The 2011-2012 School Calendar and Daily Schedule is now available for viewing.

2011-2012 School Calendar
2011-2012 Daily Schedule

What an amazing Christmas season it has been!

In November the Lord impressed the school leadership team with the need to focus our attention on caring for an LCS family. Instead of appealing for financial support for the school, we asked our friends and families to join in an effort to help the Carson family off-set their young son’s medical bills (click here to read my Christmas Appeal). At the time of our Christmas program on December 20th, we were able to gift the Carson’s with a $9300 check and a paid-off tuition account.

I closed the Christmas Appeal by saying, “The thrill of giving is immediate, but the reward is eternal.” This principle became true not only for the adults who gave, but also for the many students who participated. One parent shared that their son asked that instead of buying him the iPod he wanted for Christmas he wanted them to donate the money to the Tyler Carson Cancer Fund. They did, and because they were so touched by their son’s selflessness, they matched his donation. This is just one example of a family’s effort to share the love of Christ at Christmas.

And then, just this morning, I received the following email from Mrs. McKinney, our Pre-School teacher, recounting the impact of the LCS Lower School’s caroling trip to a local nursing home:

Hello Everyone!

My mother (who works at the nursing home) called this morning to share a couple of things with me and I wanted to share them with you. First of all, she said thank you! The residents were very blessed by the singing and all the cards. 

Apparently one of the original founders of LCS is a resident there. He has Alzheimer's. His wife visits him every day and when my mother asked him if he'd like to come see the kids sing, he said no. He said his wife is coming and he needs to get the horses ready (hitched up to the buggy, etc.). It would take too long and he wouldn't be ready for her arrival. Well, she convinced him to go, saying that there would be plenty of time. In the end, she explained to him that the children that sang were from the school he helped start. She told him that they were there today because of his efforts long ago and that he would be able to see the fruits of his labor. He started sobbing! She was able to thank HIM for all he had done. Although he probably forgot about it by the time his wife arrived, he had a moment of clarity and was able to remember something from the past.  He was blessed!

She told me other stories of residents who cherished the cards and loved watching the children sing.  Thank you all for fitting this into your schedule as it really is a ministry. 

James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." 

There are residents who don't have family nearby and don't receive visitors.  Some of you may have noticed "Polly" singing along and having a grand old time!  She is one of those residents who will be alone on Christmas day because her family lives too far away.  This made her Christmas special. 
 
Another woman who has MS and is confined to a wheel chair cherishes the card she received.  My mother told her that it was meant for her and she beamed!  She was thrilled to have someone take the time to make such a beautiful card for her.

I hope these stories encourage you. 

Merry Christmas!

Amen? May your Christmas be as blessed as ours has already been!

Rick Duba, Head of School

Once again, I find myself privileged to write an end-of-year Christmas letter. Typically, this letter includes an example of the great things happening in the lives of students at Laconia Christian School and an appeal for your financial support of the school ministry. This Christmas season I would like to do something different—rather than speak to the wonderful things happening at LCS and asking you to remember us with your year-end giving, I am asking you to help us minister to one family in particular. Let me explain.

During the summer of 2010 I received a call from Chris Carson. His first grade son, Tyler, was struggling at another private school. Chris and his wife Angela were wondering if Laconia Christian School might be a good option for Tyler. We met, they applied, and Tyler started 1st grade with us in September.

Socially and intellectually Tyler grew by leaps and bounds over his first year at LCS. Enjoying coming to school and experiencing success finally became a reality for Tyler. He fell in love with the school and we with him.

This year, before school started, we received a call of a different nature from Chris—Tyler had started to complain about pain in his left leg. After the initial visit to the emergency room, Tyler’s mom commented: “We knew something was terribly wrong with Tyler, but we never thought it was cancer.” By September 1st, the diagnosis was in—Tyler has osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that is eating away his left femur.

As a result of Tyler’s battle with cancer, his mom has had to stop working in order to provide around the clock care for Tyler. In addition to the financial hardship this has caused, the Carsons have a high-deductible insurance policy with a $6500 deductible that resets January 1. We believe that God would have us minister to this family by helping them cover their insurance deductible. I am asking you to consider joining us.

