Stockton church hosts fundraiser to reopen local school

People at tables with baked goods and charity auction in church hall

The City of Stockton has been working to revitalize Main Street. To help, a local church hosted a bazaar to raise funds that go directly into the community. “It’s a small community, but a really hardworking one,” Saint Gertrude Summer Festival organizer Monica Mercado said. This all happened Sunday in the courtyard of Saint Gertrude’s Catholic Church. Vendors and organizers had one goal in mind: raise enough money to do their part in revitalizing Main Street on the east side of the city. “I know a building that looks really nice for the community will always bring the community back,” Mercado continued.

“We’re just trying to throw a rock in there to try to say we could save our church and bring it back to how it used to be.” But that’s not all they’re doing. The weekend-long event was meant to build community, repair the church, and reopen a much-needed school. “They want to get the school going again,” Vendor Jose Lara explained. “We got to get the kitchen back up to be able to bring in the children and help them learn.” The school has been closed for more than two decades. With few options locally on the east side of town, they say the repairs are essential to this community and the next generation. “It’s very important because there’s not a lot to do around here and it’s good to have a place where they can come and they feel safe,” Lara shared. On top of raising money for a good cause, the church says it’s an event to bring the community back together. “We use it a lot and we want to keep up,” Vendor Rafael Murillo explained.

“This is a way of also being able to manage and acquire, not only that but just to give to the community so they can come and enjoy it too.” “When you’re doing something from the heart, you can’t mess up. You really can’t,” Mercado continued. Event organizers say they’ll need to raise nearly $200,000 to make the necessary repairs to their building and reopen the school.

Source: Stockton church hosts fundraiser to reopen local school – CBS Sacramento

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

Finding Truth and Life in Jesus

In a world filled with competing voices, confusing paths, and endless distractions, Jesus doesn’t simply show us the way He declares, ‘I am the way.’ When everything around you tries to…

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Ransomware attack shuts down Evanston Township High School campus

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The FBI is investigating a cybersecurity at Evanston Township High School that has closed down the whole campus Monday morning. A ransomware attack is hitting the district’s phone lines, internet services and computers, and impacting the school’s emergency notification and public address systems. “Because these systems are not fully operational, we made the determination to cancel summer school classes and other on-campus activities until we can restore access to a point where we can safely run school,” said district spokesperson Reine Hanna.

A popup on the Evanston Township High School website announced that summer school, sports camps, and on-campus activities are canceled due to the ransomware attack that happened on Sunday. Hanna told CBS News Chicago that they have not yet received a money demand for the attack, but it’s “part of the investigation and response process.” “Because this happened in the summer months, the impact is substantially less than it would’ve been during the regular school year,” she said. She said the disruption means staff may have limited access to their email and student accounts may not work.

Phone systems are also unavailable. She said the breach is causing a major disruption for students and teachers that do need to access the school building, who will not be able to for at least two days. Staff members that were scheduled to come in to work Monday have been told to stay home and work remotely. A school spokesperson said their IT team discovered the breach. An email sent to parents, students and staff Sunday night assured the community that the hack is being handled. Cybersecurity attorneys and forensic experts are on the case, and the FBI is investigating. The district’s superintendent said the school is still working to figure out what information the hackers may have accessed, and said, “recovery efforts are under way.”

Source: Ransomware attack shuts down Evanston Township High School campus – CBS Chicago

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Hope in the dark

Pip: A mountain village, a wandering stranger, a mother weaving a basket by the river — Drink of Jesus has been building a world where ancient scripture lands…

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Calls for an end to the sexualisation of children in schools

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The Coalition for Marriage (C4M) has called for an end to the sexualisation of children in schools and has denounced plans for a “summer of sex” at Westminster. C4M pointed to official guidelines on sex education as well as some concerning cases that suggest many children are being exposed to inappropriate material and are being indoctrinated into a certain view of sex and sexuality. According to government guidelines children as young as three can be taught about where babies come from, while from age five they can be taught that same gender parents are the equivalent of opposite gender parents.

At age 12 they can be taught that it is their right to have sex, despite it being illegal to do so until age 16. Richard Lucas, leader of the Scottish Family Party, told C4M that such material “corrupts young minds”, adding that such education rarely, if ever, mentions marriage as the proper and most stable framework within which sexual relations can take place. C4M reports that sex education has sometimes gone so far that even secular authorities have felt the need to intervene. It pointed to a school on the Isle of Man, which in 2023 suspended sex education after 11-year-old children were allegedly traumatised by lessons that covered oral and anal sex, how an artificial penis can be created for a sex change operation, and the number of genders there supposedly are.

In one incident, a drag queen allegedly sent an upset child out of class after the child insisted there are two genders, rather than the 73 being claimed by the drag queen. The school later said that the pupil had been temporarily removed from the room by a teacher, not the drag queen, and not because of the guest speaker’s conversation about inclusion but to remind the pupil that they did “not have to agree with the guest speaker” but “must show respect”. C4M has also taken issue with plans this summer by Labour MP Samantha Niblett to launch a “summer of sex” in collaboration with Cindy Gallop, founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, which, despite the name, is in fact a pornography website.

