Our Junior class took our first round of PSAT and ACT tests and we are ecstatic to announce that Kaitlyn MacIntyre earned a perfect score on the ACT test in her first attempt. Kaitlyn has also qualified for the National Merit Scholarship and is in the running for this nationally-recognized honor. These accomplishments definitely attest to many years of hard work and diligence inside and outside of the classroom. We are so proud of her!

As we have for years, NCA has continued its excellence in the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills battery of exams, with the school placed in the top percentile of all schools (the 99th percentile). This continues to be a great encouragement to our staff and community, and bears witness to the excellent education happening at school

Student Shayna Provine placed 5th in the Girls’ National Under 12 Chess Tournament section, held in Chicago.

Also, many students received recognition on the National Latin Exam, mostly given to high school students across the country. Our 5th grade students take the Introduction to Latin Exam, our 6th graders take the Latin I exam, the 7th graders take the Latin II exam, the 8th graders take the Latin III exam, and the 10th graders take the Prose IV exam.

Introduction to Latin Certificate:
Ryan MacIntyre

Summa Cum Laude Gold Medal:
Rebecca Moy (6th grade: Latin I)

Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medal:
Heather MacIntyre (8th grade: Latin III)
Marcus Lobo (10th grade: Prose IV)

Magna Cum Laude:
Shayna Provine (6th grade: Latin I)
Erin Frey (10th grade: Prose IV)

Cum Laude:
Abby Jenkins (6th grade: Latin I)
Lexie Lobo (10th grade: Prose IV)

“Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11

“My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will… My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will must be done.”… Jesus went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same thing once more.
Matthew 26:39, 42, 44

This past winter, my wife Lesley and I were infected with an extremely nasty bug. We caught it over the holidays from family in Texas and it had been working its way through most of them by the time we fell ill. And while no one likes to be sick, I have to say that it was much worse to have a sick toddler. Our son Levi took ill on the day we traveled back to Chicago and he got it just as bad as any of the adults. While he was recovering, I was faced with many tough moments. Besides the standard clearing of the eye gook (that’s the technical, medical term) there was a lot of nose wiping and taking of medicine. And while all of these actions were met with his frail pleas of, “No,” nothing got him upset quite like the eye drops. He learned quite quickly what the little white container meant and his protests came quicker with each application (3 times a day, twice in each eye).

Each time I would administer the drops, I tried my best to sooth him, to explain he would get better and that the medicine was good for him and that I was almost done and that he needed the drops. He did not understand. Not then and not even now. He struggled with his 20 month-old arms and squirmed his head and screamed. Every time it tortured me to do it to him even though I know it was the best thing for him. The medicine very quickly slowed and stopped the illness in his eyes. And still every drop killed me, having to pin him down to administer the drops again and again. I knew that it is the only way, the best way, and yet was so hard to see him so sad, crying for “Mama” and looking to escape from my drop-centered intentions for him.

As Levi went through this healing process, I had a couple of verses go through my head. The first actually came after his first 20-hour sleeping day since he was newborn. “I will give thanks to You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works , And my soul knows it very well.” (Ps. 139:14) I was amazed at how Levi’s body just knew to sleep. He would wake to get a drink and go right back to sleeping. At first I was scared. Maybe he was sleeping too much, perhaps he needed to eat more? I just didn’t know! But this verse came to me and brought me great comfort. Our bodies were made made wonderfully by an amazing Creator. They heal, they fight sicknesses and overcome them, and astonishingly, that’s what even a toddler’s body will do, even at that young age.

I next thought about the way our Father works on me. If I take seriously how He desires the wholeness and health for me, the very greatest of godliness and holiness, then there’s lots of medicine needed for a guy like me. I wander astray from my shepherd, and force him to bring me back to the fold. I play the prodigal again and again. I would sell the family farm and run away to the swine. My sickness is profound and is in need of the constant presence of God’s grace. I am daily in great need of the great Healer, and yet I struggle with him, pushing him away.

There are also the times when I haven’t done “wrong”, when I haven’t necessarily “sinned”, but am still experiencing pain. When I am yearning for something better, or maybe, even longing to stop the hurting experienced in this life. When I am disappointed by a friend, my spouse, an employer, or perhaps more often, disappointed in myself, I cry out in pain. That musical piece should have gone better, my body doesn’t look like I want it to look, my finances aren’t working out like they are supposed to, life is just so hard right now, I just want a moment of Rest; I want to be whole. We all know how painful life can be. I think this is some of what Paul had in mind when he wrote in Romans 8, “We ourselves…groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” We are hoping, we are waiting, we are struggling now. We are yearning for the Garden, but hurting while we wait. We are not perfect but we were created by God to be his perfect children.

