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Issue: 4                
December 2015 
In This Issue
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TRCS Annual Fund


This year, TRCS will be working to raise more than $70,000 towards our annual fund that helps with program costs, financial aid and technology.  We've already raised over $34,000

Your giving makes a huge difference in this community!  Click here to give online.

   Adopt-A-Student Sponsors

 

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

Fundraise for TRCS using AMAZON SMILE! 

 

If you shop on Amazon frequently, please use smile.amazon.com, and select Three Rivers Christian School (still listed by Amazon as Longview Christian School) as your charity of choice!  TRCS receives a percentage of all purchases made through this link!  We thank you for your support!


 

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

Fred Meyer Community Rewards 

   

 Sign up for Fred Meyer Rewards for TRCS!
It's not too late to sign up for rewards on behalf of TRCS.  This does not take away from your regular fuel and cash rewards program!

Fred Meyer is donating $2.5 million per year to non-profits in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, based on where their customers tell them to give. Here's how the program works:

  • Sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to Three Rivers Christian School.You can search for us by our name or by our non-profit number (81034).
  • Then, every time you shop and use your Rewards Card, you are helping Three Rivers Christian School earn a donation!
  • You still earn your Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and Rebates, just as you do today.
  • If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store.

Simply click here to login to your Fred Meyer Rewards account, then select "Three Rivers Christian School" (Organization Number 81034) as your non-profit of choice.  The more you shop, the more dollars TRCS will receive from Fred Meyer!

 

 

 

Greetings!  

   
If you're doing your last-minute Christmas shopping, don't forget to pick up a TRCS Ornament ($5) or 50th Anniversary Book ($25).  They're available at all school front desks!


   

Don't forget these important dates: 

 

December 18th: Early Learning Center Christmas Programs

December 21st: Christmas Break begins for K - 12

December 24th - 25: Early Learning Center Closed

January 1st: Early Learning Center Closed

January 4th: Back to school for K - 12

January 6th: Early Release K - 12

January 18th:  Martin Luther King Day, K-12 School Closed, ELC Open 

January 27th:  Records Day, K-12 School Closed, ELC Open 

  

To view later dates, please check out the printable school calendar online or consult the website calendar

 

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

 

'Tis the Season for BAD WEATHER! 

With adverse weather conditions continuing, we wanted to take a minute to clarify what to do in case of power outages or snow and wind issues.
 
In the case of any school closures, we immediately issue our updates to Flash Alert, (for posting on the radio and television stations), and on our website, Twitter and Facebook pages. However, if the power is out for our administrative team, this may delay or complicate the posting of this information.
 
If we are without power in the morning at any of our campuses, we will not be able to open and will post information on the front doors. If the power should come back on at some point in the morning, we will reassess the situation by 10 a.m. with the goal of opening.
 
Please use your own discretion when traveling in these conditions. Our first priority is the safety of you and your family.
 

Christmas Joy at TRCS

The Christmas season is full of fun at TRCS!  From the Christmas Parade, to the Feast and staff parties, Jesus' birth is a cause for full-scale celebration.  Thanks to the many volunteers and participants in all of our events.  We appreciate you.  Merry Christmas!


Thank you, TRCS Families, for supporting Luggage of Love!  

The elementary office collection boxes are OVERFLOWING with gifts for Luggage of Love! 

Luggage of Love has been created to provide luggage and comfort items to vulnerable children in transition and emergency situations.  They provide their  services to DSHS, CPS, The Emergency Support Shelter, and other SW Washington agencies.

Your gifts will bring comfort to a child in distress.  THANK YOU for your generous love! 
 
TRCS Board Update 

Your School Board is busy working for you. Here are a list of your newly elected officers: President - Harold Erdelbrock, Vice President - Roxanne Stuart, Secretary - April Van Hamme, and Treasurer - Rich Gushman.

 
You are welcome to attend any of the School Board Meetings which are held the third Tuesday of every month. Our meeting minutes are posted on the TRCS website; just click "About Us" and "School Board."

Merry Christmas and blessed 2016 from your TRCS school board! 
 
TRCS Teachers and Staff Tell All!
 
Last month, the TRCS school board surveyed all TRCS employees (a pool of 90 individuals!) regarding job satisfaction and performance.

