In the aftermath of last night’s gut-wrenching soccer loss to Kansas City Christian, I watched as the HCA players fought back tears (most unsuccessfully) at the realization that their season was over, short of their dream. Players hugged teammates, coaches, and anyone else who could offer some solace and comfort. It’s a familiar scene that we see played out 67 times every March during Madness when all but one team comes up short of the ultimate goal. And the end comes so quickly and is so final, especially for the seniors. Only someone who has invested so much to play at a high level can understand the emotions these players and coaches were experiencing.
As I was driving home (huddling around my car heater trying to thaw out!), the thought crossed my mind: “Besides sports, what else in my life am I so passionate about, so invested in, that I would experience these kind of gut-level emotions? What about important things, things of eternal value?” As a youth, my mother (who apparently was absent the day they passed out the “competition DNA”) used to try to give me some perspective in moments like this, reminding me that “a hundred years from now, no one will really care.” As you can imagine, while true, that was small consolation … I usually responded with something like: “Yeah, well get back with me in a hundred years. It really stinks right now!”
Upon further reflection, I don’t think my mother’s statement is so much a dismissal of the present as it is a challenge to consider the eternal. Jesus, wholly God and wholly man, cried when his dear friend Lazarus died. This was human emotion in the face of an earthly loss. And this from someone who 1) knew the eternal perspective better than we could ever hope to and 2) knew that we has going to resurrect him in a few moments. It’s OK to experience the kind of emotion the guys did last night … it’s just part of being human.
The question for me remains. What of eternal value do I invest in so much that failure hurts like a loss at soccer or basketball? I’m tempted to respond like Scarlett O’Hara - “I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow.” But I’m afraid God won’t let me off so easily. Do I invest that much in my relationship with Christ? Do I invest that much in his Word? Do I invest that much in my family relationships? Do I invest that much in discipleship? These are uncomfortable questions, questions I will be answering for some time.
To the HCA soccer team: CONGRATULATIONS on a great season. Your hard work and commitment paid off in a big way. I am especially thankful for the way you represented the HCA family and our Savior both on and off the pitch.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The Learning Commons & Letterboxing
Mrs. Kirby and the HCA 5th grade classes recently completed a 19th century activity (letterboxing) with a 21st century twist. To prepare for this activity, Mrs. Kirby created a website for the Learning Commons. The students came to class the first day and practiced using an iPad compass app to follow a set of directions Mrs. Kirby had prepared. The next day, they hid their group's "treasure" (a stamp and a booklet) somewhere on the property. Using the iPad compass, they created their own set of directions to find their treasure, typed those directions up on the Pages app on the iPad, and emailed that document to Mrs. Kirby who posted those directions on her website. The next day, the students opened the website and followed the directions posted there to find the other "treasures" of the class, exchanging stamps on their booklets. High school students from HCA West came over to help as coaches for his activity.
This is a great example of your teachers effectively integrating technology into their curriculum. All of the elements of a technology-enhanced 21st century education were evident in this activity - creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. The whole project is summarized in the brief video below:
This is a great example of your teachers effectively integrating technology into their curriculum. All of the elements of a technology-enhanced 21st century education were evident in this activity - creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. The whole project is summarized in the brief video below:
Friday, October 5, 2012
A Renewed Mind in Christ
The video below (first shared with us during the AXIS presentation a year ago) is a dramatic presentation about how a relationship with Christ transforms our minds. Enjoy!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
CHAMPIONS!
Congratulations to Coach Tony Felich and the HCA Chargers soccer team which recently completed a sweep of the Crossroads Conference schedule to claim the conference championship in our first year of membership! The Chargers, 8-2 on the season, have five more games in the regular season (including one against defending state champion Kansas City Christian) before beginning KSHSAA regional play.