Rather than supporting the operational ministry of LCS with your year-end giving, would you consider making a tax-deductible donation to LCS on behalf of the Carson family?

Every donation received in response to this letter will be restricted to help the family cover its insurance deductible. You might want to know that many of our students have elected to forego one of their Christmas gifts and have asked that, in its place, their parents contribute to the school’s Tyler Carson Cancer Fund.

What better way to share the love of Christ during the celebration of His birth than to give to one of His little ones? Would you join us in making a difference in this young man’s life? The thrill of giving is immediate; the reward is eternal!

Rick Duba
Head of School

Monday, December 19:  Girls/Boys @ Jesse Remington (3:00/4:30PM; Depart 12:45PM)

Wednesday, December 21:  Girls/Boys vs. Woodsville (5:30/7:00PM)

Tuesday. January 10:  Girls/Boys @ Tri-City Christian (5:30/7:00PM; Depart 3:00PM)

Thursday, January 12: Gilrs/Boys @ Laconia HS (5:00/6:30PM; Depart 4:00PM)

 

Record To-Date

Girls:

• Calvary Tip-Off Tournament - Champions (4-0)
• Tri-City Christian - W (70-44)
• Trinity Christian - W (46-20)
• Interlakes - W (45-15)
• Trinity Christian - W (36-25)

 

Boys:

• Calvary Tip-Off Tournament - Champions (4-0)
• Tri-City Christian - W (63-56 in double overtime)
• Trinity Christian - L (44-70)
• Interlakes - W (50-28)
• Trinity Christian - L (46-51)

Though not enough to cancel school, students awoke to a covering of snow. More on the way this weekend?

Team Records

Friday, September 9: Boys Soccer @ Woodsville (W 3-0; Cornwell-2, D.Bixby-1)

Friday, September 9: Girls Volleyball vs. Calvary Christian (W 3-0)

Friday, September 16: Boys Soccer vs. Trinity Christian (L 2-5; Cornwell-1, Gafurafura-1)

Friday, September 16: Girls Volleyball vs. Trinity Christian (L 0-3)

Monday, September 19: Boys Soccer vs. Gorham (W 6-3; C.Abbott-1, D.Bixby-2, Buttricks-1, Cornwell-1, Higgins-1)

Tuesday, September 20: Girls Volleyball @ Moultonborough (L 1-2)

Tuesday, September 27: Girls Volleyball @ Laconia HS (W 2-1)

Wednesday, September 28: Boys Soccer vs. Prospect Mountain (L 1-2; Carter)

Thursday, September 29: Girls Volleyball vs. Calvary Christian (L 0-3)

Friday, September 30: Boys Soccer @ Gorham RESCHEDULED

Tuesday, October 4: Boys Soccer @ Gorham (T 3-3; Cornwell-3)

Thursday, October 6: Boys Soccer vs. Interlakes RESCHEDULED

Friday, October 7: Girls Volleyball (B Team) vs. Tri-City Christian (W 3-0)

Tuesday, October 11: Boys Soccer @ Trinity Christian (L 0-9)

Tuesday, October 11: Girls Volleyball @ Trinity Christian (W 3-1)

Thursday, October 13: Girls Volleyball @ Calvary (L 3-1)

Friday, October 14: Girls Volleyball (B Team) vs. Tri-City Christian (W 3-0)

Friday, October 14: Boys Soccer vs. Woodsville CANCELLED

Monday, October 17: Boys Soccer vs. Clarement Christian (W 10-0; McGuire-2, Carter-1, Gafurafura-2, Higgins-1, Clocksin-1, Dadian-1, C.Cyr-1, Li-1)

Monday, October 17: Girls Volleyball @ Interlakes (W 2-1)

Tuesday, October 18: Boys Soccer vs. Interlakes (W 3-2; Cornwell-2, Gafurafura-1) SENIOR GAME

