INTERMOUNTAIN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL BLOG
The Lasting Value of Youth Group Involvement
For many middle- and high school-aged Christians, a key part of their early faith development happens at Church, but not only on Sundays … at Youth Group.
What happens every day in the halls of ICS is wonderful, and we don’t need to understate the opportunities for discipleship at ICS to also highlight the unique role a Youth Group can play in a young Christian’s spiritual and social growth.
3 Reasons to Get Involved in a Youth Group
Intermountain Christian School (ICS) is a Christ-centered learning community composed of Christians from a variety of denominations. Though we’re a community of Christians, ICS does not aim to replace church involvement.
For many middle- and high school-aged Christians, a key part of their early faith development happens at Church, but not only on Sundays … at Youth Group.
What happens every day in the halls of ICS is wonderful, and we don’t need to understate the opportunities for discipleship at ICS to also highlight the unique role a Youth Group can play in a young Christian’s spiritual and social growth.
We asked the Youth Minister at Risen Life Church for his perspective on the lasting benefits of youth ministry involvement, and this is what he shared:
The most important thing for Christians to be involved in is the local church. Today, it is common for some to neglect the church or feel that it’s not needed or useful, especially if it isn't serving us the way we want it to. The Bible says quite the opposite (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:23-25).
This is true for both adults and kids alike. As a middle school minister in Salt Lake, I am honored to care for the youth in this valley. The goal is simple: share Jesus with the kids through intentional discipleship, friendship, and the Word. Our team of adult volunteers, with varying backgrounds and ages, works hard to provide a space where kids hear the Word of God clearly, build relationships, feel safe expressing themselves, share their struggles, ask tough questions, and be discipled. It is my genuine belief that youth group is the most important thing for teens to be involved in over anything else. Here are three reasons why:
Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). Part of being a teenager is struggling with identity. It’s asking the question “who am I and where do I belong?” Prioritizing youth group means you are putting them in a space where Jesus is being preached at their level. It’s a place where they can process life through a biblical lens with Christian friends and adult leaders and hear the Bible being explained in ways that make sense to them. Students will even have conflicts within the youth group, and then learn how to resolve them.
It’s their space. It is the parents’ job to raise their kids in the faith, but part of growing up is deciding whether or not you want to follow in the footsteps of your parents. Youth group gives kids the opportunity to work through their faith away from their parents, with the guidance and wisdom of other trusted adults. At this age, kids begin to be more influenced by non-family members. Put them around good influences. Balancing sports, jobs, and academic load is a reality for high school students, but active involvement and belonging to a church body have lifelong effects and lasting fruits.
It’s fun! Youth group is focused on sharing Jesus, and part of that is having fun with each other! Some of the best memories from my childhood are from youth group. Whether it’s mission trips, camp, activity nights, or just Wednesday night games, youth group consistently creates lifelong memories that kids will cherish and associate with Jesus!
It’s my hope that parents will prioritize youth group and work with their churches so we can serve our kids and raise up the next generation of Christians well.
Want to Learn More About Intermountain Christian School?
The best way to get to know ICS is to experience our community firsthand. Schedule a campus tour to meet our teachers, see students in action, and learn how a Christ-centered education can help your child thrive. We would love to welcome you to campus and help you explore whether Intermountain Christian School is the right fit for your family.
Expanding Opportunities
“We are not computers so how can we teach students to do things that computers can’t do?
The answer?
We need to teach students how to think, how to engage, how to take concepts further, how to do research, and how to use more of their brain.
A traditional approach to teaching has the tendency to limit our reach on the students who may not fall in line with the middle-of-the-road expectations. And that is why Katy McCombs is so passionate about Gifted and Talented Education; because of the reach for all the students, below, at, and above the average learning level.
Katy McCombs has been with ICS for two years and will receive her Master’s in Gifted and Talented Education in December of 2019. Her presence at ICS and in the classroom with our students is of immense benefit in that, as the students grow, they will reap tremendous reward to impact the world around them. In the 2019-2020 school year, ICS will be implementing a pilot program utilizing the gifted and talented approach to teaching. This program will expand opportunities for children, benefiting every student, even the ones that in the traditional classroom would be identified as “falling behind.” The benefits are clear and we look forward to the impact this approach to learning will have on our students.
Here are 5 WAYS THAT THE GIFTED AND TALENTED APPROACH BENEFITS STUDENTS:
1. DIFFERENTIATION - Gifted and talented education emphasizes variety - teaching which takes into account student’s abilities and interests. Using differentiation is taking a broader approach to learning. Differentiating between content, processes, the learning environment, and product creation brings different opportunities and perspectives to students.
2. INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING - Gifted education means teachers meet students where they are and then push them to learn more. Making a path for the learner to follow means that the teacher has an idea of where the students can go if properly led. Gifted and talented students can be motivated by making a new learning discovery that is further than where they might naturally go on their own.
