Enewsletter Header
Issue: 6January 2013
In This Issue
TUITION ASSISTANCE PARTNERS
National History Day Competition
Enrollment Update
Capital Funds and Building Update
Upcoming Fundraisers
CDC Update
Jr.Sr. High Update
TRCS = Smart Athletes
Goodsearch
Quick Links


Tuition Assistance Partners:  Can YOU Be One of a Hundred?

 

jan 2013       

 

We hear it every day: it's a difficult economy, times are tough, and families are struggling to make ends meet.

 

At TRCS, we never want to turn families away from a Christian education because of funding, and it is because of generations of loyal supporters that we have made a substantial difference in the lives of more than 10,000  children.

 

This year, we need 100 people who can commit to giving $50 a month for the ten months of the school year so that we can meet our $60,000 commitment to providing assistance to families in need for the 2012-2013 school year.

Only 100 people giving $50 a month.

 

Can you join us?

 

A small sacrifice can bring large rewards. So far this year, more than thirty families are  receiving varied levels of tuition assistance.

 

So far we've raised over $41,000.  Be one of the hundred - make a lasting difference for a child's future.  Click here for more info, or donate online at www.3riversschool.net.

  
 

   Adopt-A-Student Sponsors

 

Please support these local businesses who are supporting our school and families:

Gold Sponsors:

  

Golf Van Fleet

Gold - Kelso Azt eca

flags and signs

Gibbs&Olson 

Jammies
New-Moon 
Parham
lime
JH-Kelly  
  

 

Silver Sponsors:

 

Hilander Dental

 

Red-Leaf 

 

Bronze Sponsors:

 

 Bronze Wheeler

Bronze-Sponsor-Sweetspot

Bronze-Sponsor-TNT

 

mark 3

PNWRealty

  smiles dental

threeriveye

Wilco 

Bronze-Hill-Creek

taco time   

 

  

 

EScrip, BoxTops and Soup Labels -- OH MY!

 

With all of the action of a new school year, don't forget a few of the small fundraisers that continue to help at TRCS:

 

  • Box Tops for Education & Campbells Soup Labels... please clip and collect those little rectangular things.  We get hundreds of dollars from them each year!  They can be turned in at the school front desk.  A couple of times a year we do "box tops and soup label drives." 
  • eScrip:  You can register your Safeway cards at www.escrip.com and help TRCS earn extra funds!

 escripsafeway

 Greetings!  

 

LOVE DOES!

 

If you don't know who Bob Goff is, you're in for a TREAT!  This New York Times Best Selling Author is a lawyer by trade, but by choice, he's a dreamer and "do"-er who is coming to share his inspiring thoughts with our community!  If you haven't purchased your tickets yet, drop what you're doing and go to www.columbiatheatre.com, or the Columbia Theatre box office.  You'll be supporting our school, but also be embarking on a life-changing experience.  Want to see what Bob's like?  Check out this video:

 

 

Bob Goff- Tom Sawyer Island
Bob Goff - What did God make you to do?

 

 

 

Don't forget these important dates:

 

 

  • January 21st:  Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School
  • January 25th:  Records Day, No School
  • February 4th:  "An Evening With Bob Goff" at the Columbia Theatre - Buy tickets now and support TRCS at www.columbiatheatre.com!
  • February 15th - 18th:  President's Day Break, No School
  • February 18th - 22nd:  Preschool Plus 4's Conferences
  • March 1st:  School re-enrollment opens
  • March 21st:  School enrollment opens for new families
  • March 21st:  Elementary/Middle School "Festival of Learning", 6:30 p.m.

 

 

To view later dates, please check out the school calendar online

 

 

Please continue to check out our website for up-to-date info, and email us if you have questions or comments. 

 

National History Day Competition

 

 OPEN HOUSE

Please join us on Wednesday

January 30th

As we celebrate our

 

1st Annual Three Rivers Christian School

National History Day

Competition

 

There will be over 70 student projects on display.

This year's theme is

 

Turning Points in History

 

And the students have selected outstanding topics for research.

 

Please come between the hours of 9:00am and 2:30pm.

Lunch is from 11:00am-1:00pm so come and eat with your student

Everyone's invited!