Tuesday, October 18: Girls Volleyball vs. Laconia HS (W 2-1)

Wednesday, October 19: Girls Volleyball vs. Moultonborough (L 2-1) SENIOR GAME

Wednesday, October 26: Girls Volleyball (B Team) @ Tri-City Christian (W 3-0)

Friday, October 28: Girls Volleyball (B Team) vs. Tri-City Christian (W 4-1)

“We would like to thank you for your financial and prayer support of our recent trip to Honduras. Without your generous financial support we would not have been able to get there, and without your prayers we would not have been as effective. Although it is hard to put everything we experienced into words, we would like to share some of the highlights of the trip.

• We started the week by organizing a soccer tournament open to the whole youth community of Valle de Angeles, with hopes of having a large turnout at the awards ceremony and youth event that night. The tournament, attended by over 80 local teens, was a success and the village church was overflowing with young people that evening.
• We raised $4500 to fund the drilling of a well for a Christian school without drinkable water. The well provides 100 gallons per minute (a lot of water).
• We served the immediate community of Valle de Angeles by laying cement floors for two different homes: one housed a single mother and the other an elderly widow. Both were living on dirt floors before we arrived.
• We visited and prayed with members of the 18th Street Gang imprisoned in the national penitentiary outside of Tegucigalpa.
• We provided lunch for the families of the children staying in the public hospital of Tegucigalpa. While there, we played with and prayed for the children in the pediatric orthopedic wing and those suffering from hydrocephalus.
• On several occasions throughout the week, members of our team lead worship alongside Honduran members of a local worship team.
• We painted the outside of the wall surrounding the local church and Hope Center, the orphanage where we stayed.

In addition, we hung-out with the local teens, either playing volleyball, soccer, basketball, or just talking with them. As we served others, read through the book of James, and prayed constantly; we saw God work in the lives of every member of our group. We grew by serving others.” (Excerpt from a letter written by Gabrielle Duba to thank those who supported our effort in Honduras.) 

If you would like more information about the organizations we served, or those we served with, visit the websites listed below:

We stayed at the Hope Center-- http://www.hopecenterhonduras.com/
Sun Life organized our hospital visit-- http://www.sunlifehonduras.org/Home.html
Global Benefit facilitated the drilling of the well-- http://globalbenefit.org/

UPDATE (April 4, 2011): Congratulations to the LCS drama students for their wonderful performance at the NHETG State Drama Festival on April 2nd and 3rd.

On March 12th, drama students from Laconia Christian School performed the Greek comedy, The Apple of Discord,  in the New Hampshire Educational Theatre Guild Regional Festival, placing in the top three. This qualifies them to participate in the State Festival which will be held at Gilford High School on April 1st and 2nd. There they will perform with 12 other schools from all over New Hampshire. One of the two festival  "All Star Actor" awards was given to Andrew Burke, a freshman at Laconia Christian who portrays Eres, the Greek god of discord. This play also received high praise for its technical aspects and superb preparation.

The Apple of Discord will be performed publicly at Laconia High School on March 25th and 26th at 7:30pm. Advanced ordered tickets are available for $5; tickets may be purchased at the door for $6. To advance order tickets, please call the school office at

524-3250.

UPDATE (April 4, 2011): Thank you for supporting the junior/senior trip to Honduras and Global Benefit’s clean water projects.  Upper school students sold 125 pounds of coffee, which raised $625 for the Honduras team and $125 for clean-water projects in Africa. Check-out the ministry of Global Benefit at http://www.globalbenefit.org.

The spring Global Benefit® coffee drive will kick-off on Monday, February 14th. For every pound of coffee sold, $5 will go toward the junior/senior mission trip to Honduras and $1 toward clean water projects in Africa. Help support the junior/senior mission trip and the underprivileged in Africa.

Coffee is available in the school office or by direct order through students. Check-out the ministry of Global Benefit® here.

Laconia Christian School is partnering with Lakes Region Vineyard Church in the Feinstein $1 Million Food Drive. Our annual participation helps stock the Christ Life Food Pantry with non-perishable food items. All food items need to be delivered to the school by Thursday, April 21st.

