F R O M T H E H E A D O F S C H O O L

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“Are we there yet?” Oh how I remember the car trips when our kids were little. Commitment to family had us driving across the country from New Mexico, St. Louis, Des Moines, and Chicago to the east coast quite often for brief visits. The older I got the longer each trip seemed to take.

Phil-Mont is approaching its 75th anniversary as a school in 2018. Each year we embark on

the “journey” of another year. Sometimes the routine causes us to take for granted all that goes into making the journey possible. If you think about it, our teachers of excellence pick up where they leave off in June and continue the instruction and mentoring process. It goes on day to day to day. They are used to highway speeds, reduced speeds, detours and accidents. However, the trip continues toward the desti-nation with a very high measure of success.

A U T U M N 2016 | V O L U M E 16 | I S S U E 3

Behind the scenes of that day to day journey is the strategic planning entrusted to our Board of Trustees that determines and ensures that our school is appropriately organized for delivery of our stated mission to each student every day. It is not a simple task. Even though Phil-Mont is considered by some to be a smaller school, it is, in fact, a highly complex organization. The complexity of the task flows not from our size but from the importance of our mission. The task of a Board is to determine, preserve and promote that mission throughout its service community. The Board is also responsible for establishing policy to enable the achievement of our mission. As well, the Board seeks to provide the resources necessary to support the delivery of our mission by thinking and acting strategically for the long-term stability and sustainability of the school.

What we have then is two distinct planes of function going on at the very same time. One plane is the operations and management plane. This is where teachers teach, students learn, parents partner, and administrators tend to the logistics to enable and ensure it all happens. This is the yearlong ride of learning from August through June. This is the plane on

The

SIGNETRedesign for Excellence:

Are We There Yet?

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Thanks to the generosity of a local donor and friend of Phil-Mont, along with generous support from the local school district, we now have a “new” Phil-Mont bus. Because of the continued efforts of Director of Operations, Al Chapman, Plant Manager, Rob Raggi, and Athletic Director, Chip Struck, Phil-Mont students can once again travel in groups and in style. The former Springfield Township bus is a 2002, flat front, Blue Bird All American which can seat 48 students. We are exceedingly grateful for the support of friends. Please pray with us that this bus will serve the school well for years to come.

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which students are challenged to know God, His Word, and His world in deeper and more intimate ways in preparation for lives of dedi-cated service and kingdom building.

While that goes on there is the governance plane upon which the Board is always asking the question, “Are we there yet?” not so much focused on the end of a calendar year, but on the goal of excellence. Obviously, that question never is answered fully, since excellence is something for which we are to be continually striving.

As a result of this effort toward excellence, our Board is on a mission to review with an eye toward re-designing Phil-Mont for its continu-ing commitment to excellence in Christian schooling for this generation and the next. Data gathering and discussions with various stakeholders have taken place. Public meetings with faculty to gather perspective and sugges-tions occurred in early summer. In mid-sum-mer discussions were held with administrative staff. The end of September included a public meeting with parents to solicit their ideas on where we are and where we want to be headed. The annual Board retreat in October was dedi-cated to meshing together the aggregated input into strategic and actual goals to propel us into the next 75 years of distinction in Christian schooling.

While excellence in the classroom built upon parent partnerships and guided by God’s Word and Spirit continues every day, Phil-Mont stra-tegically is addressing the new and recurring

As the newly elected president of the board, I thought it would be good to introduce myself by let-ting you in on my personal story. I want to begin where everything should begin, with God, without whom no one and nothing exists. So with that in mind, I want to start by sharing my testimony, the beginning of my spiritual journey, of my getting to know God as perfectly revealed in His son Jesus Christ in whom the fullness of deity dwells.

Looking back now at how and when I came to believe in Jesus, I can see that it was not an instantaneous step of faith but rather a process. A process comprising three stages, that devel-oped over many years, involving different people, where the hidden hand of God was sovereignly at work orchestrating every detail in every step of the way, and finally culminating in my con-fessing and believing in Jesus.

challenges of cultural shifts, escalating costs, accessibility to our market audience, and prep-aration for the time when some of our long-tenured, highly-experienced faculty will pass the baton to a newer less-experienced leadership.

This is not a cause for concern or alarm. This is simply what Boards committed to excellence in Christian schooling are called to do when they hold a school in trust. Phil-Mont is in the kingdom-building business. We have the unique opportunity to fashion and build with living stones. The impact of those living stones being built together will be determined by God through His working with parents, teach-ers and students by His powerful Spirit. In the meantime we want to be found faithful to the calling we pursue.

These efforts need to be bathed in prayer by all of our stakeholders, supporters, churches and friends. We are asking you to walk alongside us in this journey. Would you please pray for the teaching, learning and mentoring that goes on every day? Would you please pray for each Board member for wisdom, discernment, and boldness to step into the next generation? Would you please join us on this journey? “Are we there yet?” No, not yet. But let’s take advan-tage of the trip. Let’s observe and take note. Let’s be wise in our direction. Let’s not be afraid to take a road less traveled should it mean we get to see and learn more of depen-dence and reliance on our God. “Are we there yet?” No, excellence is not a destination. It is a journey. Please join us in watching our God be faithful to us for another year, another trip.

