Reaching students can take many different forms and include partnership with the church, positive reinforcement and making learning fun. Lisa Jackson, principal of Bella Vista Academy, launched a Disney-themed Positive Office Referral Program where students earn “tickets to Disneyland” for positive behavior and personal goal-setting. When nominated, students are celebrated in front of their peers and taken to her “Disneyland” office for a special recognition experience that b

CNH District Educator of the Year – Bethany Bogle The 2025 Educator of the Year for the CNH District is Mrs. Bethany Bogle. Bethany is the only Called teacher on her faculty, and she carries the sacred responsibility of ensuring the youngest students build a strong faith foundation rooted in the truth that we are saved by grace through Jesus Christ. In her 11 years at St. Paul Lutheran School in Merced, California teaching kindergarten, she has combined academic excellence wi

Mike Newton, 5th grade teacher at St. John's in Napa, is celebrating his 50th year of teaching at St. John's Lutheran School. He was recognized at the CNH and PSD Lutheran Elementary Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on November 23. There were seven current Lutheran teachers in the CNH District who were students in his 5th grade class. Mike, who also attended St. John's Lutheran School as a student, will retire at the end of this current school year.

Each year, our CNH District teachers are invited to join educators from the Pacific Southwest District for a Lutheran Educator Conference (LEC). This year's conference was held in Phoenix, Arizona and included over 700 educators. Teachers and administrators had the opportunity to spend time in spiritual growth, professional learning, and the valuable opportunity for fellowship with other Lutheran educators. This year's conference theme was "Lift High the Cross" based on Roman

The 4th Annual Honua Scholars Proposal Competition fosters new ideas that could positively impact the Hawaiian community through STEM. This year, they invited proposals exploring “Ke Ola Pono: The Science of Wellbeing,” integrating Pacific Island wisdom with STEM to advance health, sustainability, and innovation in areas like farming, healthcare, and education. Six students in 5th-8th grade from Cross Academy placed in the top 3 with their written, science or technology propo

Congratulations to Micah Glenn, Executive Director at Sierra Lutheran High School in Carson City, Nevada! Micah just completed certification in Principal 360 , an intensive 11-month leadership development program, operated by the Chicagoland Lutheran Education Foundation (CLEF). This program develops and equips Lutheran school administrators in specific skills that help them develop school leadership skills and extensive training to craft and implement a customized, compreh

Upward Bound Preschool has been a ministry of Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Santa Maria, California since 2000. The church has been a part of the Orcutt community in Central California since 1960. In 2024, Brendan Harrell accepted the Call to serve as pastor at LCOS. Brendan and his wife, Katie moved to Santa Maria with their two young children. Brendan and Katie come from opposite ends of the US – Brendan grew up in the Washington DC area, and Katie grew up on Oahu in

Redeemer Lutheran School in Redwood City, California hosted the first CNH District Knowledge Bowl of the year on November 6. Six teams from the CNH District participated in this event. The Knowledge Bowl has two divisions, a 5/6th grade division and a 7/8th grade division. Teams of 5 students are given a list of questions on topics that include religion, math, science, literature, history, geography, art, music, sports, and current events. At the end of four rounds of com

Zion Lutheran School is the smallest and most remote school in the CNH District. It has a long history in the rural area of Terra Bella, a few miles outside Porterville, California. The school was founded in 1909 and currently has 10 students in kindergarten through 6th grade and the faculty consists of two teachers and two aides. Six of the students are members of Zion Lutheran Church. Along with the teachers, the current vacancy pastor, Lloyd Willweber, also provides su

Theme : Gather and Grow Based on Hebrews 10:23-24.  "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." If you are a preschool director in the CNH District, you are invited to participate in our annual Early Childhood Directors Conference on February 5-6, 2026 at the CNH District Ministry Center in Livermore, CA.   The cost is $175 (includes two meals, materials, and

This district conference will be a great opportunity to spend some time in fellowship and have an opportunity to discuss and share a variety of topics important to you as an administrator.  The cost is $195 and hotel accomondations can be made at Hampton Inn (next to the Ministry Center)                 We are excited to have some special guests and presenters join us.  Dr. Tara Rolle from CAPSO will be here to talk about the impact of current State and Federal Legislation a

Trinity Lutheran School in Paso Robles, California recently held a week-long readathon fundraiser called “Bounce into Books”. Each day, the school hosted activities that encouraged and celebrated children reading books. One of the activities was called The Book Bistro. Classes would take turns coming to a book “tasting” activity. Students sat around a table, were provided with some snacks, and would then have the opportunity to quickly “taste” a variety of books. Each “c

St. Paul in Merced is building stronger bridges between church and school by empowering students to lead worship. On Oct. 19, students from preschool through sixth grade took over the planning and execution of Sunday morning service. This was the second such event in the past year. Since Principal Ruth Sebastian took leadership in Fall 2024, she has worked intentionally to integrate all three ministries: church, school, and preschool. Beyond the Kids Takeover services, studen

Giving Bibles to Lutheran school students is nothing new, and some of you may do this as well, but here is one "best practice' for this process. St. John's Lutheran School and Preschool in Napa, California have a tradition of presenting Bibles to their new preschoolers and their second grade students at the start of the year. The congregation is asked to sponsor a preschool student by donating the money to purchase a Children's Bible, in which the sponsor can write a short me

Grace Lutheran School in Visalia, California has been providing quality Lutheran education along with proclaiming the Gospel of Christ with students and their families since 1977. The school is small with a current enrollment of 60 in elementary school and 57 in preschool. The elementary school has a single Kindergarten and combined grades through 8th grade (1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8) and are taught by an experienced faculty of five teachers. Two of the teachers, Joanne Cook and

A group of Pastors, Administrators, Directors, and DCEs participated in a Joint Meeting & Workshop on September 26 with the theme...

For two Sundays in July, the church courtyard buzzed with worshipers at St. John’s, Bakersfield stepping up to purchase children’s Bibles...

Brenda Plath is the new principal at St. Peter Lutheran School in Lodi, California. This is the story of her journey into ministry in...

For some churches with schools, the start of another school year is a great time for the staff to get away and prepare for the upcoming...

Friday, September 26, 2025 10:00 am – 2:00 pm CNH District Office, Livermore   Our annual Joint Leadership Meeting & Workshop  for...