A heartfelt thank you to our families for participating in this year’s Thanksgiving food drive. We packed just over 250 Thanksgiving food bags and served families in Homestead through Angel Share, Be the Light and Pack the Pantry at the Miami Rescue Mission. It was incredible to see the amount of donations as well as witness students of all ages working together to help families in need.
Click here to watch a thank-you video from Student Leadership.
There is a pattern in Christmas movies where the main character is singled out for having special characteristics. These unique abilities launch them on a journey of self-discovery. Christmas movies, in particular, end with a cathartic, “Ahhh!” as the main character gets what he/she wants, and everything is at peace once again.
Scott Calvin becomes the Santa Clause by accident, but then becomes the Santa Clause through transformation.
Buddy is actually a human living with elves who merely tolerate him, but his quirkiness wins him the girl, his father, and acceptance back into the elf community.
Kevin is a strong-willed child picked on by his family, but his strength turns out to be the virtue that protects him, and his family all see it in the end...until the next year.
Clark Griswold is a conscientious employee with great ideas, and he “deserves a bonus,” and that’s just what he gets in the end.
The boy who doubts Santa, is also the one who finds the lost ticket and gets the first gift of Christmas. In the end, the conductor changes his name from “Doubter” to “Believer” and he can still hear the bell at Christmas...ding, ding, ding...
Congratulations to this quarter's Writing Warriors pictured in the attached image! This quarter, the students in grades Kindergarten through grade 5 focused on developing well-written sentences using transitional words or phrases to convey their message. Students in the upper grades shared a personal narrative on an experience they had in life. Whether it was losing a tooth, going on a vacation, or hearing God's voice in nature, our students in the elementary spent time planning, drafting, editing, and publishing their work. Way to go, Warriors!
Seniors with a minimum 3.2 GPA (unweighted) can now apply to be a Silver Knight nominee for Westminster Christian School. This application is due by Friday, December 6. Click here to begin the application.
What is a Silver Knight? The Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards is one of the nation’s most highly regarded student awards programs. The purpose of this awards program is to recognize outstanding students who have not only maintained good grades but have also unselfishly applied their special knowledge and talents to contribute significant service to their schools and communities. The program is open to high school seniors with a minimum 3.2 GPA (unweighted) in public, private, and parochial schools in Miami-Dade county.
Students are nominated in one of 15 different categories: Art, Athletics, Business, Digital & Interactive Media, Drama, English & Literature, General Scholarship, Journalism, Mathematics, Music & Dance, Science, Social Science, Speech, Vocational Technical and World Languages.
When you come to a four-way stop, what do you do? Well, what you should do is follow the rules which are, after a complete stop, 1) the first to arrive goes first, 2) the person on the right goes first, 3) the person going straight goes first. These rules don’t always work and can get confusing sometimes, but generally, they keep us sane.
I lived in Canada for several years, and the culture there is far more deferential than the culture in the US. So, four-way stops were a nightmare. Their rule seems to be, don’t-ever- go-until-everyone-else-agrees-to-invite-you-to-go-with-a- minimum-of-three-polite-hand-gestures-that-obviously-imply- “No, you go first, sorry.” You’d sit there for hours!
Can you imagine, in Miami... Miami drivers use a lot of hand gestures at four-way stops too, emphasizing the only universally accepted traffic rule in our city, “me first.”
In other words, Jesus is not just our Savior, He is our Lord.
What does this mean? Well, for the sake of analogy, think about getting into a good school. While you’re writing essays and sending out applications it feels overwhelming – and it is. But writing an essay to get into a school is nothing compared to the many essays you’ll need to write to graduate four years later.
Getting a job is the same way. It takes very little effort to get a job (relatively speaking), but to keep the job, you have to do a lot of work every day.
One day after you get married to someone you plan on being with for life, you may have children. You’ll discover that it doesn’t take much to become a father. It takes more to become a mother. But to be a good father or mother is all consuming.
There’s a pattern to all these examples that the amount of work it takes to get something is a fraction of what is required to succeed once you’ve gotten it. In fact, there’s an old cautionary adage for those of us who are always gazing to the horizon for the next best thing, “be careful how much you fight to get what you want, because you may not want what you get.”
This is true in our faith, but to the fullest extent. Salvation is a gift of God, meaning we do not do anything to earn God’s gift of salvation. We don’t write an essay, get extra credit for our good ACT (pun intended), no application required. Instead, God in His sovereignty, did all the work to make a place for those whom He calls. It says in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Due to scheduling conflicts with the Miami Beach Fillmore, we have decided to move the 2025 graduation ceremony to the beautiful Adrienne Arsht Center. We are confident that this venue will make the occasion truly unforgettable for you and your children.
The new date for graduation is Friday, May 16, at 6 p.m.—just one day earlier than the originally scheduled date. We hope this advance notice helps you plan accordingly. We will notify you when tickets become available.
Finally, please note that the Senior Graduation Breakfast will now be held as a dinner on Thursday, May 15. Please refer to the New Senior Roadmap below for more details and additional dates.
Thank you for your support and understanding. We look forward to celebrating this special milestone with you!
The deadline to apply for accommodations for the May 2025 AP Exams is January 10. If you have already been approved for accommodations through the College Board, you may disregard this message. If your student has recently been approved for school accommodations or has been previously denied accommodations through the College Board, please contact Mrs. Mirtha Regueiro at mregueiro@wcsmiami.org to apply for College Board accommodations before January 10. After that date, there’s no guarantee accommodations will be approved in time for this year’s AP Exam administration.
Electing the president of the United States is a weighty decision. Stepping into the voting booth, especially if it’s your first-time voting, can feel overwhelming. The thought, “What if I pick wrong?” may come floating, unbidden into your mind, leaving you feeling the weight of the potentially life-altering vote you’re about to cast. The U.S. presidency is a tremendously important position with global and historical implications, and we get to cast our vote.
These big moments produce anxiety and maybe it’s appropriate. But what about the anxiety we feel in other less significant moments?
Have you ever said this phrase, “I’m bored!”? Stop it, immediately!
Being bored is an indictment on you, not on the circumstances or the people around you. That’s why if you ever say, “I’m bored” around me, my response will often be, “There are no boring circumstances, only boring people.” And then I’ll attempt to help you discover something exciting to do in that moment.
What is being bored? Maybe a lack of creativity, combined with a purposeless listlessness. Maybe it’s laziness, or procrastination. Maybe it’s latent frustration or a sign of some hidden dependency you’ve been deprived of (ahem, like your phone!).
Boredom could also be about fear. It’s hard to step out of things you’re comfortable doing. It’s hard to meet new people, try new things, run an experiment, test the waters, and stretch your mind. To thrive you’ll need to get good at never being bored and solving your boredom requires you to stretch your faith, to step out into the unknown on an adventure. Or you can just play another game of Brawl Stars...BORING!!
If you ordered pictures for your child(ren) in grades 9-11, they are ready for pick-up in the HS Office. You may come by from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or send your child to pick them up.
Have you ever seen someone lose their cool over something that, to you, feels pretty small? Maybe it happened in class. Someone gets fed up and lashes out and no one knows why. Maybe you’ve seen your parents do it, and all of a sudden, you’re in trouble, and you don’t know why. Maybe you’ve seen someone lose it in a restaurant or in traffic.
I think, had we been one of the disciples, we might have felt that way about Jesus on the day He was leading them back into the city. in Matthew 21 Jesus walks up to a fig tree to get some figs because he’s hungry. But this fig tree didn’t have fruit, so Jesus curses it, and it withers and dies! What?!
Nerd Herd forms went home today. Please see the Hub Resource Board for dates. Remember, it is never too late to join. As long as the book is read and AR is completed before the meeting date, students can attend meetings.
Nature Ambassador Green Challenge
Let's go green! Mr. Heetderks has met with all of the classes and explained the Green Challengeto students. If you are a family who loves nature and want to get more involved, please join the Nature Ambassador group located under the PS/ES WhatsApp community. Please let Mrs. Glavach know if you have any great green ideas.
