Lighthouse Lens
News & Views
January 2015
(573) 645-5253
216 El Mercado Plaza
Jefferson City, MO 65109
UPCOMING
EVENTS
January 14
Poetry Out Loud
January 17
LEAP Wilderness &
First Aid Training
Event
January 19
No school—Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day
Jan 30
“Snowed In”
Movie Night
Jan 31
Snow Ball
February 7
Polar Plunge
Remember to check
the Activities and
Athletics Calendars at
lpajc.com for all the
upcoming events!
Check out the
Lighthouse
Facebook Page for
more news and
photos!
Serving Here and Abroad
So many of the Lighthouse families have been served by Mrs. Debbie Livingston. Having taught at Lighthouse since 2008, it's hard to remember Lighthouse without Mrs. Livingston doing what she loves...teaching! Since many of
you will not have an opportunity to speak with her prior to her leaving for
Cambodia, I took the opportunity to write out a few questions that I thought
many of you would like to ask yourself. Below are her responses...Enjoy!
MIKE: How would you describe your "job" at Lighthouse?
DEBBIE: My job has been a “call” for me, a “ministry” mentoring young people in the faith through their subjects. It was never about a paycheck. How
many people really get to mentor 280 young people in their career (total # of
students I’ve had). Many of them who have left Lighthouse still keep in contact with me, asking questions, wanting relationship advice, prayer, etc. It was
never hard to come to work. Most days it was a blessing, an uplift, and place of
refugee where I was loved, honored, and accepted. I also felt I was one of the
few who had Christian school experience so I hope I was used to show personnel how to incorporate Christian principles within a subject.
MIKE: In what ways did you find your deepest joy while here?
DEBBIE: I have personally grown so much through the scholarship required to
keep up with these amazing students. I have grown as a teacher, friend, and
Christian. My faith has been deepened as I instruct the next generation of nation-changers. They are the hope for America. Seeing a student “get it” is my
greatest joy. Someone who hated history or literature and walks away with a
passionate love for it- I’d say I’d done my job! It’s really not about grades, but
about changing lives for the glory of Jesus Christ.
On a side note, my friendship with you and Christa has been life changing.
Your obvious love for each other, the school and your passion towards life is
infectious. I loved being around you all and looked forward to coming to work
and missed you terribly in the summertime.
MIKE: In what ways were you impacted by the students/faculty?
Continued on page 2
Lighthouse Lens
Serving Here and Abroad
continued from page 1
DEBBIE: I didn’t know how much I could love or care for a group of kids. I took very personal my ability
to impact them and in return they impacted me with their love for the Lord, their deep questions, sometimes their deep hurts as well. Many times I felt more like family than teacher-student. Because of the
high excellence demanded at Lighthouse, I learned so much with them. I took great joy studying, researching, writing and creating for them long-term, sustainable lessons with practical life application. I
believe the Lord was faithful to me in this. The staff was so loving, kind, encouraging and also just
friends. We have felt in this great endeavor together.
MIKE: Tell me a story or two that were highlights of your time here.
DEBBIE: Several things. I would particularly love it when a student “got it!” I would be teaching a deep
truth and the blinders would be on and we would keep on pressing to understand and then that moment
when they see it and they are so excited and passionate and begin to tell others around them. Many parents
have told me how much they learn from their student learning. Rome Day is always a highlight moment
for me. Students have worked so hard on those notebooks, book quizzes, hard tests and detailed maps.
They must construct an object we have studied that year. Oh my, the glorious projects we have had from
Lego cities of Troy, cake versions of Noah’s ark, hand carved Trojan horses, Hebrew versions of the 10
commandments and an actual Roman aqueduct. They are so proud when family and school friends parade
past their displays and they intelligently relate all there is to know about their topic. One proud teacher on
that date!
The highlight of my time at Lighthouse was our foreign mission trip for two weeks with 18 students to
Cambodia. Seeing their passion for God witnessing to others at the orphanage, teaching ESL to students,
or working hard to build, lives were changed and relationships were knit together with these students and I
for many years to come. Several are already planning trips over to work with the Agape International Missions staff in Phnom Penh. This will always be a precious memory for me.
MIKE: During this time of transition, how can we pray specifically for you?
DEBBIE:
*Pray for uncanny effectiveness despite our many cultural and language differences.
*Pray for wonderful relationships with our expat staff.
*Pray for our marriage to grow and be sustained despite watching the worst of men abuse women.
*Pray for our family left at home to be encouraged, stand strong in the faith and grow in their walks with
the Lord.
