This will be our eighth summer working with Mark and Meg Kuzdas, who are missionaries to Costa Rica through the Christian Light Foundation, in Jacksonville, Florida. In Los Guido, La Carpio, and other areas, the East Hill Christian team presents Vacation Bible Schools, visitation in the homes, and drama training.

Last year, a group of around 20 traveled to the mission house in San Jose, where the team of 19 students and faculty from EHCS served through July 16. They brought the Gospel to the children and teens in their own language, through crafts, singing, puppet shows and plays. Some 450 kids and 100 moms attended these VBS outreaches. Each year we are privileged to revisit our pen pals and friends and see how much they have grown in the Lord. Pray for us as we train and go, that God
will be our strength and will fill us with His Holy Spirit to do His work.

The Talent Show this year, on Saturday, May 5 (Cinco de Mayo!), will feature a wide variety of acts from first grade piano melodies to middle school rock bands to the diverse musical theater talents of some of our high schoolers.  There will be dance performances, drum solos, duets, and many solos.

East Hill Christian School, a VPK-12 college-preparatory school in Pensacola, is excited and proud to announce a new digital transformation designed to accelerate education through technology for all students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grades. This decision came after months of study, meetings, and prayer by the Board and the technology committee.  Beginning August 2012, the new initiative, which is funded from a generous donation by a strong friend of Christian education, will allow East Hill Christian School to equip students with the right tools and 21^st century skills necessary for success.

A component of this technology initiative is East Hill Christian School becoming a Microsoft IT Academy, one of only a handful of VPK through twelfth grade schools in the state of Florida with such designation.  This allows East Hill a rich set of curriculum, courses for Microsoft Office, technical resources, Microsoft Certification exams, and marketing resources.    This program provides students with the 21st century technology skills necessary to acquire certification and be competitive in today’s rapidly evolving workplace. The IT Academy Program also provides educators and staff with professional development opportunities. Benefits provide students with a rich and resonant learning experience, using not only the best available textbooks, but also E-Learning and software so that students garner hands-on experience with Microsoft’s industry-leading software. The curriculum alignment to industry values ensures that the skills achieved can be validated both in terms of personal accomplishment and professional qualifications for potential employers.

The vision is to embrace technology in all areas of the school and transform the classroom into a digital learning environment. The goal of the initiative is to embrace technology to better engage and empower students to excel as lifelong learners. The initiative will enhance the current curriculum and equip, challenge, and inspire students as 21st century learners to impact their world for Christ. The initiative aligns with and advances East Hill Christian School’s mission, vision, and core values.

The technology goals for East Hill Christian School align with the National Education Technology Standards for the Digital-Age Classroom.  Technology tools will be used to challenge students in higher-level thinking skills, inspire students to become lifelong learners, and prepare East Hill Christian students for digital citizenship.

About East Hill Christian School

Located in Pensacola, Florida, East Hill Christian School is focused on developing students morally, intellectually, and physically and on equipping them with a foundational knowledge of the Word of God in order to prepare them for responsible roles in society.  Serving children in grades Pre-K through 12th, East Hill Christian gives children an academic advantage enabling them to excel in school and to gain a strong, intellectual foundation. Ultimately, East Hill Christian is focused on engaging young minds and readying them for leadership at school, in their communities, and in the world. For more information visit www.ehcs.org.

Contacts

East Hill Christian School

Angie Wood, 850-438-7746

Headmaster

a_wood@ehcseagles.com

In our efforts to provide continuous improvement to East Hill’s campus, classroom technology and curriculum, and academic scholarships.  This Legacy Campaign is a four-year campaign focused on growing student enrollment, improving our curriculum, and continuing academic scholarships.  This support will include:  updated computers for our teachers and improved technology and technology curriculum for East Hill’s students; new books, materials for our teachers and continuous improvement for our course offerings.  You will be receiving information in the next week via email and snail mail concerning this campaign, but I am happy to announce that as I stand here before you introducing this tonight, we already have 35% of our goal committed for the next four years!

I am excited about where East Hill has been, and I am even more excited about where East Hill is going.  Re-enrollment is going well, with us reaching 70% of our budgeted goal for next year, and we are getting daily phone calls, giving daily tours, and conducting interviews for new families.  We are currently working on an academic strategic plan for the entire campus, and our new board-approved technology initiative.  Mr. Witter and myself are brainstorming in our planning meetings and developing new classes, new approaches to current classes, and new opportunities for professional development for our teachers.  East Hill has overcome the battles of the past.  We are committed to taking the time now to not survive but to move forward.  East Hill Christian School is going to step out and be the school that God wants us to be- spiritually, academically, athletically… we are in this for His purpose and it is time for us to follow His plan and succeed.  I cannot wait to see what God has in store for the future of our school- through His grace!

