We continued the book of acts and started studying the life of the apostle Paul. We are studying his missionary travels, his trials and the letters he wrote. We studied the letter to the Galatians and the Thessalonians. We also took the time admire in awe at God’s creation and asked ourselves what is acceptable to God. Here is what some students had to say about this topic and the letters.
§ Q: Is following the Ten Commandments and the golden rule enough to please God?
§ A: “I think we should follow the Ten Commandments and the golden rule, but that is not enough to please God. As humans, we can’t follow all the rules at all times, we do sin. Just like in the Old Testament, the priest had to sacrifice, make offerings for the sins of the people. This is why Jesus came, He made a way for us to have a relationship with God… so following just the rules, but not having a personal relationship with God is not enough. You need faith.”
§ A: “Deeds without faith is nothing to God. Only by throwing your arms and submitting to Christ may you receive favor and blessing. Having faith in the Law is nothing compared to having faith tin the One that made the Law.”
§ Q: Analyze yourself, which part of the fruit of the Spirit is more developed in you?
§ A: “I think I am a very joyful person. Being happy and being joyful is not the same thing. Happiness is only for a season, but joyfulness lasts forever, it never dies because joy comes from God and God is everlasting.”
§ Q: How would you prepare, how would you change your life if you were convinced that Jesus would return in one year?
§ A: “I would prepare by deepening my relationship with the Lord. I would develop a stronger faith in Him and be reluctant towards the world. I would start with prayer and continuous reading of God’s Word. II Thessalonians 3:1-5 speaks of prayer and how we should pray to be delivered from evil and the wicked men. I would stand firm in my beliefs and choose whether I am convinced He is God and not be frustrated. II Thessalonians 2:13-17 speaks on being firm in your actions and in the Lord. I will try not to falter in my beliefs when being questioned. I will show gratitude for all things around me as well. My life would change in a totally positive manner. I would treasure my time on earth, using it for God’s will and focusing on other things. My life will be devoted to God and I will not show weakness. I will show apathetic feelings towards others’ opinions of me and this will lead in God’s work in my life.”
§ Q: What is acceptable worship before the Lord?
§ A: “I believe that an acceptable worship is giving the Lord clean hands and a pure heart, a holy pleasing life. We should give the Lord what he gave us, our lives.”
Miss Rivera
During February, we started our journey through the book of Acts. We studied the ascension of Jesus into the heavens and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. We studied the life of the apostle Peter and read the letter of James, which predates the other letters of the New Testament. Here is what some students had to say when interacting with the Word in the letter of James:
§ “When I face trials I should consider it “pure joy” because the testing of my faith “develops perseverance” and maturity. But when I am in a situation that is making me like giving up, I don’t have that joy; I don’t have that perspective. But I think if I just stop I might realize the purpose of that test.”
§ “If I stop wasting time with things that feed the flesh, I would spend my time wisely feeding my spirit, so that I could have enough strength to overpower the flesh”
§ “I need to submit myself to God wholeheartedly. Submission is sacrificing your soul and not just your body, as an act of spiritual worship.”
§ “In reading this passage (James 1: 19-27) I realized that knowing about God and His will is nothing if I don’t believe it enough to follow it entirely. Because when I do that I end up deceiving myself.”
Miss Rivera
: New Testament class is over, but the journey still continues until that day. I trust we are more prepared for the work of Christ than we were at the beginning of September 🙂
Mr. Prawel
Another semester of Government is over. The seniors are finally done and on their way to the future. Hopefully lessons of civics and responsibility do not get lost in the excitement of what is new.
Mr. Prawel
In the month of June we discussed what we did during the whole year and we did a review of everything we learned.
Miss Quiros
In the month of June we wrote a research paper. During the school year we have read many books that came from different periods of time and for the one period that we did not cover I assigned to the students to write a research paper that allowed them to research any period that they were interested in and discuss it. They had to explain it, relate to it, write what interested them in the specific period of literature history they picked.
Miss Quiros
In the month of May we talked about gender roles. The students had a chance to become familiar with how the opposite sex thinks and acts and why.
Miss Quiros
In the month of May we read the book Pilgrams Progress by Paul Bunyan. As we read the book we began to concentrate on the fact that the students can apply what is written in this book to their own life. We also read the Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis. The students enjoyed both pieces of literature and learned much from them.
Miss Quiros
It’s the final stretch to finals! June finds the Resource very busy as students finish all their unfinished work, refresh their study skills, do preps for tests, and work on review sheets. Diligence is finally taking over. Many have improved in study habits and the self-managing skills that will make test taking go a little smoother
As the end of school nears I get teary eyed reflecting on the accomplishments of these students – especially as I make out the awards for the Awards Chapel. I ‘m glad to see so much progress in so many ways especially in their attitude toward success. “[They] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [them]”Phil 4:13.
Mrs. Kemp
May is a time of review and preparation for Regents Tests. The 4th quarter is the hardest and the students need much encouragement to finish well. The best part about this month is that after all the hard work we went on our “End Of The Year Celebration”. It included going to a Chinese buffet and then to Juniper Valley Park for some R & R. It was a cool day thanks to Coach Wong, Mrs. Santana, Bernice the bus driver (The BEST bus driver ever), Mrs. Miyares, and my oldest son Ian. They helped make it very “doable”. I was thrilled to so see all my students, 6th grade through 12th grade, interacting together and having such a good time.
Mrs. Kemp