Dear FA Families,

Derby festivities start TODAY with the launch of this year’s online silent auction. Click here to access the auction site. A credit card will be required in order to place a bid. Winning bidders will pay for purchases through the auction website with the credit card on file once the auction ends on Sunday, May 2, at 8:00 p.m. Please email Brad Hutcherson if you have any difficulty registering or bidding on items. If you would like to share auction information with a friend, please use the following link: https://FADerby.givesmart.com. Please do not share the link that was emailed or texted to you from GiveSmart because it is tied to your personal account and credit card information.

Throughout the week, volunteers will be stationed in the carlines encouraging FA parents to access the online auction and to purchase Derby Raffle Tickets. The winning raffle ticket will be drawn on Saturday, May 1, before the running of the Kentucky Derby Race. You do not need to be present to win. This year’s raffle item is a fabulous vacation package donated by Montage Palmetto Bluff. Click here for more information about the raffle and to purchase tickets online.

We are excited to co-chair Derby Week this year and are grateful to all of the event’s sponsors, volunteers, and auction contributors for their generosity and support. More than 110 sponsors signed up before the deadline to raise nearly $120,000 ... by far, the largest amount raised in sponsorships during the past two decades. Click here to see a list of this year’s sponsors and here to see a list of FA Derby Day volunteer leaders and committee members. We look forward to thanking our sponsors in person at the 19^th Annual FA Derby Day on Saturday, May 1.

FA Derby Week

FA Teacher Appreciation Week

Sponsored by: FA Parent Association

Varsity State Golf Tournament

Brunswick Country Club

Upper School Advisory

Virtual Auburn University Visit

US College Counseling Center

Varsity Tennis Departs FA to Macon

MS Faculty Meeting

Hamilton Hall

Girls Varsity Soccer

@ St. Andrew's

Dismissal @ 1:00 PM

Depart @ 1:40 PM

Boys Varsity Soccer

@ First Presbyterian

Dismissal @ 2:30 PM

GISA AAA State Tennis Tournament

Individuals (Singles + Doubles)

Click here for Brackets.

John Drew Smith Tennis Center

Macon, GA

Middle School Assembly

US FCA Huddle

Soccer/Football Bleachers

Speaker: Jack Key

(Last of the year.)

Cultural Awareness Club

Dr. Oliver's Classroom

Middle School Golf Championship

Savannah Golf Club

Dismiss @ 1:30 PM

Class of 2021

College T-Shirt Day

Parent Association Uniform Sale

Gym Lobby

Senior Photos

Administration Building

US Advisory

2021-2022 Student Council Elections

2021-2022 Honor Council Elections

All-School Faculty/Staff Meeting

Gymnasium

PPE Night (Grades 4-11)

Gym Lobby

Varsity Baseball Senior Night Ceremony

Varsity Baseball vs. St. Andrew's

@ Home

Senior Honors Video Release

Golden Isles Arts & Humanities

Young Playwrights Showcase

Historic Ritz Theatre

FA Award Recipients:

GISA AAA State Track Meet

@ Strong Rock Christian School

Locust Grove, GA

US Student Council Meeting

Mr. Jobe's Classroom

Varsity Golf Departs to Aiken, SC

Varsity Soccer

@ Hilton Head Christian Academy

Girls @ 4:00 PM

Boys @ 6:00 PM

Depart @ 11:15 AM

Derby Day T-Shirt Day

Varsity Golf

Southern Cross Tournament

Aiken, SC

Lower School Morning Meeting

Soccer/Football Bleachers + Field

Ms. Myles' Class

LS Parents Invited to Attend

(Weather Permitting)

Kona Ice Truck

(Derby Week Celebration!)

Fourth Grade Field Trip

Red Cross Blood Drive

FA Gymnasium

19th Annual Derby Day

The FA Parent Association is celebrating this year's Teacher Appreciation Week this week.

The daily celebrations include:

The FA Athletic Department and Southeast Georgia Health System are conducting the 2021-2022 PPE Night in the gym on Wednesday between 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

If you prefer to have the exam done by your family physician, please click HERE for a form packet. Complete pages 1-6 before taking the entire packet to your doctor and returning it to school when the exam is completed.

The Eugenia Price/Joyce Blackburn Charitable Fund of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation in association with Golden Isles Arts & Humanities is pleased to present the Young Playwrights and Poets Showcase at the Historic Ritz Theatre on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 7 pm. The award-winning play and poems will be shared with the public and the winners will receive cash prizes.

The 22^nd Annual Young Playwright’s Award will be presented to Frederica Academy Seventh Grade students Amelia McGlaughlin and Elizabeth Temple for their play, Game of Witches and Rubies. The play will be performed by students of the Brunswick High School Drama program under the direction of Ms. Lucy Lynn Bryson. The Young Playwright’s Award encourages middle school students to express their creativity through written dramatic form. 

Last Friday, Mrs. Smith's Fifth Grade Class led the inaugural outdoor Lower School Morning Meeting series, which will continue over the next three weeks.

Ms. Myles' Fifth Grade Class will lead this week's Morning Meeting, which will take place on the soccer/football field on Friday at 8:15 a.m.

Fourth Grade students will lead the program on May 7 (Roberts) and May 14 (Squire).

All Lower School parents are welcome to attend these upcoming outdoor Lower School Morning Meetings.