MakeLoveNotPorn claims to differ from “traditional” pornography by featuring ordinary people having sex as opposed to professional “performers”. Gallop also runs a sex education site which is aimed at ages “0 to 18 and beyond”. Dr Tony Rucinski, Director of Supporter Strategy at C4M, suggested that the “summer of sex” was yet more evidence of the mainstreaming of inappropriate sexual material in public. The Christian Institute has also hit out at the plans, with spokesperson Angus Saul saying: “Explaining to children and other young people that pornography presents a distorted view of relationships is a laudable objective, but this campaign is only going to give a very mixed message by suggesting that some porn is good and some is bad.

“This will only confuse people further, and will surely detract from the work going on elsewhere to limit children’s access to pornography and reverse the damage this material has wreaked on society.”

Source: Calls for an end to the sexualisation of children in schools – Christian Today

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7

The Distraction of Fear

Fear has a way of making tomorrow feel more real than today. But you were never meant to live inside a future that hasn’t happened yet, you…

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Students injured after school bus crashes into tree in central Minnesota

yellow school bus in kitchener ontario

Several students were injured Monday afternoon after a school bus crashed in central Minnesota. According to the Stearns County Sheriff, the bus crashed along Jay Avenue, south of Highway 23 in Munson Township. Around 3:20 p.m., the bus left the road near the curve and entered a ditch and struck a tree. There were roughly 30 students of various ages on the bus at the time, the sheriff’s office said. Some sustained minor injuries, primarily cuts and bruises caused by broken windows. The bus was heavily damaged and was towed from the scene. The crash is under investigation. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor, according to the sheriff’s office.

Source: Students injured after school bus crashes into tree in central Minnesota – CBS Minnesota

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

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Your attention is one of the most valuable things you own, and everyone wants a piece of it. The question isn’t whether something is getting your attention—the question is whether Jesus is getting enough of it.  Bible Verse:“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2 Have you ever thought…

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Lifeguard rescues dog at Hilton Head beach

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Two powerful earthquakes hit Indonesia in one day, killing at least 38

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday killed at least 38 people, a disaster management official said, revising an earlier toll. A second, 6.4-magnitude quake struck the country’s western Sumatra island laterm according to the U.S. Geological Survey. “Thirty-eight people have been confirmed dead, two were seriously injured, 11 sustained minor injuries, and…

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Lee County waives pet adoption fees Saturday for Clear the Shelters

Lee County residents looking to add a four-legged member to the family can adopt one for free Saturday as part of the 2026 Clear the Shelters campaign. Lee County Domestic Animal Services is waiving all adoption fees Saturday, Aug. 15, during its Clear the Shelters adoption event. The shelter has dogs and cats of different…

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Unshakeable Love: Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Embrace

People may walk away, circumstances may change, and life may shake you—but one thing remains unmovable: the love of God. The Bible gives us a thunderous reminder that no force in existence can separate you from His grip. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor…

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Roman shipwreck discovered off the coast of Sicily, Italy laden with ancient jars believed to be more than 2,000 years old

Italian divers have discovered the 2,100-year-old wreck of a Roman ship off Sicily, piled high with hundreds of well-preserved ancient clay jars, known as amphorae, which were likely used to transport wine. The wreck, dubbed by Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli as “one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years”, was found…

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Baby rescued from earthquake rubble in Colombia as death toll rises

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Brookhaven preschool director and teacher arrested on child cruelty charges involving toddlers, police say

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The director of a Brookhaven preschool and its lead teacher have been arrested following multiple allegations of cruelty to children in their care.  Detectives with the Brookhaven Police Department began investigating reports of abuse of children at the Oglethorpe Presbyterian Pre-School and Kindergarten in early May. And on Thursday, 63-year-old Beverly J. Moon and 27-year-old Charles K. Wheeler were taken into custody at the DeKalb County Jail. The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning also conducted separate investigations, and their findings confirmed information gathered by Brookhaven detectives. 

Police said several witnesses came forward and told authorities that Wheeler, the lead teacher, used “excessive measures” to restrain kids inside the classroom, causing distress. However, no specific injuries were reported.  Based on the witness statements and accounts provided by the parents of the victims, detectives established probable cause to initially charge Wheeler with five counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. After investigators took Wheeler into custody, an additional victim came forward, and detectives charged him with one more count of cruelty to children in the first degree, bringing the total to six counts. 

Source: Brookhaven preschool director and teacher arrested on child cruelty charges involving toddlers, police say – CBS Atlanta

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35

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Denver Public Schools considering banning cellphones during school hours

group of people sitting beside a fence

Denver Public Schools is now considering a bell-to-bell policy, which would mean students wouldn’t be able to use their cellphones, not even during passing periods and lunch. It would also include other personal devices such as laptops, smartwatches, and wireless earbuds to prevent students from working around the phone ban. All Colorado school districts must establish their own cellphone policies according to law.

