, when a family chooses to partner with us, we take that to heart. We see it as an incredible privilege and a significant responsibility to partner with families.  

The third leg of this incredibly powerful stool is our partnership with the local church. At Christian Heritage School, we believe that the local Christian church is the powerful vehicle God has chosen to impact this world for Him. The church is a place where broken lives are healed. It is a place where people are mentored and where they grow in knowledge and understanding of what God says. It is a place of fellowship, and often a place where people find a relationship with the Lord, a relationship that will change both their time on this earth and their eternity. We love the local church! 

There are many ways that we work to honor and support the local church. First, we want to help our local pastors, missionaries, and full-time ministers financially to have their children at CHS where their children are learning and growing in Christ. It is part of our mission to help keep the families of our pastors and missionaries healthy and strong, so they are released to minister in their callings. We love having relationships with our local church pastors and are blessed to invite them to be part of speaking into the lives of our students at chapel, retreats, and through special co-sponsored events.  For example, today we hosted a youth group fair at our chapel to inform our students about the local youth groups in our community.

Recently, we have added support for CHS students to get involved in their local church activities, leadership retreats, youth group conferences, and other ways our local churches are helping our students grow in Christ. We want to see our students involved, active, and engaged in what God is doing through the local church. Therefore, we have set aside some financial support that we are happy to provide for families in need of assistance to pay for those activities that help their children grow through local church activities. 

At CHS, we love our students and our families, and, therefore, we love and support the local church!  You can see an overview of the many ways we support and partner with local churches using this link. 

Helpful hint: to help us know what church you attend, you can add it to your renweb account by clicking on Religion on the side panel. 

Dr. Dube is a former Connecticut State Trooper, a Connecticut state certified administrator, and an adjunct faculty member at Grand Canyon University. He has served in education administration for over 25 years, entering his 5 th year at Christian Heritage School. Dr. Dube feels tremendously blessed to lead the CHS community, as he gets to work with the best people in the world, and gets to see the Lord move in the lives of students every day. Dr. Dube and his wife, Anne, love to spend time with their three children, Jack, Joel, and Elyse.

Is more always better? It depends, of course. More hot fudge and whipped cream? YES!  More traffic on the Merritt? No thanks. When it comes to learning, more is better. It just depends on what the “more” is.

Research identified various learning styles, or modalities, decades ago. You might identify as a visual learner, enjoying graphics and pictures, or you might feel you get more out of an audiobook than you do turning pages.

The truth is that we may have preferred learning methods, but science also shows that we shouldn’t learn everything in the same way. Depending on the content, we should experience all the different learning styles.

Yes, you might like learning through visualization, but is watching a soccer game more impactful than being on the field and playing? Will you get more from reading a script or from sitting in the front row listening to our performers belt out their lines? Do you get the same experience hearing about someone’s beach trip versus feeling the sand in your toes and smelling the fries from the boardwalk yourself?

Like muscles in our body, our brain needs to have all of the various modalities stretched, trained, and put to use.

At Christian Heritage School, we know and understand the importance of training the brain. Matthew 22:37 tells us we are to love the Lord with our hearts, souls, and minds. So, how do you train a brain? It's easy — with variation.

We design our elective programs to stimulate the contemplative student, the creative student, the competitive student, the engineer, and the musician. And here’s the secret- I just described one child. Our students aren’t simply right or left-brained, pigeonholed in one track or the other. In our development of the whole child, we provide opportunities to train in various modalities.

Walk our halls, and you will see a student working on 3D Engineering schematic and 2D drawing project.

Come to a sporting event, and you will see our athletes trade their uniforms in the fall for a prop and a costume in the winter.

Attend our art show and see our student's gifted eyes with their digital photography gallery and gifted ears with digital music playlists.

Listen to our students lead a class discussion on Wednesday, then lead our worship band on Thursday.

Peek into our science labs and see students testing a hypothesis, then follow those same students to Philosophy class as they discuss Heraclitus.

