SFCS Embraces The New Year
With Exciting Plans!!!
ALL SCHOOL NEWS
Friday, January 6th, 2006
Dear Parents:
A clear indication of the fleeting of time is the
realization that re-registration is staring at us once again.
Our journey together the last 365 days has been wrought
with inexplicable valleys and breathtaking mountain
peaks. Standard operating procedures at Shannon
Forest Christian School (SFCS) during the past months
can be effectively summed up in this statement by
Cardinal Francis J. Spellman;
'Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything
depended upon man.'
The School Board, Administration, Faculty and Staff have worked, planned
and prayed very hard to maintain the quality of the learning environment that
SFCS families have come to expect. What we as a community have seen of
God's provision the last year certainly inspires us to trust Him for what we
cannot see of His purposes.
As this ministry begins looking toward the 2006-2007 school year, I am
excited to experience what the Lord has planned for us. There are many
outstanding educational experiences occurring on this campus and the planning
of this organization will be focused on embracing what is best about SFCS and
building upon that foundation.
• Enrollment currently stands at 550 full-time students. Controlled
growth will be focused on building enrollment without compromising
the personal touch and academic integrity our constituents value. The
response to the Early Childhood Open House in November has been
very strong. Andrea Culpepper (Upper School) and Lynn Pittman
(Lower School) are preparing for an extremely busy 2nd semester of
Admissions in all grades.
• A survey was completed of our competitors and every effort was
made to hold increases for tuition and registration for 2006-2007 to a
minimum. I encourage all families to take advantage of the early bird
discount. Open enrollment will begin in February and the closing of
some sections due to class size is anticipated.
• 2006-2007 will see the advent of the next stage of the Lower School
F.O.C.U.S. program. SFCS will be the first private school in
Greenville to offer a pull-out gifted/talented program for qualified
students. Julie Sellers will be committed, full-time to continue the
F.O.C.U.S. inclusion program for 1st and 2nd Grade students and
initiate the pull-out opportunity for 3rd through 5th Grade students.
Qualifiers will meet and/or exceed Greenville County standards. Mrs.
Neely will be providing further information to Lower School parents in
the near future.
• The Upper School will be adding AP English Grammar for Junior
English 11 Honors students. In addition, creative scheduling will
embrace a 3rd track to allow three sections of English and Math for 8th
Grade students. This move will assure that all students who desire to
benefit from Honors tracking will have the opportunity to do so, without
compromising class size. Retention meetings scheduled for Mondays in
January will answer specific grade level questions for Upper School
parents regarding the 2006-2007 school year.
• Thursday, January 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the SFPC Sanctuary, I will be
conducting an All-School parent meeting to review the results of our
parent survey, to discuss the SFCS response to the November survey
and to update SFCS financial information.
• The PTF, under the leadership of Mary Stokes and the Booster Club,
under the direction of Melanie Boccio, continue to be a cornerstone of
promotion, recruitment and retention. The House That Jazz Built
on Saturday, January 28, Spring Fling on Friday, April 7, and
Tee-up for Transportation, on Monday, April 24, are great events
that these parent- driven organizations have planned during spring of
2006. A tremendous amount of effort has and will go into the success
of these activities and the dedication of the many individuals involved is
what makes the SFCS partnership with parents a great, deep-seeded
relationship and an incredible, outward-reaching mission.
In closing, I wish to acknowledge our continued dependency on the Lord. As a
ministry, we praise and worship the Lord because He is God and He is good.
The goodness of God toward SFCS is seen in His steadfast loving-kindness and
faithfulness.
…give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100: 4b-5
May the Lord continue to do a great work in the lives of the faculty and
students at SFCS.
In His Service and Yours,
Brenda K. Hillman
Head of School
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