Feeling Weird?

I’ve heard it said many times over the years, “There’s something different about Shepherds. You feel at peace as soon as you step onto campus.”  After making this statement, one person added, “It’s weird, but I love it!”

Weird? I had to smile.  Maybe when compared to a bustling organization whose main goal is to show a profit at the end of every fiscal year, but when an organization puts “Spiritual Growth” high on its list of desired outcomes, as Shepherds College does, that “peaceful” feeling is not weird at all!

It’s not that we don’t bustle – just watch the Res Life staff in the dorms after school. And it’s not that we don’t feel stress or concern (have you ever visited campus during finals week?). We have our share of problems. Copy machines break down. Students fight. Teachers get sick. Plans don’t work out.

So why do people often use the word “peaceful” when they visit Shepherds College?

The staff at Shepherds College recognizes that peaceful feeling as the presence of God.  He is invited here every day with our prayers. He is honored through our words and actions. And He is loved through our service to young adults with intellectual disabilities. 

The staff is regularly encouraged to stay close to Him, to strengthen their relationship with Him through practices which result in spiritual growth.

The results are amazing! 

You know that peaceful feeling you get when you arrive on campus? Well, it’s inside each one of us working here too. It comes from knowing who God is, walking in His ways, and realizing His purpose for our lives.  Our deepest desire as staff at Shepherds College is to have the students also know this peace, not just by strolling around the sidewalks admiring the flowers and breathing in the clean, country air, but by carrying it around inside of them each and every day. 

To this end, Shepherds College provides many opportunities for spiritual growth:

Bible Courses – Each semester, students take two Bible courses designed to increase their knowledge of God, His Word, and His plan for their lives. This semester our 1^st year students will take Personal Bible Study and Roots of Faith, the 2^nd year students will take Apologetics and Life of Christ, and the 3^rd year students will take New Testament Letters and Ready 4 Life.

Church Attendance – Once students get used to the routine of college, it is our expectation that they will attend weekly church services. We will provide transportation every Sunday morning to one of six different churches in the area.

Miranda presenting in Chapel

Chapel – On Monday mornings, a chapel service is offered in the Commons. This service focuses on worship, prayer, and Bible instruction for the students.

Spiritual Counseling – Our students are provided with numerous opportunities to receive counseling based on the truths from God’s Word. This counseling may come from the teacher in a classroom setting, or it may come to an individual from his Academic Advisor, Residential Life Staff or even from our campus psychologist, Dr. Russ Kinkade.

Scripture Memory – An important piece of spiritual growth is the memorization of Scripture. Students are encouraged to commit God’s Word to memory on a regular basis through Bible classes.

Service Opportunities – We recognize the value of service to others and are committed to providing our students with plenty of opportunities to serve. Staff will look at the individual strengths and gifts of the students before attempting to place them in service opportunities.

So, is feeling peaceful on a busy campus filled with yelling, laughing, running students weird? Yeah, maybe for the rest of the world. But it’s the norm at Shepherds College.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

The Office: Tried & True

Angela Houk is the Dean of Shepherds College.  She is dedicated, passionate, focused and task-oriented which makes her a perfect leader for a new school in its early stages of operation. She is also caring and committed to parents, students and staff. 

She does what she says and things under her responsibility always get done.

And that is the reason for this blog today.

During opening weekend, several parents asked Miss Houk what she did over the summer. She told them about spending time with family and friends, going to a 4^th of July parade, watching fireworks on a boat on Lake Muskego, visiting the Chicago Botanical Gardens, and - loving to cook - trying some new recipes. 

Miss Houk talking to the families during opening weekend

The results of one of the new recipes went to bless a college instructor in a time of need. Recently, Mrs. Konopasek was out on medical leave.  Miss Houk made beef stroganoff for her to help out during her recovery.  Mrs. Konopasek loved the meal so much, she requested the recipe. 

The parents who were talking with Angela at the orientation also requested the recipe so she told them to look for it on the blog.

Here it is:

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

2-3 pounds beef stew meat, cut in small pieces
1 large onion chopped
2 cans (10 ¾ ounces) condensed golden mushroom soup
2 cans (10 ¾ ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cans sliced mushrooms, drained (substitute fresh mushrooms if preferred)
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
6 cups hot cooked noodles or rice

·         In 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart slow cooker, mix beef, onion, soups, mushrooms and pepper.

·         Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef is very tender. 

·         Stir cream cheese into beef mixture until melted.

