Eagle Eye 3-26-2017

March 26, 2017

Overcoming Obstacles

Stop me when this sounds familiar. It’s the middle of summer, but you decide to leave the air conditioning and head outside to catch up on yard work. By the end of the day, the yard looks great, but your sunscreen gave out around lunchtime and you end up with a bad burn. For the next twenty-four hours, people you don’t even know seem to go out of their way to put a hand on your nearly radioactive shoulders. Or, how about this one? You’ve made a long overdue decision to drop a few pounds and two days into a new diet, virtually everyone in your office decides to have a birthday. There is more cake in the workroom than copy paper. After walking past it several times, you finally indulge but manage to limit yourself to just a few bites. You head back to your desk buzzing with sugar and self-restraint only to find the Girl Scout cookies you ordered weeks ago have been delivered while you were away. You quickly put them under the desk, but by late afternoon, you’re feeling the need to nibble and, before you realize what has happened, a half sleeve of Thin Mints has disappeared.

I have lived both of these scenarios and many others just like them. These moments beg a question. Why is it that whenever we stir up the resolve to do something difficult, life seems to throw obstacles in our path? You can be sure that wherever we find a worthy goal, we will also find an obstacle. Nothing of value is achieved without struggle, but that isn’t a flaw of God’s design, it is part of His purpose to strengthen us. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of a little boy who took pity on a butterfly that was struggling to get out of its cocoon. Its head was free, but struggle as it might, it couldn’t seem to get its wings out of the cocoon. At last, the boy couldn’t stand to watch it any longer, so he took a small knife and slit the cocoon so the butterfly would have an easier time getting out. The butterfly did manage to get free of the cocoon, but it never flew. What the boy didn’t understand was that the struggle was a necessary part of the process. It was the struggle that would have strengthened and shaped the butterfly’s wings. The boy’s misguided act of kindness was exactly what the butterfly didn’t need.

I occasionally encounter parents going to unusual lengths to protect their child from even the simplest of setbacks. These parents are guided by a deep sense of love and responsibility, but their efforts are misguided. Depriving our children of the opportunity to struggle may feel helpful in the moment, but it ultimately cripples their ability to build the confidence necessary for success in college and life beyond. As parents striving to raise Godly, responsible, and successful children, I pray that we will not forget to create a home where it’s safe to struggle and even to fail. It’s the only way they will strengthen their wings and fly.

Blessings,

Jim R. Callis

Head of School

Dates to Remember

Monday, April 3 - Friday, April 7: Spring Break

Monday, April 10: Admission Commitment Deadline

Tuesday, April 11 & Wednesday, April 12: STEAM Build Days

Thursday, April 13: STEAM Fair 8:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Friday, April 14: Good Friday - School Closed

Friday, April 21: Invitational Art Show

Monday, April 24 - Friday, April 28: Spring Pictures

Admission

Rolling Admission is Underway
The admission deadline for 1st round consideration has passed, but never fear, we will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis. This means that it's not too late to apply for admission for next year. Link here to apply for admission.

Save the Date

MBCA Middle School STEAM Fair '17

April 13, 2017

Please join us for the Middle School STEAM Fair on Thursday, April 13 from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The fair will be held in Devore Hall, rooms F-011 and F-015. We hope to see you there!

FORE!

April 17, 2017

Win a new Infiniti!

The 4th Annual MBCA 8th Grade Fundraiser Golf Tournament will be Monday, April 17 at Indian Hills Country Club. Participants will have a chance to win $10K with a Hole-in-One and Pay to Play for a chance to win a new Infiniti, courtesy of Nalley Infiniti of Marietta and U.S. Hole-in-One. The deadline to sign up is April 7. For additional details please link here.

Spring Pictures

April 24 - 28
Students are to wear nice casual clothes on the day they are to be photographed. MBCA appropriate dress code must be followed according to the guidelines in the Parent/Student handbook. Tops must have sleeves and cover the midriff. Skirts and dresses must be MBCA uniform length. Pants should be Capri length or longer and shoes must be closed toe.