3. ADAPTABLE, BUT STRUCTURED
The gifted and talented learning journey is intended to take students deeper into more complex thinking. Walking up the path of Bloom’s Taxonomy and reaching across the Levels in Webb’s Depth of Knowledge is how deeper, more complex learning takes place. When combining these methods, it has the added benefit of preparing students for the kind of questions asked in standardized testing. Yet at the same time, students and teachers must remain flexible in their studies. If teachers have the knowledge to adapt their lessons to optimize student engagement, it ensures all the students have a better learning experience. Adaptable teaching reaches more students.
4. PROJECT-BASED AND PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING
This is where students learn how to think through a situation and reach a solution. These group projects promote teamwork, reward “out of the box” thinking, and help students to connect what might seem like disparate ideas. Problem and project-based learning lends itself to working through real-world scenarios that have real-life opportunities connected to them. This is a great place to be innovative!
5. GOING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM - Students need to be introduced to enriching outside resources. We want to think past the end of the school day, school year, and school career of a student and look forward to what’s ahead. Gifted students have big potential for having highly-influential roles careers, and they need to be introduced to possibilities in the world and challenged by witnessing excellence around them. The world needs our gifted students to reach their full potential to be Christ-like and wise influencers.
We want all of our students to shine and thrive! There’s no shame in being smart or being good at something and we want our students to be engaged, not bored. We also need to be vigilant to the responsibility of God-given talents, because like the age-old saying goes, “If they don’t use it, they lose it.” Mrs. McCombs and ICS are strong advocates of every student and we look forward to how the Gifted and Talented Education pilot program coming up in 2019-2020 will better serve our student body. We are proud to have such a forward-thinking faculty member as a part of our ICS family and we look forward to all that the ICS students will reap from what has already been and will continue to be sown into their lives.
Click on the links below to read through the fantastic resources on Gifted and Talented Education:
http://nagc.org/resources-publications/gifted-education-practices
Hopes for a 1A state title for Intermountain Christian hinge upon two sharpshooting juniors, and the role players who benefit
Stoddard is part of an offensive one-two punch at the 1A Intermountain Christian, which has a 7-3 overall record going into Tuesday’s matchup against Wendover, the top 1A school in the state. Stoddard and fellow junior Caleb Koski — a first-year transfer from Roy High School — each average 4.7 made 3-pointers per game, which is tied for first in the state and 12th in the country.
By Alex Vejar of the Salt Lake Tribune
· Published: January 5
Updated: January 06, 2019
Cottonwood Heights • Earlier in the season, Brayden Stoddard had the night of his life.
It was early December during a slate of preseason basketball at Intermountain Christian High School, and the Lions were playing Draper APA. Stoddard, a junior guard with a streaky shooting stroke, found himself in an unusual situation after making his first three attempts from the 3-point line.
For a player who admits he usually gets off to slow starts, Stoddard, even in the moment, was a bit surprised.
“This never happens,” Stoddard thought.
His evening continued much like it started, and Stoddard ended up scoring 41 points and making 12 3-pointers in 28 attempts, a 43 percent clip that would make even some NBA players jealous. His 12 triples tied a state record, and his 28 tries broke another one. That same day, Stoddard also lit up the junior varsity game, scoring 53 points.
Stoddard is part of an offensive one-two punch at the 1A Intermountain Christian, which has a 7-3 overall record going into Tuesday’s matchup against Wendover, the top 1A school in the state. Stoddard and fellow junior Caleb Koski — a first-year transfer from Roy High School — each average 4.7 made 3-pointers per game, which is tied for first in the state and 12th in the country.
Stoddard — sitting in the team’s weight room while decked out in an all-black ensemble of a tank, shorts, tights, Nikes and a hairband — said he and Koski frequently check the statistics to see which player is ranked where. But the relationship between them has been more symbiotic than competitive.
“We want to make our team win no matter what,” Stoddard said. “And if that means that I have give him the ball every single time and he has 50 points, or if I have 41 points, then as long as we win it doesn’t matter.”
Case in point: Stoddard’s December wonder emporium of 3s. The Draper APA defense schemed to double-team Koski the entire game, leaving Stoddard wide open. And he kept making them pay.
Stoddard would have broken the state record that night had it not been for a pair of traveling violations called against the Lions that came directly before a made 3.
“He was mad about that,” said Koski, who is the team’s leading scorer averaging nearly 31 points per game.
Intermountain Christian’s offense is designed to get Stoddard and Koski the ball as often as possible, head coach Tim Drisdom said. Essentially, they have the green light. There is no shot they are not allowed to take when they want to take it.
But that kind of freedom comes with caveats.
“I rely on those guys a lot,” Drisdom said. “With that freedom comes a lot of responsibility.”