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Looking at Numbers
Two numbers emerged in our school this past week - 60 and 99. Though unrelated to one another, both are important and for similar reasons.
If you’ve been wondering about the long lines of folk standing across the street from the main campus, they’re waiting their turn to cast an early ballot in what might be one of the strangest presidential elections ever. Our venerable two party system has produced a slate of candidates so deeply polarizing, it is difficult to imagine either of them making it to Washington with enough bi-partisan support to govern effectively. To see how the candidates might fare with the critical 5-17 year old demographic, we conducted an election of our own this past week. 650+ students cast ballots using the same candidates those line standers will see when they finally reach the booth. When the final votes were tallied, Mr. Trump managed first place, garnering sixty percent of the vote with Mrs. Clinton in second and Mr. Johnson a distant third.
(If you’d like the detailed results, please email me and I’ll be glad to oblige.)
The numbers for each candidate aren’t especially important, but the principle of free and fair elections they represent certainly is. Everyone of age and legal status in our country has a voice in the election process and, commonplace as that might seem to our students, it is sadly less common worldwide. Even when the choices aren’t to our liking, the opportunity to participate in our constitutional democracy is a privilege we can treasure.
Another sight along the sidewalks these past few weeks has been our Annual Fund results sign. There are actually two numbers on the sign, one for dollars and another for participation, but it is the participation number that I am always most interested in. The truth is this; we have many worthy options for our charitable giving. Knowing this, I am especially grateful when our families make Mt. Bethel a priority each October with a pledge of annual support. By God’s grace and the very hard work of an incredible volunteer team led by Director of Development, Sharon McGehee, and 2016 Annual Fund Parent Chairs, Kelly and Michael Petroff, we reached a nearly unbelievable 99% participation. Attending a gathering with other headmasters recently, the subject of annual giving came up. When I shared our participation results over the last several years, they were astonished. This level of support simply doesn’t happen anywhere but here. And it has repeatedly happened here not because of uniformity, but because of unity. Uniformity says everyone’s experience at our school is identical. We know this isn’t true or even possible. Unity, on the other hand, says, “I might disagree with something minor, but I am in violent agreement with all the majors, so I am putting my hand in the huddle.” Virtually all of your open and generous hands are in the huddle and on behalf of our students and faculty, I am deeply grateful.
As we enter November, a month set aside for thanksgiving, know that I am thankful for you and your partnership. I pray that you might feel God’s peace and presence this election week. And most importantly, may His mighty hand be upon whoever is blessed with the opportunity to lead this great nation.
Blessings,
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Jim R. Callis
Head of School
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Dates to Remember
Monday, November 7 - Friday, November 11: Scholastic Book Fair
Tuesday, November 8: Election Day; 9:00 a.m. start for LS and MS
Thursday, November 10: Open House, Main Campus; 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, November 12: Open House, North Campus; 9:00 a.m.
Thursday, November 17 - Friday, November 18: Thanksgiving Feast; LS and MS
Monday, November 21 - Friday, November 25: Thanksgiving Break
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Georgia GOAL Update
Thank you to the 79 donors who have already completed their 2017 GOAL Tax Credit applications! Because of you, more than $200,000 in scholarship money can potentially be directed to MBCA. This is wonderful news for our deserving students seeking need-based financial assistance. By partnering with MBCA through GOAL, and incurring NO additional costs, you can direct YOUR tax dollars to MBCA for scholarship assistance.
Please take a minute to visit goalscholarship.org and complete the short form that will allow you to allocate a portion of YOUR state income tax to Mt. Bethel Christian Academy.
- If you are a tax-paying Georgian, you can participate in this free program. You do NOT have to be a MBCA parent, so tell your friends!
- Individuals filing jointly can claim up to $2,500.
- Owners of S-Corps, LLCs and Partnerships can contribute up to $10,000.
If you have questions, please contact the Development Office at 678-202-4056 or email Alison Stephens.
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Plan Now for Re-enrollment
When to re-enroll
: Re-enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year will begin on
Tuesday, January 3
. When re-enrolling for the next grade, there is no need to re-apply. Your child is already a student here and will automatically be promoted to the next grade upon receipt of your re-enrollment contract and a tuition deposit equal to 10% of full tuition.
This procedure also applies to students moving to the upper school campus for 9th grade.