By Mr. Joel Bacon & Mr. Tom Sorkness

Used by permission, originally published in New Horizons, FEB 2016, www.opc.org

There is an anecdote, perhaps apocryphal, regarding the founding of the Christian school where we have taught for many years. Cornelius Van Til was part of a small group of people who helped to form what would eventually become Philadelphia-Montgomery Christian Academy. After it was established, Dr. Van Til visited the school one day and upon entering a classroom saw two things written on the board:

“2 + 2 = 4” and “Jesus Christ is Lord.” This, in his estimation, was the epitome of Christian education: two great truths brought together in time and space and presented to young cov-enant children—two truths that should not be separated. This reality epitomizes the founda-

tion of the Christian school. Built upon this foundation, Christian education should be covenantal, catechetical, cultural, Reforma-tional, and doxological.

Five Pillars of Christian Education

It is the conviction of parents, following the demands of the covenant, that leads them to place their children in the Christian school—to always place them in the context of truth. Deuteronomy 6 reminds us that we are to teach our children God’s laws when we lie down, when we rise up, and when we walk along the way. Placing our children under the

DONALD BEEBE | HEAD OF SCHOOL From thePresident’sLaptop

2 + 2 = 4 and Jesus Christ is Lord

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THE FIRST STAGE OCCURRED when I was in middle school.

I grew up in Lebanon, in the Middle East. I attended a private French Catholic school where I was taught catechism by priests. When civil war erupted, the priests, who were French citizens, fled back to France. A long-term sub-stitute teacher, a civilian, was hired to teach catechism. This teacher encouraged all the stu-dents to start reading their Bibles. For the very first time, I was challenged to read the Bible for myself. I started reading it diligently and con-tinued to do so well into high school and even in college. However, it did not make any sense to me at that time. To be sure, I understood the stories I was reading, but never broke through to understand the “story,” the main message of the Bible. It remained hidden to me, I was still spiritually blind. I had not yet been made alive to spiritual realities. What did happen, how-ever, is that God used this catechism teacher to plant the seed of spiritual truth in my heart.

THE SECOND STAGE OCCURRED when I was in college.

After graduating from high school, I was accepted into the civil engineering program at the American University of Beirut. By God’s providence, during my junior year, I became friends with a student who was a believer. He started sharing the gospel with me at every opportunity, and invited me to attend his church. One Sunday, I visited his church, and two things made a lasting impression on me. First, the average person in the pew prayed and

it was evident from their prayer that they knew their Bibles extremely well. Second, people stayed after church to talk and to fellowship with one another. In contrast, at the church I attended, the average person didn’t know the Bible and no one stayed after church. After this experience, I wanted to know the Bible like the people of the church I visited, and started won-dering why I didn’t, even after having read it for such a long time. But alas, I was prevented from going back by my paternal uncle, with whom my sister and I were living, because

“they were protestant and we are Catholic.” However, my friend was not deterred. He con-tinued to share Christian teachings with me at college. I remember one time going into an empty classroom where he started explaining the significance of the furnishings of the temple and how they pointed to Jesus. Every-thing he explained went over my head. I couldn’t connect the dots. I couldn’t discern the spiritual truths he was sharing. I remained blind to them. But God used this student to water the seed that had been planted through the catechism teacher.

THE THIRD STAGE OCCURRED when I came to the United States

After graduating from the American University of Beirut, I came to Philadelphia to pursue my master’s degree in civil engineering. My maternal aunt and cousin were already here in Philadelphia, so I lived with them while I was attending Drexel University. My cousin had become a believer and was attending a PCA church in South Philadelphia. On the very first

Sunday after my arrival, he invited me to attend church with him. I went and the same impres-sion I had in the protestant church in Lebanon came rushing back to mind. People knew their Bibles and people stayed after church. I contin-ued to attend the PCA church Sunday after Sunday, until one day, as I was listening to the sermon, suddenly, I understood that the main message of the Bible is about Jesus, God becoming man, living a perfect life, dying a death he doesn’t deserve to save his people from their sin and death. I was blind but now I see. My eyes were opened to the spiritual truths of the Bible. I started trusting, obeying, and following Jesus. In light of this newfound understanding, for the first time, the Bible started to make sense to me.

A substitute middle school catechism teacher planted, a fellow college student watered, but God gave the growth.

My journey of faith, over more than a decade, was orchestrated by the hidden sovereign hand of God, guiding, protecting, and finally in His perfect timing bearing spiritual fruit.

teaching of competent, dedicated, and loving Christian teachers seeks to fulfill that com-mand.

Catechetically, we are to impress the truths of God’s Word and his world upon the hearts and minds of our children. Supremely, this means teaching them God’s plan of redemption, but along with this to expose them to the way God formed the world and sustains and governs it through his providence.