Community Connect Please visit the Hub Resource Boardfor more information!
Buzzer beaters! The ultimate hero moment in sports. The team’s down by two. It’s going to take a three pointer to win the game, but Curry has the ball. The crowd is tense with anticipation. Swish. AHHHHHH!!!! Down by three points, we just need to get to field goal range. Offensive pass interference the ball is placed at the spot of the fowl. Three yards to go and only 6 seconds on the clock. No one has any fingernails left. Hike! Quarterback sneak. TOUCHDOWN!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!
Debt MUST be paid. The habit of spending more than you earn will not go well for you. Even the luxuries you enjoy on borrowed money will ultimately lose their luster when the bill comes due. The scripture has a lot to say about debt like, "the borrower is slave to the lender" and "sin is a debt that must be paid to God." How we live our financial lives gives us a clue as to our beliefs about life in general. If we wrack up debt to get stuff, chances are really good we're also neglecting our debts with God. Instead, try to live debt free. Avoid using credit or borrowed money to get the thing you want now. Work a little to earn some money and feel the satisfaction of paying your way. And, instead of gambling your life on the belief that there will be no eternal consequences for leaving your debt of sin unpaid, trust in Christ and have peace in your soul.
Waiting is hard because it’s ultimately about denying ourselves, and we don’t want to deny ourselves the things we want. But, in denying myself the things I want today, I often get the things I really want and need later. To become a successful investor, for example, you have to get used to waiting. Sadly, our desire to get what we want now is steadily decreasing our ability to wait, costing us dearly in the long run. If this matters with money, it absolutely matters with our souls. “What does it matter if a man gains the world, but loses his soul?” Jesus asks. How do we respond? Wait for it…
These students were chosen as the top writers in their class for this quarter. Kindergarten through grade 2 students focused on sentence structure, grade 3 learned how to write a short opinion, grade 4 students practiced expository writing and grade 5 students wrote persuasive essays. Congratulations, Writing Warriors!
Money matters! What we think about it, what we do with it, and whether we have it or not. It is not a neutral part of life. As such, Jesus has specific and often challenging things to say about money. In Matthew 6:19-21 he tells us to place greater emphasis on our investments in heaven than in our investments on earth. But how many of us place our faith in our bank accounts? In the same way that the tree in Psalm 1:3 thrives by being rooted in the bank of a river, we will thrive by rooting ourselves in the bank of Jesus' living water.
Parents, where is your favorite place to pray? My favorite place at Westminster is in the Wild Acre. I enjoy the peace being in God's creation gives me. Ask your child where his/her favorite place is to pray and share yours. This week in chapel we talked about one of the faith habits - talking to God! We can talk to God anywhere, anytime, about anything! Amazing to think that the God of all creation wants to hear from me! What a blessing God has given us. We challenged each student to spend time EVERY day this week in prayer - talking to and listening to God. Please encourage your child with this prayer challenge. This is one way we can grow and THRIVE!
In my childhood, I sat beside a river in the beautiful warmth and joy of summer and got a glimpse of heaven. But today that river is decayed and broken, and those memories are faded and filled with sorrow and loss. But that’s because this is not my home, and it’s not yours either. There is a day coming when all who know Jesus as Lord and Savior will sit together by a crystal-clear river basking in the beautiful warmth of God’s radiant glory, eating of the tree of life. And this will never fade to memory or fall into decay. It will simply be perfect joy, forever. Seem difficult to believe? Seem like the beginning of a fairy tale? It’s not! It is the promise of God in scripture.
When, at last, we embrace the life of the Spirit we do not just quench our own thirst, satisfying the gnawing longing for eternity through faith in Jesus, we also become a well of life that springs up for others. Not only do we get what we need most from Jesus, but, through Him, we become what others need. Through the living water Jesus gives, we change from being a leaky vessel, to a living vessel filled to overflowing with living water.
Just like you can’t drink salt water to quench your thirst, you can’t use material stuff to heal spiritual sickness; but we still try. We fill our lives full, avoid bad stuff, and try to escape from betrayal and pain. We buy stuff to pad our lives with comforts and fill our schedules with lots of distractions hoping to quench our spiritual thirst. But these things are leaky buckets, they cannot fulfill or enrich our lives for very long. We are like the woman standing at Jacob’s well in John 4, in the right place trying to solve the problem but putting our hope in a leaky bucket made from clay that will only run dry again. We need a better way.
We've all had the experience of walking a lot and getting tired. And whether it's a long day at the amusement park or the mandatory water break in a sport, we need to drink water to be refreshed. But how are we refreshed when we become spiritually fatigued? Jesus presents Himself in Psalm 1:3 as a stream of water which nourishes and refreshes the thriving tree. The personal spiritual disciplines of our faith are like water to a parched soul. We need to drink deeply of God's presence in worship, His love from His community, and His truth and guidance through His word and His Spirit. To thrive in Christ, we must be refreshed through personal discipline and devotion to His ways.
Now is the time to purchase a yearbook ad dedicated to your special senior! Pages are available for $350 and payment can be made in myWCS forms. Ads must be purchased by November 15.
Once your ad has been purchased, please create an account HERE and enter Westminster's order number: 10442. Now you can begin to design your ad! This year you have the ability to select a layout, place photos, and choose font and colors on your page. We want each senior’s ad to reflect his/her unique journey. Please keep the following guidelines in mind as you create the ad:
Appropriate Content: Ensure all photos are school-appropriate and in line with our school standards. Avoid images with inappropriate content or language.
Quality Matters: Please choose high-resolution images to ensure they look as good as possible. Also, keep in mind the larger pictures are easier to see. (If you choose the single picture page and create a collage, please keep in mind the smaller the picture the harder it will be to see). Please avoid blurry or low-quality pictures.
Variety: A mix of photos such as candid shots, milestones, hobbies, sports, school events, and family are among the most meaningful ways to personalize your senior's ad.
If you have any questions, please contact Yearbook Advisor Lourdes Mekras.
Thriving is not just a call to follow Jesus, it is also a call to be planted. "That person" is planted by streams of water Psalm 1:3 tells us. The world is rapidly changing, it always has been, but as Christians we’re called to weather the storm well, and give honor to God. Are you planted on a firm foundation in your life? Being rooted in a local church is an important way we stand firm in an ever-shifting world. The invitation is open, if you want to thrive, you need to be planted in His Church.
We will be hosting optional information sessions for parents regarding Warrior Week. Parents should attend their respective grade level meeting. These meetings are optional as all information regarding Warrior Week can be found in myWCS > Resources > Warrior Week. Additionally, if you have any questions, you may email warriorweek@wcsmiami.org.
During these sessions, the Health Office will be present to collect medication, physician authorization forms, and emergency action plans. Click here for more details.
There is a phrase you hear a lot in sports, “They left it on the field.”
I like that phrase! It means you gave it your all, maybe you didn’t win, but you can still feel good because you left it on the field. It’s a good sign if you get to the place in life where hard work and effort is a reward unto itself.
You can’t win every game. You can’t be good at every subject. You wouldn’t do well in any career. You’re not going to get along with every person you have to interact with, but this isn’t an excuse to lay back and let things crumble to pieces. There’s more that can and should be done to review the film, the study, to develop your skills, and to extend grace and forgiveness. This is true in life. This is also true in our faith.
We are not saved by works, but we are saved for them. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the kingdom of God! And our hands will be the ones to do it. The goal of that Christian life is not to be comfortable on earth and get rescued into paradise. The life of a Christian should be marked with the sweat and scars of hard work.
And there’s no better place to start training for a life well lived than right now. That’s why your coaches and teachers, your parents, your church leaders, and everyone is encouraging you to leave it on the field. Everyone knows that the very best results in life come on the heels of hard work and in no category is our work more justified and rewarded than in our faith.
Jesus looked at his disciples from where He sat by the woman at the well in John 4, as they came back from lunch and said, “Look, the fields are ripe for harvest.” Get started now fighting the good fight of the faith so that one day you’ll be able to say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Psalm 1:3 – “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither – whatever they do prospers.”
