Illuminated Manuscripts

Yesterday board member and dad Steve Perkins visited Vita Nova to talk with our first and third grade students about illuminated manuscripts. After looking at pictures of some of these Medieval masterpieces, the students got a chance to try their hand at some calligraphy. Steve modeled for the students a type of writing called Carolingian Minuscule, which was popular from the 8th to the 12th centuries and is connected with the reign of Charlemagne. Interestingly, the pre-K students were were learning to read a book titled Pepin The N0t-Big, which is about King Pepin the Short, who was Charlemagne's father.

Carolingian Minuscule is a simple style of writing that looks like this:




The students did an amazing job copying simple biblical texts using dip pens and ink, then "illuminating" their pages with pictures that acccompanied the texts. While they worked, these would-be scribes listened to the soft sounds of Gregorian chant in the background.

Prayer Partners on Website

We now have a list of our prayer partners on the website, including a map to show where they are from. Check it out at http://www.vitanovaindy.org/support.html.

We are incredibly grateful for our prayer partners, wherever they may be, and we ask for God's continued blessing on them. Thanks, everyone!

Prayer Dinner

On Friday evening, January 25, we held a dinner for our prayer partners at Vita Nova. There are people throughout Indiana and across the United States praying for Vita Nova on every day of the month. We are so grateful for these prayer partners, many of whom have never seen our school, but who know the importance of prayer and what Vita Nova is working to accomplish.

After dinner, board members, staff, and prayer partners walked through the school and spent time in prayer, often stopping to pray over the chairs where the children sit, the entrance to the school, and in other key areas. We prayed for protection of all who enter our school. We prayed for the families we do not yet know, but who will enroll for the 2008-2009 school year.

When it all was over, we felt so excited and recharged! This is no surprise, however, for as Jesus promised in Matthew 18:20, since we had gathered in His name, He was there with us.

Roman Art from the Louvre

From September, 2007, through the first week of January, 2008, the Indianapolis Museum of Art hosted an extraordinary exhibit, Roman Art from the Louvre. Nearly one hundred fifty pieces of ancient Roman sculpture, pottery, mosaics, metalwork, and jewelry dating over two thousand years into the past were on loan from the French museum.

During their first week back at school, our students had the opportunity to see these precious antiquities. The previous day Miss Sandra and helped them make mosaics, and the day of the trip Steve Perkins, one of our fathers and board members, talked with them about what they would see. Miss Melissa had also read with them again the story from Luke 2 about the Emperor Augustus and the census that caused Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem.

When our students arrived, the first thing they saw was a bust of Augustus dating to 27 B.C., some two thousand thirty-four years old. To put it in another perspective, this is more than 400 times as old as some of our pre-K students!

What was most impressive were the questions our students asked. One girl wondered why most of the busts were white, but another looked blue (answer: it was made of basanite, the others of marble). Another asked why part of a statue's head was missing (answer: it had been damaged over time). All in all it was an exciting and once-in-a-lifetime educational experience. To see some pictures from our trip, visit http://www.vitanovaindy.org/up_close.html.

Welcome 2008!

We welcome the new year and those who read our blog to see what is going on at Vita Nova. Class resumed today amidst frigid wind-chill temperatures and flurries adding to the cotton blanket already on the ground. This short, first week of school will end with a trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art on Friday where the Knights of Vita Nova will see some the ancient Roman art from the Louvre.

We kick off the year with some publicity on the State of Indiana website. We are now listed with other private schools at http://www.doe.in.gov/htmls/privsch.html.

There are many things on the horizon for Vita Nova in 2008. We look forward to completing our 501c3 tax-exempt application, acquiring more resources, registering more students for the 2008-2009 school year, hiring additional staff...the list goes on. Our most exciting milestone, however, will be the completion of our first year in operation. We pray for God's guidance as we run toward our goal.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Philippians 3:12, NIV)