Eagle Eye 2-12-2017

February 12, 2017

On Memorization

The juniors in my speech communication class finished up their latest assignment this week, an original speech pertaining to a matter of social concern. These “public service announcement” speeches covered a wide range of topics from texting while driving to teen pregnancy. I must say, it is a surreal experience to watch a child of seventeen lecture her classmates (and teacher) about the importance of putting aside your cell phone in exchange for true conversation. It is one thing for our teens to see such messages on YouTube or hear them from their mother; it is quite another to author such messages themselves and commit it to memory. Memorization, like cursive handwriting and standing whenever an adult enters a classroom, were once a commonplace part of education in this country. That is less so today and I’m not convinced that we are the better for it.

In a study released in August 2014, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine studied the impact of memorization on brain development. Eight-year-old children memorized math facts while undergoing functional MRI scans on their brains. This was repeated a year later and over that year, the students became faster and more accurate at solving math problems. They relied more on retrieving math facts from memory and less on counting. As these shifts in strategy took place, the researchers saw several changes in the children’s brains. The hippocampus, a region with many roles in shaping new memories, was activated more in children’s brains after one year. Regions involved in counting, including parts of the prefrontal and parietal cortex, were activated less. Said more succinctly, memorization can literally change your brain and impact the way you learn new things and recall old things.

An old educator friend of mine, now well into his 80’s, spent most of his career teaching English at a Christian boarding school in the northeast. He tells a story of an impertinent sophomore demanding to know why he was constantly subjected to assignments involving memorization. “Young man,” he said with a deep-throated tone of authority, “Your parents have hired me not simply to teach to you the finer parts of the English language. They have also hired me to be your interior decorator.” The boy looked puzzled. “As you memorize these passages of poetry, we are hanging fine tapestries on the walls of your mind.” What my friend Dr. Lockerbie was trying to illustrate is that memorization has the power to change us in important and lasting ways and we shouldn’t be too quick to label it “out of fashion.”

We still memorize things at Mt. Bethel Christian Academy - the alphabet, multiplication tables, the fifty states, scientific table of elements, and so forth. All of these things, and many more, remain well worth our effort to commit to memory. But importantly, and perhaps most importantly, we commit God’s Word to memory. Many years from now when your child is grown and gone, he will encounter a deep difficulty that cannot be helped by knowing what year our country was founded - important as that is. Instead, he might recall from memory a simple passage from the Psalms that he learned here at school, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” If you’re ever asked what sets our school apart, that might be a good place to start.

Blessings,

Jim R. Callis

Head of School

Dates to Remember

Friday, February 17: You Fed Me Event

Friday, February 17: Early Release Main Campus @ 1 p.m. No ASP

Monday, February 20 - Friday, February 24: Winter Break

Wednesday, March 1: Ash Wednesday Chapel

Admission

Financial Aid Deadline Approaching
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 .

Save the Date

FORE!

Be sure to save the date!
The MBCA 8th Grade Fundraiser Golf Tournament is Monday, April 17. Sign up the week of February 13 and receive a $20 discount on an individual sign up and $75 off on a foursome. Sign up information will be available on Monday the 13. Visit the link for more information.

Ash Wednesday Service
Wednesday, March 1
8:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary
MBCA students will attend an Ash Wednesday Service in the Sanctuary on March 1 at 8:30 a.m.** This service is for students in first through eighth grades*. We invite parents to attend this very special service with their MBCA student. At the end of the service, ashes will be put on the forehead and anyone who is a baptized believer will be invited to participate in communion served by the Mt. Bethel ministers. Ashes may be administered without receiving communion. If you do not wish your student to participate in communion, or he/she is not baptized, please instruct him/her to cross his/her arms over their chest. If you do not wish for them to receive ashes or communion, please instruct them to remain in their seat when others go forward. We hope that you will all join us in worship as we begin the Lenten Season.

* Middle School students should wear their Chapel uniforms March 1.
**JK and Kindergarten students will have devotion time in their classrooms on March 1.