This brief article by Director of Spiritual Formation John Bishop sheds light on the 2024-25 theme and verse. In the article he shares examples of the kinds of tensions our theme and verse will help us unpack throughout the year. Below is the design that will represent the message of the theme and verse.
What Does it Mean to Thrive?
Next school year, we want to thrive, as individuals, in our families, at school, and as a community. We want our work to matter and to produce great results. We want the effort of our minds to give us insight and wisdom. We want our relationships to bloom with love, joy, contentment, and peace. We want our systems to run smoothly, our governments to strike the right balance, our neighborhoods to protect our sense of security. Our money to swell, our possessions to remain pristine, and our moods and emotions to remain under our control.
By contrast, we don’t want to waste time and effort or to have our hard-earned recognition be taken by someone else. We don’t want our investments to diminish or our decisions to result in suffering for us or those we love. We don’t want our deeply held convictions to be dismissed, and we don’t want to find that we’re addicted, or angry, or depressed, or sick.
So, what do we really want? In short, we want the paradise God created back in Eden. How do we get what we want?
But how did we lose it? Scripture teaches us in Genesis 1-3 that we lost it when Adam and Eve reached out and took the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. Perhaps you’re tempted to feel cheated by this, thinking, “That’s not my fault. If I had been there, I wouldn’t have doomed humanity to permanent suffering and death.”
Wouldn’t we though? Adam and Eve did it in Eden, but so did the disciples in Gethsemane. The church did it during the crusades, and again in the colonial conquest of the Americas, and when African people were being imported as slaves. Would we have stood opposed to the wicked and destructive actions of those in power? Did the Germans during WWII or the Russians, or Chinese or warring tribes in Rwanda? We can look back and understand with compassion that none of these people, Adam and Eve included, knew what the future would hold. Most of them, at the time, could NOT possibly have understood the ramifications of their complicit silence, and seemingly innocent turning-the-other-way in the moment. But their ignorance does not make them innocent, and it certainly does not reverse the effects of their actions or inactions on the rest of us.
And we are guilty as well, though we don’t like to think about it like that. But sin doesn’t begin with wanton destruction, it begins with avoiding the hard work demanded of us today. It does not begin in bitterness, divorce, betrayal, and scandal, it begins in our choice not to hold back our biting words to those we love when we feel angry, hungry, and/or tired. Cain, in Genesis 4:7, discovered this about sin. It does not come at us in the obvious way that we might resist it; instead, it “crouches at the door…”, and we must resist it or we will find ourselves giving in to our pressing desires for relief, pleasure, and power over others, and in that way sacrificing our futures too, to the devastating effects of sin.
We want paradise back, but our sins have made that impossible, and we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves. So, how do we close the gap?
We don’t! But Jesus did. Jesus never left paradise! He never gave in to His fleshly desires or said something he later regretted. Jesus stayed with God in the garden of Eden and when we found him in the garden of Gethsemane our envy led us to kill him for it. But praise God, He is not resentful, spiteful, vengeful, and malicious like we are, because instead of retribution, which is what we deserve, He extends an invitation to come home.
That person, [who places their faith in Jesus and abides in Him], will be like a prospering tree. We can have what we want this year, by giving up everything we are and everything we have and trusting in and abiding in Jesus, who promises to give us back the desires of our heart. We can reenter paradise with Him, bit-by-bit in this life and completely in eternity. Then, like the psalmist says, we can, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” (Psalm 100:4)
Let us, therefore, move toward next year with hope that we can get what we want, and let us discover that what we really want is to be found in Jesus. I invite you to join us in the often difficult and frustrating journey of dying to yourself, that we might thrive together in Christ.
I think most of the teachers at Westminster feel about you the way that Paul must have felt about the Ephesian church. He loved them!
There is a touching scene in Acts 20 when Paul is saying goodbye to the people of Ephesus and in verse 37 it says, “They all wept as they embraced him…”. Paul had let them know that he was not going to see them again because he needed to obey God and go on to what, at that point, he understood was going to be imprisonment and death, for the sake of the gospel.
Saying goodbye is hard. Some people deal with it by separating and pulling away. I guess the logic is, “If I make it uncomfortable and messy enough, it won’t hurt so bad.” But I don’t think that really lessens the blow, and it may actually rob some of the joy of those last moments. No, saying goodbye is a normal and necessary part of life. And here you are on the cusp, watching as this season of your life slips away, never to be seen again. It’s very sad.
But just because it’s sad doesn’t mean it’s bad (sorry for the cheesy rhyme). You cannot go anywhere or do anything meaningful in life without allowing what’s known to be sacrificed for what’s unknown. That’s how we grow. That’s how we learn. That’s how we discover our limits and uncover our purpose. We have to let go of the very thing that carried us through.
In an effort to leave you with some final words and help you finish strong or encourage you in how you have been finishing strong, here’s what Paul later wrote to the people of Ephesus, “16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
And now it’s time to let go. We release you to your future, into the unknown adventures that await. We pray over you what Paul prayed over them. We love you! Now get out of here and go do great things for Jesus!
To the rest of the students, even if this isn’t your senior year, each year is filled with valuable moments. Take inventory of all that God is/has been doing in your life and cherish it. Time moves by quicker than we realize, and each day is an end in itself. Don’t miss it!
Graduation will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 11 a.m. at The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach. Students need to arrive at the auditorium by 9:30 a.m. to line up for the ceremony. Choir, band, and orchestra seniors must arrive at 9 a.m. for rehearsal and sound check.
The doors will open for parents, families, and friends with tickets at 10:15 a.m. Please note that only ticket holders with assigned seats will be admitted. There is no general admission seating. Graduation will last approximately two hours.
Graduation tickets are available for pick up in the HS Office (with Ms. Lorena Vicente), Monday-Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Each family will receive six (6) tickets at no cost with preassigned sections, rows, and seats. If you would rather your senior pick up the tickets, please email Ms. Lorena Vicente at lvicente@wcsmiami.org to provide permission to release the tickets to your child. Graduating seniors do not need tickets. All six tickets may be used for family and friends.
A lottery system determined seat assignments. Additional seats may be purchased for a non-refundable $35 per ticket. Please note that these additional seats will be in a separate section from the six seats you were originally assigned. If anyone needs handicap-accessible seating, please email Ms. Lorena Vicente so that arrangements can be made.
Please mark your calendars with the following important dates leading up to graduation:
May 6-17
AP Exams
Seniors with AP exams are expected to report to the exams they are registered for and to class if there are pending tests/assignments.
May 17
Graduation Rehearsal & Senior Breakfast
Mandatory attendance for seniors on campus (students only)
May 18
Graduation Ceremony
The Fillmore at Miami Beach (11 a.m.)
Please contact the High School Office if you have any questions or concerns.
I’ve been a runner my whole life, and I think part of the motivation comes from a man I never met.
When I was a kid, I would look out the window by my bed as I struggled to get up for school. From that position I could see the road that passed by my house. I remember one morning seeing a man walking by. The next morning there he was again. And the next. And the next. It went on for days. You might wonder why I noticed him. Well, he was a big guy! Definitely over six feet tall and overweight, not the kind of person you would typically see walking by, especially that early in the morning. But there he was, walking.
I didn’t think much about him at first, but day after day, week after week, year after year, he passed by my house. He was committed! I was only a kid, but I found myself rooting for him. After a few months he was walking faster, and I silently cheered him on from my room. There was something inspiring watching this guy follow through with his commitment. Eventually, after a few years, he started jogging a little, slowly at first and only sporadically, and then, as his steps got lighter his pace got more consistent.
This is how it goes. The things we do every day eventually become habits. We have the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual ability to adapt and grow to fit the decisions we make for ourselves and our ever-changing lives. It takes a while when you change schools, for example, to build new routines, establish new relationships, understand the cultural dynamics and eventually fit in. The same is true later in life. You move cities, get a new job, get married, have kids, and each time have to rediscover how these changes require a lot of growth and adaptation. But you make it work, because you often don’t have a choice. But does it have to be this way?
