A Message from Dr. Jay Hancock…
Building on our 2018-19 theme verse (John 15:12: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.), we want to be intentional about “building a culture of kindness” at Carmel Christian School.

Last year, a “Code of Courage” was introduced in the Middle School on a limited basis. I have asked Leslie Southerland, CCS Middle School Principal, to explain the origins of the program and how it is expanding this year as we roll it out over the next several months to the entire school.  Leslie partnered with our other principals as well as Will Robertson, our missions & chapel coordinator, to develop this program.

Building a Culture of Kindness

By Leslie Southerland, Middle School Principal

In our theme verse for the year, John 15:12, we are commanded to love one another.  Last year in the middle school, teachers and students watched the movie Wonder together.  It’s a great movie about loving one another well.  This film was adapted from a book of the same name.   It follows a student with a facial deformity as he leaves a homeschool setting and attends a school with other children for the first time.  He starts in middle school, and as you may imagine, he has a bumpy road.
After watching the movie, we talked with our students about how we should treat one another.  We talked about what it looks like to be kind to everyone. We talked about empathy. We had great discussions.  We knew we were on to something.

All around us, we see adults struggling to get along every day.  Of course, social media can be a breeding ground for negativity, but we see people behaving badly every day even in face-to-face interactions.  This happens in schools across the United States each day. Let’s be realistic. It happens at Carmel Christian School, which is populated by human beings in a fallen world.

In recent years, we have observed an increase in the instances of behavior in which students are being unkind to one another.  While in the past we, as a small school, relied on families’ well-established relationships with one another to carry us through any conflicts, we now understand that as a larger school, we must have a more intentional approach to how we do life together.

To this end, our school will be adopting a “Code of Courage.”  This “Code of Courage” was presented to Elementary and Middle School students in September chapels.  High School students will be introduced in October. In the Middle School, we presented this Code to our students as a promise they will make to one another about how they will treat each other. Students have had the opportunity to provide input and share their own ideas about how we can cultivate a culture of kindness together and what an ideal school environment looks like. This feedback will be used to refine the program throughout the year.  Elementary school students are using an age appropriate version of the Code of Courage, called “Courageous Cougars.”

For the next several months, the school chapel presentations will focus on one letter of the word “courage” each month. “C=care for one another” will be September’s focus.  We will talk about what caring looks like, both in the Bible and even in careers that exemplify caring. “O=one makes a difference” will be October’s focus. We will talk about how we should stand up for what is biblical even if no one else is standing with us.

The themes are:
September: C=care for one another
October: O=one makes a difference
November: U=unity
January: R=resolve conflicts
February: A=advocate
March: G=give thanks
April: E=encourage each other

Our goal with the Code of Courage is to empower students to make choices every day that will positively impact our school culture. We want their “default” setting to be one of kindness, motivated by Jesus’ words in John 15:12.  With this in mind, we will encourage them to advocate for themselves and for one another, to resolve conflicts, and to “Choose Kind.”

We are asking you to partner with us as we emphasize  “a culture of kindness” at our school. First, please pray for your child, their friends and our school, that God will move in hearts to be drawn closer to Him.  As we continue to develop this Code, we will communicate with you so that you may continue the conversations at home. One way to begin is by asking your children about Chapel. What you discuss at home is far more important and powerful than what we discuss at school. When we partner together in this way, our children will hear a consistent message which makes a big difference in the discipleship of our children.

A Message from Dr. Jay Hancock…

Campus Security

In the fall of 1987, I started my studies at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. On the first day of class, I remember arriving early and walking down a classroom hallway. On my left and right, laying next to the walls, were small stacks of students textbooks and three ring binders. On top of some of the stacks was a purse. I quickly surmised that students had arrived early for class, set down their belongings, and headed to get a cup of coffee.
It was a unusual scene for me because I just graduated from a large university where textbooks left in a hallway would have been snatched up and sold at the university bookstore for some quick cash! I’ve often wondered what it would be like to live in a world that was as safe as that seminary hallway. Unfortunately, that is not the world we live in today.

During the past couple of decades, security in American schools has changed drastically. Once concerned about thieves, we are now concerned about shooters. As a result, parents and students understand that a regular part or their school experience includes security planning and drills.

