In a year with unparalleled change, our Christian schools in Sonoma County have collaborated to ask for prayer from our local churches and pastors. 

Having strategic positions in the four corners of Sonoma County, our schools are aimed at fortifying the Church by giving our students the hope of Christ in their learning!

Publishing requests quarterly, we invite you to join us in prayer!  Let us know you are praying in the comments below!

His eyes went wide as he walked into the assembly room at PHCS.  Across the floor were strewn colorful disks, decorated to look like giant buttons.  Mrs. See explained, "To start our time together, we will each run to stand on top of a color of a button.  Ready?  First, find a blue button!"  With a squeal, he rushed his little legs over, and proudly stood atop a shiny, dark blue button that was bigger than his head.  We jumped from color to color, re-arranging the disks into different shapes, walking forward and backward over them.  Thus we got our wiggles out at the beginning of Story Time, a special series of events happening every other Monday, 10:30a.m.-11:30a.m. for preschoolers.  Held in the assembly room at our historic schoolhouse.  It includes learning activities, reading, a craft, and snack.  We wanted a way to bless families of young ones by introducing PHCS to them as they consider elementary schools for the future.

After hopping around, my little boy settled on his favorite color button, the red one, and sat down on it.  Mrs. See pulled out the book for the day, a copy of the classic, Corduroy.  As she read and turned the pages, she asked questions, "What do you think will happen next?  Do you like to wear overalls like Corduroy?  Do you have any buttons on your clothes?"  The way she included the children into the story kept their attention rapt until the very happy end.

Closing the book, she said in an excited whisper that they were going to play a sorting game.  One by one she pulled out different sized stuffed bears from behind a box: from no taller than a crayon, to big floppy fat bears.  The kids were amazed to see how many bears she could fit back there!  They cooed over the tiny bears, and tackled the large bears.  Working together, we eventually lined them up against the wall, sorted from smallest to largest.  

Knowing the short attention span of preschoolers, Ms. See then swept the group over to a table off to the side, to enjoy a snack and work on a craft.  This time we threaded colored buttons onto a string, to make a necklace the children could wear home.  We counted buttons, and talked about colors.  Even the snack was part of the fun, as she gave out little cookies in the shape of letters.  We made the sounds of the letters together, and thought up words that start with those letters.  

We ended our time with supervised play out in the fresh air and sunshine in the school playground.  As I watched my boy climb around outside, I thought of how this activity time would work well for kids anywhere in the 2-4 year age range: there seemed to be both simple and more complex things to do. 

If you have a preschool age child, and are wondering about where to go for kindergarten, try out Story Time.  It may give you a good feel for the way we do things here at Pleasant Hill Christian School, and how we may be a possible fit for your family in the sweet elementary years!  

Every January the students at PHCS turn their eyes from the rush of the holidays outward to learn about international missions efforts.  Each year they study a different continent.  Currently we are learning how the love of the gospel is spreading throughout North America.

With personal connections to missionaries at a Canadian Bible camp, a Northern California camp serving children in the foster care system, and a couple serving orphans in Mexico, the students are learning how missionaries are showing the love of Jesus in our own continent.

Canada:
We had a special treat at chapel one week: a live video conference call with Mr. & Mrs. Harder of the Redberry Bible Camp in Saskatchewan.  They showed us the snowy landscape outside, reading the thermometer at -40C below zero!  Though the camp runs mostly in the summer, they also host groups throughout the winter as well.  They sat by their big stone fireplace as they told us about reaching out to indigenous children to show them the love of God and start healing the breach between white Canadians and the people of the First Nations.  They are located so far north, that people live in isolated, small communitites.  While building tight-knit communities are a powerful means of survival against the cold and darkness of winter, it also creates an "ingrown" atmosphere of people becoming distrustful of outsiders.  They asked us to pray for Christians to build bridges with the Indigenous People of Canada.
 
United States of America:
Our very own Ms. Porter invited a few of her friends from Royal Family Kids Camp based in California to come and talk to our students at chapel.  They explained how they invite foster children to attend their 5 day summer camps.  Living in different foster homes growing up, these children rarely ever get a vacation or a time where they can just be a kid, in a safe environment.  The kids get to hear who they are in God's eyes, as dearly loved and valuable children.  RFK also runs long-term mentoring programs for foster kids, providing preventative support for at-risk-youth to learn how to make the right choices in their lives. During the presentation at chapel, our students listened and asked good questions, developing a heart for kids their own age right here in our own country who need to know the love of Jesus.