Spring Musical
Friday, March 10 @ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 @ 2:00 p.m.
Mt. Bethel Fellowship Hall

MBCA Middle School presents James and the Giant Peach Jr. on Friday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 11 at 2:00 p.m. in the MBUMC Fellowship Hall.

Join us for a delightfully offbeat adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl adventure. When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that results in a tremendous peach...and launches a journey of enormous proportions. You don’t want to miss this one!

Adult tickets are $7 and Student/Faculty tickets are $5. Ticket order forms will go home in backpacks after Winter Break and tickets will be sold in the lobby beginning February 27.

Announcements

Valentine Candy Grams

Monday, February 13
Send a surprise Valentine Candy Gram to your child or teacher for just $5.00. The Candy Gram will be a goody bag of Hershey’s Kisses with a special note attached. Please fill out an order form and return it in a sealed envelope to school with payment by Monday, February 13. Candy Grams will be delivered at school on Tuesday, February 14. Proceeds will go towards You Fed Me!

Submit cash or checks made out to MBCA. Please give your order to either the front desk or your child’s teacher. Sponsored by Mrs. Davenport’s 3rd grade class.

You Fed Me

Friday, February 17

MBCA will be packing over 100,000 meals for hungry children on Friday, February 17 for an all-school service initiative called You Fed Me. Details surrounding this event will be communicated in coming weeks, but the most critical component to making this event successful is securing parent volunteers. Please link here to sign-up to help us make this event a success. Every student and every faculty member will be packing these meals and many more hands are needed. Please consider lending yours.

Donations

MBCA is accepting donations all week long for our schoolwide service event, You Fed Me, that is taking place this Friday. Stop by the front desk and drop your cash or check donations into the You Fed Me bucket. Please make all checks payable to MBCA. We appreciate all the donations we have received so far!

Early Release Schedule for February 17

Lower School students will eat lunch here on campus as usual and have an early dismissal with JK – 3rd grade having walk-ups at 12:45 p.m.; 4th & 5th grade walk-ups and carpool at 12:50 p.m.

Middle School students will not eat lunch on campus on this day and will be dismissed at 1:00 p.m.

There will be no ASP on this day. Buses will leave campus at 1:10 p.m. Parents should plan accordingly to pick up their students at the bus stop.

Invitational Art Show

Art work due on March 13 for Invitational Art Show

Dear Parents and Students,
We are so excited about this year’s Invitational Art Show! Please submit artwork that has been created this school year, either in school or outside of school. All work must be student's original work. From the artwork submitted, 40 pieces will be selected from MBCA to be entered into the Invitational Art Show with 4 other schools. Finalists will be announced on Friday, March 17. No framed art work, but matted artwork accepted.

View the invitational flyer for more information about the categories and possible projects.

Friday Morning Breakfast

At the Main Campus
Come early and join your classmates for breakfast. All profits go toward the 8th grade mission trip. Sales start no later than 7:30 a.m.

$3 - Chick-fil-A Biscuits
$3 - Chick-fil-A Minis box
$1 - Donuts (glazed and chocolate glazed)
$3 - Gluten Free Option

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.

$3 - Chick-fil-A Biscuits

$3.50 - Chick-fil-A 2017 Cow Calendar - 11 months of FREE food available on the coupon card. Pick yours up at the reception desk at the Upper School.

Volunteer Opportunities

Middle School Fine Arts Day

A Message from Mrs. Hattingh

Middle School Fine Arts Day is rapidly approaching and we are in need of volunteers to help the day run smoothly. I am so excited to carry on this MBCA tradition, and I can’t wait to experience a day of creativity and fun, but I need your help! Please use this Google Form to sign-up for a volunteer slot.

When you sign-up, please be sure to include your email as I will provide more detailed plans for the day via email once I have volunteers. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Thank you so much in advance for helping to make this day a success for our students! I look forward to working with all of you!

Mrs. Hattingh

Class News

JK & Kindergarten

Healthy Habits
Kindergarten has been studying about healthy habits and their bodies. God has made such wonderful, complex bodies for each of us! To raise awareness about dental health, they had a dentist come and talk to their classes. Dr. Reyn Connelly, Jackson Connelly’s Dad, came and spoke with them. He showed them proper ways to brush their teeth and talked about healthy food choices they can make. Everyone had fun and received a toothbrush and a timer. The timer goes for two minutes, because they learned that is how long we should be brushing our teeth each time we are at the sink!