 

For more information please contact the High School at 636-1600.

 

Jean ZoetEnrollment

 

The TRCS enrollment has hit a high for the school year, 247! There are always ups and downs in enrollment in a year which means staff and students must make the adjustment. When the population goes down it often creates a strain on the tuition dollars but when we move up there are positive comments about the school. Praise the Lord for His goodness!

 

After ten years of slight decreases, TRCS has managed to keep its enrollment and is now moving up slightly. This is a reason to celebrate and give thanks to God and to all of you. Your positive conversation helps other families get to know us and seek us out. Even now the office phone has been ringing and families are asking questions about the rest of this year and even next year.

 

Re-enrollment for the 2013-2014 school year begins March 1 so the school board will be making a decision soon about tuition and beginning the budget process for the next school year. You will be receiving information about the process and will be encouraged to enroll you child(ren) to keep their spot.

  • Our Festival of Learning (Open House) will be held for the Elementary (k-7) on March 21. Student work will be displayed and special fun events planned so that new families can look us over and see if we might be a good fit for their child(ren). Please invite anyone that you know that may be interested in TRCS. The families may also sign up for private tours and ask questions. You can receive a credit for each child added to the TRCS population. (More information is available.)
  • Enrollment fees are set at a slightly lower rate until May 1. At that time they increase by $50. We hope that encourages our families to register early.

How have the changes to our program worked for this year? Our program has really been enhanced this year with the addition of Spanish, Art, Primary Place, and the Music Conservatory. All of these additions have received positive affirmation. The other events that continue to receive positive acclaim are our PE program, our chess club, our running club, technology classes and chapel participation.

 

The Middle School program has blossomed with a modified self-contained classroom model rather than the "high school" model with bells and 50 minute periods. The students have more personal responsibility than the elementary grades but a less restrictive structure. The Friday "Exploratories" are a big hit providing a sampling of crafts, programs, and sports samplings. We believe our students can begin to understand themselves in a "family" setting that is safe and challenging. The Math program is very effective with its many levels meeting students at their level and pacing that matches their ability.

 

What a joy it is to see the Three Rivers Christian School program being successful and strong! 

Capital Funds and Building Update

 

Erin hartRemember when we said we were going to build a new high school building?  Yes, we remember, too.  And we're still hard at work on making that dream a reality.  God has continued to open doors in the process, and the school board and administration are diligently exploring multiple opportunities to allow our campus to expand without over-leveraging our assets. 

 

We are currently in the process of a feasibility study with Westby and Associates, who will help us determine if we can financially afford the first phase of our initial master plan -- and help us determine what we need to move securely into the future.  If you are interested in being a part of this study, or feel that you would like to contribute to the future of our campus, please contact me.

 

Thanks to a capital campaign to raise funds for a new high school building that occured almost ten years ago, we are working through this process with more than $850,000 safely and conservatively invested.  For those of you who donated to that process, rest assured that the funds you gave have been earning interest these years, and that the only withdrawals from the principal have been to further the building plans, fund the purchase of adjacent properties or to maintain the rental properties purchased.

 

How can you help?

  • Pray that God will continue to guide us and bring the right people to the table.  He preserved us by keeping us from building before when the economic conditions might have derailed our school.  We want His plan, so that we can continue this ministry for the next 50 years and beyond.
  • Interview as part of the feasibility study.  If you have a love for our school and the financial capacity to be part of the process, your voice needs to be heard. 
  • Contribute contacts as we move forward.  Do you know someone who would love our ministry, but they just don't know about us?  Are you an alumni that has become "out of the loop" over the years?  We want to keep you up to date on what's happening as we move forward.  Send us your email, or help us get to know those who might become our cheerleaders.  The future of our school depends on it!
Upcoming Fundraising Opportunities!

 

Burger King Coupon Books

We have a new crop of Burger King Fundraiser books available in the school offices for only $5 -- and these don't expire until December of 2013, so make sure to pick up a few for those nights when you don't feel like cooking!  They contain more than $40 worth of coupons (including multiple free meals).  All proceeds from this go towards new playground equipment.

