Fall retreat sets foundation for year

by Victoria Bruick, BCHS student

It’s September again, and for Bakersfield Christian High School that means time for the annual all-school retreat. For the ninth year in a row, more than 400 teenage students piled into buses for a three-day stay at Hume Lake Christian Camp last week.

Each year the trip offers fun activities for students such as boating, paintball, hiking and swimming, as well as the opportunity to grow spiritually through the chapels and cabin discussions. Teachers and school staff accompanied the students as counselors and often joined in on the fun as well.

“Hume is a great opportunity for students and staff to build community in a setting off the school site,” said Vice President of Student Life Jeff Ward. “The mountain setting allows for the school family to be less distracted and more accessible to each other.”

BCHS brought in speaker Pastor Shawn McBride from Washington D.C. and worship leader Holly Starr from Washington state. McBride is the founder of Truth for Youth America, a ministry focused on evangelizing, equipping and training young people for the cause of Christ. Starr, an up-and-coming Christian artist, has visited BCHS twice and she led worship at last year’s retreat as well.

Continue Hume Feature Article online >> 

It is the mission of BCHS to prepare students for excellence in mind, body and spirit. In a variety of ways, BCHS students continue to demonstrate the achievement of that mission. The list below is a sample of the many successes our students have realized in the past few months. As you read through this impressive list, you come to understand that BCHS students hold their own amid larger local schools and against formidable opponents in many areas.Julia Clausen was recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist. As one of 16,000 selected in the nation, Clausen will continue in the competition among the top academically talented high school seniors in the nation. National Merit Scholarship recipients will be announced in the spring.Last year, 179 BCHS students took 352 AP exams. Nineteen students were awarded AP Scholar, nine were awarded AP Scholar with Honor, five were awarded AP Scholar with Distinction and one was awarded National AP Scholar.

There are approximately 92 students in the Scholars Program from grades 10 through 12 this year.Thirty-six current seniors and 17 juniors were selected for California Scholarship Federation membership for the second semester of the 2011-12 academic year. CSF is an academic honors organization which can be applied for by students who meet rigorous academic requirements.

Learn more about CSF online >>Fifty-nine percent of 10th through 12th graders made the honor roll for last year's spring semester, which means they maintained a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Sixty-seven percent of these students made the president's list, which means they maintained a GPA of 4.0 or higher.Seniors Robert Keathley and Connor Kingsbury were selected to participate in the Jim Burke Education Foundation Ford Dimension and Dream Builders community leadership programs – Keathley for Dream Builders and Kingsbury for Ford Dimension.Advanced art students Julia Clausen, Kimberly Marshburn, Emily Meurer, Bethany Spiva and Brooke Staley are painting a mural to enhance the children's section of the Kern County Library – Bryce C. Rathbun Branch.

Victoria Bruick (clarinet), Paige Kobdish (oboe), Amy Winter (French horn), Andie-Vawn Winter (French horn) and Robert Wood (bassoon) were selected for the Bakersfield Youth Symphony Orchestra, making up five of the 16 woodwind and brass selections. BYSO performs three times throughout the year.

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Welcome to our new format of BCHS Today, our newsletter to the BCHS community. We’re excited about this new format for a number of reasons:

• It makes better use of the financial resources God blesses us with.
• It will provide us the opportunity to communicate with you more frequently.
• We can keep articles timely – sharing with you important happenings as they happen.
• It affords us the option of more graphics and more information presented in an attractive format.
• We are better stewards of the environment by going paperless.

We hope you enjoy the new format. We believe it will provide for better communication with our BCHS family and the Bakersfield community. Let us know what you think.

Now, on to the current issue of TODAY – e-style. 

You will see that much is happening! God is showing himself in many ways, through many different people and a wide variety of opportunities. God works that way you know.

Once again, our entire student body and staff journeyed to Hume Lake for our annual retreat. We were touched by the beauty of God’s creation amidst the Sequoias and moved by the power of His word, as shared by Pastor Shawn McBride, as he spoke directly to our hearts and souls.

Our fall athletics are underway with all the enthusiasm and excitement only they can bring.

And, oh yes, we are holding classes as well!

Please join me in praying that God will bless our efforts to honor Him as we help students soar. We are His eagles!

See President's Column online >>
 

As one of BCHS’ newest additions, head boys’ varsity basketball coach, government and AP U.S. history teacher Brian Dignan is ready to bring his university experience to the court and the classroom. With a master’s degree in education from California State University, Bakersfield and a degree in recreation science from Brigham Young University, Dignan is prepared to take on his first teaching position at the high school level.

Apart from being an apt educator, Dignan’s true passion lies with coaching basketball.

Growing up, Dignan always knew that he wanted to be a coach and he attributes his passion for coaching to the various coaches he had when he attended San Luis Obispo High School.

“I had great coaches who I always got along with aside from the sport I played,” said Dignan. “I felt (they) were great motivators and teachers aside from that individual sport.” 

Continue Dignan Profile online >> 

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