Stepping Stumps Created by Audrey Sirois
December 07, 2024
Audrey Sirois, a senior who has been at OCS since Kindergarten, completed the Stepping Stumps as her capstone project for the American Heritage Girls, an organization she has been a part of since she first became a student at OCS! Audrey says, “It has been a blessing to grow up in this organization, as it has a strong focus on the Bible, leadership skills, life skills, and service to the community. Throughout high school, I have earned 18 badges so far. Some notable examples are Women of Faith, Money Management, Bible Basics, Outdoor Skills, and Emergency Preparedness. I also have 700+ hours of community service throughout my high school career.”
When Audrey told Mrs. Clark about wanting to do her American Heritage Girls capstone project at OCS, they decided to create the Stepping Stumps (based on a playground element in California) with the telephone pole scraps left behind from an old climbing wall OCS had years ago. The American Heritage Girls organization required Audrey to write up and submit a full report explaining every aspect of her project, from the plans to the designs to the schedule for implementation, etc. Audrey oversaw volunteers and got her own hands dirty completing all of her action items just in time for our elementary students to enjoy the new playground addition on the first day of school!
Thank you, Audrey, for doing your American Heritage Girls capstone project at OCS, and for creating something that our students will enjoy for years to come!
If you would like more information about the American Heritage Girls organization, check out their website: https://americanheritagegirls.org/
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Student Highlights
OCS Earns Nation's Highest Recognition in AP School Honor Roll
October 29, 2024
Oakland Christian has made the AP School Honor Roll Platinum Level, the highest level of distinction for 2024.
The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while broadening access. Schools can earn this recognition annually based on criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness.
The AP School Honor Roll offers four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
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OCS Life
Meet Ken Juday
August 21, 2024
What is your role this year?
Math teacher: Honors Algebra 2; Personal Finance; Pre-Calculus; AP Calculus
Tell us about your family.
I am married. I have 3 daughters and my wife has 4 daughters and 2 sons. Together we have 9 children and 12 grandchildren. There is always something happening. We also both take care of our mothers.
What hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
I like to play chess and darts. We go swimming and kayaking at the lake. I like to read and go for walks.
Why do you choose to work at Oakland Christian School?
I like the Christian mission of Oakland Christian School and many in our congregation send their children to OCS.
What is your favorite Bible Verse?
Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
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Meet Our Teachers and Staff
Meet Julie Brouwer
August 12, 2024
What is your role this year?
I'm excited to join the team at OCS serving in the kitchen.
Tell us about your family.
My husband, Matthew, and I have been married for 13 years. We are blessed to have two boys who keep our life so full of joy and opportunity to grow in God's grace. Our oldest will be in 2nd grade this year and our youngest will enter Kindergarten. We love to adventure with our boys in the daily things at home or through travel. We love spending time with extended family here in Michigan and in my home state of Washington. We're thankful for the friendships God gives our family through OCS, church, and community, and look forward to meeting more of the OCS family.
What hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
I love to read and enjoy being a part of a book club. I like to play with my family whether that be a bike ride, a sport, or another activity. We like to travel both to the UP and Washington to see family and travel to new places. This summer I've especially enjoyed sharing my love for the Olympics with my family. I enjoy baking, mostly cookies, but occasionally something else. I love being a part of the international Bible study program of Bible Study Fellowship and how it has fostered my growing love for God and His Word and for others.
Why do you choose to work at Oakland Christian School?
We're passionate about Christian education and so blessed by our family's experience at OCS. I'm excited to be a part of supporting this community and seeing the students and staff more. It brings me so much joy and I pray God will help me to share His joy.
What is your favorite Bible Verse?
"I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 has been a favorite from when I first memorized it at a young age. It reminds me that in all circumstances God is my strength, and my strength doesn’t rest in myself but in Him. His strength knows no limit. This both comforts me and challenges me, correcting my thinking to not limit God but choose to trust in faith His will.
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Meet Our Teachers and Staff
Meet Leslie Hawkins
August 08, 2024
What is your role this year?
Physical Education 6-9 grades
Tell us about your family.
Family of 5- Doug (husband) 3 children: Alexis-25, Kayla-22, & Nicholas-19 & our dog Chaser-12
What hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
Read, crafts, golfing, kayaking, walking, gardening, hiking & traveling.
Why do you choose to work at Oakland Christian School?
Worked for 26 years in public school & still love teaching. Wanted to be surrounded with more brothers & sisters who walk the same path as Jesus.
What is your favorite Bible Verse?
Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Also, Luke 15:3-4, ”Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?’"
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Meet Our Teachers and Staff
Meet Shannon Owens
August 01, 2024
What is your role this year?
I’ll be teaching Second Grade this year!
Tell us about your family.
My husband and I just celebrated our two year anniversary! We have a golden retriever named Sunny. My mom lives in Erie, PA where I grew up. I have an older sister who lives in Kent, OH and she’s a photographer. My little brother is living in Pittsburgh, PA currently and works at Highmark. We’re all spread out but love to catch up often!
What hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
I love being with my husband and my dog, embroidery, cooking, reading, hiking, drinking coffee, and exploring my new state! We moved here from Cleveland, Ohio in January.
Why do you choose to work at Oakland Christian School?
Coming from a previous Christian school, I know how amazing it is to be able to share Jesus’ love with the students, staff, and families. I am overjoyed to be back in a Christian School. From the short amount of time I’ve been here, I can already tell this place is very special. I cannot wait to begin teaching here.
What is your favorite Bible Verse?
2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
This reminds me that I am not in control, and I can do nothing apart from Christ!
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Meet Our Teachers and Staff
Meet Diana Mejia
July 31, 2024
What is your role this year?
I'm happy to be a Kindergarten Assistant for the Spanish Immersion Program.
Tell us about your family.
I've been married for 25 years to my lovely husband Everardo. He is a Mechanical engineer working for General Motors. We have the blessing of being parents of 4 kids and a dog. Our oldest son Ever graduated from Oakland University in 2023 with a Computer Engineering degree, and is currently looking to pursue a masters degree. Jorge is currently studying Information Systems and Business Analytics at DePaul University in Chicago and he's looking forward to his study abroad program this fall. Our youngest, the twins who attend OCS, Aaron and Elizabeth are excited to start 8th grade. Aaron is passionate about his involvement in OCS robotics and soccer. Elizabeth loves her church group and she's practicing tennis. We also have a lovely 4 year old mini golden doodle called, Bumper.
What hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
I love spending time with my family and friends. We love watching a family movie, playing board games, taking our RV to go camping and fishing.
Why do you choose to work at Oakland Christian School?
I wanted to be part of a community where my values and faith align with it. OCS has been a great place for my twins, they have grown deeply in their faith and love to Jesus as well in their academic skills. Therefore, I humbly want to be an instrument that helps in the spiritual growth and development of the kids where God called me to serve.
What is your favorite Bible Verse?
2 Timothy 1:7 " For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control."
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Meet Our Teachers and Staff
Meet John Rama
July 25, 2024
What is your role this year?
I will be teaching high school Statistics, AP Statistics, Algebra 1, and Honors Algebra 1.
Tell us about your family.
My wife, Lynne, and I will be celebrating our 28th anniversary in August. Lynne is currently a Professor and Program Director of the Medical Laboratory Science program at Eastern Michigan University. We have two wonderful children, Ben and Elaine. Ben will be a junior at Central Michigan University this year. He is working toward a degree in Business and plays club lacrosse for Central. In the fall, Elaine will begin her freshman year at Michigan Tech University and is planning to pursue a Biomedical Engineering degree. She plays soccer and cello and really loves snow.
What hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, vacationing, camping, hiking, mountain biking, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, volunteering at church, playing games, and exercising.
Why do you choose to work at Oakland Christian School?
I am excited about the opportunity OCS is giving me to share my love of Jesus and passion for mathematics with students. I am looking forward to being part of their high school journey and hope to encourage them to grow in their faith and challenge them to deepen their understanding and appreciation for mathematics.
What is your favorite Bible Verse?
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
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Meet Our Teachers and Staff
The Petros Family
July 23, 2024
What do you love about Oakland Christian?
We love Oakland Christian because we see how much the teachers care and pour into the kids! The way they bring Jesus into everything is amazing.
Why choose Oakland Christian?
We chose Oakland Christian for our family because we wanted our kids to go to school in a Christian school where what we taught at home can also carry over in school.
How has your child's faith grown at Oakland Christian?
One of the coolest ways I have seen our son grow in his faith is remembering Bible verse and having great questions about Jesus when he gets home from school
Describe Oakland Christian in one word.
Excellence.
Why consider enrolling at Oakland Christian School?
I would tell them it’s worth every penny!
Share your story HERE.
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Family Experiences
2024 Mission Trip to Juan Tomás, República Dominicana
June 27, 2024
UNDIVIDED
Both professionally and personally, words have always spoken deeply to me. When I saw how impactful “S.H.IN.E (Seeing Him in Everything)” became during and after last year’s mission trip, I knew that I needed to pay attention to what God laid on my heart for this year. Very quickly after our return in 2023, I sensed that “Undivided” was what He wanted me to focus on in preparation for a new mission. This word encourages a “vertical focus” (our relationship with God), as well as a “horizontal focus” (our relationships within the team and with the Dominicans themselves). From these focal points, each day’s morning devotional then centered around God’s invitation through the book of James to live as “whole” rather than “double-minded” or, in the Greek, “two-souled.” Going into this trip, none of us truly knew how this theme would play out-- in either aspect of the word-- but by the end, we clearly saw how God drew us closer to each other, to the Dominican community, and to Himself. As a result, we have each been impacted in such a way that has caused us to see the world differently than we did before we left, and so now we long to bring a measure of what we experienced there back to our lives here.
