Eagle Eye 1-8-2017

January 8, 2017

Being Yourself

Happy new year and welcome back! I pray you and yours enjoyed much hope and happiness this advent. That was certainly the case in the Callis household. In fact, the Christmas break afforded me an opportunity to do something I haven’t done in a very long time; visit my mother. A few days after Christmas, my brother and I flew out to Oklahoma City and rented a car for the short drive to Norman where mom has lived for nearly twenty years. Not unlike Athens, home of the Dawgs, Norman is a college town. When the Sooners are away on break, there isn’t a great deal going on in Norman. My mother might go a bit farther and say there isn’t much going on in Norman at anytime of the year except home football games when the entire town is drenched in deep red and traffic is gridlocked.

Midway through our stay, mom brought out several old photo albums. My brother, Paul, and I spent several hours flipping through page after page of childhood memories, now many decades old. In most of the pictures, my brother would be smiling widely while I usually managed nothing more than a simple grin. This was true even in photos of me as young as three years old. Paul eventually took notice of this and offered, “Well, you were always the serious one.” What should have been tossed off as a casual comment instead resonated deeply with me. He was right. For as long as I can remember, I have been serious which could mislead one to conclude I am unemotional or unhappy, neither of which are true. Looking back, I think my seriousness comes from being even-tempered and more importantly, being content. Of the two qualities, contentment may be the most important. Contentment comes from knowing who you are and how God has wired you to be and if mom taught us anything, it was to be true to God’s call on our lives.

Trying to be someone we’re not always leads to discontent. We see this in our work with middle schoolers every day. The onset of adolescence sparks a natural interest in self-evaluation. For the first time, many students begin to consider whether they like their appearance, their athletic ability, their academic performance, or their friend group. Because this introspection isn’t yet shaped by experience or maturity, it often leads to inexplicable behavior. Friendships are begun, ended, and renewed almost overnight. Logical questions like, “Why did you do that?” are met with, “I don’t know.” And they don’t know because many of their decisions at this stage aren’t premeditated and too many of the ones they do take time to think through are simply aimed in the wrong direction - trying to be something or someone they’re not. This is one of the chief reasons the middle school years are notoriously difficult with some fairing much worse or better than others.

God has created each of us in His image, each having talents and tendencies that He has purposely designed. When we strive to become someone we’re not, we’re essentially saying to our Creator, “I think you may have messed up here so I’m going to try and fix this.” Newsflash…second-guessing God is a really bad idea. It’s time to lean into God’s design for our life rather than fighting against it. That’s the secret to contentment and an important lesson not just for middle schoolers, but also their parents.

Blessings,

Jim R. Callis

Head of School

Dates to Remember

Monday, January 16: Martin Luther King Day

Tuesday, January 31: Re-enrollment Ends

Friday, February 10: Munchkins with Mom

Friday, February 17: You Fed Me Event

Admission

Don't Forget to Re-enroll for the 2017-2018 School Year!
Re-enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year is underway and can be completed online. To view your re-enrollment contract, please log in to your My Backpack account (see Community Login under Quicklinks on the MBCA website) and click on "Enrollment/Re-enrollment." To secure your child's placement for 2017-2018, all current families will need to sign and submit the re-enrollment contract along with a tuition deposit equal to 10% of Full Tuition (not Single Pay) by Friday, January 31. 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 . If you've already submitted your re-enrollment contract/s without payment, your tuition deposit must be received by January 31 to reserve a spot. Please note: to view your re-enrollment contract, you must first review, update AND submit your Family Profile located in the Enrollment/Re-enrollment module.

If you're having difficulty locating your re-enrollment contract, please contact Jackie Grasty, Director of Admission for Lower and Middle School or Cal Boyd, Director of Admission for Upper School. We look forward to partnering with you again for the upcoming school year.

Now Accepting New Applications for 2017-2018
Applications are now being accepted for new students for the 2017-2018 school year. Siblings of current students applying for the first time will also need to submit an application and schedule a shadow day. Students applying to Junior Kindergarten through 5th grade will be assessed for admission on March 4. New applicants interested in 6th through 12th grade will need to register to take the SSAT (school code is 5260). The SSAT is administered monthly at our upper school campus.

For more information, contact Jackie Grasty, Director of Admission for grades JK- 8th or Cal Boyd , Director of Admission for the Upper School.

MBCA Siblings
For our current families, if you will be applying a sibling for admission for the next school year (a rising Junior Kindergartner, Kindergartner or unenrolled sibling), please go to our Admission page on our website to begin the application process. Siblings of current students applying for the first time will need to submit an application and schedule a shadow day. We love seeing brothers and sisters join the MBCA family!