Much of life seems to just happen to us and we find ourselves running uphill into a headwind. We’re out of shape and unprepared and often angry about it! “Why does it have to be so hard?” we think. I’m sure it was like this for this guy walking by my house. He didn’t get into whatever situation he was in all at once; he made little decisions every day that resulted in a life he was not happy with. Because the things we do every day eventually become habits.
My sister texted me last July and mentioned she was running the Miami Marathon on January 28. I couldn’t resist the challenge. In August last year I began training. For my first run, I barely made it three miles at a pace I was happy with. It had been a while since I’d had a regular workout routine, and I was out of shape. For a few weeks I just had to grind it out using a motto “5K every day!” for motivation. It wasn’t awesome.
We are excited to collaborate with Admission Ignition to provide college essay guidance. The next seminar, "Writing Descriptively" is on May 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the MS/HS Media Center. The first 50 students to sign up can attend for free and receive extra credit from their Westminster Language Arts teacher.
If you want to sign up, please fill out the Google Form.
Parents of students in grades 8-11 are asked to approve their child(ren)'s course request form for the 2024-25 school year. The form is available in myWCS and is due no later than Monday, April 29.
Through room mom coordinators and grade/campus level liaisons, Parent Partners is coordinating a variety of opportunities for parents to get involved and recognize the amazing work of our faculty and staff for Teacher Appreciation Week and the End of Year Gift Collection.
Teacher Appreciation Week will be celebrated from May 6-10 with small daily treats for all teachers and teacher assistants. You will hear from your specific grade representative on how your class will choose to celebrate and daily themes can be viewed below. You will also be asked to consider a financial gift to the End of Year Gift Collection (April 17-May 1) that will be distributed equally to every person under payroll at Westminster. Last year's collection was a huge success and a tremendous blessing to our Westminster community, which was made possible through your generosity. Teacher Appreciation Week will culminate with distribution of the year-end financial gift.
Thank you in advance for making this a memorable week for our teachers and staff!
Join us for the Senior Awards and Cords Night* on Tuesday, April 30, at 7 p.m. in The Lighthouse. Attendance is required for the class of 2024. All students will receive their caps, gowns, and honor society cords.
Light refreshment and desserts will be available following the event. Space is limited. Please limit attendees to immediate family. Select students will be receiving awards.
Prom is this weekend, and students are eager to enjoy this high school milestone. We are grateful we can coordinate and sponsor this event as well as other activities that enhance the Westminster student experience.
To maximize the fun and safety of our community, we want to remind families of our expectations for students who participate in Westminster-sponsored events. In this, we hope to clear up any misunderstandings, answer questions you may have, and set expectations for students and parents. We also feel it will be helpful to clarify the potential consequences associated with behavior that contradicts the standards outlined in the student handbook that occurs at this and any school-sponsored events.
Student expectations from the current student handbook:
Students and parents should be mindful that certain behaviors including, but not limited to, acts of violence, vandalism, dishonesty, abusive behavior, and alcohol and drug use, are simply inconsistent with our students’ role as emerging ambassadors for Christ, and these behaviors will not be tolerated and subject to disciplinary actions.
Students are expected to behave in a manner that reflects positively upon the student and the school. Students are expected to take care of our campus and clean up after themselves. Students are expected to always maintain proper decorum and conduct themselves with respect for themselves and those around them. Students should not engage in public displays of affection that exceed the bounds of good taste and/or make others reasonably uncomfortable.
The use of drugs, alcohol, or other prohibited items (i.e., tobacco products, products with pseudo-tobacco qualities, or vaping/juuling products), including misuse or abuse of synthetic compounds, common household chemicals, prescribed or over-the-counter medicines, will not be tolerated and subject the student(s) to disciplinary actions.
Students using, possessing, transporting, distributing, or involved in selling or purchasing drugs, alcohol, or other prohibited items on campus or at school functions will be expelled. If student(s) are not on campus nor at a school sanctioned activity, students are still subject to severe disciplinary action with possible expulsion at the discretion of school administration, given the totality of the circumstances and in the best interests of the student and student body of the school.
WCS expects the entire school community to support its efforts to keep our students’ drug and alcohol-free. Parents who permit or condone the use of alcohol or controlled substances by WCS students in their home or at events or functions under the parents’ control (regardless of whether the parent is present) place their children’s continued enrollment at WCS in jeopardy.
Some offenses warrant immediate expulsion as determined by the administration. WCS reserves the right to expel any student whose behavior is a concern or threat to the safety, health, and well-being of our WCS community. WCS further reserves the right to expel any student for serious and/or multiple infractions (even if unrelated) of this Code of Conduct or any behavior, whether specifically referenced herein, which is deemed to constitute a departure from the behavior expected and required of WCS students.
We invite you to learn more about the dangers of teen alcohol use and the significant dangers, legal risks, and consequences to parents associated with underage drinking. Please refer to this resource, which includes a presentation by MADD and an attorney and former Westminster parent about Florida law related to liabilities associated with teen alcohol use and having alcohol present in a home where an after-party occurs.
We appreciate your attention to this matter as we seek to partner with you in educating our students to make good choices.
When we say, “he’s batting 1,000” we never mean it literally. It’s an expression! No one bats 1,000. In fact, the all-time greatest batting average in MLB history was held by Ty Cobb at .366. There have been over 20,500 players in the MLB since 1876 and not one of them has even gotten to 500. In other words, the expression, “he’s batting 1,000” literally means, he’s achieving the impossible.
Here’s the important lesson to take from this week’s message – if you like winning, you’ll need to make friends with failure! When the GOAT misses nearly 7 out of 10 at-bats, we shouldn’t be surprised when we swing and miss.
On the other hand, here’s a casual observation, YOU WILL NEVER HIT A BALL YOU DON’T SWING AT! The batting average is for every person who chooses not to expose themselves to the possibility of a strikeout is ALWAYS, exactly 0!
We can’t afford to fear failure!
In Psalm 86:11 we have been talking all year about being wholehearted, giving it your all. But what about when you do give it your all and fall flat on your face? What if you finally quit drinking or smoking and make it a few weeks only to relapse and strike out again?
Winning isn’t only about the dub, it’s also about how you handle the losses.
Proverbs 24:16 says, “The righteous may fall seven times but still get up, but the wicked will stumble into trouble.” Will you still get up? Will you allow God to meet you in your lowest moments and rely on his faithfulness even when you know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he could NEVER rely on yours?
Paul makes an interesting analogy in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 when he says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Here’s a thought to chew on: the light of God’s glory dwells inside us. When we receive Jesus for our salvation, the Spirit of God enters our soul and begins guiding us, shaping us, changing us, and shining through us. But if we were a well-formed clay pot how would God’s glory shine forth? Consider this, the cracks are how the glory of God gets out. It is in our weakness He is made strong. It is our foolishness that reveals God’s wisdom. It is in our getting back up and continuing to walk with God that we demonstrate a faith that shines like a light. Everyone will stumble and fall, everyone will strike out, but the one who endures to the end will be saved! (Matthew 24:13).
I think most of us want to win! At everything. All the time.
Isn’t that why we cut each other off in traffic, and scan the grocery store aisles for the shortest line? Isn’t that why we pay attention to the latest fashion trends and keep up with all the details of our friends’ lives? Isn’t that why we apply for the best college we think we can get into maximizing the impressiveness of the name, while not overshooting and facing rejection?
Being part of a team that is enduring a losing season is brutal! If we don’t start winning quick, the coaching staff starts packing up their offices.
We want dubs! And if we don’t have dubs, we want answers!
At Westminster Christian School we’re winning at a lot of levels! I walked into the gym and took a quick video of all the national, state, regional, and district championships hanging on the walls. If you haven’t looked recently, it’s a lot. We have national and state championships in baseball for 13 years and counting; state championships in softball – six years; boys track – two years; volleyball – two years; beach volleyball – one year. And we have district and regional championships in football, boys’ & girls’ basketball, baseball, softball, boys’ & girls’ track and field, boys’ & girls’ soccer, wrestling, volleyball, cross country, tennis, and boys’ lacrosse. This doesn’t account for the tremendous performance of individual students and teams that won critical games along the way. In athletics, we’re winning!