Monday, April 24: Middle School
Tuesday, April 25: 4th & 5th
Wednesday, April 26: Upper School
Thursday, April 27: JK, K and 1st
Friday, April 28: 2nd & 3rd

Night of the Arts and Spring Music Program

May 11, 2017

Be sure to save the date for the Lower School Art Show from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on May 11. Also, don't miss the LS Music Program (JK-2nd Grades), which starts at 6:30 p.m.

Announcements

A Word from Our Yearbook Editor-in-Chief

The yearbook staff is looking for pictures of your last summer vacation! If you want your pictures in the yearbook, please send them to Mr. Barber. We prefer there to be no bathing suit pictures.

Thank you!

Lego Contest Winners
Congratulations to the 2 winners of the Spring Fling Lego Contest! The winner for JK-3rd grade was Tyler MacColl (1st grade) and the winner for 4th-8th grade was Noah Mallon (5th grade). They each took home a $100 cash prize!! Thank you to all who participated. Everyone enjoyed seeing the awesome creations on display last week and at the Spring Fling Saturday night. Please don't forget the Lego creations can be picked up on Monday, March 27 in the front lobby.

Message from Parent Council

MBCA Parent Council nominations are now being considered for the 2017-2018 school year. Be sure to read the linked forms for more information and for open positions. Please fill out the form if you are interested or if you wish to nominate someone.

Thank you!
Parent Council

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
$3 - Gluten Free Option

Chick-fil-A Breakfast

At the North Campus

The Upper School will be selling Chick-fil-A biscuits 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

Class News

Junior Kindergarten

"A Bucket of Blessings"

Junior Kindergarten welcomed New York Times Bestselling author, Sue Sehgal, on Monday to read her book “A Bucket of Blessings”. The Pearson Family graciously brought this wonderful Christian author to our class. Each child received a copy of her book that she wrote with her son.

First Grade
Spelling Bee Champions
Libby Barr
Will Bracken
Erin Cook
Lacey Dean:  4th Place
Eliza Garrett
Audrey Hunt
Aadit Krishna:  1st Place
Hannah Mobley:  3rd Place
Maggie Moore
Gianna Odom:  2nd Place
Ogana Okwumabua
Austin Yates

Fourth Grade
Safety Village
Our fourth graders enjoyed a visit to the Safety Village last week. We learned about fire safety, staying home alone, traffic safety, and more. Everyone loved driving the cars around the "Marietta Square". This was one of our favorite field trips!

Fifth Grade
“La Carreta”
On Wednesday Mrs. Kelly's and Mrs. Thomason’s classes visited “La Carreta”, which is a Hispanic restaurant with food from Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala. Students ordered their food in Spanish and also got to tour “la tienda”, the little grocery store next door. Mrs. Curry explained and pointed out products that were from South America. They had a lot of fun!

Middle School
MS National Junior Honor Society
NJHS students used their meeting time this month to spread kindness around campus. Members created cards to thank MBCA and church staff, designed helpful coupons for MS teachers, and distributed encouraging sticky notes onto the windshields of our cars in our parking lot. They also donated treats to the after-school program and left quarters at the vending machines to make someone’s day brighter.

In other NJHS news, this year the induction of rising seventh and eighth graders will be a little different. We will hold our induction ceremony in August instead of in the spring. This will allow the advisors time to factor in grades for the entire spring semester as well as acquire teacher recommendations on character and leadership.

Upper School
Tomecon
A delegation from the Upper School chapter of Tome Society attended Tomecon on March 7. They had a delightful time attending author seminars, listening to a keynote address and participating in the live Reading Bowl competition. Our members ranked second out of thirteen schools in the year-long Reading Bowl, thus qualifying for the live competition at Tomecon, where they took second place! Representing the Upper School in the live competition were Karlee Jordan, Grace Montague, and Sarah Grace Kimery.

House Points
Veritas - 8,123

Fortes - 8,120

Servimus - 7,487

Integritas - 7,125
Fidelitas - 7,005

Humilitas - 7,002

Uniform Source

Penny Logo Sale!

