“...nurturing students in Christ-like living, “...nurturing students in Christ-like living, critical thinking, and joyful ser vice critical thinking, and joyful ser vice

to become faithful citizens in God’s world.”to become faithful citizens in God’s world.”

ELEMENTARY CAMPUSELEMENTARY CAMPUS671 Agnes St. Victoria, BC V8Z 2E7 671 Agnes St. Victoria, BC V8Z 2E7 elementary@pacifi cchristian.caelementary@pacifi cchristian.ca

SECONDARY CAMPUSSECONDARY CAMPUS654 Agnes St. Victoria, BC V8Z 2E6 654 Agnes St. Victoria, BC V8Z 2E6 secondary@pacifi cchristian.casecondary@pacifi cchristian.ca

Pacifi c Christian SchoolPacifi c Christian Schoolwww.pacifi cchristian.ca

PACIFIC CHRISTIAN SCHOOLCHRIST-LIKE LIVING, CRITICAL THINKING, AND JOYFUL SERVICE

Phone 250-479-4532Phone 250-479-4532

June 2014

continued over...

What a privilege it is for me to work in a place where

students are given opportunities to step out of

the classroom and into the community to serve

others, and what a joy it is for me to see this undertaken by

students with genuine enthusiasm and caring hearts. The

phrase in our mission statement of “nurturing students in joyful service” has been lived out in a variety of ways this

past year and I want to highlight just a few of the ways that

students have been active both inside and outside the walls

of our school.

Back in the fall, our Grade 7 Service Club visited the Saanich

Community Food Bank Garden where students picked

the fi nal crop of summer beans, planted fall garlic, and

weeded the planting beds to prepare them for winter. This

same group of students also visited the Compassionate Resource Warehouse where they helped gather and sort items

that were put into a container of disaster relief supplies. These supplies were sent directly to the Philippines after their

devastating typhoon late last year. A second container of supplies was loaded up to go to a children’s hospital hospice in

Rwanda where sick children basically go to die. Our students were able to write notes, posters, and colourful cards to

brighten the walls of this bleak and dismal place. Isn’t it

wonderful that our students’ actions here in Victoria are

having an impact around the world? Not only did our

students prepare supplies for shipment overseas, they

were also able to interact with and enjoy the company

of the senior volunteers working at the warehouse. The

positive interactions between these seniors and our PCS

students as they worked side by side spoke loudly to me

about the importance of relationship building across the

generation gap.

At Christmas time, our middle school students went to

the Lodge at Broadmead and spent some time with the

residents there. A great time was had singing Christmas

songs, dancing, and just visiting with the residents who

appeared to really enjoy the conversation and singing

time with the students.

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PACIFIC CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

EDUCATING FOR JOYFUL SERVICE THROUGH ACTS OF KINDNESS

Page 2 Pacer Press

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From the high school side, joyful service was very evident

with the two Missions Mexico trips that went down to

Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, where students worked to

build four houses for needy families. This normally annual

event became bi-annual this year because so many students

wanted to experience this mission’s trip. This incredible

experience helps open the eyes of our students to the poor

and needy and the issues of poverty outside the borders of

our affl uent culture and country.

Back in Victoria, within the walls of our school, we planned

a K-12 school-wide theme called Acts of Kindness Week

where we focused on sharing acts of kindness with one

another. Remember those pink shirts? Class discussions,

lessons, and chapel talks revolved around ways that

we could encourage one another with different acts of

kindness. Students were encouraged to take these acts

of kindness outside of our school community. Kindness

really can change everything!

Will Wild, Assistant Principal

Pacer Press Page 3

MENTAL HEALTH PRESENTATION Having personal experience with mental health has moved me to

want to share my story with others. Kindness Week, in February,

was the perfect time to do that! I had the opportunity to speak

to and share my story with the grade six and seven students. I

encouraged the students to open up and talk about mental health

and wellness and to see that asking for help is okay. I also wanted

them to know that healing and thriving is possible! It was a great

experience and I look forward to inspiring others with my story!

