Newsletter
FROM THE OFFICE OF CCA
Tuesday April 27, 2010
STATE OF THE SCHOOL RESCHEDULED! The State of the School meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, May 20. This future meeting will cover the Mission and Vision for CCA, definitions of the Mission, Strategic Plan, a detailed Action Plan, achievement test scores and financial statements. We apologize for any inconvenience that the rescheduling has caused.
CCA PRAYER VIGILS: This week, Mom’s In Touch would like to invite each member of the CCA family to faithfully participate in prayer for our school.
1) There will be two 12-hour prayer vigils for our school, on Tues. Apr 27th & Wed. Apr 28th. There are sign-up sheets at the front desk where you can sign up for one or more half hour blocks of time from 9am – 9pm each day. Prayer request lists will be provided. You can pray at school or from home
2) In addition, we will be meeting each morning this week, from Mon. Apr 26th – Fri. Apr 30th, at 8:30am to pray as a group and to walk the halls to specifically pray silently over each classroom. Please check in at the office.
Please lift up CCA (the Board, Administration, Faculty, Students and Families) and especially the upcoming State of the School Meeting, to the Lord in prayer. If you have any questions please call Charlotte Lindauer at 691-4833 or Ruth Ellithorpe at 661-2501.
UNITED WE STAND BEFORE OUR LORD GOD IN PRAYER. Psalm 9:10 NIV: “Those who know Your Name will trust in You, for You, Lord have never forsaken those who seek You.”
CENTURION OUTREACH: CHILD SAFETY FAIR – CCA’s student government decided to participate in a Free Child Safety Fair as part of Centurion Outreach. Several CCA rhetoric students are serving our community families by face painting and handing out balloons. The Child Safety Fair is put on by Keeping Kids Safe Project and will be held at Findlay Hyundai in Post Falls on Friday, April 30, 3-7 pm and Saturday, May 1, 10am-4pm. Keeping Kids Safe Project is a National Child Safety Program that tours the country providing FBI Quality Digital Fingerprints to families. For more information on this organization go to www.keepingkidssafeproject.com.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: Dates to keep in mind:
April 24th-30th – CCA Prayer Vigils April 29th – RRBB prayer meeting in the Coffee Shop at 8:45am May 6th – Spring Presentation Night 6:30pm May 6th – Robotics Program presentation 8:30pm May 7th – CCA 6th Annual Fun Run 10:30 am May 10th-14th – Teacher Appreciation Week May 10th – CCA Board Meeting 6:00pm May 15th – Fine Arts Festival & Logic/Rhetoric Presentation Night 6:00pm May 20th – State of the School Meeting 6:30pm
SCRIP: Our next SCRIP order will be placed on Tues, May 11th. Checks are due into the front desk no later than 8:30am. Scrip pickup will be on Thurs. May 13th. See the attached flyer for bonus rebates and updates.
CCA’S ANNUAL FUN RUN!! Friday May 7th. We need your help. Donations are needed to cover the cost of the class pizza and ice cream parties and to either purchase or donate items toward the individual prizes. Thank you to those who have already donated money A few ideas for individual prizes are MP3, Silverwood tickets, Silver Mountain Water Park tickets, Scrip Gift Cards, Raptor Reef Indoor Water Park tickets, or think out of the box with educational technology gifts! We are also in need of volunteers to help out at the event with counting laps and handing out water to our parched athletes. Please let Pam or Shawn know if you can help.
DO YOU WANT TO BE HEARD BY THE CCA BOARD OF TRUSTEES?
We apologize if some have perceived us as not being as approachable as we would like. To help, we have developed a process where your opinions, concerns and even praises can be heard. Just fill out an Action Request Form at the front desk and address it to the CCA Board. You will be personally contacted by a board member who will then assist you in deciding how best to address the board (to present verbally at a board meeting, share your concerns in writing a letter or an informal conversation). Specifically, we want to be available to hear your concerns and ideas.
ARE YOU A QUILTER? The art teacher is in need of assistance in finishing a quilt piece made for last year’s play. Parts of the piece work still need to be stitched down solidly and the edges need to be finished. If you can help, please contact Mrs. Chapin, either through lchapin@classicalchristian.com, at school or by phone. Thanks!
Can FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) Teams Improve Our Quality of Life?
