“I Will Look Up,” About New City Classical Academy’s Morning Assembly
by Alex Arguello
Chairman of the Board, Interim Headmaster, and Secondary Science Teacher
At New City Classical Academy, we begin our day in Morning Assembly. Our student body and faculty gather to accomplish six activities. Why do we begin our days this way? Because Psalm 5:3 says,
“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.” NKJV
In this Psalm, David is asking the Lord for help and guidance. He knows that he constantly needs the Lord’s help. Therefore, he wisely begins the day by coming into His presence. At NCCA, we want to follow the example of King David, as seen in Psalm 5. We believe that for our school day to be glorifying to God, formative, and enjoyable, that we too, need the Lord’s help. Therefore, the first thing we do as a school is “look up” and direct our voices towards the Lord.
We also know that God is a God of order and not chaos, and that we need routine. Because we know that routines have the power to shape our orientation to the world, we choose to start the school day with a liturgy, to orient and shape our way of being, for the day ahead. At 8:15 AM each day (we invite you to join us), we practice:
Scripture Reading and Exposition
We begin with allowing a few minutes to read and discuss a passage from Scripture. In September, we chose to study Psalm 136 together.
Scripture Memorization and Recitation
We proceed to memorize and recite a passage of Scripture together. In September, we memorized Psalm 136:1-6.
Recitation of Historic Creeds
We profess our faith together, reciting one of the historic creeds. For the first semester we are focusing on the Apostles’ Creed. (Every student had it memorized by the second week of school!)
Psalm, Hymn, or Spiritual Song
The highlight of the morning for the students and faculty is singing. We choose a Psalm, hymn or spiritual song to sing together. We enjoyed singing a rendition of Psalm 136, “Ever and Aye,” in September.
Exordiums
Similar to traditional catechism memorization, we have “Assembly Sayings” or “Exordiums” that our students memorize. The teachers incorporate these exordiums throughout the day and keep them fresh in the minds of our students. An example from September: Q. Why are we in school today? A. To glorify and enjoy God.
Prayer
Finally, because we know that God alone establishes the plans of man, we choose someone from our school (student or adult) to pray to the Father for his help, protection, and grace for the day ahead.
