Journal

Summit Classical Academy is on the rise as we grow in numbers and in grades. Please invite those in your own community to join our SCA community at The Omni Hotel on May 11th as we celebrate all that God has done and all that He will continue to do as we Rise to Our Summit. Please click here for the invitation.  If you have a business, consider becoming a corporate sponsor. Do you work at a company that donates to charities? If so, then please ask them to be a corporate sponsor. How about your church? If they value Christian education, then they may also like to donate to our school. SCA is a 501(c)3 non profit. Donations to our school are tax deductible. Speaking of donations to our school…Donations for the Silent Auction are Still Needed – We need items large and small to have available for a fun bidding contest for our supporters. When you are out and about, please ask the businesses you frequent for donations. Many places of business are glad to donate as this is also advertising for them. If you have something to donate or have gotten items from businesses please reach out to Shane Owens and Jenny Gronberg. We have a form that we can give our donors for tax purposes.

Why We Founded Summit Classical Academy

As founding family members and current board members of Summit Classical Academy, We are thrilled to share the story behind our school’s inception and the driving force behind our commitment to classical Christian education.

Classical Christian Education was not a novel concept to our family. We were very familiar with this type of education from a previous classical Christian school our daughter attended. The Classical Christian education approach is rooted in centuries of proven success, emphasizing the classics, critical thinking, and moral virtues. Classical Christian education has stood the test of time because it equips students with the tools they need to excel academically and thrive in an ever-changing world. 

When the school our daughter attended from August 2017 to mid November 2019 decided to eliminate the classical element from their curriculum, we decided to search for it elsewhere.  We soon discovered that what we had grown to love and desire in this type of education for our daughter didn’t exist in the north area, so if we wanted to continue this path of classical Christian education, we would have to move.  While that was definitely an option and we could make a move if we needed to, God stopped us and called us to consider exploring what it would look like to start a Classical Christian school. So we did! In November 2019 SCA was born. This quest involved a deep dive into the realm of classical Christian education, with our family,  the Miller family and Mrs. Fraser immersing ourselves in literature, curriculum, participating in conferences, and making visits to other classical Christian schools for inspiration.

Initially, we established a homeschool co-op comprised of seven students. This cautious beginning was a stepping stone towards our ambitious goal of launching a full-time school by the fall of 2020. 

Summit Classical Academy was born out of a shared vision among our founding families. We realized that the need for a classical Christian education extended far beyond the boundaries of our own families. It was a profound calling from God to establish Summit Classical Academy not just as an educational institution but as a ministry dedicated to serving not only our own children but also the broader community in the northern Denver area.

SCA is more than just a place of learning for our daughter; it’s our community and in some ways, our church. We believe that strong character, respect for others, and a sense of purpose are integral to a child’s development. Summit Classical Academy is not only a place for academic growth but also a place where lifelong friendships are forged and core values are instilled.

As founding family members and board members, we are embarking on a journey of educational excellence. We are committed to providing the best possible education to our students, nurturing their creativity, and fostering a love for learning that is centered on a biblical world view.. Together with parents, we are forging fierce warriors, Christian leaders of today and for tomorrow.

We invite you to join us on this exciting journey. Summit Classical Academy is not just a school; it’s a place where dreams are nurtured, minds are enriched, and futures are shaped. Together, we are laying the foundation for a brighter tomorrow.

Thank you to all the families who have joined us, we are thrilled you are part of the SCA Family.  

The Modglin Family

My prayer this year for the school and everyone here is that we will be known by our love ~ in patience; in speech; in forgiveness; in conduct; in serving. 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

As I’ve been praying for this, God has shown me that it is impossible for me to love anyone without first understanding what Amy Carmichael calls Calvary Love. As the Anglican’s morning prayer of confession claims: there is no health in me! I realized this summer that I honestly don’t understand how people who don’t know the love of Jesus are kind at all – I wouldn’t be! On the flip side, if I truly have been touched by the love of God and gotten a glimpse of its breadth and length and height and depth, then how can I be unloving or unkind? 

God, let us be known by our likeness to You, known by the love we have for one another. 