Current and past monthly newsletters, The Messenger, are available here.

September 2010 Messenger
October 2010 Messenger
November 2010 Messenger
December 2010 Messenger

From Thursday January 20th through Saturday the 22nd, the girls’ basketball team competed in the Calvary Christian Basketball Tournament in Plymouth, and took home the first place trophy and numerous other individual awards. Competing against four other New England Christian schools gave the LCS girls the opportunity to hone their skills and to play as a team. “We truly became a team! Our communication with one another and our great teamwork is what led us to win,” said Captain Zoë Jamison. Over the three-day event the girls won 4 out of 5 games, including the championship in which they defeated Calvary 40-35. The first half was neck and neck, but in the second half the girls’ intensity and determination made them pull ahead. Top scorers of the game were Zoë Jamison (13 points), and Gabrielle Duba (12 points). Assistant Coach, Kristin Pelletier said, “The girls played so well! I was really proud of them for realizing their potential and for playing with such heart.”  Following the game, an awards ceremony honored individuals and teams exhibiting a variety of skills.  Junior Marykate Schler won the 3-point competition, Zoë Jamison and Gabrielle Duba were awarded the "Lays Chips" awards for the the most lay-ups, Jamison, Duba, andSenior Megan Bemis made the Tournament "All-Star" Team, and Duba was named Tournament MVP.  The LCS team was also presented  trophies for the most rebounds and the highest percentage of foul shots. Coach Hannah McClelland said the tournament was a "rebirth" for the team and is excited for the rest of the season.      -Ashley Girard, grade 11

On December 14th, Laconia Christian School held its annual Christmas celebration at Laconia Middle School. Each grade participated in the production. The preschool and kindergarten classes opened the evening by singing "Away in a Manger." First and second grade students presented a poem that represented the true meaning of the holiday. Students in third through the sixth grade dramatized the birth of Jesus, illustrating the poem " The Three Kings." The fourth grade also sang "Mary Did You Know", directed by the Mrs. Armitage. The second half of the production included the upper school and faculty choirs together singing several classic Christmas songs, including "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" which featured a solo by LCS Administration Assistant, Jennifer Downing.  Audiences were also treated to a duet preformed by junior Megan Smith, and senior Jeremiah Dadian. To end the evening, everyone joined in with the choirs to sing " O Come All Ye Faithful." Teacher Stephany Cameron, organizer of the event said, " The Christmas program was intended to provide a traditional celebration  for both LCS families and the public. We wanted to focus on the heart of Christmas --the birth of Jesus."

-Ashley Girard, grade 11

DECEMBER 2010

The Facilities Committee has just completed our final projects for 2010. The newly completed asphalt apron at the end of the driveway makes entering and exiting much smoother.  Over Thanksgiving break, we added 3”-6” insulation to the attics of all three school buildings. We also sealed and insulated six other fan and scuttle openings.  Air passing through these openings made both heating and cooling difficult. This alone should save the school a substantial amount of money and make the buildings more comfortable to be in, especially during June when the buildings get very warm.  We are have been tracking utility costs over the past two years and are expecting to save the school $2,500 this year in heating costs alone.  Again, I want to thank the Facilities Committee for their support and willingness to make the school a better place.                           –Dana Ritchie, Facilities Committee Chair

 OCTOBER  2010

Three heaters have been installed and are working wel in the modular (1) and MS second floor (2).  This should be a significant cost savings in fuel this winter.  The culvert at the end of the driveway has been approved by the State and we should be starting work on this within the next two weeks.  The lighting in the MS and HS should be done in November.  Once these projects are completed, the committee discuss other projects and prioritize them for the "to-do list."  Our long term goal is to make the school as energy efficient as possible and to have the buildings and grounds in top shape.                     -Dana Ritchie, Facilities Committee Chair

