Led by Mrs. Nethercott, CDA students will take the chapel stage at 7:00 on December 13 to take part in the annual Christmas Concert. With a new leader this year’s program may feel a little different. “I like using different types of music,” says Mrs. Nethercott. There is a piece by Bach, but another from Africa. Students will sing in English, German, Latin, and Zulu, as well as reciting. One song, John Rutter’s “What Sweeter Music” will even see the staff joining the students. At CDA teachers claim that the fine arts are important life skills, and this is their chance to prove it!

And then there’s the Hallelujah Chorus. It is a difficult song but our students have been working hard on getting it right. All who know the piece are invited to participate on the 13th in raising a holy sound of worship with  Handel’s greatest invention. Brush off your vocal chords and plan to join in!

Every day at Coram Deo Academy our name reminds us of that fact – we live our lives before the face of God. Every cute little first grader learning to chant, every high schooler longing to get out and change the world, every parent and every staff member, is in the presence of the King.

The excellence we strive for testifies that we honor and love Him. Offerings of addition and subtraction? Of Aristotle and Beowulf? Of laughter and composure? Of sitting still and running fast? Of grace given and received? They are all for our Lord. Of course, we will each sometimes fall short of perfection but in this band of brothers (and sisters) we pick each other up, dust each other off, and keep going. And why not? We are bound for the beautiful city. Shouldn’t we live beautifully along the way?

As we begin this year’s journey together, I am proud to be part of a great school, humbled by the honor given, and mindful of what has been entrusted. There is a great adventure before us. Shall we begin?

- David Hardesty

Coram Deo has a history of inviting leading Christian scholars to its Banquet, having heard from Hillsdale College, Southern Seminary, and Taylor University in past years. Dr. Graham Walker fits well into that tradition. He says that Students at Patrick Henry are taught to see the world “as much as possible, the way God sees it—which is the way it really is…They are not afraid of facts, because ultimately the facts are always on God’s side.” David Hardesty, Headmaster of Coram Deo Academy, responds, “That is exactly why we asked Dr. Walker to speak at our Banquet. His heart and mind resonate with ours. We read the same books, interact with the same thinkers, for the same great purpose: transforming the world through transformed lives.”

Noted as a speaker and academic, Dr. Walker earned a Ph.D.in political philosophy from Notre Dame University. Before moving to Patrick Henry, he was on staff at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Catholic University of America, and served as Dean of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. He was appointed  president of Patrick Henry College in 2006.

The Banquet and Silent Auction will happen Saturday, March 24, 2012, at the Carmel Renaissance Hotel. Tables of 10 can be purchased for $100 through the school office.

As a child I heard about a young man who treated a senior
citizen well, caring for him, helping with the yard work,
sitting talking on the porch. When the old man died, he left
the youngster a fortune because he’d been so kind. I aspired
to be noble like that young man… and only partly because I
wanted to gain a big inheritance!

Aristotle defined “the good” as “that which should be
desired for its own sake, whether or not anything else is
attached to it.” Things like honesty and faithfulness fit that
description, don’t they? Or kindness – it is Good to help the
little old lady cross the street, whether or not she invites you
in for hot chocolate afterward (or puts you in her will).

If you were not one of those blessed enough to go on the
Veterans Day field trip last week, you missed something
special. How many headmasters can say “I took my whole
school on a field trip, and didn’t have one discipline
problem?” But more than that, it was genuinely Good –
desirable without any other benefit – to honor those who
have served faithfully and sacrificed for the great,
experiment that is America. Lincoln called us, “a nation
conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal.” Those willing to lay down their
lives for such a notion are worthy of honor.

Like giving honor, being thankful is an undiluted Good. As
we approach Thanksgiving, we bring to mind that God has
blessed us in ways beyond counting. Our loving families,
free country, dedicated teachers, warm houses, physical and
emotional health – we are grateful to God for all these
things. Most of all, we who were enemies of God are
grateful for our Savior, the Reconciler. At Tuesday’s
Thanksgiving Feast, dressed as Bradford’s Pilgrims or
Squanto’s Indians, Coram Deo Academy will celebrate
God’s goodness as a community. But why wait? Let’s
energetically enjoy the Good right now and all through our
holy, thankful days.

Blessings,

D Hardesty

The numbers we see are the result of good methodology, plus years of dedication and purposeful living, of putting the important over the frivolous, of valuing the important more than the merely fun. Our students worked hard for thirteen years, not only at Coram Deo but in their previous schools as well, and truly earned these scores. Though I only recently met these young people I’m proud of them and glad to say, “Well done!”

I can say the same to you, the parents and staff of Coram Deo Academy (both past and present). For all their knowledge and skill this wouldn’t have been possible without your guidance. They had to carry it off, but not until you had carried them on your shoulders. This achievement had nothing to do with me (obviously!) but that leaves me free to boast about you. Good job! And thanks for your continued support as we continue providing a great classical and Christian education to the students of our area.