Assigning Students to Double Classes
Dear Parents & Staff, Greetings. As often happens in the midst of necessary changes within families, schools, churches, etc., there can be mis-communications, misunderstandings, and general uneasiness, even when everyone has the best of intentions. That seems to be the case with the changes proposed in the new Class Assignment policy we told you about last week. The Logos School Board received a fair number of comments and suggestions from our school families. The board discussed these at length at their meeting on Monday night. As a result, the board has written an important letter to our school families (below). Please read it carefully. One question that might come to mind after you read this letter is, "How will this system affect what we as a family need to do to register for next year?" Here is the plan: 1. We will continue to accept your re-registrations on-line through the end of January, just as we have been. You need not wait or go back and change anything you’ve submitted. 2. Soon we will send you an on-line preference indication form to fill out and submit to Logos. The form will provide you the option of indicating some preferences, or you may indicate ‘no preference.’ In either case, once the rosters are finalized, you may rest assured that your child(ren) will be in a class where they will continue receiving the quality education Logos provides. We will accept these preference forms through March 31. Thank you very much for your commitment to providing your family with a Christ-centered education. We pray we will continue to be a significant assistance to you in this joy-filled purpose. Blessings, Tom Garfield Superintendent January 22, 2013 Dear Parents and Staff, We would like to begin by seeking your forgiveness for the confusion we caused in our roll-out of our new class assignment procedure. Some of the confusion was caused by our inadequate explanation of how we were planning to implement this in the details, and some of it was the result of some issues we had clearly not anticipated. We offer our sincere apologies. This is to follow up on that announcement to see if we can’t allay the concerns that a number of you have expressed to us. As we discussed this, it was clear from your concerns that we really should start over from scratch. Some of the same elements are present in the new policy below, but in a significantly different order. As always, please continue to give us your feedback. The board was (and is) in full agreement that the old system needed to be replaced, but we are sorry for the unnecessary consternation we caused in the transition. This is all the result of us growing into two classes at every grade level, which means that it certainly qualifies as growing pains. God is blessing our school greatly, which means we have to make room . . . and some changes. Please pardon our dust as we remodel. After taking your feedback fully into account, this is what our current plan looks like: 1. Each year during the re-registration process, parents of children re-registering for grades with multiple classes will indicate their class preference. Parents may indicate a primary and secondary preference for each student such as a teacher preference or a peer preference (including siblings or cousins). While our intent is to honor parental preferences, we may not be able to honor them all. 2. At the close of re-registration on March 31, classes will be rostered. Initial rosters will be based on preferences for all student families who: a. Have paid registration fees by March 31 b. Do not owe back tuition c. Pay full or discounted tuition (as opposed to full or partially waived tuition) 3. If the class rosters need to be adjusted, adjustments will be made as follows: a. The administration and teachers will review the rosters and make changes to promote healthy class environments and resolve any remaining conflicts of preference if possible. b. Any remaining conflicts of preference will be resolved using a random selection process as a last resort. 4. The class rosters will be sent out to parents during the last week of school. We will obviously need to work out some additional details as we go, but this is basically what we intend to do. One of the impressions that some of you got was that if parents requested a transfer of section, or if they indicated concern about the class their child was going to be in, that this would be seen by us as an example of them “seeking their own honor.” We genuinely regret creating this impression. The response we received made it clear that we unwittingly offended some of our highly dedicated parents, folks who are characterized by self-sacrifice—and not just where their own children are concerned. Please forgive us for doing that. We are very grateful for you all, and we appreciate you working together with us in the education of your children. Openness to parental input has always been one of the guiding principles of the school. We want to remain hungry for that parental input, even when the input is critical of our decisions—or even especially when it is. Thank you for your faithfulness to us in this and for your love for the school. On behalf of the Logos School Board, Marc L. Rust ChairmanLOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #17
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #17General
Reregistration: Current family reregistration takes place in January for the 2013-14 school year. Look for an email from the school soon. For current families wishing to enroll a new family member, please submit a simplified student application (available in main office).