Mexico:
Onesimo and Colleen Perez are missionaries to Mexico and have a heart to meet the needs of orphans there.  They share the love of Christ in the simple things of tucking children in at nighttime and praying with them before they nod off to sleep.  They help them with homework.  They are a family to these children because of how Jesus has loved them.  Unlike the frigid temperatures of Canada, the average temperatures during the summer in Mexicali can be 120 degrees!  The children end up going outside after the sun goes down because it is just too hot during the day.  This couple has a heart for the people of Mexico and shares it by caring for its youngest citizens.

With exposure to these different ways of reaching out, we are learning how to pray for the spiritually lost and hurting right here on our own continent.  The students made their own coin banks and fill them with earnings from chores, and then as a school, we donate to these organizations.  One of their favorite parts at the end of missions month is when we meet together to take turns dumping out our banks into a collective jar, cheering at the noisy clatter of the coins piling up! 

The International Luncheon is another favorite way we remember all we have learned about the missions month continent.  This year, the students will be encouraged to bring traditional dishes from home, and sample, different tastes from Canada, America, and Mexico.  It's a delicious time of discovery and celebration. 

The purpose of missions month is to intentionally reach beyond our walls to develop our hearts for those who need Jesus.  We learn how to pray and how to have a hand in the bigger picture of what God is doing through willing hearts throughout the world.  So if you hear a student singing, "Everybody needs Jesus," you'll know where it's coming from.

We are always looking for that two-way connection between home and school.  

Some schools, perhaps bigger institutions, may treat communication with parents as mechanical, secondary, or perhaps even as a nuisance.

But at PHCS, communication with parents is breath in our lungs.  We desire to know your family and have your valuable input into the way we do things at PHCS.  In order to offer "Whole-Hearted Education," We need parents.  And not in a "take your place among the others and do your volunteer work to log your hours" way.  We need to know you, to better serve you, so students can thrive at PHCS.

There is a place for you, as a parent, right here among us.  The two-way connection between home and school creates a uniquely consistent experience for our children's education.  Mrs. See makes a way for family volunteer hours to be fun and fulfilling, through recognizing a parent's/family-member's giftings and talents. One parent was extremely artistic, so she taught art once a week.  Another parent was bilingual with a sweet heart for children, so she became our Spanish teacher.  Another is studying to become a medical professional, and has become the science teacher for the K-1.  Another parent is an aspiring author, so Mrs. See tapped her to co-write the school blog with her. (Hello!)  

Now that we are in January, 'tis the season for checking in with our principal about what this season holds and what your plans are for re-enrollment.

Yes, we want to know if we will have the pleasure of seeing your child next year.  Absolutely. 

But we are also genuinely interested in how you are doing personally and as a family.  We want to know what has changed and shifted for you and your family now that we are in January. 

Optional Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up to check-in about your student's progress in class.  And what about the things at home?  How are you?   How can we come-alongside you in this season to serve and encourage you?

This kind of communication is the doorway to bearing each other's burdens.  You may find out that many other families are struggling in similar ways.  As you chat with Mrs. See, you may find creative solutions together for the places in which you feel stuck right now.  

This is the essence of PHCS: "Whole-Hearted Education:"  developing our students and our families through knowing each others' strengths, weaknesses, victories, anxieties, joys, and sorrows.  We are in this together.  We cannot do this without one other.  


​Photo by Ingrid Hall on Unsplash

Congratulations!  You've made it this far.  Mid-December is upon us.  The neighborhoods are increasingly twinkly. The lines at Costco are getting longer.  We are balancing the care of everyday responsibilities like brushing our kids' teeth and paying rent on time, along with shopping for gifts and attending Christmas festivities.  Calling it "the Christmas Season" is entirely accurate.  No other holiday's trappings precede them by 4 months.  I've never heard of the "St. Patrick's Day season."  But this year I saw Christmas decorations for sale by September.  True story.