Financial Aid
For families anticipating a need for financial aid next year, the deadline to apply is Friday, February 24. Plan accordingly, as your completed 2016 Federal Tax Return must be submitted before a request for aid can be considered. The Parent Statement of Need will also need to be submitted to Jackie Grasty, Director of Admission. If you received financial aid this school year and will need assistance again next year, please note that you must reapply. Link here to begin the application for financial aid. For more information, contact Jackie Grasty .

Main Campus Open House
4385 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta
January 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Mark your calendars for the first open house of the New Year on January 11 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
January 12 at 9:00 a.m.

If you missed our Open House at the North Campus, be sure to mark your calendar for January 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.

Save the Date

Spring Fling

Saturday, March 25

Pavillion at Olde Towne

Save the date for MBCA's annual Spring Fling on Saturday, March 25 at the Pavillion at Olde Towne. The Spring Fling, formerly known as the Gala, is a wonderful event for the school! Funds raised from past events have been used to purchase playground equipment, AV studio and equipment used for the MBCA morning news, e-readers and a bus used for sporting events and commuting students. Please consider attending as this is the only social event exclusively for parents held for the school.

Announcements

MBCA’s Invitational Art Show

We Need Volunteers
The Show is April 21, but there are many jobs that need to be done ahead of time! Five schools will be participating in art displays, workshops, lunch and an awards ceremony. We will need parent volunteers to help with:

Procuring prize donations—usually some kind of art supply (4 for Best in Show awards)
Set up on April 20, 2017 AM
Hosting our Judges April 20, 2017 PM
Tabulating results April 20, 2017 PM
Registration April 21, 2017
Lunch coordination (ordering and serving)
Photographers
Greeters
Workshop assistants
Clean up and take down

If you are interested in helping in any of these areas or want more information please email Bette Cardell. She is planning to have an organizational meeting on Thursday, January 19. More details to follow!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Engineering for Kids Club

Registration

Inspiring the next generation of engineers! Engineering for Kids brings the wonder and excitement of STEM education to children ages 4-14 through a variety of hands-on learning experiences. Limited enrollment so register by January 20 . Program fee is $252 per student. Please link here for more information.

Link to register.

Friday Morning Breakfast

At the Main Campus
Come early and join your classmates for breakfast. All profits go toward the 8th grade mission trip. They 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:
$3 - Chick-fil-A Biscuits
$3 - Chick-fil-A Minis box
$1 - Donuts (glazed and chocolate glazed)
NEW $3 - Gluten Free Scone from Cherry on Top Delights Bakery

Questions? Contact Nancy Ostergard or Paige Valentine 678-907-0779.

Chick-fil-A Breakfast

At the North Campus

The Upper School will be selling Chick-fil-A biscuits and calendars at the North Campus on Friday mornings from 7:30 – 8:10 a.m . All profits go toward the Upper School Mission Trips.

We will offer:

$3 - Chick-fil-A Biscuits

$7 - Chick-fil-A 2017 Cow Calendar with coupon card which includes 12 FREE food and drink coupons.

Class News

Middle School

Robotics
On December 10, three middle school robotics teams competed at the Walton Competition. The 8th grade team placed first for Core Values, the 6th/7th grade teams placed first for Robot Design and the 6th grade team placed first for Robot Competition. All three teams will move on to the super regional on January 14. Good luck to all of our teams!

Upper School

Fall Semester Honor Rolls

Faculty List Honor Roll
Sarah Grace Kimery
Gracie Grogan
Melis Akkan
Katie Morgan
Emily McBride
Jada Moss
Ethan Parker
Joshua Leerssen
David Deaderick
Matt Gilliland
Bradley Buck
Haden Wise
Warren Puy Arena

Not pictured:
Yoonjae Bae
Ajay John
Keegan Jones

Head’s List Honor Roll
Grace Montague
Caroline Prout
Beau Milam
Isaac Burton
Isabel Robertson
Jackson Risey
Aidan Risey
Charlie Prunkl
Blake Shafer
Lauren Schwartz
Hannah Chang
Karlee Jordan

Not pictured:
Katelyn Bond

House Points
Veritas - 5,547

Fortes - 5,480

Servimus - 4,896

Integritas - 4,851
Fidelitas - 4,674

Humilitas - 4,638

Sports

Upper School

Varsity Boys' Basketball

While most of you were sitting by the fire roasting chestnuts, the boys’ basketball team was busy at work. They actually played 3 games over the holidays. The first game was Saturday, December 17 against Johnson Ferry Baptist. The Eagles wasted no time jumping on JFCA in the first half 42 – 19. It was a great team win with everyone playing and 10 players scoring. The final was 90 – 36. Matt Gilliland led all scorers with 21, Jordan Meka had 19, Jaquez Gilbert and Coleman Boyd chipped in 13 and 12 respectfully.