This past Friday, CCS had our first lock down drill of the year. The drill went as planned. We will continue to have occasional lock down drills like the one yesterday as well as our regular fire and seasonal tornado drills. Officer Staats, Carmel’s new School Resource Officer from the Matthews Police Department, has attended several training sessions on school safety in the past couple of months and is in the process of helping us review our security procedures.

Kevin Hyatt, Executive Director of Finance and Operations, oversees CCS’s campus security. I asked him to give you an update on our current day-to-day building security procedures so that you can continue to help us keep our campus secure. Here is that update:

With a constant focus on the safety and security of the entire Carmel Christian School ministry, we have made a concerted effort to tighten access points throughout the campus.  As many of you have noticed, there is now only one main point of entry for CCS families and students, outside of the normal drop off times in the morning and afternoon. This main school entrance, commonly referred to as “Donna’s Desk,” requires a form of government issued personal identification for entry.  Even if personally recognized by our staff at the desk, you will be asked to present ID. All visitors to the Carmel Campus must display the appropriate form of visitor ID (name tag) at all times.

This main CCS entrance is also equipped with a buzz-in feature as well as a security camera and intercom system.  Upon entry at this point, you will then be required to present proper identification, register in the LobbyGuard system, and secure a visitor ID badge before proceeding to your destination on campus.  Once your school business is complete, you are then asked to return to the the reception desk (“Donna’s Desk”), hand in your visitor ID, and sign out.

Please know that these precautions, while at times may seem frivolous or time consuming, are necessary safeguards to ensure a safe campus for our students, faculty and staff.   

Carmel Christian School is also not the only school utilizing such a process.  According to Campus Safety Magazine, more than 93% of all schools nationwide control access to the building during school hours, including locking and monitoring entrances.  Additionally, more than 90% of schools report having security cameras and video surveillance equipment installed on campuses. I can only envision this trend continuing to drive towards safer and more secure school campuses.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding as remain vigilant in our efforts to keep Carmel Christian School a safe place Where Minds Engage, Lives Change and Hearts Serve.

A message from Dr. Jay Hancock…

John 15:12 – Our Theme Verse

We are off to a great start to the new school year! Thank you for being part of the Carmel Family and for all you have done to make the first few days in carline and classrooms go very well. Next week, our Middle and High School students will go to Windy Gap. Please take some time to pray for the Lord to use those days to encourage and unify our students around our annual theme of loving one another.

Each year, CCS has a theme verse which we encourage everyone to memorize and live by. This year that verse is found in John 15:12: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Jesus’ words recorded in John 15 are some of the most important words he spoke to his disciples. In this chapter, Jesus likens himself to a vine that provides nourishment and strength to the branches, his disciples. The key to living in God’s blessing and power is that the branches “abide” in the vine. “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

The good news is that if we abide in Jesus, we will bear fruit. So, the first goal of any disciple of Christ should be to abide. The warning is that if we neglect abiding, we cut off our source of strength and we will stop bearing fruit.

Jesus goes on to say, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Whatever abiding looks like, it includes obedience to his commands.

Then, Jesus brings up one command as his illustration– just one. It is our theme verse and it is obviously important to our Lord: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

This year, we plan to grow this mindset as part of our everyday activity at CCS. First, we will work on our abiding. Before summer I gave our faculty and staff a devotion book for all of us to use together for a year. New Morning Mercies by Paul Tripp reminds us daily of the gospel and God’s grace. Reading this together daily will allow the Lord to align our heart and will to his. We invite you to get that book and join us in the journey!

Second, as the theme verse emphasizes, we will work on our loving. All across the CCS ministry, we will evaluate how we relate to others when interacting with colleagues, resolving conflict, teaching students, applying policies, communicating with parents and so on.

In addition, we are challenging our students to love one another well by rolling out a “Code of Courage” as a guide for how they relate to one another. This emphasis on courage will be touched on at Windy Gap and rolled out in our first chapels. In a future blog post, we will provide more details about the “Code of Courage.”

So, remember to pray for our students at Windy Gap. Click here for a parent prayer guide that correlates with what our students will be learning.. I’ll be with them during this important week. David Miller, Carmel Baptist’s Student Discipleship Pastor, will lead the teaching. Hal Queen and company will lead the music again. And our leadership team of Will Robertson, Leslie Southerland (MS), Sheila Nelson (HS), and Dan Siftar (HS) will guide our students along with many faculty and staff.