A Mustang Minute
Our September 2022 School Newsletter
Summer Happenings
Yorkville Christian High School was a VERY busy place this summer. It seemed like every week there was some event taking place. Here is a little recap of the exciting things that took place at Yorkville Christian High School.
During the week of June 6-10, Yorkville Christian High School hosted the “Monumental Vacation Bible School”. This was a huge success as approximately 60 children attended. It was a week packed full with guests (Pharaoh seemed to be everyone’s favorite), Bible stories to teach our students more about God, super fun activities, and even a petting zoo and snow cones! Special thanks to all the volunteers who made the event possible, and a very special thanks to Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Wiesbrook who planned and coordinated the entire week. Great job! We cannot wait to see everyone again next summer!
The Mustang Basketball Camp was held the week of June 13-16 at Yorkville Christian High School. Over 80 boys and girls attended the camp and spent the week having a great deal of fun, while learning the fundamentals of the game. Special thanks to Coach Sovern, as well as his current and some former players who helped run the camp. It was a huge success, and we look forward to seeing everyone at camp again next summer!
Three Yorkville Christian High School students, Peyton Loomis, Halana Cejka, and Audrey Breen, attended the Illinois FFA Convention the week of June 13-16. The girls had a fantastic time at this event, and learned a great deal that they will be able to share to help make our Yorkville Christian High School FFA Chapter even better than it already is.
Coach Dario Ayala and Coach Danette Bulson held their Mustang Soccer Camp the week of June 20-23 at Yorkville Christian High School. Soccer is a newer sport at Yorkville Christian High School, so it was great to see so many new players come out and brave the extremely hot temperatures (the temperature was in the upper 90’s all week at camp) to learn more about the Mustang soccer program. The coaches did a great job with the camp and the players really improved in the short amount of time at the camp.
Yorkville Christian High School installed some new school signage to the building over the summer. One set of signs is visible for visitors entering from Ashley Drive, and the other set of signs is visible for guests entering from Whitekirk Lane. The new signs turned out great and really help our continuing effort to market our school, and make guests feel welcome. We also installed signs above our Canyon gymnasium entrances and our driveway. Special thanks to Print Source Graphics for their great work with this project!
The Yorkville Christian High School Art Club, under the direction of Mr. John McDavitt, spent the second semester of the school year creating a mural for Paradise Car Wash in Yorkville. After months of hard work, the mural was completed just before summer break and installed at the end of June at Paradise Car Wash. Here are some photos of the finished project. Special thanks to Mr. Chad Green, owner of Paradise Car Wash, for providing such an incredible opportunity for our students. Also, a special thanks to Mr. McDavitt and the Art Club students for all their hard work on this project. Great job Mustangs!
On Monday, July 4, a large contingent of Yorkville Christian High School staff members, students, and parents participated in the Yorkville 4th of July parade. Yorkville Christian decorated a float, and distributed school informational flyers and some nice giveaways to the very large crowd who attended the event. This parade is always one of the highlights of the summer, and a great public relations opportunity for our school. Thank you to all those who attended the event to represent our school. We appreciate your support!
Coach Sovern hosted his annual Hustle Basketball Camp from July 11-15. Over 100 campers attended the camp. The camp was a great combination of basketball fundamentals and fun. Several Mustang alumni helped work that camp, so it was nice to welcome back some former players. The camp was a huge success again, and we look forward to hosting it again next year.
On Saturday, July 16, the Mustang Volleyball Clinic, under the direction of new varsity coach, Jordan Albarran, was held at Yorkville Christian High School. Participants learned the fundamentals of the game, as they participated in a variety of drills covering several different facets of the game. The participants really enjoyed the experience, and it was a great event.
The Yorkville Christian High School girls varsity volleyball team participated in the Joliet Junior College Summer Tournament the weekend of July 22-23. The team played for the first time under the direction of new head coach, Jordan Albarran, and played extremely well. In fact, the team went a perfect 7-0 over the weekend and didn’t lose a single set on their way to the championship! Congratulations girls!
The Jason Otter Basketball Camp invaded “The Canyon” during the week of July 25-28. Over 60 campers from around the country participated in the nine hour a day camp. This week provides a great opportunity to share the mission of our school with not only local families, but families from around the country. It is a great event and a very busy week of basketball!
Yorkville Christian High School alum, Maggie Stewart, placed in the top 5 in two rounds and finished third in the world in Breakaway Roping at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Wyoming at the end of July. Congratulations Maggie! Great job!
The Yorkville Christian High School wrestling program hosted a wrestling camp for boys entering grades K-8 from July 28-30. The camp offered an opportunity for our current Mustang wrestlers to help the next generation of wrestlers, as a majority of the current team and a few alumni helped work the camp. The camp was a huge success, and Coach Vester and his staff loved working with the youth who attended the camp.
