Hello Concordia,
God’s Blessings to you as our community of faith, rooted in Christ, celebrates and educates today’s youth. Speaking of youth and hangin’ out, it’s reunion time…
This time of the year is filled with reunions at Concordia, culminating with Homecoming week, September 23-29. Please join us!
In late August, I was invited by the Class of 1964 to speak at their 55th anniversary. My wife (Susan) and I were honored to attend as a dear friend and mentor of ours is a proud alumnus of this class. The Class of 1964 is very famous as they were the first graduating class “new campus” we reside in today at 1601 St. Joe River Drive. And for the record, the Class of 1964 deny painting some of our building’s bricks orange, blue, and yellow.
This last week Concordia hosted its annual Maroon & White event which celebrates Concordia’s alumni of 50-plus years. Congratulations to our Director of Development, Mr. John Schoedel, who officially joined Concordia’s Maroon & White Club! Remarkable and very enjoyable as stories of friends and events filled the conversation and laughter at these alumni events.
Your Help is Wanted for a New CLHS Mural. Elle Fritcha, a senior this year at Concordia, would appreciate your help as she designs a new mural in our school hallway. Elle will create a mural that depicts the positive impact Concordia has upon its students, past and present. Please take a one minute to share a highlight of your Concordia experience with Elle through this CLHS Mural Survey. Elle will use your input in the creative design for her mural. Thank you!
Students are gaining prowess in the routine of class/daily schedules and homework loads for their classes. Thankfully, the hot weather has broken and more comfortable temperatures are now in the classrooms, which will help personal energy and focus, especially in the afternoon courses. Parents may check their child’s grades and attendance records via the CLHS OnCampus dashboard. Please contact Ms. Karen Johnson (260-483-1102) in the Guidance Office if you require login help. Just in case: Concordia Schedules are also available online.
Concordia welcomes the 13 visiting Spanish Exchange students and their teacher, Carmen, from the Madrid Colegio Fuentelarreyna School, who are with us until September 19. This is our second year of the Spanish Exchange program, with our group returning to Madrid in June 2019. Thank you to our host students and families for opening their homes to our guests, and also to our Spanish Teacher, Mrs. Paula Booth, for her leadership in this program.
Internationalizing K-12 Schools in Indiana is an effort that Indiana University Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies has begun that I have signed Concordia up to participate in. Concordia has a history of being involved in international programs such as the Spanish Exchange and the German American Partnership Program. Concordia students and teachers also learn about the world through international study programs to Italy, France, Costa Rica, and many other countries. Some of our students and teachers have lived in other countries such as Sudan, Japan, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Slovakia, Guatemala, Kenya, Brazil, China, Tunisia, and Vietnam (my apologies for others not listed). God purposely brings these experiences and cultural insights into our school community. We are blessed! One of our school’s core values is diversity. This diversity is understood that we are each uniquely created in His image as a Child of God — loved and redeemed by his precious blood, sacrifice, and Easter Sunday resurrection. The Internationalizing of K-12 Schools in Indiana hopes to bring a deeper understanding of the world we live in from a cultural view, a political view, a global economic view. I am excited and thankful that Concordia is also able to include God’s creation, His love for us, and our responsibility to be an active global citizen in our vocation.
Concordia will participate in the Violins of Hope exhibit that is coming to Fort Wayne in November. Sponsored by the Fort Wayne Symphony, The Violins of Hope were instruments carried during WW2 by fleeing Jews to concentration camps throughout Europe. Recently a violin repair craftsman in Jerusalem was asked to repair a damaged violin that contained ash from one of the concentration camps, thus the start to a collection today of over 50 instruments, mostly violins. Dr. David Lindquist (CLHS Class of 1965 and retired IPFW History Professor) will visit our classes later this month to lead a study of the Holocaust as told through the Violins of Hope. A small ensemble from the Fort Wayne Symphony will perform at Concordia on November 14 a mini-concert as part of the month-long Violins of Hope exhibit in Fort Wayne. I encourage you to join us for the mini-concert at Concordia on November 14 and learn more about the Violins of Hope through this CBS Sunday Morning episode (7 minute video).
Go Concordia!
Patrick Frerking,
Principal
A reminder that weather delays and closings are posted on local ABC, CBS, and NBC television stations, via school email, and text messages.