Sarah Balderson, Grade 9

SPECIAL EDUCATION ROOM 218 - KINDNESS So many people help to make our program a success. Handing

out treat and notes lets people know Room 218 notices.

PCS HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE “This was the fi rst year my husband and I signed

up for the homestay experience. I can honestly say

that it has been a privilege to have Ivy in our home.

We’ve learned about Chinese culture, cuisine

and customs while also getting to know a unique

individual.” - Lyn Suderman

Page 4 Pacer Press

GARDEN UPDATE Biology 11 students worked in the rain and

mud to plant apple and pear trees, and

their hard work is now bearing fruit. The

new PCS Food Garden is still taking shape

but early successes include potatoes, broad

beans, herbs & rhubarb.

SPELLING BEE Things were really buzzing at PCS on Thursday

Feb. 27 for the school spelling bee fi nals.

Twelve nervous fi nalists accurately spelled

word after word, demonstrating accuracy that

took 34 rounds to crown a winner. The Grade

4 – 7 audience was impressed with the level

of competence and held their collective breath

with every letter. After a close battle we fi nally

had our winners. In 3rd place from Grade 7 –

Lucy Auchinachie, in 2nd place from Grade 6

– Ella Lane-Sangha and the PCS 2014 Spelling

Champion from Grade 5 is Cheyenne Haliday.

Congratulations to everyone on your hard work

and success. Spell on!

VANCOUVER ISLAND REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR - OUR GRADE 5 PARTICIPANTSOnce again, the winners from our PCS Science Fair distinguished

themselves at the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair, held at the

University of Victoria, April 13 and 14. They spent two days presenting

their projects to several judges and participating in an Open House for

schools and the public. On Monday they were treated to an exciting

‘Chemistry Show,’

with lots of

chemical reactions,

explosions, and

smoke! We are

very proud of the

effort all of our 8

participants put

into their projects

and presentations.

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GRANDPARENTS’ AND GRANDFRIENDS’ DAYOur 17th annual Grandparents’ and Grandfriends’ Day on Friday, April 25 was defi nitely one of our highlights of the school

year! For this now “world-renowned event”, we again welcomed hundreds of grandparents and substitute special friends

for a full morning of visiting the elementary school. Festivities began with a couple of hours to visit the children in their

classrooms, plus time to enjoy refreshments and fellowship in our gym, and concluded with a special program in the chapel,

featuring students from all grades K-7. Big, bright smiles on faces are all the evidence we need that there is always a huge

buzz of excitement and enthusiasm for this annual event that celebrates Christian education across the generations.

PASTORS’ DAYPastors’ Day is another very exciting day in the life of Pacifi c Christian School! All elementary school students wrote personal

letters of invitation to their own pastor, youth pastor or Sunday school teacher and eagerly waited for them to come to visit

them. As we entered the doors of the church to go to chapel on Friday, November 15, we were joined by 80-90 pastors and

other church staff, completely fi lling the church to capacity, and adding a whole new dimension to our singing that morning

as we were led by the high school worship team! Students were thrilled to see their own pastors at chapel, and everyone

raised their hands in blessing our pastors as we prayed for them, something they normally do publicly for others in their

churches. Afterwards, the pastors invaded the classrooms, fi nding the students from their church, and thus celebrating the

partnership PCS has with more than 90 churches across greater Victoria.

Page 6 Pacer Press

The snapshot of Pacer Athletics for 2014: Grade 8 boys fi nished 2nd at both

the volleyball and basketball Christian Schools tournaments; Jr. Girls volleyball

3rd on the Lower Island; Jr. Boys volleyball Lower Island Champions and 2nd

@ Islands; Sr. Girls volleyball 1st @ the Gulf Island tournament and 4th @

Islands; Sr. Boys volleyball 3rd @ Islands; Jr. Girls Basketball undefeated in

league play, 1st @ Lower Islands, 1st @ the Dover Bay tournament; Jr. Boys

Basketball successful season with many close games in a tough league; Sr.