The great news is that our staff loves what they do.  They're excited to go work, and they believe their work impacts many families positively.  TRCS employees (myself included) love their co-workers and love the freedom we have to innovate and apply our talents.

Not surprisingly, our marks were much lower when it came to the area of compensation.  Unlike the areas mentioned above, where satisfaction was in the 90-100% range, satisfaction with compensation was less than 50%.  The general joy of loving their jobs can only make up for part of that disparity.  Of our annual $2,000,000 budget, more than 75% is spent on wages and benefits.  In order to keep costs low for our families, our qualified, certified staff members often make less than the public sector.  It's a problem that our school board and administration are working to address. 

While TRCS offers better benefits than most private schools, we're also working to improve those offerings for our employees.  We continue to offer matching retirement programs in an era when many businesses have jettisoned those to reduce costs. 

The survey also shows that our staff understands that their work has direct, positive impact on the lives of students and families.  Our teachers and staff love our children. They love the creative work and the joy of our children.  They believe in the value of a Christian education.

This Christmas season, please make sure to thank our amazing, hard-working staff!  Pray for wisdom as we work to better honor and compensate our teachers.  We welcome your ideas and comments!

Merry Christmas -
Erin Hart
TRCS Administrator

Debra Zandi Early Learning & Child Development Center

A Christmas of Warm Blessings ~ The Early Learning Center continues to collect hats, scarves, mittens, small blankets, and boxes of hot chocolate for our annual Christmas community outreach project to benefit children of Cowlitz County. Please feel free to come to the main hall and hang items of your choice on the Christmas trees and bless the life of a child!
 
Building Success in Everyday Moments ~ Teachers have attended conferences, trainings and professional learning circles. They have come back to their classrooms with enthusiasm and commitment to implement all they have learned. What a beautiful example of innovation and raising the bar of excellence in teaching!
 
 
~ Academically Excellent ~ Joyfully Christian ~ Culturally Relevant ~
 
Christmas Programs ~ May we rejoice and gather before the manger as we celebrate our dear Saviors' birth. Christmas programs are filling the halls and classrooms of our ELC as we continue our month of December. Please contact the front desk of the Early Learning Center at 423-4510 for further information of times, dates and locations.
 
Oh come, let us adore Him~ Christ the Lord!
 
Merry Christmas TRCS Family...

 
Principal's Message

Every year our students stand out in different ways in our community.  TRCS has volunteer groups that help at Community House, Campus Towers, weddings, churches, and much more..  Once in awhile, our students are individually recognized as well.

Last month, two students at the high school were recognized for their academics and athletic accomplishments.  Radio station KLOG awarded TRCS senior, Kessa Portwood the "KLOG Scholar Student of the Month."  She will receive a $150 scholarship from a local sponsor.  She will be invited to a spring banquet and have a chance at a $1500 scholarship.  Congratulations, Kessa!

Jesse Caddel, another TRCS senior, was honored with two athletic awards. She was recognized locally as the "KLOG Athlete of the Week," and from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, Jesse earned the "WIAA Athlete of the Week," award.  Congratulations to Jesse as well!

Our students are getting an excellent education academically and athletically.  The best part however, is the excellent Christian education that each student is given.  Please keep praying for all of our students and families.  God truly blesses us at TRCS.  

Merry Christmas,
Randy Lemiere
TRCS Athletic Update
A Message from Athletic Director, Tim Carns
 
tim carns
Paul said, "In everything; be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks, for this is the will of God."

For the Christian, the will of God is something we all seek and desire to know. If we are walking in God's will, we know all things will work for the good. The question most often is not, "Am I willing to follow His will," rather, "What is His will?" When Paul addresses the Thessalonians he makes it very clear to them what God's will is. Pray. Be joyful. Give thanks. This passage is so Paul-like; direct, precise and to the point. Just the way I like it.

Speaking of getting to the point, what's my point? It's simple. Why don't we stop worrying about all the things we don't know. Quit stressing about all the things that are out of my control. Accept and be joyful for our saviors love. Give thanks to Him for all His blessings, and spend more time throughout the day talking to Him. That's it!! Simple. Direct. To the point. Merry Christmas.

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? 

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for human masters."

- Col. 3:23 


Three Rivers Christian School | 2610 Ocean Beach Highway | Longview | WA | 98632