Excellence in Academics, Athletics, Arts and Character!

Thanks to last year's East Coast Conference champs St. Thomas Aquinas College coming by to see the guys at open gym! At Upper Room Christian School we do everything possible to enable our students to go to some of the best Colleges and Universities in the country! From our aggressive athletic department to our partnerships with St. John's University and Suffolk Community College we strive for excellence in Academics, Character and Athletics.

Even our elementary and middle school programs with their developmental approach seek to ready our students for college and beyond. And with God's Word, the Bible, at the center of all that we do we are instilling Christian Compassion and Character and a desire in our students to serve their generation with excellence, wisdom and passion.

As this year gets under way we look back at what God has done in our school and our former graduates and we look forward, using all available technology and resources available, to provide our students with the best academic and spiritual environment possible that expresses the love and nature of God in all we do. Let's Go Royals!!

Powder Puff Football at Upper Room Christian School

The girls are practicing and we are excitedly looking forward to our first Powder Puff  Flag Football game of the year. Former San Francisco 49er and New Orleans Saints fullback Jason Isom and his dad former Long Island football coach John Isom are working with our girls, teaching them the fundamentals of the game.

The girls love the competition and the school loves to come out for this exciting event. The girls split up into intramural teams and the competition high as the teachers, staff and students cheer them on.

Athletics and Physical Education are important here at Upper Room and we are so pleased to have hired a new PE teacher this year. David Waller is a graduate of Old Dominion University with a Bachelor's degree in sports management.

Christian Education

These bulletin  boards help demonstrate some of the value of Christian Education! The teacher is expressing her faith in her student's ability, her desire to hear them deeply, her concern and care for them and her love.

The students are reminded daily that they are alive, holy, wise, blessed, victorious, bold, free and righteous in Christ! These boards would be considered unacceptable in our present public education system! The environment in a Christian School is much more loving, safe and encouraging. The students are taught to love themselves, love others and love God with the same if not a higher level of academic and athletic emphasis that is presently found in our public school system.

Annual Golf Outing

Upper Room Christian School will be hosting our first annual Golf Outing to benefit our Athletic Department. We will be having the outing at the beautiful Mill Pond Golf Course in Medford, New York on Monday May 13, 2013 at 7:45am. We will be having a shot gun start and the event includes, Greens Fee, Cart Fee, Range Balls, Continental Breakfast and a two hour All You Can Eat BBQ Lunch after we play!

Prizes will be awarded for the Closest to the Pin, Longest Drive and Best Score. We will also be having a 50/50 raffle, Silent Chinese Auction and a live Auction of Awesome Sports Memorabilia! Tickets are $150 for a single or $500 for a foursome. We also have some great sponsorship packages available!

Tickets and Sponsorships can be purchased in person at the school, 722 Deer Park Road, Dix Hills, NY 11746, Monday - Friday between 9am-3pm or by phone at 631-242-5359 ext.201. Or you can e-mail me at Edono@urcs.org for more information.

Blessings,
Ed

Call this one the ‘Challenge of the Champs’

Here is an excerpt from the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald:

For the second straight Friday, Lawrence Academy played a baseball double-header featuring one visitor from north of the Mason-Dixon line. This week it was Upper Room Christian School of Dix Hills, New York, two-time defending National Christian School Athletic Association champion facing a Warrior nine that had won four straight North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association titles.

In a game shortened because of darkness on an unlit field, Lawrence’s comeback fell short and the Royals prevailed, 12-6. “We played a really good team and we showed a lot of character,” said Lawrence coach Robert Kravitz.

Upper Room right-hander, Ramon Aureano, picked up the win with a seven-hit, 12-strikeout performance. He also surrendered six walks. “We got our hands full, but it’s good to be brought back down to earth and play real baseball, so it’s fun,” Kravitz said.

In the top of the sixth inning Upper Room sent 14 men to the plate and smoked Lawrence for 10 runs. Part of that onslaught included three homeruns. Despite Kravitz making a pitching change the Royals continued to score.

“I never think it’s over,” said Upper Room coach Tony Pasalacqua. “Baseball’s such a funny game and give them credit, they never gave up and that says a lot about their coaches and their character,” he added motioning toward the Lawrence dugout.

