Chesapeake Academy's mission: to inspire each student to approach learning with
curiosity and creativity,
pursue excellence in all endeavors,
and act with integrity--
so each can make our community and world a better place.
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The Head's Heads UP!
As we have finished the fall Parent Partnership conferences and we continue to talk at school about the call to “Pursue Excellence” in our mission statement, I have been reflecting on the qualities that drive each of us to improve our performance. In their own conferences, our middle schoolers reflected on their successes, challenges, and goals going forward. They thought about where they are pursuing excellence. A quote by French writer Jean Giraudaux resonated with me recently: “Only the mediocre are always at their best.”
This sentiment speaks some truths to me. When we strive for and pursue excellence, we need space to be a beginner, to learn, to make mistakes, to recover from them, to try out new skills, and to get feedback on where we are in the learning process. We each also need time to rest. We need at times to take a break from the very activity of pursuit of new knowledge or skills.
We have to be willing to not be the best at something but still want to invest time and energy in becoming better. That's a risky place for many of us to be. How comfortable are we when we encounter something new in which we are just another novice with few skills? We also have to be able to “fail up” – to fail in ways that promote our development. The lessons from failed attempts guide us to success. At CA, we often call that the “productive struggle.”
As trusted adults in their lives, we can support children in their learning by talking about and modeling these qualities of excellence. Indeed, we can coach our children to put themselves in situations where they know they are not the best, but they can mark their progress from beginner forward. We can show them the strategies which help them persevere through frustration. We can allow them the space to not be excellent yet. In doing so, we will continue to shape their approach to learning and give them the tools to pursue excellence.
Julie
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Class Acts...
Chesapeake Academy 3.0: Blended Learning
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Giving Tuesday was a great success!
Our goal is 100% parent participation
in donating a gift to the Bell Tower Annual Giving Fund!
So many of our parents have given their gift, and we
THANK YOU!
The chart below shows each class and
their level of parent participation!
If you haven't given a gift, please donate today.
As each class reaches 100% parent participation,
they get to celebrate by ringing the bell!
Shhhh....AND the first class reaching 100%
parent participation gets a surprise!
Help your child's class today reach 100% with your gift!
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Clash of the Cans Commences!
Student Council is excited to spearhead CA's popular annual holiday fundraising competition, The Clash of Cans, to benefit the Healthy Harvest Food Bank. Healthy Harvest does much needed work in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, and with demands on their resources surging in 2021, CA plans to give them an Osprey boost!
This year's competition theme is Candyland, and The Clash of Can(dy) will run from December 1 through December 16. Each class decorates a festive candy-themed bin and then works to fill it to the brim!
Donated coins provide positive points. One cent equals one point, so students eagerly want to add coins to their class bin. Rolled coins should remain rolled!
Cans/food items are also positive points. One item equals 100 points. Classes are starting to heap their stashes of cans in classrooms! If you want to get in on the action, take a peek below at the Healthy Harvest Food Bank's List of Most Needed Items.
Dollar bills create negative points. A dollar bill is worth 100 points. Students are anxious to add these to ANOTHER class's bin. Sabotage can be sweet!
The class with the highest point total at the end of the day on December 16 wins bragging rights, but everyone wins as we work together to support our local food bank and have a little holiday fun.
Healthy Harvest Food Bank's List of Most Needed Items
- Peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
- Lean canned protein (tuna, salmon, or chicken in water)
- Canned vegetables (no salt added or low sodium)
- Canned fruits (own juice or water)
- Tomato products (spaghetti sauce, dried tomatoes, etc.)
- Whole grain cereal (hot or cold)
- Whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, pasta)
- Healthy snacks (fruit cups, raisins, granola bars)
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Daisy Doodle Visits Pre-kindergarten
Daisy Doodle, a registered therapy dog owned by Ms. Catherine Baker, is making the rounds each week through Early Childhood and Lower School encouraging readers and brightening days as only a good dog can! Pre-kindergarten loves her visits, looking forward to sharing all they have learned about letters, context cues, and sight words with the most patient of audiences!
