IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS & DATES
Parents, please take a moment to mark your calendars. The following are important dates that you do not want to miss:
- April 14th: Good Friday/No School
- April 17th: Easter Monday/No School
- April 18th: Parent University-Digital Citizenship 8:15AM (Field House Lobby)
- April 19th: K4-4th Grade Alternative Lunch (Not including 5th and 6th)
- April 24th: Rising 5th Grade Parent Meeting (Parents of Current 4th Grade Students) 3:15PM (Mrs. Camblin’s Room-LS 236)
- April 25th: Rising 2nd Grade Parent Meeting (Parents of Current 1st Grade Students) 3:15PM (Mrs. Smith’s Room-LS 133)
- April 25th: 3rd Grade Wax Museum 8:00-10:30AM (Gym)
- April 26th: K4-6th Grade Alternative Lunch
- April 26th: TK Field Trip to Lukas Buttterfly Nursery
- April 24th: Rising 6th Grade Parent Meeting (Parents of Current 5th Grade Students) 3:15PM (Mrs. Parmer’s Room-LS 234)
- April 27th: Steel Drum Concert 6:30PM (Alumni Commons)
- May 2nd: Parent Association Meeting 10:45AM-12:00PM (Faith Hall 301)
- May 2nd: Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon 12:00PM (Faith Hall 301)
- May 2nd: Rising 4th Grade Parent Meeting (Parents of Current 3rd Grade Students) 3:15PM (Mrs. Combs’ Room-LS 210)
- May 4th: National Day of Prayer
- May 5th: 2nd Grade Eco Cafe (2nd Grade Classrooms)
- May 5th: LS Evening at the Arts-Peter Pan Jr. 7:00PM (Natalie Thomas Gymnasium)
- May 6th: LS Evening at the Arts-Peter Pan Jr. 7:00PM (Natalie Thomas Gymnasium)
- May 8th: Rising 1st Grade Parent Meeting (Parents of Current K Students) 3:15PM (Mrs. Williams’ Room-LS 138)
- May 9th: Rising 3rd Grade Parent Meeting (Parents of Current 2nd Grade Students) 3:15PM (Mrs. Schuessler’s Room-LS 208)
- May 10th: 1st Grade International Day
- May 10th: 6th Grade Mother’s Day Event
- May 10th: KPrep Mother’s Day Celebration 8:15AM (KPrep Classrooms)
- May 12th: Kindergarten Muffins with Moms 8:15AM (K Classrooms)
- May 12th: 6th Grade Missions Fest
- May 13th: Royal Academy of Arts and Enrichment Recital 4:00PM (Faith Hall)
- May 15th: Kindergarten Field Trip to Lego Land
- May 17th: Kindergarten Superkids Day
- May 18th: LS Awards Chapel 1:00PM (Faith Hall)
- May 24th: LS End of the Year Celebration/Last Day of School
CHAPEL VENUES, DATES, & TIMES
The following is a list of upcoming chapel dates and times:
- April 20th: K4-5th Grade Chapel: Miss Huckleberry’s/Miss Rowley’s Class Presentations 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- April 20th: 6th/MS Grade Chapel: 9:30-10:15AM (Faith Hall)
- April 27th: No Chapel
- May 4th: No Chapel-National Day of Prayer
- May 11th: K4-5th Grade Chapel: KPrep Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Henry Chapel)
- May 11th: 6th/MS Grade Chapel: 9:30-10:15AM (Henry Chapel)
- May 18th: LS Awards Chapel 1:00PM (Faith Hal)
- May 24th: LS End of the Year Chapel 8:15AM (Faith Hall)
A NOTE FROM MRS. JACKSON
Please enjoy your long Easter Weekend as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
“Jesus said … ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die’”(John 11:25–26, ESV)
RECOGNITION
March Madness-Final Winners
Let’s give a loud round of applause to the following teams who are our 2017 March Madness Regional winners:
- EAST REGION CHAMPS: MRS. FOX’S GONZAGA BULLDOGS
WEST REGION CHAMPS: MRS. WALTON’S MARYLAND TERRAPINS - MIDWEST REGION CHAMPS: MRS. BELL’S FSU SEMINOLES*
SOUTH REGION CHAMPS: MRS. RENDER’S WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS
The four region champs will each be rewarded with a Pizza Party!!!