By the end of a school day, your student will have flexed various parts of their brain, exercised their socialization muscles, and possibly stretched past what they knew they excelled in into areas where they might feel as confident. Our job at CHS is to make sure our programming provides the well-rounded educational opportunities our students need to stimulate and grow their minds, as we have been called to do. 

This year our blog posts will be highlighting all of the various ways we do this, from community events to therapy dogs.  We will be hearing from our CHS experts on this subject in upcoming blog articles.  So stay tuned!
 

Mr. Karl Simon is beginning his 22nd year in Christian Educational Administration and his fourth year at CHS. He enjoys reading, woodworking, watching the Patriots and Red Sox, and arguing with students who think the Yankees are better. He also coaches at CHS, where he enjoys spending time with kids outside the classroom on windy sidelines and on long car rides to away games. Mr. Simon feels serving as principal of the CHS Upper School is a great privilege, and he enjoys his relationships with his colleagues, students, and families.

Luke’s Gospel tells us what Jesus came to do. “The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).” But it also tells how He uniquely went about doing it. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking (Luke 7:34).”

Meals matter. Food sustains our bodies. And the people we eat with are usually the ones who sustain our soul. The word “companion” comes from the Latin words “bread” and “together”, because a friend is someone who breaks bread with us.

Jesus ate with everyone – the renegades and the religious; He ate with a few and with the masses, with His best friends and His betrayer.

Our theme this year is Come to the Table. While this is Jesus’ free invitation of grace to all, it is hard to RSVP “yes”.  Accepting this invitation comes with some stipulations. You have to acknowledge you are hungry for something that only God can satisfy. You also have to be okay being in the presence of your enemies at this table, because the grace of Jesus does not play favorites. And you have to eat what is served at the table.

We are going to journey through the book of Luke and stop each time Jesus sits down with someone for a meal. And we are going to learn about grace, humility, and the mission of God. And I pray that we will also live these out in greater measure. Come to the Table.

And we are going to practice this as a community right at the start of the year! On August 29th, we will kick off our first week of school with our annual Dedication Picnic. We share a meal and ask God to sustain us and empower us to learn and love in the year ahead. Then, on September 12-13, we’ll take the high school to HUME New England for our overnight retreat. Again, we will be sharing meals and marveling at the grace of Jesus offered to sinners like us. 

Mark Persson, aka “Chappy P,” is the Chaplain at CHS. He is married to Michelle, and they have three children: Karis (starting Kindergarten at CHS!), Micah, and Asher. Mark likes baking (read “eating”) bread, running, reading, and building forts with his kids. He is an elder at his church. And, he is blessed beyond belief to work alongside the incredible staff and faculty at CHS as they serve students and families!
 

Much has been made of the conflict between science and Christianity, but the reality is that many of the greatest scientists believed in a Creator and were Christians. As Paul Davies, an agnostic scientist, has noted, "The early scientists were all deeply religious, and they believe that in doing their science they were uncovering God's handiwork…." ¹ So in an authentic sense, by studying science, we grow in our understanding of the greatness, power, and love of our God because the universe He has made is spectacular and fills us with awe. As David writes in Psalm 19:1-2, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge." Moreover, when we consider the habitat God has crafted for human life here on Earth, God's love is made manifest in our lives. In my personal faith journey, as I have grown in my understanding of the laws of physics, the fine-tuning of the universe, and the mechanisms and processes of life, I have grown correspondingly in my love and reverence for God.
 

So, for our students, the study of science is the opportunity to engage in their own self-discovery of the greatness of our God revealed in all that he has made. But the study of science has many other benefits. It is a powerful tool for developing intellect and reasoning skills, and it is an engine of human advancement that has provided technology and many benefits, comfort, and longevity to our lives. At CHS, students study three main scientific disciplines: biology, chemistry, and physics. Many students take advantage of our dual enrollment college-level courses in physics and biology. Electives, including anatomy and physiology, astronomy, and engineering design with 3D printing, round out our offerings.
 

