Back to School night is this Thursday.  Walk through your students' schedule, hear from the teacher's own lips about what expectations s/he has for your student.  Get another copy of the syllabus and assignment schedule for the refrigerator.  The event will be at King Mountain Church for both Tu-Th classes and Wednesday classes.  Come at 6:50 PM and be done by 8:40 PM.   For more information, click here.

1.  Wow, this place is bigger!  And we are extremely grateful for use of a gym!  

Am I ever grateful for the folks who showed up to help us move (I'm going to forget some):  Hays, Carlsons, Nortons, Mallorys, Halls, besides our instructors.  Wayne Youngquist hung 5 dry erase boards so they would be ready on Tuesday.  We still need to add trim to these.  If your ZLO student has a study hall either at 9:35 or 10:55 Tuesday and Thursday this week who would like to help, then bring clothes in which you could paint, so we could finish this project quickly.  Send me an email if you can do this.  No skill necessary - I'll show you what to do.

2.  We need some donations:

Tables - these cost about $100 apiece, and are needed to replace the aging and very heavy pressboard and melamine folding tables owned by King Mountain with the newer, lighter plastic tables.  They need to be all of the same type so they stack easily - the Lifetime brand of 8-foot tables.  We found them at Hardware Sales Office Division (sold singly), as well as online from Costco (sold in sets of 4, requiring a few weeks for delivery).  You could purchase one or more, or donate to a purchase of one or more.  The tables will be the property of King Mountain Church, so you could get a tax-deductible receipt from them.  We need up to 15 more of these.

We are beginning to see the need for some compact video projectors, the kind that can be hooked up to DVD/VCR players as well as computers.  More and more of our curriculum is coming to us this way, and we would like to take advantage of that.  Some of our instructors are ready to use them. We have a place at King Mountain to lock these up.  The ones built for travel are smaller and a bit more expensive, but are also more durable and can be taken home by instructors and kept safely among their other belongings instead of being left in the building.

We need to build or purchase one or two dry-erase boards on wheels.  Right now we're anticipating that the back side of these could be used for projection.  Is there a visionary carpenter out there?

We have other moving expenses, including some wheels to make some carts and cabinets we already have able to roll around the building, ways to hang the dry-erase boards on the divider walls, purchase cables for the DVD/VCR players, etc. etc.  You can make a special tax-deductible contribution to ZLO for that purpose.

3.  Tax Deductible Contributions.  One of the things we learned in the week before school started was that our non-profit application has not yet been assigned to anyone at the IRS for review.  Please keep that process in prayer!  However, the agent who spoke to us informed us that we can begin taking contributions as though we were a non-profit, and that contributors can take the deduction on their taxes.  Should our application be denied (we don't anticipate that happening) then the contributor would need to amend their taxes in a future year.  For that reason, folks who would like to contribute to furnishings (tables, dry-erase boards, etc.) to help us function better at King Mountain should just make the contribution to King Mountain Church.  For equipment that would stay with ZLO (projectors on carts, etc.) please make your contribution to ZLO.  We'll give you a receipt, and you can decide what to do with that receipt.

3. Our own place.  Remember that we have a one-year trial relationship with King Mountain Church.  It's not just a matter of being good tenants in a church that welcomes us.  I believe that God is giving us some breathing room, and that we really need to begin to explore the possibility of our own building, whether that is in connection with a church or our own space altogether.  Before we meet with those of you who might be interested in this project I would like to send you all to prayer.  The project could well encompass more than ZLO.  Bellingham needs a Christian high school of which ZLO classes could be a part.  Another model I would like to explore is the University Model School.  Click here for a link to that website.  This is a very interesting school model that got started much the way that ZLO did.

4.  The science lab.  The move to a new building has been perhaps the most difficult for Mr. Woolverton and the classes he teaches.  At Northlake he had a little more freedom to do things more like a chemistry lab.  At our new location, we have him in the room with the most ventilation, but he no longer has access to water in the room, which is something of a safety issue for students.  He's had to adjust his curriculum to accommodate.

We need a place to do some serious science.  I am wondering if there would be anyone out there with a large RV that has seen better days, that could be gutted and fitted with a couple of sinks and lab areas to hold perhaps 10 students?  Reply to this email if you have this or a better idea.