Elementary
New Hire for 2013-14: We are delighted to announce that the school board has interviewed and hired Mr. Jim Becker to teach our second 5th grade class next year (dependent upon enrollment numbers). Jim comes from Littleton, Colorado where he has been teaching and coaching for the past 22 years. He has classroom experience in 1st-12th grade, has been an assistant principal for two years, and currently is teaching AP Economics and US Government and serving as the department chair of Social Studies at Chaparral High School in Parker. Jim has coached volleyball and track for years and has run 53 marathons! Please join us in thanking the Lord for providing another superb teacher as our elementary program expands. Spelling Bee: The 1st – 6th graders will be competing in an in-school spelling bee February 7nd. Lists and rules are posted on the website under Life at Logos/Elementary/Elementary Spelling Bee.Secondary
CTP-4 Testing: Our 7th – 11th graders will be taking their annual standardized tests the week of January 21. Please avoid any absences if possible. Part-time students do not take these tests. Rhetoric Speech Meet (10th-12th Grade): Information was sent home on December 12. Selections are due January 14. The piece will be presented for a grade the week of January 28, and the actual meet is February 6. More details available on the school website. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt WhitlingLOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #16
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #16General
Fight’n Knight Shirts: This Friday students are welcome to wear either their Fight’n Knight shirts and jeans or the regular school uniform. Friday is Trivia Day for the secondary and most of the elementary students will have worn their dress uniforms Thursday evening in the Christmas Program. Christmas Program Rehearsal: The rehearsal will take place this Thursday in the gym at the following times: Preschool-3rd Grade 2:30-3:20 & 4th-11th Grade 2:30-4:30. Christmas Program: The Logos Christmas Program will take place in the gym Thursday, December 20th at 7:00. Preschool-3rd Graders should arrive at the gym by 6:45 PM. 4th-11th Graders should arrive in the auditorium by 6:30 PM. All are invited to attend! Attire for performers… Elementary: Logos dress uniform (young ladies may wear a special Christmas dress if desired, and young men are welcome to wear blazers). Secondary: Logos dress uniform only. Blazers are welcome for young men.Secondary
Fall Finals Schedule: Final exams will take place next week. See the school website for details. Trivia Day: This Friday after finals we will have a pizza party. Guys, please bring six “individual” drinks - cans of pop, bottles of water, or Gatorade. (No two liter bottles please). Ladies, please bring something for dessert. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt WhitlingLOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #15
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #15General
Christmas Program: The Logos Christmas Program will take place in the gym Thursday, December 20th at 7:00. All are invited to attend! The rehearsal will take place the same day at the following times: Preschool-3rd Grade 2:30-3:20 & 4th-11th Grade 2:30-4:30. Attire for performers… Elementary: Logos dress uniform (young ladies may wear a special Christmas dress if desired, and young men are welcome to wear blazers). Secondary: Logos dress uniform only. Blazers are welcome for young men. Home Basketball Games: This Wednesday will be a Fight’n Knight Day. Wear your Logos t-shirts and nice jeans to school and then come out and cheer for the high school boys and girls as they play their first home basketball games of the season.Secondary
Fall Finals Schedule: Final exams will take place next week. See the school website for details. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt WhitlingLOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #14
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #14General
Student Council Ball: Elementary and secondary students are invited to the student council ball this Friday (Dec. 7) at the field house! Elementary (6:30-8) Secondary (8-10) Price is $5 per person and $15 per family. Required Attire: Men: dress shirts, ties and slacks Ladies: knee length dresses/skirts, no strapless tops, halter tops, or spaghetti straps, modest neckline. Shoes: Clean athletic non-marking shoes on the floor only. No dress shoes or high heels.Elementary
Homework-0-Meter Results: Homework surveys are in, and we’ve crunched the numbers below. Parents, thank you for taking the time to complete the surveys! Actual Numbers: Guidelines (per night/5 days a week): 1a=12 min. 1b=8 min. 15 min. 2a=17 min. 2b=14 min. 30 min. 3a=16 min. 3b=17 min. 45 min. 4a=29 min 4b=33 min. 45 min. 5=25 min. 45 min. 6=58 min. 60 min.Secondary
Fall Finals Schedule: Final exams will take place the week before Christmas break. See the attached schedule to start planning ahead. Spring Semester Electives: An email went out last week that had information about signing up for spring electives. Please complete the online registration for that soon. Seniors Spring Class Proposals: December 10th is the due date for 2nd semester course registrations and for independent study/internship proposals. Register for classes by following the link on the email that was sent out last week. All independent study and internship proposals must be submitted to me via email by the 10th. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt Whitling *Seniors must be enrolled in at least six credits of approved coursework each semester. -Seniors are required to take Apologetics and Rhetoric IV. -Seniors are required to take at least two of the following courses: British Literature, Civics, Calculus, Physics -Additional credits may come from internships, independent studies, and/or Spanish I.New Bleachers!