Through the 2010 Body Forward™ Challenge, students in grades 5-8, (ages 9 to 14) will explore the cutting-edge world of Biomedical Engineering to discover innovative ways to repair injuries, overcome genetic predispositions, and maximize the body’s potential with the intended purpose of leading happier and healthier lives. The students will build a Lego robot as a team to compete in the local FLL tournament. http://firstlegoleague.org.
Through First Tech Challenge (FTC), students in grades 9-12 (ages 14-18) design, build and program robots, apply real world math and science concepts, compete and cooperate in a team and qualify for college scholarships! http://usfirst.org
This fun, multi-faceted after school robotics program is coming to CCA! Come see a power-point presentation after the Spring Presentation Night on May 6th.
Road construction of I-90 in both directions: Roadway reduced to one lane. Please be advised there will be road construction between the Washington State Line and Exit 5 (Seltice exit). The roadway is reduced to one lane in each direction. Bridge construction work is in progress now until June 12th. Please go to www.postfallsidaho.org for more information.
REMINDERS:
• Prayer Warriors & Moms in Touch - Meet every Monday at 8:45am in the Coffee Shop & Fridays at 8:45am in the Rock Church. If you feel led to join our Prayer Warriors, please come. You can call or email you prayer requests to Donna Zier at 509-981-3232, donna@newway.com or call Karissa Rumsey at 509-389-6242 for more information about MIT.
CCA Logic & Rhetoric School
Can All Rational Men Agree?
During spring vacation, I began reading How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren. Now, don’t panic, the literature teacher does know how to read a book. I was simply looking to evaluate my own practice and teaching methodology. And I happily admit that I learned something new.
Chapter 10 states rules of etiquette for the fair criticism of a book. The concepts presented for literary criticism were not new to me, but the arguments are presented in a way that transcends academic application. As I read, I realized I was learning a life lesson in interpersonal communication. That is what I want to share with you in this article.
On page 147 of How to Read a Book, Adler and Van Doren posit “that all rational men can agree.” This maxim is dependent upon a definition of “rational” that includes an adherence to truth above all else. If rational men are committed to agreeing with that which is true, then they must by default be committed to agreeing with each other on any statement that has truth value.
Go ahead and read that paragraph again. I had problems getting my head around the idea, too. My gut reaction is to claim that I often disagree with people whom I deem “rational,” while upholding my own rationality at the same time. We often compromise by saying that we agree to disagree. But can we really compromise when it comes to truth and still be committed to truth? Obviously we can’t; so how do we reconcile our disagreements while staying unwavering toward truth? Again, it comes down to definitions.
First, we must recognize that there is a distinct difference between a statement with truth value and an opinion. In order for a statement to have truth value, it must be a reasoned statement of knowledge. Opinions are based on preferences and not fact based knowledge. They cannot be proven true or false. Since opinions are not based on objective rational thought, but on subjective preference, it is normal for rational people to hold differing opinions. We can “agree to disagree” on matters of opinion without compromising truth.
But what happens when we find ourselves in a disagreement over a truth statement? What are the steps to reconciling an apparent disagreement without compromise? Adler and Van Doren put forth three “General Maxims of Intellectual Etiquette” along with four “Special Criteria for Points of Criticism’” which I have converted into four rational steps to help in the pursuit of truth.
1. Confirm that the issue is a disagreement and not a misunderstanding. Do both parties fully understand the statement? Do both parties agree on terminology, definitions and interpretation of the same statement?
2. Confirm that neither party has been misinformed by identifying and correcting erroneous information. Are all the facts used to support the statement true? Have they been reasonably verified? Can evidence be produced to refute the truth value of any of the supporting arguments?
3. Identify any logical fallacies or contradictions within the argument.
4. Confirm that both parties are equally and fully informed of all the relevant facts. Share all relevant facts before drawing conclusions. Identify missing facts that are material to the argument. Withhold judgment if the argument is incomplete or inconclusive, and work together to discover missing information.
The key to making these steps work is an honest pursuit of truth. It focuses the dispute on the truth of the argument and not on the wit or rhetorical prowess of the parties involved. Of course, both parties have to agree that truth is the goal and not winning the argument. This requires humility—an all too often rare attribute even in Christian circles. For me, the sacrifice of pride is minor compared to the benefits of reconciliation. As Psalm 133:1 tells us: How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
Serving you in Christ
Gayle Mangis