Next, parents need to impress upon their children that human beings develop culture because they are image bearers. The impetus for the arts,

scientific inquiry, and even commercial pur-suits comes from the fact that we think God’s thoughts after him. Impressing this on students shows that the impulses of man to enter into and make culture is good and intended by God.

Reformationally, we are called to bring God’s Word to bear in a world that has been so wracked and perverted by sin that man en-deavors no longer to bring glory to his Maker, but to glorify himself. We are called to redeem the culture in which we live, to turn our pur-suits back to God and to present them to him for his glory. Although this is accomplished imperfectly, it is our intention to do such

things in faith, so that they might be presented to the Father in righteousness.

Finally, all we do in a Christian school should involve our children giving praise and glory to our Creator and Redeemer in all areas of life. After all, man’s ultimate purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

What follows are but two examples of how such purposes play out in the classroom. Both examples flow from the truths of the cate-chism—the first from teaching about the phys-ical universe, and the second from teaching about the social universe.

Michel HatemBoard President

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The Physical Sciences

“God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchange-able, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” That short state-ment from the Shorter Catechism encapsulates the Bible’s teaching about the One who “created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). What I want my students to understand is that the God who made everything is not a mere concept, but the One who is! As a teacher of high school chemistry and physics, I have many opportunities to explore and express his being and attributes with my students.

We are told in Romans 1:20 that “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” One of God’s invisible attri-butes is infinitude. I teach that the scale of the universe—from the very, very large to the very, very small—bears silent but powerful evidence of God’s infinitude, in all its aspects. For example, if the Sun were the size of a mm-sized dot (•), Earth would be too small to be seen without a microscope and it would be a bit over 4 inches from that dot. Pluto would be about 14 feet away from the dot, and the next nearest star would be about 18 miles away! In between is pretty much empty space. Our scaled-down Milky Way galaxy would stretch out almost 2 million miles, more than seven times the actual distance to the moon! I have a mural on one wall that demonstrates the scale of the planets, the solar system, and some famous stars. It is a daily reminder to the students of God’s infinitude.

King David had a clear idea of the immensity and beauty of the heavens and expressed it in the Psalms. On clear evenings, my physics students gaze upon virtually the same sky and echo David’s awe, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” (Ps. 8:4). Lest they go down the wrong path and conclude that man is nothing special, we read the whole psalm. The One who created the universe and maintains it is mindful of each of his children. To those who say, “The cosmos is all there was, all there is, and all there ever will be,” we say, “non-sense!” “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps. 14:1).

As far as size goes, chemistry students deal with the smallest particles of matter. They

learn that there are more atoms in a pinhead than there are leaves on trees in the whole world! At the same time, they confront the very large as we learn about the mole concept. A mole of any substance, by definition, consists of approximately 6.022 x 1023 units of it—the number of atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12. This huge number is called Avogadro’s number, and to help students get the big picture, they count the number of drops in 10 mL of water. They then figure out how much water it would take to have an Avogadro’s number of drops. It turns out to be enough water to cover the United States to a depth of about 2 miles! In considering such things, it is my intention that students be left in awe of the majesty—the infinitude—of God, the Creator and sustainer of the universe.

The Social Sciences

So, what of the social universe? That man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him for-ever is well known to our students, but they still need to discern how that plays out. As they examine Scripture, they see that although God’s plan for each person is providentially unique, the creation ordinances point to the fact that he has a common will for all mankind. As they consider Genesis, they discover those ordinances: labor, marriage, and Sabbath rest. These ordinances Adam followed to the glory of God, but they were deeply affected by his fall into sin. Yet, they were not abrogated. They are still God’s ordinances for us today.

But what about sin and its devastating effects? God has solved that problem through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who has produced the firstfruits of a new creation—one now realized, yet still to come.

But what about the here and now? The new heavens and earth have not yet arrived; man is in conflict with his fellow man. Further study of Scripture, such as Romans 13, alerts the students

to God’s temporal plan: the civil magistrate as God’s instrument of common grace. They learn that the purpose of civil government is to promote the good and restrain evil.

As we launch into our yearlong study of civics, students come to see a wide variety of govern-mental constructs and ideologies made mani-fest over time. Some systems have sought to maintain human dignity, recognizing man as an image bearer of God, but others have been not only abusive, but ultimately antithetical to God. Totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century—at both ends of the political spec-trum—have not only sought to brutally con-trol human beings, but have even challenged God’s authority by redefining and redirecting the creation ordinances.

As the students read Abraham Kuyper, they note that according to late nineteenth-century German philosophical pantheism, the state has undergone an apotheosis: it has replaced God and has become God. In the end, as the stu-dents examine the social universe, and particu-larly the civil order, from the perspective of Scripture, they are provided a gauge by which to assess the manifestation of man’s organiza-tion throughout the ages, both civil and other-wise. This provides them with a basis for true judgment as they live in this world.

Conclusion

The Christian school, then, provides the way for covenant children to fully appreciate the world in which God has placed them. At Phil-Mont, it is through the lens of Scripture that this is accomplished. Only by using the Bible can covenant children come to full knowledge of who man is in relation to God, his fellow man, and the world in which he lives—and ulti-mately to direct their lives to the glory of God as he shapes and reshapes that world. Whether it is 2 + 2 or 6.022 x 1023, the student in the end knows that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord!