The Kona Ice Truck will be on campus on Friday during lunch to help students celebrate homestretch of FA Derby Week.

St. Simons Presbyterian Church has kindly agreed to let FA use its sanctuary for our Closing Ceremonies on Wednesday, May 26.

Each ceremony will be limited to the students and their families for the following grade levels:

Additional details regarding each ceremony will soon be shared with these parents.

Last Wednesday night, International Thespian Troupe #8989 welcomed six new members:

The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society for high school theatre students. To become a Thespian, a student must earn an initial 10 points, or the equivalent of 100 hours, of high-quality theatrical performance.

Following the induction ceremony, the Middle and Upper School music students presented a Spring Concert. The concert featured the Middle School Chorus, solo vocalists, The Chamber Orchestra, and the Popular Music Ensemble. Bravo, students!

Congratulations to the following Middle School students for being named the March REACH students!

Last week, Lower School used its new StoryWalk to help celebrate Earth Day by showcasing this month's StoryWalk book, We are the Gardeners, by Joanna Gaines and kids.

Fifth Grade students mobilized to help clean up the FA campus last week as part of their Earth Day activities. Well done, Class of 2028!

Fourth Grade students continued their journey through the history of St. Simons by going on an archaeological dig at Fort Frederica last week. The explorers loved working as recorders, diggers, sifters and washers as they unearthed hidden treasures. The arrow heads and musket balls were considered some of the best finds. The following day, Fourth Grade students took over the Upper School biology lab where they learned more about the artifacts and, in turn, the time periods and the history of the people who lived on Saint Simons centuries ago. Did you know that you can date pipe stems by the diameter of the hole? The larger the hole, the older the pipe. These students found artifacts from the native american, colonial, farming and modern eras.  It was quite an adventure.

Second Grade students wrapped up their study of the life cycle of bees with some special visitors last week. The Second Grade teachers invited Susan Shipman, a local beekeeper and a member of Frederica Academy's Board of Visitors, Debra Orr of the Georgia Farm Bureau, and Mrs. Shipman's traveling beehive to lead a lesson about beekeeping and life in a hive in an up-close-and-personal way!

Melissa Tsai joined the First Grade students last Thursday to celebrate Earth Day. She went over several ways that the children could take care of our home, planet Earth. The highlight of our lesson with Dr. Tsai was getting to hold her worms.

Coastal Symphony of Georgia Concert

Sea Island Green

Ticket Holders Only

Middle School Carpe Vitam

Sixth Grade @ New Ebenezer (May 3-5)

Seventh Grade @ Honey Creek (May 3-6)

Eighth Grade @ St. Augustine/Orlando (May 3-6)

AP US Government Exam

GISA AAA State Baseball Tournament

GISA AAA State Soccer Tournament

Round 1

AP Calculus AB/BC Exams

Second Grade Moms Breakfast

Sea Island Green Tent

Varsity State Tennis Team Tournament

Macon

AP English Literature Exam

AP Physics Exam

AP US History Exam

MS Post Carpe Vitam Student Holiday

AP Chemistry Exam

Lower School Morning Meeting

Soccer/Football Bleachers + Field

Mr. Robert's Class

PK Mother's Day Tea

Class of 2021 Group Graduation Photo

Gowns - No Caps

Under the Oak (Corn Hall)

Senior Meeting

Gymnasium

Senior Lunch - Food Truck

Middle School Parking Lot

Senior Baccalaureate Video Recordings

Outside of Benefield Hall

GISA AAA State Baseball Tournament

GISA AAA State Soccer Tournament

Round 2

SAT Exam @ GA

AP World History Exam

Senior Exams

AP Spanish Exam

Senior Exams

AP English Language Exam

Senior Exams

Graduation Practice

Sea Island Green

Class of 2021

Baccalaureate Ceremony

Community Church (St. Simons Campus)

2700 Frederica Road

By Invitation Only (Limited Seating)

AP Biology Exam

Lower School Morning Meeting

Soccer/Football Bleachers + Field

Mrs. Squire's Class

MS + US Student Dismissal

May Day Ceremony

Sea Island Green

May Court (10 Representatives + Escorts in Grades 6-12)

May Pole Program (Grades 4+5)

Music Program (Grade 3)

GISA AAA State Soccer Semi-Finals

Mercer University

GISA AAA State Baseball Tournament

Semi-Finals

Class of 2021

Graduation Ceremony

Sea Island Green

By Invitation Only (Limited Seating)

Livestream Available

GISA AAA State Soccer Finals

Mercer University

AP Comparative Government Exam

AP Computer Science Principles Exam

AP Statistics Exam

MS + US Exam Reviews

AP Computer Science Exam

Second Grade Beach Trip

MS + US History Exams

Early Dismissal

GISA AAA State Baseball Tournament

Championship Series

Mercer University

MS + US Math Exams

Early Dismissal

Last Day of Lower School (PK-Third Grade)

MS + US English Exams

Early Dismissal

MS + US Make-Up Exam Day

Fourth Grade Closing Ceremony

@ St. Simons Presbyterian Church

Fifth Grade Closing Ceremony

@ St. Simons Presbyterian Church

Eighth Grade Closing Ceremony

@ St. Simons Presbyterian Church

Teacher Post Planning