*Pray for poor Tim Anderson  trying to take over mid-year.
*Pray militantly that this horrific holocaust against children may be stopped in my lifetime and that the only answer will be dramatic conversions to Jesus Christ.
*Pray that Cambodia is deeply changed by the power of the Gospel and is on fire in the world forgiving
the abuses done to them by the Khmer Rouge and may their empty idols of Buddhism and ancestor worship cease to exist for the one True God.
On behalf of the hundreds that you've served, Mrs. Livingston, we all say together with one loud voice,
“May the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!”
—by Mike Rapp, Administrator
Page 2
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
Debbie Livingston
Class presenting a map they
made of Cambodia
New Members Come on Board
At the December meeting of the Board of Directors, James Carder and Larry Coen were
interviewed as prospective candidates for the Board. Their names were then passed to
the Board of Trustees where they were approved as new Directors. Their term of office
will be for three years and will commence at the January 2015 Board meeting.
James Carder’s daughter Kellen graduated last year from Lighthouse Prep. He graduated
from Northwest Missouri State with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. He attends First Presbyterian Church where he has served in a variety of leadership positions
including being an Elder, Deacon and is currently the Treasurer of the Missouri Union
Presbytery.
Larry Coen graduated from Missouri School of Science and Technology in Rolla with a
Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology. He attends First Assembly of God. He currently
teaches Environmental Science and Biology at Lighthouse Prep. In addition he has
worked tirelessly around the new facility helping to install new computers, software and
preparing the new science lab for classes this year.
The Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees welcome these two gentlemen and look
forward to their contributions to support the vision of Lighthouse Preparatory Academy.
—by Rick Branstetter, President Board of Directors
Page 3
Lighthouse Lens
LPnA “Whos” Bring Christmas Lunch
Lighthouse Parents in Action is just that: parents of Lighthouse students providing
volunteer support for many of the activities around the school. Using their gifts, abilities, and talents, parents are able to serve in the areas they are most passionate. Without you, the active and dedicated parents, there would just be no way to provide all the
extras that make Lighthouse so special.
For instance, LPnA’s Hospitality Committee provides
quarterly staff luncheons. These luncheons are not
just a plate of sandwiches, accompanied by jug sodas; but they are clever themed dining experiences.
The Christmas luncheon was a real ‘whoot’! (Pun intended.) Whoville from the Doctor Seuss book “How
the Grinch Who Stole Christmas” was the theme.
The room was
decorated
with Whoville signs and Whoville Christmas
trees. The food had wonderful, creative dishes
that might have come from the Whoville Diner.
The green mashed
potatoes were …
well, definitely a
dish that could only have come from
Whoville!
Thank you from the Teachers, Board Members and Staff
who were treated with fabulous decorations, creative
food, and a basket of goodies that even the Grinch himself was tempted to take.
Are you an active member of LPnA? If so, then thank you
for participating in this wonderful organization that supports our school.
If you are not a member and would like to make a difference at the school, then contact our Dean of Character
Education, Shandia Johnson. She can help you get linked
in to important school/student activities that need your
parental support.
Page 4
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
Every School Day is a Good DOG Day
We need Dads of Great Students to spend a day at school with their child. There
are 140 students at Lighthouse Preparatory Academy; that means we have almost 100
dads. There are only 100 school days in the year – therefore, we have enough dads to
cover every day.
Two dads, Bryce Koelling and Terry Moore, have already volunteered to be a
Watch DOGS dad three times! Several other dads have already spent two days at
school.
What are the benefits of being a Watch DOGS dad? For the school, we have another set of eyes for security reasons. For students, it is important to realize that 60%
of homes in the
U.S. do not have
a dad. It is important for those
students to be
able to see male
role models at
school. For your
own
children,
they get to have
you in school
with them. Older
students
may
complain a bit,
but the younger
students LOVE
having their dads
at school.
For
teachers, they get
to meet the dads
Shannon Andrews joins daughter Mackenzie on duty as a Watch Dog
of their students.
If you’ve never been a Watch DOGS dad, and wonder how to do it, just call me
636-8665 and I’ll talk you through it. If you’ve already been a Watch DOGS dad and
would like to schedule another day, you can call me, or email me with the date you’d
like: [email protected]. You can always check on which days are still open
by going to www.lpajc.com and click on the Watch DOGS Calendar at the bottom of
the page.