·         Stir sour cream into beef mixture.

·         Serve over noodles.

Enjoy this meal! Feel confident making it for your family knowing that everyone who made it loved it.

It’s tried and true … just like Miss Houk.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Teacher Tuesday: Our friend Jen

Jen came to live at our house when my son, Nic, was about four years old. Jen did everything with Nic and went everywhere he did too.  Jen loved all the same foods Nic loved - especially peas and mashed potatoes - and despised artichokes, just like Nic. Jen was the one to speak up when Nic disagreed with something I said, even when Nic wisely chose to keep silent.

Jen and Nic had long conversations together – while they were playing, or riding in the car, or pouting on the couch. Jen sat on the stool right next to Nic at the kitchen counter, buckled into the center of the car by Nic’s booster seat, and perched on a pillow on the bed to listen to Nic strum a little guitar and sing “Oh, I wanna be a cowboy” over and over and over again.

Jen was, undoubtedly, Nic’s best friend.

You’ll have to forgive the lack of pronouns relating to Jen when I write, but my husband and I never figured out if Jen was a boy or a girl. 

Jen was a little person who lived in the center of Nic’s hand. When Nic referred to Jen, he always said, “My friend Jen.” 

“My friend Jen wants more peas.”

“My friend Jen is scared of this show and wants me to change the channel.”

“My friend Jen doesn’t want me to be mad no more.”

“My friend Jen told me I was a funny boy!”

When Jen first came to live with us, I was slightly worried. Was my son going to be the kind of kid who walked around wearing aviation goggles and talked about his alien abduction? If I acknowledged Jen, would I be encouraging a future that could involve Nic sitting in trees with his head wrapped in tinfoil to catch “the signals?”

Over time, I stopped worrying and realized that Jen was good for Nic. They talked and laughed together all the time. Jen cared about Nic’s health. Jen was concerned about his emotional well-being. Jen encouraged Nic’s good behavior and cautioned his unsafe behavior. Jen was a cheerleader, a protector and a comforter. Jen in fact became a blessing to have around.

I started believing that everyone needed a friend Jen.

Jen gradually moved out of the house when Nic started school. I missed Jen at first. The absence of this tiny person symbolized a loss of innocence, a passage from the limitless expanse of a child’s imagination to the sharply delineated reality of assigned seating, coloring assignments and report cards.

 But, time passed and I forgot about Jen…

…until I bumped into the new Shepherds College classroom assistant, Mrs. Jennifer Oneby, in the parking lot the other day. I introduced myself and we chatted about our love of Shepherds College. I thought as we talked that she was one of the most engaging, unpretentious, sincere people I had ever met. Her heart for serving the students was tangible and genuine. I silently thanked God for the Shepherds College commercial on VCY TV that brought her here.  I felt like I had made a new friend.

Mrs. Oneby

Before parting, I asked her what name she liked to go by. She said, “Jen, or you can call me…” but my mind had already stopped at Jen.  I’ve met other Jens over the years, but for some reason this Jen, Mrs. Oneby, was the only one to ever make memories of Nic’s little Jen come flooding back.

Can it be that she’s so easy to talk to? Conversation flowed with Mrs. Oneby without awkward pauses. Her teaching style reflects this ease of discourse. She likes to have classroom discussions to bring in the student’s background knowledge and then share her experiences with them.

I remember doing the dishes while listening to Nic’s excited chatter with Jen in the living room.

Maybe it’s Mrs. Oneby’s enthusiasm? Her eyes light up when she talks and the inflection in her voice is filled with energy and bounce.  I know that her joy must be infectious in the classroom. She’s the type of teacher that can make learning fun no matter the subject.

I remember Nic’s laughter as he learned the alphabet with Jen, “…H, I, J, K, I love my O, P…”

It could also be her sensitivity. She’s careful to meet the needs of each individual student to help them gain the most from the daily lessons. She realizes that everything she’s doing, she’s doing for Christ, so her care and compassion are a reflection of her love for her Savior.

I remember Nic’s tear-streaked face as he told me of the little boy who kept kicking him in the head in kindergarten. The teacher didn’t do anything about it, but Nic talked to Jen who cared for Nic’s hurt feelings until he could come home and talk to me.

Mrs. Oneby sits with the students, side by side, during class and encourages them as they’re taking in new information. Much like Nic’s Jen, she quietly whispers advice and guides the students to stay focused and absorb the words of the teacher. She wants to see students meet the goals that prompted them to enroll in Shepherds College.