Girls Basketball 1st @ Christian Schools (fi rst time in school history), 1st @

Lower Islands (hosted too), 4th @ Islands; Sr. Boys Basketball 3rd @ Lower

Islands (AAA); Track and Field 1st

@ Islands – Sr. Girls shot put

(Amy Willie) and Badminton Gr.

10 Boys and Girls – 1st @ Lower

Islands!!!

Congratulations to all student

athletes for accomplishing so

much this year! Thank you to all

of the coaches who gave of their

time to mentor and speak into

the lives of our athletes!

John Stewart, PCS Secondary

Athletic Director

PCS Pacers Athletic department PCS Pacers Athletic department vision statement: As a family, we vision statement: As a family, we

challenge ourselves to be passionate, challenge ourselves to be passionate, accountable, committed, excellent, accountable, committed, excellent,

respectful and successful as we learn respectful and successful as we learn about life through sport!about life through sport!.

PACER ATHLETICS

Pacer Press Page 7

With Track and Field winding down, PCS can chalk up another successful year

of Middle School Athletics. Over the last nine months there have been many

encouraging stories to come out of grade 6 & 7 athletics: the grade 7 girls

fi nishing 1st in the city for volleyball and 2nd in basketball, the grade 7 boys

volleyball team coming in 2nd, both boys and girls badminton teams winning

their respective city championships, qualifying over 120 student athletes for

the VISAA Track and Field Meet. Really, the successes on the court, track, or

fi eld are simply a refl ection of the community and fellowship that occurred in

and around a Christ-centered athletics program. So to all of the staff, parents,

and students, who put in the countless hours to make this year a memorable

one: thank you!

Blessings, Adam Price, PCS Middle School Athletics

Page 8 Pacer Press

PCS STUDENTS ATTEND SHAWNIGAN LAKE MODEL UNThree PCS students took home top honours this past

weekend at the Shawnigan Lake Model United Nations.

Congratulations to Rachel S. for Best Position Paper, Dale

M. for Outstanding Delegate, and Jadyn L. for Honorable

Mention Top Delegate. Also, a special mention for Jacob

F. who was director of the UN Press Corps; he capably led

a team of journalists covering the events in the various

committees throughout the weekend, amassing 27 news

articles. Well done to ALL PCSers at the Model UN.

Everyone participated well and represented our school

capably. Bravo, everyone.

THE PRO-LIFE CLUB OF PCSThe Pro-life club of PCS hosted the Second Annual Community

Baby Shower in an expanded format this year, collecting

donations both at the school during advent, and outside the

Langford Wal-Mart one long wintery (-17) Saturday. Thank

you to Wal-Mart for their generous cooperation with this

effort to support the work of Victoria Pregnancy Centre,

which looks after needy mums and their young families. We

were able to drop off a van full of everything from baby and

maternity clothes to a couple of great rocking chairs! Thank

you to everyone for your contributions and thank you to the

students who worked tirelessly on this effort.

JUMP ROPE FOR HEARTThank you so much to all of the Grade 4’s and 5’s

who raised almost $9000.00 for Jump Rope for

Heart. These boys and girls did a wonderful job

of raising this incredible amount of money for a

great cause, and then spending an afternoon doing

different jump rope activities for a whole afternoon

in the high school gym. Thanks, too, to all of the

parents who helped their kids raise money, as well as

the moms who came out to help with refreshments

on our Jump Rope Day. Well done, Grade 4’s and 5’s.

We’re so proud of you all!

Total Raised: $8, 947. 84

Pacer Press Page 9

STUDENT PROFILE: A NEW WORLD“If you could tell me

anything about bringing

a child into a new “world”

what would it be?” This

was the question I was

asked by a husband and

wife adopting a little

boy and girl from Village

Espoir (Hope Village). I

responded, “Raise them

in a way to make you

proud but makes their

birth parents even more

proud!”

Sitting on the Village

steps, I watched the new

parents step out of their

car. So many emotions

were clearly written on their faces, fear and love the most evident. There is a fear of taking the children away from the

life they know and bringing them into their world. What will their new children think of them. LOVE: love at fi rst sight.

