18 years of God’s faithfulness
Living Waters Christian Academy is committed to watching children grow spiritually, academically, and personally to become leaders that make a difference in their community.
We look back over the past 15 years at how God has worked in and through the school and celebrate the milestones we have crossed, thankful to God for his faithfulness to us.
1992
• A prayer was answered - a school was born!
• We renovated a space in a strip mall in Stony Plain in one week. Parents and staff joined together to paint, put up walls, lay carpet, and build shelving to get ready for the first day of school.
• We began with 2 teachers and 23 students in grades 1-5.
1993
• We added Grade 6.
• Shirley Tilroe remembers walking all the students to a nearby park at least 3 times each day because we did not have a gym!
• Since we were at capacity for the space in Stony Plain with 40 students, we began a building program.
• Through prayer and planning for the future, our Mission Statement was developed.
1994
• We moved into our beautiful red brick school house! The traditional red brick building style was chosen to signal our arrival as a permanent addition to our community. As part of the commitment to excellence and our solid foundation in Christ, the board chose the anchor to symbolize the stability of this new venture and point to Christ as our anchor.
• We were able to begin a Jr. High program with Grade 7 & 8 with a humble jr. high science lab and a computer lab.
• Kindergarten was also added.
1995
• Our Jr. High program was completed by adding Grade 9.
• We completed the basement level of the school. Again the parents and staff rallied to put up walls, paint, and hang doors.
1996
• In response to a high demand we began our pre-school program.
1997
• We expanded our music program to include a brass band.
1998
• Allan Hunsperger was asked to serve as our board chair. Allan brought with him the experience of founding several Christian schools, and developing them to a place of stability. He began to lead the school into several new initiatives including the development of the high school, and a building program. His vision, and most importantly his faith in God's direction helped create the program opportunities that we enjoy today.
• Keith Penner was hired as our new principal. His leadership abilities and wisdom brought stability to the school and his administrative genius was key in actually putting into motion the new strategies and plans for the exciting new expansion program.
1999
• Keith Penner's heart for missions inspired the beginning of the missions program, and this year was the inaugural year of our bi-annual mission trips to Guatemala.
2000
• In our 9th year of existence, we saw our dream of adding a high school materialize. 5 students made the transition to grade 10. The theme for that year was History Makers and they were.
2001
• In a desire to see the elementary students infected with the joy of missions, International Night was started, and has drawn much enthusiasm every year.
2002
• In seeking God's direction for the future of the school, we needed to consider who we really were, and what values we would defend at all cost. As a board and staff, we took time away to unearth the Core Values.
2003
• We put on our first full length drama at the Horizon Stage.
• Our athletic teams started to participate in competitive sports in the community and county.
• We celebrated our first Graduating Class.
2004
• We were happy to include multi-media and digital video production to our course menu. Mr. Gauthier won the first annual Christian short film makers award.
2005
• At long last we witnessed the completion of the new gymnasium which opened up a host of new opportunities for us! The renovation doubled our classroom space and provided a large entry for the students.
2006
• Our international vision began to clarify. In 2006, after an involved and careful consultative process, the Vision of Living Waters was approved. The vision was not surprising to those who had been part of the school from the early days. The desire to make a difference in the community and the world has resonated through much of the planning and development of the school and its programs over the years.
• Our Science lab was built complete with new equipment. This provided greater resources to teach a dynamic science program.
• As part of our commitment to excellence and growth, we hired Heather Fritz as Development Director.
• We sent our biggest mission team to Guatemala. The team of 20 was used by God to make an impact.
2007
• As an out flowing of our vision statement and in consultation with parents and staff, we chose Spanish as our second language. We are happy to announce that we now offer Spanish as a second language.
• We updated our computer lab by adding new flat screen monitors and new computers.
• As our community grows and we look forward to the long term impact of our school we have undergone a rebranding process. The goal of developing a new logo was to accurately express the vision, creativity, and life that Christian education brings to our students. Christ is our living water and the source of life and joy and freedom. Water spreads out to bring life and growth. Like waves on the ocean the ripple of our lives influences our community, our nation and our world.
