Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder
by Amer and Melissa Bathish

It was a bright, sunny day in the summer of 2003 when my husband and I and our four children were driving down Whitmore Lake Road and happened to notice a new, beautiful building with a sign in front saying Ann Arbor Christian School. My husband quickly turned our van into the driveway and we slowly drove around this new school peering through the windows and doors. Just as we had almost come full circle around the school, out came a woman waving us down with a smile on her face. It was the past principal informing us that Ann Arbor Christian School had been blessed with this land and beautiful building and would be relocating their already established school into this new facility in the winter of 2003.

We drove away with very light hearts that day. We both felt some sort of unknown joy in the prospect of this Christian school being a good fit for our children and our family. But why? We were very happy with the private Montessori school that our children were attending at the time. In the following year and a half we visited the school several times always welcomed with open arms, we reviewed the academics aspects of the school and found them to be top notch, we had our oldest daughter visit Mrs. Steen's third grade class and we all instinctively fell in love! We consider it a gift from God Ð we now have three children attending Ann Arbor Christian School and next year our "baby" will be venturing off to kindergarten, making it four! We have been a part of this community since 2005 and plan to have all four of our children graduate from the eighth grade!

The beauty of Ann Arbor Christian School lies within its beautiful facility. As they say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and if we look at Ann Arbor Christian School as the "apple of our eye" then at the core would definitely be the faculty and staff who are the exact definition of dedicated Ð having committed themselves to a particular course of thought or action. It is our belief that these individuals are truly dedicated to the children in particular and ultimately to the families at the school. They exhibit this on a daily basis as they work with our children to achieve their academic best, guide our children spiritually and enjoy sharing in the personal growth of each individual child.

The fleshy fruit of the apple would be congruous with the student body. The children of Ann Arbor Christian School are a wonderful, caring group of kids who welcomed my own children as new students into their classrooms swiftly and gracefully. For that warm welcome, we are thankful and grateful.

Last, but definitely not least, the skin of the apple keeping the fruit together is the wonderful parents and families of the Ann Arbor Christian School community who believe in a Christian education for their children, who willingly volunteer their time at the school for numerous events and activities and as helpers in the classrooms, and who feel a deep sense of appreciation for each other and for a school where Christian principles permeate every aspect of the school day and where our children's young minds are being guided to be life-long learners with a Christian worldview. What more could we honestly ask for?

Blessings, Amer and Melissa Bathish