Decisions, decisions!

Time has flown! We are only months away from completing our secondary educations! During the online meeting today, two ideas for our class motto were given. Give them a thought and a prayer, and come to the next meeting prepared to share. They both relate to our class hymn "In Christ Alone" which was decided at the meeting two weeks ago. 

"Hold Nothing Back"

"Further Up and Further In"

If you have an earth-shaking idea, please bring that with you to the next meeting as well. 

No matter what, just be at the meeting! Since we'll begin practicing, this is going to be a pretty important meeting. 

Class Song

Last night, we came to a conclusion. Our class verse is... drumroll please... 

Philippines 3:14!

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

We also discussed options for our class hymns, here's the ideas we came up with.

Abide with Me

All the Way

Day by Day 

Faith is the Victory

How Great Thou Art

I Need Thee Every Hour

May the Mind of Christ

Also, be thinking to the end of what our motto should be. I think it'd be best if it carried a theme of pressing toward the mark or something like that. 

I'm thrilled to see that we're progressing! 

Class Verse, Hymn, and Motto

It's all coming together! At the meeting on the 13th the few of us narrow our options for verses down to four. 

Isaiah 40:31
Psalm 48:14  
Joshua 1:9 
Philippians 3:14

Think and pray about your decision because we will be basing our motto and hymn off of our verse. 

Let's try to keep opinions in the comment section, so I don't have to go elsewhere to retrieve votes or opinions.

TEACH Ski Day!!

Hey everyone, there will be an official email going out about this but I wanted to let everyone on the blog know that my Dad was able to set up a TEACH Ski Day at Trollhaugen. So for everyone like me who was disappointed that Giants Ridge didn't work out, there is still hope! And, for those of you that don't know how a ski day works, TEACH makes reservations as a school group which means we get a special rate. And that includes the ski rentals, so you don't have to worry if you don't own downhill skis. It should be a blast!! So I hope to see you all there! Make sure you read the details below.



When: Monday February 24th, 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Where: Trollhaugen Ski Area 2232 100 Ave, Dresser, WI

http://www.trollhaugen.com/directions.php

Rates: K - 3rd Grade: $20 includes Lift, Lessons & Rental
        4th - 12th Grade: $18 includes Lift, Lessons & Rental
        Adults: $17 Lift, Rental Extra - $15 Ski or $18 Snowboard


Please Call Dennis Mathison at 763-300-0253 or
E-mail at dennis.r.mathison@loram.com for reservations as soon as possible.

Grad Class Meeting Times

We have now begun our biweekly meetings!

We will be tentatively meeting on Thursdays every other week at University of Northwestern - St. Paul in the Youderian Lounge at 7 PM. (January 30th being our second meeting). These meetings are semi-mandatory because we will be planning our ceremony and baccalaureate and distributing jobs for families.

For right now, the meetings will continue until our actual ceremony.

If you have any questions, let me or Mr. Newhouse know. If you're wondering how to find the Youderian Lounge, you can call me at (651)368-0769. If you're going to get there early, let me know because I'm going to be there for classes anyway.

Skating Event!

Thanks to everyone that came out! I certainly had a blast! I can't wait for the next time we can get together!

The 2014 Grads

 And I would like you all to meet the dangerous pair: Stewy (Noah Stewart) and Drewy (me)

Everybody

Christmastime is HERE! Skating and Caroling

So, the votes are in and it's pretty clear that skating wins... by far. Also, it seems like the best time for everyone is the week after Christmas. How does this sound?

Who: 2014 TEACH grads and their families
When: Friday, December 27th from 5-9PM

Where: Centennial Lakes in Edina - skating is free and they have rentals at a very good price for those of you that don't own skates 

What: Skating, chatting, having fun, and singing the Christmas carols we haven't grown tired of yet

Why: beautiful pond, awesome people, and skating - need I say more?

AND... speaking of Christmas carols, we should do some caroling!!! It seems it has become a tradition of the graduating class to go out caroling so let's continue that tradition! If anyone knows of a senior care home or other place that would be blessed to have amateur carollers, let me know. 

Here's the tentative plan, everyone could meet at my house (or another convenient location close to where we'll be caroling) at 3:30 on the 20th of December. Again, this is tentative and can easily be moved to whatever date or time works best for people. We can practice together a little then head out to the place we'll be caroling. After we've sung to our hearts content, we can return for some hot cocoa, chili (another tradition), and games. How does that sound?

Both of these events require at least 7 people to respond with a yes in order for me to move forward with this. Please RSVP by December 20th regarding the skating. 

Christmas with Dignity...again ;)

        Sooo, I talked to the lady in charge (Mrs. Delaney) and she said that the best time for us to come would be somewhere between December 2nd and December 12th.
      We need to work on what day to go and what time to come.(I can't do it on Tuesdays or Thursdays until 3:00 otherwise anytime works for me) They basically have it all day. We can go and stay until we decide to leave. ;)
I was thinking that we could all go out to eat for lunch or dinner (whichever we choose) after we've been working for a while. If you'd like to do it,comment below and say what days you are available, and what time would be best! :) (Remember, this is coming up fast, so please respond quickly so I can plan it! :) )

Jem

Christmas With Dignity

Hey Guys!