SEPTEMBER  2010

The facility committee is back together again and discussing the overall plan for the school.  One of our goals is to make our campus as energy efficient as possible.  Over the coming months we will detail plans on what we want to accomplish and how we will get there.  In the short term we are currently working on three projects.  One is to repair the culvert at the end of driveway.  We have several bids and the cost will approximately be $6,000.00.  The second item on the list is install three kerosene heaters in the class rooms that are currently using electric heat at a very high cost.  The cost is approximately $6,000.00.  The payback on this is estimated to be less than 4 years.  The third item on our list is to upgrade the lighting in the classrooms with the latest most efficient lighting available.  The cost for this is around $4,000.00 for two buildings with a payback in about 3 years.  The light quality will be much better than what we currently have now.  We welcome your input and suggestions.  We are always looking for sponsors on these projects.  We have a company that will match funds up to $8,000.00 or 50% of these projects.  We hope to have these three items completed by the end of October.                          -Dana Ritchie, Facilities Committee Chair

On December 3rd and 4th, the LCS boys' basketball team participated in a basketball tournament at Calvary Christian School in Plymouth. Only three local Christian schools made a showing. The first game was LCS against Calvary.  LCS played a good game, but lost in the end by only a few points. LCS easily won the next game against First Baptist.  The following game against Calvary was to  determine who would compete in the finals. LCS won with a final score of 52-51.  The victory was possible thanks to Senior Alek Duba who scored 23 points, and 8th grader Dan Bixby who scored 20. In the finals, LCS played a long, hard game, but fell to Calvary by over 30 points.  Coach Jake Downing said, "Our team played well today, but after six games in less than 24 hours, we were just exhausted." LCS was still happy to walk away from the tournament with a second-place trophy.  -Dan Bixby and Matt McGuire, grades 8 & 9

Laconia Christian School's drama class performed a combination of two Greek plays, Demeter and Persephone and Pandora at the Laconia High School on November 12 and 13, to audiences numbering around 100 each night.These one-act Greek tragedies explained how evil came into the world and how the change in seasons came to be. Drama director, Stephany Cameron, chose these plays because the high school Humanities classes are studying Greek history. "Our drama students study theater, art, and music... we incorporated historical and cultural elements into this play," says Cameron. The performance included Greek-influenced costumes, ancient Greek music, and Greek refreshments. Cameron says the students knew their lines and cues extremely well and that their hard work was evident. One member of the audience, Jan Helling Croteau, Director of award-winning Perform It! Young People's Stage Company in Wolfeboro, says, "I was so impressed with the elegance of the whole show. The set, the costumes, and the lights were beautiful. All the hard work shone through every scene! Congratulations! Two thumbs up!" Cameron says she and her cast are already looking forward to their next play which will be performed in the spring. - Meredith Carter and Chris Cyr, grade 9

On October 16, LCS had its 7th annual Shoot Out Fundraiser for tuition assistance at the Pemi Fish and Game Club in Holderness. Over the 7 years of holding this event, LCS has raised a considerable amount of money for tuition assistance. Contestants competed in raising money and hitting the most clay pigeons. Winners were rewarded with prizes ranging from gift cards to iPods. The cash prizes for the shootout winners were as follows: $125 for first, $100 for second, and $75 for third. There was a men's division for ages 16 and up, a women's division for all ages, and a youth division for ages 15 and under. Winners in markmanship were: Ryan Barton (men's) hitting 22/25, Jenn Downing (women's) hitting 13/25, and Dan Bixby (youth) hitting 14/25. Winner of the fundraising was Senior Alek Duba who raised just over $2,000 and won a brand new ipad. LCS 8th grader, Dan Bixby, said "...it was a very windy day and unusually hard to hit the pigeons, but it was still a blast and good for the school!"