— by Rick Branstetter
Page 5
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
Academic Dean Update:
Character Communication, Leadership Credit, Diploma Changes
Standards Survey
The lowest rating on the standards survey for both teachers and parents was “Teachers provide information on student’s character development. “ Considering that our mission statement
states, “Partnering with parents to develop witnesses for Christ through academic excellence and
character development,” this was concerning to us. Needless to say, this was a topic of discussion in
a recent staff development meeting. As I listened to the discussion it struck me that it isn’t that our
teachers don’t communicate about student’s character development, rather I
believe that it is such a natural part of our model that we don’t even recognize
it. Teachers communicate about a variety of things that point to their student’s
character – are they punctual (any tardyies), do they turn in their assignments
on time, do they participate? How do they communicate with their teachers
through email, texts? How is their attitude? Listening in our teacher meeting I
realized that most teachers note these things (good and needing improvement) in Sycamore or talk
to their students about it and follow up with e-mails to parents. However, we are looking into better
ways for teachers and parents to communicate regarding their student’s character. I would love to
have input for you as to ways you think this could be accomplished – please e-mail me any ideas at
[email protected]. In the meantime, parents reach out to your student’s teachers, ask them what
they see as strengths or weaknesses in your student. Let’s continue to all partner together to develop witnesses for Christ to impact the world. We have some amazing students at Lighthouse – I believe that they are going to change the world for His glory!
Leadership Credit
From the Miriam Webster 1828 dictionary, definition of a leader: “One that leads or conducts; a guide; a conductor. A chief; a commander; a captain. One who goes first.”
At Lighthouse it is our desire to develop Christian leaders. That is why we developed the
leadership credit. It is a credit that is designed to recognize and encourage leadership in our students. ¼ credit can be earned in any year of high school. You earn the ¼ credit by completing four
leadership forms (the form can be found under documents on the home page of Sycamore) and turning them in by April 15th each year. There are a variety of opportunities that are suggested on the
form, but it doesn’t have to be an activity that is listed on the form. I frequently get asked “how
much” of an activity does a student need to do for each form. The simplest answer I can provide is
that one credit is equivalent to 170 hours. So if you divide that by the 16 forms required for the
credit that means each form should be equal to at least 11 hours of participation. Some will be more
and some will be less -we do look at the combined total of the four forms. A student can’t earn more
than ¼ credit per year. A student may choose to only turn in forms for three years and that is o.k.
Continued on next page
Page 6
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
The credit will show up as ¼ credit for each year that the student participates. I encourage you to
make copies of the forms for your own records. They come in very handy when your student is filing out college applications, scholarship applications, and even job applications.
Honors Diploma Changes Effective for the 2016 Graduating Class
The changed policy reads as follows below. The change was from the
wording of three credits to three courses. We continue to develop new classes to meet the honors requirements such as our Tuesday/Thursday history
class, the honors literature classes and we hope to add Latin 3 and Spanish 3
to our schedule.
The Honors Diploma is intended not only to prepare students for entry
into more competitive four-year colleges and universities but also to provide
them with greater depth in two or more selected fields of study. All honors
students must fulfill the requirements for the Lighthouse Preparatory Academy Recommended Diploma and then select HONORS CONCENTRATIONS consisting of at least three additional upper division courses from Mathematics, Science, Language Arts,
Social Studies, Bible, Worldview and/or Foreign Languages for a minimum total of 29 credits. All additional upper division courses used to satisfy the requirements for earning an Honors Diploma must
be taken in residence at the academy. Furthermore, in order to receive an Honors Diploma, a student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and must be in good academic
standing upon graduation. Please note that some courses required for the completion of honors concentrations are offered only when there is sufficient student interest.
TESTING INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Upcoming ACT test dates:
Lighthouse’s code is 261569
February 7th test date. Students must register by January 9th.
You can register online at www.actstudent.org
The cost is $38.00 for the ACT no writing and $54.50 for the ACT plus writing
Upcoming SAT test dates:
March 14th is the next test date. Students must resister by February 13th .
Lighthouse’s code is 261569
You can register online at www.satcollegeboard.org
The cost is $52.50
Mark your calendars for your GRADE LEVEL Meeting
Sophomores - January 14, 2014 3:15 pm
Freshmen - February 4, 2015, 3:15 pm
8th grade - March 4, 2014, 3:15pm
—by Pam Hart, Academic Dean
Page 7
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
ORDINARY ITEMS LIGHT UP COMMUNITY FOR CHRISTMAS
Thank you to everyone who participated in the “9 Days Of Christmas”! What a fun and
meaningful way to serve and support others
in the community. The
socks, hats, gloves/
mittens and blankets
were donated to the
Samaritan Center and
the green beans, mac-n
-cheese, peanut butter,
jelly and Buddy Pack
items were donated to
the Food Bank and were
picked up by a Salvation Army representative.
