Dear FA Families,
Earlier this year, I wrote to announce the re-launch and re-constitution of our Board of Visitors (BOV) program. During the past two weeks, John Rogers (BOV Chair), Greer Brown (Board of Trustees Chair), and I hosted a series of meetings with our BOV members. Click here to see a list of FA BOV members and their bios and here to read the BOV's Statement of Purpose.
Like most independent schools around the country, Frederica Academy enjoys two distinct and separate Boards to help best ensure the success of our school. The Board of Trustees is directly responsible for actively managing and overseeing certain elements of the school. The Board of Visitors serves largely to support and promote the school within the broader Golden Isles community. The third leg of that institutional stool that gives stability and balance to those two Boards is the school’s administration. Together these three entities complement each other and secure the long-term health of the organization.
The BOV is a very special collection of nearly three dozen civic, business, and educational leaders from a wide variety of sectors who have varying degrees of ties to Frederica Academy… past and present… and who are working in service to the school to promote the school and its mission in the community. This Board has no operational authority at the school, but serves as critical ambassadors to spread the word about the important work that FA is doing for and in our community and offer outside perspective on the school’s image within the community.
The school benefits from relationships with community leaders who have both a deep understanding of independent school education and a great appreciation for the valuable role FA plays in our community beyond our campus borders. Our Board of Visitors is comprised of men and women who represent both perspectives.
The meetings the past few days afforded an opportunity to catch the Visitors up on happenings around campus and introduced them to some exceptional student leaders who shared reflections of their time here at FA. Their updated understanding of the school today better prepares the Board of Visitors in their role as ambassadors for the school.
By contrast, the Board of Trustees is comprised of twenty-three members, largely present parents, and has at least three very specific charges at Frederica.
- First, it is the Board of Trustees who sets the macro-direction of the school and is responsible for creating, updating, and adopting the mission, vision, by-laws, and strategic plan of the school. It is the charge of the school’s administration to make sure that the daily operations of the school reflect that general mission in terms of culture, programs, and policies, but the actual direction of the school is set by the Board.
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Second, it is ultimately the Board of Trustees who is responsible for all fiduciary matters related to the school; including, but not limited to, the setting of tuition and approving the annual budget. Again, it is the school administration’s charge to operate the school within that budget once that budget has been set.
- Finally, it is the sole responsibility of the Board of Trustees to hire, support, evaluate and, if necessary, dismiss the Head of School. In that regard, they have but one employee who works for them, and that is the Head of School. Every other employee works for the Head of School. This Board meets six or seven times each year, including an annual retreat.
A heartfelt thank you to members of both the Board of Trustees and the Board of Visitors. We are a stronger, healthier school for both groups, and their service is much appreciated.
Respectfully,
Scott L. Hutchinson
Head of School
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December 16 - January 6
Student Christmas Break
December 17 - January 4
FA Employee Christmas Break
December 21
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Front Office Hours
December 22-29
FA Campus Closed
December 29 (Evening)
First Semester Grades Posted
December 30-31
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Front Office Hours
January 4-5, 2021
Faculty + Staff Workdays
January 5, 2021
Varsity Girls Basketball Game (6:00 PM)
Varsity Boys Basketball Game (7:30 PM)
@ Home vs. Pinewood Christian
January 6, 2021
First Day of Second Semester
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2021-2022 School Calendar |
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At its December Board meeting last week, the Board approved the 2021-2022 School Calendar. |
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Santa Visits Lower School |
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DECEMBER 18 + 19
Varsity Boys Basketball
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The varsity boys' basketball team will compete in the Crusader Classic in Ludowici on Friday and Saturday. The team will play on Friday at 4:15 p.m. and on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., regardless of the outcome on Friday afternoon. The team has opted not to play more than one game on Saturday.
Faith Baptist Christian Academy is hosting the tournament.
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DECEMBER 23
Rotary Speech Contest
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The St. Simons Island Rotary Club is holding its annual speech contest on Tuesday, January 12th.
Students interested in being considered to compete for the $1,000 award should submit a video recording of their speech to Mrs. Nevins on or before Wednesday, December 23.