Battle of the Borders
Our next match up came at the Battle of the Borders Tournament in Phenix City, Alabama against the 3A defending state champs in Alabama, Lee Scott. Unlike the Johnson Ferry game, we got off to a slow start and were down most of the first half. In fact, at half time the score was 35 – 29 Lee Scott. In the second half we outscored them 44 – 22 to win in convincing fashion 73 – 57. Jaquez Gilbert led all scorers with 21 points, Stanley Eze in his FIRST game played very well scoring 14 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Luke Kirk gave a tremendous lift off the bench chipping in 10 points and getting 4 rebounds. Coleman Boyd had a good floor game scoring 9 points, 8 assists, 6 steals and 4 rebounds. This was a good win for the team against a quality opponent.

The next night MBCA played the host school, Glennwood Academy. Another very good, veteran team with several senior players and one in particular 6’8 player who has over 1500 career points. Whenever you are in a small town playing the host school, you know it is going to be an uphill battle. We scored 17 more points from the field but lost by 4. Our players fought very hard and played through some tough circumstances. They showed great poise and almost pulled off a miracle. The final score was Glennwood 64 – Mt Bethel 60. MBCA is currently 13 – 3 and 2 – 0 in conference play.

Due to the weather coming in on Friday, the Varsity boys’ basketball team was in action on Thursday night at home. The Eagles took on 3-time state champs, Creekview Academy. The first quarter it looked like this was going to be a battle. The first quarter score was 17-15 Creekview. But in the second quarter, we went on a 25 – 6 run. Led by the sharp shooting of Matt Gilliland who scored 17 first half points. Jordan Meka was blocking shots all over the place with 7 blocks. Coleman Boyd got in the blocking mode as well with 3 blocks himself and 2 charges. Stanley Eze gave us a nice spark off the bench scoring 12 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and 2 assists. In the second half, the Eagles kept attacking with a 24 – 6 3rd quarter. So in those 2 quarters Mt Bethel outscored Creekview 49 – 12. The final score was 64 – 37 Mt Bethel. We improve to 14 – 3 and 3 – 0 in region play.

Varsity Girls’ Basketball

The Varsity girls’ basketball team was in action on January 5 against Lanier Christian. The ladies were down several players due to sickness. They fought hard and kept it close, but in the end they fell short. The ladies are 2 - 2 in region play. They have a week off to hopefully get healthy before they start their region gauntlet where they will play 6 region games in the next 2 weeks.

JV Boys' Basketball

After a long holiday break, the JV boys' team returned to action Tuesday, January 3 at Praise Academy. The game started slowly, both teams having trouble making shots, and the 1st quarter ended in a 7 - 7 deadlock. In the 2nd quarter, the game turned in MBCA’s favor. Led by sophomore Perry Schilling and freshmen David Deaderick and Michael Fuller, the Eagle defense extended the length of the floor and prevented Praise from getting good looks at the basket. On the offensive side, the Eagles exploded in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. In his first JV game experience of the year, freshman Luke Kirk scored 24 points (including four - 3 pointers) in only TWO QUARTERS! Eighth grader William Kolker ran the offense the entire game and contributed 12 points and, more importantly, 10 assists to contribute to the 38 points scored by the Eagles in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Kevin Houston, Blake Schaffer, Isaac Burton and Austyn Wright also contributed significant minutes. In the end, MBCA defeated Praise 51 - 27.

Middle School
Basketball
The A teams were on the road to Cornerstone Prep. on January 5 for a GICAA region game. Both teams were in control throughout. A Girls won 40 - 6, while the A Boys won 56 - 20.

MBUMC News

DNOW 2017 Registration is Open for All!

February 10-12

DNOW 2017 Registration ends January 16th! Students in grades 6-12 come together for the biggest event MBUMC has all year for Mt. Bethel Student Ministries. Students: sign up quickly to reserve your spot for crazy good music, a dynamic speaker, mission projects, and a deepening of your faith. Adults: they can’t do this without you. They are in need of Host Homes, volunteers for the weekend, donations, and much more. To register, volunteer, or contribute to DNOW 2017, go to mtbethel.org/event/dnow/.