A BIG THANKS to those students who bagged it all up and
then helped carry it to the truck! Thanks too for being part
of the light that makes up Lighthouse!
1 Peter 4:10 ~~ Each of you should use whatever gift you
have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s
grace in its
various
forms.
— by Christa
Rapp
Page 8
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
Scholar Bowl - It’s Here!
Scholar Bowl is a new academic activity now offered at Lighthouse for both Junior High and High
School students. This article tells you just about everything you need to know to determine if you
want to get involved.
Has it started?
Sorta. During the past semester we’ve had one practice, some kids have gone to Scholar Bowl
matches at other schools to see if they like it, and that’s about it. Other than that, the work “in the
background” has been administrative. We’ve had to become registered with the grand poo-bah’s
that run Scholar Bowl, as it is a nationally recognized program. We are now officially ready to
begin the season.
May students still join, or is it too late?
It’s not too late. We have not even officially established a roster of who wants to play yet.
Overview of what we’ll be doing
We will begin weekly practices starting immediately. We will have at least 3 Junior High meets and
3 High School meets (at various locations/schools). There is opportunity to do more, but that will
be dependent on having some parent’s pitch in. Essentially, Andy Beshuk, the coach, will not be
able to attend all meets. If we can have some parents sub in for Andy here and there, the kids will
be able to do more.
Overall - we intend to really engage in this new Scholar Bowl activity primarily in JANUARY and
FEBRUARY. If the group wants to do more, we’ll be able to - but that may be enough for this first
year.
What is Scholar Bowl like?
A team is comprised of up to 4 quizzers. They are sitting at a table with buzzers, facing a team
from another school with their quizzers and buzzers. Academic questions are asked and the students buzz in and get points for correct answers. There’s obviously more to it than that, but that’s
the jist.
What kind of questions are asked?
All subject material. History, art, science, math, current events, technology, music, etc.
How many people have expressed interest?
About 4 Junior High students and about 13 High School students.
When will PRACTICE times be?
I’m open to changing this, but we’ll begin by practicing as a team right after school each FRIDAY.
3:30-5:00pm or so. I want to change this up from time to time and have practice at my home and
not always at the school.
Think about “practice” differently ... while we will have “corporate” practice once a week (on Friday’s), it will be key for the students to find ways to also get together on their own. A few kids can
Page 9
Continued on next page
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
get together for fun, a whole team can meet on a weekend, kids can study together during studyhall, etc. This can also be fun to practice as a family around the dinner table. Seriously - it’s a lot of
fun - sort of like playing Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy together. And practicing often for fun make a
BIG difference in how well you can do in a meet. We now have a lot of practice questions we can
delve into ... more info on that at our next practice (January 9th).
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
This is not carved in stone ... and I AM going to have to have help from some parents to pull off this
schedule ... but here’s a probable date/time schedule:
Junior High Tournaments
January 17 - Tuscumbia
February 21 - Camdenton
March 21 - Washington
High School Tournaments
February 7 - Hallsville
February 28 - Helias
March 7 - Mizzou (state qualifier tournament)
These are all on SATURDAY’s and pretty much take the whole day. We’ll have to get there in the
morning and the teams will quiz about 8 matches in the day. These road trips will be a lot of fun!
COST
This has not been finalized yet, but it won’t be much. Providence Financial is the corporate sponsor
for Scholar Bowl and has agreed to cover most of the first-year costs. There will still be a nominal
fee to help cover costs of making copies, registration fees, and so forth.
So what’s next?
Two things:
Come to the next practice on January 9th, right after school.
Got questions? Feel free to call/text/email Andy Beshuk at: 573-694-7574 or
[email protected]
On behalf of the
Lighthouse Hospitality Committee
We would like to thank all the Lighthouse families who contributed money for Christmas
gifts to each of the Lighthouse staff and board members. We thank you for your generosity
and support! You are an amazing blessing and the KEY to making Lighthouse Preparatory
Academy a success. We couldn’t have done it without YOU!
Our next upcoming Luncheon will be
Friday, January 30 where we are going to “Escape the Winter Blues” and dream of
being at Lighthouse Beach with a “Fun in the Sun at the Lighthouse Beach” theme!
Page 10
Lighthouse Lens
God’s Partnered Sisters
Bring Christmas Cheer
to Nursing Home
Residents
Page 11
January 2015
Lighthouse Lens
January 2015
Eagles are
on the
Court!
Page 12