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Office hours: Mon-Thu 7:45 AM-4:00 PM | Fri 7:45 AM-2:00 PM
(916) 481-2300
Summer Office Hours: Tuesday – Thursdays 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM (Appointments by Request)
Office hours: Mon-Thu 7:45 AM-4:00 PM | Fri 7:45 AM-2:00 PM
(916) 481-2300
Student Week of Prayer 2026 kicked off Day 1 with speakers from all three cohorts. Students told stories on this year’s school theme “Be Real” and how their faith is developing at home and school. A study cited by the Adventist Review found that 81 percent of students in Adventist schools say attending an Adventist school is the single most important factor in developing their faith. Not church. Not family devotions. School.
Student Week of Prayer is part of why.
This week, no special guest speaker flies in. No outside voices tells students what to believe. Kids from this school walk to the front of chapel, take a breath, and say something true. The theme is Be Real. Day 1 delivered.
| Theme | Be Real: honest with yourself, with others, and with God |
| Day 1 speakers | Jack and Theo (elementary), Keegan (3rd grade), Mila (sophomore) |
| What connected all three | God already knows who you are, and he’s not going anywhere |
| Daily practice | Students pause to pray with a partner every day this week |
| Series | Day 1 of 5 days of student-led chapel |
| School year | 2025-2026 |
Three students with very different stories. A couple of elementary kids figuring out where they fit. A third grader with a toaster scar. A sophomore who named the masks most of us are still wearing. Different ages, different experiences, same Real-Life Authentic Stories of Faith and life.
Keegan opened with toast. Specifically, sugar butter toast. His recipe: butter the bread, microwave until warm, bring it to dad, let dad add the sugar, microwave again. He described the smell. He said it is one of the best things he has ever tasted.
But the story was about the first time he tried making toast alone.
He had just turned six and a half, the morning after his birthday. He decided he was old enough. He got out the good bread, the expensive hero bread. He used his favorite plate, the one with a penguin driving a car. He put the bread in the toaster, set a timer, and waited.
The beep went off. He reached in to grab the toast. His arm touched the top of the toaster. It burned him.
He still has the scar. He showed the whole chapel.
Then he said that right when it happened, he did not feel it. Not until they washed it and put cream on it. He looked out at the room and said,
“God helped me in that moment.”
He closed with a question. Have you ever been hurt? Ever been scared? Ever had something not go the way you planned?
“God helped me that day. And God can help you too.”
Jack and Theo came up together.
Jack started. He came to SAA in second grade, right after COVID, when the school was still masking. He said he stood at home on the first morning trying to pick which mask to wear. Not for health reasons. He wanted to fit in. He didn’t know anyone yet.
A few weeks into the year a kid named Sam came over to the sand pit where Jack was playing. They started talking. Both liked origami. They became good friends.
Jack’s takeaway: he didn’t need to perform to find his people. He just needed to show up as himself.
Theo’s story runs parallel. This is his first year at SAA. The beginning was hard because he kept trying to be someone he wasn’t. He made friends through the practice basketball team and things got easier once he stopped trying to be somebody else.
They each brought a Bible story. Jack chose Daniel, who kept praying to God even after the king made it illegal. He landed in the lion’s den. God sent an angel to close the lions’ mouths. Theo chose Matthew, the tax collector the other disciples weren’t exactly excited about, who answered the call anyway.
Both stories point the same direction. God has a plan, and it does not require you to pretend to be someone you’re not.
“You don’t need to fit in to do things. You just need to find the right person, because God has a plan for you.” – Jack
Mila asked the chapel how many people had ever felt like they had to put on a mask. Then she said she figured it was probably everyone in the room.
She was talking about the emotional kind. The coverups we use so other people do not see what we are actually feeling.
She named four.
The overly nonchalant mask, acting like you do not care when you are actually the one who cares the most. The happy all the time mask, performing contentment so nobody worries about you. The “I’m fine” mask, saying the words when you are about to lose it. The people pleaser mask, reshaping your whole personality around whoever you are with so everyone will like you.
Her point was that masks feel useful at first. They stop the bleeding. But keep one on too long and it gets heavy. Things pile up underneath. You start to worry what happens if it falls off.
She used a band-aid to explain it. You put one on to stop the bleeding and that makes sense. But the cut does not actually heal until you take it off. The mask works the same way.
Then she talked about God.
“Despite the type of mask, the weight of it, and how much it looms over our lives, God sees through it. He loves you and accepts you anyway.” – Mila
She pointed to Genesis 1:26. God made us in his image. Then Psalms 139:2-3. God knows our thoughts before we think them, knows where we go, knows everything we do. Not as a warning. Just as a fact. He knows all of it and he still shows up.
Her closing prayer asked God to help everyone take off the masks that had gotten too heavy to carry.
After the speakers finish each day, the whole chapel pauses. Eyes closed. Everyone takes a moment to step back from the homework and the drama and whatever else is going on. Then students turn to the person next to them and ask one question: is there something I can pray about for you today?
Some lean into it. Some feel a little awkward. That is okay. The point is to practice it every day this week, not to do it perfectly on day one.
Weeks like this one give families a pretty honest look at what this school actually values. Students are encouraged to be honest, share their stories, and look out for each other.
Visit our Student Life page to see more of what happens on campus, or read more on the Articles hub. You can learn about our mission and values on the About Us page.
When you are ready to come see it in person, reach out to Admissions and we will set something up.
Sacramento Adventist Academy is accredited by WASC and the Adventist Accrediting Association. Our mission is to honor God by preparing students for academic success and a lifetime of service.
