UPDATE – AS OF 4/20/10, we started by passing out $1160; ended with $5842! Kingdom Assignment 2010 runs February 1 – 28, 2010! It has been five years since we first started the February Kingdom Assignment journey. Last June, we were blessed to be one of several ministries highlighted in Anaheim at the Well Done Awards, The ceremony was hosted by the pastor and his wife who started the first Kingdom Assignment at the church in California and wrote a book – The Kingdom Assignment by Denny and Leesa Bellesi.

Our six year total is NOW $50,756!

LETTER TO PARENTS: On February 1st, we will be handing out five dollars to every student, including PK! (Some thought they were too young, but many of them have done very well.) Wait a minute, a private school giving away money? Well, there is a little more to this opportunity. 

Parents – I need you to do a little homework:

1. Read the “Parable of the Talents” in Mathew 25:14-30.

2. If you think giving $5 away is strange, take a look at a Pastor who gave 100 members of his church $100 each at www.kingdomassignment.com

3. When you take a look at that – take a look at what happened in the lives of those who were changed by Christ!

Let me stress to every family, as we do each year, if you choose not to participate all you need to do is return the five dollars – no questions asked! If you choose to accept this mission, you will help us continue the legacy of helping students attend FMCS. In Once you do your homework, you’ll understand the “investment” that we will be making in our school! During this past week, I spoke to our students in chapel to explain to them what we are doing:

Our rules: 
A) Realize that the money is God’s and not theirs; Pray to find a way to multiply your “talent” ($5.00); and time frame: They have the month of February and then they will have to return their “talent(s)” on March 1^st .

B) Students will be raising money to help us with our financial aid fund. Each year, we supplement the financial aid account in our budget. I would like to see our students begin to help others – great concept! As a result of this assignment, our students will be learning to help others and take pride in the school that they have been blessed to be a part of each year. They may also begin to see what God can do through them if they are obedient to His call.

How can my child “multiply their talent”? If you look through the binder in the middle school office or if you go to our website, you’ll see the great ideas that families used last year for their Kingdom Assignment. February is a great time to raise money at Super Bowl events, Valentines Day, and The Edison Parade.  You can begin by telling those outside of our school, “Hey, our Principal sent money home with my child today!” You will be surprised how many people want to know what is going on and how they can help! (Students MAY NOT sell items or raise money during school hours on campus) 

Start first by praying with your children – then let’s see what God will do! All of our financial aid families say “THANK YOU!”

In His Service,

Mel Mitchell, Principal

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2010
- Used the $5 to buy window cleaner, washed car windows at a tennis match – made $32
- Brothers had a “swim-a-thon – 5 miles swimming total and made $500
- “This expereince was wonderful and I’m now calling to have my Pastor involve our church in this wonderful journey” – parent comment
- Used the $5 to pay for Ebay listing, sold items on that site and Craig’s List – made $100 (”and enjoy less clutter in our house”)
- Ran the Edison 5K – made $37.50 (from pledges and a garage sale as well); other students sold drinks at the parade and made $32
- Washed white mailboxes in our neighborhood – sisters made $15 each
- Did chores, bake sales, sold goodie bags, garage sale, made Valentine cookies; sold candles, laundry soap, candy bars, muffins, Christain t-shirts, mow lawns, pizza, hot chocolate, and more!

Back in October, Parent University held a silent auction at the Annual Fund Banquet. The proceeds from that event ($15,065) were designated to help us replace OLD teacher computers and student computers in the classroom. We were thankful about six years ago to receive used computers from Edison College when we opened the Children’s Center – but those computers were well past their prime and took on all the updates we could lay on them.

We appreciate the help of our campus IT staff – John Davis and Wendy Davis (not related) – the computers have been installed in the classrooms! The classrooms have Dell computers with Windows 7, high speed, proper licensing,  and new monitors! On top of that, we were also able to add all new monitors to our elementary lab computers. We were thankfu

So all in all, we have installed: 20 new hard drives, 20 new monitors for the classrooms, 24 new Acer 18.5 inch, flat sceen monitors for the elementary computer lab  

THANK YOU! – Better yet, here are some of the comments of thanks from our teachers:

●  Thank you so much for the new computer, it is such a blessing! May God richly bless you for your generosity! – Miss Schreiber

● Thank you so much for your participation in the FMCS Banquet last fall.  I just received my new computer & it is fantastic!  The flat screen is wonderful & everything works smoothly.  Your support daily in all that we do is so appreciated but the support that you gave through your financial blessings at the banquet has been put to good use. Thank you so much! Mrs. Richards, 2^nd grade class

● I’m enjoying  the new computer in my classroom.  It runs faster, the screen is bigger, and it also looks nice in the room.  I so greatly appreciate it. What a blessing! - Thanks, Judy Sanders

●  I want to thank everyone who made a contribution at the school auction.  I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it is to have such a fantastic computer.  It might seem like something so simple, but it really does change the way I work as a teacher.  It is much faster which means that I can spend less time waiting.  The screen is amazing and I have been able to use it to show different things to the students.  It is so big and the picture is so clear that my kids can see things perfectly.  I know that money is tight, but I really appreciate those who gave money towards this.  It is a huge blessing! – Miss McLaughlin

● I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those that participated in the FMCS auction, both by donating items and by bidding on items. I was one of the teachers that were fortunate enough to receive a new computer. My old computer literally took 20 minutes to “warm up” every morning. I now have a computer that doesn’t need a “warm up” time and is efficient! I am also the yearbook editor and we utilize an online design program. There were multiple times that my old computer would shut down in the middle of designing a page and I would have to call the yearbook company and have them save the page layout that I was working on since my computer had shut down. The new computer has enabled me to complete page layouts at a much faster pace and I don’t have to worry about my computer shutting down in the middle of working! I feel so blessed to have been given this new computer. I know it was purchased by all of you that made a donation, no matter how big or small! Thank you for believing in FMCS enough to invest in us! I can execute my job with more accuracy and in a timelier manner because of this wonderful gift! It’s perfect, I now have more time to spend with those precious little darlings I teach and less time waiting on my computer to “warm up”. Thank you! –  Stacey Leatherman, Middle School Science Teacher

● Thank you so much for your support of our school, and specifically our Annual Auction in October.  I have been the recipient of one of the results of the Auction.  My room was fitted with a new computer, and it’s a blessing.  Already I have noticed the increased speed of programs coming up on the computer as well as getting on the Internet.  The software package also included Windows 7.  That will take some adjusting, but it will also make tasks easier to perform. So I appreciate your generosity.  Each day, right in front of me, there will be a reminder of how much you sacrificed for the sake of our school.  God bless you for it.  In Christ, Jonathan Blikstad, FMCS Middle School Math Instructor

● Thank you for the wonderful new computer in our classroom!  With technology being such a vital part of today’s education, it is a wonderful blessing to have good access in my classroom!  We plan to take some virtual field trips and use the internet more to practice our research skills!  The 5^th grade thanks you for your generosity! Blessings, Robin Couch and  class (5th grade)

Elementary Computer lab with new monitors!

 FMCS Parent University Dad’s Committee Rocket Lauch, Saturday April 17th, 2010. Many thanks to Mr. Harriot, Mr. Simonson, all the parents and kids (including future NASA engineer, 6th grader, Tyler Williams – great day for a rocket launch!

 Click here to watch the video: FMCS Parent University Dad\’s Committee Rocket Launch