And how does God treat us during these times of pain? If I take seriously the idea of His loving Fatherhood of me, then how should I consider my own sickness and struggles, my own yearning and hurting? How do I rightly think about life when I can’t see his Goodness, when I can’t see how he is working, but feel that groaning, that longing for something better than now? First of all, I’m absolutely amazed that he is slow to anger, patient, and abounding in grace with me. He super-abounds in love, even though I don’t deserve it. He runs out to accept me, even though I so often choose pigs over his plans. Even when my struggles are not because of my sin, he so patiently trains me to look forward to, as Paul says, “the glory about to revealed to us.” (Rom. 8:18) He teaches me to train my eyes on Him.

Second, I have learned to trust that my heavenly Father has the right perspective. He sees me and my life in his eternal perspective. He wants for me the long-term Healing, the great Good. Even if that means struggles now, sickness, weakness, failing, sorrow, and even depression, he knows what we each need. As his children, he takes very seriously the idea of what is Good for us, in the truest sense. And that Good often means suffering. It means taking up the cross and following him, the Author and Perfecter of our faith to the place of pain.

That Good means dying to ourselves: dying to our wants, our desires, the things we think we really need. That means pain. As followers of God, we must all take very seriously the teaching of scripture on suffering. James’s teaching is worth quoting at length: “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” (1:2-4) And Paul says similarly, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) We must observe that both James and Paul highlight the fact that our struggles and trials must be understood in the light of the larger picture. In light of the purpose God has for us. He wants to make us mature. He has called us for a purpose, to glorify us. I need a lot of work in order to be glorious.

The final application of this thought for me comes into the classroom as a teacher. How do I love my students like God loves me? As a teacher of Latin, I get to see a lot of “pain” in my classroom. Students have to learn their vocabulary, their declensions, the tenses, parsing, and on and on and on! What misery! What labor! As a basketball coach, my players get to experience “pain” as well. They have to run their suicides, work on dribbling, boxing out, moving on defense, shuffling their feet, taking changes, and even deal with losing games. And as a musician and tutor, the students have to practice their scales, rhythm, chords, strumming, the catalog of songs, and building up the calluses on their fingers. These things are painful! They take time, energy, work, determination, perseverance, and focus! And I know that at times, I can be tempted to let something slide. Do I really need them to memorize all those words? Do I need them to practice those scales? Do I need them to run that much? Yes.

If I am called to the great responsibility of teaching, then I must have the same perspective as my heavenly father: long term. He doesn’t desire what feels good now for us, he desires our ultimate glorification, the Good. So also, I must look at my students, my athletes, and my musicians and ask, “What will bring about the best for them, what will help them for life?” And here I have to think of training them in virtue. Training them to work hard, to learn patterns, to love their teammates, to pay careful attention to detail, to learn to play through pain, to be in control of themselves, to think deeply and evaluate themselves and the world around them. In essence, the goal is to teach them how to think, learn, and how to do their very best in everything as unto the Lord. This kind of training means a lot of pain, sometimes boredom, and sometimes not understanding the “why?” of every little thing.

At NCA, I’m under no delusion that we hava a perfect school, or that every teacher or staff member is perfect. I also know that every student and parent is not without sin. We all must be grateful that God knows this about us and still loves us. And I believe he calls us to do the same as we live in community. Not only must we love our students and children for who they are, but I believe he calls us to love them unto who they will become. As Goethe said, “If you treat a man as he is, he will stay as he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become the bigger and better man.” What I have found in my life is that the Lord looks at me and sees Christ. He sees not who I am, but who I am becoming in Christ. He uses his loving discipline, that hard work and pain that I do not like very much, to transform me through his Spirit. As we come to the end of another school year, I hope that you are all able to look back on 9 months of transformation through academics, PE, art, music, and living in our school’s community.

Jon McCord
Naperville Christian Academy
May 2012

“From my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow.” (Job 31:18)

First, here’s a video of the Upper School choir deciding to sing in the elevator on the way downstairs between shows.

Click on any image to see it full screen.

We encourage you to schedule a visit or stop by the school to see education in action!

We agree with Dr. Colson’s comments and encourage interested parents to set up a visit, email us at office@ncaclassical.org, or call us at 630-637-9622.

Now the mother of four, I drop my children at the door each morning with peace in my heart and joy in my soul. I entrust them to enthusiastic, loving teachers who nurture my children’s educational and spiritual growth; who enrich their lives with knowledge, beauty, goodness, and the desire to serve others in the spirit of God’s love.

I was introduced to classical education when my eldest son was a baby and firmly believe there is no better way to teach a child. I am so thankful that God led us to Naperville Christian Academy in His perfect time, for I have witnessed the wonders of classical education firsthand. I find myself learning with my children, and from them. What a blessing to see them fill themselves with the glory of God’s creation!

Whatever you seek in a school, I encourage you to visit NCA. Just visit. You will find a calm, cheerful, structured environment in which students thrive. This school is in the world, but not of the world. This is evident in the conduct of the faculty, staff, students, and parents. NCA is a true gift to our family, and we are so very grateful to be part of it.

Most Sincerely,

Rebecca Ruff
2011
NCA Parent since 2006