Life

Incredible Combined Concert with OBU

Wednesday, March 6th, the Oklahoma Baptist University Symphonic Winds Ensemble came to our campus and partnered with our band department to host a united concert! Our students worked with the OBU students in rehearsals and sectionals throughout the day. Their hard work culminated with an incredible concert for all in

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Worship, ICOM, Conference on Missions
Life

International Conference on Missions

As told by Student Ambassador Maya This year, on a brisk day in mid-November, all the Cookson Hills students got out of school early. The staff packed up, and all headed to downtown Oklahoma City to the International Conference on Missions (ICOM). There, one could find hundreds of booths for

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christmas caroling, reindeer, sing, joy
Life

Christmas Caroling

Seven students went Christmas Caroling to a few of Cookson Hills’ faithful supporters, the week before Christmas. They hoped to bring them some cheer during the holidays. But what our students experienced was something much more meaningful than they could have imagined.  You see, we live 10 minutes away from

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Life

A Christmas Full of Hope

Your support gives our kids a home, family, and community where they feel special, loved, and wanted.   Your gifts to Cookson Hills allow children to feel cherished. You help kids catch a glimpse of how our Creator sees them; valuable and worthy of love. This view is far more significant

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Volleyball, Ace, team,
Life

Straight to the Championship

By Hayley | Chargers Chronicle | Volume 5, Issue 1 | 19 August 2022 This season on the Cookson Volleyball team, we have an exciting line-up.  We have Lexie, Faith, Hayley, Ahbrianna, Taniya, and Reagan on Varsity.  JV/Varsity consists of Brianna, Kelsey*, Jaelynn, and Victoria*. On the JV team, we

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FAQ, Questions, kids, children's home
Life

Student FAQs with Sidney

When a kid is looking at Cookson Hills as a possibility they usually have many questions. Sarah Curry sat down with senior, Sidney, to ask her the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) to get a perspective from one of our kids who has been through it all. This is the

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FAQ, families, children's home
Life

Prospective Family FAQs Answered

When a family is looking at Cookson Hills as a possibility they usually have many questions. Sarah Curry and Lauren Hard answer our most frequently asked questions (FAQs). This is the video (and transcript) of these prospective family FAQs. Lauren: Hi. I am Lauren Hard, and this is Sarah Curry.

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prayer, syatp,
Life

See you at the pole

By April Graney | Chargers Chronicle | Volume 5, Issue 2 | 14 October 2022  Not having a flagpole couldn’t keep Cookson’s first-ever “See you at the Pole” event from happening on Wednesday, September 28th! “See you at the Pole” is a global movement of students organizing and leading prayer

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music education, sax, saxophone, trauma informed
Hope

You are transforming lives through music

You are giving students a musical education that is changing their lives. In the safe space of our music department, students are growing their skills and finding new ways to express their creativity and emotions.  Turning heads Lexie came to Cookson Hills with the gift of music, but she struggled

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Successful failure, STEM, Classroom, Skeletal system,
Life

A safe place to fail

When you give to Cookson Hills Christian School you are not only giving the students a fantastic education, you are also giving them a safe place to mess up. When a problem gets too hard they are encouraged to continue to try again rather than give up. Because of you,

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Life

Motive matters: In one act

A PLAY BY SIDNEY & JONNY Narrator: Every year Van and Tammy Benson bring their expertise and do a Motive Matters training based on The People Code by Dr. Taylor Harman for the staff and senior students of Cookson Hills. Before the class, every person takes the Personality Test to

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Life

Life Lesson from Woodburning

People often do things in their spare time that they enjoy. Most would call that a hobby. For the past four years, I have found joy in something called woodburning, and it has taught me the lesson of patience.  Woodburning is a type of art that uses a tool, much

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horse kisses, hope, horsemanship, horse class,
Hope

Hope in Horsemanship

One of my favorite activities in the spring is watching the horsemanship demonstrations. Students in the class show off what they have learned over the previous months while working with the horses. I like to sit in the front row so that I can see everything. That’s what I did

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home trailer, homeless children, Christian School
Life

Our First NEWSLETTER

December 1956 Issue for Cookson Hills Christian School By: Arnold Kernen This is the first issue of our NEWSLETTER. Although it has been under difficult circumstances, it is sent out over a limited area with much happiness and anticipation. Many friends are already aware of plans which have quickly grown

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seniors, service, senior trip
Life

Senior Trip 2021

Some schools have a senior trip where students spend time together doing fun activities and creating memories. Cookson Hills adds another component to the Senior Trip experience; service. For decades Cookson Hills seniors have had the opportunity to go on a mission trip over their spring break. This year looked

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Life

Nicky’s Quarantine Chronicle

A teenagers quarantine log At the beginning of the new year, my family went into quarantine to help stop the spread of Covid-19 on our campus. After a few days of boredom, I decided that it would be best to keep a log of my time. It started out as

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it is well, teachers, retreat, new life ranch,
Life

Teachers Retreat

Over Thanksgiving break, the teachers had a retreat at New Life Ranch. Organized by Mrs. Jackson and Ms. Hodges, our teachers had time to learn and bond with each other and it was a huge success.  The theme of the event, “It Is Well,” promoted taking care of yourself in

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Fall, autumn, recap, seasons, thankful
Life

A Season To Be Thankful For

The autumn season has brought about several exciting moments on the Cookson Hills campus.  Today, we wanted to share with you the highlights of our fall sports teams, kids giving back, and gratitude during this unique and exciting time. We hope you enjoy this peek into a bit of life

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Turkey, student, hunt,
Life

My First Turkey

Every hunter remembers his first successful hunt.  I still remember mine because it was just a few months ago, in the spring of 2020. It is helpful to learn to hunt if a person wants to eat meat; I think all people should know how to get their food and

