Category Archives: Noah’s Ark

60th Anniversary, Cedar Chips, Consistory, News, Noah's Ark

Building Refresh Campaign

Coming this Fall

This fall we will celebrate 60 years as a congregation bound together in faith and outreach. Also, we’ll celebrate our 14th year in our current facility. In these years, we’ve served numerous families through Cross Training, Sunday worship, and Children and Youth Ministries.

We’ve hosted countless church and community events as well as funerals and weddings. We watched hundreds of preschoolers learn about their colors, numbers, and that God loves them through the ministry of Noah’s Ark. We launched a food pantry that meets food needs for our neighborhood and housed recover workers and displaced residents during disasters. Our space has been even more successful in reaching our community than we might have imagined.

With all the success, comes wear and tear. After 13 years of service, it’s time to refresh several components of our building, both physical and mechanical. Also, we want to continue to reduce our building debt.

Volunteers are looking at items that need fixing, replacing and updating, including heating and cooling units, the roof, the sanctuary sound and video system, carpet and more. All of these items are at or will be reaching the end of their useful life now or in the coming years. The campaign, and donations made in response, will allow us to make these important repairs and upgrades when they are needed. This fall will kick-off the
campaign to refresh the facility and further reduce our debt. Prayerfully consider what role you could play in the campaign and what God might put on your heart to give to support this effort.

News, Noah's Ark

July 23 Blood Drive – Support Noah’s Ark

Did you know a donation of blood at our mobile blood drives support the ministry of Noah’s Ark Preschool? When we hit our quota of donations, the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center gives Noah’s Ark a donation to go towards classroom supplies, which offsets the cost of tuition for our little ones!

Schedule an appointment now to donate. July 23, 3:30-6:30.  The blood drive takes place in the Gathering Space (lobby area) of the church.

All presenting donors will receive a voucher for a $10 Gift Card to Amazon.com, Casey’s General Store, Dairy Queen, or Domino’s!

And thank you to the three people who signed up even before we started the promo! You are ROCK STARS!

SCHEDULE NOW

Cedar Chips, Family and Children Ministry, News, Noah's Ark

50th Anniversary Year

Noah’s Ark Preschool

“The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad!” ~ Psalm 126:3

We are celebrating our 50th Anniversary this school year. It is amazing! This is a celebration of love between us and our community. Our community has trusted us with their precious children and made a partnership with us to protect, guide, and love their children with God’s love and patience. Spread the Good News!

We’ve enjoyed having 18 students during our June Summer School session. We’ve talked about everything from unicorns and super heros to having a Luau and Western Day.

We are expecting a nice-sized class for our July session also that begins on July 9. We do have a couple of spots open, so call today to take advantage of this great programs.

Kris Crowther
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

Cedar Chips, Noah's Ark

Noah’s Ark June 2019 Update

“We love each other because He loved us first.” ~ 1 John 4:19

This verse had been on my heart quite a bit since I have accepted this new position. I see this verse in every aspect as I discover how awesome our school is. Our staff is a living testament of this scripture. Because we are loved, we are able to instill a great love to our students. Our students see this love and crave it from us. The school has been blessed for the last 16 years under Leslie Clauson’s love. We truly thank her for her service in this ministry. We will miss her desperately.

We have concluded our 49th year of school with 47 wonderful students. We have parents who are raising their children in His love. The end of the year is bittersweet. We’ve seen our students grow and accomplish so much! We will miss those students who will be attending other schools next year. A piece of our heart goes with them. We rejoice to know that many students will rejoin us again next year!

Summer School plans are in full swing. We offer two 3-week sessions in June and July. If your student isn’t signed up, we still have a few spots left. Contact us by email or call 319-396-3125 for more information.

We ask for prayers for our upcoming 50th Year of Preschool at Noah’s Ark.

Kris Crowther
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

Cedar Chips, Family and Children Ministry, News, Noah's Ark

Noah’s Ark – May 2019

Noah’s Ark Preschool

What a wonderful year we have had at preschool!