Cards, Kids, & Community
On the day we arrived, those who had traveled to the Dominican in the past were met with a familiar initiation: card games with any number of people, ball games at all hours, and kid-carrying that seemed constant. And yet, this is why our journey always starts so early (with a 6am flight!) -- because it allows us to get to the DR in the afternoon and start building relationships as soon as we step foot on campus. This is therefore the third year in a row where we have seen how the way we start has so much impact upon our focus for the rest of our time there. This mission is not primarily about the work we do but, more importantly, about the relationships that we form along the way.
Painting, Painting, & More Painting!
This year there were a lot of “little needs” that we were able to meet: laying baseboards in the church, fixing fences & gutters, clearing out rock, cleaning out sheds & other “cluttered areas”, disassembling school desks for repair, etc. However, the bulk of our work time was spent painting. We painted four houses in the village, a wall in the church, the wall at the street leading into the church area, as well as the wall at the street outside of the founder’s house and of the school, the walls surrounding the basketball court, around the 3rd & 4th grade rooms, around the dining hall, and all of the benches in the main playfield. It was gratifying to see how this brightened up the campus in time for their high school graduation on June 21st, but more importantly, some of our best memories and greatest connections were formed while holding a brush or a roller.
Pintando Corazones (Painting Hearts)
This year, the local church allowed us to take a ministry that they usually plan for outside of their village and bring it home. Pintando Corazones / Painting Hearts is a ministry whose goal is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through painting projects, provision of food, VBS, worship, and assistance to those in need. Thanks to the donations of Liberty General Baptist (Mr. Frantz’s church) towards this ministry, we were able to deliver 5 huge grocery bags to houses in the village-- and then pray over those houses and their inhabitants. How huge were these bags? It took two guys to carry each one, and still, the task was tiring. It was a blessing to be able to serve the community in such a way, and according to the motto of this ministry: UNA NACIÓN. UNA MISIÓN. UN CORAZÓN. ONE NATION. ONE MISSION. ONE HEART.
Sharing Languages
On four separate occasions, one on the last day of school in two different high school English classes, and then for three distinct “extracurricular” English classes offered on campus after school was already out for the summer, several of us had the opportunity to help students practice their skills in both large and small group settings. It ended up being a lot of fun overall, as we continued to “build bridges” and share laughs together.
Sharing Celebrations
Because of when OCS let out this year, and how that coincided with Manantial de Vida’s year end, this is the first time that we were on campus for the students’ last day of school. While it was sad to wake up on our last two days in Juan Tomás and walk to the dining hall in silence-- without the “hustle and bustle” of school children, hearing their joyful greetings, seeing their smiling faces, and receiving their heartfelt hugs-- none of us will forget being able to celebrate the last day of school with the lower elementary students. They were constantly dancing, singing, and asking for piggy-back rides. And while everyone was extremely hot and tired, we just couldn’t say “no” to these precious kids. Pictures do not do this day justice, but when all was said and done, it was so satisfying to know that we gave our all on the last day that we would see our little friends.
Worshiping Together
Latin American cultures are always very open to having visitors use their talents during church services. While we didn’t bring music this year, like we have in the past two years, we did bring a pastor-- Mr. Frantz! I had asked him months ago if he would like to preach while we are down there (if you know Mr. Frantz, there was no real need to ask!)-- and not only did he get to preach for the Wednesday night service, but once we were there, he was asked to also preach for the youth service on Saturday night. Speaking of which, students had already learned to coin the phrase “Dominican Time”, which came in handy when the 7pm youth service didn’t start until 8pm. However, neither the waiting nor the later night affected the energy of the worship that book-ended Mr. Frantz’s message. I still have “Somos el pueblo de Dios” running through my head, as well as “Dios ha sido bueno” from the elementary kids, which seems appropriate because, no matter the color of our skin or the language that we speak, “We are [all] God’s people”, and “God has been good” -- so so good -- to all of us.
Sharing God’s Faithfulness
Our last night together is always a “night of reflection”-- a time to celebrate how we have seen God work… not so much through us physically as much as in us spiritually and around us relationally. While we didn’t necessarily understand during our monthly meetings and social gatherings throughout the year how this team would function together once we were in the Dominican, by that last night, we clearly knew that God put this team together just as He wanted it. Some of us didn’t know each other at all-- or very little-- before we left, but the ways in which we were able to see God in each other were one of the best parts of this journey. Not only that, but the trust that some of the Dominicans honored us with by sharing their life’s stories-- and even a highly festive birthday party!-- only further cemented the reality that although we always seek to make a difference in the lives of others while we are on mission, it’s really our lives that seem the most impacted and blessed for having cross paths with those that don’t look like or sound like us. For that reason, we are confident that all we have experienced will continue to shape us in the weeks, months, and years ahead. To God be the glory!
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OCS Life