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horse, equine therapy, spur, EGALA
Life

Connections: Horses, Kids, and God

“Horses have been a blessing to our kids!  There is a horse for every personality in our home. It has been neat to see confidence arise in those who struggle with self-worth or fears from past trauma; excitement bubbling over from having the opportunity to pet, groom, or ride a

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Life

CIY MOVE/AT Cookson Hills

School shut down because of Covid-19. When that happened, one of the first things that came to my mind was, “What about CIY?”. My name is Micah and this is my second year as a student at Cookson Hills. I and a few other high school students had filled out

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Mother's Day, Surprise Party, daughter's love
Life

A Mother’s Day Surprise

Mother’s Day. It is a day of joy and celebration. But for many, it also invokes a lot of pain. Our kids here at Cookson Hills navigate both sides of these emotions. Some miss being at home with their mom to celebrate, others mourn their mom’s passing, and others imagine

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Life

Secret Keeper Horses

“Our horses are special because they listen to the anger, fears, hurts, uncertainty, and joys of our kids without telling a soul the secrets entrusted to them.” Amanda Zamarron, Cookson Hills Housemom Equine Program Update Since July 2019, students have flocked to the barn for horsemanship classes. Every time students

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Life

Houseparent Spotlight – Tinkler Family

The role of houseparents comes with unique stressors and rewards. This no doubt influences the length of time a couple will devote to this ministry role. Nationwide, the average length of service for houseparents ranges from just six to nine months. Since 1957, Cookson Hills has been blessed by many

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Winter life at Cookson Hills
Life

Wrapping up the Season

Looking back over the past couple of months reveals a Christmas and New Year season filled with fun activities, school improvements, contests, concerts, and parades. Our high school newspaper and yearbook staff has compiled a list of the highlights. We hope you enjoy this glimpse of life at Cookson Hills.

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Life

Can I Start Over?

As a teacher, I believe it is my job to prepare students for life after school. In the real world, you don’t always have extra supplies, so you have to improvise.  In 6th grade reading, the students had a craft project that went along with the reading assignment. I had

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Houseparent Marriage Retreat
Life

Oasis

Four years ago I was tasked with the responsibility of planning a marriage retreat for the houseparents of Cookson Hills. With my husband and I having just been houseparents, my memory was still fresh as to what it felt like to try to sustain a marriage in the midst of

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Life

The Ability to Serve

As a part of our school’s re-accreditation efforts last year, we took a look at what we call our Expected Student Outcomes. That is, after a student’s time in our school, what are some of the things we want them to walk away with? One of the things we discussed was

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Music Christian School
Life

Music As Our Forte

I believe music is so impactful in our lives because it comes from the Creator of the universe. In fact, music or references to music are mentioned in God’s Word over 1,000 times. The book of Psalms is filled entirely with songs written to God. Not only is music and

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Contrast
Life

Lives changed at CIY

This was our 5th year of taking ten awesome high school students to CIY MOVE. Every year, prior to the event, Satan whispers in our ear, “It’s too much time… the drive is too long… it’s too much work.”  But, it’s an honor to do it, and we praise God

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ministry to children
Life

Cookson Hills History — 1980s – Today

For 60 years, Cookson Hills has provided ministry to children by offering home, school, and therapy. Meanwhile, over the past 30 years, Cookson Hills has focused greatly on improving the quality of living conditions and programs offered at the main unit in Kansas, Oklahoma. This focus started with the accreditation of

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Teen Poetry
Life

Girls Today – Women Tomorrow

At the beginning of each school year, I ask my students one question: “What would it take to make this the most productive year you have ever had in an English class?” I then ask each class to create a creed or poem to identify themselves, try their best to

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Cookson Hills History
Life

Cookson Hills History 1950s – 1960s

Cookson Hills was founded on love of God and love for humanity, especially children who were hurting, abandoned, or abused. This is the story of that small beginning and how it has unfolded throughout the decades. Howard and Joyce Dillon traveled to northeast Oklahoma and saw a vast need for

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Life

What Are You Thankful For?

  Middle school kids are funny. When you ask them to write about what they are thankful for, you may be surprised by the response. Some kids talk about fun stuff, things that bring joy their lives, like video games and their favorite books and games; others go super spiritual

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Life

Better Together

  At our recent Open House event, we had a few staff members who openly shared their heart about how Cookson Hills comes TOGETHER to serve kids and families. Here’s a snapshot of the conversation: Ryan (Houseparent): We believe that God uses the family to accomplish His will here on earth.

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Life

God Is On The Move

  “Our class of seniors excelled at ministering to people. They worked hard, yes, but more importantly, they understood the heart behind it.”  – Rod Johnson, Senior Trip Sponsor Each year at Cookson Hills, our high school seniors have the opportunity to go on a Senior Mission Trip. This is

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Life

Government – Up Close and Personal

  Government is one of those topics that many students write off as boring or unimportant because they aren’t old enough to vote. But when they see it up close and personal,  their view of democracy and politics can change, empowering them with the belief that someday they might be

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Life

College Classic

  College Classic is a Christian College Basketball tournament hosted by Cookson Hills every January. The teams play back-to-back for 3 days straight and they stay in the homes of staff members and houseparents, eating their meals in the dining hall. They connect with all the kids and earn loyal

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Life

Amazeum Field Trip

  During a break week, 21 elementary students visited the Amazeum. Hear about their experience here! Cookson Hills provides students with various opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. During a one of our break weeks, we boarded 21 elementary students on a bus to check out the Amazeum in

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Life

Learning Through Vacation

  There’s a lot more to vacation that just fun and games. What comes to mind when you think of a family vacation? Long road trips? Fun adventures? Sibling arguments? Crazy car games? Well these are all bound to be included in a Cookson Family Vacation. Every year, houseparents are

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