On the website under “Recent College Acceptances” there’s a list of over 140 different schools to which our students have been accepted. Prestigious academic institutions like Harvard, Stanford, M.I.T., Brown, Berkley, Dartmouth, and many others. Our students have also been accepted at universities that are nationally known for their athletics, design, music, arts, research, engineering, law, medicine and a host of other things. Last year our school placed 100% of its graduates in schools to further their education. Beyond that we offer 27 different AP courses across all core subjects and the arts. In academics, we’re winning!
There’s a bumper sticker that many of us have on our car that simply says, “The Dub” with a sword running through it. Obviously, this stands for “Westminster” and directly, but more subtly boasts of how we feel about our school, #WINNING!
There is another area we’re winning, but it’s a little harder to measure, and so a little less obviously a part of what we love so much about our school. We hear about it on admission open house days when people from around town show up and comment, “Wow! Everyone is so nice!” I saw it last year when one of our athletic teams went out of their way to make some kids feel special in a restaurant. The father was so moved by how kind our students were to his kids that he went out of his way to tell us about it in an email. I don’t remember which team it was or whether we won the game, but we certainly won the game being played in that restaurant with those kids! We get to see it when our community faces tragedy. In those terrible moments we rally together and love each other and grieve well. And, finally, we get to see it at Warrior Week and Gr8 Escape, and increasingly every Tuesday as we open our hearts to God worshipping together in chapels. We’re winning!
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
We invite you to attend the Spring Association Meeting on Tuesday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. This year’s meeting will be held in the sanctuary of Christ Congregational Church, 14920 SW 67 Ave.
While there are often elections to the Board of Trustees during the Spring Association Meeting, there are no vacancies on the board for the upcoming school year. Therefore, no election will be held at this meeting. We are grateful to have a stable Board of Trustees who will continue to serve us over the next year.
We anticipate the meeting will be shorter than usual and the Board of Trustees and school administrators will be updating you on the school finances, the upcoming capital campaign, and the proposal for a new athletics center.
This has been a remarkable school year, one in which we have seen God’s hand move in and over us in amazing ways. He has guided us through great times of celebration and challenge, directing and protecting our every step.
Please continue to pray for our children, our faculty and staff, and our leadership as we continue to seek God’s direction in all that we do.
The Future Health Professionals (HOSA) high school club has partnered with OneBlood to host its final blood drive of the year on Wednesday, April 17, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. All eligible students and parents are encouraged to donate. There will be two Big Red Buses in the high school circle collecting whole blood and platelet donations.
Students can sign-up on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and 10 during their social studies class or stop by HS 210. Students will receive a parent consent form when they register. Additional consent forms are available HERE. Students must be at least 16 to participate. Additionally:
Students who are 16 need a signed parent consent form at every donation, even if they’ve donated before.
Students who are 17 need an ID and a signed parent consent form. This form will be valid for all remaining drives during this school year.
Students who are 18 need an ID, but are not required to submit a parent consent form.
Parent consent forms must be returned to the high school office no later than February 13 to donate.
While Westminster will remain a closed campus during the blood drive, parents are encouraged to participate. Please register below:
I got caught up the other day on YouTube watching a man build a mini hydroelectric power plant in a ditch. I know, embarrassing. I’m such a nerd but so are 25 million other people! Here’s the link if you want to watch it 😊.
It’s about overflow! The water that backs up behind a dam is loaded with potential, but there’s not much you can do with the potential that is trapped behind the wall of the dam. Potential has to be released in order to be realized. But if you’re not careful in how it is released it can be very dangerous. So, engineers figured out how to harness a strategic, measured amount of that potential in ways that can produce sustainable power. One way they do it is by creating a low spot in the wall and harnessing the overflow.
God has designed us (humanity) with tremendous potential. The human spirit is profoundly powerful! We marvel at stories of people who thrive in prison camps, sacrifice themselves to save someone else, accomplish unbelievable physical feats, or harness nature to build and create fascinatingly complex tools that bend reality and hold suffering at bay. Our potential, individually and collectively, is seemingly unlimited but the issue is that potential is available to those who would use it for good and evil. That means it can also cause tremendous destruction, pain, and suffering.
While I’m writing this, the videos of war in Israel are flooding to people’s phones revealing the real-time devastation of human potential busting through the walls in rage, resentment, and hatred. How do we hold back the flood of human depravity and use our potential for good?
Luke 6:45 gives us a clue, “The good man brings things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”
There are streams of influence flowing into our souls behind the wall. And what backs up behind the dam of our soul eventually breaks through. Have you evaluated the streams filling up your life lately?
When Jesus walked with the disciples he put them in all kinds of crazy situations as they watched him turn water to wine, multiply fish and loaves, heal blind people, lame people, sick people, then walk across the water, speak to the wind, rebuke powerful men, cast out demons, pray, weep, laugh, die, walk through walls, transform into an angel of light, ascend into heaven, and all this in three years of public ministry. For three years, he filled these disciples with torrents of evidence and examples of God’s power at work with us. By the time He left them to continue the ministry without them they were bursting with potential.
Then in Acts 2, the dam broke and the overflow of the Spirit of God through those men and millions since has not stopped flowing like a stream into the lives of countless others through the generations. And that was His plan all along. He said in John 14:12, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the father.”
How do we hold back the flood of human depravity and use our potential for good? We tend to the streams that fill our lives. We allow Jesus to fill us with the Spirit of God and let the overflow of His love do the rest.
Jesus promises that he will give us living water (John 4), that when we give our lives to Him, we will never thirst again. What we may need to be reminded of is that the abundance of his living water will never stop flowing.
So let it flow! We are blessed to be a blessing. So, let’s get busy doing the greater things He said we would.
Parents, please join us for the upcoming Parenting a Warrior seminar on Friday, April 12, at 8 a.m. in the Nature Center. This important meeting will discuss anxiety, its effects on families, and will share strategies for coping in a world where anxiety abounds.
This meeting is hosted by Westminster Counselors Kim Brigham, Yeni Dumas, and Scarlett Saldaña.
Prepare a one minute monologue and a :30 second to one minute of a musical theatre or pop song (no rap)
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to lplyler@wcsmiami.org, and make sure you tell your friends who are interested. Hope to see you there!
Prepare a one minute monologue and a :30 second to one minute of a musical theatre or pop song (no rap)
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to lplyler@wcsmiami.org, and make sure you tell your friends who are interested. Hope to see you there!
Juniors are expected to attend the AIMS College Fair on Sunday, April 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE Second Avenue in Miami. Parents are encouraged to attend.
The event is mandatory for all juniors. Click HERE to view directions and parking information. A special discounted parking rate of $15/vehicle is offered to event guests at the Miami Tower Garage.
For more information, please contact your college counselor.
Tickets to the Junior/Senior Prom and to the Junior/Senior Brunch can be purchased via the school form banner on parent's myWCS account. Please enter the student's legal first and last name for the guest list.
The deadline to purchase tickets is April 15, 2024 at 3 p.m. These are student only events. Students are ineligible to attend the following events if they have been placed on academic, disciplinary, or attendance probation up to the date of the event.
Junior/Senior Brunch Thursday, April 18 10 a.m. to Noon Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove
The Class of 2025 and 2024 celebrate the passing of the torch from the seniors to the juniors in this Westminster tradition. The program is hosted by Student Leadership. Tickets: $60/student
Junior/Senior Prom
April 20, 2024 Trump National 7 p.m. - 11 p.m. (Students may leave event at 10:45 p.m.)
The Class of 2025 and 2024 celebrate the school year in this Westminster tradition. Students will have dinner together and dance while making long lasting memories.
Join us on Friday, April 5, at 8 a.m. in the Lighthouse to learn about Boating and Water Safety. The Parent Partners meeting will feature Major Alberto Maza from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Monica Burguera Foundation (MBF). Westminster parents and students may sign up for free boating classes from MBF after the meeting.