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Good Citizens in First Grade
Becoming good citizens is a lifelong quest that cannot begin too early. First graders learned about citizenship and what it means to contribute constructively to a community. Students learned about the electoral process, how to register to vote, and how to exercise this most important right. Students especially enjoyed participating in a mock election in class. Democracy is for all ages!
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Everyday Design Opportunities!
Third graders worked on a design project using the steps in the design loop. First, students posed a question based on authentic needs, "How can I better organize my supplies in my supply basket?" Next, budding designers researched different ways to organize. After that, students made a plan, drew a diagram, and listed supplies they would need. Then students made their plan come alive by creating a prototype! Since then, third grade designers have had the opportunity to test their system, collecting data on effectiveness. Finally, students made changes/adjustments to their original plan and benefited from every stage of the process!
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A Little Magic Goes A Wrong Way
Chesapeake Academy fourth graders performed "A Little Magic Goes a Wrong Way" by Eileen Diamond for the student body and assembled parents. Set in a wizard's lab, the plot kicks off when a wizard inadvertently covers the townspeople with green slime. The earnest and enthusiastic wizard (Sam Parker) continues to try hard, and people continue to come to him for help--even consulting his fumbling assistants (played by Kailyn Allen and Sophia Kunkle). Hunters (Fin Burke and Malcolm Sanders) petition him to find their lost animals; Mothers (Veronica Edmonds, Elise Sterrett, and Kathryn Kenner) plead for potions to help their babies thrive; and two unlucky ladies (Elizabeth Johnson and Kelsey Liner) with unfortunate spots implore him for help clearing their complexions.
Narrators moved the story line along and kept the audience engaged with a choral recitation of the wizard's most successful spell! Julian Hart, Emory Simmons, Ashlin Kenyon, Keegan Casey, Nolan Pittman, Cameron Kiland, River Rose, Kennedy DuNomes, Brendan Beuchelt and Mead Smith practiced projecting and inflecting as they narrated the play!
"For their first time on stage in a good while, the players learned a great deal, and I could see confidence rising with each rendition," comments Chesapeake Academy Music Teacher Barbara Hays, who directed this performance, "I was delighted to work with this exuberant group and look forward to more opportunities to develop vocal and projection skills and a sense of joy and stage presence!"
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Exploring Climate Through Food
After learning about how the earth can be divided into regions based on climate; how precipitation, wind, and temperature combine to form climates; and why climates are found where they are, fifth grade geography students were challenged to create recipes for three climate regions. Then they picked their favorite and got their creative juices flowing to complete a final recipe, complete with ingredients, directions, and an illustration.
Recipes included Ice Cap Ice Cream, Tropical Wet Rainforest Layer Cake, Maritime Geode Cake, and Maritime Jam.
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Seventh Grade Oyster Gardening
Chesapeake Academy seventh graders experience aquaculture first hand as they shepherd oysters from tiny spat to mature oysters, sorting, turning and washing them along the way. This can be chilly work on a cold day, scrubbing the mud off, cleaning the cages, and testing the water quality, but the kids never seem to mind!
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What in the World is an Agamograph?
Seventh grade art students have been working to complete a project making agamographs. This optical kinetic art form was created by Yaacov Agam who is an Israeli artist widely recognized for the art form.
The idea is to make the three sets of paintings that have been separated into strips appear to become one depending on the angle of the viewer. These took a lot of time and precision to get the desired effect. Students also learned about color stories and abstract design while planning their paintings.
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Just in! Have you heard?
Ever wondered what happens to the characters after a novel ends? What are they up to in life? Were they able to come to grips with the major roadblocks they encountered?
To answer these burning questions, seventh grade lit students created news broadcasts based on the life of one of the main characters, Darry, from S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders after the novel ended 10 years ago! Students also created a commercial break, filmed their broadcast, and edited it to look like a real life news broadcast.
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CAPPA News
Hoping that all were able to enjoy some time with family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday. Though we are back in school for just a short time before our next break, there are great things still happening between now and then. Please mark your calendars for the Kilmarnock Christmas Parade and cheer on the Chesapeake Academy float. Many thanks to the Pittman, Lang, and Nichols families for putting this together. The parade will take place on the evening of December 10.
