Julie Bennett

Mrs. Bennett started at NPC in 2009 as the 5/6 Hybrid teacher. Before that, she taught in various local public schools. She now teaches Computer Science for Elementary and Hybrid students. She is a graduate of Hope College and GVSU. Her passion is integrating our Godly mandates, content area, and technology. She loves the opportunity to teach students, as well as teachers, how to use technology to be producers and creators.

I believe in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and strive every day to glorify the God of Creation, the Almighty God, the author and giver of Life.

For the first time in my 20 years as a teacher, I have been given the unique opportunity to share my faith in God with those I teach. As a public school teacher I did not have the freedom nor the responsibility to directly and verbally role model a life of Christ. I find this both challenging and thrilling at the same time. I am blessed to have such a wonderful group of believers who have walked beside me to help design a rich and fulfilling curriculum that exemplify God’s truths throughout.

The mandate of love, for God, for ourselves and for our neighbors, is accomplished in a variety of ways. Home and School Hybrid provides a unique environment that brings together 30+ students from various former school situations and places them as equals within the school. We support each other by learning the same Bible verses, hearing God’s truths together in Pebbles and Stones, acting on those by doing service projects together, and best of all, praying together; listening to each other’s concerns as we bring them before our Lord, following up on those and showing compassion and caring for one another. As teachers, the students see us role model that all the time as we assist each other in the tasks we need to accomplish each day. We are always emphasizing the unique gifts and talents the Lord has blessed each of us with and we can celebrate those in each other.

Our History curriculum consists of Ancient and Medieval History and assists greatly in the teaching of our mission mandate. Our study of Ancient cultures naturally lends itself to the weaving of Old Testament stories and truths throughout our study. We consistently use our Bible as text for the understanding of God’s purpose throughout the ancient world. Our discussions center around the various leaders, their faith (or lack of) in God and how that brought about changes in various aspects of their lives. We read literature books that enhance these truths. By combining the school theme with our weekly devotional themes, we are able to follow the thread of God’s work in peoples’ lives. We can then apply what we know to our own lives in the 21st century. My favorite question to ask is, “And how do God’s truths in this story apply to what we are living now, in Grand Rapids in 2010?” God had a plan from the beginning and He has a plan for each of us.

Our study of the Human Body in year one is a wonderful example of the image mandate. Our curriculum work speaks directly of God’s wisdom, order and creativity as we study the intricacies of the human body. It allows the kids a new and enhanced view of God’s creation, which we extend to His other creations; animals, plants and seasons. Our study of Physical Science exemplifies God’s order ad organization of concepts like friction, gravity, space and time. This idea of God’s image, of His order and our responsibility within His creation is also brought to the forefront as we read our various works of literature throughout the year. With direct intent, we teach the fruits of the Spirit, the armor of God and the characteristics Christ exemplified throughout his mission on earth. We bring to light the behavior and thoughts of the book characters and directly relate those to the truths in the Bible. Our prayer, every day, is for us to “be the hands and feet of Christ; to glorify God in all we say and do.”