Mrs. Oneby sitting with some of the first year students

But it was this last thing I learned about Mrs. Oneby that finally made little Jen real to me, that gave her skin and hair and gender – Mrs. Oneby loves to sing cowboy songs!

“Oh, I wanna be a cowboy…”

I still believe that everyone needs a friend Jen - and she’s teaching at Shepherds College.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Orientation Day

The countdown is over! All our students are back on campus.

Orientation Day was on Saturday, August 4th. We want you to see what this special day was all about.

The day started at 9am with a campus tour for the students and parents. It wasn’t raining yet so the walk around campus and through the classrooms was enjoyable for everyone.

The Shepherds Campus - artwork by Rolf Goetzinger

All the parents and students went to the gym for a meeting to talk about the details in the Student Handbooks. Topics like campus housing rules, appropriate dress, discipline and the travel policy were discussed.

After lunch, the parents and students split up to attend different meetings. The students attended a Residential Life meeting in the Commons, and the parents attended a session by Dr. Russ Kinkade called “Letting Go.” 

The students and parents all met together in the gym again for a series of meetings on Health, Horticulture and Culinary Arts, and then a Q & A time.

Sherrie & Melba leading the Medical/Health session

Chef McCarthy talking about Culinary Arts

After all this serious stuff, it was time to relax! Parents and students separated again. The parents had an opportunity to socialize and get to know one another over desserts, while the students participated in a team building activity.

To end this full day, Dr. Bill Amstutz, the President of Shepherds Ministries, led a prayer of dedication asking God to help the parents adjust to leaving their child behind at school, to bless the students as they learn new skills, and to honor the hard work of the teachers as they lead each young person on their journey toward Appropriate Independence.

The students hugged their parents one last time. It was time to say good-bye.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Friday's Top Five: The Big Day

Today starts Opening Weekend for the 2012/2013 school year!

We have 24 nervous and excited first-year students on campus getting ready for Orientation tomorrow.

Over the course of the day, each student and their family will do five things before heading back to their hotels for the night:

1.      Check-in

Each family will be visiting the check-in tables set up in the gym at the Wood Center. They’ll receive their name tags and orientation packets which include their schedule of meetings, class schedules, campus maps and all forms to sign.

Mrs. Harvey at the registration desk

Lots of paperwork!

2.      Meeting with the Nurses

The families will be meeting two of the Shepherds nurses, Melba and Sherrie, to discuss the student’s medications and other health needs.

Sherrie and Melba checking medical records

3.      Meeting with the Business Office

Cindy, Tiffany and Linda are waiting at a conference table in the Findley Center for each family to discuss tuition payments and student accounts.

Our lovely ladies in the Business Office - Tiffany, Linda & Cindy

            4.       Meeting with the Advisors

           Our Academic Advisors are looking forward to greeting each family. They’ll be working closely with  these students and parents throughout the school year and know the importance of this face-to-face relationship-building time. This is also the time when the student’s monthly spending budget will be reviewed.

Miss Luchterhand and Miss Pollard

Mrs. Kolkman

Mrs. Luchterhand and Miss Fye

5.      Moving into the Dorms

I think this is the highlight of the day for the students. They’re greeted by a crew of volunteers, students and staff ready to help them unload their vehicles and carry their stuff into their temporary homes for the school year. The dorms are crowded with parents, students, bins and boxes. Everyone is unpacking, making beds, arranging desks, hanging clothes, meeting roommates. It’s an energetic and fun chaos!

Volunteers, students & staff ready to greet the new students

Moving into the girls' dorm

Excited and ready to make some new friends!

The guys' dorm is pretty busy too!

Once these five tasks are complete, the students leave campus to spend one last night with their families before the start of school.

Please pray for our new students as they start their journey toward Appropriate Independence™.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Showing the Love

There’s something that always makes my heart beat a little quicker, my mind feel a bit more focused, my world seem brighter and more exciting. It’s conversations that go something like this -

Becci: “My husband and I are going out tonight.”

Me: “Is he taking you out to dinner? Where? What are you going to eat?”

Or

Joy: “My kids are coming home tonight.”
Me: “Are you cooking? What did you decide to make for dinner?”

Or

Hubbie: “Kris is getting married. We need to make plans for a trip to OK in the fall. Let’s look at the budg… Hey! Where are you going?”

Me: “I’m going online to check out the Diners, Drive-ins & Dives website. I’ll map out all the good restaurants between Milwaukee and Oklahoma City.”