Special shout out to our two undefeated teams this year: Mrs. Walton’s and Mrs. Render’s classes!!!
Donut Challenge Results
Over the course of our March Madness Challenge, our LS and MS classes earned a combined total of 15,018.3 AR points, just surpassing our 15,000 point challenge!!! Our doughnut celebration will take place this Thursday, April 13th!!! 6th-8th graders will be served doughnuts during Thursday’s Royal Recharge, and the younger grades will have their doughnuts delivered to their classrooms Thursday afternoon!
Mrs. Makar’s Class Chapel
Mrs. Makar’s class had their chapel presentation this past Thursday, April 6. They taught the Lower School about the importance of honoring their parents. Mrs. Makar’s class’s presentation included a humorous and relevant skit about a girl (Leah Mushava) who wanted to read a scary book that everyone was reading at school called “Night of the Boogie Man”. The only catch was that her parents would not let her. While Leah was tempted to give in to peer pressure and read the book, she made the difficult choice to obey her parents. Mrs. Makar’s class also shared practical ways that children can honor their parents such as taking out the trash or listening to directions the first time they are given. Finally, the class sang a catchy song called “O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E”. Everyone enjoyed singing along. This was our first chapel for our new monthly focus on Discipline. The Lower School now has some new tools to obey the fifth commandment!
Service Before Self-Raising Money for Tennis Shoes
One of our K students, Addison, set up a donut and orange juice stand to help raise money to buy tennis shoes to send to Haiti. What a great example for our students!
Sunshine State Young Readers Award Voting
During their library time over the past two weeks, third through sixth graders who read three or more of the 2016-2017 Sunshine State Young Reader Award (SSYRA) books had the opportunity to vote for their favorite title from this year’s lists. Their votes will be sent in and counted along with student votes from all over the state to officially select the overall 2016-2017 SSYRA Award Winners. TFA’s voters chose The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John as their favorite title from the 3rd-5th grade list and The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke as their favorite book from the 6th-8th grade list. The Florida Association of Media in Education will announce the overall state winners on Monday, April 17th.
NEW THIS WEEK
Rising Grade Level Parent Meetings
Parents of students in grades 1-5 are invited to attend an informative session on grade level expectations for the next year. Teachers will focus on benchmark learning skills critical for success for the new school year. Every parent should plan to attend. We have scheduled one session for each grade level. These are rising grade level meetings, so look for the grade your child will be in next year. Meetings will be held in the team leader’s classroom. Students of parents attending a session will be able to sit outside the classroom and will be under the supervision of other TFA faculty and staff for the duration of the meeting. All meetings will begin at 3:15pm.
Monday, April 24th
Rising Fifth Grade (Current 4th Grade)
Mrs. Camblin’s Classroom-LS Room 236
Tuesday, April 25th
Rising Second Grade (Current 1st Grade)
Mrs. Smith’s Classroom-LS Room 133
Thursday, April 27th
Rising Sixth Grade (Current 5th Grade)
Mrs. Parmer’s Classroom-LS Room 234
Tuesday, May 2nd
Rising Fourth Grade (Current 3rd Grade)
Mrs. Combs’ Class-LS Room 210
Monday, May 8th
Rising First Grade (Current Kindergarten)
Mrs. Williams’ Class-LS Room 138
Tuesday, May 9th
Rising Third Grade (Current 2nd Grade)
Mrs. Schuessler’s Classroom-LS Room 208
Royal Sapphires Auditions
Attention 5th-11th grade girls! Royal Sapphires Auditions will be held:
Monday, May 1st Time: 3:304:30PM
Faith Hall 3rd Floor Room CF
The Royal Sapphires Dance Team represents TFA at Football games, Pep Rallies, Parades, & Chapels. The Sapphires also use dance as a tool to witness the gospel in the community. Wear dance attire and come prepared to move! Some Dance experience is recommended.
