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:
- 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 9th: 6th Grade On-Campus Retreat (Student Center)
- September 13th: LS Portraits (Gym)
- September 15th: 2nd Grade Field Trip-Makar and Smith (Dinosaur World)
- September 16th: 2nd Grade Field Trip-Wall and Dowling (Dinosaur World)
- September 20th-22nd: Lower School Student-Led Conferences (By Appointment)
- September 20th-22nd: Early Dismissal 12:15pm
- September 28th: See You at the Pole 7:45AM (Alumni Commons)
- September 30th: 1st Grade Field Trip (Sea World)
CHAPEL VENUES, DATES, & TIMES
The following is a list of upcoming chapel dates and times:
- September 1st: K4-5th Grade Chapel 8:30-9:15am (Faith Hall)
- September 1st: Middle School Chapel (6th-8th) 9:30-10:10am (Faith Hall)
- September 8th: K4-5th Grade Chapel-Mrs. Bell’s Chapel Presentation 8:30-9:15am (Henry Chapel)
- September 8th: Middle School Chapel (6th-8th) 9:30-10:10am (Henry Chapel)
- September 15th: K4-5th Grade Chapel-Mrs. Combs’s Chapel Presentation 8:30-9:15am (Faith Hall)
- September 15th: No Chapel for 6th Grade Due to NJHS Induction Ceremony in MS
- September 29th: K4-5th Grade Chapel-Mrs. Smith’s Chapel Presentation 8:30-9:15am (Faith Hall)
- September 29th: Middle School Chapel (6th-8th) 9:30-10:10am (Faith Hall)
A NOTE FROM MRS. JACKSON
This week in chapel, we introduced to the students an acronym for the word TRUST.
- Turning over every aspect of my life to God
- Realizing that He already has the perfect plan for me
- Understanding that I may not always understand
- Seeking His will every step of the way
- Thanking Him when things don’t turn out as expected
Our goal is to make this concept of trusting God a very real one for the students this year. With this acronym, we hope all of the students will be able to easily remember very specific actions we can all take to put our trust in God. It’s going to be such a great year!
RECOGNITION
Blowing Off S.T.E.A.M
Last week, all of the 5th graders in Mrs. Brown’s science class let off some “S.T.E.A.M.” by building the tallest structure possible using only 10 pieces of spaghetti, 1 marshmallow and one piece of 18 inch tape. The students were given 14 minutes to build a structure out of these materials so that the marshmallow could sit on top without falling over. They used this as a team work building project as well as a time to discuss character. Most of the students realized that they did not need all the materials that they were given. They focused on the idea that “less is more”. They were able to use this conclusion to talk about how we should focus on ourselves less and more on others because God teaches us to serve others before ourselves! FUN with a purpose!
Gold Medal Readers-Week 2 Results
Here are the results for week 2 of our Gold Medal Reader Reading Incentive Program. Gold Medal winning classes earned a free spirit wear day for this Thursday, August 25th. Our students earned 1955.1 points all together last week!
Kindergarten
Cline- 16.3
Burns-16.1
Martin- 12.1
1st Grade
Williams- 18.8
Agan-17.0
Fox-12.6
2nd Grade
Makar-33.8
Smith- 30.8
Dowling- 23.0
Wall- 16.9
3rd Grade
Schuessler- 56.5
Lamp-28.9
4th Grade
Combs- 137.0
Rowley- 130.3
Walton- 96.1
5th Grade
Brown-231.0
Camblin-182.2
Bell-115.6
6th Grade
Lawson- 288.5
Dvorak-170.7
Fitzgerald-114.0
Diehl-95.4
Parmer-73.3
4th Grade Millionaire’s Club
Last week, all of the 4th graders had two “special” visitors. Mrs. Amelia-naire and Mrs. A-Billion-aire dropped by between tea and their shopping trip to share a great opportunity with the students. Any student who reads a million words (based on AR tests) will be invited for a special limousine ride and treat during school in the spring. Mrs. Amelia-naire and Mrs. A-Billion-aire have graciously donated their limo and driver and will be treating the students to a snack of their choice at McDonalds. The students were very excited and we already have our first member of The 4th Grade Millionaire Club. Congratulations to Connor for already reaching the goal with his AR tests.
Strawberry Mania in KPrep
Our KPrep students have been studying the Letter S. We don’t just learn how to identify and write a letter. We immerse ourselves fully in all things “S.” The students colored, counted and glued paper strawberries into their counting books and ate real strawberries!!
NEW THIS WEEK
Student-Led Conferences
Mark your calendars for the week of September 20-22nd. These 3 days are early dismissal days (12:15pm) for all of Lower School as we conduct our annual Student-Led Conferences. What is a Student-Led Conference? It is exactly what the name suggests. During these individually-scheduled conference times, students will walk the parents through their beginning-of-the-year work samples and test scores. In the weeks leading up to Student-Led Conferences, the classroom teachers will be conferencing with the students to discuss their information in preparation. We are always impressed with how well the students do when it comes to talking about their school work.
Picture Day
Tuesday, September 13th is Picture Day. Order forms will be distributed and sent home in student backpacks on Monday. You may also use your credit card to order by following the instructions below:
-Visit the Lifetouch website
-Follow the online directions using Portrait/Picture Day ID:PM016025Q1
-Print the online receipt or write online payment code on order form
-Send in completed order form or online receipt by Monday, September 12th
After School Program for LS Conferences
We will have early dismissal September 20th-22nd due to Lower School Parent Conferences. After Care will be available beginning at 12:15PM each day. If your child does not normally attend After Care but needs to come one of these days, please contact the After Care Director, Onyx Molden at onyxmolden@thefirstacademy.org. You may also visit TFA’s website to purchase a ticket for After Care. Students attending the After Care Program September 20th-22nd must bring a lunch from home.
AR HomeConnect
Over the summer, we had an update to our Renaissance Learning program that we use for Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, and STAR Testing. Many parents like to receive email updates when their children take Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Math tests. You can set your preferences using Renaissance Learning HomeConnect. If you had this set up previously, you will need to complete the process again.
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.
Labor Day – Student/Teacher Holiday
Parents, The First Academy will be closed on Monday, September 5th due to the Labor Day Holiday.
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.