Eagle Eye 3-19-2017

March 19, 2017

Perserverance

I am two hours south of Atlanta on business. At the conference center restaurant for dinner, I take a seat at a two-top next to a wall of floor to ceiling windows. It looks out onto a garden plaza with flagstone pathways curving through mounded beds of lilies, crepe myrtles, and other pretty plants I can’t name. An outdoor thermometer reads 59 degrees which seems uncomfortably cool for a wedding and yet, that is exactly what is happening in this otherwise beautiful space. The waiter comes, takes my order, and I settle in to do what most people do at weddings, watch and smile. Weddings are joyous and hopeful occasions, and this one appears to be no different save for the uncomfortable temperatures. The ladies, especially, seem to be freezing. I watch as one beautiful dress after another disappears under a man’s coat or one of several fleece blankets the facility has provided. There are other spaces here where a lovely indoor version of these nuptials could easily be accommodated and yet, the happy couple stands with God and nature, face-to-face saying their “I do’s” through chattering teeth. It is a picture of perseverance. Having planned this perfect day for months, it arrived at an imperfect temperature. They decided to press on. Perseverance, we see, is a mindset.

There are very few things in this world that are certain, but if you are reading these words, I am certain you will encounter difficulty in your life. It might be personal. It could be professional. Chances are, it will be both. These setbacks are the residue of original sin and they define what it means to live in a fallen world. These disappointments threaten to rob us of our joy, so the way we react to them is important. In fact, it can mean the difference between a life of freedom and a life of frustration. Wallowing in self-pity and blaming God or others for our circumstance is a path that leads to misery. Instead, we can choose the path of perseverance. Perseverance is the path that leads us through, not around, temporary trouble to the joy and contentment that seems impossible to see in the moment.

If freezing temps threaten to ruin your special day, or something far worse happens to you this week, let me make a suggestion. Try asking God to walk with you on the path to perseverance. When He answers that prayer, you might feel like singing a song that encourages me when I’m having “one of those days”, Marvin Winans, “I Feel Like Going On”…

I feel like going on.

Though trials, they may come on every hand,

I feel like going on.

Blessings,

Jim R. Callis

Head of School

Dates to Remember

Saturday, March 25: 17th Annual Spring Fling

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

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

Thursday, April 13: STEM Fair 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Friday, April 14: Good Friday - School Closed

Friday, April 21: Invitational Art Show

Admission

Admission Notification
The Admission Office is pleased to announce that admission notification emails will be sent this Friday, March 24 for families who have applied their child(ren) for enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year. We are excited about welcoming our new students to the MBCA family and know our current families will join us in helping these families settle into their new school. We also welcome our siblings who will be joining their brothers and sisters who already attend MBCA.

Please note: If you have not already re-enrolled your child for the 2017-2018 school year, please contact the Admission Office or the Business Office by Wednesday, March 22 to notify us of your intent for next year. Your child's enrollment may be at risk if you've not signed your re-enrollment contract and submitted your tuition deposit.

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

Spring Fling

Saturday, March 25

7:00 - 10:00

Live Auction Items

Buy your tickets now to the Spring Fling for Saturday, March 25! Being there is the only way to bid on these items in the Live Auction.

Spend Fall Break 2017 at a beautiful cottage on the private island of Boca Grande in Florida
Park everyday for a year in your own private, reserved, shady parking spot right near MBCA entrance
Add a coveted hard-to-find spirit to your home collection. Bid on a 20-year old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon!
Invite your 12 favorite people to join you for a private chef's dinner with wine pairings made just for you in a private room at The Mill.
Freeze one child's tuition at the 2017-2018 tuition prices for their duration at MBCA! Look for more information on this next week.

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 and the deadline for Sponsorships is March 24. For additional details and information on sponsorships, please link here.

Announcements

Invitational Art Show Finalists

Finalists for the Invitational Art Show have been selected by a panel of judges comprised of Lower and Middle School teachers and staff. Student entries were absolutely amazing and the task of selecting art for the show was so difficult. Each school is limited to 40 entries! Thank you to everyone who shared their art with us!

The Finalists are:

Kindergarten

Harper Essary

Bella Smith

Eliana Kim
First Grade

Audrey Hunt

Madeline Hunt

Will Braken

Maggie Moore
Second Grade

Isabella Crowe

Jui Park

Greyson Hughes

Millie Beine
Third Grade

Emma Flack

Ayan Patel

Andrew Garrot

Abby Garrett

Grace Detling
Fourth Grade

Sophie Beine

Madison O’Neill

Abby Faklaris

Nancy Clare Parsons
Fifth Grade

Reese Torre

Kate Floyd

Griffin Lovett

Dane Moehler

Sixth Grade

Riley Parsons

Ayden Shaw

Jaclyn Johns
Seventh Grade

Lexi Faklaris

Camden Carter
Eighth Grade

Madison Contrucci

Mathilde Rosendahl

Dillon Lott

Cristina Puy Arena
Ninth Grade

Lauren Schwartz

Julia Longshore

Sophia Ostervold
Tenth Grade

Isabel Robertson

Kara Freeman

Katelyn Bond

Bekah Cary
Eleventh Grade

Yoonjae Bae

Erika Benner

Each Finalist will need to fill out a Google Form for their entry. Middle School and Upper School students will be given the link to fill out their individual form. To help with filling out the form for Lower School students, Mrs. Cardell asks that a parent join their child in the art room one morning before school next week between 7:45 and 8:10 a.m. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Cardell or Mrs. Hattingh. Congratulations!

