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:
- March 31st: Kindergarten Field Trip to Green Meadows Farm
- March 31st: 1st-6th Grade Mother Son Boot Camp (Faith Hall)
- April 3rd: S.T.E.A.M. Family Expo 5:00-6:30PM (Gym)
- April 4th: Parent Association Meeting 8:15-9:45AM (Faith Hall 3rd Floor)
- April 5th: 4th Grade Water Systems Field Trip (Rowley)
- April 6th: Light It Up Blue! for Autism Awareness-Everyone Wear Blue
- April 6th: 4th Grade Water Systems Field Trip (Walton)
- April 7th: 4th Grade Water Systems Field Trip (Combs)
- April 10th-13th: K-8th Grade Standardized Testing
- April 11th: Rising 7th Grade Parent Meeting (Parents of Current 6th Grade Students)
- April 14th: Good Friday/No School
- April 17th: Easter Monday/No School
- April 18th: Parent University-Digital Citizenship 8:15am (Field House)
- April 19th: K4-4th Grade Alternative Lunch (Not including 5th and 6th)
- 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 27th: Steel Drum Concert 6:30PM (Alumni Commons)
CHAPEL VENUES, DATES, & TIMES
The following is a list of upcoming chapel dates and times:
- April 6th: K4-5th Grade Chapel: Mrs. Makar’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- April 6th: 6th/MS Grade Chapel: 9:30-10:15AM (Faith Hall)
- April 13th: No Chapel Due to Standardized Testing
- 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
A NOTE FROM MRS. JACKSON
RECOGNITION
March Madness-Week 4 Winners
Congratulations to the following classes who won their March Madness matchup from week 4 and earned a free Spirit Wear day for this Thursday, March 30th: Makar, Dowling, Agan, Walton, Schuessler, Diehl, Parmer, Bell, Dvorak, Hurlebaus, Requejo, Grosshans, Render, and Englund. On Thursday, the winning classes may wear TFA Spirit Wear or shirts representing their team/team colors with denim bottoms. Winning teachers, please announce the Spirit Wear day to your students and parents!
East Region (1st and 2nd Grades):
- Smith’s Cincinnati Bearcats: 72.2
- Makar’s St. Mary’s Gaels: 73.9
- Williams’ Miami Hurricanes: 33.9
- Dowling’s Louisville Cardinals: 55.0
- Wall’s Baylor Bears: 28.5
- Agan’s Kansas Jayhawks: 30.7
- Bye week: Fox’s Gonzaga Bulldogs
West Region (3rd and 4th Grades):
- Walton’s Maryland Terrapins: 105.7
- Rowley’s UCLA Bruins: 41.0
- Schuessler’s SMU Mustangs: 57.9
- Combs’ Xavier Musketeers: 48.2
- Bye Week: Lamp’s Wichita State Shockers
Midwest Region (5th and 6th Grades):
- Diehl’s Villanova Wildcats: 94.3
- Fitzgerald’s Arizona Wildcats: 61.7
- Camblin’s UNC Tarheels: 85.2
- Parmer’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 127.7
- Bell’s FSU Seminoles: 330.9
- Pastis’ Duke Blue Devils: 82.2
- Brown’s Virginia Cavaliers: 26.0
- Dvorak’s Oregon Ducks: 37.4
Mrs. Dowling’s Class-Service Before Self
During class, we discussed part of our Mission statement of Service Before Self. The kids and I discussed different ways we could serve others before having fun for ourselves. Some examples were given such as helping a friend on the playground or asking a new student to play with you if they don’t have anyone else to play with. I guided our talk to the trash on the playground and explained to them the amount of trash I had seen. The students very joyful announced they would like to spend some of their recess time cleaning up. Here are a few pictures of what they have found.
6th Grade Grace Day
Last Friday, March 17th, sixth grade had their annual Grace Day event. It was such a sweet time with the students. They started with a pizza party outside in the Alumni commons. After lunch, the students went to the Student Center to worship and to listen to some awesome speakers.
Mr. Jeff Fitzgerald challenged them to take off their masks and allow people to see Jesus in them. He shared God’s word with the students and showed them just how much God wants to have a relationship with them.
The students then broke up into two groups and the boys got to talk with Pastor Victor Florence from FBC/O Student Ministry. He also challenged them to live out their faith at school and at home. The boys also had the opportunity to have a Q & A with Pastor Victor, Mr. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Kacey Chambers. The girls were challenged by Miss Amanda Whitaker and Mrs. Haley Malone. They shared from their heart some experiences they went through during school and how the Lord continues to be faithful even in the difficult times. The girls also enjoyed Q & A with Miss Whitaker, Mrs. Malone, Ms. Menz and a few senior girls. The day was a very special time for the students and we rejoice to see just what the Lord has in store for them!
Full STEAM Ahead in First Grade
First-grade students took on an engineering challenge on St. Patrick’s Day. They had to build a bridge using nothing but pennies! It had to be at least 3 cm tall and had to span a distance of 3 cm. Students started by making a plan and drawing what it would look like. It was quite a challenge to hold them together without any glue or tape! Just like real engineers, they reflected afterward on how they could have improved their design and what they would do differently the next time.
KPrep Pajama Day
Mrs. Williams’ KPrep classes enjoyed a variety of night time activities in their pajamas last week! They had a campfire, listened to nighttime sounds on the bayou, told campfire stories, made s’mores, “caught” fireflies, and conducted the whole day with the lights off! Best of all, they had a siesta in the office with Mrs. Jackson!! They loved seeing how much fun they can have at school at night
!
NEW THIS WEEK
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.
STEAM Machine Family Expo
It’s not too late to sign up for our 1st Annual STEAM Machine Family Expo. Families will build a simple machine that performs a task at home. We will bring our machines in on April 3rd and share them with one another. You can put all of those recyclables to good use! Sign up HERE. Please contact Mrs. Diehl if you have any questions.
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
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.