WCA April Newsletter
Parents, please share this newsletter with your student/s! This will help them feel empowered, challenged, and en-
couraged as a vital part of our WCA Family!
Korner” just for them!
Important Upcoming Events:
Testing
From the Desk of Dr. Clint Kneeland… WCA Founder
Should Christians Celebrate Passover?
The Biblical Answer
Should Christians celebrate Passover? Yes, Christians should celebrate Passover and already do so through communion. Christians don’t have to celebrate Passover to be saved but celebrate it because it is a way to remember as a family and as the Body of Christ what Jesus has done for us.
Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
Exodus 12:17 NIV
What the Bible Says about Passover
During the 10 plagues in Exodus, God’s angel killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt so that the Israelites could go free and begin to follow God as He lead them to the promised land.
This foreshadowed the death of God’s Son, Jesus, as He not just passed over our sins, but took them on Himself and rose again so that we could have eternal life with Him.
The apostle Paul knows about the sacrifice Jesus made and addresses the Corinthians about the Passover and how not to submit to the guilt of the law anymore, but to celebrate in freedom with sincerity and truth.
Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch-as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NIV
We can honor God as we celebrate, and what better way to do that than to acknowledge Jesus Christ Himself and His sacrifice for us?
Celebrate in Freedom
God doesn’t want us to feel like we have to do everything right and we certainly don’t have to follow every rule about Passover in the Old Testament.Communion
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Luke 22:19-20 NIV
Communion is a common practice that the Body of Christ carries out together in remembrance of what Jesus accomplished for us. It is not a requirement of salvation, but instead an expression of our reverence and gratitude for God.
Celebration Time
This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.
Exodus 12:14 NIV
After God had saved Moses and the Israelites from the Egyptians, God gives them specific commands on how to carry out the preparations for the Passover and how to keep it.
God says one thing will last forever: generations will celebrate Passover as a festival for the Lord and to bring him glory.
Though we don’t have to keep to all the Old Testament laws because Jesus came to establish a new law of freedom, we can use that freedom to keep the festival of Passover and worship God.
The Importance of Passover
Christians should celebrate Passover because the Bible is clear on its importance of using celebration as a way to remember God’s goodness and praise Him for it, especially for Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
Ultimately, Jesus did it for love so that we could all celebrate together in heaven.
“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
In heaven, we will all celebrate Passover and commemorate Jesus’ sacrifice together. That should be the hope for our families and churches as we celebrate Passover now, remembering the faithfulness, graciousness, love, and sacrifice of God.
The Gospel of John 3:16-17 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Here we see it. The message of Easter is the message of God’s love for the world. And because of this enormous love, He has come to save the world. He came into the pain and, after all the heartache, the empty tomb… The Resurrection, the very center of hope, where Jesus is victoriously giving us forgiveness, a new start and victory over death. Be encouraged!
From our Hearts to yours…Happy Easter!
May Christ be truly RISEN in your hearts today!
Introducing WCA 2020-2021 Graduate…
Amanda Rippee!
Her family chose WCA!
Read through the newsletter
to find out WHY?
Congratulations Amanda!
If you are a senior and graduating this year, or perhaps
you just recently graduated, please let us know if you
would like to be featured in our WCA School Newsletter!
Just send your request to: admissions@
westernchristianacademy.com.
Are You Looking For Places To Go Or Things To Do During These Changing
Times?
Click on the LIVE CAMS BUTTON
BELOW!
Let’s go to the San Diego Zoo or be de-
lighted by the antics of sea otters or mellow
out to the hypnotic drifting of the jellies at
the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Experience the wonder of the ocean or the zoo, no matter where you are.
Congratulations To Our Newest WCA 2020-2021 Graduates!
We Are So Proud Of You!
Will YOU Be NEXT?
Middle School Graduates
Hannah Rain Woods
Alexander Manford Woods
Natalie Jackson
High School Graduate
Amanda Rippee
WCA Kid’s Korner…
your response and name in our next newsletter!
