Encouraging Words from Secretary Kennedy Nations

JA Family,

Wow! What a crazy few weeks it has been! I hope all of you are doing well during this time of unknowns about what’s to come! I know that times like these are when we tend to feel scared and anxious about the future, but during all the hustle and bustle about what will happen next, remember that our Heavenly Father is in complete control. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I know that the unknown is a very scary place. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, next week, or even next month, but this is a time that we can all use to take a step back and remember that the Lord knows every next step. Students, I know that the end of this year is not how we had all planned and thought it would be, but let’s all make the most of it! Remember that there are parents, teachers, faculty, and even your close friends who are here for you and are walking the same journey through the unknown! I hope these new online classes have started off well for everyone, and hope we can all get back together on campus soon!

Our Most Sacred Trust, Caring for Our Students

Good evening, or morning!

I am finding it hard to sleep in the last few days. I know that some of that comes from anticipation of what we as a school are starting this week and the uncertainty of what we as a country are facing.

But there is one thing that I do know. I have never been more proud of a group of teachers and staff than I am of you folks. In the last week I have seen you work together, work individually, mentor each other, and prepare to do something for our students which most schools would need at least a year to prepare for. Your willingness to step up and step out has been truly inspiring. I know that our students and families will be well taken care of academically and emotionally as we all go through this together.

It has been amazing to watch lesson plans come together, schedules being put into place, and videos being produced all in the span of a few days. Each and every one of you is to be congratulated on what you have done in this short amount of time.

Now, as we prepare to roll out JA online, we pray that God gives us patience to work through the issues that we know will come up. But we can rest easy knowing that we have taken care of our most sacred trust, caring for our students.

My parents directed the choir at Hinds for over 30 years while I was growing up. During that time, Dad used a song with lyrics by John Greenleaf Whittier as the theme song for the choir. This song was sung at every concert, and I find the words extremely comforting as we prepare to enter this new world that we have inherited. 

This Still Room

"And so I find it well to come for deeper rest to this still room,

for here the habit of the soul

Feels less the outer world’s control;

For strength of mutual purpose pleads more earnestly our common needs;

And from the silence multiplied

By these still forms on either side,

The world that time and sense have known

Falls off and leaves us God alone."

I love and respect each of you dearly and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your dedication. Take some time on Sunday for you and your family. And then this week, let's amaze the world with what our kids can do with our help.

God Bless,

J Reeves

Head of Middle School

We Are Not About Fear, We Are About Courage

Hi, JA Family,

I love waterfalls. I will go miles just to sit by one. I love watching them, from the top, the bottom, and everywhere in between. I love the smell and I love the sound. I have not ever seen a waterfall I have not liked, but my favorite is Rainbow Falls in North Carolina. Not only is it wonderfully beautiful, but I have a long history of time at Rainbow, both with my family and with hundreds of JA students and others. I find it so hard to imagine a waterfall as beautiful as Rainbow Falls. I could stay there for days and enjoy every second.

I also love JA. I love everything about JA. I love the academics, the sports, the arts, the staff, the administration, the parents, and every program from preschool to high school. But most of all, I love the students. Because in the end, everything is about the students. Of all the schools in the world, my favorite is JA. And, because I love JA, I don’t want it to change. Just like Rainbow Falls, I want it to be the same forever and ever. And, JA family, it never will really change. 

The COVID-19 scare is really scary. Changing to Distance Learning is scary. But it is going to work, and we are going to adjust and thrive. We are not about staying the same, we are about facing and defeating challenges. We are not about fear, we are about courage. We are not about selfishness or hoarding, or isolation, we are about loving each other, young and old, and sharing in the faith that JA is part of us and that God will lead us, individually and as a JA family, through this challenge. I am convinced JA will be even stronger because of this challenge.

Our teachers love the subjects they teach, but they love our kids more. Together, no matter what role we play, our students will be nurtured by everyone around them. Times will be challenging, but it is the JA spirit that will prevail. 

I love JA! Just like Rainbow Falls, I cannot imagine anywhere else I would want to be!

Bruce Sumrall

Upper School Faculty

Sleep, Nutrition, and Exercise Important to Keeping Healthy

If you are like me, you’ve become ingrained in the ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You are practicing social distancing, coughing or sneezing into your elbow, and washing your hands. But as the helpless feeling creeps in, especially if you have loved ones who are in the medical field and are first responders, you begin to look for new ways to help keep them, and yourself, healthy. 

 

As important as prevention is, I’d like to add some steps that might improve our immunity in the event that we are exposed to the virus. Here are some of the tips that I have initiated in my home:

 

 

As we cont inue to move through this difficult time remember that ‘this too will pass.’ We just need to stay healthy enough to make it to the other side.

 

Kathy Sheffield

School Nurse and Lower School Counselor