A 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

Eagle Choir

Bowling Party
The Eagle Choir had a blast bowling on March 10 at their end of the year party. They have had a fun year singing together! Rising fourth and fifth grade students may be interested in joining the choir next year.

Second Grade

Landforms and Map Skills
Second grade has been studying landforms and map skills. They have applied their knowledge by using a grid map and creating landforms out of dough. Thank you to Mrs. Hampton for collaborating with them to create wonderful computer lessons to fit into their curriculum.

Third Grade

Third Grade Spelling Bee Champions:

Ben Barr: 4th Place
Wade Benich
Bryce Cary
Emma Flack
Mary Kate Greene
Andrea Krohnert

Sam Laird:  2nd Place
Tripp Lemming
Liam Patterson
Mason Prevost:  3rd Place
Reid Rosebery
Jackson Sparrow:  1st Place

"Seussical the Musical"
Third grade students were able to go to The Fox Theatre on Tuesday to see "Seussical the Musical”. It was a fabulous show which depicted several of Dr. Seuss’s fun stories, such as Horton Hears a Who. What a wonderful educational and musical experience they all had!

Fourth Grade

America's Journey

Fourth grade has been studying how America started it’s journey as colonies. The triangular trade route was important to building the economy of the colonies. Students from Mrs. Davis’ class reenacted the trade using cards, trading goods from the West Indies, the 13 colonies, Africa and England.

High Touch/High Tech
Fourth graders are enjoying learning about simple and compound machines in science. On Wednesday, Scientist E, from High Touch/High Tech brought some machines for them to build and use to lift different loads. Students will be creating their own compound machines at home to be shared in class near the end of the month. They love building and creating!

Middle S chool

Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour

Middle School 8th grade House officers attended the Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour on March 14 as part of their 8th grade leadership.

Celebrating Pi Day!
Middle School celebrated Pi Day on March 14. The students discussed Pi’s use and importance in calculating the circumference of a circle among a multitude of applications in math, physics and engineering. They also discovered where Pi can be found in the Bible!

Each grade level participated in different activities: 8th grade decorated their own Pi symbols and watched Pi videos and songs, 7th grade created a Pi chain up to the first 1,500 digits of the number, while 6th grade discovered Pi through the measurement of Oatmeal Cream Pies and Twizzlers. MS enjoyed the day’s activities!

Upper School

Model United Nations Club
The Model United Nations club went to Kennesaw State University last weekend. They represented Columbia, Kazakhstan, CNN News Agency, and Le Monde News Agency. The delegates represented well and had a great time. Beth Dickerson won an award for Best Position Paper in Press Corps. Jordan Milligan and Jackson Risey both got “superlative” awards in their committees as well.

MBCA Student Arts Magazine: Soaring

Dear Reader,
My name is Hannah Chang. I’m a 9th grade student at Mt. Bethel’s Upper School. Because of my passion to write poetry and other literature, I have compiled several poems from Upper School students into an online magazine form. Writing has always been something that I can do to escape the hardships of life and let my imagination flourish. It’s amazing to see what other people's imagination can create, which is why I have founded Mt. Bethel Upper School’s first literary magazine. This magazine currently only features poetry by Mt. Bethel students, but will eventually include student artwork, short stories and videos. Link to view the online magazine. Please enjoy the literary magazine!

“Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.”
~Lucille Clifton

Sincerely,

Hannah Chang '20

House Points
Fortes - 7,978

Veritas - 7,882

Servimus - 7,243

Integritas - 6,967
Humilitas - 6,763

Fidelitas - 6,645

Sports

Middle School

Baseball

Baseball hosted Mount Vernon at the US field and collected a nice 9 - 5 win over the Mustangs. Jack Dougherty led the way batting 3 for 3 with 5 RBIs to go along with a pitching save.

Soccer
Ladies' soccer team played host to Kings Ridge for a friendly match. It was a close game last year, but the ladies took care of business this time around, collecting a 6 - 0 victory. Goals came from; Lilla Kate Tucker with one, Lexi Faklaris scored twice, and Madison Contrucci chipped in a 3 goal hat trick.

Both soccer teams were on the road on March 16. The boys traveled to Horizon Christian to grab a 3 - 0 victory thanks to a hat trick from Andrew O’Connor. The ladies scored multiple goals once again at Cherokee Christian, winning 7 - 0. Goals from the ladies came from Anne Allen Floyd (2), Emma Seaborn, Sarah Vicknair, Kathryn Ferris and Sarah Lang.

Tennis
The courts dried out enough for the ladies’ tennis team to travel to Douglasville for a GICAA region match with Harvester Christian. It was cold and windy, but the ladies fought through to come away with a 4 - 1 victory.

March 15 Tennis hosted a MAAC match with Galloway at the US courts. Boys lost a close one 2 - 3, while the ladies won all five lines to take the match.

Summer Camps

Summer 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.

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.

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.