Our annual science and engineering fair has proven to be an excellent vehicle for allowing our students to engage in guided scientific exploration of their own. Students begin by finding an area of interest and formulating a hypothesis or design goal. They then proceed to complete their project over ten weeks. Along the way, students must meet milestones and produce experimental results, scientific conclusions, and a final report, culminating in a presentation to knowledgeable judges. Thus, our science fair is one of the best ways for our students to learn how science and engineering are conducted in the real world, how to explain their work, and how to make presentations. With the science fair, opportunities for developing essential life skills abound.
 

Since 2012, CHS has competed for cash, prizes, and scholarships at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair hosted each year in March by Quinnipiac University, where about 500 of the best projects statewide are judged by highly qualified judges with backgrounds in science, engineering, research, and academics. The results our students have achieved are awe-inspiring. Each year, our students have garnered significant cash awards ranging from $25 gift cards to $500 cash awards, numerous plaques, trophies, and medallions, and several large college scholarships. The University of New Haven awarded one scholarship to Taryn Marshall for $80,000 over four years. Students who entered their CHS science projects into other state and national competitions have also achieved notable results. Rachel Brooks entered her CHS junior science fair project into the Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and was awarded first place. Amazing as it sounds, Rachel submitted her work to the prestigious medical journal Rheumatology (the official journal of the British Society for Rheumatology published by Oxford University Press), which published it on January 7, 2021!  Rachel went on to study at Princeton University. The following year, Benjamin Li, one of our brilliant Chinese exchange students, submitted his work to the Regeneron Science Talent Search and was named a Regeneron STS Scholar for 2022, an award given to only 300 students nationwide. Benjamin now studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 

Our CHS Science Fair engages students in the hands-on study of God's glorious creation. It cultivates taking initiative, reasoning skills, and perseverance, all things that can be used to bring glory to our God. Moreover, it encourages our students to pursue careers in science and science-related fields, medicine, and the many engineering disciplines, all with the enthusiastic encouragement of their CHS science teachers along the way. To God be the glory!
 

1 "Faith and Reason," program transcript, PBS, accessed December 1, 2023, https://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/transcript/margaret-frame.html.

Daniel Cote is the Science Department Chair at CHS. He teaches science, philosophy, and apologetics. He has a passion for encouraging students to consider science as a career and has been doing so at CHS since 2009. He is also a pastor and the founder of Multimedia Apologetics, an apologetics website ministry explaining and defending Christianity whose primary goal is evangelism. He greatly appreciates the opportunity to teach apologetics to CHS seniors. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bridgeport, a Master of Ministry in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry in Theology and Apologetics from Liberty University. Dan is the author of Jesus Is God and Savior: How Prophecy, Science, and History Affirm the Truth of Christianity.

While I was on a mission trip with our students in a small village in Mexico, I was struck by the overwhelming sense of community.  They didn’t talk about it, they didn’t strategize how to facilitate it, they simply lived it.  At midnight the night before we were leaving, about 30 young people showed up at the family's house that I was staying in, a 10’ x 20’ concrete block home, with music, a cake and joyful hearts to sing Happy Birthday to the girl who was just turning 16.  I found out later, it was a village tradition.  Coming together to “share life,” it was great!

CHS has enjoyed a vibrant community of families coming together to “share life.”  During my 40 plus years of working here at CHS, the common bond of seeking to raise children with a heart for the Lord, and preparing them well to do what the Lord has created them to do, has been strong.

Several of you have mentioned, “Hey, we saw you choked up as you closed the Veterans Day Program last week.”  The power of the moment was overwhelming in all the right ways.  As I looked out from the podium, sitting on the floor directly in front of me were some of our youngest students. Just 25 feet further back sat our guest, Navy veteran Mr. Carl Massaro, 98 yrs young.  As a 19 yr old, he landed on Okinawa in heavy fighting to preserve the freedom that allowed the men who were assembled just to my left (made of students, alumni, parents and staff) to sing the most beautiful rendition of “How Great Thou Art.”  What a special glimpse of community!