March 31, 2017

Don't miss out in your chance to save at Uniform Source. All heat press and embroidery logos are only $0.01. Sale prices are good only on March 31, in stores and online.

Sports

Athletic Honors
Jordan Meka was selected to play in the Adidas Underclassmen All American game at Wheeler High School this Sunday, March 26. He played in two games followed by a Dunk Contest. Dominique Wilkins was the guest speaker at the event. Congratulations Jordan!

Austyn Wright was selected to play in the GICAA All-Star Baseball Game on Saturday, March 25. The game was played at the Georgia State University at the Newton Campus. Congratulations Austyn!

Upper School

Archery

The archery team had a tournament Friday, March 17 at the Upper School campus. This tournament was between MBCA and Johnson Ferry archery teams. The team had a great showing with several archers hitting some of their best scores yet. Quentin Jackson took first place with a score of 269 out of 300 and Katelyn Bond took first place for the ladies with a score of 263. Quentin also shot a round with a perfect score of 50, meaning all five of his arrows were in the bullseye. The Middle School team also shot on March 17 and Thomas Sharpless took first place for the boys with a score of 270 while Caroline York led the girls with a score of 217.

Baseball

The Varsity baseball team was in action March 16 against Praise Academy. Caleb Reis started us off with the first homerun in school history to put us up 1-0. As the game went on, we committed some mental errors that allowed Praise to go up 6-1 on us. In the bottom of the 7th, we started hitting again and closed the gap, but in the end, we couldn’t overcome the deficit. We lost 6-3.

The Varsity baseball team competed on Monday, March 20 against Whitefield Academy. The Eagles threw a lot of pitches and played a lot of young players, but in the end, we came up short. The score was 16-9.

On Tuesday, March 21 the Eagles were again in action against region opponent, Young Americans Christian School. The Eagles were down 4-1 early, but battled back to take the lead on a 2 run RBI by Blake Schafer. Austyn Wright and Caleb Reis had strong showings on the mound and Joshua Leerssen contributed 2 more RBI’s. The Eagles won their second region game.

Bass Fishing

The Varsity bass fishing team competed in the GICAA State Championship on Saturday, March 18 at Lake Oconee. The conditions were not the best for fishing, with rain and 15 mph winds. Brooks Anderson and Will Cain placed 2nd. The King’s Academy won 1st place with 9 lbs. We had 8 lbs and 15 oz. The separation between 1st and 2nd was only 1/16 of an ounce. Please congratulate the young men on their accomplishment!

Soccer
Our JV boys’ and girls’ soccer teams combined for a Coed match against The King’s Academy Tuesday, March 21. The Eagles came out strong, especially as a young and very new team. The Eagles had numerous shots on the goal by Jordan Meka, Lauren Schwartz and Jack Bugbee, but unfortunately fell short in the end, losing 0-4 to the Knights.

Tennis
The Varsity girls’ tennis team was in action on Tuesday, March 21 in the first region match of the year and in school history! The ladies played well and came away with their first victory. Alley McCray took line one singles, the team of Briley Holder and Caroline York took line one doubles and the team of Hannah Chang and Katie Morgan took line two doubles! Sara Kate Jacobs and Melis Akkan also had strong showings.

The Varsity girls’ tennis team was in action Wednesday, March 22 against a very tough King’s Academy team. We lost 5-0 against a team full of upper class ladies (they had 4 seniors). We also had our first boys’ tennis match against The King’s Academy as well. Jackson Risey actually took on two different opponents and won both matches!

Track and Field

The Varsity track and field team competed Saturday, March 18 at Wheeler High School for a USATF Tracklab meet. At this meet, several of the MBCA athletes placed in their age groups and improved their best times. Some notable finishes included Ethan Parker winning his age group in the 3000m run, Matt McGlamry winning the High Jump in his age group, Cassi Kruger placing 2nd in the 100m dash in her age group and the boys’ team placing second overall for the 15-16 age group. The Tracklab meets are unique opportunities for the school to run against schools and clubs that are not in our usual line-up for competition.

Middle School

Baseball

Baseball hosted Galloway at the US campus on March 23. It was a tough day at the plate, as the boys could not generate enough offense to keep up. Final score was 2 - 15.