Families with multiple children enrolled will sign a contract and submit a deposit for each sibling.
The deadline to secure your child's placement for next year is January 31.
How to re-enroll
: On January 3, each family will receive an email with instructions on how to re-enroll electronically. You will be prompted to sign into your My Backpack account, click on Enrollment/Re-enrollment, review and update your family profile, sign and submit your 2017-2018 re-enrollment contract/s, and remit payment. Plan now (before Christmas) for this important investment in your child’s future!
Re-enrollment Exceptions - If any of the following conditions apply, please conference with the appropriate teacher or administrator before attempting to re-enroll:
- your child may be repeating a grade (Teacher)
- your are in arrears in your financial obligation to the school (Business Office)
- you are not planning to re-enroll for the 2017-2018 school year (Admission Director)
- any other extenuating circumstances that may preclude your re-enrollment (Admission Director)
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Help Us Spread the Word!
It's that time of year when we reach out to the community to spread the word about the wonderful work we do here at MBCA and encourage prospective families to come visit our campus. The admission season is open for the 2017-2018 school year, Open Houses are scheduled and we are actively seeking new students.
So how can you help? Our best and most effective marketing tool is you...word of mouth! Tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers about MBCA; encourage them to come take a look at our campuses; if you have preschoolers or a church affiliation, drop off brochures to their offices (brochures are available in the Admission Office or reception desk); visit
Great Schools
website and post a review.
Thank you for helping us continue to minister to the community and give others the opportunity to receive an exceptional Christ-centered education.
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Main Campus Open House
4385 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
November 10 at 10:00 a.m.
Mark your calendars for the first open house at our Main Campus for Junior Kindergarten through 8th grade. We hope you can join us, and please be sure to spread the news to friends and neighbors as well! Questions? Contact
Jackie Grasty
, Director of Admission.
Upper School Open House
2509 Post Oak Tritt Road, Marietta
November 12 at 9:00 a.m.
If you missed the first Open House at the North Campus, be sure to mark your calendar for November 12 to visit the fully renovated Upper School campus. We hope you can join us, and please be sure to spread the news to friends and neighbors as well! Questions? Contact
Cal Boyd
, Upper School Director of Admission.
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Winter Wonderland Scholastic Book Fair
November 7-11
The long awaited Book Fair is finally here! You can be a part of this fun and festive event in many ways. Please consider volunteering to work sales (November 7-11) or help with take down on November 11. If none of these are right for you, we could use several volunteers to bring in food and drinks during our hours of service. We would love any and all the help we can get. Please click the links below to volunteer to bring food and/or work the Book Fair. Thank you for your support every year! The Book Fair could not happen without the support and help of our amazing parents!
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Thanksgiving Feast
Thursday, November 17
Friday, November 18
MBCA invites you to join your children for our traditional Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday, November 17 and Friday, November 18. We will be serving roast turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, dressing & gravy, cranberry sauce, fruit medley and pumpkin pie. Classes will be served according to the schedule below:
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Election Day Time Change
Tuesday, November 8
On election day,
Tuesday, November 8
, the school day will begin at
9:00 a.m
. on the Main Campus. Early Eagles will begin at
8:15 a.m.
Middle School students can be dropped off beginning at
8:15 a.m.
and Lower School carpool will begin at
8:45 a.m
.
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Halloween Candy Overload!
A message from Mrs. Kelly…
A good friend of mine runs Operation Homefront, an organization dedicated to helping the families of Georgia soldiers currently deployed overseas. Supporting the troops is a cause near and dear to my heart, so I help her whenever I can.
One of the things she's in need of at this time of year is candy. Not only will she send hard candies oversees to the troops, but she will put together goodie bags for the holidays for the children here at home. To help support her effort, I'm happy to accept the Halloween candy you would prefer your children not eat. I know that my kids loved to trick or treat, but I only let them have one piece of candy a day - which meant I always had a whole lot of extra candy that mostly ended up in the garbage. If you find yourself in similar circumstances, please feel free to send it in with the students to room 223, and I will make sure it gets to the right place! Candy collection runs from November 1 to November 10. Thank you for helping support our troops.
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Operation Christmas Child
Presented November 10
Through Operation Christmas Child, we have the opportunity to make a
difference in the life of an underprivileged child and to teach our children the joy of sharing with others. How wonderful it was last year to see the hundreds of shoeboxes donated by Mt. Bethel students.