Dear Parents, Greetings. We are very excited and thankful for our wonderful new bleachers! I've included two photos of them: the east side set show them closed and the west set are open. As you may have heard, Christ Church offered us a deal too good to miss - they are paying for the east side and Logos is paying for the west side, but obviously Logos gets to keep them all. The total cost was just over $60,000, or $30,000 for Logos. (You probably received our gift-designation yellow card, which included the cost of the bleachers.) These are not only much safer and more attractive bleachers, they are electric so they slide in and out with the touch of a button (we are in the 21st century)! Some folks have asked about the yellow seats - our school colors are still primarily navy blue and white. However, we added a third color, gold, several years ago to make our teams' uniforms sharper looking. Using white seats for bleachers would've been a bad idea since they would show the dirt very quickly. Hence the yellow seats for "LHS" (Logos High School). We have desired this kind of a bleacher system since we put up the gym in 1998 and the Lord has now blessed us with them! Come and try them out as you cheer on the Knights! Blessings, Tom Garfield Superintendent
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #13
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #13General
Finish Strong: There are only three weeks left in the 2nd quarter. Encourage your kids to finish strong.Elementary
Library Times: Each class visits the Logos library to check out reading books once a week. I’ve attached a library schedule so that you can talk to your kids about what books they are checking out and reading for fun.Secondary
Spanish I: We are pleased to announce that the school board has approved Spanish I as a new class that will be offered to our seniors for the spring semester. Mrs. Abby Holloway, wife of our conditioning elective teacher Nick, will be teaching the class 7th period each day. Abby has 11 years of teaching experience in Portland, and we are very thankful that she will be joining our staff after Christmas break. I have included a summary how this class could fit into a senior’s class load below*. Finals Schedule: The 1st Semester Finals Schedule is attached. This is a good time to start reviewing. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt Whitling *Seniors must be enrolled in at least six credits of approved coursework each semester. -Seniors are required to take Apologetics and Rhetoric IV. -Seniors are required to take at least two of the following courses: British Literature, Civics, Calculus, Physics -Additional credits may come from internships, independent studies, and/or Spanish I.LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #12
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #12General
Thanksgiving Vacation: There will be no school next week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Spoons & Forks: Please remember to send utensils with your child’s lunch if it is required.Elementary
Homework-o-Meter: Please remember to fill these out over the course of the week and return them to the classroom teachers on November 16. This helps us gauge the amount of homework our elementary students are doing each night. Winter Clothes: Be sure to send your children to school with warm clothes. We will have recess outside unless it is raining hard or below 20 degrees. This may be a good time to make sure that winter clothing is labeled – just in case!Secondary
Secondary Student Surveys: This week we will be asking the secondary students to complete a brief survey for each class that they are enrolled in. This survey is designed to communicate the students’ perceptions of the secondary program, to the secondary faculty and administrators. We value the students’ opinion, and our goal is to improve each year. This would be a great time to sit down with your child and discuss each class with him/her. Secondary parents are also welcome to provide input at this time. Simply print out the Secondary Student Survey which has a link on the website and turn it in to Mr. Whitling’s box in the front office this Friday. Blue vs. White Scrimmage: The varsity boys’ basketball team will host an exhibition game the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 23 at 7:00 PM. All are welcome to come and see this year’s squad go head to head in the Knight’s Court. Admission is free.Tattling vs. Reporting
In the past I’ve been asked what the school’s position was on tattling vs. reporting. On this topic, and all others, the primary watershed is love. A student who tells the authorities about a violation because he loves his brother (reporting) is on a completely different side of the mountain from one who tells in order to delight in the trouble that his brother will get in (tattling). Elementary teachers have discussed the following guidelines with their students. Feel free to follow up at home. Serious Situation (fighting, cheating, disrespect toward parents, foul language, etc.): How to Respond: Students should confront the person and report the situation humbly: “Either you can tell Mr. Kohl or I will.” There are some situations in which a student should skip the confronting part and simply report what has happened. Minor Situation (cutting in line, eating rudely at lunch, talking in line, his arm is on my desk, etc.): How to Respond: The first couple times that it happens, students should let love cover a multitude of sins. If this becomes a pattern (3+ times), students should confront the individual “Please stop putting your arm on my desk.” If the individual doesn’t stop, they should report the situation to their teacher who will take care of it. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt WhitlingLOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #11
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #11General
Annie: Logos Varsity Drama presents: ANNIE, directed by Tom Garfield, this Wednesday through Saturday, November 7th-10th, at the Logos Knights Court. Curtain is at 7:00 each evening.Elementary
New Morning Recess Schedule: With all the new students at Logos this year, it has become clear that we need more open space and better supervision on the playground each morning during recess. Toward that end, we have come up with the following morning recess schedule: Preschool-1st Grade: 9:50-10:05, 2nd and 3rd Grade: 10:05-10:20, 4th-6th Grade: 10:20-10:35. So far, the results have been very encouraging.Secondary
Extracurricular Activities and Schoolwork: There are lots of great activities going on in the secondary (drama, junior high boys basketball games, high school boys and girls basketball tryouts coming, planning for Mock Trial, Knowledge Bowl, etc.). At Logos, schoolwork comes first. This means that students who participate in extracurricular activities will be held to the same standard as everyone else. Students should look ahead, plan ahead, and redeem the time during busy seasons. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt WhitlingLOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #10
LOGOS SCHOOL UPDATE – 2012/13 – #10General
Fight’n Knight Day: This Friday students are welcome to wear their Logos t-shirts and nice jeans to cheer on our volleyball girls as they begin the MCL tournament. Go Knights!Elementary
2nd Grade Play: This Thursday morning the 2nd grade (a) class will be performing The Hidden One. The show will open with a recitation by Mrs. Merkle’s kindergarteners at 8:35. All are welcome to attend. Please remember that this play is on a Thursday. Speech Meet: The interschool speech meet is this Friday at Logos. Competitors from The Oaks will be coming down from Spokane to compete with us. The schedule of events is on the website. The attire for the day is the dress uniform for these competitors.Secondary
Secondary Speech Meet 7th-9th: This Wednesday, October 31 is the speech meet. There will be an awards assembly in which some of the superior speeches will be delivered at 2:30 in the auditorium. All are welcome to attend. For more information about the school please visit https://logosschool.com/ Cheers, Matt Whitling