January 26, 2016
Dear AACS Families,

Student  Life Highlights from First Semester

This fall featured a wide variety of student life events and opportunities for our Upper School students.  Here are some of the highlights.

9th Grade Orientation
Retreat
Our 9th graders started their AACS Upper School experience by traveling down to the West River UM Retreat Center on August 28 for an all-day orientation retreat.  Several faculty and senior prefects spoke to our new students about what it means to be an AACS student, and the afternoon was spent getting to know the other members of the Class of 2019 through a variety of group and team-building activities.   
Fall Kick-Off:  Football, Food, Movie, and Cornhole
Our first student life event of the year followed the football team's first home game of the year.  Over 250 students stayed after the Sept. 4th game to eat, watch an outdoor movie, make s'mores at the bonfire, and participate in a corn hole tournament.  This event was a great way to start our year, as it allowed kids the opportunity to both relax with old friends and to make some new friends as well. 

Service and Field Day - Sept. 24th
An AACS tradition for years, the goal of this special day is to galvanize mentor groups through two critical ingredients of community:  service and fun.  The day started with each of our 36 mentor groups serving in different locations all over Anne Arundel County.  The afternoon featured our annual Field Day, when groups dressed up in a team "costume" and traveled to six different activity stations that featured such events as a dodgeball tournament, human foosball, trivia contest, and "So You Think You Can Dance." (Above: Mrs. Jenkins' group served at a local Sunrise Assisted Living; Dr. Lee's group dazzled as  Dr. Seuss.   Below: Mrs. Claybaugh's Batman mentor group; Mr. Cherone's winning cast from The Wizard of Oz.  M ore  pictures of Field Day at the bottom of the newsletter.)
 
Senior Retreat - Oct. 14
An annual mid-October AACS tradition, this year's Senior Class had their retreat at the West River UM Retreat Center, where they were invited to strengthen their own relationships and challenged to lead the student body effectively.  Led by AACS faculty Anne Hartman and Jake Palumbo, the seniors spent the morning meeting together, and the afternoon in a variety of team-building activities and challenges.
Homecoming Weekend - Oct. 16-17
Even though Homecoming weekend was quite chilly, at least it was finally dry! Friday night featured our annual prime-time Powder Puff game that featured a halftime show of guys' cheerleaders!  Congrats to the seniors for once again defending their Powder Puff championship!  Saturday showcased our guys' soccer and football teams, and the weekend finished with a wonderful, but chilly, night of worship for students and alumni at our outdoor theater.   (Above:  Junior girls pose before the game; Below, top clockwise: Students and alums worship together; the blue-clad sophomores pose for a pic following their game, the football team charges onto the field, the freshmen try to stop the seniors' attack, and the victorious senior Powder Puff team.)









 






Fall Homecoming Formal - Oct 30
This year's on-campus formal dance took place in our Kilby auxiliary gym, which the Student Council transformed from gym to dance hall with impressive decorating and a laser light show.  The evening was highlighted by a huge student turnout (approx.  75% of the student body), and a festive atmosphere.  As you see from the pictures above, our kids looked great and had a great time!








 




Anticip89 - November 4
Anticip89 is an annual tradition where our Upper School leaders, staff, and faculty quite literally "roll the red carpet" out to our 8th graders to spend a day shadowing here at the Upper School.  Greeted upon their arrival by our cheerleaders and student prefects (Student Life Prefect Shannon Baden and Academic Prefect Ellie Thompson shown above), the 8th graders and parents then had the opportunity to hear about, and experience, what it means to be an Upper School student by having a Q&A session with a student prefect, worshipping in chapel, attending several classes, and eating in our dining hall.  We hope our 8th graders enjoyed being here as much as we enjoyed hosting them! 

AACS Fall Teams Capture Championships! 

Football:
On a very chilly afternoon at Archbishop Spalding on Nov. 14, our Eagles captured their fourth MIAA league championship, and first in four years, by beating St. John's Prep 20-14.  In what was a thrilling comeback, AACS spotted St. John's a 14-0 lead before scoring late in the first half and then dominating the second half. Congratulations to Coach Lynn and the football team!

Volleyball:
Our girls volleyball team captured the IAAM 'C' conference championship with a 3-0 victory over Concordia Prep on Oct. 31.  Finishing with an overall record of 17-5, the girls dominated opponents despite battling a rash of key injuries.  Fueled by strong senior leadership, our girls had a season to remember.  Way to go, Coach Graham and the ladies' volleyball team!

AACS Students at the Re:Act Conference
Nov. 22 - 24
The Re:Act conference, hosted by the Association of Christian Schools International, is a large regional youth leadership conference hosted in Crystal City, Va.  The conference is designed to challenge high school leaders how to live redemptively in a broken culture.  AACS' contingent of 32 juniors and seniors joined over 600 other students to learn from nationally-recognized speakers about how to pursue justice and redemption in the face of issues such as poverty, homelessness, and human trafficking .  In a year when our Upper School theme is worship, we challenged students to consider how often God speaks of worship evidencing itself in service to those who most need it.   ( Above: AACS contingent of juniors and seniors at the conference; Below Left: Phil Filiopoulos, Schuyler Tose, and Ben Mullis holding Taylor Thiessen; Below Right: senior Ellie Thompson flanked by juniors Jenny Milhoan and Julia Schaefer).


