Dear Families,

While we were extremely thankful to conduct school on campus during the pandemic, many aspects of school life were not the same. One of our time-tested traditions that was lost but is now returning is chapel families, and we are so excited!

Chapel families are made up of students in multiple grades, with middle schoolers and high schoolers providing leadership and mentoring to the entire K-8. On monthly all-school chapel days, each family has representation from grades K-12. When chapels are separate, K-8 students will sit in chapel families without high schoolers. Tomorrow our entire K-12 campus will meet together in chapel families and spend time getting to know each other and building friendships.

We love having our students develop relationships that span several grade levels. There is much to be gained from worshipping and socializing as a family, not just as a school. I love seeing the relationships grow into true friendships.

Another type of mentoring that we encourage is Math Buddies, when our middle schoolers are paired up with students in grades K, 1 and 2. Playing math games together once a week is a win-win for everyone, because it develops number sense for our young students and provides facts practice for our older ones. As the year progresses, we will provide opportunities to involve the high school as well.

I love the enthusiasm that I see from the high school students regarding opportunities to get together. They understand that young students look up to them, and they like to provide the mentorship that shines God’s love through meaningful relationships. This is yet another reason why I love CCA and our students so much!

May God bless this new week!

Sherrie Gibelyou
sherrie.gibelyou@ccatacoma.org
253-389-0349