Please bring your shoeboxes on Thursday, November 10. Follow the instructions on the brochure that is sent home with your student(s) carefully. Remember to include a $7.00 check in each shoebox, or pay online then attach the provided label to your shoebox. The $7.00 helps defray the cost of shipping and other expenses.
Additional brochures are located in the Academy reception area.
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Friday Morning Breakfast
Come early and join your classmates for breakfast. All profits go toward the 8th grade mission trip.
We start selling no later than 7:30 a.m. Tables will either be outside or in the main foyer of DeVore Hall. Students should be sure to finish their breakfast before going to class.
We will offer:
Chick-fil-A Biscuits - $3 each
Chick-fil-A Minis - $3 per box
Donuts - $1 each (glazed and chocolate glazed)
NEW
- Gluten Free Scone from Cherry on Top Delights Bakery - $3 each
Questions? Contact
Nancy Ostergard
or Paige Valentine 678-907-0779.
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Lands' End
Friends & Family Promo
Lands' End is offering a Friends & Family 40% off promotion this week. To take advantage of this great deal, use promo code: SMILE and Pin: 2581. This promotions ends November 9. Free shipping on all orders over $50. Save online and in stores.
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Parker School Uniforms
Outerwear Promo
Buy now & save 30% on pants & outerwear from Parker School Uniforms. Sale is going on now until November 10. Sale includes pants, jackets, sweaters and sweatshirts. Promotion is available in-stores and online.
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Fall Concert Photos
The Band and Chorus Fall Concert photos are available for purchase at the Studio 7 Photography website. If you would like to view or purchase photos from the convert, please visit the
link.
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Second Grade
Make A Wish
The mission for second grade is the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The children brought in gifts and gift cards for the children who are having their wishes granted. We are so thankful to be able to partner with them every year!
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Fifth Grade
Camp Hope
Fifth grade students have been using their entrepreneurial spirit to raise money for their grade level mission project, Camp Hope! This wonderful ministry helps the children of incarcerated adults become leaders in their community, and each year, they host a Christmas party. Fifth grade will decorate the Fellowship Hall for the occasion and provide each camper with a printed devotional book that the students have written to help inspire these children to turn to God and the Bible for all their needs. They also raise money for Christmas dinners, Christmas presents, and camp necessities. Some of the students have solicited donations by sharing the Camp Hope story with others, sold lemonade and baked goods, and done extra chores at home or for neighbors in order to raise money. With three weeks left to raise funds, they’re already at $1,000! Raising servant leaders to be the hands and feet of Christ is important, and the fifth grade teachers are so proud of their students for doing their part to help others.
Dry Ice
F
ifth grade is studying the different states of matter. They looked at the properties of dry ice and then did some experiments to test those properties.
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On Halloween, Griffin Lovett and Noah Brown held “Boo Bubbles”, made from dry ice.
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Carbon Dioxide is heavier than air and sinks instead of rising!
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Next our fifth grade students "p
oured" dry ice over their heads.
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They shot the top off of a film canister using carbon dioxide gas.
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After School Program
Halloween Treats
Our ASP program got in the mood for Halloween this past Monday with popcorn scary hands and decorated sugar cookies!
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House Points
Fortes - 3,592
Veritas - 3,525
Fidelitas - 3,088
Integritas - 3,065
Servimus - 2,968
Humilitas - 2,890
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Upper School
Cross Country
This past weekend, the US cross country team competed at the GICAA State Championship in Macon, GA. The competition was steep, but the team had one of their best performances for the season. For the girls' team, Sophia and Martha ran an outstanding final race with Sophia dropping her time by over a minute. The boys’ team as a whole placed 4th with Beau Milam placing 7th overall and Ethan Parker placing 10th overall. This was a difficult course with a lot more hills than our previous races, but the team rose to the occasion and ended the year with a noteworthy finish, especially considering the fact that we are a young team.
