Thanks for Your Generosity!

Hello Bethany families!
 
We have officially launched the 2013-2014 school year, and things are off to a great start! You can sense the incredible level of enthusiasm and positive energy among our students, parents, faculty, and staff. This atmosphere makes it a lot of fun to be part of the Bethany family!

During the past two summers at Bethany, our team has worked very hard to ensure that our school's facilities and resources are top-notch. Thanks to the generosity of our school families and church community during our two major annual fundraisers -- Boosterthon and the Auction, we have been able to make a number of significant upgrades to our campus. It's always good to know the impact of your generosity, so I wanted to take a brief moment to highlight thirty upgrades made to Bethany's campus during the past fourteen months.

1. 30 iPads for classroom use
2. A Mobile iPad Cart (36-Unit)
3. Wireless Access Points Blanketing the Campus
4. A Guest Network for Wireless Access
5. Overhead Mounted Projectors & Screens in Each Classroom
6. Apple TV connections (enabling interactive iPad instruction)
7. Security Surveillance System Covering the Entire Campus
8. New Graphic Arts Program & Software for MS Students
9. New Online Reading Comprehension Program
10. New Signage around the Campus
11. Newly Renovated Art Room
12. Newly Renovated Music Room
13. Newly Renovated 2^nd Grade Classroom
14. Newly Created Media Center (22 Laptops)
15. Newly Renovated Teacher Workroom
16. New MacBook Pros for Our Teachers
17. Upgraded PCs for Administrative Personnel
18. Office Renovation for our New Director of Academics
19. Biblical-Themed Murals on Campus Walls
20. Integrated VOIP Phone System for Entire Campus
21. Updated Wiring in the Preschool Building
22. Fiber-Optic Cable (beneath 9^th Street)
23. Integrated Networks to Allow for File-Sharing
24. A Ministry Outreach Coordinator
25. A New Nursery ("The Creation Station")
26. Drywall over Cinder-Blocks in Downstairs Classrooms
27. Newly Painted "Green-Top" Courtyard (reducing heat)
28. New In-House Digital Camera to Record BCS Events
29. A Contract for Hardcover Yearbooks (coming this year)
30. New Online Platforms for Grades & Communication

With an incredible faculty, an impressive academic profile (top 4% in the nation), and upgraded facilities, Bethany is a top-tier private school in Broward County. And word is now getting out. Last year, Bethany set an opening day enrollment record with 265 students. This year, we set yet another enrollment record -- opening our doors with 291 students (305 students, if you count the nursery).

Along with the blessing of growing enrollment numbers comes the challenge of spatial needs on our existing campus. Last year, we added a second Kindergarten class. This year, we added a second first-grade class. Our team has already drawn up plans to ensure that our facilities can accommodate two classes for each elementary grade going forward. We are planning an expansion campaign for Bethany! This year's fundraising goals will be devoted to short-term expansion needs as well as the development of exciting new academic programs.

It is a great time to be a Bethany Bobcat! Thank you so much for your past support, and we hope that you will partner with us for the exciting days ahead!  


Sincerely,

Sam Kastensmidt
Headmaster
Bethany Christian School

An Open Letter to the BCS Faculty

Dear BCS faculty,

On Tuesday, the nation will celebrate the national Teacher Appreciation Day. As we come to the end of the school year (my first at BCS), I wanted to let you all know how much I love and appreciate you. Being a teacher is hard. It requires such an enormous investment of love and energy, and your efforts aren't always noticed (though God notices) or accompanied by obvious fruit (though I've seen a lot of fruit this year)! But I want you all to rest in the promises and exhortations of God. Even in the seasons when the labor is hard and the harvest seems empty, cling to the words of the Apostle Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Bethany is a very special place, because of you! You have done an excellent job to make this place shine. And I count myself blessed to work with such a Christ-like and committed group of people. I've only known you for one year, and you already feel like family. And while things are great at Bethany, I pledge that I will do everything in my power to assist you in making next year even better! There are some exciting things in store for Bethany.

I am very excited about the team that God has assembled here, and I am confident that He will richly bless our efforts going forward! 

So let me steal a few lines from the Apostle Paul and make them my own...

1 Corinthians 1:4-6

"I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge—because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you."

Philippians 1:3-6

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

I love you all, and I am very grateful for the faculty at Bethany Christian School!

In Christ,

Sam 

Happy Easter!

Last Thursday night, my wife and I went to the MaundyThursday evening service at Rio Vista.We had a special time of worship with Ryan. We heard a great message from Pastor Matt. As we celebrated Communion, all of the families were invited up front to be prayed over by the church's pastors and leaders. We then listened to a reading of the Passion narrative and left in total silence. 

 

What a wonderful and much-needed evening to help turn our eyes upon Christ!

 

As Matt began his message, he talked about the honor that our Mickey took in transporting the heavy wooden cross to the stage in preparation for this weekend. Mickey chose to carry it alone, treating it as an opportunity to reflect upon Christ and His love in carrying the Cross for us. And when Laura and I walked to the front to receive prayer, I was met by Jim Stafiej, who received us with a smile and a hug. He prayed over us. It was really beautiful, and it again reminded me of how much I love and appreciate our staff at Bethany! Thank you for loving Christ so well and wanting to love Him even more.

 

As I sat in my seat toward the end of the service, I was not ready to go home. I wanted the evening to continue all night. Husbands were praying over wives. Tears were flowing all around me. Then a woman I've never met came and sat down in front of me. She was wearing a shawl around her neck with a Scripture verse stitched into the fabric facing me. It was my life verse... a verse that I had penned into every yearbook as a teacher at Westminster Academy -- hoping that my students would cling to it. It was the verse that I chose to include in our Bethany yearbook. It was a verse that God has used to help rescue me from so many painful seasons in life.

 

Zephaniah 3:17

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing."

 

That verse captures so much of the heart of God to me. He is so very close and near to us. He has promised and is powerful enough to provide rescue for you. This verse shows His ENTHUSIASTIC love for you -- His passionately romantic heart for you. Your Savior SINGS over you! He takes DELIGHT in you! And He is eager to quiet your soul and bring peace into your hurting heart. As I pondered the goodness of God to put that shawl in front of my face in that particular moment, I then looked up to the wooden Cross which had been lit red.

 

That Cross was the cost of Zephaniah 3:17. In an act of sweet tenderness, God flooded my heart with gratitude and worship for the undeserved love expressed on that Cross. That love is too great to comprehend. And as we celebrate this Good Friday, we can be confident that the power of the Cross has made Zephaniah 3:17 a reality for all of us. Amazing!

 

I pray that God gives you all a very peaceful and worship-filled Easter break!

 

Love you all,

 

Sam

Letter to an Incomplete, Insecure Teenager

Click here to read a letter from one of my favorite pastors....