VERITAS CLASSICAL ACADEMY  
Taking young minds seriously

P.O. Box 982
115 Victory Place
Marietta, Ohio 45750
(740) 885-2033


July 3, 2015
Quick Links


IMPORTANT
DATES
August 27 - Orientation
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
August 31, 2015
Check Out Our Full Curriculum!
Do you know what your children are learning (or not learning) in school? Because we are partners with parents in the education of their children, parents should know what we are teaching.   Click here to view the entire curriculum.
Instructor
Aaron Courtney
Martial Arts classes begin this summer.

SIGN UP DATES
July 3 & 6
5:30pm
VCA Gym

Tae Kwon Do
for children ages 5-15

Tae Kwon Do and
 Hwa Rang Hapkido
for adults ages 16 & up

For more information, contact Aaron Courtney 
(740) 525 9528
(740) 984 4236
84%
That is the increase in enrollment for 2015-16 thus far.  Don't miss your opportunity to enroll in the Academy!  

To schedule a tour, please email us at
info@veritasmarietta.com

What are you doing this summer?
The learning doesn't end during summer time.  It is very important that kids continue to exercise their minds even while taking a break from academic study.

Hey kids!
Let us know what you're reading this summer.  Have you written any short stories or poems or did you learn how to play a new song?  Are you tending to a garden or conducting science experiments?  Have you painted a picture or played a sport.  Did you write a travel journal?  Send us a line or two about your summer activities and we may publish it in a newsletter this summer! 

If you'd like to check out a book from our library, let us know, and we'll be happy to open for you.
Welcome to Veritas Classical Academy! Our mission is to develop the academic potential and personal character of each student through an academically rich educational experience.
 
TRUTH                     BEAUTY                  GOODNESS
Happy Independence Day

Although we celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, the Continental Congress actually voted for independence on July 2, 1776.  John Adams, in his writings, noted that July 2 would be remembered in the annals of American history and marked with fireworks and celebrations.  The written Declaration of Independence was dated July 4, but it wasn't signed until August 2, 1776.  Fifty-six delegates eventually signed the Declaration but not all were present for the August 2nd signing.


John Hancock signed first as he was the President of the Congress. The other delegates then signed by delegation in geographical order beginning on the far right column with northernmost New Hampshire and ending with southernmost Georgia.    

After the signing ceremony on August 2, the Declaration was most likely filed in Philadelphia. On December 12.  Threatened by the British, Congress adjourned and reconvened 8 days later in Baltimore, Maryland where the document remained until its return to Philadelphia in March of 1777.  In the years to follow, it traveled widely with the Continental Congress throughout the Northeast, then moving to Washington, DC in 1800.  In 1814, again threatened by war, it was moved to an unused gristmill in Virginia for its protection.  On August 24, as the British burned the White House, it was moved to Leesburg, Virginia until September, when it returned to the nation's capital.  With the exception of a trip to Philadelphia for the Centennial and to Fort Knox during World War II, it has remained there ever since.

"A skiff made of paper"
With patriotic nostalgia, we often imagine the scene at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1776 wherein the delegates of the 13 colonies fervently voted in unison to break from England in response to the king's excesses.  However, several delegates abstained from voting or voted against independence.  The most notable of these was John Dickinson of Pennsylvania.

Dickinson was devoted to American rights under Britain's unwritten constitution and led several attempts to address the king's abuses by penning his Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer, a series of broadsides read throughout the colonies and in Europe in the years leading to the revolution. While he agreed with his fellow colonial leaders that the colonies' claims against England were well founded on principles of self-governance, he believed a resolution short of independence could be found if cooler heads prevailed.

Dickinson's great foe was John Adams who had little patience for "the farmer's" continued attempts to retard the momentum toward independence.  Dickinson pleaded for new petitions and a delegation to be sent to England, and he wrote a set of resolutions preventing the Pennsylvania delegates from voting for independence.  His proposals were attacked "with spirit" and rebuked with "utmost contempt" by fellow delegates.  Dickinson acknowledged that the colonies should "prepare vigorously for War" but should still give England another chance at reconciliation.

Public support for radical action against Britain was kindled by Thomas Paine's Common Sense, published in January 1776 and England's insistence that repression was the only policy it would pursue.  By April of 1776, it became clear that independence would be declared.  On the eve of the vote for independence, Dickinson gave an impassioned speech knowing full well the damage to his reputation would be complete.  He begged the delegates not "to brave the Storm in a Skiff made of Paper,"insisting that the Congress should consult with France and await its recommendation, and warning that the colonies were ill prepared for war and even less prepared to rule themselves.  To read the entire speech, click here.  

Dickinson could not vote in favor of the Declaration of Independence but he also knew that any declaration should be unanimous for the sake of the cause.  Therefore, he abstained from voting.  The new government of Pennsylvania quickly dismissed Dickinson from the congressional delegation.  He would spend the rest of his life attempting to restore his reputation.  Upon his death, Thomas Jefferson wrote a glowing recollection of Dickinson, "A more estimable man, or truer patriot, could not have left us."  And even his long-time rival, John Adam, wrote a note of appreciation for Dickinson, "There was little Aristocracy among us, of Letters and Talents. Mr Dickinson was primus inter pares - first among equals."

"Fallacies do not cease to become fallacies because they become fashions."
- G.K. Chesterton
Thank you again for your interest in our school.  Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to schedule a private meeting.
 
Sincerely,
Kevin & Khadine Ritter (740) 629-7467
Austin & Wendy Rehl (740) 710-9045
Naresh & Melissa Nayak (740) 516-1784
School Office (740) 885-2033
IUSTITIA                   PRUDENTIA                         FORTITUDO                   TEMPERANTIA