FA Weekly e-Newsletter (11.21.21)

A Message from the Head of School

For the first time in human evolution, the individual life is long enough, and the cultural transformation swift enough, that the individual mind is now a constituent player in the global transformation of human culture.

William Irwin Thompson

Dear FA Families,

I have chosen to write this week on the identified attribute of being “globally minded.” With fourteen attributes to write about this school year and only nine months of school, I am going to have to double up once in a while to get them all in. Last week's World Kindness Day inspired today's attribute message.

Thompson’s observation is a powerful one and certainly reminds me that the confluence of an increasingly extended human life, an ever-expanding access to knowledge via the Internet, rapid shifts within many cultures around the world, and a shrinking planet in terms of interconnected relations and co-dependencies between peoples and governments all signal that our individual attitudes regarding global mindedness is of paramount importance in influencing peaceful and symbiotic relationships among peoples throughout the world and is exactly why the faculty and staff prioritized this attribute as they have.

From the school’s point of view, global mindedness on one level is defined simply as the ability to recognize, read, and adapt to cultural signals, overt or subtle, so that our graduates’ effectiveness is not compromised when dealing with people from different backgrounds. This ability to understand, respect, and work well with people from diverse cultures is not only increasingly critical for healthy and mutually productive social, academic, political, and commercial exchanges, it is essential to an FA graduate to thrive in and contribute to the world of tomorrow.

This process of helping to create global citizens is one that the school comfortably embraces. If we want our students to understand the world in which they live and where they fit into that world and if we want our students to become involved in, and potentially take action on, global issues, we need to introduce, at least for starters, five distinct ways of thinking. Briefly, the first two are pretty simple - be open to different outlooks and world views and know one’s own personality traits. The third is a bit more challenging - recognizing one’s own cultural values and biases. The fourth is to begin to familiarize ourselves with the typical habits, expectations, and best practices in other cultures around the world - to appreciate different cultural contexts - and reduce the tendency to make our personal way as the center of whatever we believe is “preferred” or “acceptable.” The fifth is to develop strategies to adjust ourselves and our style given all of the aforementioned.

It goes without saying that all of these self-help suggestions and observations for becoming more globally minded are completely irrelevant if one does not operate from a foundation of kindness to, and acceptance of, all. I am confident that the future holds an abundance of change that few of us can even now imagine today, but I am equally confident that the concept of kindness will not go out of style nor be forgotten and left behind. Any successful and fulfilled citizen of the world will need to exercise both kindness and a sensitivity and attentiveness to others from differing backgrounds to optimally contribute to his/her community. That seems as good a place as any to begin.

Respectfully,

Scott L. Hutchinson

Head of School

This Week at FA

NOVEMBER LUNCH MENU

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED THIS WEEK

Monday's FA Christmas Card Project

Monday + Tuesday

Sam Stover on Campus

MS Director Candidate

Monday

Fifth Grade Field Trip

Okefenokee Swamp

Monday @ 8:00 AM

FA Christmas Card Volunteer Project

Shuman Conference Room

Monday @ 10:00 AM

US Assembly

Gym

Monday Evening

Varsity Basketball

@ Habersham (Savannah)

Girls @ 5:00 PM

Boys @ 6:30 PM

Monday @ 7:00 PM

Mamma Mia Movie Night

Terry Thomas Room

Tuesday @ 7:15 AM

Middle School Faculty Meeting

Shuman

Tuesday @ Lunch

Kona Ice Truck

Tuesday @ 1:05 PM

US Naval Academy FA Alumni Visit

Alastair Campbell '19

College Counseling Center

Tuesday @ 1:05 PM

Cultural Awareness Club

Dr. Oliver's Classroom

Wednesday-Friday

Thanksgiving Break

Wednesday @ 10:00 AM

FA Young Alumni Council Meeting

Knights Table Menu

November Lunch Menu

PK + K Order Form

Monday

FA Christmas Card Mailing

Christmas Card Mailing

Monday, November 22, 8:00 a.m.

Shuman Conference Room - Been Library

All hands needed! Please mark your calendar and show up to help us get the mail out! Everyone is welcome for this easy, quick opportunity to help FA mail its official 2021 Christmas Card, which will feature artwork created by a Lower School student.

Monday

Mama Mia Movie Night

Monday November 22

6:00 to 8:00 PM in Ralston Arts Center - Terry Thomas Room

Pizza and snacks provided

Open to all Upper School and 8th Grade Students. Cast and Crew Members may invite a friend. Open to any student who wants to enjoy the movie and may be interested in working on the tech crew of our Spring Musical production.

Wednesday - Friday

Thanksgiving Break

December 13-15

MS + US Exam Schedule

December 13-15

Lower School Early Dismissal

All Lower School students will dismiss at 11:00 a.m. on December 13, 14, and 15. As in previous years, we will have our annual Giving Tree program on Wednesday, December 15. More information is forthcoming about the Giving Tree program.

