VCS Families… it’s almost go time! We are so grateful you have chosen VCS as a partner in raising your students in the light of God’s Word. 💙
Our incredible staff is currently preparing for an incredible Chapter 44 in Valley Christian’s history, and we genuinely believe this will be – by God’s grace – the best one yet. As we’ve been sharing in recent months, our theme for this year is “Who We Say We Are,” a call to intentionality for our staff, students, parents, and our entire community. This past week during our staff orientations, we have talked about Who HE Says We Are, Who WE Say We Are, Who We Are today, and Who We Will be in the future. This theme is undergirded (vocab word of the week) by Ephesians 2:10, which also follows two of the most consequential verses in Scripture:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
As believers, we are God’s workmanship. YOU are God’s workmanship. YOUR STUDENT is God’s workmanship. This school year, Valley Christian plans to be more intentional than ever. We won’t get everything 100% right… but we’ll be working towards honoring Christ and pursuing excellence in every decision. Our “Big Four” focuses for this year are 1) Who We Say We Are, 2) our ACSI Accreditation, 3) partnering with parents and the local church, and 4) classroom as core. Each of these pursuits is a call to intentionality, and we invite you and your family to be intentional right alongside us in 2025-26.
I so enjoyed spending time with our parents during our Parent University sessions over the past four months. As you know, we invited parents to ask questions during the session, and we received a few versions of the same question that gave me such joy: “This is great – can you also do a Student University?” First, I’m so grateful that parents found these sessions valuable. We received incredible feedback from many of you! Second, I have great news – “Student University” is essentially what our amazing staff is doing every single day. Our parents got two hours of it this summer – your student is about to get more than 1,000 hours of it over the next 10 months, as we equip each of them to be a culture changer for Christ right alongside you. Let’s do this.
Soli Deo gloria,
Troy A. Thelen ‘03
CEO & Head of School