When my youngest daughter Abby was a senior at CHS, early that September, she asked to stop at Dunkin’ Donuts on the way to school for an iced coffee. Excited for the new year and wanting to do something fun for her, I of course, said yes. The same request came the following week.  Thinking I would like to do something special for her again, I said yes. The third week rolled around and as we were approaching Dunkin’ Donuts Abby looked over and said, “Dad, you know ‘it’s tradition.’ We really need to stop again.”  As I quickly did the math in my head (36 weeks left of school + 1 iced coffee a week = $$) and being the easy target that I am, I pulled into Dunkin’ Donuts… and you know the rest.  I share this because in Abby’s senior reflections on what was most special to her during her final year, she included, “…waking up super early every Tuesday for my father-daughter coffee date!”  I’ve always recognized that special moments and events were important, but as I read her reflection for the first time I was so struck by that obvious reality that the foundation of what we do at CHS is critical.  The academic preparation and the Biblical foundation are the reason we exist but we can help better achieve both those goals and objectives by supplementing with a rich community and times of coming together as we “share life.”  The moments and the experiences matter and will often be what is remembered.

As the Director of Student Life and Operations, I have seen that community is often most richly built through common challenges and goals.  I am so grateful that CHS has always worked to embrace the lifestyle of service to others for the glory of our Lord.  Scripture is clear that we are built to serve.  I have been on many service projects and mission trips and, in these situations, I have often wished that the parents could get a glimpse of this experience.  For example, on a recent senior class trip we had the opportunity to do a service project in Florida. The Lord brought this family to our attention. They were young parents in their forties with two teenage children. The dad was quite ill and, as a result, was blind.  The family was facing many difficulties and we couldn’t address them all.  However, we could address the physical needs of yard work, building a wheelchair ramp and painting their house.  At the end of a very long day, close to dusk as the sun was setting, we completed the work and the family was brought back home for the reveal.  As the mom stood crying on the newly added front porch saying thank you to the kids, the husband grabbed my arm while sitting in his wheelchair.  He pulled me over to speak into my ear, saying, “I can’t see the work that the kids have done but I can feel the joy that it brings my wife.  Please bring the students over to me one at a time so I can thank each one individually.”  You can only imagine the scene as this gentleman reached out and grabbed the hand of each student to say thank you!!!  This was a very powerful moment!  I’m quite certain that the class was never so unified and never felt such a stronger sense of community with each other as they did at that moment with our newly adopted family.  

CHS intentionally works to create opportunities and special moments, such as Fall Festival, Veterans Day, Grandparents Day, School Spirit Week, service projects, special events and a number of social opportunities for the express purpose of building a stronger community to help us achieve our core goals. It is our desire to help our students become the person that God created and built them to be - one lesson, one class, one special event, one service project and one moment at a time!

We are so thankful that YOU are part of our community!

John Naeher is the Director of Student Life & Operations.  He started at CHS in the fall of 1981 and began his 43rd yr in the fall of 2023.  His daughters, Amanda 06', Alyssa 06' and Abigail 10' attended CHS from K-12.  John has had the privilege of coaching several teams, sponsoring many Senior Classes and been a part of building community at CHS throughout his career.  “CHS has been a rich part of my family for which I will always be grateful.”

Sixteen high school students, two faculty members, and I went to the Dominican Republic for a week in June to serve with Kids Alive International (please checkout this awesome organization!). Trips like this are always a mixed bag. They come with all the normal challenges that you’d expect trying to get so many people on buses and planes, through airports, and settled into a cross cultural context. But they also provide unique opportunities for personal and communal spiritual development. This trip began with the former.

