Several administrators had the privilege of addressing the Southside Christian High School student body during an assembly at 9:40-10:20 a.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2023. This was one of the final times that I was personally able to address all of the high school students before I retire, effective 31 May 2023. If you would like to read my notes from this assembly, please read on. . . .
High School Assembly
Southside Christian School
Thursday, January 12, 2023
9:40-10:20 a.m.
Fine Arts Center
Dr. Bob Stouffer, High School Principal:
Good morning!
Welcome back!
I trust you enjoyed an excellent Christmas, celebration of the New Year, and JTerm experience.
I pray you have gotten off to an excellent start to this new semester.
Now is a time to look back and celebrate some recent accomplishments of our students — AND to look forward into the future for positive achievements yet to come.
We are blessed that a Southside Christian student has been selected as a member of The Congress of Future Medical Leaders.
- The event is scheduled for June 21-23, 2023. . .
- At the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. . .
- This SCS student has a desire to become a physician or to go into a medical research field.
- This student will have the benefit of listening to lectures by Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science recipients — and
- Testimonies of patients “who are living medical miracles.”
- Congratulations, Spires McCameron,‘25!!
Let’s recognize the Southside Christian winner of the Good Citizen Essay Contest.
- Finalists in this contest responded to the essay question, “How will the essential actions of a good citizen meet the challenges that America faces in this decade?”
- The contest organizer commented, “I am very encouraged to see that high school students are still being taught superior writing skills!”
- KUDOS to our excellent writing teachers at Southside Christian!
- A state winner will be announced in late-February/March.
- Congratulations to the SCS Good Citizen Essay Contest Winner:
- Preston Ballentine, ‘23!
And our final student recognition goes to the 2023 South Carolina History Bowl State Champion:
- He was a single member of the History Bowl Junior Varsity “team.”
- He finished 4-1 in the opening rounds on Saturday, January 7, 2023.
- He won the final competition and was crowned JV State Champion.
- He also finished in second place in the South Carolina History Bee.
- He qualified in both events to represent South Carolina in Washington, D.C. for the national competition.
- He is. . .
- Josh Douglas, ‘25
I would also like to publicly thank the SCS Elementary School students who blessed the students of Freedom International, our sister school in the Dominican Republic. Here, you are seeing the joy of those students receiving personalized Christmas cards. Please continue to keep the opportunity of visiting Freedom School as an option for the future, because, after having visited myself, I can testify that your life will be changed as a result.
The next trip is fast-approaching as a JTerm trip on June 3-10, 2023. You are able to raise support for this mission trip. And, if you attend in June of 2023, you will have an extra week of Christmas vacation in January, 2024.
Now, Mrs. Carla Evans, Mr. Bob Jones, and Pastor Nathan Forrest would like to give some quick reminders to you at the beginning of this new semester.
Mrs. Evans:
- Please drive carefully in the parking lots.
- If you have problems with someone parking in your space, please see Mrs. Theodore or me.
- We regret to inform you that, starting yesterday, and only for second semester of this year, no more parking spaces are available for students who get their licenses and are seeking parking spaces for second semester.
Mr. Jones:
Remember, excessive tardiness during second semester can adversely affect your ability to exempt from second semester final examinations.
Young ladies, please follow dress code for extracurricular activities. Shorts should cover a majority of the thigh, and, if you wear leggings, a cover-up must also cover a majority of the thigh.
Young men, your shorts need to be within 2 inches of the top of your knee. You have grace this week, but I will start documenting violations on Monday.
Pastor Nathan:
We recognize the courage and leadership of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16, 2023. May be ever mindful that he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life for the cause of justice. Allow me to pray for peace and justice in our communities. [Pastor Nathan prayed.]
Dr. Stouffer:
I believe my personal message to you is very important. Please listen carefully.
Those of us who have spoken to you today definitely do not want to bark at you about rules and consequences.
We sincerely love all of you.
We know that WE are not always so easy to love — first and foremost, me.
We would rather emphasize A POSITIVE VISION for all of us in the high school.
I think of the success of our athletic teams. What has made them successful?
- Great coaching
- Following the coaches’ game plans
- Playing by the rules
- Conditioning
- Hard work in the Strength Training Center
- Disciplined diet and sleep
- Avoiding negative activities away from the sport
- Attention to fundamental skills
- Playing to their strengths
- Working AS A TEAM to overcome weaknesses
- Energy and enthusiasm
- Grit and perseverance
Those are traits and actions which have led to championships!
Those same principles apply to all of your school activities.
You will be successful during second semester and beyond because of. . . .
- Great teaching
- Carefully following the instructions of your teachers
- Meeting deadlines
- Hard work during and outside of class
- Attention to details and core concepts
- Energy and enthusiasm
- Grit and perseverance
Before I address my prayer for you as a student body, let me describe my vision for our teachers, staff, and administrators. All of the employees in our school should rise to high expectations.
Our staff members should be. . .