I studied with two mentors over this summer. If you don’t have a mentor, I highly recommend finding one who is no longer living – they will never surprise or disappoint you by going woke, for one thing. My two dearly loved mentors are Elizabeth Elliot and Charles Spurgeon. I’ve been gathering notes from their wisdom for many months, always on the lookout for what might be helpful to share with teachers. As it so happened, it was my morning devotional today by Charles Spurgeon that is apt:

The people who know their God shall stand firm. – Daniel 11:32

Every believer understands that to know God is the highest and best form of knowledge; and this spiritual knowledge is a source of strength to the Christian. It strengthens his faith. Believers are constantly referred to in the Bible as people who are enlightened and taught by the Lord; they are said to “have been anointed by the Holy One,” (1 John 2:20) and it is the Spirit’s peculiar office to lead them into all truth, so that they might grow in their faith. Knowledge strengthens love as well as faith. Knowledge opens the door, and then through that door we see our Savior. Or to put it another way, knowledge paints the portrait of Jesus, and when we see that portrait, then we love Him. We cannot love a Christ whom we do not know at least in some degree. If we know only a little of the excellencies of Jesus, what He has done for us and what He is doing now, we cannot love Him much; but the more we know Him, the more we will love Him. Knowledge also strengthens hope. How can we hope for something if we do not know of its existence? Hope may be the telescope, but until we receive instruction, our ignorance blocks our view, and we can see nothing. Knowledge removes the blockage, and when we look through the bright optic glass we discover the glory to be revealed and anticipate it with joyful confidence. Knowledge supplies us with reason for patience. How will we have patience unless we know something of the sympathy of Christ and understand the good that comes out of the correction that our heavenly Father sends us? There is not a single Christian who, under God, will not be fostered and brought to perfection by holy knowledge.. It is then very important that we should grow not only in grace, but in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Oh, to write like the Prince of Preachers!

“Knowledge opens the door, and then through that door we see our Savior…. knowledge paints the portrait of Jesus, and when we see that portrait, then we love Him.”

I have always craved knowledge – in all subjects, from math to philosophy, linguistics to literature, art to anthropology. I want to know, see, understand. (This is, of course, what attracted me to classical education for my own children. It is so good.) I don’t believe I’m unique in this hunger for knowledge. I believe all of us are created to crave it, because what it really is is our heart’s desire to know our Creator, to see the portrait of Jesus with the veil removed, to have our telescope of hope in focus. 

As you teach this year, no matter the subject, know that you are opening the door for your students to behold Jesus. That is the work of this school. That is the work of the Kingdom of God. But you must know that love for yourselves first. Meditate on his Word day and night. Feast on it. It is the only way.

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father … that he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being … [that you may] know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” – Ephesians 3:14-19

You are loved by God. You are anointed by Him. And you are covered in prayer by the leadership of this school.

By: Danette Miller, SCA Vice Chairwoman

All hail King Jesus.

All hail the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

All hail the Savior of the world. 

Because You created us, 

Because You are almighty in power, 

Because your love is infinite,

We praise You!

God, You told us through Paul in II Corinthians 5 that through your conquering death, You also conquered our slavery to our flesh – the life we lived serving ourselves; and through your resurrection, we have a new life in You. We live in the Spirit now, and are controlled by the love of Christ. 

You’ve given us the task of sharing words to the world – we speak on your behalf as your ambassadors, and the message You’ve entrusted us with is that the King of kings has provided a way of reconciliation to Himself for the world. 

You give us your strength for this task, and to make it even sweeter – You’ve given us the dearest people to share your good news with … children. 

Oh the honor it is to be your ambassador to these students and their families!

Holy God, help us to represent You in truth. Please give us the humility and strength to exchange our desires for yours and to recognize You as sovereign over every detail of this school and our lives. 

You say to ‘be still and know that You are God.’ Being still means: not fretting, complaining, being anxious, or boasting. Rather, to know You as God, to see You as You really are, will rightfully stop us in our tracks and cause us to be immobile. 

God, we seek to serve You and follow You as our King. Please make us bolder about sharing your name and good news. This is the task You’ve given us – with the promise to make us more like Christ along the way. And at the end, we will join with the angels proclaiming your name:

All hail King Jesus!

Please come soon. 

Until then, please shine blindingly brightly out of us and out of this school. Let all who come here have soft hearts and trust You and cling to You as Savior of the world. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by: Danette Miller, SCA Vice Chairwoman

O Lord,

We’re so thankful today. This time of year, we’re moving from darkness to light, and from dormant to vibrant life. It’s so good to see the sunshine! We’re also considering your death and anticipating the celebration of your resurrection. Keep us in wonder and increase our understanding of what you have done. It’s all that matters, yet it’s so easy to forget. Thank you for all of the evidence of your steadfast love. Please keep us in your love. 

Thank you for being our good Shepherd and guiding us. Help us to follow you and to be good shepherds to our kids and to the families at this school. Let your love overflow from us in this work. Your will be done. Your name be honored. 

And I’m going to borrow a prayer that was written nearly 1000 years ago but that I heard only recently from our first grade class. I ask these same requests for us as leaders of this school, Lord.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

Written by: Danette Miller, SCA Vice Chairwoman