IMPORTANT EVENTS & DATES FOR AUGUST & SEPTEMBER
Parents, please take a moment to mark your calendars. The following are important dates that you do not want to miss:
- August 16th: Parent Association (PA) Volunteer Kickoff Breakfast 8:15-10:15AM (Student Center)
- August 16th: Lower School Curriculum Night 6:00PM & 7:00PM (Lower School Classrooms)
- September 2nd: Kindergarten Brown Bear Play 2:15PM (Kindergarten Classrooms)
- September 5th: Labor Day-Student/Teacher Holiday
- September 6th: Parent Association Meeting-All Divisions 8:15-9:45Am (Faith Hall 301)
- September 7th: LS Coffee with the Principal 8:15AM (Location TBD)
- September 13th: LS Portraits (Gym)
- September 20th-22nd: Lower School Student-Led Conferences (By Appointment)
- September 20th-22nd: Early Dismissal 12:15PM
CHAPEL VENUES, DATES, & TIMES
The following is a list of chapel dates and times for August:
- August 25th: K4-5th Grade Chapel 8:30-9:15PM (Faith Hall)
- August 25th: Middle School Chapel (6th-8th) 9:30-10:10AM (Faith Hall)
A NOTE FROM MRS. JACKSON
The beginning of the new school year brings with it many familiar things. The students are slightly taller than when they left in May. Many of them have fresh haircuts and new shoes. We see students walking the hallways proudly with backpacks and lunch boxes that they selected with great care in July. All of the pencils have full pink erasers and sharp points, and all 24 crayons are in the box just waiting to be used. I love the start of the school year. I loved it when I was a student, when I first became a teacher, and now as a principal. I have worked at a number of schools, but I do not think I have ever been somewhere that celebrates the start of a new school year like we do at TFA. We start with All Family Worship where Dr. Whitaker shares the school year theme, and we come together as a school family and pray for our students, families, and school faculty. That very special event is followed by Meet Your Teacher, TFA Day of Prayer, and finally the First Day of School. That is all behind us now, but I know that we have so many other special days ahead of us as we see what God has planned for us for 2016-2017 school year. I want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to spend the next ten months with your children. It is a true blessing, and we look forward to partnering with our families this year.
If you did not have the chance to watch highlights from the first day of school, check out this week’s TFA Today Video Blog.
RECOGNITION
Summer Reading
Despite the summer camps, vacations, and trips to the beach, our Lower School students did an impressive amount of reading this summer. The library staff provided us with some statistics that we wanted to share. Here are the point totals from the beginning of June up until today by homeroom:
Agan- 35.9
Fox- 31.1
F. Williams- 45.5
Dowling- 16.1
Makar- 12.6
Smith- 145.6
Wall- 19.9
Lamp- 74.4
Schuessler- 62.1
Combs-66.7
Rowley- 396.5
Walton- 569.8
Bell- 496.5
Brown-88.9
Camblin- 391.3
Diehl- 193.7
Dvorak-185.2
Fitzgerald- 124.9
Lawson- 66.1
Parmer- 216.0
Royal Sapphires
The Royal Sapphires are working hard to prepare their hearts and bodies to represent The First Academy at various events during the Fall Semester. These ladies are not performers, but worship leaders leading others into His presence at chapels, and to victory at athletic events! This leading doesn’t stop when they are not dancing but continues as they strive to walk upright as role models to others. The team also uses dance as a tool to witness the gospel outside of TFA at places such as Edgewood Children’s Ranch and The House of Hope. Praise Him with Dancing! Psalm 150
NEW THIS WEEK
Be a Gold Medal Reader
Any student who completed the Be a Gold Medal Reader form for summer reading should turn the form into the library no later than Friday, August 19th.
Library Hours
The Boyd Moline Library will be open until 3:45PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays this year. It will close at 3:30PM on Monday and Friday and at 2:40pm on Wednesdays.
Curriculum Night
Parents, please mark your calendars! Tuesday, August 16th is our annual Lower School Curriculum Night. We will have two sessions to accommodate families with two or more students. The first meeting will begin at 6:00PM and the second session at 7:00PM. Teachers will share information about this year’s curriculum, special class events and field trips.
REMINDERS
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.