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and our society measures worth through pic-tures. It’s not enough to tell each other about our lives, we need to snap it, share it, and like it to prove that what we’re doing—or eating—is good enough and valuable; that we are good enough and valuable. Almost always when someone returns from a mission trip they take us through the following phases: this is where I went, what I did, who I worked with, and of course there’s photo proof of all the aforemen-tioned activities. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this, and we listeners are of course happy to hear and see what this missionary’s experience has been—whether it’s been a week or twenty years of work.

However, I want to share some different reflec-tions on the time and opportunities that God gave me to serve in Costa Rica this summer. I don’t think I had even left Costa Rica in 2015 before I was thinking about returning in 2016. Then all of a sudden the school year came, graduation was upon us, and I was once again

boarding a plane headed to Central America. But upon returning home, I found that I had very few photos that could show what I did during the month that I was in San José. I mean really show what I did. I was not allowed to take photos of most of the places I visited or people I met, and many days were spent inside the four walls of the Push The Rock* office. I tried to go into this trip with as few expectations as possible because I was going to make myself available to help in any way—glamorous and picture-worthy, or not.

I wrote the following at the end of July, a couple weeks before I came back to the US:

As I start to see the end of my time in Costa Rica, I don’t feel like I’ve done very much. But that’s not the point. It’s not about what I can count or quantify, or what I can show in pictures. It’s not about what I’ve done at all. The hard part about ministry and missions is recognizing that we may never see the fruit or be there for the harvest. We may not see immediate results. But perhaps we can’t see these results because we have not been the ones to actually do the work to achieve the ultimate goal of the Great Commission. We are not the ones who change hearts; only God by His word and Holy Spirit can make that transformation. It’s never about what I’ve done, but about God and His glory and

the gift of His salvation. That’s the Good News! That’s the Gospel!

So after a month of serving at the men’s prison twice a week, teaching a full day of PE classes, and even spending time just working in the office, was it a waste to go? Was there no point since there’s no photo? Certainly not. As repeated short-term trips turn into more long-term partnership and ministry, each opportunity is valuable for building relationships and we should recognize that as an integral part of missions and ministry. Our God is a relational God, who has revealed Himself to us and made us in His image to have a relationship with Him and each other. And He has called us to go and share the Good News of His son Jesus coming to earth and dying to save man from his sin so he may have eternal life with God. I am especially thankful for all that has been and continues to be accomplished that I cannot see—or show—for it is Christ at work, not me.

Please continue to pray for the partnership between Phil-Mont, Push The Rock, and the ministry in Costa Rica as plans come together for a team to serve in 2017.

*Push The Rock is a sports ministry based in Emmaus, PA and is committed to, “impacting the world for Jesus Christ… one life at a time!” The organization has international offices in Costa Rica and Zambia.

Being God’s Servant in Costa Rica

LIZ MASON

FALCONS IN GUATEMALAIn addition to serving in Costa Rica during July, I was able to deliver donations from Phil-Mont to a friend in Coatepeque, Guatemala. These jerseys, shin guards, socks, cleats, and much more traveled from Philadelphia to Buffalo, NY then flew to San José, Costa Rica and on to Guatemala City. From

there they accompanied me on a 4-hour bus ride west to Xela, Guatemala. Finally, the last leg of our long journey was another 2.5-hour windy bus ride down the mountains to balmy Coatepeque. Muchas gracias for your generosity, support, and prayers!

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The city is Baltimore, the year is 1962. The skirts are long, the hair is big, and the music is rockin’ out. Televisions are black and white— and so is the world of Tracey Turnblad. Her school is integrated, but every afternoon the super-popular Cornie Collins Teen Dance Show is populated with just white kids. Only once a month is it “Negro Day.”

Plus-size Tracey’s outgoing personality, smooth dance moves, and huge hairdo earn her a place on the show, but she will not stop until all teens are welcome to join her there… and there is the foundation for the award-winning Broadway musical Hairspray! The desire for acceptance, equality, and racial harmony is front and center.

Why Hairspray at Phil-Mont this year? Well, it’s been on our Drama program’s short list for long while. Twice Mr. Liegel sat with student groups in row-one seats for the Broadway pro-duction and it is nearly impossible to describe the energy and power of the music and story. It brings forth the bright colors, crazy dances, and daring promise of the decade.

But Hairspray also deals with huge issues of the early civil rights movement. It was created in 2006 and toward the end of the show, there is a peaceful Baltimore march with signs pro-claiming the need for racial harmony. Little did they know then that ten years later there would be similar marches all across our country. This happy musical comedy with a message proved absolutely prophetic and became a per-fect vehicle to talk about issues that are now front and center in our land.

Those of us who serve and study at Phil-Mont are daily aware of what a treasure we have. There’s no doubt that the school is one of the most racially diverse Christian schools in the land. Chinese students blend with African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian students in sports, arts, classes, and clubs. Birthday parties, social events, and spring proms easily cross racial lines and student leadership is a rainbow experience.