Would anyone be interested in helping out  with Christmas with Dignity? It's a program to help the people in the Twin Cities area have an affordable Christmas. Basically any week day would work in November, I don't think they have it on Saturdays, but i'll check into it. If you are interested in doing this, please comment so I know!

I'm not sure how this works, are we suppose to email Mr. Newhouse about anything that you plan?

Thanks!

~Jem :)

Class Verse

It looks like these are the verses that have been suggested so far: Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 91:1-2, Psalm 16:1, Philippians 4:13, John 10:4, and Hosea 10:6 (let me know if I missed any). Hebrews 12:1 is another one I came across. So far Joshua 1:9 and Isaiah 40:31 seem to be peoples favorites. I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea to choose a verse first and then choose a motto and song with a common theme based off the verse. Just some thoughts. Everyone please share your thoughts.

Game Night: Change of Plan

OK, so we are gonna have make a change in plans for two reasons, first off, I still haven't heard back from the big man, second, not enough people are available on Saturday. However, I would REALLY like us to get together for some fun before winter makes it impossible. So, comment here what days work for you... please ;)

Game Night

Over the last couple days, I have been getting many emails asking about this so called "game night." And, unfortunately, I can neither confirm nor deny the rumors of one being planned as I type this...

All I can say is this - keep the afternoon and evening of November 2nd open on your calendars and think about your favorite (both outdoor and indoor) games... because something might just happen... maybe... but you didn't hear that from me... in fact, you heard (or read) nothing at all.

Canoe Trip Cancelled!

Sadly, due to weather, Mr. Newhouse and I decided to cancel the canoe trip. However, I sent an email out to everyone regarding a few options for future events. I'm so very sorry that isn't going to work out!

Speaking of apologies, I am ALSO sorry I took absolutely NO pictures at the TEACH testing day! I brought my camera, but never put to use, so I am so very sorry that I have no pictures, but I will remember next time! The good news is that Meagan took plenty, so that's not so much of a problem ;).

Class Song

I noticed our (lack of) class verse or motto. If I remember correctly, we're going to need a class song, too. Could someone correct me if I'm wrong? If so, we should probably start thinking about that as well. In years past, they had a bit of a last minute call on the song because no one had come up with one that everyone could agree on.

- Noah Stewart

Due Date for Canoe Trip

Hey Guys!

I know with school, church, work, and life there are probably a plethora of due dates you already have to worry about. Well, I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is that I have another due date for you... The good news is that it is not a closed-at-midnight, no-sliver-of-hope, might-as-well-not-try kind of due date, but it is a due date nonetheless.

Therefore, the due date for letting me (or Mr. Newhouse) know that you can (or can't) make it to the canoe trip is the OCTOBER 12th! This will make it bucketloads easier for us to plan and prepare for the event. If you've already responded, it wouldn't hurt to double check with me to make sure I have you down. If you're not sure now whether or not it'll work, don't worry, just tell me that you're not sure whether or not it'll work and inform me as soon as possible.

P.S. Just so you all know, sadly, I might not be able to make it to the canoe trip due to my work schedule, but I'm sure you'd all have fun without me... maybe... ;)

Canoeing: Event #2!

Who's up for some canoeing?!

The plan is to leave early Saturday morning and canoe down the Mississippi along a path that Mr. Newhouse has taken many grad classes before. Then afterwards we'll have a picnic lunch!

Our two options for dates are Oct 5th and Oct 19th.

Let me know which one works better for you.

Pictures from First Grad Event!

Grad Class Event #1: Success!!!

It was amazing how much we were able to get done in such a short time! In addition, we had the opportunity to be a light to a guy named Chris, who was quite impressed with the fact that we didn't complain (although there was really nothing to complain about!) 

Here's all of us hard workers!

Believe it or not this one was Mr. Newhouse's idea! 

[I was the only one that came out uninjured as you could've guessed :)]

In Regard to Upcoming Events

As the day for our first event comes closer. I wanted to let you guys know that I'd love it if you planned your own event!  Anything you feel would be helpful, encouraging, insightful, fun, team-building, God-glorifying, or just that you really want to do would be great!

I also wanted to let you know that I will NOT be planning more events. I'll go to all that I can, help you in any way that I can, but you guys have to take it from here since I'm going to be very busy between work and school.

My hope is that each of us will only have to plan one (or more if you'd like) event, so that it all doesn't fall on the shoulders of a few.

So, the ball's in your court - now it's up to you guys... what do YOU want our senior year (and class) to be?


P.S. It doesn't have to be super soon, one event a month for right now would be fine.

The Wristbands

 Well, I decided that there should be a place out there that has pre-made wristbands for high school graduates, and sure enough, first website I clicked on, they had blue wristbands that said "Class of 2014" On them!! So I order 35 of them. :)  It only cost $33. :)  They are suppose to arrive at my house on Tuesday so i'm pretty sure they'll be here when we have a meeting. :)

~Jem

Class Verse

"Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong ad of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."  Joshua 1:9
(I love this one...be strong and courageous!  For God is with you always!) love this one!  This could be a possibility.....if not, may it still encourage you today!