  

TRCS Presents an Evening with Bob Goff

This is our big event for the year, and we can't tell you enough how important it is for us to bring in the community so they have the chance to get to know us.  Tickets are very inexpensive (only $8), so pick up a few so you can invite your pastor, your neighbors, or your teenager's friends.  www.columbiatheatre.com

Debra ZandiChild Development Center Update
Building a Foundation for a Lifetime of Learning
  

God's blessings to you as we celebrate a New Year, 2013!   We are blessed each day with our students and children. It is with exuberant joy that I rejoice with our community, as we declare the great things that God continues to do!

 

We recently received our new Non-Expiring License from Washington State Department of Early Learning. God blessed us throughout the process and once again it was shared that TRCS is one of the largest Centers in Washington State.

 

Believe it or not, it is almost time to register for the 2013/2014 school year! Our School and Child Development Center has scheduled our Festival of Learning for Thursday, March 21st, from 6:30-8:00pm. We will begin in-house registration February 25th and open registration for the public begins the night of Open House, March 21st. Registration forms and information will be sent home from your child's classroom. Please be sure to return all information promptly, to secure a space for next year.  

 

It is true; that God has gifted us all with the abilities to imagine, create and serve. What a beautiful response to Christian education; living out the salvation of God. He is able to search our hearts and understand the depth of who we are. I embrace a New Year knowing that we are gifted with the challenge to pass on that truth and advance the beginning of faith for future generations.

 

TRCS Toddler Natural Play Space Project is Ongoing:

From outdoor chalkboards to blueberry bushes and grapevines, our children will have the opportunity to learn about the world around them through play. You can sponsor a hand-print tile or a paving stone with your child's hand/foot prints. Donor names will appear on a plaque in the garden. Your help can make wonderful play memories for our children.  Click here for more info.

 

iPads for Preschoolers:

 

We would like to enrich the experience of our youngest students by adding 3 iPad stations to replace the old computer stations in our Child Development Early Literacy Library. Designated learning stations would put the newest technology in the hands of our youngest learners and the cost of the learning stations is minimal. Thanks to grants and gifts, TRCS now has a wireless infrastructure across the campus and our preschool learners are eager to begin the exploration of learning through technology.  If you are able to give and would like to donate online, please click here and write "iPads for Preschoolers" in the memo section.

 

Randy Lemiere

Randy Lemiere,

High School Principal

High School Update
 

  

Over the Christmas Break, my wife and I sat down and viewed the DVD, "Courageous." May I recommend every parent, especially fathers, see this movie! It makes a person realize the importance of being a father. God will definitely move in your heart as you view this movie. Please find it, buy it, or borrow it; you won't regret it!

 

As the TRCS school year progresses, the end of the 1st semester is January 25th. Now is the time to encourage students to make the 2013 year the best year ever. Our teachers are continuing to give their best and their sacrifices to your kids. May we all team together to make our students and this ministry the very best it can be. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

TRCS = Smart Athletes

A Message from Athletic Director, Tim Carns

 

tim carns

Did you know recent studies have shown students who participate in athletics have a higher G.P.A.? Did you know Three Rivers athletic teams have been academic state champs three years in a row? Three Rivers not only offers many different sports opportunities, we are also very successful in athletics. Our volleyball team was both league and district champs,and played well at state. Our cross country team went to state in our first year as a team.

 

Currently, our Lady Eagles are in first place in basketball and the boys are one game out of first. In case you are unaware TRCS offers cheer, bowling, golf, tennis, as well as volleyball, cross country and basketball. TRCS athletic programs continue to grow and we are looking at the possibility of adding track. I believe the main reason for our success is the quality of coaches at TRCS.

 

At present we are continuing our search for a volleyball coach who will continue on with our high standard of excellence. If you are aware of such candidates please have them deliver their resume' to the school office. In closing, I ask you to get on our website, look at or schedules and come out and support TRCS athletics. GO EAGLES!!!
Do You Goodsearch?
This is EFFORTLESS Fundraising!

 

If you're not already doing it, take a minute to change your internet search window to default to www.goodsearch.com, and select Three Rivers Christian School as your charity of choice.  Did you know this simple act brings in hundreds of dollars to TRCS every year? 

"Let us not grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."."

- Galatians 6:9