Thank you to all the great families who trust us with their precious little ones. We really love these children and have grown very attached to them. Saying good bye is always hard, but they are ready to fly beyond the Noah’s Ark nest. We are very honored to be able to serve the community now for 50 years!

I have truly enjoyed my time at Noah’s Ark and I am excited to see what God has planned for me! My last day will be May 24. I want to thank God, my family, this church, the staff, and the preschool families for their support throughout my leadership God has given me the strength to do things that I thought I couldn’t do. I will always cherish my time serving my church and my community.

Please continue to pray for the Noah’s Ark ministry and welcome Kris Crowther as the new Director. Enrollment is ongoing for our 2019-2020 school year. Please contact us by email: office@noahsarkcr.org or call 319-396-3125.

Leslie
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

Family and Children Ministry, News, Noah's Ark

New Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

The Noah’s Ark Board is pleased to announce the hiring of Kris Crowther as the Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool. Kris has worked with Noah’s Ark since 2013 and has a wonderful rapport with the children, families, and staff at Noah’s Ark. Prior to working at Noah’s Ark, Kris was Director of Children’s Ministries at Cedar Hills Community Church. In the children’s ministries role, Kris used her extensive teaching background to work with volunteers to grow the ministries of Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS).

Kris will complete the school year as the Lead 3-year old Teacher and Lunch Bunch Coordinator while training as the incoming director. In June, Kris will take on the full responsibilities as Noah’s Ark Preschool Director while leading the summer program.

Kris shared with the hiring committee her desire to see a stronger partnership with the ministries of the church and more Noah’s Ark families involved in those ministries. Kris brings to this position her ideas for encouraging more families to choose a faith-based preschool for their child and supporting the families that choose Noah’s Ark Preschool for their children. Kris said: “I believe strongly in the benefits that a Christian Preschool can offer students and families. Noah’s Ark Preschool promotes social, emotional, language, cognitive and increased motor skills by using play, toys, games, art and music.”

As Noah’s Ark Preschool enters its 50th year this fall, we are fortunate to have Kris to provide continuity and growth to the ministry of Noah’s Ark.

Allison Johnson

Cedar Chips, News, Noah's Ark

Noah’s Ark – April 2019 Update

Telling a preschooler the real Easter story is a delicate matter. No bunnies or colorful eggs, just felt pieces to show the story. We tell the whole story, scary parts and all. We begin by saying, this is the most important story ever and it’s a real story.

We discuss, all the time, if a story we read is real or make believe. Most of them can tell you the real story about a little baby born in Bethlehem, but now that boy is a grown man, already a hard concept to imagine for a young mind. Then, we talk about how some people hated Jesus. What?! They thought he was a good guy. Yes, he is a very good guy, but mean people wanted to hurt him. They ask, “Why?” Well, Jesus told everyone that he was the Son of God and he performed miracles, but some people were threatened by his power and wanted to kill him. “What? Like really kill him?” they ask. Yes, they beat him badly and nailed his hands and feet to a cross. He hung there until he died.

Their eyes are as big as saucers and the room is very quiet.

Then, Jesus’ friends wrapped his body and put him in a tomb with a huge rock in front so no one would
bother him. His friends were very sad; they went to the tomb three days later, but the stone had been
rolled away! This is the good part! An angel appeared and told them that Jesus was risen and he was not in the tomb.

What?! Now their heads are spinning trying to think how that happened.

We tell them that God raised Jesus from the dead; he was seen by many people; and then he went to heaven and now sits with God. We finish the story telling them that Jesus was sent by God to die for all our sins, every one of us.

“Wait, what?! We are part of this story?!” Yes, we are all sinners and Jesus died for us. Young minds blown!

John 3:16-“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave His one and only son, so that  everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.”