Our Hairspray cast and crew? Another neat example of what our Academy is like. Last year we lost an amazing class of stage performers— fifteen leading players departed along with stage crew and other performers. And our vocal musicinstructor left to continue further study! Many wondered where we should go next. We chose Hairspray for its obvious fun and potential power, and this fall forty-five students stepped forward to fill the roles: our biggest cast in eight years!

Some former underclass favorites have stepped forward to shine. Senior Morena Best, lead in both shows last year, is our Cornie Collins while Caitlin Orr, Tegan Baldini, Brittany McCullough, and Jackson Li stepped from minor roles to major ones as Velma Van Tussle, Prudy Pingleton, Edna Turnblad, and heart-throb Link Larkin. Sophomore Logan Crosby claimed the hysterical role of Wilbur Turnblad while fellow tenth grader Rachel Hatem will be center stage as his dancing, singing, world-changing daughter Tracey. Featured as Little Red in last year’s Into the Woods, Rachel is known for her outgoing attitude of stage and her big voice and commanding presence on-stage—a perfect choice for a rabble-rouser teen. Rachel comments that “the coolest thing about

this show for me is the issue of racial harmony. It reminds me of myself a bit. I’m an American citizen and was born here, but my Dad is Leba-nese and Greek, my Mom is German and Irish and I’m Ethiopian somewhere, so I’m basically everything. I’m kind of a rainbow so I’m excited about being Tracey and being able to represent a lot of backgrounds. If I can just learn all those dances!”

So what about the key themes of this show? The amazing thing is that, with humor and surprises, the show begins in a Baltimore split by prejudice and racial strife and ends with the small but important victory of an integrated teen television show. With a sponsor realizing that welcoming all races is good business. With moms and dads happy to see their chil-dren with friends of other colors.

This year God brought a new vocal music instructor, Mrs. Autumn Ruff, onto our Phil-Mont faculty. As our show’s music director, she and Mr. Liegel have become a rather symbolic leadership team. She black, he white. She young and full of new artistic ideas, he an old hand at working with the Phil-Mont stage and program. Mr. Liegel is the father of ten, seven adopted kids, three home-grown, six African-American, four Caucasian. He’s often said that’s part of why he and Mrs. Liegel are so happy at Phil-Mont—“it looks like our dinner table!” Mrs. Ruff is the wife of Dallas Seminary Grad Kevin and the mother of two children and notes that “the spirit at Phil-Mont is very warm and inviting and the people are happy to be here. That’s encouraging for me coming from a public school environment that wasn’t that way at all. There’s a concern for excellence,

NOVEMBER 17–19

Welcome to the 60’s!Hairspray Comes to the Academy

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and even more so, a love for Jesus. That why Hairspray has been so much fun! The kids want to do it. They are excited about it, though a little concerned about the work that has to be put in.

“And the show is so relevant to what’s going on right now. There’s not a better play to do that reflects the times. The issues are everywhere today and we need to pray on and really go to God about these things. Doing the show re-minds our kids that it really doesn’t matter, black and white, it doesn’t matter. We’re the human race and we know people need love and so it’s a real connection to a real life situation.”

We invite families to make plans to enjoy one of our four performances of Hairspray, 7:30 pm on November 17, 18, and 19 and 2 pm on Saturday, November 19. Winner of seven Tony Awards, the show promises to be delightful for adults, teens, and kids alike. The dances and songs are exuberant period pieces, the comedy and characters are outrageous and unforgettable,

and the costumes and sets will be eye-popping. In addition, the root message unfurls in a sensitive and positive way that will invite lots of thought and dialogue.

To close, Hairspray’s directors are remembering to daily accent that God speaks in his Word about the importance of loving all people (Leviticus 19:9), of the brotherhood of all Christian across the world (John 13:34-35), of the need for believers to be builders of bridges (Luke 6:35). The large cast prays together, laughs together, and works together toward a common goal. We want to be an authentic example of the joy and connection of our show’s finale. All know that the Spirit has done a work in their midst, but daily attention to God is the only sure way to keep the flow going. In many ways, Phil-Mont is a daily model in this. In classes, on courts, in cafeteria, compe-titions, or clubs, as well as on stage, God is knitting together a strong community defined by its forward-looking faith.