In Genesis 3:22 it says, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore, the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.” At first glance, this is a strange result.
Adam and Eve are at their lowest and God banishes them from paradise in a final act of what?! What is God doing here?
For the longest time I didn’t understand this outcome. I didn’t think much about it either; It just kind of felt like the end of a story, “…and they lived miserably ever after…” or something like that. It was later in my walk with the Lord that I realized what a profound act of mercy this banishment actually was.
The consequence of eating the fruit was knowing good AND evil, whereas before the fruit we only knew good. If God allowed us to then reach out and take eternal life, we would exist for eternity knowing evil – that is not what He wanted for us. Death is introduced so that our suffering from evil (sin) could be limited to our lives on earth. And after that act, a drama unfolds through all human history depicting all of the ways that God has attempted to reach us and bring us back into a right relationship with him.
Noah builds an ark to rescue his family from the flood.
Abraham is promised a home in Canaan for his family who will outnumber the stars in heaven.
Joseph is sent to Egypt to protect his people from a famine.
Moses is empowered to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt and is then given the law to bind them as a people under God.
Esther is hand-picked in a special moment in history to ensure that the people of God endure.
David is sent as a king to unite and rule over the people and defend them against their enemies.
Judges and prophets are sent to guide the people according to the will of God.
And despite all of that we failed!
No matter what God did to lead us, rescue us, guide us, protect us, we all like sheep, went astray, each to his own way and turned our backs on God. All, that is, until Jesus, the lamb of God, went willingly to death, even death on a cross to fulfill the plan of God from the beginning, to reopen paradise and invite us into eternity with Him.
Today, juniors received their location, field trip form, and service day t-shirt. Please return the field trip form to Mrs. Walker on Tuesday, March 19.
On the day of community service, students should arrive at their location by 9 a.m. and will be dismissed at noon.
On the day of Junior Bootcamp, students will meet at 8 a.m. in The Lighthouse, in school uniform, with their SURFACE and charger. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m.
If a student is scheduled for Community Service Day on Wednesday, March 20, he/she will attend Junior Bootcamp on Thursday, March 21. If a student is attending Community Service Day on Thursday, March 21, he/she will attend Junior Bootcamp on Wednesday, March 20.
For questions regarding Community Service Day, please see Mrs. Walker. For questions regarding Junior Bootcamp, please see your counselor.
As part of Spiritual Emphasis Week, middle and high school students are organizing an all-school collection to support organizations such as Chapman Partnership Homestead, Kristi House, Lotus House, and more. The goal is to "stuff a truck" with essential goods and deliver them to their respective locations.
Between March 18 and April 4, please donate lightly used clothes, shoes, toys, new diapers and/or underwear. View the flyer for grade specific information. In the middle school, donations may be dropped off with Mrs. Bishop or Ms. Reyes. Donation boxes will also be available in the high school concourse.
We are excited about the upcoming milestones as we near the end of senior year! Thank you for entrusting us with your children's education and growth. They have truly been a blessing to us, and we are thrilled to see them embark on their final journey as high school seniors. Below is a recap of yesterday’s assembly.
Senior Trip
Please review the itinerary to know flight information and daily activities. It has been posted in The Brief each week for the past month, and shared in the Senior Parent/Student Community Groups in myWCS. Students need to plan accordingly, be mindful of their dress attire, and pack wisely. It will be cold (expected temperatures are 30s through 50s), and there will be quite a bit of walking involved. Bring comfortable shoes. The students are allowed to check a bag for their flight; however, that is an independent cost and they must pay for it directly at the airport during the check-in process. We HIGHLY ENCOURAGE taking a carry-on bag and personal bag (i.e. bookbag) instead of checking in a large bag. If you have any questions or concerns about the senior trip, please contact Mr. Castaneda.
We are closely monitoring all updates in New York regarding subway transportation and will adjust accordingly as needed. We have booked a bus for transportation from airport to hotel on arrival day and from hotel to airport on departure day.
Seniors not participating in the Service Trip will be required to attend school on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, March 18, 19, and 22. Most classes are mixed-grades, so classes will still take place, and attendance matters. They are excused from school on Wednesday and Thursday, March 20 and 21, since juniors will have the CCC Boot Camp and Junior Service Day. Therefore, seniors not attending the service trip may miss school Wednesday and Thursday without affecting their attendance records.
Academic Reminders
On the academic front, we emphasized the importance of finishing strong. Maintaining their studies and GPA is crucial, and attendance remains a graduation requirement. We urge students to prioritize their academics and ensure they have met the minimum required community service hours for graduation (100 hours). If you have any academic concerns or require further guidance, please feel free to contact your child's counselor for support.
March 18-22
Senior Trip
Miami International Airport
Last Names A-E
Check-In: American Airlines Door 4 @ 5 a.m.
Departure: AA1736 @ 7:03 a.m.
Last Names F-Z
Check-In: American Airlines Door 4 @ 7 a.m.
Departure: AA1848 @ 9:01 a.m.
April 18
Junior/Senior Brunch
Ritz Carlton @ Coconut Grove
April 20
Prom
Trump Hotel @ Doral
April 30
Senior Awards Night
All Seniors must attend. Caps, gowns, and cords are being distributed at this event. Parents are invited.
May 3
Last Day of Class/Senior Caravan
May 6–17: Seniors with AP exams are expected to report to the exams they are registered for and to class if there are pending tests/assignments.
May 17
Graduation Rehearsal and Senior Breakfast
On Campus; Mandatory Attendance for Seniors (students only)
May 18
Graduation Ceremony
Fillmore @ Miami Beach Ticket distribution will begin after Spring Break.
Detailed information will be sent for each event separately. Thank you for your continued support and partnership in ensuring our seniors' success. If you have any questions or need more assistance, please contact us.
A special evening awaits fathers and daughters at the annual ES Father/Daughter Dance on Saturday, April 13, at 6:30p.m. in the SAC. Students from PK3-Grade 5 will enjoy dancing, delicious food, and more. If the child's father is unable to attend, she is encouraged to attend with another adult.
Today in his/her backpack, your child will receive a free student pass to attend the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair, along with a parent discount as well. Be sure to look for it today!
The PS/ES Field Day is on Friday, March 22, 2024 at the following times and locations:
Preschool (8:15 a.m.-9 a.m.) – East Side of the Gutierrez Field by the Nature Center and Wild Acre
K5-2nd Grade (9 a.m.-10:20 a.m.) – Gutierrez Field
3rd-5th Grade (11:45 a.m.-2:15 p.m.) – HS Main Field on the North Side of Campus
Field Day is a great opportunity to come out and enjoy time with your child and their classmates as they engage in physical activities that develop community and sportsmanship.
Parents of students in K-5th Grade are welcome to join us for lunch. We will be providing hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cookies and water for students and parents wishing to join us that day. If parents want to have a picnic lunch with their child, you may bring a blanket to sit at the ES Field, select a picnic table or sit inside the SAC at the designated tables. You may only pull your own child to sit with you for lunch and supervise them while in your care. Students are not allowed to play on the ES Field, ES Basketball Court or ES Playground while having lunch with their parent. Students not having lunch with their parent will be supervised by their classroom assistants in the SAC.
Westminster's Health Office, in conjunction with Scholar Screenings, Inc., will be conducting complimentary Scoliosis screenings on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 to detect children with curvature of the spine.
The procedure for screening is simple. Trained screeners examine the child’s back as he/she bends forward. If the child has a possible curvature, parents will be notified so they can be taken to the family physician, pediatrician, or orthopedist for a follow-up examination.
If you do not wish to have your child participate in this program, please email the school nurses at healthoffice@wcsmiami.org by Friday, March 15, 2024.
Next week we will be celebrating the story of Easter - the central story of all human history. In the article next week, we will focus on how Jesus is the fulfillment of a story God has been telling from the beginning of time. As a setup to this climactic story, we have been outlining different symbols and images used in Scripture. We’ve already discussed the tree and the garden. Today we’ll look at the thorns.