Chesapeake Academy's Annual Bell Tower Annual Fund drive is in full swing. The goal is to have 100% participation from parents this year. If you haven't already, please consider giving again this year, or giving for the first time! It feels good and it does GOOD!
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Coach's Corner
With the seasons changing, the days getting shorter, and the holiday season here, this is a time when we often shift our focus away from ourselves and towards others. Rightfully so, too, since that is what this time of year is about--supporting and caring for our family, friends, and community. We also are so grateful for all the blessings we have and want to be sure that we share our joy with others and show them how much we love and appreciate them. However, this time of year is when we should also be looking to take care of ourselves. We should ask ourselves, what fills our cups? What can we do to appreciate the blessings the late fall and winter seasons bring? (This is a question I ask myself as I miss the warm months of summer!) We also need to think about what we can do to stay healthy, both mentally and physically. As we are still in the midst of COVID, the first thing we think about is probably being sure to get enough sleep, wash our hands, and avoid others when we're not feeling well. Yet, there is so much more that we can do. In middle school Health classes, we recently discussed the importance of sleep; and, in third and fourth grade PE, we've also been talking about the food groups and what you need to fuel your brain and body. These are areas that we need to prioritize for ourselves during this time of hustle and bustle. Get outside and go for a walk or run as a family to enjoy the changing of the leaves or the warm afternoon sunshine. Make your favorite meal together - dessert, too! Curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and have a family movie night, and even better if everyone takes a surprise (and probably well deserved) nap! Don't be afraid to slow down and just enjoy the changing seasons and all the wonderful things that this time of year brings!
Go Ospreys!
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Attitude of Gratitude
- For time with family and friends during the holidays, we are particularly grateful!
- Our Shuck-it Buckets were so well-received! Thanks to the volunteers who helped make it happen!
- Thanks to the families who responded to Ms. May's wish list and purchased books for the James Library from the online book fair. Just look at what we've added:
When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
Wild Kratts Wild Insects and Spiders by Martin and Chris Kratt
Who Would Win? Rhino vs. Hippo by Jerry Pallotta
Who Would Win? Polar Bear vs. Grizzly Bear by Jerry Pallotta
Who Would Win? Hammerhead vs. Bull Shark by Jerry Pallotta
Good Night, Earth by Linda Bondestam
Moth & Butterfly Ta-Da! By Dev Petty
The Big Book Bugs by Yuval Zommer
Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery
by Meg Pincus
What if You Had Animal Eyes!? By Sandra Markle
What if You Had an Animal Nose!? By Sandra Markle
What if You Had Animal Ears!? By Sandra Markle
The Blue Hour by Isabelle Simler
Cicadas Don’t Bug Me by Christen Jeschke
Everything Awesome about Sharks and other Underwater Creatures
by Mike Lowery
Can I Be Your Dog? By Troy Cummings
How to Talk to a Tiger and Other Animals by Jason Bittel
Animals Brag About Their Bottoms by Maki Saito
- Thanks to the faculty members who spearheaded donations from CA classes for the YMCA's Festival of Trees!
- Thanks to Student Council for organizing the Clash of Cans!
- Thanks to everyone who donated to the Bell Tower Annual Giving Fund on Giving Tuesday!
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Save the Date
12/10 Interims Out
12/10 Kilmarnock Christmas Parade
12/15 Tag Day
12/15 PALS, Bright Star Touring Theatre Presents "A Dickens Tale"
12/16 Pizza Hot Lunch
12/17 Half Day
12/20 Winter Break
1/3 Classes Resume
1/5 Dress Uniform/Dress Shoes
1/7 Pizza Hot Lunch
1/17 Martin Luther King Day, School/Offices Closed
1/24 through 1/28 MS Exams, seventh and eighth grades
1/26 Tag Day
1/28 End of Second Marking Period, Noon release for students
2/2 Groundhog Day, Dress Uniform and Shoes
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