Hola!  My name is Deanna Benavides. It is a great privilege for me to be part of the CCS community, both as a teacher and parent.  I have four sons who have or are attending school here, and currently I teach Spanish to students in Kindergarten through 8th grade, as well as US History and Geography. 

Before coming to Cornerstone, I worked with Harrisonburg City Public Schools, first as a middle school Spanish and ESL teacher, and then as an ESL Specialist.  I attended Eastern Mennonite College, graduating with a major in Spanish and minors in Missions and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language).  As part of my studies, I spent a semester in Central America and another in the Dominican Republic.

One of my goals as a teacher is to share with my students God's passion for reaching out to all peoples of the world with the hope found in Jesus.  God has given us the gift of language so that we can communicate and live in relationship with each other.  As I travel to Mexico with the 8th graders in the spring, it is a joy to watch students take the words and phrases they have been learning and use them to connect with the people they meet there. 

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: 
   "Salvation belongs to our God,
   who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 

Revelation 7: 9 - 10