Without the saving work of Jesus, sin rules our lives. And there are consequences to sin that cannot be avoided or erased. The Bible describes these consequences by using the imagery of the thorns. In Genesis 3:17-19 we read, “God said to Adam, Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’” “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
How many times have you poured your heart into something only to see some of your effort wasted? You practiced all summer but didn’t make the team. You spent six months saving, but by the time you had enough, it was out of style. You invested time and effort into the relationship only to be betrayed. Thorns!
We are so accustomed to the effect of sin that we even anticipate failure in our planning process. Airlines over-sell their seats because people don’t show (and maybe because of greed, too). If you’re smart, you have a contingency plan anytime you’re counting on someone following through. When you’re saving for retirement, you must account for inflation. You must carry insurance on everything. Thorns!!
This is not the way God intended it. He put us in paradise without need or lack. It was sin that introduced brokenness and wasted effort. It’s not work that we hate; it’s wasted effort. Work isn’t even the curse, it’s the thorns.
Seniors not participating in the Service Trip will be required to attend school on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, March 18, 19, and 22. Most classes are mixed-grades, so school will still take place, and attendance matters. They are excused from school on Wednesday and Thursday, March 20 and 21, since juniors will have the CCC Boot Camp and Junior Service Day. Therefore, seniors not attending the service trip may miss Wednesday and Thursday without affecting their attendance records.
The 2024-25 course selection forms for sixth and seventh grade students must be completed, signed by a parent, and submitted to the homeroom teacher by no later than Monday, March 11.
Last week we discussed our hearts (our will, motivations, thoughts, and decision-making center). We do the things we don’t want to do and don’t do the things we should do. The Bible calls this sin, and we all must deal with its effects in our lives. Instead of being Wholehearted, we are Hole-hearted. Then we looked at the problem and the solution using the image of “the tree.” This week we want to look at our hole-heartedness through a different lens, that of “the garden.”
There are certain places we find ourselves (or put ourselves) that make doing the right thing much more difficult. There are also certain places where the possibility of something bad happening is much more likely, like South Beach after dark, for example. But we need to be careful giving too much credit to the place (context/circumstances) for how it affects our life.
For example, we all know people who’ve come through bad places but made something very good of those experiences. We have also known people who have been given every advantage and have, nevertheless, ended up in a rough spot. How our heart chooses to direct us, regardless of where we are, is the central issue in navigating our lives.
Consider the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:1-5 says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’””
There could not have been a better place to be. It was literally paradise. Everything was provided in abundance, even meaningful work. There was no brokenness, sin, shame, addiction, natural disasters, just God’s perfect creation. And in that context, Adam and Eve were hole-hearted. Even though they lacked nothing, they felt something was missing. The hole in their heart caused them to exert their will and take what was not theirs, even in a place where they had no need. This one act introduced sin to all of humanity.
We are so excited to announce our very first Green Challenge. Please click here to learn how you and your child(ren) can participate at home and what you can do to earn points. Mr. Heetderks will be sharing more during his WorldWonder classes. Please join us in learning more about God's Creation, loving what he created for us to enjoy and sharing what we experience!
Please email Mrs. Glavach with any questions you may have.
Join us for the Mother/Son Game Night on Friday, April 12 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the SAC. This fun-filled event is about moms creating fun memories with their sons. Students from preschool through fifth grade will enjoy fun games, delicious food, and more alongside their mother or special guest.
Information on how to order a class group picture was emailed to parents by Steckley. Place your class picture order by Friday, March 14, at 5 p.m. to receive free school delivery.
📸 Can't find the email? Please search your email for "Steckley" and check your spam folder. If you still cannot locate the email, please email steckleyphoto@gmail.com with your child's name, school and grade.
Fifth grade parents, you're invited to attend "Transition to Middle School Parenting" on Friday, March 8, at 8 a.m. in the Nature Center with the Westminster counselors.
Also, mark your calendar for these important dates as your student transitions to middle school.
March 5, 2024 – Middle School Counselor Yeni Dumas meets with 5th grade students.
March 5, 2024 – Middle School Curriculum Guides are sent home.
March 11, 2024 – Completed and signed Middle School Curriculum Guides are due.
There seems to be something wrong with our hearts (that is, our will, motivations, thoughts, and decision-making centers). This shows up in our life all the time. For example, we struggle to follow through, even when it’s something we want to do. Then when we give it our best effort, we often fall short. We love things we shouldn’t and resist things that are good. We get angry, tired, distracted, bored and then instead of taking ownership and doing better, we blame, get bitter and resentful and multiply hurt to ourselves and others. The Bible calls this sin, and we all must deal with its effects!
Instead of being wholehearted we are hole-hearted.
The Bible gives us a helpful image to understand both the problem and the solution to our hole-heartedness: “the tree.”
Consider how the image of a tree works its way through Scripture. There are no wasted words in the Bible.
There was a tree planted in the garden of Eden. In Genesis 2:17 it says, “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” The obvious question you might want to ask is, “Why did God put it there?” It’s a good question! But be careful, asking it can quickly become a way to blame God for our behavior. Here’s another question to ask, after God made the consequences so clear, why did Adam and Eve do exactly what He told them not to? Why do we?
There are many times in our lives that we know full well the consequences of the decisions we’re about to make. We’ve made the same decision before and suffered the same way every time. Yet, when faced with the decision again, we ignore the consequences and do it anyway. Then we get mad at God and others for putting the “tree” there.
Juniors, sophomores and freshmen are invited to join the College Counseling Center for a Jesuit Excellence College Tour on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m. in the high school gym. The following schools will be in attendance:
Le Moyne College Loyola Marymount University Loyola New Orleans Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Maryland Marquette University Saint Joseph's University Saint Louis University Spring Hill College University of San Francisco University of Scranton Xavier University of Ohio Fairfield University
Join the College Counseling Center for a special presentation for junior parents about the college admission process. The presentation will take place in The Lighthouse on Wednesday, February 28, at 6:30 p.m.
The formula for building a satisfying and life-long marriage does not primarily hinge on picking the right person.
If that sentence causes you to bristle a little, I get it. It directly contradicts a popular idea about relationships that suggests there is someone out there who perfectly “fits” you, and all you need to do is find them and you will know, “They’re the one.” We all long for a, ‘happily ever after,’ and it would be awesome if it could simply be found. This romantic idea makes for a touching movie plot, and maybe a sentimental anniversary card, but it is not biblical; it is not even realistic.
Here are some statistics about marriages in the U.S.: 41% of first marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. For second marriages it’s 60%, and 73% of third marriages end in divorce. And yet, no one shows up at the altar to get married because they’re hoping to suffer a lot of pain! What’s going on here? Most of us have been deeply affected by broken marriages. It is painful, disruptive, and costly on every level.
Here’s the sobering reality: you cannot enter the most important human relationship you will ever have with a short-term, shallow, romantic, fleeting, ideological sentiment. And you cannot experiment with sex and sexuality, the glue that is intended to hold this most central relationship together, without consequences. It’s going to take everything you and your future spouse have to make it work, and it will still be hard. The Bible does not pull any punches on describing the level of commitment required in marriage.
Genesis 2:24 says, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
You cannot get anymore committed than, “one flesh.”
Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce, in Matthew 19:2-9, here’s what He said,
“Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired. “What did Moses command you?” He replied. They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart. However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
So, what can we take from Jesus’ teaching about the answer to our issues in marriage and intimacy, i.e., what is the thing that a satisfying, life-long marriage primarily hinges on? Well, it is NOT some squishy idea about finding the one. All human relationships and interactions have the potential to be enriching, fulfilling, enlightening, fun, challenging, satisfying etc. The thing that moves any relationship in this direction is commitment! This is most essentially true in marriage where we take it all the way to the level of a spiritual covenant with vows and everything.
The Westminster High School Theatre Program proudly presents its production of INTO THE WOODS on Thursday and Friday, March 7 and 8, at 7 p.m. in The Lighthouse Theater.