As a parent, this is most definitely "Go Time."  And while festivities and traditions are important, perspective is also essential to fully enjoying this season.  We can be swept into a forgetfulness, a type of holiday-induced amnesia, about the nature of time and resources.  But this too shall pass.

So, in the joy and the stress, in the purchasing and wrapping, amid the baking and the mailing, keep these handful of truths in mind:

• There is life after the Christmas season.  It helps to picture yourself in January: What will you be doing? What will life be like?  This mental preparation can help in the transition back to your regularly scheduled winter life.
• These kids will still belong to you after the holidays.  After the tidal wave of wrapping paper on Christmas morning, their minds will be filled with one glaring question: NOW WHAT?  Remember, you are not (only) the event coordinator.  You are the parent, and the answerer of their questions.  Pull them close and answer that question.  Now we snuggle.  Now we play.  Now we nap.  Now we help clean up together.  Now we talk about what we liked, and what we look forward to.  Gifts are fun, but what feeds their hearts and nurtures their brains are the consistent acts of showing up in their lives.  Our brains aren't wired to thrive off of dazzling stimuli all the time.  It's exhausting.  The simple act of being together conveys the message that they are important, that they still belong, even when they (and you!) are feeling exhausted, cranky, and coming down off of holiday overwhelm.  
• These other people will still be your family after the holidays.  So play nice.  Before you visit or host your extended family, take a moment to decide how you're going to behave.  Notice how you're feeling.  Are you excited?  Stressed?  Are there points of conflict you're afraid will come up with some people?  If you wait until the time comes to figure out how to act/react, you're sunk.  Remember, you cannot control anybody else but yourself.  Now is the time to decide what you will and won't do.  Now is the time to decide that you will forgive those boorish relatives ahead of time.  Or you will spend time with your quiet niece, asking her questions until you find SOMETHING to talk about.  Be the hand to reach across the generations.  These people will still be your family after the holidays.  If you choose your behavior ahead of time, then afterward you will feel better: less resentful, and perhaps with this amended perspective, more loving.
• Your bank account will still be in your name after the gifts.  Ouch.  This is not a financial advice blog, but simply keeping this one fact in mind might help when your cart is fuller than you intended. You deeply love your friends and family, and want to shower them with gifts.  But none of them will be paying your balance in January.  The card will not be in their name.  The bill will not be sent to their address.  It will be sent to yours.  Keep an eye to your balance.  Letting yourself keep some of your hard-earned money may be one of the best Christmas presents of all. 
• Your school will be re-enrolling soon.  What do you like about your school?  What would you improve?  Do you plan to re-enroll?  If your children attend PHCS, January is the PERFECT time to sit down with Mrs. See: whether you choose to re-enroll or not.  Praying as a family about your decision now is key.  If you're NOT planning on re-enrolling, Mrs. See still wants 15 minutes of your time.  Your feedback is gold!  The honest conversation could open doors for school improvement or can tend to the relationship if different paths are taken.  No hard feelings.  It would be terrible if she didn't see your dear children at school next year and never knew why.  This is the strength of our little school: we communicate as a family.   Her door is always open.  In fact, she has taken the door off of its hinges, literally!

The holiday season can be wonderful, if we keep an eye to the future.  If we remember that this too shall pass, it makes every moment so much more delicious, knowing that it is fleeting.  Picture yourself in January: with your heart, your family, your bank account, and your school plans soundly in tact.  Your future self will thank you.   This is not to give you one more thing on your plate this holiday season, but to equip you to meet tomorrow with a ready smile.   For now, Merry Christmas from your PHCS Family!

It came together in that strange, familiar way that God works things together.

Miss Crandall, our newly-hired front desk manager at PHCS, connected the dots.  As a little girl, she would sing "Silent Night" at the annual Sebastotpol Chamber of Commerce Christmas tree lighting with her dad, the former Sebastopol Chief of Police.  Her long-time neighbor is the former Executive Director of the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce.  And she herself has worked under two directors as the Executive Assistant at the Chamber and Visitors Center.  Of all the events she helped organize, the tree lighting was always her favorite.