The Yorkville Christian High School staff attended the Global Leadership Summit on August 4-5 at Spirit Farms, which hosted the Summit as a satellite site. The Summit was a tremendous experience for our staff members, as the staff was able to listen to incredible speakers from around the world, including such global leaders as Lynsi Snyder (CEO of In-N-Out Burger), Ron Howard (Academy Award Winning Actor and Producer), and Jon Acuff (New York Times Best Selling Author). The Summit provided great insight for our staff members, and served as a wonderful motivational tool for our staff for the upcoming school year.
Yorkville Christian High School hosted the 2nd Annual Hoops 4 Hunger Basketball Camp on Saturday, August 6. The camp was for boys and girls entering grades 6-12, and was run by former Mustang, Micah Schnyders. The camp was once again a huge success as 89 campers attended and a tremendous amount of food items was collected for a local organization called “All God’s People.” This organization feeds the homeless in Chicago every weekend, and the food items were desperately needed. Special thanks to the coaches who volunteered their time to help make the camp a success, and to special guest, former Chicago Bulls star Craig Hodges, for making an appearance. We cannot wait to run the camp again next year.
On August 16, Yorkville Christian High School FFA members Kloe Pottinger, Brant Tunnell, Halana Cejka, Kennedy Cargola, Emma Reinke, and Ali Gajewski attended Agriculture Day at the Illinois State Fair. Some of the highlights of the day were the Illinois FFA petting zoo, the Illinois Department of Agriculture tent, the Swine Open Show, the Draft Horses Show and visiting Conservation World. It was a great learning experience for our students. Special thanks to Agriculture teacher, Mrs. Blair Wiesbrook, for taking the students to the event.
SUMMER ALUMNI NEWS
Yorkville Christian High School alum, Noah Lewis (Class of 2018), married Taylor Swank on May 27. The ceremony and reception were held in Galena, IL. Congratulations to the couple and may God richly bless your marriage.
Yorkville Christian High School alum, Micah Schnyders (Class of 2020), was named to the very prestigious 2021-2022 Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll, as a member of the Eastern Illinois University men’s basketball team. This prestigious award acknowledges athletes for their great work on the court but also in the classroom. Great job Micah!
Yorkville Christian High School alum, Tyson Page (Class of 2022), recently completed the Nicor Gas Career Academy. The Nicor Gas Career Academy is a 6-week job readiness program that prepares participants for careers in the utility industry. Congratulations Tyson!
YORKVILLE CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL PARENT AMBASSADORS WORK HOMETOWN DAYS EVENT
The Yorkville Christian High School Parent Ambassador group, under the direction of Mrs. Janine McDavitt, made appearances throughout the Labor Day weekend at the Yorkville Hometown Days event. Yorkville Christian had a tent at the annual event, and used the event as an opportunity to promote the school in the community by distributing flyers and other promotional materials to make community members aware of Yorkville Christian and upcoming events at the school. A special thank you to the Parent Ambassadors who helped throughout the weekend, including Janine McDavitt, Jen Torza, Kelly Reinke, Danette Bulson, and Mike and Amy Mattes. We really appreciate your help!
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“HELP WANTED” Join the Parent Ambassadors
Yorkville Christian High School Parent Ambassadors are a group of parents who have hearts to serve the school, teachers and staff with their time, resources and/or talents. This vital group knows the importance of parent involvement at YCHS by lending an extra set of hands to our dedicated staff who give abundantly of their own time, funds and other resources. Parent Ambassadors compliment the mission of YCHS – Energize, Educate and Impact the World!
To be a part of this servant group, parents are asked to participate in at least one of these:
help promote the school in person, through flyers and social media, but most importantly, personal invitation (*all Parent Ambassadors are asked to help with this)
volunteer time or resources at various events throughout the year
help acquire gift cards or prizes for certain events
attend a few meetings per year
Again, parents aren’t asked to do it all, just to be aware of what’s in your toolbox and help in those ways.
Please contact Mrs. Janine McDavitt (Parent Ambassador Coordinator) by emailing her at
jamcdavitt@yahoo.com to sign up to be a part of this parent group!
Upcoming Events for Parent Ambassador (PA) Help:
All hands on-deck for Grandparent’s Day (October 13)
✓ Donations of food items, small bottles of water, paper plates, napkins and plastic
ware is needed
✓ A few more volunteers needed to set-up and serve coffee/donuts beginning at
7:30am and to set-up and serve lunch beginning at 10:30am
PAs are asked to participate in YCHS Trunk or Treat (October 22)
✓ Share about the event by word of mouth and passing out flyers to neighbors, co-
workers, family members, friends, church and community groups, etc.
✓ Host a truck to hand out treats, AND if you or someone you know own a business,
invite them to host a trunk to pass out treats and small marketing materials (this is a
great business outreach!)