In athletics, our fall sports all performed well.  Our volleyball and soccer team had a great re-building season.  Our competition cheerleading squad won third place at the Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders Competition in Orlando.  Our winter sports also had a successful season.  Both our varsity and junior varsity basketball teams made it to regionals.  Our varsity boys had a great run, and our junior varsity team received second place for the Panhandle Christian Conference.  Our middle school boys did an outstanding job, and our middle school junior varsity came in second in the West Florida Christian Conference.  Right now our spring sports are well under way.  We currently have baseball and softball going on, and the players are doing an amazing job at representing our school well.

In student leadership, we have had a very active middle school Student Council and a strong high school Student Government Association.  Student Leadership Institute continues, and we currently have sixteen students in it.  Also in leadership, our teachers were able to have two days of training in February on creative learning environments and teaching by design.

In relation to this leadership development, the Student Council and Student Government Association have been active in community outreach.  The two organizations are leading an upper grade wide day on April 10 for National Day Without Shoes.  In correspondence with this, the two organizations are heading up a drive for Tom’s Shoes, where students are able to purchase a pair of shoes that they decorate, and then a second pair of shoes is shipped to a Third World Country.

God’s blessings are apparent in every aspect of our school- academics, athletics, student leadership, community outreach, and spiritual emphasis.  If you have had a chance to walk around the halls, there is an uplifting spirit floating around.

This year EHCS participated in a number of academic competitions.

• East Hill won the Sumdog Florida Panhandle Contest, and had two middle school students place and be recognized for being one of the top ten students in the Florida Panhandle Contest.
• East Hill hosted a history fair in the fall, and the winners from that participated in the county history fair for the first time and had four middle school students win “Best in Show” and one teacher won the “Rookie Teacher of the Year.”
• East Hill hosted a science fair this month, and one of our seniors participated in the county science fair where she took first place in senior microbiology for her project with DNA and bacterial transformation, as well as the Dr. Ernest E. Just Memorial Award recognizing quality in scientific research; US Army award for the most outstanding senior project; and the Escambia County Medical Society award.
• We are participating in the Third Annual Pensacola Invitational Middle School Math Competition at Pensacola High School’s International Bacceleurate Program on March 31.
• The Physics class went to Busch Gardens in December for Physics Day- where they can use their physics calculations on world class roller coasters.  Our chemistry, physics, and physical science students are participating in the Pensacola State College Chemathon.
• In January we took the entire high school to New Orleans for a whirlwind overnight field trip involving the aquarium, the zoo, the insectariums, Café du Monde, the World War II museum, and about 16 miles of walking.

This year we will be graduating a class of 14!  What an amazing group of young men and women!!!  Several of them have been at East Hill since kindergarten.  They are a very talented group of students,  and it is going to be hard to not see their faces in the halls next year.  Our seniors are doing amazing at their scholarship offers- it is truly wonderful to see how successful they have been, and to watch them go through this metamorphosis as they are about to close another chapter of their lives.  We have students being recognized in our high school for their citizenship by the local Civitan Club and students being awarded Presidential scholarships.  Thus far, with the end of the school year not even being here, we have had four of our seniors offered almost $500,000 in scholarships.

There were many field trips this year. VPK visited the Pumpkin Patch and Mr. Al’s Music Concert, and they enjoyed watching butterflies hatching with the Kindergarteners. Lower elementary also enjoyed trips to the Zoo, TT Wentworth Museum, and Ronald McDonald House, while upper elementary attended the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra and explored Marianna Caves.

Students participated in the science fair (investigating topics such as planets, the rainforest, and dinosaurs),  the ACSI Spelling Bee on the local and state level, our Annual Art Gallery Night, our Christmas Musical, Praise Peeps hand chimes, and a sign language class called Hands in Praise.

As you can tell, it’s been a year filled with great successes and activities. We look forward to the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year and the many things the Lord has in store for us next year!

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Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

God’s blessings are apparent in every aspect of our school- academics, athletics, student leadership, community outreach, and spiritual emphasis. The following is a final portion from Dr. Wood’s State of the School address.

When we talk about our school as a partnership, we are talking about a working, enjoyable relationship between the school,  families, and alumni.  I am excited about where East Hill has been, and I am even more excited about where East Hill is going.  Re-enrollment is going well, and we are getting daily phone calls, giving daily tours, and conducting interviews for new families.  We are currently working on an academic strategic plan for the entire campus, and a technology plan.

Mr. Witter and myself are brainstorming in our planning meetings and developing new classes, new approaches to current classes, and new opportunities for professional development for our teachers.  East Hill has overcome the battles of the past.  We are committed to taking the time now to not only survive but to move forward.  East Hill Christian School is going to step out and be the school that God wants us to be- spiritually, academically, athletically.  We are in this for His purpose and it is time for us to follow His plan and succeed.  I cannot wait to see what God has in store for the future of our school- through His grace!

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