A LETTER FROM A STUDENT...

Do you ever wonder if it's worth it? Is ELCA worth the sacrifice? Read one student's story...

"

So as a last update, I just wanted to thank you for being there when I had to make tough decisions. Thank you for writing my recommendation letters. Thank you for supporting my dreams. But most of all, thank you for being such an indispensable element to cultivating my academic and spiritual development. You are to me a gift from God and I hope you will continue to be my mentor, my teacher, my friend, and my spiritual leader even after I leave ELCA.

I thank God for giving me this incredible opportunity and I thank Him for giving me you - teachers and mentors who truly care enough about me to play a part in cultivating me into the young woman I am today."

Do you have a special appreciation for our Afterschool staff members? Everyone appreciates being recognized for their efforts and influence and a simple "thank you!" goes a long way! 

Simple ways you might show your appreciation to your chiid's afterschool caregiver: 

SENIORS will celebrate National College Signing Day on Tuesday, April 26 by wearing the college apparel of the college each has been accepted to and plan to attend. It won't be long now!

COLLEGES FROM WHICH ELCA SENIORS HAVE RECEIVED ACCEPTANCES

ELCA has received $2881

in proceeds from the Chick-fil-A Fundraiser Day

over the months of January, February and March!

Thank you for supporting ELCA!

 

Follow the Sage Dining Blog for delicious recipes, stories about local farmers and vendors, and more!

DOE Announces 2016 Georgia Scholars

Seniors Brittany Dorsey, Trent Johnson, and Danny Kim have been named Georgia Scholars by the Georgia Department of Education and their Excellence Recognition Office. This honor is bestowed upon high school seniors achieving success in and outside of the classroom.  These three ELCA students are among the 151 other students in the entire state to receive this honor.

Georgia Scholars are students who have carried exemplary course loads during high school and had outstanding ACT and/or SAT scores.  In addition they participate in interscholastic events at their schools and in their communities, assume active roles in extracurricular activities, and held appointed or elected leadership positions in the school and the community.  Brittany, Trent and Danny have been accepted to many outstanding universities, including Georgia Institute of Technology, Berry University, Cedarville University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Messiah College, Rice University, and Wheaton College.  We wish them the best and know they will continue their example of excellence.

Congratulations to Jake Dallas for being selected as a Governor's Honors Program State Finalist in the area of Communicative Arts.  Jake was selected from over 3000 nominees and will travel to Valdosta for the summer program.  Our best to Jake as he represents ELCA in this most prestigious program.

Third Quarter Elementary Honor Rolls

"A" Honor Roll

"A/B" Honor Roll

Congratulations, Students! Thank you for working hard!

ACSI Southeast Regional Geography Bee

Congratulations to eighth grader, Dylan van Verseveld, who placed second in the ACSI Southeast Regional Geography Bee held in Atlanta on March 19th!

ELEMENTARY MENTAL MATH CHALLENGE 

The third monthly Mental Math Challenge for second semester was held Thursday, April 14, 2016. As a result of the challenge, a Mental Math Champion was determined for each grade. The next Mental Math Challenge will be Thursday, May 5, 2016. 

April Champions

Third Grade - Elvin Harleston, Fourth Grade - Maddox Crawford, Fifth Grade - Alec Tarver

See all competitors at:

http://www.elcaonline.org/clientimages/28102/hearn/april%2014%202016.pdf

Congratulations to all these students!

Bible History Center

Sixth graders enjoyed a field trip to the Bible History Center in LaGrange on April 12th. Students were able to experience bread making, as the Jewish Nation did hundreds of years ago;  experience the home life of a typical Jewish family by seeing goat hair tents and primitive living conditions.  They were able to see replicas of burial tombs and wine presses as were used during the time of Jesus. They were able to peer across time by looking at artifacts dating back to the time of the Patriarchs.  They even had lunch in a replica of a Jewish Pavilion.

EXCEL:

 Expanded Curriculum for 

Exceptional Learners

The EXCEL students are currently learning about photography.  Topics covered thus far have been inspiration, composition, and editing.  Future lessons will be over light, mood, shape, lines, and portraits.  To further their understanding of these topics, they can be found out and about the campus taking pictures. 

Students normally use a hand-held camera for their

 photography, but sometimes we experiment wit h other  equipment. Today they went out armed with iPads to take shots that could be edited back in the classroom using an app called Pixlr. 

As the students progress through the unit, some of their pictures are printed out and placed into a portfolio.  They then write a self-reflection of the photo, telling how it applies to the topic being covered.  Some of the shots they have taken have been stunning!  The completed portfolio will allow them to showcase some of their best work, as well as show improvement throughout the course. 