We are excited to share that the Lower School staff will be continuing part two of six intensive trainings to further our knowledge and understanding of the skills needed for the reading and writing process as well as the impact of these skills on mathematics. Lower School staff completed part one back in August prior to the start of school. Part two of this training series is a four-day session that will take place after early dismissal during the week of December 13 and during the teacher workday on December 16.

To help accommodate parents who need childcare after the early dismissal, we will be offering KiX on Monday, December 13, Tuesday, December 14, and Wednesday, December 15, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Because these hours differ from our normal operating times of our KiX program, there are limited spots for each grade level. If you would like your child to attend KiX any of these dates, you need to sign them up using the button below.

Please note THERE WILL BE NO DROP INS permitted as space is limited on these three days.

Should your grade level be full, please email Heather Day at or text her at 423-782-7716 to be placed on a waiting list. She will notify you no later than Friday, December 10, to inform you if there is space available.

If you sign up, your child will participate in lunch from 11:00-11:30 a.m. following the Lower School dismissal. Your child is welcome to bring a lunch or purchase a school lunch. We will be serving pizza each of these three days. Following lunch, students will proceed to the Lower School playground for recess until 12:15 p.m. Following recess, students will proceed to the KiX building. We ask that no parent pick up until 12:30 p.m. to ensure that all students have been transported to the KiX building. Students will participate in a movie day and free play for the remainder of the time on these dates.

Please remember that all students must be picked up no later than 3:00 p.m.

If you have any questions regarding KIX, please contact Heather Day.

Email Heather Day

Thank You, Apogee Enrollees!

Thank you to the 100 enrollees who signed up for Apogee during Apogee Appreciation Week!

If you still want to sign up or are interested in gaining more information, there is still time.

Enroll Online

Contact Brad Hutcherson

Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica

This week, five students were inducted into the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, a National Honor Society for students who excel in advanced Spanish language classes. The students being inducted are:

Ryann Hankey, Case Harrison, Parker Jules, Paris McCoy, and Ella Moore.

Congratulations on this wonderful accomplishment.

Open Mic Night

Thank you to all of the outstanding performers and enthusiastic audience members who attended Wednesday's Open Mic Night! With original songs, pop and rock covers, Broadway hits, and teacher spotlight performances, 28 students and 4 faculty performers presented a variety of acts. The Upper and Middle School Popular Music Ensembles anchored the show as the Corn Hall steps were transformed into a rainbow-hued stage. Bravo and Brava, performers!

Photo Album

Event Program

FA Christmas Card Competition

Click HERE for a better view of the winning cards.

View Photos of the Winners with their Cards

Fifth Grade Christmas Poster Competition

Click HERE for a better view of the winning posters.

Sixth Grade Red Carpet Event

Dressed as characters from the novel The Westing Game, the sixth grade English class reviewed for a character quiz while strutting the red carpet.

Photo Album

Lower School Art Projects

FA students learned some new skills in Art this week. Fifth graders mastered the French collage technique of decoupage, while second graders enjoyed a beginning sewing lesson. They loved it and hope to make a pillow soon!

Third Grade Visits the Mighty Eighth

Third Grade students visited the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Savannah this past Thursday. They learned about the role of the Mighty 8th Air Force in World War II. It was a great introduction to their newest social studies unit of Famous Americans.

Photo Album

Second Grade Visits Village Creek Landing

Second Grade students had the opportunity to learn about their coastal home during a visit to Village Creek Landing last week.

Brooke Vallaster of Coastal Outdoor Adventures provided the students with hands-on experiences with coastal plants and animals. Kathryn Vinyard guided students in a watercolor project depicting the area. Students learned about types of plants and animals that inhabit the marsh by collecting examples. The most exciting activity was participating in a dock study where children gathered animals and plants with dip nets, cast nets, and their hands. Students were then able to take a closer look at the creatures they gathered through microscopes. The field trip was a great opportunity to gain an up close appreciation of our area.

Photo Album

Second Grade Stars

Last week's Second Grade Star Students were Florence Whitley and Lane Williams. They did a wonderful job presenting their decorated All About Me Star posters and interviewing each other.

Florence invited Mary Ford Fitzjurls, who is an Eighth Grader at Frederica Academy, to be her guest reader. Lane invited her mom, Anne Williams and her brothers Campbell, a Frederica Academy Eighth Grader, and Wells, who is a Sixth Grader at Frederica Academy, to be her guest readers.

Florence and Lane shined brightly last week as Second Grade stars!

Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program

Kindergarten students wrote the script for their program by thinking of the history of this special holiday and describing ways they celebrate Thanksgiving with their families and friends. The Kindergarten teachers think of each of these children as sweet blessings and are so very proud of their hard work!