GO ROYALS!!
Ed

Athletics

We have a very competitive Athletic Program at Upper Room Christian School. This year we have Boys Varsity Soccer, Boys JV Basketball, Girls Varsity Basketball, Boys Varsity Basketball, Varsity Co-Ed Track, Boys Varsity Baseball and 1st grade-12th grade Co-Ed Tae Quon Do.
We compete in several leagues as well as participate in various tournaments throughout the East Coast. God has blessed us with a beautiful regulation sized gym (pictured above) as well as a beautiful regulation sized Baseball field. We are looking forward to building a Soccer/Softball Field on our spacious property as well.

Athletics help to build Character in students as well as giving them the opportunity to channel their energy and effort into something fun and productive while giving many of them additional opportunities for scholarships for higher learning!

2 Timothy 2:5 says,"Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules." (NIV)

Grace and Peace,
Ed

Upper Room Christian School Appoints a New Athletic Director!

Coach Becky Terry Stevens has spent over 25 years in sports in various capacities including playing basketball and running track both at the High School and College level. She has been a coach, athletic trainer and official in various cities and states including Atlanta, Boston, Ohio, South Carolina and Michigan.

As a player, Becky was selected to compete on an American basketball team made up of 11 AAU players from New York and Florida. This was a European tour, competing against professional women's "clubs" overseas. They played in England, Denmark, Sweden, Stockholm and other cities and finished the competition winning with first place honors.


As a player, Becky trained extensively with Bob McKillop the 5 time New York State championship coach of the Long Island Lutheran High School boys basketball team. During the summers, Mrs. Stevens worked, as well as attended clinics with future NBA All Star Mark Jackson, future NBA player of the Champion Chicago Bulls Bill Wennington and future NBA hall of famer Chris Mullin.

At LuHi Becky was a High School All American in basketball, and a recipient of the "Who's Who" award for her sports and academic achievements. She was highly recruited at schools across the nation including Harvard, UCLA, and West Virginia but at the request of her parents (the only girl with six brothers), she decided to go to a Christian College that was within driving distance where she studied music ministry and played basketball while majoring in pre-med and minoring in psychology. However, due to her father's sudden illness, and his eventual passing away at the age of 45, she returned back to Long Island to be closer to her family and help out at home.


Coach Stevens continued her studies at Queens College studying physical therapy/sports medicine. Becky eventually went on to work as an athletic trainner at several colleges in New York and South Carolina, as well as worked in physical therapy in rehab facilities, specializing in spinal cord injuries, head, neurological and CVA injuries. This also included work with replacement surgery patients. For a time, Becky also worked with the personal trainer/scout for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.

In 2009-2010 Coach Stevens became the girl's head basketball coach and track coach at Upper Room Christian School. She will continue those duties, in addition to assuming the role as the Athletic Director.


Becky's greatest asset was coming to Christ at an early age and maintaining a passionate relationship with her Lord! She has for many years served as a youth leader and counselor/teacher, praise and worship leader and choir member/director. She's proud to be married to her husband Mike Stevens for almost 25 years and adores their 5 children.

Coach Stevens enjoys not only teaching sports, but by serving others, helping to develop charecter in the players and believes in keeping the "I" out of TEAM. She calls this promotion to Athletic Director "...an honor and privilege", and looks forward to the future here at Upper Room.

Royal's Basketball

The 2007-2008 Royals Basketball and Cheerleading season is under way. The tryouts are over and the games have begun. Sports are a very big part of student life here at Upper Room. When our Varsity teams play the gym is usually filled to capacity. The hotdogs and hamburgers are on the grill. The soft drinks are on ice. And the fans come out to cheer their teams on for the IPSALL and New York State Championships.

Our Royal Varsity Boys are the current NYS class B High School Basketball Champions! Our Varsity Girls placed second in their IPSALL division. And our JV boys are always in the running for the current IPSALL tittle. We also have a dynamic squad of stunting cheerleaders. Each year the coachs and teams strive for new levels of excellence in their chosen sport while putting God first in all they do!

Along with teaching a good work ethic, teamwork, perserverance, self control and discipline many students receive scholarships to great Colleges and Universitys for their abilities as an athlete. That's why athletics play a large role here at Upper Room. Our philosophy is "growing up in Christ spirit, soul and body". Athletics helps in the formation of good charecter and helps to build the skills necessary for life's challenges.

Paul said in 1st Corinthians 9, " Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptable".

Grace and Peace,

Ed