Eight new members 

were inducted into the Camino de Santiago Chapter of the Spanish National Honor Society on April 20. Membership is available to students in Spanish 2 or higher who have maintained an A average in at least 3 semesters of Spanish. To be considered for membership, they had to complete an application and meet all of the criteria for membership including excellent grades and behavior records.  Inductees included (front row) Daniel Kilpatrick, Kaitlyn Jackson, Kristy Lieu, Nancy Patel, (back row) Eriana Ansley, Spencer O'Neal II, Chapter Sponsor Mrs. Rhonda Jagus, Taylor Clodfelter, and Alexandria Austin.

ACSI Creative Writing Festival

Congratulations to ELCA students from elementary, middle school, and high school who recently participated in the 2016 ACSI Creative Writing Festival. All 18 participants received a score of either excellent or superior.

 

Read the work of each student

Corinn Gurak, Olivia Pounds and Ramie Williams, three students from Mrs. Martin's Environmental Science class, were asked to compete in the Confluence Conference Poster Contest.  They competed on Friday, March 11th at the Heritage Center in Buford, Ga. 

All three ladies ranked superior.  Ramie won second place for the high school division! 

CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS

Big Blessings Come in Small Packages

Preschool Spring Program 

ELCA Rising 7th grader accepted to 

top Dance Programs!

Alexis Amey was accepted to the following 2016 Summer Intensives:

Congratulations, Alexis!

Save the Date: 

All Varsity athletes are invited to attend the 

Athletic Awards Ceremony 

Tuesday, May 17 

6:30 P.M. 

Worship Center

Is it a "FIVE-peat?"

Congratulations to our Chargers Varsity Baseball Team for winning 

their fifth consecutive region championship!

ELCA is proud to recognize several graduates from the Class of 2009 for their hard work in pursuing their degrees in the health field. 

Philip LaVigne and Pam Martin have been named Ambassadors at Mercer University School of Medicine. The Ambassadors are chosen by their peers to represent the medical school throughout their time at Mercer. Their role is to serve as official hosts and goodwill ambassadors giving tours to prospective students, dignitaries, and other community members who visit the school and want to learn more about it. These students also represent Mercer at special functions such as the white coat ceremony, the cadaver memorial service, Discover MUSM, and others.

The photo above is from the Ambassador Induction Ceremony held earlier this month. Philip is 3rd from the left in the back row and Pam is third from the left in the front row. 

Jacob Lunsford, MSPAS, PA-C

Class of 2009

 

Also from the Class of 2009, Jacob Lunsford has completed the Physician's Assistant Program at South University in Savannah, Georgia.  Since passing his Physician's Assistant National Certifying Exam, he and his wife will be moving to Norfolk, Virginia.  Jacob will be part of the Physician's Assistance Fellowship in Emergency Medicine working in the Emergency Room with Eastern Virginia Medical School.  He is employed by Emergency Physicians of Tidewater as a Physician's Assistant.

CHRISTIAN and KIMMIE WHITE - Class of 2006

Church Planters

TAKE 5

Take 5 minutes to watch this interview with Class of 2013 alumnus, DJ Curl. What a testimony that the Holy Spirit is in the business of TRANSFORMING LIVES! 

As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,  

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11 (NIV)

Josh Ekstedt, ELCA Class of 2011, is graduating this May with a perfect 4.0 GPA from the GeorgiaTech School of Engineering with his degree in Civil Engineering.   For this outstanding academic accomplishment, Josh received the Henry Ford II Scholarship Award given annually to engineering students with the best academic record within their major.  He has also received and accepted a full tuition scholarship to the University of California-Berkeley, where he will begin his Graduate studies in the fall.  He will be pursuing a double Master's Degree program in; 1) Transportation Engineering and 2) City and Regional Planning.   Please continue to keep Josh in your prayers.

 

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3      

Congratulations to these alumni...we couldn't be more proud!

Gold Bolt Service is a program that rewards those faculty and staff members

who have gone above and beyond  in making a difference

in the lives of our students and families.

The February Gold Bolt Employee of the Month is

Mrs. Vicki Martin

ELCA Main Receptionist

Mrs. Martin will receive a gift bag from our Partner in Ed, 

Dunkin' Donuts on Eagle's Landing Parkway.

Just a couple of the many Gold Bolt Stories received about Mrs. Martin...

"She is the face of ELCA upon arrival. She's always pleasant. When she is not at the front desk, she is truly missed." " She's awesome...she's a great asset to ELCA. We love her a lot."

Congratulations, Mrs. Martin, and thank you 

for your outstanding service to our students and parents!

 

Please share your experiences and help us choose our 

next Gold Bolt Employee 

at  www.elcaonline.org/GoldBoltService!

Students attending YCEP should register for Camp 323 through the YCEP registration process.