All hands on deck for YCHS’ most important outreach of the year, OPEN HOUSE (October 23)
✓ Asking all PAs to “Register 10” – personally invite 10 families with students of middle
school age to Open House by sharing your story of YCHS with them, then giving
them a flyer or registration card, ask them to pre-register using the link on the
homepage of YCHS website, then notifying Tim Schnyders of your 10
✓ A few more volunteers needed from 12:30-4pm to host the refreshment table
We would like to thank our Parent Ambassadors who served this year already: represented YCHS in Yorkville’s 4th of July Parade, manned the YCHS booth at Yorkville’s Hometown Days Festival, collected gift cards and prizes for our Trivia Night and handed out flyers to parents in the pick-up line at dismissal!
To sign up to receive Parent Ambassador communications or assist with any event, please email Mrs. McDavitt at jamcdavitt@yahoo.com
YORKVILLE CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL FFA NEWS
On September 20th, the Yorkville Christian FFA chapter had their first meeting for the 2022-23 year. It was a potluck dinner held in the Chapel that had a meeting to follow. FFA members from every grade brought a wonderful dish to share with the rest of the FFA. Upcoming events and ways for students to get involved in FFA were discussed. The Yorkville Christian FFA Officers were excited to get to meet all the new FFA members! The Yorkville Christian FFA Officer Team consists of Audrey Breen, Kloe Pottinger, Ellie Stewart, Kennedy Cargola, Emma Reinke, Brady Sovern, Halana Cejka, and Brant Tunnell.
Upcoming events for FFA include the following:
Section 7 Leadership Training School — October 5
FFA Concessions at the Illinois Little Britches Rodeo at Mustang Arena — October 8-9
FFA Concessions at the High School Rodeo at Mustang Arena — October 14-16
Petting Zoo at the YCHS Trunk or Treat — October 22
National FFA Convention October — 25-28
CLASSROOM CORNER
Things were already business as usual the first few days of school. Here are just a few photos from some of the activities in our classes.
Intro to Agriculture – the students in Intro to Ag, under the direction of Mrs. Stewart, were treated to a guest visitor the first couple days of school – a silage harvester! The students learned the various parts of the machine and how it works, along with it many uses.
Piano 101
The students in Piano 101 received their keyboards on the first day of school and were off and running under the instruction of Mrs. Motley. Students were already working hard and sounding good! Great job Mustangs!
Chapel Band
The Yorkville Christian High School Worship Team was hard at work the first few days of school already getting ready for our first chapel on September 8. It was so great to hear God being praised by our amazing group of students. To God be the glory! Special thanks to Mrs. Motley for leading our students and helping them use their amazing talents to glorify God!
Drawing and Painting Class
Students in Mr. McDavitt’s Drawing and Painting class were hard at work week one already. Students were working on their Value Scales. This particular project taught them how to differentiate shades from light to dark on a graduated spectrum.
1st Chapel of the School Year
On Thursday, September 8, Yorkville Christian High School held the first chapel of the school year. The student body was treated to some amazing praise and worship songs led by Mrs. Motley and our Worship Team. Our message for the chapel was provided by Yorkville Christian High School alum, Noah Lewis, who talked to the students about the most important question they will ever have to answer – Who is Jesus to you? It was a great way to kick off the new school year. To God be the glory!
Agricultural Entrepreneurship Class
The Agricultural Entrepreneurship Class, which is taught by Mrs Stewart, recently toured the premier agricultural tourism stop in Northern Illinois – Kuipers Family Farm. Kuipers Family Farm has an Apple Picking Orchard; Pumpkin Patch; Sunflower Experience; Country Market; Wedding and Events Venue; on-site restaurants; and so much more. It was a tremendous opportunity for our students to examine how a farm family made a very successful business out of connecting people to agriculture and seeing how their food is grown firsthand. Families and people of all backgrounds leave Kuipers Family Farm with experiences and memories as well as great tasting locally grown products to enjoy. The Yorkville Christian students used the trip to gather many exciting ideas, as they endeavor to begin Yorkville Christian’s first annual farmers market this fall.
Introduction to Drawing and Painting
The Introduction to Drawing and Painting class, under the direction of Mr. McDavitt, recently completed a Values Squares project, which was an exercise teaching the values of grays in a black and white drawing. The students did a great job!
Geometry
The Geometry classes, under the instruction of Mrs. Tickel, completed a lesson that reviewed plotting points on a coordinate plane by creating unique dot-dot sketches. This was a fun way for students to review an Algebra 1 topic during the first week of class.
Students in Geometry class also used geometric nets to construct their own 3D figures including cones, pyramids, prisms, and cylinders. Here are some samples of the students’ work.