- Loving ALL students first and foremost, loving their course content, and loving teaching;
- Primarily interested in appropriate relationships with ALL of you, no matter where you are spiritually, emotionally, or academically;
- Patient and long-suffering, even with the most challenging students;
- Willing to speak the truth IN LOVE to students when students are not meeting expectations;
- Growing constantly, reading, and learning ourselves;
- Willing to reward growth of students and to adjust grades based on that growth;
- Organized and purposeful with activities
- Assignments assessed well and posted in a reasonable periods of time;
- GREAT stewards of the time and responsibilities entrusted to us;
- Reasonable in our expectations, given your involvement with a class load of 6, 7, or 8 total classes;
- Understanding your busy lives with homework, family time, church responsibilities, jobs, clubs, and sports;
- Consistent in enforcing consequences for all students, but not necessarily “equal” with consequences, factoring-in mitigating circumstances; one of my doctoral professors famously said, “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.”
That’s a tall order for our staff, and I definitely believe they are up to that vision, consistently meeting those expectations.
Now, students, my prayer for you:
I envision students. . .
- Consistently on time and ready to learn in your classes
- Prioritizing attendance of all 45 minutes in a class period
- Listening actively to and respecting your teachers and classmates
- Genuinely engaged in all teaching and learning activities
- Giving your best efforts and striving to always do better
- Honest with all of your work, not plagiarizing or moving outside the boundaries of teachers’ expectations
- Earning grades which are commensurate with your abilities
- Giving a good return on your parents’ SIGNIFICANT investment
- Following the rules in our handbook, rules which I believe are very reasonable
- Specifically, dressing according to the dress code for the school day, after school activities, and dances
- Attending athletic contests in large numbers and positively cheering FOR our teams, not AGAINST the other team, specific players, or referees
- Respecting all staff members
- Respecting each other with your language, tone, and actions
- Respecting students who prioritize spiritual growth in their lives
- Respecting each other’s property
- Respecting and properly stewarding the school’s property
- Cleaning up after yourselves in classrooms, hallways, the lunch room, and parking lots
- Using technology productively, rather than destructively as a means of exclusion or bullying
- Stowing your cell phones from 8:05 a.m. until 3:20 p.m.
I have offered a positive vision and prayers for you, students and staff.
My biggest expectations are for myself.
I can’t offer all of these prayers for all of you without offering a prayer for God’s expections of me during the last 5 months of my career as an educator.
I get immediately frustrated when someone makes poor choices.
I need to be more patient and understand the root causes for those poor choices.
I am too generational. I am a “Boomer” who is rightly criticized generationally when I judge another generation.
Again, I need to better understand all generations, meeting people where they and capitalizing on the strengths of their generation, rather than focusing on their shortcomings.
I often don’t listen well to others.
I need to be a more active listener on a consistent basis. Any conversation should be more about the other person than about me.
I get too task-oriented sometimes.
I need to increase my people-orientation, especially since I will be leaving ministry I have loved for 43 years.
My wife, daughters, grandchildren, friends, and you sometimes get put on a backburner when I am working.
I need to prioritize family and those closest to me, as I build stronger, deeper, lasting relationships.
In my decades-long career, I have always been blessed to serve in very good schools, and one of my regrets is not innovating when innovation is needed.
Is it possible in my last 5 months at Southside Christian for me to lead at least 1 research-based innovation for the betterment of SCS students, families, and staff members?!
Please help me. Please pray for me. I want to meet these expectations. I want to finish strong.
There is no perfect principal.
There are no perfect teachers or staff members.
There are no perfect students.
There is no perfect high school.
We are all works-in-progress. God is faithful to sanctify us.
We must be a community of people with grace and forgiveness and reconciliation when we fall short.
MORE. . .THAN. . .ANYTHING, I pray fervently that we will see a growing population of students who commit your lives to following Jesus as Lord and Savior of your lives.
- Satan came to Adam and Eve — and continues to come to us with lies that “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).
- Satan is the author of lies.
- Jesus came to be and tell the truth — to give life abundantly to us.
- Jesus said, “I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life. . . .NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER, EXCEPT THROUGH ME (John 14:6).”
- The plan was too remarkable.
- The plan was too unbelievable.
- The plan was too mysterious.
- The plan was set before original Creation, with eternity in-mind.
- In the fullness of time. . .
- Jesus was sent to earth through a union of the Holy Spirit and Mary:
- For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, His beloved Son;
- Jesus lived a sinless life, experiencing all that we experience as human beings;
- Jesus willingly suffered, bore the wrath of His Father, and died on the cross;
- OUR SIN imputed TO JESUS on the cross;
- Jesus died;
- But He conquered death!
- HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS imputed TO US as His followers;
- Jesus ascended to heaven, and He now makes intercession FOR EACH ONE OF US;
- Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell those of us who follow Him;
- When we are yielded to the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in us, filling our hearts and minds with God’s Word, we become more like Jesus.
- Now, THAT is exciting truth!
- Truth with a capital-T!
- That, ladies and gentlemen, is the Gospel, as my pastor says at the end of every single sermon!.
- And the Gospel truly does change everything!
Let’s close by praying together through singing.
O, come let us adore Him; o come let us adore Him; o come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
For He alone is worthy; for He alone is worthy, for He alone is worthy, Christ the Lord!
We give Him all the glory; we give Him all the glory; we give Him all the glory, Christ the Lord!
AMEN!
drbobinc 