“We all just realized, once you know better, you need to do better,” said Sarah Almy Moore, a DPS parent and a member of the Communication Devices Advisory Committee tasked with creating the cellphone policy recommendation for the school board. “We heard from a lot of different people,” she said. The committee spoke with and heard from hundreds of students, teachers, parents, and even members of the school safety team when doing the research. “There’s 17 states that have implemented a bell-to-bell ban on devices,” Almy Moore said. “So this is not like a groundbreaking thing.

Source: Denver Public Schools considering banning cellphones during school hours – CBS Colorado

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 2:5

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Cyberattack shutters Canvas learning platform for schools across the U.S.

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A system that thousands of schools and universities use was offline Thursday due to a cyberattack, creating chaos as students tried to study for finals and underscoring education’s dependence on technology. The hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach at Instructure, the company behind the learning management system Canvas, said Luke Connolly, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emisoft. CBS News has reached out to Instructure for comment. Late Thursday night, Instructure posted to a status log that Canvas was “now available for most users.”

Some of the universities that have reported being targeted include Penn State, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Columbia University and Union College New Jersey. UCLA was among several California schools that reported being crippled by the outage. Also impacted in the Chicago area were Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Illinois. In a message to students, Penn State said that “no one has access” to Canvas, and a “resolution” was not expected “within the next 24 hours.” The school said all tests scheduled for Thursday and Friday in its Pollock Testing Center were canceled. The student newspaper at Harvard reported that the system was down there, too. And public school districts also sought to reassure parents, with officials in Spokane, Washington, writing that they aren’t “aware of any sensitive data contained in this breach.” Canvas is used to manage grades, course notes, assignments, lecture videos and more. The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed, Connolly said.

Source: Cyberattack shutters Canvas learning platform for schools across the U.S. – CBS News

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1

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Stanford Students Award Drag Group Five Times As Much Funding As Veterans Association

hoover tower and park in stanford in the usa

Stanford University is awarding five times as much money to a campus drag troupe as to an undergraduate veterans association after students overwhelmingly approved the grants in a campus-wide vote. The grants, which are funded by student dues, also include $175,000 for the Muslim Student Union—more than the budget for every Christian student group combined, according to a copy of the grants reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. The numbers offer a window into the priorities of Stanford administrators, who determine which groups are eligible for funding based on how well they “complement the university’s mission,” and of the students themselves, who determine how much money eligible groups receive.

Source: Stanford Students Award Drag Group Five Times As Much Funding As Veterans Association

By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 22:4

A School Shooter Thought He Would Kill Children>>>🤼‍♀️ This Heroic Principal Had Other Ideas

close up of a yellow school bus with stop sign

An Oklahoma principal who was shot in the leg while tackling a school shooter on Tuesday was hailed a hero for stopping the gunman and preventing a worse tragedy, officials said. Pauls Valley High School Principal Kirk Moore and other staff spotted the gunman, later identified as 20-year-old former student Victor Hawkins, and immediately jumped into action to subdue him, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). “The principal of the school had noticed that an adult male subject, 20 years old, had stepped foot into the school with a gun,” OSBI spokesperson Hunter McKee told KOCO-TV.

“When the principal noticed this, he quickly stepped in, as well as other staff. The subject was able to fire multiple rounds, where the principal was hurt, but no one else was.” Moore was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition, authorities said. “The actions of the staff and the principal stepping in as soon as they saw a subject with a firearm saved lives today,” McKee told the outlet. The shooting unfolded around 2:21 p.m., according to authorities. The school was placed on lockdown until officers cleared the scene, and students were later reunited with their families.

Source: A School Shooter Thought He Would Kill Children – This Heroic Principal Had Other Ideas

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”
Malachi 3:10

1 killed, 4 injured in Chile school stabbing

photo of flag during daytime

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A stabbing at a school in northern Chile killed at least one person and injured four others on Friday, police said. The attack occurred at about 10:40 a.m. local time at the Instituto Obispo Silva Lezaeta, located in the city of Calama, in the northern Antofagasta region. A 12th grade student attacked three students and two members of school staff, Chile’s national police force, the Carabineros, said in a statement. Police also said that “upon the arrival of officers, the individual was subdued and detained.” The school was evacuated and classes were canceled. The attack resulted in the death of a 59-year-old school supervisor. No information on the conditions of the four injured was immediately available. The attacker’s identity and age wasn’t immediately released, but Antofagasta governor Ricardo Díaz said that the assailant was a student. Díaz also said the student was carrying accelerant liquids, leading investigators to work on the hypothesis that the attack was premeditated.

Source: 1 killed, 4 injured in Chile school stabbing | AP News

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:22

Setback for UK Christian parents as Court of Appeal upholds tax on private school fees

hanged flags beside building

A coalition of Christian schools, parents and pupils has lost its legal challenge against the government’s imposition of 20% VAT on private school fees.

Source: Setback for UK Christian parents as Court of Appeal upholds tax on private school fees – Christian Daily International

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
Luke 9:16-17