IMPORTANT EVENTS & DATES FOR SEPTEMBER

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

• September 15: US Chapel – Homecoming Fashion Show – Student Center, 9:33am
• September 19: Christian College Fair – Faith Hall, 6:00pm
• September 20: Parent Association Uniform Resale – Student Center room 112, 7:30-9:30am
• September 21: US Coffee with the Principal – Alumni Commons, 8:15am
• September 21: US 12:15pm Dismissal
• September 21: Parent/Teacher Conferences – as requested by parents or teachers
• September 23: US Senior Lunch – Student Center, 12:50pm

RECOGNITION

Wounded Warrior Club

Pictured, left to right: Noelle, Ben, Brooke & Michael

Members of the Wounded Warrior Club volunteered at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center early Tuesday morning. According to the Camaraderie Foundation, there are over 233,000 post 9/11 veterans living in Florida and 76,000 in Central Florida alone. Approximately one third of returning service members report symptoms of mental health or cognitive issue. 25,000 flags were placed in the grassy area at Dr. Phillips to represent the 25,000 post 9/11 veterans suffering from invisible wounds in Central Florida. Students helped collect the flags to be used for future memorials.

NEW THIS WEEK

Live Mannequin Exhibit

Escape into the art culture dimension, and stroll through live sculpture for a few moments of your busy day! The AP Studio Art 3D class has been creating fabulous 3D art sculptures this year, including Wearable Art!

Live Mannequin Exhibit
at Upper School Royal Recharge
Friday, September 23rd
1:00am – 10:20am
in the courtyard between the Gym and the US Building

The Visual Art Department thanks you for your support!

US Homecoming Dress Up Days

Monday, October 3 – Theme Day: Sunglasses, flower crown, tie-dye shirts, denim, conservative hipster wear, Toms/cowboy boots

Tuesday, October 4 – All American Day: all things patriotic, red, white, blue clothing

Wednesday, October 5 – Pair / Group Day: dynamic duos, movie/show casts, sports teams

Thursday, October 6 – Decades Day: Each house will be assigned a decade (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s) and dress-up according to that decade.

Friday, October 7 – House Spirit Wear: Wear House Shirt for Service day; homecoming shirts/TFA spirit wear for parade at 11:00am

During homecoming week, students are permitted to wear:

• T-shirts related to the day’s theme
• Jeans – if it fits with the day’s theme
• Wigs
• Hats
• Sunglasses (must be off during class)

The following items are not acceptable:

• Tank tops
• Spaghetti straps, strapless, midriff tops
• Torn clothing
• No outfits above 3” from the knee
• Low cut shirts/blouses
• Tight fitting outfits
• Pajama pants
• Any non-uniform clothing not going with the theme of the day

Order Homecoming Shirts by Sept. 16

Click here to order homecoming shirts. Orders must be placed by Friday, Sept. 16. There are 2 options, including a tie dye shirt and a yellow shirt.

Chapel Recap – 9/8

By Abby B.

So this past Thursday, Chris Bacon, the student pastor at FBCO, came and spoke to us at chapel. The whole theme was “God Is For You” and the passage that he spoke on was Romans 8. Verse 9 says, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.” God loves us so much that we are able to dwell in His presence and we can belong to Him. Even when we fail and we mess up, we are still lavished with the love of Jesus Christ.

Chris gave an incredible story of a time in his life when all seemed incredibly dark but he was able to get through it because of the picture of his mother that he looked at every night. All of us are able to get through dark times because of the picture that God has given us of his Son on the cross. Chris reminded us that we should, “Hope to be daily conformed to the image of the Son.” We should cling to the verse in Romans 12 that tells us to conform, not to the world but to Christ. Because of this awesome message, students were brought to Christ for the first time in their lives.

Christian College Fair

It’s right around the corner on Monday, September 19th at 6 pm-7:30 pm! Come out and meet with College Representatives to learn about the admissions process along with scholarship opportunities!

College Financial Aid Sessions

We will also have an opportunity to hear from UCF’s Associate Director of Financial Assistance on Financial Aid and other finance-related matters for college.  We will have two sessions available to our families during the college fair (Monday, September 19th Faith Hall 3rd floor):

Session I 6:15 pm- 6:40 pm
Session II 6:50 pm- 7:15 pm

Senior College Application Help

We will have our Upper School College Advisors available to assist group of seniors on the following dates, during lunch or after school on 9/21, 9/28, 10/12, 10/26.  Click here to sign up!

*If you are unable to attend any of these dates, please feel free to contact your College Advisor to receive assistance on your college Applications

College Visits

Please check out Naviance for college visits on our campus.  Students must sign up through their Naviance accounts! Click here to see upcoming college visits.

REMINDERS

New Upper School Receptionist

Please help us welcome Lynouse “Lyn” Maxime, our new Upper School Receptionist. Lyn is a proud graduate from Florida State University and Kaplan University; she also has a son in TK here at The First Academy. We are excited to have her on our team.

Please direct all attendance emails to Lyn at usattendance@thefirstacademy.org.

Parent Association Uniform Resale

The next uniform resale is scheduled for Tuesday, September 20 from 7:30am-9:30am in the First Baptist Orlando Student Center, room 112.

Important Update Regarding our Uniform Exchange Policy: The Parent Association sponsored uniform exchange ministry has been a tremendous blessing to our TFA family. Thank you for participating! Because students must wear Dennis Uniform pieces exclusively in 2017-18, Sunshine Uniform pieces will not be accepted for an exchange credit this year. We welcome donations of used Sunshine pieces, but cannot offer an exchange credit as these items will be phased out completely in 2017-18. We will, however, be offering normal exchange credits for Dennis Uniform pieces. This will help us increase our supply of Dennis Uniforms and enable us to continue our ministry. Thank you for supporting the uniform exchange.

Parent/Teacher Conferences on September 21

On September 21, US students are dismissed at 12:15pm. This allows time for parents to meet with teachers in the afternoon. Conferences are only set up at the request of either the parent or the teacher; if you feel the need to meet with your student’s teachers, please reach out to them directly to schedule a meeting on September 21.

Upper School Severe Weather Dismissal Form

As a reminder, students are not permitted to leave at dismissal while we are under a lightning alert unless they have a form on file. Click here to download the form: US Severe Weather Dismissal Permission Form

This form is only sufficient for dismissal time (TVA, early dismissal seniors, early dismissal for an appointment or another reason with parent permission, and everyone else at normal dismissal time). If we are under lightning alert throughout the day, students will still be held in the building until the lightning alert clears.

Thanks for your understanding as we aim to keep our students safe.

Cafe on the Rock Student Ordering Schedule

US students can order from Cafe on the Rock according to the following schedule:

Monday: Seniors

Tuesday: Seniors

Wednesday: Juniors

Thursday: Sophomores

Friday: Freshmen

Students may not eat in the Cafe on the Rock area unless accompanied by an adult. Orders must be placed by 10am using this link: https://www.orderstart.com/cafeontherock