The next week was marked by surprising elation and expected frustration. There were moments when students were phenomenal - sharing testimonies, working together, enjoying God, His people, and creation. There were other moments that were not. But here is what I’m learning from taking high school students out of the country.

I am just like them. I crave love, significance, and comfort more than God.

“But, but!” I say to myself, “my cravings are justified.”  How can it be wrong to miss the love of my wife and kids, long to make an impact, and to give myself permission to take it easy?

But their cravings are vices! Phones, momentary impact, and flirting. Oh they are bad. I’m good.

Here is the reality, I missed my phone too, I’m just a little more experienced in behavior management. I wanted the feels of momentary success and significance of this trip too. If I am really honest, I want people to think I’m attractive, impressive, and desirable too. Idolatry is not pursuing bad things but craving anything more than the presence and favor of God. And I’m still fashioning idols at 32.

And I need the same thing as them. The highlight of the trip was team worship each night. Something profound and mysterious happens when you sing with others. Singing changes the way you look at others and yourself. When you see others singing, it humanizes them. You realize they aren’t the caricature you’ve made them out to be. They are living and breathing; made in the image of God and sustained by His grace. And when you sing, you realize you aren’t so great. Singing about God’s glory reminds you that you have been living very much for your own, and it humbles you. Singing to the LORD confronts us with the message of Jesus. But, the good news that Jesus came to share (and be!) starts with bad news. We are more sinful and selfish than we thought, but we are more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope.

‘23-24 School Theme

Our school theme this year is Sing to the LORD from 2 Chronicles 20 and Psalm 100. Singing is risky and makes us vulnerable. Not surprisingly, it can be hard for everyone (and especially students and young adults) to belt it out. But we all listen to music, we are shaped by melodies and lyrics, and there is a strange power in music that moves us, removes us from worries, soothes our spirit. So, God commands us to sing and praise Him so that we can tangibly and communally experience the benefits of being loved and saved by God. We are going to explore and experience the power of singing together this year through corporate worship and special concerts!

Spiritual Life at CHS - Partnership, Participation, and Process

Spiritual life at Christian Heritage is a partnership with parents and churches to help students understand that “In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Learning to be captivated by Jesus Christ and His Kingdom means participation. It happens everywhere from student clubs to the science lab and from the sports field to chapel. Learning to love Jesus is a process. At CHS we want our students to live in the hopeful tension expressed in the Gospel of Mark, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Pursuing Jesus and His Kingdom is not an easy road, but it is the path to life (Psalm 16:11).

The flight home…
Our trip home looked like it might be just as nightmarish as the start. We were on the runway and ready to take off when the pilot announced, “The main engine didn’t start right. A heat sensor is not working.  We are going to get the engineers to take a look.” Then he added, “It might be a different story if we were in the air.” The ambiguity of that last sentence was not what the passengers were looking for. What followed was no small amount of hysteria and grumbling. Some passengers immediately went to the door and demanded to be let off. They wanted no part in this flight. Finally everyone was asked to deboard. The mood in the terminal was the same on the flight. It was packed. Nowhere to sit. Long lines for food. Spotty WIFI. And no clarity on if we’d have a flight out. Meanwhile, I had no idea what I would do with 19 people in Santiago if our flight was canceled and rescheduled for another day. We waited for three hours with no clear message from the airline (I won’t tell you the airline - this isn’t about them). Then, the gate agent said that the flight was on and we needed to board immediately. I ran back to the students and delivered the message - and their jaws dropped. It was more shock and awe than the joy and relief I was expecting from them. “Chappy,” they said, “we literally just finished praying that God would sort this out.”

Mark Persson, aka “Chappy P,” is the Chaplain at CHS. He is married to Michelle, and they have three children: Karis (starting Kindergarten at CHS!), Micah, and Asher. Mark likes baking (read “eating”) bread, running, reading, and building forts with his kids. He is an elder at his church. And, he is blessed beyond belief to work alongside the incredible staff and faculty at CHS as they serve students and families!