Christmas Service Projects
Walk the Walk:   Once again this year, AACS' Middle and Upper Schools partnered with the Walk the Walk Foundation (a foundation founded and run by AACS parents David and Kim Mitchell) to purchase gifts for 175 area children from approx. 100 families!  For the fourth year in a row, this project was highlighted by our hosting Walk the Walk's Distribution Night, the evening when local families come to pick up the gifts purchased for their children.  Thanks to your generosity, these families were also able to "shop" from table upon table of winter clothing, coats, etc. that you donated.   This is a project that has quickly become a favorite of our community, as it gives our students and families tangible ways to bless those neighbors who really need it.  (Above: Dr. Lee's mentor group shows off their purchased gifts; sophomores Julia Cox and Sophie Thompson and junior Kyrstin Pedrick drop off their gifts. Below: Ellie Thompson, Kenzee Neiswander, and Maggie Anderson enjoyed playing with this little girl; Khari Cole-Trice, Jalen Heckstall, Micah Meadows, and Ethan Lacy organize supplies; junior Megan Ring & senior Dana Dempsey wouldn't let this little guy out of their sight!)








Canned Food Drive:
 We challenged our students to collect 3,000 items to help restock the shelves of Food Link, a food pantry in Annapolis, for this brutal winter weather.  Once again, we exceeded our goal, collecting over 4,000 items of food and diapers!   As an incentive, four of our Upper School teachers/admin offered up their beards to be shaved, and AD Jim Domoracki even shaved his head because we reached our ultimate 4,000 item goal!   Thanks to the generosity of our community, many in our area were, and will be, blessed this winter season.  (Below, clockwise from top left: the class of 2019 was well represented at Distribution Night; seniors Jalen Heckstall, Elyse Jenkins, and  freshman Taylor Cho all  made new friends.)



Christmas Celebration - Dec. 18
Another festive AACS tradition, the Upper School always spends the ½ day before Christmas break with a whole-school Christmas celebration.  Dec. 18 started with a 90-minute Mentor Group breakfast, a time highlighted by our students writing Christmas cards to our Lower and Middle School students.  A Christmas concert followed in Kerr, highlighted by musical selections from our band and choirs, followed by a duet from Micah Meadows and Kim McPhearson and a loud, electric version of "Carol of the Bells." The morning continued with a Christmas-themed assembly in the main gym where classes competed in several fun, holiday-themed games.   The celebration concluded with a Christmas cookie celebration put on by our fabulous parent volunteers in the Kilby Center. 
( Above: Thanks to the food drive success, Mr. McCollum, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Scheidt, and Dr. Camacho reveal their clean-shaven faces at the Christmas assembly.  Below:  Sophomores Sophie Thompson and Evan Robertson wrap Dr. Lee in an assembly game; Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Caton's winning mentor group-decorated door, themed after "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer." 

Return of AACS' "Legal Eagles"
For the first time in years, AACS is fielding a Mock Trial team that competes against area public and private schools.  Our kids have worked hard to be prepared as both the plaintiff and defense, and their hard work paid off as they won their first match!

WHAT'S COMING FOR 
SEMESTER TWO
We're looking forward to a Spring Semester filled with community events that bring students together.  Here is a quick preview.

AACS' 8th Annual "Pink Out" & 3rd Annual Coffeehouse
This Saturday, Jan 30
This annual event, begun by alum Grace Mercer (AACS, '09), is both a great way to bring our community together to support our basketball teams, as well as to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.  This year's event will take place on Saturday, January 30.  Our varsity girls will tip off at 3:30pm vs. Maryvale, with our varsity guys following at 5pm against Friends. Following the conclusion of the game, we want all students to head to the dining hall to drink Starbucks and see their friends perform at our 3rd annual Coffeehouse.

Spirit Week - Feb. 1-5  ***Please see note below***
The Student Council has been hard at work planning this year's Spirit Week festivities.  Below is a preview for each day's theme:

Monday 2/1:             Heritage Monday 

Tuesday 2/2:             Class Color Tuesday

Wednesday 2/3:        Group / Character Day

Thursday 2/4:           Throwback Thursday

Friday 2/5:                Pajama Day

 

*** Please note the dates of Spirit Week could change because of the days lost to the storm.  We'll communicate these changes ASAP.***

 

 

February's African-American History Month celebration
Several seniors and faculty members have been hard at work planning a series of celebratory events for February, highlighted by...

A Concert of Black American Music:  Saturday, Feb. 20

Almost entirely student planned, this will be a wonderful night of music, as a variety of AACS choral groups and individual acts will join the Bowie High dance and step team and the Refreshing Spring JEJ choir for a concert in the Kerr Center.  More details to come.

 

Movie Night: Friday, Feb. 26

All students are invited to join us in the Kerr Chapel to view a movie that highlights the theme of African-American History Month.  

 

A Few More Field Day Photos

Pictures from top to bottom: Mrs. Kempton's "skittles"; Mr. Hagen  and
Mr. Hansen showing their dance moves (or lack thereof) with their mentor groups; Mrs. Woody's "baristas" and Mr. Kempton's group at the team-building station; Dr. Lee's  Dr. Seuss  group.

 

Upper School Navigator
Click here for a copy of the January Upper School Navigator.

AACS Athletic Schedule
Click here to see the upcoming athletic schedule.  

AACS School Wide Calendar
Click here to view the one page school wide calendar.

AACS Weather Policy
Click here to learn where to get information about AACS closings due to the weather.

In His Service,
Eric Hansen, Dean of Students