Home/Royal News/Lower/Lower School Blog, Week of January 5th

IMPORTANT EVENTS & DATES FOR JANUARY & FEBRUARY

Parents, please take a moment to mark your calendars. The following are important dates that you do not want to miss:

  • January 4th:  3rd Quarter Begins
  • January 6th:  3rd-6th Grade Sunshine State Book Incentive Program Deadline
  • January 13th:  6th Grade Field Trip to Animal Kingdom
  • January 16th:  Student/Teacher Holiday-Martin Luther King Day
  • January 18th:  KPrep On-Campus Field Trip-Gatorland
  • January 18th:  2nd Grade Field Trip to Blue Springs
  • January 20th:  Lower School Night at the Orlando Magic Game
  • January 25th:  Kindergarten 100th Day of School Celebration
  • February 3rd:  1st Grade Field Trip to the Science Center
  • February 3rd:  3rd Grade Miss Alaineus Parade
  • February 7th:  Parent Association Meeting 8:15-9:45AM (Faith Hall 3rd Floor)
  • February 9th and 10th-LS Alternative Lunch Days
  • February 10th-Father-Daughter Dance 6:30-9:30Pm (Country Club of Orlando)

CHAPEL VENUES, DATES, & TIMES

The following is a list of upcoming chapel dates and times:

  • January 5th:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • January 12th:  K4-5th Grade Chapel:  Ms. Burns’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • January 12th:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • January 19th:  K4-5th Grade Chapel:  Mrs. Dowling’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • January 19th:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • January 26th:  K4-5th Grade Chapel:  Mrs. Williams’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • January 26th:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • February 2nd:  K4-5th Grade Chapel:  Mrs. Fox’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • February 2nd:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • February 9th:  K4-5th Grade Chapel:  Mrs. Cline’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Henry Chapel)
  • February 9th:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Henry Chapel)
  • February 16th:  K4-5th Grade Chapel:  Mrs. Camblin’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • February 16th:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • February 23rd:  K4-5th Grade Chapel:  Mrs. Walton’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
  • February 23rd:  6th/MS Grade Chapel:  9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)

A NOTE FROM MRS. JACKSON

Happy New Year!  I hope that all of our TFA families had a wonderful Christmas Break!  Welcome back to the start of 2017 and our second semester of the school year.  Statistically, the odds are not in our favor that we are going to stick to our resolutions for the entire year.     That’s okay.    I am in favor of setting small, manageable goals, particularly when it comes to our children.     Helping our children set goals also helps them develop perseverance.      Perseverance is an important quality that will serve our children well in school and beyond.   It could be a goal related to school, sports, or the arts.  As a school, we give them goals (AR point goals, Accelerated Math goals, math fact goals, mile run times, etc.) but we want to help them set their own personal ones.  Here is a series of steps that I shared with our families last year.

  • Set the goal
    • Start out by brainstorming different ideas
    • Allow the child to choose the goal take ownership of it
    • Encourage a goal that will be challenging to achieve but also manageable
  • Develop a plan
    • Break the goal down into smaller parts
    • Structure the parts to build to the larger goal
  • Record progress
    • Create a chart to keep track of progress of the smaller parts
    • Give ownership to the child of recording progress
  • Set a deadline
    • Set deadlines for the smaller parts of the goal
    • Have a set end date
    • Again, give ownership to the child
  • Reward achievement and provide incentive
    • This is where parents help the most
    • Discuss a reward with the child and allow his/her input
    • Pair something tangible with words of encouragement and praise

 

RECOGNITION

Geography Bee-6th Grade Participants

The following students will be representing Lower School next week in TFA’s Geography Bee:

  • Liam Philbin
  • Reghan Coughlin
  • Nate Griffon
  • Jason Tenczar
  • Camp Magee
  • Minor Jones
  • James McGinn
  • Enzo Sioson
  • Mackenzie Morse
  • Evan Ryan

The National Geographic Bee is an annual competition organized by the National Geographic Society, designed to inspire  and reward students’ curiosity about the world. Each year, thousands of schools across the United States participate in the National Geographic Bee, competing for college scholarships and the glory of being the National Geographic Bee Champion.  Our school-based competition will take place next Wednesday morning in the Black Box Theater in the Middle School Building.     Our top 10 6th graders listed above will compete against the top 10 students in both 7th and 8th grades.   Congratulations to our top 10 students!  We are proud of them.

NEW THIS WEEK

Father Daughter Dance-Save the Date

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Lower School-Orlando Magic Game

It’s not too late to purchase tickets.  Don’t miss this opportunity to hang out with other TFA families for a fun night at the Orlando Magic Game!

Lower School will be having a family social event at the Orlando Magic’s Faith and Family Night on Friday, January 20th beginning at 7:00pm.  The Lower School Choir/Chorus students who are able to attend will be singing  during the pregame show.  Admission will also give families access to the concert taking place after the game.  Tickets are $33 and $36 and can be purchased HERE.  We have blocks of seating so we will all be in the same area.  Tickets will be on sale through January 7th so go ahead and make your purchase soon!  The teacher with the highest level of participation will receive a special gift from the Orlando Magic.  We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Flyer to announce Lower School Night at the Magic Game

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

 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.

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.