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:
- December 12th: Lower School Christmas Program Rehearsal
- December 13th: Lower School Christmas Program 10:00AM (Worship Center)
- December 13th: Alternative Lunch for Lower School
- December 18th: 6th Grade Chorus Field Trip (Nursing Home)
- December 19th: 2nd Quarter AR Deadline
- December 19th: Kindergarten Polar Express Day
- December 21st: End of the 2nd Quarter: 12:15pm Dismissal
- December 22nd-January 8th: Christmas Break
- January 8th: Teacher Workday/Student Holiday
- January 9th: Beginning of 3rd Quarter
CHAPEL VENUES, DATES, & TIMES
The following is a list of upcoming chapel dates and times:
- December 7th: K4-5th Grade Chapel-Mrs. Makar’s Class-8:30AM (Faith Hall)
- December 7th: 6th-12th Grade Chapel 9:25AM (Worship Center)
- December 14th: 6th-12th Grade Chapel 9:25AM (Worship Center)
- December 21st: K4-6th Grade Christmas Chapel 8:30AM (Faith Hall)
- January 11th: K4-5th Grade Chapel-Mrs. Dowling Class-8:30AM (Faith Hall)
- January 11th: 6th-12th Grade Chapel 9:25AM (Worship Center)
- January 18th: K4-5th Grade Chapel-Miss Rowley’s Class-8:30AM (Faith Hall)
- January 18th: No Chapel for 6th Grade
- January 25th: K4-5th Grade Chapel-Mrs. Pastis’s Class-8:30AM (Faith Hall)
- January 25th: 6th-12th Grade Chapel 9:25AM (Worship Center)
A NOTE FROM MRS. JACKSON
One of my favorite books in elementary school was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. Our 3rd grades students read this book each year and it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the book. I can’t remember how many times I read it as a child but I know that I saw the 1983 movie at least a dozen times. It looks very old now but it still makes me experience emotions ranging from laughter to quiet reflection. This scraggly group of children teaches an audience full of people about the true meaning of Christmas in so many different ways.
Gladys Herdman plays the part of the angel in the pageant and the following verse from Isaiah 9:6 is one of her lines:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The very first time she reads this line during rehearsal, her response is, “He’d never get out of first grade if he had to write all that!” This made me laugh as a child but now as an adult, it reminds me that Jesus really is our everything. During this Christmas season, let’s be intentional about focusing on all of the names we can call out for Jesus and the promises that come through Him.
RECOGNITIONS
Jr. Thespians Competition
This weekend, we took 12 entries (11 6th-8th grade students) to Jr. Thespian District Competition with hundreds of other students from public and private schools across the district. We are proud to announce that we came home with 7 Superiors and 5 Excellents. We are so proud of our students. For most of them, this was their first experience with competition (7 sixth grade students) and they were amazing! Please join us as we celebrate the success of our Jr. Thespian students!
NEW THIS WEEK
Dress Up Days-Week of December 18th
- Monday: Christmas Socks
- Tuesday: Christmas Shirt/Sweater
- Wednesday Christmas Hat
- Thursday ALL Christmas Attire
Christmas Program Costumes
You can access the Christmas Program Costume List HERE.
New Date for Lower School Christmas Program
As we quickly approach the Christmas season, we want to notify all of our Lower School families of a change in date for the Lower School Christmas Program. This special event was originally scheduled for Friday, December 15th in Faith Hall. Through the gracious help of First Orlando, we are able to move this special event back to the Worship Center. In order to accommodate this adjustment, the date of the Lower School Christmas Program has been moved to Wednesday, December 13th. We wanted to notify our families as soon as possible for planning purposes.
Mark your calendars for this special event as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Lower School Christmas Program
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
10:00am
First Orlando Worship Center
Library Hours-December 21st
The Boyd-Moline Library will be closing at 12:15 PM on Thursday, December 21st. Student checkout will not be available after early dismissal that day. Library hours before school that day will remain the same so students can still come to the library that morning beginning at 7:30 AM.
2nd Quarter Reading Incentive
The TFA Library is excited to announce the Read Moooo-re Books Incentive Program for our K Prep through Second Grade Students! Each week, students can fill out a “Read MOOO-re Books” reading record form. Students can read any 10 books themselves, or the books may be read to them. Completed reading records (records with at least 10 books) should be turned in during the student’s regular library time each week in order to receive a special prize! The Read Mooo-re Books Incentive Program will last from October 16th-December 19th.
The second quarter’s reading incentive program for grades 3-8 is based on the Sunshine State Young Reader’s Award (SSYRA) reading lists. These books are chosen by the Florida Association of Media in Education and have not yet been pre-approved by the TFA Library staff. Parents, as always, please use your best judgment in helping your child choose books to read. After reading and passing the AR test (with a score of 70% or higher) for a SSYRA book, students will receive a small prize from the “Sunshine Store” during their class library time. This promotion will end January 12th. We hope your student finds a new favorite while they explore new authors and genres during this promotion. Students who read and pass the AR test for 5 or more books will be invited to a celebration lunch with SSYRA author Taryn Souders on Thursday, February 1st.
If you have any questions, please see Mrs. DeBoom or Ms. Whitaker in the library.
Read Mooore Books Reading Record
Say Goodbye to the Accelerated Reader App
The Accelerated Reader app is being retired and will no longer function on devices with the latest iOS updates. Please read below to find the updated Accelerated Reader Testing Directions for information on how to take AR tests without the app.
2017-2018 AR Testing Directions
Lower School Social Events Calendar
Check out our Social Events calendar hosted by our Parent Association in Lower School.
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
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.
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 in the classroom or chaperoning on a field trip.