HOME FORTHE HOLIDAYS

Tuesday,December 20

{ 4:00 PM }Boys JV Basketball

VS_ MORRISVILLE

{ 5:30 PM }Boys Varsity Basketball

VS_ MORRISVILLE

Alumni ReceptionFree baseball caps for all alumni

{ 7:00 PM }Girls Varsity Basketball

VS_ BRISTOL

{ 8:30 PM }Alumni Basketball

Round Robin Tournament

T H E S I G N E T8

NEW STUDENTS& T H E I R F A M I L I E S

Gilbert Alamur and Mona Jean-Baptiste, Gilbert Alamur (6)Juan and Kala Baxter, Jayla (5), Myla (6)Angela Beckett, Anthony (4)Vutau Belizaire and Margualie Oscar, Ismaelle Belizaire (5)Jonathan and Yvonne Bonomo, Monica (1) Peter and Becky Bowersox, Joshua (9)Falecia Bristol, Jeremiah (K)Raheem and Tiffany Brockington, Zion Brockington-Davis (4)Michael Brooks and Falon Calderon, Isaiah (3), Michael (5) BrooksRandy and Terrina Brooks, Cayla (2)Anthony and Asante Bryant, Marcus (3), Michael (6)Stephen and Karen Campbell, Ethan (9)Chrislana Cantave, Gabriella (3)Thomas and Sirena Cardwell, Brielle (4)Valerie Chaney, Michala (10)Marva Dawson, Raven (5)Lawton and Patrice Delisser, Eden (9)Fernando and Mariah de Oliveira, David (1)Damion and Sherese Doctor, Jayden (2), Jaylen (6)Sarah Gibson, Skyler Gibson-Roberts (4) Jonathan and Winnie Haggard, Alicia (10)Geraldine Henderson, Jaylen (10)Latanya Hollingsworth, Khloe Snell (K)Michael and Dionne Jackson, Liandra (K) Knicole Johnston, Kierstin Bennett (K), Krista Mack (4)Ohchang Kwon and Grace Kim, Ocean Kwon (K)Will and Suzy Liegel, Aaliyah (K)Vincent Lin and Bingjie Chen, Wayne Lin (K)Regina Madison, Tabitha Bennefield (8)Jeremiah and Kayla McPherson, Myranda Green (2)Greays Mendoza, Chris (5), Daniel (6) PalmerEric Murray and Pamela Ford, Jaden (2), Jordyn (6) MurrayPerry O’Hannon and Jennifer Gaymon- O’Hannon, Perriana O’Hannon (10)Yvonne Pittman, Yerrell Pittman-Moore (7)

LaTosha Rhone, Michayla Mullins (2), Micah Rhone (5)Kevin and Lori Schoch, Kayli (4)Judel Sterling and Marie Defresne, Deemetrii (8) and Hezekiah (9) SterlingDale and Kelly Sweeney, Sheamus (9)Efrain and Tammi Vargas, Mason (10)Terry Ward, Tierra Filmore (7)Paul and Katrina Whittaker, Madison (4), Kaela (6) Johnson

RETURNING FAMILIEST O P H I L - M O N TMarlo and Francine Collier, Savoy (11)Gabriel and Jennifer Malloy, Lily (1), Gabe (3), Abigail (4), Hannah (6)

CURRENT

PHIL-MONT FAMILIESA D D I N G N E W S T U D E N T SGoldsborough and Tisch Gaines, Thomas (3)Robert and Susana Hormann, Chirley (9), Karen (11)Peng Xiang Li and Esther Xiao, Reya Li (K)John and Erin Livingston, Charlie (6)Christopher and Sarah Osthaus, Matthew (K)Neil and Cokettia Rawlerson, Yusef (1)George and Malieka Young, Alana (6)

NEW

INTERNATIONALSTUDENTS& T H E I R H O S T F A M I L I E SJohn and Renée Asher, Chechen (Rebecca) Zhang (9)George and Tricia Bernhard, Haonan (Oliver) Su (10)Dave and Gwyn Ennis, Junqi (Charley) Zhou (9), Hanyu (Henry) Wang (10)Michel and Patty Hatem, Fan (Erica) Xue (11)Karl and Debbie Heath, Ziqi (Vanessa) Pei (10)Glenn and Tammy Jago, Yera Park (9)William Sun and Xiaoli Chen, Yixuan (Angel) Li (8), Xi (Simon) Liu (9)Zhi hong Zhu and Lujia Pan, Tianyue (Steven) Xiao (9)

NEW FACULT Y

We are excited to welcome Autumn Ruff to the position of Vocal Music Teacher. Autumn’s musical capabilities include singing, playing piano, songwriting, teach-ing, arranging and directing. Autumn attended Cumberland Christian School in New Jersey and received her Bachelor’s in General Music from Eastern University. She has been teaching general music since 2012 at the A. W. Brown Fellow-ship Leadership Academy in the Dallas, TX area. Her time in Texas also included opportunities to lead multiple choirs and praise team ensembles. Prior to moving to Texas, she had served as Minister of Music at churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Autumn, her husband Kevin, and their two children have recently moved back to this area.

Adam Porcella has been appointed to the position of Dean of Student Affairs. Adam is a 2003 alumnus of Phil-Mont and earned his Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Education at Covenant College. Additional degrees include the M. Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary and the M.A. in Higher Education from Geneva College. Adam’s passion for education led him more deeply into the area of student affairs and academic support. He brings experience in the college preparation process, transcript and records management and student success. He joins Phil-Mont most recently from Simpson University where he

WELCOME!

Autumn Ruff

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served in Student Affairs, Academic Success and Administration. Adam and his wife Hannah have two daughters.