Second Grade

Jesus and Me Videos
Inspired by Italian Renaissance Artist, Raphael, second graders drew pictures of themselves with Jesus engaged in their favorite activities! We asked the important questions of "How do we know Jesus is with us?", "What evidence is there that Jesus is with us?" and "How does Jesus being with us make a difference?" Their pictures reflect joy, strength, courage and hope!

Mrs. Arnold's Class Video

Mrs. Black's Class Video

Mrs. Gantt's Class Video

Mrs. Welch's Class Video

Third Grade

Cheering on the Upper School
Mrs. Cohen's and Mrs. Gosnell’s third grade class had a great experience interacting with Coach Cal Boyd and the Upper School Basketball team in their locker room on Friday January 27. They watched the game afterwards and all agreed it was a wonderful visit!

Fourth Grade
It’s Time for Another Mystery Skype Reveal…
Mrs. Smallwood’s class could not believe it when they discovered the mystery location of their callers this time! The students skyped with a school near Dublin, Ireland called St. Molaga’s School! The school even has a castle on the grounds. They learned about their namesake, St. Molaga, who was a beekeeper on the property. Students were able to ask questions about sports, after school activities, the weather and the time difference. Stay tuned for their next Mystery Skype adventure…

Spelling Bee

Congratulations!

Congratulations to fifth grader Charlie Gandy and seventh grader Caitlin Foster who participated in Round One of the GISA Spelling Bee. Charlie and Caitlin competed against thirty-two students from sixteen local schools. Both Charlie and Caitlin performed well and represented MBCA beautifully! Special congratulations goes to Charlie who has advanced to Round 2. Charlie will go to The Atlanta Academy on February 28 to compete at the next level.

Seventh Grade

Carlos Museum

Seventh grade Latin students enjoyed a field trip to the Carlos Museum on the Emory University campus. The Carlos Museum is one of the Southeast's premier ancient art museums with major collections of art and artifacts from ancient Egypt, Nubia, Near East, Greece, Rome, ancient Americas, Africa and Asia. Our students participated in a docent-guided tour designed especially for Latin students. They also explored the other collections in the museum. The visit to the Carlos Museum enhanced and integrated the curricula in middle school History, Art, Bible and Latin courses.

Upper School

Fashion Show

US Spanish 2 students wrote a script and presented a fashion show in Spanish to review clothing vocabulary this week. Here are Spanish students, Melis Akkan and Jada Moss, following their Spanish fashion show presentation.

Praying Pelicans Ministry

Please join the Upper School by collecting school supplies which will be donated to the impoverished church school on their mission trip. Please view the flyer to see what supplies are needed.

House Points
Fortes - 6,950

Veritas - 6,738

Servimus - 6,173

Integritas - 6,069
Humilitas - 5,737

Fidelitas - 5,525

Sports

Upper School

Varsity Girls' Basketball
The Ladies faced The King’s Academy for the Region Championship last Friday night. The Lady Eagles started strong and continued to play hard all the way to the end. It was a hard fought game on both sides, but in the end, The King’s Academy came away with a last minute win. The Ladies have already earned their way to a State Playoff Berth with the #2 seed out of our region.

Varsity Boys' Basketball
As the #1 seed heading into the region tournament, the boys’ Varsity basketball team travelled south of Atlanta for their semifinal region game against Young Americans Christian School. The team came out clicking on all cylinders jumping on YACS in the first quarter and never looking back. The Eagles were led by Matt Gilliland with 17 points. Eleven players scored and everyone got to play significant minutes. We improve to 21 – 4!

Middle School

Basketball

The A girls are the GICAA North Sectional Champions! They rolled through the semi and final games to position themselves in the final four on February 11 in Macon. It was 43 - 7 against Notre Dame followed by a 35 - 13 win vs. Dawson Christian.