This was MBCA's inaugural year for the Upper School cross country team and it has been an incredible start for the school. With many thanks to the middle school cross country program, students have been getting excited about the sport of running. We had a strong group of primarily freshmen runners, with all but three of our runners being in the ninth grade. This group of runners worked hard all through the year, moving from a strained two mile run on our first practice to the calm, easy 7 mile runs at the end of the season. Every race, these athletes worked to improve their times and the progression was remarkable. The personal gains for each of these runners was enough to make any coach proud, but the team didn’t stop with personal achievements. They rose to the GICAA’s level of competition and made a competitive showing at the state championship after the boys took first in regionals and the girls battled it out to qualify for individuals. The level of skill on such a young team is encouraging for the future of the program and the development of these runners over the next few years.
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Volleyball
The Varsity volleyball team took home the state championship this past weekend for the first time in Mt. Bethel high school history! The Eagles were in action starting at 9:00 a.m. vs. Central Georgia. MBCA won in a quick three set match, 25-12, 25-20, 25-13 which advanced them to the final four round at 2:00 p.m. vs. The King’s Academy. The Eagles again won in three sets vs. The King’s Academy 25-9, 25-21, 25-22. Mt. Bethel then advanced to the championship game at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. It was an intense match between the Eagles and Fideles Christian School. The match was hard fought by both sides and ending up resulting in a tie breaker, fifth set match.
The Eagles started off the match winning the first set 25-20, but soon falling short in the second set 21-25. The Eagles bounced back with fight in the third set to take the set 25-22, but Fideles did not give up without a fight and took the fourth set 20-25. In the fifth and final set, the Eagles played outstanding volleyball and ended up on top with the help and support of all our fans and parents cheering loudly from the stands. The fifth and final set that won the girls the state championship was 15-11.
Bekah Cary concluded her final game of the season with 7 kills, 2 aces, and 22 digs to help the Eagles take away the win. Elizabeth Murphy led the team in kills with 25 kills as well as 22 digs, and 3 aces. Lauren Schwartz added 6 kills and 8 blocks for the team and Beth Dickerson also had an extremely successful outing with 5 kills to help the Eagles. Payton Lackey, Keegan Jones, and Paola Berrios helped the Eagles on the defensive side of the match. Payton Lackey had a career high night with 23 digs and 5 aces for the match. Keegan Jones also had 15 digs and an ace for the Eagles, and Paola collected 8 digs for the team.
Thanks to all the fans that drove out to support the Lady Eagles in their fight for the State Championship. So proud of the girls!
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Middle School
Basketball
The boys' and girls' A teams were at home to open up the 2016-2017 season as they hosted Cornerstone Prep. (GICAA) on "Amazing Grace Day". Grace Deting was our honored guest as both teams secured victories. The A girls won 35 - 5. It was much the same from our A boys, 65 - 15.
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Alice in Wonderland Jr.
November 11 @ 7:00 p.m.
Mt. Bethel School of the Arts Presents: Alice in Wonderland Jr.
November 11, 2016
at
7 p.m.
in the Mt. Bethel Sanctuary. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. They will be selling tickets Friday, November 11 in the morning and afternoon, outside of DeVore Hall.
Travel down the rabbit hole and join Alice, one of literature’s most beloved heroines, in her madcap adventures. Featuring updated songs from Disney’s thrilling animated motion picture,
Disney’s Alice in Wonderland JR.
is a fast-paced take on the classic tale.
Don’t be late getting your tickets!!
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Press Start, the Musical
November 18 @ 7 p.m.
Mt. Bethel School of the Arts Presents: Press Start, the Musical.
Friday, November 18, 2016
at
7:00 p.m.
in the Mt. Bethel Sanctuary. Ticket are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. They will be selling tickets Friday, November 11 and Friday, November 18, in the morning and afternoon, outside DeVore Hall.
Press Start
transports us inside the bright, pixilated world of video games! When the famous characters we know and love run out of lives, they decide to put on a musical fundraiser that will help them raise gold rings and play on. Through hilarious and heartfelt musical numbers we see the heroes, villains and sidekicks like we’ve never seen them before. But when things go terribly awry, it’s the quiet sidekick, Little Mushroom, who must find the hero within to help save the day! Hurry and get your tickets today!!
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See what's happening on our social sites
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“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.” Hebrews 13:1 (NIV)
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Main Campus
Junior Kindergarten - 8th Grade
4385 Lower Roswell Road
Marietta, GA 30068
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North Campus
9th - 12th Grade
2509 Post Oak Tritt Road
Marietta, GA 30062
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Phone: 770-971-0245
Fax: 770-971-3770
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