Dear FA Families,
I am writing this morning to bring attention to the Teacher of the Year Recognition Ceremony that was held with all faculty and staff last Wednesday afternoon. This announcement and the corresponding event proved the culmination of a process that began about a month ago with an invitation extended to all faculty to nominate a colleague for consideration for the award. Those who chose to nominate were required to write a narrative explaining why their nominee was worthy of the award. In the end, seven teachers were nominated and considered for the award by the Leadership Team.
As a school, we host this event and have this award for three reasons. First, we want teachers to be aware of, and learn from, other teachers and constantly be thinking about elements of great teaching and great teachers. Second, by showcasing our faculty to each other we are affirming for all that there are many outstanding teachers at FA, that there is no artificial limit to the number of great teachers who we can and want to support, and that our culture is cooperative not competitive within our teaching ranks. All boats rise with the rising tide; and the stronger we are as a group, the better the service is that we deliver to the students. Third, this award shines a well-deserved light on great teachers at FA, continues to define for all the salient attributes of outstanding educators, and highlights the nominees and ultimately the single teacher of distinction.
Past winners of this award who are still teaching at FA include, in chronological order, Sandra Smith, Julie Boatright, Melanie Howell, Laura Edenfield, Christy Manor, Jody Bradford, Sheri Graham, Maria Gallagher, Nikki Walbridge, Tom Willis, and Phoebe Shelton Rolland.
This year’s nominations included Julie Boatright, Roxana Bush, Erin Dyer, Lindsay Hill, Melanie Howell, Steve Jobe, and Catherine Squire. These seven were nominated for separate and unique reasons, but they all possess one common, overriding trait – each displays an unfailingly positive energy in everything that they do and a cheerful, can-do aura surrounds them.
In the end, Jill Smith, MS history teacher and soccer coach, was selected as FA’s outstanding Teacher of the Year. To quote one of her three nominators “Jill is an extraordinary teacher and her classroom is inclusive, interactive, engaging, fun, and informative. She has no limit to her creativity and to the quality of her teaching. She loves her job, and she knows each and every student both as a learner and a person. She is approachable and intuitive. Her students respect her, find it easy to ask questions and seek her guidance, and enjoy being in her classroom.”
Today's message is dedicated to all of the excellent teachers at FA, to those who received a nomination this year, and especially to this year’s Teacher of the Year award winner Jill Smith.
Respectfully,
Scott L. Hutchinson
Head of School
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Click HERE to access this week's Knights Table Menu
ALL WEEK
Sunday @ 8:00 PM
Coach Brandon Derrick Radio Show at Porch
Monday @ 10:00 AM
Upper School Advisory
Monday @ 1:00 PM
Humane Society Teen Board Meeting
Football Bleachers or MS/Athletic Tent
Monday @ 3:30 PM
Middle School Girls Soccer Game
Home vs. Risley
Dismissal @ 2:25 PM
Monday @ 4:00 PM
Middle School Faculty Meeting in Hamilton Hall
Monday @ 4:30 PM
Middle School Boys Soccer Game
Home vs. Risley
Dismissal @ 3:20 PM
Tuesday
Q2 Progress Period Ends
Tuesday @ 10:00 AM
Middle School Assembly
Tuesday @ 1:00 PM
US Cultural Awareness Club
College Counseling Center
Tuesday @ 1:00 PM
Finance + Investment Club
Mr. Willis' Room
Wednesday
Wednesday @ 8:20 AM
Veterans Day Ceremony
Wednesday @ 10:00 AM
Upper School Virtual Assembly
Wednesday @ 1:00 PM
US FCA Leaders Meeting
Wednesday @ 4:00 PM
US Faculty Meeting
Sea Island Green Tent
Wednesday @ 7:00 PM
FA Knights Coach's Show with Coach Derrick
Gnat's Landing
Thursday @ 9:30 AM
School-Wide Intruder Drill
Thursday @ 1:00 PM
US Student Council Meeting
Mr. Jobe's Room
Thursday @ 3:30 PM
MS Girls Soccer Game
FA @ St. Marys
Dismissal @ 1:05 PM
Departure @ 1:25 PM
Thursday @ 4:30 PM
MS Boys Soccer Game
FA @ St. Marys
Thursday @ 6:00 PM
Model U.N. Meeting
Mrs. Bradford's Room
Friday
World Kindness Day (Wear PURPLE)
FA Spirit Day
Friday @ 3:00 PM
Varsity Swim Meet
Friday @ 7:30 PM
Varsity Football at Pinewood
Click HERE for ticket information.
Saturday @ 10:00 AM
MS + Varsity Swim Meet
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There was an article in The Brunswick News last week about local SAT scores for the Class of 2020. We wanted to share comparative data for Frederica Academy for those who have not seen our 2020-2021 School Profile.
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Click HERE for November Menu.
Click HERE for PK, K, and 1st Grade Lunch Order Form |
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MONDAY
Middle School Soccer
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WEDNESDAY
Veterans Day Livestream
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FRIDAY
World Kindness Day
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World Kindness Day is a global day that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world. This day, celebrated on November 13 of each year, has the purpose to help everyone understand that compassion for others is what binds us all together. This understanding has the power to bridge the gap between nations. |
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We invite everyone to celebrate World Kindness Day this year by doing the following:
- Wear PURPLE on Friday.
- Donate to the Fresh Fruit Drive, which benefits Manna House and is sponsored by the Upper School Health and Wellness Club. The drive will take place all week and collection bins are available in the Front Office, the Corn Hall Office, and outside of the Nurse's Office. Friday is the last day to make donations.
- Be a "broadcast tower" for kindness.
The Health and Wellness Club is celebrating kindness all month.
