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On Thursday, September 24, CCA launched a year-long observation/celebration of our 60th anniversary with a morning “Heritage Chapel” assembly for our 6th - 12th grade students, introducing them to the fact that the fabric of which they are becoming a part of began its weaving decades before. We were privileged to welcome to campus two alumni from the early days of Alden Mennonite School to share their memories and the impact that their AMS experience built into their lives. Thank you to Mr. Alferd Bontrager (AMS 6th-9th grades, 1949-1952, and to Mr. Don Schmidt, AMS student from 1959-1965 for 5th-10th grades, for their significant contribution to our students.

On Friday, September 25, 2009, we continued the celebration of our 60th anniversary with a fun-filled “Heritage Dinner” which welcomed about 100 alumni, faculty and staff.Click here to review the evening’s program. Click here to view photos from the evening. Special thanks to Mr. Don Santucci, father of CCA graduate, Jonathan Santucci (‘96) for his photography services at the dinner.

During the evening we shared reminiscences of several alumni and former teachers. Here are the memories of:

1. Mr. David (“Little Dave”) Miller, AMS student 1950 - 1955 for grades 6-11, who then returned as teacher and administrator when the school became Alden Christian and then Faith Christian School.

2. Mrs. Jeanine Smyth Maier, CCA alumna, Class of 1991.

Objectives of our year-long celebration of our 60^th anniversary:

1. Attempt to find and obtain contact information on:

• every face and name that appears in all the 38 yearbooks we have on hand
• all past board members and parents of students

2. Display near the main office area the names of all faculty, staff and students who were part of the school’s history as they appeared in the yearbooks.

3. Display a timeline of the growth and development of the school in the main office hallway.

4. Archive valid memorabilia in a permanent collection based at the school. If you have things that are from any phase of the school, call us to discuss if this is something we could use.

5. Plan a culminating event toward the end of the school year to bring the celebration to a close and, by God’s grace and provision, move forward into our next 60 years.

How you can help:

1. Pray for God’s guidance and wisdom for us as we move through this project.

2. Circulate the word among your networks that we are interested in finding as many students, whether or not they graduated, as possible from all eras of the school’s history. Call or email us with the contact information: 634-4821, ext. 107, dwhitecca@gmail.com. You may also use the Contact Us function on our website to send info: http://www.christianca.com/.

3. Volunteer on the “60^th Anniversary Committee” to help plan our culminating event for this celebration. (Date yet to be determined.)

Contact (for now): Debby White (dwhitecca@gmail.com). Visit us often to keep us updated on what you are doing. Reflect on the impact of your experiences as a part of AMS, ACS, FCS, or CCA.

If possible, join us for current events and activities throughout the school year.