So it was a beautiful weave of God's tapestry of connections when she was able to introduce PHCS into the festivities this year.  For the first time, students from PHCS will sing a selection of traditional and contemporary Christmas songs at the tree lighting in the Sebastopol town square under the gazebo.  Parent volunteers will also set up a booth with cookies and crafts.  The Chamber puts on this event, rain or shine, Thursday December 5th, 5pm-8pm.  The children are so excited!

This has been on our heart: to bless and love the people in our own zip code.  

It's easy to huddle up on our lovely Pleasant Hill, but Jesus asks us to love our neighbors.  In this case, we pray He will be heard in the voices of our students singing and shining the light of Christ in their smiles, countenance, and presence.  In a world hostile to the message of Jesus, He himself said that He didn't come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. (John 3:17)  As Miss Crandall says, "The Christmas season is such a wonderful one, and it brings an equally wonderful opportunity to show extra kindness and care to those around us."  

We love our community, and we want to look for ways to serve and bless.  If you hear of other opportunities, for God to weave our stories together with our neighbors, please let us know!

The teacher looked around the room warmly at each adult paired up with a proudly beaming student, "You are here, "she said to the adults, "because you are special to the child next to you." Pairs of eyes met and giggles followed.  Each had their own special relationship.  One was a coach.  One was an auntie.  One was a neighbor.  It was exciting because it felt somewhat backwards: these are the adults who invest their time and love into these children.  Now the kids have a day to return the favor.

Special Persons Day is coming up, and the school is abuzz with preparations.  The kids are practicing their presentation all week.  Each student is also tasked with packing a lunch for their special person to eat alongside them at school.

A former beloved school administrator recalls, "It's so wonderful to see these different adults and children having such a bond.  I've seen an elderly grandfather playing four-square with his grandson at recess."  She went on to explain how this day gives the Special Persons an open door to hear about Jesus from the hearts of children.  A relative, who wanted nothing to do with Jesus, came as a Special Person to a student.  Afterward, while getting into the car, he kept remarking how they have "a very neat little school," with noticeably softened eyes.    

Adults who come as a Special Person sometimes end up enrolling their own children in PHCS.  One young woman came as a Special Person to a third grader in her extended family.  She drove up, and was amazed at this cute little schoolhouse, with a bell on top, sitting out in the country.  As soon as she walked through the front door, she was greeted by polite, respectful children.  She remembers clearly a little boy pulling a chair out for her.  She was wowed.  At the end she remarked that she planned on sending her children there.  At the time, she was newly married with a baby.  But when the time came, she remembered that Special Persons Day, and enrolled her son in Kindergarten at PHCS.  Since then, she has enrolled two more kiddos!

The honor goes the other way too.  If a child didn't have a special person, the school provides them with a loving adult to be their Special Person.  This adult gets to show how the student is special, and packs a lunch for them.  No one gets left out. 

As we may be feeling increasingly isolated and busy in life, adults who take time for the children around them shine brightly.  Perhaps your quick hug may be the only hug that child receives that day.  Perhaps nobody else taught that child how to look someone in the eye and shake their hand.  We never know the impact of small gestures.  In a world that feels increasingly dangerous to children, these special persons are those who have taken the time and energy to open the door into their hearts, and invest in creating a safe harbor for them to grow up. ​

​Here at PHCS, cultivating hearts of gratitude in our students is one of our highest aims.

We choose to reflect on our gratitude for a particular person in our wider school community this November!

Our dear friend, Mrs. Donna Cochran, possesses a powerful gift of hospitality.  She has an eye for decoration and presentation that delights everyone who walks into a room she has touched.  She donates hours of her time to planning and creating elaborate displays of children's books here in the common area of our historic school house.  

Mrs. Cochran has loved PHCS for years.  She is the founder of the tuition assistance program, Jacob's Scholarship Fund, named in honor of her son who passed away in childhood from a rare genetic disorder.  Every year she tirelessly works as the coordinator for the Sebastopol Holiday Home Tour, which is the largest contributor for the fund.  During the weekend of the home tour, she also works with local artists and crafters to transform the PHCS schoolhouse into an artisan boutique filled with treasures for holiday shoppers.  

