News

Critical Thinking Demonstrated In Senior Thesis Presentations

Impressive. Informative. Inspirational. Our Class of 2023 spent three days last week presenting their Senior Thesis projects, and audience members were simply stunned at their command of knowledge and superb presentation skills. This is the culmination of a year long program which is the capstone of a PCA education.

"The Senior Thesis Conference displayed our students' ability to apply critical thinking skills at the highest level as they covered topics on veteran suicide prevention, the benefits and risks of vaccines, gender and the image of God, as well as many more thought-provoking and relevant topics," said Upper School Principal Sean Keiper. "Our seniors did an exceptional job articulating their research and sharing their perspectives with Biblical truths to support them." 

PCA's Senior Thesis course is required for all seniors, and provides excellent practice in collegiate level research and writing, preparing all PCA graduates for the rigors of college and life beyond. There was certainly a sense of accomplishment seen on the faces of our senior class once their presentations were complete. Great job Class of 2023!

National Honor Society Welcomes New Inductees

This year's National Honor Society Induction was one for the books. Honoring eighteen new members, PCA's NHS is now at a grand total of 63 members.

When asked to describe NHS, this year's advisor Amanda ZumBrunnen said, "NHS is described as a prestigious organization that recognizes academically-focused students nationwide. While a minimum GPA of 4.2 is both required to be considered for membership and to remain in active standing, scholarship is not the only requirement. Nationally, NHS also looks at three other key areas when considering candidates: leadership, character, and service. Over the years PCA's chapter of the National Honor Society has come to recognize and embrace a fifth area, which is citizenship. It is these five areas that serve as the pillars of our PCA National Honor Society Chapter."

In order to bring these pillars to life, ZumBrunnen was excited to launch a new service program, NHS: Serving the Lower School. "The original focus of this program was to serve as teacher's aides and reading buddies for the lower school", ZumBrunnen explained, "we are very excited, though, that we have also been called upon to serve as math and writing buddies for lower school students as well! More than that, we are excited that we will help meet the heavy seasonal needs of our school's administration staff. We now see that we are called to serve on an even greater level than we originally thought. Our expanded service program is, thus, rightly called - NHS: Serving PCA. Our genuine prayer is that we can truly serve our school in a way that benefits our entire community."

When asked what she thought of these new additions to the program, President Aly Godwin said, "I am so grateful for the new focus on serving PCA. The program will get students more involved in NHS, fulfilling the pillar of Service in the NHS code. The program will help bridge the gap between grade levels, students, and faculty members, and as a club, we will be able to love others through service as God first loved us."

It is safe to say that PCA is in good hands with 63 servant-hearted role models helping the PCA community.