Of course, it’s not all talk. My husband knows if he’s in trouble he simply has to take me to Barnes & Noble to pick out a new cookbook, or mention reservations at the new bistro that opened up in town, or bring home a bag of tomatoes. All will be right in his world again.

Because in my world, food = love.

I remember the day my love language was clearly defined for me. I was eight years old, and I was standing by the stove watching my mom burn pork chops. As she was flipping them and scowling into the skillet, I started asking her questions, “How do you know when to turn them over? How do you know when they’re done? Is it when they’re black? Why do you salt them? Why do you put pepper on them? Why do you put soy sauce on them? Won’t that taste weird?”  My mom bent her head back and yelled at the ceiling, “I HATE cooking!!!”

I remember feeling like all the breath had been knocked out of my body. I was shocked, indignant and strangely hurt, like she had just told me, “Susan, I just realized that you’re my least favorite child. I don’t want to take care of you anymore. Go live at the neighbors.”

I do know that’s not what she was really saying, but that was the day I realized how important food is and how it clearly symbolized so much more than just fuel for my body. An invitation to dinner says, “I like you and I want to spend time getting to know you.” Making a good meal for my family says, “I care about you and I’m taking the time to show it.” Getting a box of chocolates says, “I’ll love you even when you gain 20 pounds finishing off these hand-dipped raspberry crèmes.” Providing a meal for a shut-in says, “Don’t worry about anything. You will be cared for.”

I told you all this so you understand the significance of my next statement -

The Residential Life staff went grocery shopping  for the students!!!

Yesterday, with joy and excitement, they went on a big shopping trip to Woodman’s in Kenosha (where the students will all be shopping during the school year) and loaded up carts and cars and cabinets with FOOD!!

Students, you’ll be making a meal out of this food and learning new skills together.

You’ll be eating dinner and laughing as you get to know each other.

You’ll be popping popcorn to watch a movie with a new friend.

You’ll be making Jell-O and sharing special memories of all the fun ways your mom made it for you at home.

You will be chopping some of it, cooking some of it, spilling some of it, and sharing all of it. As you deal with this food every day you will learn to work together, to care for each other, and how to care for your bodies. You will learn that sharing builds trust and friendships, that knowing how to work with food can lead to Appropriate Independence, that food makes people feel welcome around you, and that God always provides for His children.

So students, know that when the staff was shopping for all the food you see above, they were thinking of so much more than just filling your stomachs.

They were saying, "You will be well cared for at Shepherds College."

Students having dinner with Mrs. Leith

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

The Office: Finishing Touches

It’s hard to believe, but there are just two more days until our new students arrive on campus! Three more days until all the students are moved in and getting ready for classes to begin. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of traffic going through the office as everyone is doing their last minute preparations for the new school year.

Mr. Wright is going through paperwork, making sure he has all the necessary documents for each student.  He’s also staying pretty active on the phone talking to people who hope to enroll next year!

Miss Fye is working on her lesson plans and using the copier to print, copy and scan the lessons for next week.

Mrs. Luchterhand is working through new bank account information to prepare for students to either use their current bank account or transition to a bank local to the college.

Miss Houk is working with the new paras to make sure they are trained and ready to assist in the classrooms. She’s also completing the planning and scheduling for August 3^rd and 4^th so Opening Weekend runs smoothly.

Mrs. Harvey is trying to prioritize her lengthy task list. What to do first?!

• Run to Walmart to see if they have the right color plastic folders for the students’ assignment books?
• Laminate name cards for the new offices?
• Print out, fold and staple the new student handbooks, or maybe ask a volunteer to do them?
• Finish the Shepherds College souvenir table for Opening Weekend?
• Put all the students’ birthdays on the Dean’s calendar?
• Check office supplies?
• Print out the list of Advisors, the Campus Map and the Weekend Schedule for the parents’ folders?

After taking a walk down to the college offices today, I realized that although the staff is crazy busy, it’s an intense and very focused crazy busy. It’s obvious that every staff member recognizes the importance of our mission at Shepherds College - to educate and train students with intellectual disabilities by equipping them to reach Appropriate Independence™ and inspiring a lasting awareness of God’s plan for their lives. 

It’s a big job - and we only have three years to do it!!  

So back to the typing, faxing, printing, copying, scanning, planning, scheduling, calling, filing, buying, folding, stapling… all those important finishing touches that add up to another successful year at Shepherds College.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.