From the Principal’s Desk
Dear Parents,
I want to give a general thank you for the kindness you showed our teachers at Christmas time. We all appreciated the gifts and the thoughtfulness you and your children displayed. I know that our teachers serve because they love the Lord and because they want to make a difference in the lives of your children; they are very sacrificial. Your recognition of their efforts is meaningful, and we thank you for that.
Along another line, when I was hired as a teacher at Bethel in the year 1992, Mr. Brandenburg, who was the principal at the time, instilled three words in his staff: firm, fair, and friendly. These three words form the foundation for the interaction we have with our students, and we still do our best to go by these three words. Firm carries this idea: “say what we mean, and mean what we say.” Fair says that we always judge carefully before making a decision. Friendly means that we will not have personality conflicts with our students; instead, we will serve them in love.
These concepts have their roots in Scripture. When the Lord gave His Law in Exodus 20, for example, He expected His people to carry them out. God’s nature and standards are unalterable, and His judgments are always accurate. At the same time, when we as humans judge, sometimes we hasten to conclusions, or we allow other external factors to influence our decisions. This is why we see so many places in Scripture that God requires a just balance. He wants fairness, not stubbornness or prejudice. The friendly aspect bespeaks the love of God. We know that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. God loves us and cares for us more than we can comprehend. If God loves us, then we ought to love one another.
The words firm, fair, and friendly go a long way in raising children in the home and in teaching children in the school. In fact, they go a long way in forging and maintaining any relationship. They go a long way in making Bethel, by God’s grace, the school that it is.
Sincerely,
Pastor Sutton
Dear Parents,
I want to give a general thank you for the kindness you showed our teachers at Christmas time. We all appreciated the gifts and the thoughtfulness you and your children displayed. I know that our teachers serve because they love the Lord and because they want to make a difference in the lives of your children; they are very sacrificial. Your recognition of their efforts is meaningful, and we thank you for that.
Along another line, when I was hired as a teacher at Bethel in the year 1992, Mr. Brandenburg, who was the principal at the time, instilled three words in his staff: firm, fair, and friendly. These three words form the foundation for the interaction we have with our students, and we still do our best to go by these three words. Firm carries this idea: “say what we mean, and mean what we say.” Fair says that we always judge carefully before making a decision. Friendly means that we will not have personality conflicts with our students; instead, we will serve them in love.
These concepts have their roots in Scripture. When the Lord gave His Law in Exodus 20, for example, He expected His people to carry them out. God’s nature and standards are unalterable, and His judgments are always accurate. At the same time, when we as humans judge, sometimes we hasten to conclusions, or we allow other external factors to influence our decisions. This is why we see so many places in Scripture that God requires a just balance. He wants fairness, not stubbornness or prejudice. The friendly aspect bespeaks the love of God. We know that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. God loves us and cares for us more than we can comprehend. If God loves us, then we ought to love one another.
The words firm, fair, and friendly go a long way in raising children in the home and in teaching children in the school. In fact, they go a long way in forging and maintaining any relationship. They go a long way in making Bethel, by God’s grace, the school that it is.
Sincerely,
Pastor Sutton