Embark on a magical journey with a whimsical and enchanting musical where fairy tales come to life. Join us for an evening of laughter, lessons, and Christian values as our talented students bring these timeless stories to the stage. Don't miss the magic – join us for "Into the Woods" and be inspired by the joy of storytelling with a twist!
Have you ever met someone and after a brief interaction felt like you’d known them for years? Maybe they love the same sports or have read the same books. Maybe you found out some little things you have in common like playing dungeons and dragons or playing pranks on others. Maybe you share a birthday, or your families come from the same country or hometown or neighborhood. When you meet someone like this, there is an instant connection, like you’ve found a long-lost sibling. You might call a person like this your soulmate.
There is something profound and powerful about being with someone you can relate to and connect with at this level. Being known and understood is a deep, deep desire of our heart and a person like this often leaves us feeling known and loved. Do you have a soulmate?
I think there is a romanticized idea floating around saying there is a soulmate out there for all of us. But is that a realistic idea? We’ve all stood in grocery store checkout lines to see the tabloid covers advertising the latest breakups and dramas playing out between famous people who just a year ago had been labeled as soulmates.
What’s going on here? Who’s lying to us and what’s their aim? For the tabloid editors the motive seems clear, to sell magazines and make money. Maybe it’s easy to dismiss their use of soulmate to make a buck. But what do we do about our own genuine experience of betrayal, our wounds, and the times we’ve been abandoned by those we at one time thought of as soulmates?
The Vanderbilt Program for Talented Youth is an exceptional opportunity for academically talented and motivated students to explore accelerated instruction in custom courses from Vanderbilt University faculty and graduate students. We are proud to recognize Gabriela Handel and Talena Rivera for their acceptance to this distinguished and competitive summer program. Their acceptance is an honor for our academic community.
The residential Vanderbilt Summer Academy (VSA) for rising 7th and 8th graders will take place June 9-14, 2024. The program offers eight specialized courses ranging from "Urban Transportation & Data Analytics" to "Engineering the Human Body: From Health to Disease." Dr. Leslie Seidel, 7th grade English teacher, presented this prestigious opportunity to her students, and she met with interested students to advise them concerning the application process. Many thanks to Principal Manoogian, Mrs. Dumas, and the Westminster Middle School faculty for providing letters of recommendation and support for our student applicants. Further information for the VSA can be found here.
Spring sports begin February 21, after Winter Break.
Our ES Athletic program is designed to nurture essential soccer skills while also having fun! We believe in the power of teamwork. Your student will learn to pass, kick, and work together as a team. It's not just about goals; it's about creating memories at a young age. Practices are held on the ES field on Tuesday and Thursday directly after school and led by Coach Tony. Our team also plays against other local schools on the weekend at either Coral Reef Park of Miami Dades Kendall Campus.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Middle School Kickball Tournament scheduled for February 3 has been cancelled. If you and your family registered for the event, you will receive a refund for tickets purchased. We apologize for any inconvenience.
What makes someone your bestie? Common interests? Similar outlooks on life? Your families have been friends your whole lives? Trust? Or maybe it’s something less innocent like peer pressure, proximity, or guilt. There are a lot of complicated reasons why we choose to spend time with people; why we might throw around a term like Bestie.
Relationships are central to most everything we do and think about. From the moment we’re born and look up to our parents, and every day after, our lives are filled with relationships. We are bound to each other, for better or worse. Because of this it is important to formulate our beliefs about relationships. So how do we think about what we want from others and what do we think about our responsibility to others? And where do we turn to formulate these beliefs?
I think most of us would say that what we want from our bestie is to be acknowledged. To be seen, known, understood, loved, accepted, treated justly and kindly etc. But, often, even with our best friends, this is not always the case. You get (or at least feel) rejected. You must navigate complicated situations where being associated with one person gets you in trouble with another. Loyalties shift, interests wane, tensions arise, people change. This catches us off guard because it’s not what’s presented on social media feeds, movies, and music. Even though the closing scene of Grease shows Sandy and Danny riding into the sunset like everything is going to work out, we all know that the drama will continue tomorrow. It always does.
Our ES Athletic program is designed to nurture essential soccer skills while also having fun! We believe in the power of teamwork. Your student will learn to pass, kick, and work together as a team. It's not just about goals; it's about creating memories at a young age. Practices are held on the ES field on Monday and Wednesday directly after school and led by Coach Ale and Coach Ty. Our preschool team also plays against other local schools on the weekend at either Coral Reef Park of Miami Dades Kendall Campus.
Calling all middle school parents and their children to join us for a day of fun at the Middle School Kickball Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Gutierrez Field and in the SAC.
Have fun playing slip 'n slide kickball and backyard games, and enjoy shaved ice, a barbecue lunch and more! The cost to join the fun is $10/person.
I think if you ask 10 people what the best cardio exercise is you will get 10 different answers, and you might get a lot more information than you bargained for. In fact, I typed, “The best cardio” into Google to see what might come up and there was an endless list of options. Of course, that’s because there are endless ways to get your body moving and your heart pumping. It also depends on your goals. If you want to lose weight, that’s very different from if you’re trying to build muscle while decreasing your BMI.
There is, after all, a wide gap between HIIT and dance classes, but both activities will get your heart pumping, both are great cardio options. You can swim, run, do burpees, row, jump rope, get a membership in a climbing gym, walk around your block briskly, or go to bootcamp to join the Marines. Every one of these activities will get your heart pumping and will benefit you physically.
But with all our focus on health, fitness, and physique, have we forgotten that our hearts are more than a muscle?
Have you ever been startled by something and discovered that your heart was racing? Have you ever held your breath and found after a little while that your heart was pounding in your ears? Have you ever had a near miss in traffic and experienced that flood of adrenaline and struggled to “calm your nerves.”
Your physical heart is connected to your emotions, thoughts, relationships, successes and failures, fears, and hormones. Your heart beats like you’d just done ten burpees even while you’re sitting on a roller coaster or laid back in a soft chair in a movie theater.
Considering all of this, I think we need to aim a little deeper when considering the question, “What’s the best cardio?” If you strengthen the muscle of your heart so you can run a marathon, but you never deal with the strife at home, you won’t have peace. Maybe you can sprint to the top of the stadium steps ten times in a row without slacking your pace, but how does your heart do when it’s rejected by your best friend? Perhaps you’ve had success trimming the inches on your waistline, but do you trust God with your finances, safety, and future?
Westminster's Parent Partners hosted a panel discussion titled, "Protecting Our Youth From Human Trafficking and Other Dangers." If you were unable to attend, you may click here to watch the panel discussion now.
The Model United Nations Conference takes places on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2, and is an excellent opportunity for interested students who are beginners or new to the program. The event is open to students from grades 7 through 12 and takes place at Palmer Trinity School.
If interested in participating, please contact Ms. Hamming by February 15 to sign up. Limited spots are available.
I got frustrated the other day after realizing that I’d forgotten to turn on Strava before the three-mile walk I’d just finished. I said out loud in frustration, “I don’t get credit if it’s not tracked!” The people I was with laughed at me, rightfully so.
On the other hand, I find that tracking metrics like distance, speed, or reps is an essential part of building and maintaining an effective fitness plan. And when I look back on my week, it helps me to stay more consistent if I’ve tracked what I’ve done. For me, I don’t know if I’m pushing myself to an appropriate stress level if I don’t know how far, how fast, or how many I did last time.
A few years ago, I was training for a big race and picked up a book I thought might be helpful called The Triathletes Training Bible, By Joe Friel. You’ll need to read the book to get accurate technical details, but here’s one of the things I took away from it: to build endurance you need to maintain peak exertion over a set distance largely independent of time. And central to all his biometrics is an accurate heart rate.
If you walk three miles and your heart rate never picks up, then you can say you had a nice stroll. You can celebrate that you were active, and perhaps the casual walk is significantly better than sitting in a desk chair with respect to overall health choices, so it is an unequivocal success! On the other hand, if you walk three miles today and your heart rate skyrockets – your Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin, Vital or whatever reads 125 bpm, that is an entirely different story! You are working hard, and your body is telling you through your heart rate that it is responding to accommodate the effort.
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.