Leslie Clauson
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

Cedar Chips, Consistory, News, Noah's Ark

Consistory News – March 2019

 

We started our meeting sharing in the grief of losing our friend and teammate, Paul. We prayed together.

Our agenda included:

Approved moving forward to seek candidates to fill the Congregational and Staff Coordinator position. The focus of this position is development of missional community and communication of our mission and vision. We pray that this position will accelerate missional community growth by supporting our strategic focus on disciple-making. Two key goals:

1. Get congregation members heading toward small groups.
2. Having a leader ready to lead each small group.

We reviewed building needs and agreed to move forward on developing a campaign to fund needed improvements that range from updated Audio system to flooring replacement to a new roof to potential HVAC repair to new sidewalks as required by the city. We approve forming a planning team.

We approved hosting the Global Leadership Summit in August. A team of leaders has already been established to offer this event as a way to transform the corridor by helping leaders in our community. Everybody wins
when leaders get better.

We discussed the transition at Noah’s Ark. Leslie will retire at the end of this school year and a team has been formed to find a replacement director to lead Noah’s Ark into the future as a viable ministry to our  community.

Cedar Chips, Family and Children Ministry, News, Noah's Ark

Noah’s Ark – March Update

March 2019 Update

I’ve had a feeling lately… You know, that feeling when the same things look different to you? I feel a change a comin’! I’ve prayed a lot about this and have decided I need to change my focus and say goodbye to Noah’s Ark.

I started in 2003 as a sub, and the next year became an assistant in the classroom. In the spring, I was hired as the Director. I never would have
guessed this path for myself, but what a blessing this journey has been! God has a funny way of leading you where you need to be. The best part has
been the connections. I’m talking about LOVE connections! I have loved so many kiddos, so many families, and of course my teachers and church
staff. What a gift I have been given to lead this ministry! I know God is working on someone who might not even know Noah’s Ark will be in their future.

February was full of fun activities! Everyone learned about what happens to your letter after you put it in the mailbox. We all enjoyed giving and receiving valentines!

Our testing is complete and evaluations sent for our 4– and 5-year-olds. The 3-year-old classes had fun learning about snowmen, dinosaurs, and creation. Second report cards for our younger classes will be sent out before Spring Break.

2019-2020 registration: If you know someone who would like information, have them contact us at 396-3125 or office@noahsarkcr.org. Classes meet: 9-11:30 AM.

Spring Break will be March 18-22.

Mark your calendars for March 11 to donate blood! Mississippi Valley Blood Center will come here and set up in the Gathering Space. Your time from check-in to check-out is less than an hour. Please sign up to donate; our area is in desperate need. Contact me to sign up!

In Christ,
Leslie Clauson
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool

Cedar Chips, Family and Children Ministry, Noah's Ark

Noah’s Ark – Feb. 2019

In January we began testing our 4-year-old classes. Testing is presented in a game format and is done on a one-on-one basis with the teacher. Most children really enjoy the time with their teacher. Once testing is over, the teachers will send out a final progress report. Then each family will decide if Alternative Kindergarten or Kindergarten is best for their child.Our 3-year-old classes focused on spatial concepts,
shapes, daytime/nighttime, and pockets. The younger classes have come a long way since September!

Noah’s Ark will have another blood drive for the Mississippi Valley at church March 11. Please donate if you can.

Registration for our 2019-2020 school year is underway. If you know someone interested, please have
them contact us by email,  396-3125, or visit www.noahsarkcr.org. Any Cedar Hills active
member whose child attends Noah’s Ark Preschool will receive 10% off tuition. We feel as a member
you already support Cedar Hills financially. Noah’s Ark, as a ministry of this church, wants to support
your child’s Christian education.

If your child is attending AK or Kindergarten in the fall, you should receive a letter from your child’s school soon. If you have not been contacted, call the school your child will be attending.

We are amazed with the amount of growth in the children already and feel privileged to be a part of
their lives.

In Christ,
Leslie Clausen
Director of Noah’s Ark Preschool