MUSTANGS IN THE COMMUNITY
The Yorkville Christian High School varsity volleyball team participated in the Chicago Christian Invitational on August 26 and 27. The girls battled against a few much larger schools and collected victories over Stagg High School, Aurora Central Catholic High School, and Aurora Christian High School to finish the tournament in 5th place with a record of 3-2. Special congratulations to senior, Nina Schuberth, for being named to the All-Tournament 1st Team. Great job ladies!
The Yorkville Christian High School varsity volleyball team had its first home match of the year on Friday, September 2, against Universal School. The Mustangs came out clicking on all cylinders, and picked up a fast 25-6 and 25-3 victory. It was a total team effort, and a great way to start the home schedule for the Lady Mustangs! Great job girls!
Congratulations to Yorkville Christian High School wrestler and state champion, Jack Gillen, who was rewarded for his hard work by having a sign posted in his honor at the village limits of Millington, Jack’s hometown. This is quite an honor for Jack and another great honor for the Mustang wrestling program. Keep up the great work, Jack and GO MUSTANGS!
The Yorkville Christian High School varsity volleyball team continued their winning ways at the Manteno Invitational on September 3. The girls finished in 3rd place in the tournament recording victories over Watseka, Clifton Central, and Grant Park, while losing a tough match to the home team, Manteno. Congratulations to senior, Nina Schuberth, who was named to the All-Tournament team, and to junior, Chloe Saxe, who also was named to the All-Tournament team. Great job ladies!
The Yorkville Christian High School varsity volleyball team participated in the Sandwich Invite on Saturday, September 10. The team was hoping to repeat as tournament champions after winning the tournament last year. The Mustangs defeated Streator High School, Plano High School, Sandwich High School, and Aurora Central Catholic High School on their way to winning the championship and repeating! Congratulations girls!
The Yorkville Chamber of Commerce held its annual golf outing on Thursday, September 15, at Blackberry Oaks in Bristol. Yorkville Christian High School’s Director of Outreach and Enrollment, Mr. Tim Schnyders, represented Yorkville Christian High School at the event, which serves as a great networking opportunity for the school. Yorkville Christian also donated a gift basket for the event’s auction. It was a beautiful day, and 150 golfers attended the event, so it was a huge success.
The Mustang Rodeo Club had a very successful rodeo the weekend of September 17-18 at Morriston, IL. Congratulations to Audrey Breen, Eli Foster, Kloe Pottinger, Ellie Stewart, and Grace Voitik for strong performances. Kloe Pottinger won Goat Tying BOTH DAYS! Audrey Breen took the Breakaway win on Sunday. Other top 10 finishes for the weekend included Audrey Breen taking 5th in Breakaway; Ellie Stewart finishing 3rd in Goats; 8th in poles; 2nd in Breakaway; 5th in Barrels, and 2nd in Goats! Eli Foster finished 7th in calf roping in his very first-time calf roping in a high school rodeo! Great job Mustangs!
The Yorkville Christian High School JV volleyball team captured the Daystar Academy Tournament at Moody Bible Institute on Saturday, September 17. The team finished 3-0 on the day to capture the crown. Great job Mustangs!
HEARTLAND BANK CONTINUES TO SUPPORT YORKVILLE CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL
On Friday, September 23, Mr. Ryan Kastner and Mrs. Jennifer Vandermeir from Heartland Bank, stopped by Yorkville Christian High School to present a check for the Yorkville Christian High School Annual Fund. Heartland Bank, and especially Ryan and Jen, have been huge supporters of our mission at Yorkville Christian, sponsoring several events for us. We are so thankful for their generous gift and continued support.
The Yorkville Christian High School varsity volleyball team captured the IMSA Tournament title on Saturday, September 26. The team defeated Ridgewood, Joliet Central, Oak Park, Oak Lawn, and Fenton High Schools on their way to the title! Great job ladies. The team is currently 20-5 on the season.
UPCOMING EVENTS
YORKVILLE CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS
- Monday, October 10 – NO SCHOOL – Columbus Day
- Thursday, October 13 – Grandparents Day – 8:30 am until 12:30 pm
- Monday, October 17 – NHS Induction Ceremony – 6 pm
- Saturday, October 22 – Trunk-or-Treat Event – 2-6:30 pm in school parking lot
- Sunday, October 22 – Yorkville Christian High School Fall Open House – 1-4 pm
- October 26-28 – FFA National Convention
- Tuesday, November 1 – Math and Science Shadow Day (middle school students interested in math and science can join us for the day)
- Thursday, November 3 – Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:30-7:30 pm
- Friday, November 4 – NO SCHOOL – Parent/Teacher Conferences 8am until 3 pm
- Thursday, November 10 – Mustang Shadow Day (middle school students can join us for the day)
Proverbs 21:31 – “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord.”
