Hello dear NSA!

If you’re like me you’ve probably been wondering if that longed-for break was ever going to arrive?! Thankfully it’s almost here, and I hope that you will have the chance to take a bit of a break from your busy life. Spend time with family and friends; they are some of your most precious gifts! Focus on the simplicity, yet deeply powerful message of Christ’s gift in coming.

The Navigator staff worked extremely hard to bring you this issue to enjoy with your preference of coffee, tea, or eggnog (unfortunately none provided here!) Hopefully you’ve already noticed the appropriate thematic background; applause once again to Manny and the Production Team!

Nearly every column has published an article this issue! Batch of Secrets might be able to help you out with some last minute Christmas baking. Wondering what you’re going to occupy yourself with over Christmas break? Check out the Library Column’s book recommendations. Not really a book type? TechTalk can provide you computer types with a cool activity leaving your computer with a new look for 2008. Tired of running around with Christmas plans? The Informal Essay provided me with a good reminder on that very subject. New to this issue is the TCK Column; check out some stories of TCKs around the world and how they celebrate Christmas.

More TCK Column stories will be returning next week—provided you contribute! Also coming up next issue is the new From the Teacher’s Desk. And many of your old favorite columns, Lord willing, will return as well. So don’t forget to check out Issue 5! All the articles you did not get to read in Issue 3 will be released in Issue 5 on January 14th.

Praying for you a very merry, yet reflective and thoughtful Christmas,

Heather Ann Wicker
Senior Editor

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A Technical Letter from the Producer

Firstly, to any new readers, Welcome to the NS Navigator Winter Edition! Please open the Navigator with Internet Explorer if you have not done so already. IE is the ideal browser to view the Navigator in. We've recently found that Safari also displays the Navigator just as IE does. Mozilla FireFox tends to extend tables and limit the viewing experience. Also, please do not be alarmed by any security alerts while viewing the Navigator. The Navigator does not possess any content meant to harm your computer. Please allow ActiveX and Javascript to run while viewing the Navigator so that all effects can be displayed properly.

The Production Team has redesigned the templates of the Navigator and has added new graphics layouts and details (including the new Navigator Seal, look for it in the articles!). We're proud to present the new Winter Appearance for Navigator Issues 4, 5, and 6. Small changes may be made to the templates in the future and we look forward to hearing any suggestions on content or layout design. Please submit your comments and/or suggestions to navteam@northstar-academy.org.

The Navigator Online Version Webpage will be launched most likely at the end of January when the new NorthStar Academy Webpage has been launched. "Sneak Peeks" will be provided in the Student Cafe of later issues and their appearances as well as sneak peeks of the Navigator Online Version Webpage. Look for those in the Student Cafe in upcoming weeks!

This Navigator Issue is unfortunately our largest one yet (in MB size), but that is because of the many articles the Navigator Staff is presenting you with. Many new graphics such as a new Winter-Globe and Christmas-themed navigation buttons have been included. More effects to enhance your viewing pleasure are being looked into and you can be sure that we'll do all we can to make the Navigator as visually appealing as possible. As said, comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Enjoy!

Manny Pavlopoulos - Producer

Designed by the NorthStar Navigator HTML and Graphics Design teams. © NS-NAV 2007 - 2008