Christmas Devotiongodwithus1-copy1

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned. Is 9:2 (NIV)

 Once a year the Christmas season strikes both the sacred and the secular spheres of life with sledgehammer force. Suddenly Jesus Christ is everywhere. For approximately one month his presence is inescapable. You may accept him or reject him, affirm him or deny him, but you cannot ignore him. Of course, he is proclaimed in speech, song and symbol in all the Christian churches. But he rides every red-nosed reindeer, lurks behind every new doll, resonates in the most desacralized “season’s greetings.” Remotely or proximately, he is toasted in every cup of Christmas cheer. Each sprig of holly is a hint of his holiness, each cluster of mistletoe a sign he is here.

For those who claim his name, Christmas heralds this luminous truth: The God of Jesus Christ is our absolute future. Such is the deeply hopeful character of this sacred season. By God’s free doing in Bethlehem, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Light, life and love are on our side.”

 – Brennan Manning, excerpted from the NIV Ragamuffin Bible, page 775

 I pray that you have a wonderful Christmas with your families. At this time of year when we remember God giving his greatest and most gracious gift to all people, I hope you will experience God’s grace and blessings in your lives and families in a special way. I want to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas!

Christmas Activities

Next Friday, December 12th, The ASB is hosting aChristmas Banquet for secondary school students with tickets on sale from the ASB for students who wish to attend.

Next Saturday, December 13th, Wesley PTFA will be hosting a Christmas Bazaar. You are invited and welcome to attend. It will be in the gym, with a rummage/garage sale also going on. Please do not come before the opening time unless you are a vendor. Please park in the upper car park. This is an opportunity to buy Christmas presents and other things, to enjoy time together as a family to start entering in to that ‘Christmas feeling’.

Thursday, 18th December, we will have ourChristmas Programme. This year the elementary students and music class will be presenting The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, with the grades k – 2 presenting a separate Christmas presentation. The programme will start at 6 pm. Come and enjoy the evening.

I wish to give you an advance warning that between Christmas and New Year’s Day, our school office will be closed. It will be closed on December 25rd and reopen January 2rd.  All the staff will get this week off. If you have any business with the office please make sure that it is finished before then. Also if you need transcripts and other documents to meet college application deadlines please consider this well beforehand so that we have time to serve you in what you need.

Academic Programmes

This Saturday, December 6th, We will be holding the SAT test. Therefore there is going to be no other activities going taking place on Campus during that morning. We want to provide an atmosphere as conducive as possible for getting good results.  The next opportunity to take the SAT at Wesley will be January 24th, 2015.

Next Thursday evening, December 11th, The Seniors are going to be presenting their Senior Project presentations. These have been working on research projects all semester. Please come along and support them and enjoy a highly enjoyable, educational and informative evening. It will start at 5:30 pm and will be held in the Chapel.

The last week of school, for High school students will be exam week. Exams will be on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Please make sure that your students get plenty of rest and are prepared for their exams. Make sure that your student is not late to school on these days.

Thursday 18th December, after exams are finished, we are planning a special day of activities designed to focus more on our Expected Student Learning Results (ESLRs). More details of the activities will be announced closer to the time.

The last day of school will by Friday December 19th. We will be having a special Christmas chapel on that day, which, like all our chapels, all parents are free to attend as well if they wish. This last day of school will only be a half day. School will finish at 11:00.

Jonathan Heath

Director, Wesley School