Remaining schedule:
Friday, October 5th (4:30) @ Topeka Heritage
Tuesday, October 9th (5:00) vs. Kansas City Christian @ OP Soccer complex
Thursday, October 11th (4:30) vs. Pittsburg, KS @ Prairie Center Park
Friday, October 12th (4:30) vs. KC Lutheran @ Lone Elm Park
Tuesday, October 16th (5:00) vs. Gardner/Edgerton @ Prairie Center Park
Come cheer on your Chargers! All the way to state!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Mobile Access to ParentsWeb on RenWeb
- provides free browser-based access to ParentsWeb information from any mobile device, including an iPod, iPhone, Android Phone, iPad or Android Tablet.
- ParentsWeb Mobile allows parents and students to access Homework Assignments, Daily Grades, Lesson Plans, Calendar Events, Announcements, School Directory Listings, Report Cards, Attendance, Behavior Events and Class Schedules. Future enhancements include Family Account Balances, Pay Now, Lunch Menus, Lunch Ordering, Newsletters, Resource Documents and Medical information.
- accesses the same information as ParentsWeb Mobile, while providing the additional conveniences of an App for an annual subscription of $4.99 per household.
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With the RenWeb Home App, parents and students will:
- Always stay logged into ParentsWeb, providing instant access.
- Navigate to their information faster.
- Communicate easier with other school parents and faculty through their Smartphone's integration with the School Directory, allowing parents to Tap & Send emails or make phone calls instantly to directory listings.
- Import school calendar events and student homework assignments into Personal Calendars.
To access ParentsWeb Mobile, parents simply use their mobile device to navigate to their normal ParentsWeb Login Page and they will be redirected to the ParentsWeb Mobile login page.
Access Instructions for the RenWeb Home App
The RenWeb Home App is available now in the Apple App Store for an annual subscription of $4.99 per year. Parents should use their iPod, iPhone or iPad to search the App Store for RenWeb Home.
RenWeb Home is offered by the App Store as an In-App Subscription. That means a parent or student installs the App for free, and then purchases an annual subscription to the App the first time they access it. That single annual subscription then covers every iPod, iPhone or iPad used by every member of the family as recorded in RenWeb.
Android Version of RenWeb Home
An Android version of the RenWeb Home will be released in the Android Market later this Fall. For now, parents on Android devices should use ParentsWeb Mobile.
FAQ / frequently asked questions:
Q: What is the difference between ParentsWeb Mobile and the RenWeb Home App?
A: Both provide access to the same ParentsWeb information. ParentsWeb Mobile uses a free mobile-friendly browser. RenWeb Home accesses the information using an app, which provides additional features only an app can offer, including the ability for parents to:
- Always stay logged into ParentsWeb, providing instant access.
- Navigate to their information faster.
- Communicate easier with other school parents and faculty through their Smartphone’s integration with the School Directory, allowing parents to Tap & Send emails or make phone calls instantly to directory listings.
- Import school calendar events and student homework assignments into your Personal Calendars.
Q: Why are you charging parents a $4.99 subscription fee to access ParentsWeb using the RenWeb Home App? Shouldn’t that be included in the fees we pay RenWeb already?
A: Parents can access ParentsWeb for free using our desktop browser or through ParentsWeb Mobile. If parents want the additional convenience and features available only through an app, they have the option to purchase a subscription to the app. RenWeb uses the fees to help fund all of our mobile-friendly development, including RenWeb Home, ParentsWeb Mobile and RenWeb Staff, our iPhone/iPad app for faculty.
Q: Will ParentsWeb Mobile work on both an iPhone and Android phone? How about iPads and Android Tablets?
A: Yes. RenWeb Mobile works on an iPod, iPhone, Android Phone, iPad and Android Tablet.
Q: Why do you show the app as Free, and then ask parents to pay the subscription fee once they try to log into the app?
A: This is certainly not our choice or preference. To offer RenWeb Home as a subscription, the App Store forces us to manage the subscription “In-App”, meaning the parents must first download the app and access it before they can purchase a subscription to the app.
Q: Why didn’t you just allow parents to purchase the app once and avoid the subscription?
A: We evaluated this option. The problem was that every member of the family that had a separate iTunes account would have to make separate purchases of the app, forcing some families to make as many as four purchases. We felt this was excessive. By managing the app as an In-App Subscription, we were able to let all members of the family share the single subscription.
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