Phil-Mont is pleased to announce the addition of Mrs. Terrell Robinson to our faculty in the role of MS Science Teacher. Terrell began her responsibilities in October, taking over for Jennifer Malloy who will be accompanying her husband to a recently accepted pastoral call in North Carolina. Terrell holds both Masters in Education and Bachelors in Health Sciences degrees from Penn State University. Her prior teaching experience includes Westtown School and Lincoln Leadership Academy Char-ter School in Allentown. She has held various roles in Surgical Technology and came to us from her role as Program Director / Surgical Technology Instructor at McCann School of Business and Technology. Terrell is married and has two children.

Those of who spend our days at Phil-Mont know that it’s a pretty exciting place. “Unasham-edly academic and unashamedly Christian,” is how middle school language arts teacher Eliza-beth Rockey describes us. And she’s right. Coursework is both demanding and profitable and discussions on the Lord and His word come up in every classroom, hallway, and event. In addition, sports build character and promote teamwork, actors and artists are urged to aim for excellence, and students are actively involved in service. Fifth graders serve as big brothers and sisters for Kindergartners, middle schoolers regularly collect funds for and volun-teer at local ministries, and our Interact Service Club involves over forty high schoolers. God is certainly blessing and using the Academy.

But what impact does little Phil-Mont have outside of its walls and fields? Well, this fall, one of our own took us to a larger stage. Suzy Liegel came to the Academy twenty-six years ago as a music teacher and along the way also taught Sociology and Spanish. Seven years ago she became our principal and this past Sep-tember she traveled to Washington D.C. in that capacity as our representative and a voice for the Lord.

This summer the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) sent a blog notice to administrators throughout the country, invit-ing them to apply to participate in the Legal Legislative Conference. Those attending would spend two days hearing from major speakers in the area of legal issues related to Christian schools and then would be able to meet with congressmen and senators or their aides.

Mrs. Liegel has been long concerned about social issues in our country and the potential effect that recent legislation may have on Christian education, and these topics often have led to animated discussions in her Sociology classes. Therefore she applied to the program

and was accepted along with twenty other administrators from a dozen states. In advance she was required to set up meetings with the offices of Congressman Brendan Boyle and Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey.

The training days were rich. Speakers included Joe McTighe with the Council for American Private Education and Stanley Carlson-Thiess from the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance. The introductory speaker was Bill Wichterman, who has thirty years of experience working with President George W. Bush and Senate majority Leader Bill Frist. He is president of Faith & Law, a ministry to congressional staff seeking to integrate their faith and calling in the public square. Woven in as well were Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Missouri), Sen. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), and Rep. Steve Russell (R-Oklahoma) along with ACSI speakers and Erica Suares from the office of the Senate Majority Leader.

The idea was to fully inform those administrators gathered about the issues that they would bring up on their final day at the Capitol. Topics were challenging and included key social, legal, and educational issues of our day.

• Religious Liberty in Chaotic Times • How to Talk about Religious Liberty and

Understand Executive Orders, Guidance Letters, Regulations and Amendments

• How a Legislature Works • Implementation of the Every Child

Succeeds Act • School Choice in the States • The Importance of Engaging the Public

Policy Process • The Russell Amendment and the National

Defense Authorization Act • Religious Liberty: Transgender Issues

These topics are all pretty heady but there were a few issues that stood front and center. Attendees

A Representative Goes to OurRepresentatives

Mrs. L Goes to Washington

WILL LIEGEL

{over}

Adam Porcella visits the first grade class as Mystery Reader.

Terrell Robinson

T H E S I G N E T10

were encouraged to urge legislators not to support The Equality Act which would prohibit Christian schools from hiring according to a faith and conscience stance. They were encouraged to accent the First Amendment Defense Act which would allow Christian schools to maintain religious tax exemption despite their stance on recent marriage legislation.

Attendees were also urged to support the Russell Amendment as a part of the First Amendment Defense Act, preserving the reli-gious freedom to live out faith. They were also asked to stand with an Amicus Brief dealing with gender bathroom issues, allowing for the development of appropriate accommodations versus the right for individuals to choose as they like.

Mrs. Liegel was certainly challenged to learn a lot quickly, knowing that in mere hours she would have the ear of some very influential people. While meeting with the designated aides of over thirty legislators, those gathered were able to be candid, earnest, and focused in their concerns and were assured that their words would be carried to those in office. Everyone was also encourage to “tell their story,” knowing that stories stay with people and give substance to the discussion on more clinical legal issues. With her seven adopted children

and her years in Christian education, Mrs. Liegel surely had her tales to tell.

While she confesses it was an honor to sit down to share on behalf of ACSI and the Christian School movement, Mrs. Liegel found it inter-esting to speak with the aide of a legislator who was a believing Catholic Christian, but consid-ered it inappropriate to let his faith affect any of his decisions. He saw that as a conflict in his responsibility to represent all of his constitu-ency. And that is why it is necessary to send our administrators to Capitol Hill, to stand for Christian Truth and to encourage our govern-ment officials to respect those who do.