Shooting Accuracy 

Adult Male Division
   1st - Ryan Barton
   2nd- Alek Duba
   3rd - Rick Duba

Women's Division
   1st- Jenn Downing
   2nd- (tied) Gabrielle Duba and Selena Beswick

Youth Division
   1st- Dan Bixby
   2nd- Ben Dadian
   3rd- A. J. Cushing

Fundraising
   Youth Division: Alek Duba ($2,080)
   Adult Division: Tyler Simpson ($575)

Big Jump in Enrollment Laconia Christian School sees a dramatic increase in their 2010-2011 enrollment. The increase consists of 40 new students, bumping the enrollment 50% from last year. According to Headmaster Rick Duba, this increase shows that parents are taking a closer look at the academics and a moral culture offered to their children in the public school system. Deborah Cregg, the mother of three newly enrolled students said, “My oldest daughter started her first year of college unprepared I decided that I wanted my other three children to be better prepared for college. “She also commented that the decrease in moral values at the Public School was a concern of hers. When a newly enrolled high school student was asked why she chose Laconia Christian School, Ashley Girard answered, “I came to Laconia Christian because I wanted to be around other Christian students and have a better academic foundation for college.” After a few week here, many students find the changes to be what they had hoped. "The school is hard but it's helping us to get a better education and prepare us for college," said Nadya Cregg.

New Staff With Familiar Faces

Jeremiah Wagner, a graduate from LCS('05), is now part of the LCS faculty. He is teaching Humanities I to 9th grade, and Bible, Language Arts and Science to 5th and 6th grades. About Humanities, he says, "I really love that we put history into context and literature into life," Mr.Wagner graduated in 2009 from Gordon College with a major in History and Secondary Education. He says he enjoys teaching all his classes and feels that he is connecting with the students, "I want to teach here
because I like the material and I want to do something with my life that helps students." Mr. Wagner and his wife Sarah
were married this past June and moved to Laconia over the summer.

Holly McKinney, the new preschool teacher, is again part of the LCS faculty after more than a decade away. From 1996 to 1998, she taught 4th grade at LCS. She then taught Prescool at Faith Christian Academy. "I love working with children," she says,"I love seeing how God works in and through children's lives." Mrs. McKinney's class is currently learning the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and how to share. Mrs. McKinney graduated from Newfound High School and earned dual certification in Elementary Education and Early Education at Plymouth State University. She and her husband, Bob, have four children, all of whom attend LCS: Daniel(7th), David(6th), Toby(2nd), and Abby(1st). The McKinney family lives in Tilton. 

The new Jounalism class being offered as an art credit to Upper School students will be responsible for monthly newsletter The Messenger, the alumni publication, The Vision, as well as contributions to local newspapers, and the LCS 2010-2011 Yearbook. Mrs. Pelletier,  teacher of this class, says that it is "...positive for the school and for the students to master the skill of writing about school events..." Journalism students have been learning the "ins and outs" of writing articles, compositon of photography, and design of the yearbook. The best Messenger article each month will be submitted to the Laconia Daily Sun or the Laconia Citizen. LCS Senior Alek Duba and other students are ready for the challenge of the class's many responsibilites. "The journalism class will be very busy this year!" he says. Students are currently gathering stories for the next issue of The Messenger, and selling yearbook ads.  -Dan Bixby, grade 8

Recently, LCS girls' volleyball team said goodbye to Coach Hannah McClelland who will take the rest of the season off with new baby Jireh George. The team gladly welcomed new coach Pastor Andrew Matthews of Evangelical Baptist Church in Laconia. "I am very mush looking forward to coaching this season!"said Matthews, who is hoping his experience as a player and as a coach will be beneficial to the team. He played volleyball both in high school and college, and has been coaching boys' and girls' volleyball at the middle and high school levels for eight years. He says that the team is doing very well this season, and he would like to continue the good work that Hannah has started. "I am thrilled with the start of the season, not only with the ability of these girls, but also with the number of members, their fast learning ability, and the way the team is so unified!"said McClelland earlier this season. While no longer coahing, she and son Jireh have been spotted in the bleachers of recent games. -Ashley Girard, grade 11    

The 2010-2011 scholarship winners received notification of their awards at the May 26th Spring Awards Ceremony.  Marykatherine Schler (2012), was awarded $1500 from Gary Brown Memorial Scholarship fund.  The $750 Adam Dean Howley Performing Arts Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Julie Cameron (2012).  Congratulations to these two deserving students!