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JANUARY 4-8
Toy Drive Deadline
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Cleaning out your garage, playrooms, and backyards to make room for all of the new toys Santa will deliver to your house this Christmas? If so, please consider donating toys and play structures that would be appropriate for our KiX Extended Day program. The KiX team is looking for doll houses, dolls, tool benches, slides, or other items that would engage and inspire active boys and girls who enjoy after-school playtime adventures.
Please drop off your donations during the week of January 4-8.
Please contact Heather Day for more information at (423) 782-7716 or via email.
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JANUARY 11
Chris McKenna Visit
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Chris McKenna will speak with students in Grades 5-8 on Monday, January 11. Mr. McKenna is the founder and CEO of Protect Young Eyes, an organization charged with helping create safer digital spaces for children and teenagers.
Details regarding Mr. McKenna's visit will be included in the January 3, 2021, e-newsletter.
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JANUARY 16
UNC Teen Institute
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The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Young Founders Institute, an entrepreneurship lab for middle school and high school students, partners with select North Carolina independent schools.
Institute officials have contacted Mrs. Nevins to invite Frederica Academy Middle School and Upper School students to participate in a remote Internship Workshop for teens interested in finding internships this upcoming summer.
During the event, workshop instructors will coach teens on how to find role models in their field of interest, connect with key stakeholders in industries to develop their network, and apply to top tier internship programs at Bank of America, Comcast, and others. Students will be encouraged to explore interests in large organizations as well as early-stage startups.
This is a two-hour program on Saturday, January 16th, and is a free event sponsored by NC IDEA and Launch Chapel Hill.
Interested students should contact Mrs. Nevins.
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JANUARY 21
Parent Association Meeting
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The FA Parent Association invites all parents to attend the next Parent Association meeting on Thursday, January 21, which will take place in Hamilton Hall or can be viewed via livestream. The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. |
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GISA announced its All-Region and All-State selections for the 2020 season this week. Congratulations to the following FA Knights:
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Students in Ms. Brown's 9th Grade World History class created "Autopsy of an Empire" posters as a capstone assignment for their first semester. The students had to determine the causes of "death" (decline) of some of the classical era empires and then represent those causes as injuries or illnesses in an autopsy.
Ms. Brown's AP World (10th grade) students completed historical cereal boxes: they chose any topic that they studied this semester and came up with a cereal to represent that topic, including content cards, summaries, and important quotes/primary sources that explained the overall significance of their chosen topic.
Ms. Brown promotes these projects because they not only allow students to explore their interests and dig deeper into content covered in class, but they also provide students with alternative ways to "show what they know" and make historical connections in creative or abstract ways. This concept reinforces the message that there are multiple types of intelligence to be valued and that knowledge and understanding, especially in history, go beyond memorization and endless lists of dates and names.
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We were blessed with great weather as 35 members of the US FCA gathered together for a final time in 2020 on the football bleachers last Wednesday. FCA Leaders read Luke 2, “The Christmas Story” aloud. Then Golden Isles FCA Area Director Tim Harden spoke to students about the “Bread of Life” being born in a feed trough since the Bible tells us, “man cannot live by bread alone.” Near the end, the adults at the gathering, Tim Harden, Jack Key, and I, prayed with groups of our students. We prayed that they would finish classes, papers and projects, prepare for and take exams, and be protected as they play and cheer for this Friday’s GISA State Championship football game. We prayed for each student’s mind, body and spirit. US FCA wishes for you a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year. Go KNIGHTS!
Sheri Graham
Upper School FCA Advisor
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Congratulations to sixth grade student, Ada Brown, for winning second place in this year's FCA Christmas Card Artwork Contest! |
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January 4 + 5
Faculty + Staff Workdays
January 6
First Day of Second Semester
January 11
Chris McKenna FA Visit
Grades 5-8
January 14
Junior Class College Night
Virtual
January 15
School-Wide FA Spirit Day
January 15
Low Country Independent School
Diversity Conference
January 18
School Holiday
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 20
FA Blood Drive (1:00 PM - 5:00 PM)
Gym Lobby
January 21 @ 8:30 AM
FA Parent Association Meeting
Hamilton Hall or Livestream
January 21
Teacher + Staff Appreciation Luncheon
Gym Lobby
January 21
Rotary Student of the Month
January 22
US Second Semester
Drop/Add Deadline
January 23
Hands on Frederica Day
January 27 @ 1:00 PM
NCAA Eligibility Workshop
College Counseling Center
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