Let’s Go
On A
TREASURE HUNT!
“A merry heart doeth
good like a medicine.”
Can you tell us where the
above-mentioned verse is
located
in the Bible?
Kid’s Korner Is Looking For YOUR Funnies?
Ok, Kiddo’s…Just Scan And Email Them To Us At Admissions@
Westernchristianacademy.Com To See Your FUNNIES Featured In Our WCA
Newsletter!
Parents, Is Your Child Actively Engaging With His/Her Teachers When Needing
Assistance?
Did you realize that all Teacher on Call students can request a pre-recorded VIDEO addressing any specific skill, so that they can watch it repeatedly to reinforce that skill or concept?
Also, your student can request assistance via phone calls, email, messaging, SKYPE (with or without video) or GOOGLE MEET.
“Does your child know the right question to ask? Does your student know the the right person to request help from… to get the right answers? “
Our teachers are available to assist our students with instruction, mentoring, and the development of life skills through the academic process.
If your student is struggling, please encourage them to ask for help!
Our teachers and teacher’s assistants are here for YOUR STUDENT/S.
APRIL BOOK LIST FOR PARENTS:
“Shepherding a Child’s Heart” by Tedd Tripp
“Instructing a Child’s Heart” by Tedd & Margy Tripp
Excerpts:
We tend to focus on behavior rather than the internal flow of the heart.
Proverbs 4:23 says, “ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Luke 6:43 says, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
The “heart” is the key to understanding children. The heart determines behavior and a child’s heart can either turn Godward or turn away from God. God’s Word gives parents the responsibility and authority to shepherd their child.
Check out these books to learn more about how to shepherd and to instruct your student’s heart while teaching them how to draw near to God in every area of their lives.
They can be purchased on Amazon NEW or USED for even better prices. You can also support your local Christian bookstore and purchase them there.
You can be a better parent because of the power of grace working in you.
Meet The Staff Corner
Introducing WCA
Science Teacher
Todd Kennedy
I graduated from CSU Fresno with a degree in Environmental Biology and Chemistry. Later I attended the University of Maryland and received my Master’s Degree in Life Science and Chemistry.
I have been involved with education for 25 years and have taught Science at levels ranging from elementary through college graduate courses.
I have grown up in and around the church. I dedicated my life to Christ as a teen and have tried to stay actively involved in my home church ever since. I have sung in the church choir, worked as a sound technician, and taught Sunday School classes.
I have been married to a wonderful, God-loving woman for 25 years and together we have 3 amazing children. One is in college, one is in high school and one is completing elementary school and on her way to Junior High.
Our home is also filled with LIFE. We have 1 dog, two cats, 3 snakes, 2 lizards, 1 tortoise, and 5 fish.
I am very much looking forward to getting to know all of you and to sharing my love for science, learning, and Jesus Christ with you.
WCA INTRODUCES
2020-2021 Graduate…
Amanda Rippee!
Will You Be Next?
Amanda’s Biography
I am Amanda Rippee, a recent WCA graduate. I attended WCA from 7th to 12th grade and graduated in January 2021.
I am an avid reader and runner and am interested in music, literature, nutrition, and gourmet cooking.
In 2019, I sang for the first time in public at my grandfather’s funeral in Sweden. Later that year, I sang for the second time at my church’s Christmas service. I plan to pursue singing because I believe God gifted me with my singing voice, and few things bring me more peace and joy than singing.
I am grateful for the privilege I had to attend WCA for my middle and high school years. Studying from home has suited me tremendously and helped me become a more independent and peaceful person. I also appreciate the Christian curriculum and the caring and personable teachers I had.
A NOTE FROM AMANDA’S PARENTS:
What a blessing it has been to have Amanda attend WCA. We have been so grateful to have her attend school in the peacefulness and safety of her own home. It gives such flexibility with the schedule as well. Such dedicated and supportive teachers and staff. Often there were messages for her with encouragement and Bible verses.