5.  Mrs. Crocker has lowered the price for bands and choirs by $50 per semester to try to fill the classes.  Beginning band is under way, as is choir, but the band class has only a single trumpet player at this point.  Dylan needs some backup!  For an extraordinary ensemble experience, bring your horn next week!  Parents welcome as well.  Beginning Band is Wednesdays at 10 AM.  Instrumental Ensemble is Tuesdays at 2 PM, and Choir is Thursdays at 2 PM.  Call Mrs. Crocker if you would like to join, at 384-0984.

6.  Mr. Chatterton has developed a very interesting Friday lecture series for those of you in middle/high school social studies.  Please visit our website for details about that.  You do not need to be registered at ZLO for this lecture series.

Last week's newsletter:

August 30, the 11th hour

There's a story in the Bible we don't hear too often, about the Judean king Jehoshaphat.  There's not a lot said about him, but I sense he is a man who clearly understands his limitations.  The story is in 2 Chronicles 20.  One day he gets a report that the armies of three nations are a day and a half away.  He declares a fast, calls families together to the temple, and prays aloud.  In his prayer, he reminds God that He owns the land, that His name is on the temple, and that there is no defense against the enemies.  Right in front of all those men, women, and little kids (check the story, see for yourself) he finishes with "We do not know what to do but our eyes are upon you."  A Levite in the assembly begins to prophecy, and tells Jehoshaphat to not be afraid or discouraged, to face the enemy tomorrow and see what God will do.  In the night, a confusion settles on the three armies, and they completely destroy each other and themselves.  It takes 3 days for Judah to collect the plunder.

On Friday of last week, I expected to sign a building contract with Northlake for the coming year.  Instead, I was told that Northlake will be unable to host us for the coming year.  Before you perceive them as the enemy, realize that they have been wonderful hosts to us for six and a half years, and that their new building in 2000 was their first, even though they were a decades-old congregation.  Up until that time, they had been the tenants of the Firs Conference center.  We have really grown up some together.

I confess that I should have seen the signs of God prodding us to think bigger.  The ZLO football league has been playing on asphalt now for a couple of years.  We've been kind of shoehorned into Northlake for a couple of years.

Where to turn?  On Friday, I reviewed Jehoshaphat's story, prayed, and began casting about for another church.  I alerted my faculty and our board.  Board member Penny Andaluz was expecting to be a grandma before dawn the next day.  Board member Miykal Gates had a loaded plate as well, but an idea she began making some phone calls about.  Monday morning we got on the phone and started making a lot of inquiries.  We got some warm receptions at more than one location, and a several more 'wish we coulds' at others that were just too small.  Church leadership does not move at the speed of light, but I can tell you that God had already gone before us.

Today, I am able to tell you that God has been totally in control the whole time, and we have some breathing space for now with King Mountain Church agreeing to host us, with a one-year agreement.  School will start on time next week.  Drive to the south east entrance (closest to Mt. Baker) to drop off your kids.  We'll have some signs in the driveway, and a map of which instructor is where, and when.  If you need directions to the church, click here.

Please note:  Wednesday classes will still be at Bellingham Covenant Church.

Things are going to be bumpy for a little while.  We could use help in the form of donations or funds to purchase the following items, or a bit of labor:

-->With such short notice, could you ALL please call the other folks you know at ZLO and let them know that Tuesday-Thursday classes have changed location?

-->We need to find enough DVD players to go with the TV's already at King Mountain.  We may also be able to take your old TV if it's bigger than 25" and has ports for S-video OR RCA audio/video plugs.

-->Funds for additional folding tables.  These are going to need to be uniform in size so they will stack in storage when we're not there, so we will need to purchase these. Your donation for the purchase should be tax deductible. (If our non-profit application fails, an event we don't anticipate happening, then you would need to amend your taxes later.)

-->Can anyone help move items over from Northlake on Friday and install dry erase boards?  If we have even a handful of people we'll all be home in time to make dinner.  We can start about 10 AM.

-->We also want to know if there's someone out there who can construct a sturdy dry-erase board on wheels.  We don't need that done by Tuesday, but an inspired carpenter would be appreciated.

Classroom setup is going to be up to us this year, so if your child has a 1st or 2nd period class, come a little early to help find everything we need.

The football league may still be playing on the asphalt - the strips of grass out back and front are just a little narrow.  There is a gym indoors for lunchtime play as well.  (Shoes off or bring white-soled tennis shoes to use only on a gym floor.)

Here are a few other items of interest.

1.  Boxtops for Education  We are enrolled in this program which gives us a bit of extra cash flow now and