God is present, sustaining, and loving.
God is present, sustaining, and loving.

TfT Bulletin #1   |   September 1, 2021

I love discovering patterns.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been lured, inspired, and awed by the faithful rhythms within God’s created world—the ebbing and flooding tides, a rising and setting sun, the return of the salmon to their birth waters, and the inevitable arrival of the first brisk morning that signals autumn.
This faithful predictability and order reassure me that God is present, sustaining, and loving. 
Similarly, there are predictable signs that alert me to the pattern of a new school year—geese on the move over my head, brand new shoes lining our mudroom, raccoons raiding my plum tree, and an inbox lighting up with excited messages. Fellow educators share hope-filled ideas intended to invite, nurture, and empower learners within God’s story in the coming school year.
Signs of God’s story within our lives. Signs of our lives within God’s story. The larger narrative provides purpose and direction for our repeating ways.
It is within this divine story that we at TfT launch our Bulletin again this year.
Whether you are new to a TfT school or a veteran, our prayer is that you delight in your role within God’s story as you root the rhythms and practices of your classroom in the faithfulness of our loving Creator. We are excited to share the stories of your Kingdom work this year.
These words from II Thessalonians 1:11 seem apropos for this time in our school-year pattern: “[W]e constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.”


An invitation into Deep Hope: Sioux Falls Christian

The explicit invitation into Deep Hope is a core practice for many of us. As Sioux Falls Christian gathered for their kickoff retreat, Superintendent Jay Woudstra shared his Deep Hope that the SFC community would have “eyes on eternity” this school year. Using words and images shared by Jay, secondary art teacher Sara Mulder painted this image to represent Jay’s Deep Hope.
As a closing activity for their day of TfT training, staff were invited to add to the canvas—either a word from their own deep hope or a word that represented their inspiration and learning from the day together. This Deep Hope canvas hangs in Jay's office as a visual reminder of the Deep Hope present at SFC.

Welcoming new schools to the TfT network

We are extremely excited that the following schools have joined our Teaching for Transformation network this year.
Big Valley Christian—Modesto, Californi
Borculo Christian School—Zeeland, Michigan
Central Minnesota Christian—Prinsburg,Minnesota
Coastal Christian School—Wilmington, North Carolina
Delaware County Christian—Newton Square, Pennsylvania
Fort Worth Christian—Fort Worth, Texas
Heritage Christian School—North Liberty, Iowa
King’s Academy—Nashville, Tennessee
Living Stones Academy—Grand Rapids, Michigan
Logan Hope—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Meadowlark Christian—Edmonton, Alberta
Whitinsville Christian—Whitinsville, Maryland
Welcome! We are glad you are here! We are excited to learn with you and from you as we journey together in our Deep Hopes.

Teaching for Transformation website: More resources

We continue to add new resources and stories to the Teaching for Transformation website. At this point, we want to highlight 40 new FLEx stories. We appreciate the time it took for these teachers to prepare their story for sharing—thank you.
If you do not have the password for the online resource section, be sure to connect with your school TfT lead so you can access every section of the website.

Save the Date! TfT Instructional Coaching Intensive Is Back!

We are grateful and excited that we are returning to an in-person Instructional Coaching Intensive on Nov. 18 and 19 at Grace Community School in Tyler, Texas. Imagine how you can either begin or continue to nurture the practice of instructional coaching within your school. We are offering both Level 100 training (for those new to Instructional Coaching) and Level 200 training.

We are also hosting a pre-intensive day on Nov. 17 when we will introduce and provide training on a new TfT lesson design tool. This tool is tailored for the day-to-day learning that happens amongst the core TfT practices. A block of hotel rooms have been set aside for all three days, and registration will remain open until October 1 via this link.

These days will be a wonderful time of forming relationships and deepening learning within the TfT Network. Join us if you can! 
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