The moment the kids saw their new parents, they knew that was their Mama and Papa. Love overcame fear as the kids

tightly embraced their Mama and Papa and never let go. A family of two became a family of four, as if that was all they

had ever known.

I could only be happy for this new family, as I knew God put those two kids with their new Mama and Papa for a reason.

Watching the beginning of a new life for the children and the new Papa and Mama also brought me so many emotions.

Joy. Hope. Sadness. Joy: seeing how quickly the two kids knew that this man and woman were their Mama and Papa

who will protect them, and, from this moment, never leave their side. Hope: knowing that these kids will have a future

of endless opportunities to achieve their dreams and to have great role models to look up to. Sadness: this was an

emotion I struggled with. Throughout all the joy, a house mama has now lost two of her children. She has raised these

kids for the past four years and now she has to say goodbye. She put on a strong face for the new Mama and Papa, but

as I walked past her she broke down in tears. I gave her a hug and held her tight. I told her, “Look at where I am right

now, back in the orphanage I was adopted from. It is going to be okay!”

I felt so honoured to be at the orphanage for the fi rst adoption from Village Espoir since the earthquake in 2010.

Experiencing the new Mama and Papa picking up their children for the fi rst time was so special to me. It helped me

realize how strong and inspirational my Mama and Papa are to me. I now know exactly what it must have been like for

them to see me for the fi rst time. I am so proud to have been adopted by the great parents I have.

“Raise them in a way to make you proud but makes their birth parents even more proud!” That is the way I have been

raised. Visiting with my birth mom, Rose, over the past month, I can truly say that she is more than proud of who I have

become. Her visits, her beaming smile toward me, her caressing of my arm, her daily phone calls to me are evidence of

her unending love and pride. My Papa and Mama could not have done a better job to make me who I am. So I thank

them for that and for giving me opportunities to have experiences like this one.

Kathleen A Hoogendoorn

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Page 10 Pacer Press

I started teaching at Pacifi c Christian School in 2004. I teach junior math, science and

outdoor education. I have also taught Forestry 11, Biology 11 and Sustainable Resources 11.

As part of the Outdoor Education Program that I co-teach with Ms. McKerracher, I also

coordinate the sailing team and have the pleasure of being one of the leaders on the West

Coast Trail hike.

I have always enjoyed spending time outdoors. I joined a scout troop with my brother when

I was young, and discovered that I really like to be outside engaged in outdoor recreation.

We hiked the West Coast Trail together with the scouts and I have wanted to have more

adventures like that one ever since. I became particularly interested in Biology in high school

and earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Biology and a minor in Environmental

Studies from UVic in 1991. While studying there, I worked as a research assistant in the

Biology and Microbiology Departments. I started working in the forest industry after that

and had the opportunity to work in both harvesting and silviculture operations. Those jobs

led me to work in BC Parks, and I operated a small company that employed youth for small

projects including trail building and infrastructure construction.

I met many people during those years who had a positive infl uence in my life. Many taught

me new skills and gave me new knowledge. One became a mentor and helped me to gain the confi dence to start my own

business. Another reintroduced me to The Lord. I am so grateful for those people and for the people whom I have met since

I started my journey here at PCS. While my path to teaching and to PCS has not been the shortest or most direct, I believe

that God used those people and those experiences to equip me to work here. I have had the pleasure to stay involved in

Science and Math, while also pursuing outdoor recreation and sharing this passion with others. I am so excited to be able to

share my love for the outdoors and for all of God’s created world with the students here. I am blessed by both the people I

teach and the people I work with.

Hello! During the last twenty odd years students have known me as Mrs. A, Miss Joanne, and

Mrs. Allers. Teaching preschoolers, elementary, middle school and high school students, and

some college credit trumpet instruction has kept my ‘career’ diverse and interesting. Currently,

I teach Band to PCS students in grades 6-9. My position is fantastic because I get to take groups

of approximately 25 students from a place of knowing absolutely nothing about their various

band instruments to being capable and proud of reading and applying the language of music to

their new instrument! Hearing and watching skills develop over time is dynamic and exciting.

