Mrs. Penny Hayes, Head of School, addresses the faculty during the first day of in-service in August 2021.
Welcome to the fall semester and the first half of the 2022-2022 school year! It is sweeter than ever to see the students fill the halls, classrooms, and athletic courts and fields. Our faculty members have been praying and diligently prepping for the return of our students.
I want to share with you some guidance I gave to our faculty during in-service last week about how we at OCS think about training students in the Word of God. This year, we are focused on weaning students off spiritual “milk” as described in Hebrews 5:11-14:
“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:11-14 ESV; emphasis added)
Kids can handle more than moralism. Kids can handle more than behavior modification. They can handle the deeper things of the gospel and glimpse the glory of God. The community around them will either teach them to conform to this world or model how to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. If we want the latter, we must begin by training our individual minds to be transformed by the Scriptures.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2 ESV)
I challenged the faculty to ask themselves: are you setting up your classrooms with Spirit-filled direction, centered on the outrageous work of Christ, or as mere humans (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)? Are they working to increase their Biblical literacy so they may contribute to the health of the OCS community and the local churches our students represent?
The individual mandate in Romans 12 leads directly into the next passage where we are instructed to use our gifts within the community of believers, diligently applying and purposefully contributing to the health of the whole body. A healthy community doesn’t happen by accident; it is a result of the contributions of each of the members. Our theme this year is “Community On Purpose”, which reminds us we all have an active part to play in the type of community we build.
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…” (Romans 12:4–6 ESV; emphasis added)
You, parents, are a vital part of this school community. You are responsible for your individual walk with Christ so that you can contribute to the health of this community. This happens not only through your children but also your personal integrity when you interact with other parents from your student’s classes. If there is a conflict, go to the person involved. If it’s not resolved at that level, take it to a principal, have a conversation. Together, we purposefully create OCS community, so let’s make it one where all students flourish.
Penny Hayes, M.Ed.
Head of School