Golf

Golf was on the course at River Pines on Monday, March 21 against Holy Redeemer. They shot lower than HR and won the head to head round.

Soccer

The soccer teams played a double header on the road with Holy Spirit (MAAC) on Tuesday, March 21. Girls closed out the match with a 6 - 0 shutout. Goals came from Madison Contrucci, Hannah Faklaris (2), and a hat trick from Addison Seaborn. The boys allowed three goals but scored five themselves to collect the win. Scores came from Andrew O’Connor (2) and Edward Rendle added a hat trick.

The soccer teams played matches on March 22 with home field advantage and took just that. The boys were up first against a good Cherokee Christian. After going up 1 - 0 in the first half, the boys were equalized in early in the second half. They grabbed two late goals to hold on for a 3 - 1 victory. The ladies jumped out on Galloway and continued their winning streak with an 8 - 0 win. Boys goals came from Edward Rendle (2) and Andrew O’Connor. Girls goals were from Hannah Faklaris, Emma Seaborn, Jaclyn Johns, Kathryn Ferris (2), and Madison Contrucci with another hat trick (3).

Boys soccer traveled to take on Kings Academy in Woodstock. It was a 5 - 0 shutout victory for the Eagles with goals from Kyle Hampton, Edward Rendle and Andrew O’Connor added another three goal hat trick.

Tennis
Tennis hosted the King's Academy on March 17 at the US courts. It was a great day for tennis as both teams came away with full line victories. Boys won 4-1 and girls won 5-0.

Tennis played on the courts at the Country Club of Roswell on Monday, March 20 against Holy Redeemer. It was a full line match for both teams, and victories were collected by both teams. The boys won 5 - 0 and girls won 4 - 1.

Summer Camps

American Girl Camp

June 12 - 16, 2017

Don't miss out on the 6th Annual AG Camp! Join Mrs. Black and Mrs. Sheffield for 5 days of fashion shows, tea parties, crafts, pitball and more. Click here to register and for more details.

Art Camp

June 12-16, 2017

Come join Mrs. Cardell for drawing and painting classes focusing on landscape, portrait and abstract paintings, as well as sketching and drawing techniques. Deadline for registration is May 15, 2017. View the flyer for the registration form and more details.

Creative Writing Camp

June 19 - 22, 2017

Come join Mrs. Kelly for Creative Writing Camp! Every camper will be writing his/her own book filled with a selection of different creative writing pieces. This camp is perfect for anyone who loves to write and for those who may be a little hesitant about their abilities, but have the desire! Here are the details:

When: June 19-22 from 12:30-3:30 p.m.

Where: MBCA - DeVore Hall, Room 223

Who: Rising 5th through 8th ladies and gentlemen

Cost: $160 per camper (includes hard bound final book product)

MBCA students are welcome to bring a friend! Camp is limited to 18 participants. Please contact Mrs. Kelly with any questions and to reserve your spot!

Disney Camp

June 19-23, 2017

We are so excited to be offering our Disney Camp again this summer! This camp is open to rising Kindergarten - 3rd grade girls. It is a day full of fun, devotions, crafts, games, and snacks! You won’t want to miss it! Link here for the registration form.

MBUMC News

Voice of Truth Fundraiser
Monday, March 27

5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Chick-fil-A at Woodlawn & Johnson Ferry Rd.
MBUMC’s student choir, Voice of Truth, is raising money for their choir tour this June to Niagara Falls. Tell Chick-fil-A you're supporting “Spirit Night” and a portion of your dinner goes to their student choir fund.

Birds on a Wire
Monday, April 10

9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Room A18
All moms are invited to join MBUMC for a morning of fellowship, encouragement and Biblical wisdom on parenting. Karen Stubbs, the founder and leader of Birds on a Wire, a ministry designed to equip moms through truth, encouragement and community, will be sharing her thoughts on how we can each reach our full potential in motherhood. They hope that you will take the time to invite a friend and join them for this special morning together. Please register for this free event here and email Lindsey Warren if you are in need of nursery for the morning.