When I am not teaching Band at PCS or teaching at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, I am

usually functioning as a taxi driver, a fast food chef, and as a laundry service provider to my

three high school sons! My most dear role of all is as wife to my husband and soul-mate, Tim,

for over 20 years.

An idea that took root this year for me is the role of God’s Word in my life. Having been

to Bible School when my husband was fi nishing a theology degree, I completed classes that

stimulated my desire for knowledge and truth. Those classes brought vibrancy to what had

previously felt like a duty or rule to be obeyed, reading God’s word daily.

Now, years later, after attending church all my life, I fi nd myself praying for the Bible to be fresh, and to hear something ‘new’

from it. Recently I heard someone say that when we read God’s word, it forms us. The idea that God’s word is a tool by

which the God who crafted the universe can alter, form, and transform me into a more ‘ideal version of myself’ is an inspiring

and calming idea to wake up to each day!

Guidance, inspiration, strength, and even companionship from scripture is what God is telling me to seek. I’m thankful for

friends near and far, as well as colleagues at PCS who have helped nurture God’s truth in my life this year! If God’s word, used

regularly in my life, were to become something I am someday remembered for, that would be a fi ne legacy.

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JOANNE ALLERS

NEIL MOSSIE

MEET THE TEACHERS

Pacer Press Page 11

ALUMNI PROFILE: ALICE POWELL - HELPING CHANGE LIVES ONBOARD MERCY SHIPS PRESS RELEASE - January 13th, 2014 – 28-year-old Alice Powell will say goodbye to Vancouver Island

on January 25th as she has signed up to volunteer for about two years onboard the world’s largest charity hospital ship,

the Africa Mercy. Powell will be working as a dental hygienist in several different countries, starting in Pointe-Noire,

Republic of Congo. The Africa Mercy belongs to international charity Mercy Ships which uses hospital ships to deliver

free medical care and capacity building to the world’s underserved.

Powell grew up in Victoria, B.C. and attended Camosun College’s Certifi ed Dental Assistant program in 2007/2008.

After graduation, Powell went on to work for the Sydney Harbour Dental Center.

“As a young teen, I read a magazine article about two girls who lived with their parents onboard a Mercy Ship. While their

parents worked in the ship hospital, the girls attended school on the boat. This ship life sparked my interest and throughout

my schooling it was my dream to someday work with the Mercy Ships dental team in Africa,” says Powell.

Powell’s dream became very real as this will be her second stint volunteering with Mercy Ships: in 2012, Powell spent

7 months working in Guinea.

“I found my work with Mercy Ships to be so rewarding

and eye-opening. My experience has led me to commit

to a two year service with the dental team, where I will

be able to help impact even more lives,” Powell says.

Powell will be living onboard a vessel that is essentially

a small town. The ship boasts fi ve operating rooms, 82

patient beds, full laboratory services, living quarters,

cafeterias, a small shop and even a donated Starbucks

café.

Powell will be part of the Mercy Ships quest to relieve

the physical suffering and to restore the dignity of

some of the most impoverished people on earth,

ones whose ailments could be easily averted in North

America but in Africa mean social ostracism or death.

Massive goiters, cleft lips and palates, cataracts, bowed

legs and fi stulas are some of the common issues seen

by Africa Mercy medical staff as they move from port

to port in West Africa about every 10 months.

“The smile really is a universal language. Countless times,

a patient would come to the dental chair, frightened

by this medical environment and all of these strangers.

Although I could not speak their languages, I could offer

a warm smile and a comforting pat on the shoulder,” says

Powell.

“Because I am a return volunteer, I know what I am

getting into. I have no fears about my trip – only

excitement to be back at my second home!”

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HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUR WEBSITE, PACIFICCHRISTIAN.CA

FOR THE 2014-15 CALENDAR!