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FRIDAY
Varsity Football Game
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Pinewood Christian will host our FA Knights in Bellville on Friday night. Pinewood officials have limited the number of tickets available to both teams and require all tickets to be purchased in advance. |
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SATURDAY
FA Brunswick Swim Meet
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The Frederica Academy Invitational Swim Meet will take place at the YMCA of Coastal Georgia on Saturday, November 14. This is a very large meet with schools from throughout Georgia competing.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Volunteers are needed to help host the event. There are two 2-hour shifts (9:00 AM - 11:00 AM and 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM). Please use the button below to email Nikki Pope to let her know if you are interested and available to volunteer. Thank you!
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NOVEMBER 17
Open Mic Night (Grades 5-8)
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NOVEMBER 30
FA Christmas Card Contest
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Golden Isles FCA is offering the opportunity for a student in Middle School or Upper School to win a $100 Academy Sports gift card as well as a FCA Bible and a devotional.
Interested students are asked to design and submit an original Christmas Card for the 2020 Christmas season. The winning entry will be used by Golden Isles FCA (GIFCA) to send Christmas greetings to our supporters both by mail and online. By submitting an entry to the contest, all contestants give permission to GIFCA to reproduce and distribute their entries and the decisions of the judges are final.
Artwork submissions must have a Christmas message or theme, and the name of the artist needs to be included somewhere on card.
Mrs. Graham will engage FA Teachers to vote and select a winner from the Frederica submissions. Middle School and Upper School submissions are considered separately. FA's winning MS and US entries will be submitted to GIFCA, which will select an overall winner. Each school winner will receive either an FCA Bible or FCA devotional book.
The deadline for submitting your artwork to Mrs Graham is Monday, November 30.
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Dottie Barrow, Director of Academic Technology, and FA Parent Alisha Seymour returned last week from a trip to Haiti to visit the Jubilee School, our sister school. They took school supplies and bike repair parts for the bikes we donated to the school last year.
FA Engineering students (see photo above) designed the activities Mrs. Barrow and Mrs. Seymour used to teach students in Grades 1-6. The designs included 3D printed cars, flashlights, fans, lanterns, and light etchings.
The students and teachers expressed their appreciation to our teachers, parents, and administrators for the donated legos, school supplies, and a set of crutches for a deserving student.
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Congratulations to all of the Upper School students who were inducted into the National Honor Society on Friday. The senior members who spoke during the ceremony did an outstanding job. There will be a second induction ceremony later this month for inductees who participated in the GISA AAA State Cross Country meet in Macon on Friday and Saturday. |
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Congratulations to the Varsity Science Bowl Team: Spencer Sullivan, Captain; Andrew Kaminer, Adam Elsharkawi; David Weaver; and Roy Boyd.
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Congratulations to the Junior Varsity Science Bowl Team: Hannah Huber, Captain; Sam Norris; Gillian Sullivan; Max Crusan; and Wyatt Whitlow.
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US Downtown Journalistic Tour |
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On Thursday,the Upper School Digital Media and Band classes took a journalistic tour of Downtown Brunswick. Chaperoned by Drs. Nielsen and Taylor, the Fine Arts students' task was to create a "Then and Now" photo album to commemorate Frederica Academy's 50th Anniversary. The tour, led by docent Linda Gallagher of SoGlo Theater, stopped at historic sites in Old Town, the waterfront, and also Frederica Academy's original school building on 1st street. The Band students visited SoGlo guitars to see guitars being made.
Overall, each student was responsible for taking at least 100 photos. In the upcoming classes, students will analyze, compare, edit and curate their photos to create the collective album. It was a positive way to discover more about our own local history and culture.
Below, students pose in front of the school's first location, which opened in August 1970 and operated downtown until the school moved to Saint Simons Island during the 1974-1975 school year.
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Congratulations to the Middle School October REACH Award recipients! |
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In Lower School Art last week, students in Grades 1-5 made Veterans Day cards, which will be distributed to veterans at Magnolia Manor and local churches. |
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Third Grade students traveled to Jacksonville to visit the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) on Friday. They had a great time learning about the Earth, Moon, and Sun in the planetarium, attending the Wacky Weather program, and exploring the rest of the exhibits.p
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As part of their unit on weather, Third Grade students used 2-liter bottles to create tornadoes and discuss how they can create hazardous weather. |
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Second Grade Star Students |
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The Second Grade Star Students last week were Harriett Cathey and Cope Danowski. Harriett and Cope shared their "All About Me" posters with the class. Both Star Students worked hard to decorate their posters and did a fantastic job! Our Stars also invited a guest reader. Harriett invited her Mom, FA First Grade Teacher, Erica Cathey and she read the book Scaredy Squirrel. Cope invited his Dad, Brad Danowski. He read the book Dragons Love Tacos. Congratulations to Harriett and Cope and thank you to our guest readers. |
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November 16
Middle School "Under the Tent" Fall Concert
November 16
Q2 Progress Reports Posted
November 17
Varsity Basketball Season Opener
FA vs. Heritage at HOME
November 17 @ 5:00 PM
Open Mic Night (Grades 5-8)
Sea Island Green Tent
November 18 @ 8:15 AM
Parent Association Meeting
November 19
Rotary Student of the Month
November 20 @ 7:30 PM
Varsity Football Senior Night vs. Trinity Christian
November 22 @ 1:00 PM
US Thespians at SoGlo Theater in Brunswick
November 23 @ 6:00 PM
Thespians Movie Night
November 25-27
Thanksgiving Break
November 27
Varsity Football First-Round of GISA AAA Play-Offs
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Click HERE to access the 2020-2021
At-A-Glance Master Calendar.
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