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Beverly Campus Relocates to Wenham's Gordon College Campus

June 12, 2024

By Pam Heintz, Christine Saia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BEVERLY AND WENHAM, MA—North Shore Christian School announces the relocation of its Beverly Campus to its new Wenham location on the grounds of Gordon College. This is happening ahead of the academic year 2024–2025. Conveniently located off Route 128’s exit 48, North Shore Christian School is now accepting applications for enrollment for grades Preschool through 8th.

North Shore Christian School (NSCS) and Gordon College have long enjoyed a professional collaboration, culminating in a large number of NSCS’s teaching staff and administrators who are Gordon College graduates. Sharing a mutual mission, NSCS and Gordon College have reaped the benefits of the very best of what both schools have to offer. “The timing could not be more perfect, as we have experienced an increase in enrollment in recent years and a desire to expand our program offerings. I am thrilled to accentuate our strong relations with Gordon in this move to their beautiful campus!” states Pam Heintz, NSCS Head of School.

NSCS was established in 1951 as one of the first premier private Christian schools on Boston’s North Shore. Accredited by the New England Association of School and Colleges (NEASC) and a member of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), North Shore Christian School has remained committed to its legacy of educating children through a Chistian worldview, while ensuring a stellar 21st-century education with graduates among the top in their classes.

With campuses currently located in Lynn and Beverly (Early Childhood—Grade 8), and Hamilton (Early Childhood), NSCS seeks to be a community that provides rigorous Elementary and Secondary education through academic and biblical instruction that reflects its mission of nurturing each student’s unique learning and thinking. The mission of NSCS is supported by its four pillars of distinction: Planted in Excellence, Rooted in Christ, Nurtured to Thrive, and Flourishing to Impact. NSCS is an exceptional environment that seeks to ensure that children in their formative years understand the importance of wholesome values and service, so that extending mercy and making a positive impact become a natural extension of one’s person. Spiritual formation is emphasized through daily Scripture study and weekly Chapel services.

NSCS provides the opportunity each year for several Gordon College Herschend School of Education students to “practice and hone” their teaching skills through internships at one of its three campuses. At the same time, NSCS staff benefits immensely from continued graduate education and professional development opportunities through Gordon College. In fact, NSCS’s Head of School Pam Heintz and Lead Principal Robin Lowe were part of the inaugural Educational Specialist (EdS) program at Gordon and have been able to strengthen programming and leadership at NSCS as a result of the skills and experiences gained while in the program. Dr. Ellen Ballock, Dean and Professor of Education at the Herschend School of Education at Gordon College has expressed that, “Gordon Faculty look forward to deepening our long-standing partnership with North Shore Christian School. The new campus location will provide a unique opportunity for innovation as we pursue our shared commitments to PK-8 student learning, high quality teacher preparation, and Christian education.”

Gordon College remains on the leading edge of research-based reading methods—training reading specialists throughout the country and around the world through the certification program in the Orton-Gillingham method. To this end, NSCS’s Lynn Campus was one of the training sites.

North Shore Christian School is now accepting enrollment for grades Preschool through 8th, on our Wenham Campus, as well as on our Lynn and Hamilton Campuses. Please visit our website at nschristian.org/admissions or contact our Director Admissions, Christine Saia at csaia@nschristian.org, or call Christine directly at 781-469-0706.

Posted in Academics

Tech Wise – Take Your Summer Back!

June 13, 2023

By Pam Heintz

Whether it’s a buzz, beep, chime, or ding one thing is for sure – our minds have been programmed to respond to the subtle attention-grabbing noises (or vibrations) that our smart phones make. We can hardly stop the almost involuntary response that over takes our body as we seemingly unconsciously reach for our device. What exactly are we checking for anyway? For adults, it is most likely one of two things – work or our children.

But, what about our children…what has them so enamored that they can hardly pull themselves away from their technology? I read an article recently which shared some sobering statistics. The article, which was put out by Focus on the Family (click to learn more) indicated that children ages 8-12 are on technology about 6 hours/day. This amount increases to about 9 hours/day for children ages 13-18. I encourage everyone to read this article, it was eye-opening, to say the least.

While the article shared several good ways that adults can monitor their children’s screen time, as well as some available filters that are on the market that they can incorporate to help limit their child’s ability to view or participate on inappropriate sites, it doesn’t completely solve the problem of children and technology. Our kids will eventually reach an age (and that age is getting younger and younger) when they simple are a bit more tech savvy than mom and dad. In other words, the filters we may be using to protect our children may easily be bypassed by our children. So, what exactly do we do to help protect our children from overdosing on technology, or worst, becoming what some have coined as a tech addict? Researchers have argued that the part of the brain that is stimulated and effected by certain substances that can lead to an addiction, is also the same part of the brain that is stimulated when we our engrossed in our technology. To learn more about this phenomena check out this article.

Over usage of the screen is epidemic and experts are urging parents to take the reins and help limit the amount of time children spend in front of a screen. According to research shared by CBS (click for research), “Kids and teens age 8 to 18 spend an average of more than seven hours a day looking at screens. The new warning from the AHA (American Heart Association) recommends parents limit screen time for kids to a maximum of just two hours per day. For younger children, age 2 to 5, the recommended limit is one hour per day.”

Take back your summer! Fid creative ways to engage your children each day. It doesn’t need to require a lot of time, or money. It could include things like a scavenger hunt in the back yard or local park, a walk along the beach, cooking hotdogs over the firepit, or simply reading a book together. No matter the age of your children, spending time as a family never goes out of style!

Here are some practical ways that adults can combat over usage of technology in our children. Try adding a new suggestion each week over the summer until your child is spending a more appropriate (and healthy) amount of time in front of the screen, and reclaim your summer!

For every 30 minutes of screen time, have your child read for at least 10 minutes.
If your family is not already in the habit, build in family dinners. Pick a consistent time each night that dinner will be served…try preparing dinner with your child!
Commit, along with your child, to leaving cell phones, laptops, iPads, and/or tablets on the kitchen counter each night before bedtime.
In the mornings instead of your child reaching for their technology first thing, how about leaving a Bible verse or inspirational saying next to their bed so when they wake up it’s the first thing they see as opposed to the screen.

For more great tips to help your children combat the screen, check out this article.

By Pam Heintz, Head of School

Posted in Academics