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 10th: Grandparent’s Day Program 7:50am (Classrooms/Field House)
- March 10th: End of the 3rd Quarter 12:15 Dismissal
- March 12th: Daylight Savings Time-Set Clocks Forward
- March 13th-17th: Teacher Appreciation Week
- March 13th: 4th Quarter Begins
- March 17th: 6th Grade Grace Day
- March 20th-24th: Spring Break
- March 28th: K4-6th Grade Alternative Lunch Day
- March 30th: Lower School Open House for Prospective Families 8:15-9:45AM
- 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
- April 6th: 4th Grade Water Systems Field Trip
- April 7th: 4th Grade Water Systems Field Trip
- April 10th-13th: K-8th Grade Standardized Testing
- April 14th: Good Friday/No School
- April 17th: Easter Monday/No School
- 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:
- March 16th: K4-5th Grade Chapel: Mrs. Martin’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- March 16th: 6th/MS Grade Chapel: 9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- March 30th: K4-5th Grade Chapel: Ms. Wall’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- March 30th: 6th/MS Grade Chapel: 9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- April 6th: K4-5th Grade Chapel: Mrs. Makar’s Class Presentation 8:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- April 6th: 6th/MS Grade Chapel: 9:30-9:15AM (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: 9:30-9:15AM (Faith Hall)
- April 27th: No Chapel
A NOTE FROM MRS. JACKSON
We are so excited to have our grandparents and special guests on campus Friday for our annual Grandparent’s Day event. The American Grandparents Association has a great list of reasons kids love their grandparents. We believe many of these to be true.
- They’re always up for an adventure.
- They know lots of stories — and some of them are even true.
- They can grow things. Maybe it’s a garden of tomatoes and zucchini. Maybe it’s just a potted plant. And if kids help, grandparents will let them get their hands dirty.
- They let grandchildren take their time. When kids stay with grandparents, they don’t need to rush to get dressed in the morning. They know grandparents will wait for them.
- They make the best audience. When grandchildren learn a new poem, some fancy dance moves, or their first violin piece, they count on grandparents to watch, listen — and applaud.
- They love to travel.
- They knew their grandchildren’s parents when they were kids, and they have the pictures to prove it. They can tell kids stories about their parents that their moms and dads would never tell children themselves.
- They’re walking history books. Most grandparents can remember when televisions had antennas, cars had fins, and phones had cords. When they take kids to a science or history musuem, they make exhibits come to life.
- They collect and display their grandchildren’s art like museum curators, and they wouldn’t trade a grandchild’s first sunny-day scene for the Mona Lisa.
RECOGNITION
Mrs. Camblin’s Chapel Presentation
Mrs. Camblin’s 5th grade class closed out February’s Chapel theme of love by focusing on Mark 12:30. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…” A panel of students and teachers helped explore the question of what it means to love God with your whole heart. Several 5th graders performed skits and ask the student audience to determine if loving God or loving self was being demonstrated. Other 5th graders shared personal stories of what loving God looks like lived out every day. Students left chapel challenged to live for God and not for themselves, by sharing with those in need, being humble, helping others who are hurting, trusting God in pain, having courage in hard situations, using kind words, in praise and worship, and being a Christ follower. The 5th graders led well and God was indeed honored.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss
K4 is celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday by reading one of Dr. Seuss’ book Wacky Wednesday. The students were able to dress “Wacky” on Wednesday! They also dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2. There were many other “Seussical” craziness taking place in the classrooms to honor one of our famous authors, Dr. Seuss.
Kindergarten-Famous American Unit
Kindergarteners love to learn. Just recently they finished a unit on famous Americans which included our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. These boys were so excited to learn that Lincoln Logs were named after the log cabin president, Abraham Lincoln.
March Madnesss-Week 2 Winners
East Region (1st and 2nd Grades):
- Fox’s Gonzaga Bulldogs: 56.3
- Smith’s Cincinnati Bearcats: 67.1
*WINNER: Smith’s Cincinnati Bearcats!
- Agan’s Kansas Jayhawks: 35.8
- Dowling’s Louisville Cardinals: 42.5
*WINNER: Dowling’s Louisville Cardinals!
- Wall’s Baylor Bears: 64.6
- Makar’s St. Mary’s Gaels: 79.2
*WINNER: Makar’s St. Mary’s Gaels!
Bye week: Williams’ Miami Hurricanes
West Region (3rd and 4th Grades):
- Lamp’s Wichita State Shockers: 79.9
- Rowley’s UCLA Bruins: 122.9
*WINNER: Rowley’s UCLS Bruins!
- Schuessler’s SMU Mustangs: 63.2
- Walton’s Maryland Terrapins 202.0
*WINNER: Walton’s Maryland Terrapins!
Bye Week: Combs’ Xavier Musketeers
Midwest Region (5th and 6th Grades):
- Bell’s FSU Seminoles: 160.9
- Fitzgerald’s Arizona Wildcats: 62.1
*WINNER: Bell’s FSU Seminoles!
- Brown’s Virginia Cavaliers: 60.3
- Parmer’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 65.9
*WINNER: Parmer’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish!
- Diehl’s Villanova Wildcats: 49.8
- Pastis’ Duke Blue Devils: 97.3
*WINNER: Pastis’ Duke Blue Devils!
- Camblin’s UNC Tarheels: 104.2
- Dvorak’s Oregon Ducks: 97.1
*WINNER: Camblin’s UNC Tarheels!
NEW THIS WEEK
Mother/Son Boot Camp
It’s that time again. Our 2nd Annual Mother/Son Boot Camp is scheduled for Friday, March 31st beginning at 6:00pm. You don’t want to miss this fun social event. Purchase your tickets HERE.
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!
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.