For more info: Contact: Mrs. Collins US116 cynthiacollins@thefirstacademy.org or Mrs. Scott LeslieScott517@gmail.com
NEHS Tennis Shoe Drive
Our NEHS students are hosting a tennis shoe drive in conjunction with New Missions. We have drop off boxes in Lower Schoo to collect the shoes. We are encouraging our students to earn money to help buy shoes.
Peter Pan Jr.-Save the Date
Our 4th-6th graders will be presenting Peter Pan Jr. on Friday, May 5th and Saturday, May 6th in the evening in the Natalie Thomas Gymnasium. Please mark your calendars for this fun event. Tickets will go on sale very soon.
Catch a Dragon by the Tale Reading Incentive
The TFA library is excited to announce the beginning our 3rd quarter reading incentive program for K Prep, TK, and Kindergarten students. The Catch a Dragon by the Tale Reading Incentive Program will last from February 21st-April 7th. Each week, students can fill out a Catch a Dragon by the Tale reading record form. Extras are available on the library webpage at www.thefirstacademy.org/academics/library. After you read a story with your child, or your child reads a book independently, fill out the reading record. After ten books are read, please return the reading record to your child’s teacher. Students will then be able to choose a prize during their class library time. We’re excited to see how many books our youngest readers can read over the next several weeks!
Catch a Dragon by the Tale Reading Record
Vacation Bible School 2017
First Baptist Orlando will be hosting a FREE Vacation Bible School (VBS) for students entering Kindergarten-5th grade. This year’s VBS will occur June 26th-30th from 9:30AM-12:30PM. It will be an interactive, creative experience for rising K-5th grade students. Register your child(ren) HERE for this fun and exciting opportunity.
Library Closure
The library will be closed for CTP4 testing on Monday, April 10th – Thursday, April 13th from 7:30AM-11:00AM. Lower School students should report to the Natalie Thomas Gymnasium for morning care on those days.
4th Quarter AR Deadline
The 4th quarter AR deadline is Friday, May 19th. Please note, the last AR test day for students who hope to achieve the AR 200% Club award for the 2016-2017 school year is Monday, May 15th.
Any tests taken between May 16th and May 19th will still count toward the 4th quarter goal. However, students hoping to achieve the AR 200% Club award for the 2016-2017 school year must take the AR test by Monday, May 15th.
TFA Summer Preschool Opportunity
TFA’s Preschool is so very excited to welcome children, 8 weeks- 3 years old, back to campus for summer fun! Please see the attached flyer for more information. We love welcoming familiar Preschool families and new families too! Please feel free to pass along to family and friends. Click HERE for more information or to register.
Extended Library Hours
In an effort to better serve our TFA families, the Boyd-Moline Library will extend their afternoon hours beginning next week. The library will be open until 4:30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays for the remainder of the school year. Students must still be accompanied by parents or guardians in the library after school. Accelerated Reader testing will be available until 4:15pm and book checkout until 4:20pm.
REMINDERS
Morning Dropoff-7:30AM
This is just a friendly reminder that students may be dropped off beginning at 7:30AM. If you arrive to school prior to that time, we request that students remain with their parents until 7:30AM. The library and the gym are open at that time. Student supervision does not begin until that time.
AR HomeConnect
Library Hours
The Boyd Moline Library will be open until 4:30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays for the remainder of the school year. Students must still be accompanied by parents or guardians in the library after school. Accelerated Reader testing will be available until 4:15pm and book checkout until 4:20pm. It will close at 3:30pm on Friday and at 2:40pm on Wednesdays.
Calendar Link
The TFA Calendar is a wonderful way to find the dates of upcoming events. Access our web-based calendar anytime. We recommend that you subscribe to all relevant calendars so you can keep up with all of the events going on around the school.
Parent Volunteer Background Check
If you are a new parent and would like to volunteer in your child(ren)’s classroom(s) or chaperone on field trips please complete our free background check. Please note that the background check site only works on Internet Explorer or Firefox on a desktop computer. Safari and Chrome are not supported by the site. Approvals take a few weeks so plan ahead! All parents must have a completed background check before volunteering of chaperoning on a field trip.