This season she designed a display in the schoolhouse around the theme of "Thankful" and "Family."  It contains well over 60 titles.  Some of these she curates from her own sizable personal collection.  Others she checks out from the town library.  There are stories of families from different ethnic backgrounds as well as families from different time periods in history.  There are books on Thanksgiving from the Pilgrims' very first celebration to modern celebrations.

The best part is that these books are accessible to the students.  They are encouraged to look as well as touch. They can pick up a book and read the back cover.  They can thumb through the pages.  They can even borrow them to take home to read.  It's a fully interactive display.

Mrs. Cochran's gift of time and talent at PHCS has a powerful message:  it's not just about decor.  Or even about books.  It's about a sense of hospitality that pulls you in.  It's about people.  It's about fostering an environment of family, and feeling grateful for every person who comes through our doors.  It's about sharing the love of God and recognizing His goodness in our community!  We are thankful!

Building character is just as important as academics.

It's fostering an environment of giving honor and respect.

It's following Jesus as he tied a towel around his waist and washed his disciples feet, then served them the Passover meal.

Kids serve breakfast to pastors in our schoolhouse.  But its more than that.  They get to serve THEIR OWN pastors!

It's our tradition every October.  But it starts long before that.  In January, as part of the admissions paperwork, each family is asked to fill out which church they call home.  This is not a metric or even required for admission. This is simply an opportunity to find out which churches are represented by the students at our school.  The Pastor Appreciation Breakfast is our way to say thank you to those in places of spiritual leadership over the lives of our students and their families.  Out of our roughly 50 students this year, 12 churches are represented in the student body.  That's such a blessing!

It's a picture of how PHCS serves the wider Christian community: the churches and ministries with which our families are involved.

The invitations are sent out.  The RSVP's and plus-ones are tallied.  The tables are set.  And the children are briefed on their responsibilities as they convert the school house into a breakfast diner.

The kids love it and are excited for who gets to serve the bacon, who doles out the pancakes, who balances coffee and orange juice cups to bring to the seated pastors.  

At PHCS, we consider service to others a significant ingredient of our curriculum. Amid the busyness of spelling tests, book reports, and long-division, activities in character development are essential lessons as well.    As one of our teachers put it, "It's important.  We make sure we teach their brains, as well as their hearts."

"But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.  Live in peace with one another."  -1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

It kept coming up.  When we asked parents what was the most difficult thing about sending their child to PHCS, the answer was usually, "...the drive."

True, some families live close-by, but there are a great number in our student body who drive 20-30+ minutes to school.

Location is one of our best school qualities - a picturesque schoolhouse amid the hills and apple orchards of Sebastopol - but it also causes one of our largest drawbacks: the longer drive.

We care about this.  So when a handful of our families began linking up to carpool to and from school, our ears perked up.  How did they do it?  How did the kids like it?  How did their arrangement work?  

We asked.  They answered.  Here is a peek inside how it worked for them, and how it may work for you:

Not knowing where to start, some parents asked our principal to connect them with other families in their area.  Armed with this knowledge, a few moms arranged a time to meet and introduce themselves.  The kids played and got to know each other, while the moms sat down and worked out a ride schedule.

Some of the carpools are just once or twice a week, but some divide the load evenly, only driving five trips out of ten total in a week.

One family was even able to have another child over after school while her mother worked a few days a week.  Her dad was able to pick her up soon thereafter, but as they attested, "This makes our lives so much easier and we are so thankful to our carpool buddies!"

Another surprising benefit to carpooling was the social aspect for the kids.  Time in the car afforded conversation and connection, especially for very-social younger brothers and sisters.  It also provided a transition time - a place between home and school - for children who needed a little extra time to emotionally transition, in order to fully engage at school.  

One factor that could make or break a carpool arrangement is communication.  In a system with more moving parts, more people, and more possibilities for running late, both families must stay in communication about any changing conditions.  It's only fair.  An entire carpool running late due to one late party takes some of the joy right out of the happy equation.  Remember, this arrangement is supposed to be a benefit to both parties. A simple text or call is the grease among the gears of this machine.  Communication is key.  

But this communication is the backbone of any great friendship.  There could be a great potential for connection and community-building as you work out the logistics of rides with someone else in the trenches of parenthood with you.

What do you think?  Would it be worth it to you?  What if you reached out to another family on your side of town to take their child to school?  What doors would be opened up?