In thinking on her time in Washington, Mrs. Liegel wrote the following:

As a person who has throughout her life had little interest in the political, I preferred to allow others to represent my concerns and protect my rights. But in the increasingly anti-Christian culture, where public discourse is shrill and derogatory, where the expression of Christian faith is considered by many to be discriminatory and unacceptable, and where amendments and laws, legislation and judicial decisions are being reinterpreted from their original intent, I could no longer expect someone else to speak for me. At the ACSI Legal Legislative Conference, I learned that there are ways for each citizen to engage in the political process and I practiced being a spokesperson for the right of religious expression.

I was heartened by elected men and women boldly standing for Christian values. But I was also made aware of how few their votes are and how difficult a task they face. I realize that we need to pray, as Paul exhorts, that we might be allowed to live our lives quietly and in peace. And that we might continue to be able to teach our children the tenets of the Biblical faith in Christian schools.

But I was also reminded by more than one of the speakers that God is still in control. And that we do not need the government to raise up the next generation of Christ’s church. May we, by God’s grace, be up to the task that is before us.

There is obviously far that more that could be said about the speakers, topics, responses and other details. You can check out any of the names, organizations and legislative issues mentioned above through an easy Internet search. For those of you especially interested in faith issues within the political arena, you might contact Mrs. Liegel at the school.

Many Christian leaders rightly feel that the years ahead are going to be very challenging for our churches, schools and businesses. As the nation more and more has been loosed from its Christian origins and traditional social mores, it becomes ever more essential that we lift our voices. Thanks are to be given to ACSI for see-ing the need and to Mrs. Liegel and the twenty who gathered to fill that need and to be our voice. May God use their labors for His glory.

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— 1980 —Patti (Austermehle) Seiger graduated with a BSN from Penn State in May of this year. She has transitioned from being an Emergency Department RN to working as a school nurse in two local school districts.

— 1989 —George (Jay) Rebsamen was installed as pastor of West End Baptist Church in Rock Hill, SC on August 7.

— 1991 —Adam Miller and his wife Kristen, welcomed their new addition, Jonathan Ellwood on September 29. Little Jonathan joins the family at their home in western PA.

— 1999 —On August 23, Chris Williams and his wife April welcomed their new daughter, Ruby Ann, to the family. Ruby was born at Einstein Mont-gomery Hospital and she joins her big brother, Kingston and the family at their home in Montgomeryville, PA.

— 2000 —Missy Hause Policastro and her husband Jason welcomed Oliver Timothy on September 7.

On October 2, Jacob Edward was born to Melody Rogers-Famous and her husband Chris Famous. Baby Jacob joins the family at their home in Largo, Florida.

— 2004 —On May 13, Angela Soper married Mark Hogue. On June 30, she graduated from family medicine residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Department of Family & Community Medicine. She works for Primary Health Net-work, an FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center) in western PA.

Liz (French) Fuller and her husband Tim welcomed a son, Lucas James, on September 6.

— 2005 —On June 18, Jesse Snyder married Kimberly Leonard. The newlywed couple resides in Washington DC.

Alumni News

On August 13, Joshua Currie married Bethany Meeder. The ceremony took place at Calvary OPC in Glenside, PA.

— 2007 —Lucy Joy was born to Holly (Asher) Morehead and her husband Jackson on July 6.

Kaiser Joseph was born to Jonathan VanVeldhuizen and his wife Danielle on August 1. Kaiser joins big brother, Riah and his parents at their home in Sterling, Kansas.

— 2010 —On June 18, Alex Dimitri married Mara Womer at Grove City College. The couple lives in South Park, PA.

Emily Steiger and Darius Elliott were married on October 1. They will reside in Ambler, PA.

— 2011 —On June 25, George Bernhard married Ellen Wildner. The couple resides in Philadelphia, PA.

Stephen Koffel was married to Katrina Pisch on August 6. They reside in Ambler as Stephen continues his work in enrollment for Phil-Mont.

Jennifer Khoo married Brian House on September 10.

NOVEMBER

17–19 Fall Musical, Hairspray21, 22

No School – Parent-Teacher Conferences23–25

No School – Thanksgiving Break

DECEMBER

8 { 7:30 PM }

Middle School Christmas Concert13 { 7:30 PM }

High School Christmas Concert15 { 7:00 PM }

Elementary Christmas Program20 Homecoming Basketball Games Alumni Reception { 5:30 PM }

21

Christmas Break begins

JANUARY

3

School resumes16

No School – Martin Luther King Day23–26

Midterm exams27 No School – Faculty In-Service

FEBRUARY

20 No School – Presidents’ Day27

Iowa Tests of Basic Skills begin

MARCH

2–4 Winter Drama, James and the Giant Peach

2 0162 017

C ALENDAR OF EVENTS

Jennifer Khoo

T H E S I G N E T12

B O A R D P R E S I D E N TM I C H E L H A T E M

©2016, Philadelphia-Montgomery Christian Academy. All rights reserved. The Signet is published three times annually. Please email your comments to office.admin@phil-mont.com. Philadelphia-Montgomery Christian Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or national/ethnic origin regarding any of its programs.

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