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Dear Families and Friends of Faith,
We want to thank each of you for your commitment to our school. We are so blessed by our families. We have so many volunteers and we are so thankful for each of you. We are busy this summer making improvements and getting ready for the new school year. We have scheduled our workday for Saturday, August 12th. Check out our work list
here.
Our orientations are scheduled for secondary students on Tuesday, August 15th and elementary on Thursday, August 17th. We are looking forward to another great school year!
Click here to listen to our orchestra play the Faithful Falcon Song.
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Summer Study
Better grades start in the summer
Although school is out for the year, studies show that the summer months can be a critical
time to build on the foundation of the previous school ye
ar-a
nd prepare for the
year ahead. From summer reading to trips to the museum, there are tons of ways to inspire your child. View summer activities list
here
.
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FUN-Raising Changes
News from Jen
We have had a wonderful year of
FUN-raising! I am so thankful for each of you that donated your time and volunteered at all of our events this year. We raised over $80,000.
Every year, we recap and try to figure out how we can do things more efficiently and keep them exciting! In an effort to make sure that our fundraising efforts line up with our mission and vision, we are going to be shifting our events around.
After talking with many parents and students, we are excited to announce that we are bringing back our Labors of Love event. We will be changing the name to Community Helpers. The Community Helpers program will take the place of the Putt-A-Thon.
We appreciate everyone's support with the Putt-A-Thon over the last three years; we were able to raise over $77,000.
The Community Helpers program began three years ago in an effort to have students giving back to the community throughout the school year. Each class completes a service project once a semester. The first project is completed during the fall and the final project is completed in May. The Community Helpers Day in May will end with a picnic at War Memorial Park for a time of fellowship. Parents are encouraged to join us for the May project and picnic.
The Community Helpers event will be just like our Labors of Love events were in the past. There will be a contest for students to design the t-shirts. There will also be an opportunity for students to ask for sponsorships just as we have done in the past. We see this event as a time of fellowship for our families and also for our community. Let's be a beacon of light in our community!
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Kindergarten Gives Back to the Fire Department
The Kindergarten class collected items for the Shepherdstown Fire Depa
rtment as part of their Community Helper Project. Students were very generous in gathering items to take down to the local fire department. They collected snacks, drinks, paper plates, soap and other items that they might need. The students were able to visit with the firefighters and learn about safety. They also planted flowers and helped with some of the firefighters daily activities such as washing the fire trucks. Fun was had by all!
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FCA Interact Club In Action
In January our school was asked to start an Interact Club. This is a "Service Above Self" organization. It fits perfectly into our school mission and vision. Our students jumped into action and before long had 25 members.
The students established the Interact Club in February and completed two community service projects before the ink dried on the club charter certificate.
Some of the club board members were invited to lunch, hosted by the Noon Rotary Club of Martinsburg to receive their club charter certificate. Two of our board members had the opportunity to attend a three-day leadership training in Huntingdon, PA. Abigail Adams (President) and Jessica Horn (Secretary) completed a group project with other Interact students in their group that they will present to the Noon Rotary Club in September.
The Interact Club has participated in some great projects over the last several months from collecting non-perishable items for the Tiny House Project with James Rumsey, a cleanup project on the FCA Campus, served a meal with Helping Hands Ministry, offered childcare during our annual auction, hosted a movie night in June and July in the FCA gymnasium and collected items for the Shenandoah Women's Shelter.
This group of students is definitely making a difference in our community. They are always looking for ways to give back.
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FCA Recognizes Years of Service
We are so blessed with great staff and faculty. Employees were recognized at
the all-employee meeting in June.
Thank you for your faithfulness and dedication to our ministry at Faith.
Five Years:
Bryan
DeOms,
Heather
Mann, and
Aaron
Moore.
Ten Years:
Wanda Bradshaw,
Christa Long,
Kim Pryseski,
Fran Stoddard and
Jason Swinehart.
Fifteen Years:
Brian Hobbs,
Bill Long, and
Holly Romine
Twenty Years: T
heresa Monro, and
Ramona Tiegs
Thirty Years:
Jennifer
Mann, and
Linda
Michael
Retiring:
Linda Mead with 19 years
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New Spanish Teacher
Welcome Mrs. Macias
We're very excited to announce a new addition to our team. Karla Macias will be replacing Mrs. Mead, who retired at the end of the school year.
Mrs. Macias was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. She attended the University of Texas at El Paso and received a bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a major in Early Childhood Education and a Bilingual certification.
Mrs. Macias grew up in a Christian home where her grandfather was a pastor. Her heart has always been tugged toward serving God and teaching. "I am passionate about planting seeds in children's hearts that will grow and multiply - a hundred, sixty or thirty fold what was sown."
After graduating from the University, God called her to be home with her children. Her family began the journey of homeschooling. She has also taught in Christian private schools, worked part-time in a public school and has been a substitute.
Mrs. Macias resides in Inwood, WV with her husband and 3 daughters.
She feels blessed to have this opportunity to teach children and freely minister to children of all ages.
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Second Grade Visits Senior Center
Community Helper Project
The second grade class visited the Berkeley Senior Center at the end of May. The students sang songs from the spring concert and made crafts that gave them an opportunity to witness to the seniors about Christ.
Many students took on the challenge with confidence and found that several are already Christians!
They ended their visit by passing out baggies full of cookies and muffins that the students had made. The students truly enjoyed their time with the seniors. Click here to view more photos from their visit.
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FCA Good Neighbor Golf Classic
September 18, 2017
We are looking forward to our 14th Annual FCA Good Neighbor Golf Tournament this September.
Click here to register to your team or sponsor a tee sign. Thank you again to the State Farm Agents for sponsors our tournament again this year.
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LED Lighting Project
We are in the process of changing over all of the lights in each classroom to LED lighting. The difference is quite amazing. By changing the lighting we are saving money and also creating a much brighter atmosphere in each classroom. The cost to switch each classroom is approximately $400. The Offerings taken at the concerts this spring are going to the cost of replacing the lights in each classroom.
(Pictured above is the Pre-K classroom)
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Following in Coaches Footsteps
As the school year comes to an end our seniors head off to start the next chapter in their lives. For one senior and his coach the end of this year closes out one chapter, but opens a familiar door for his coach. It's always rewarding as a coach to see your players move on to play college ball. In this case Coach Brian Hobbs is not only sending off one of his players to play basketball, but this student will also be playing for the same college that he attended for his undergraduate degree. Will Smoot played soccer and basketball in his senior year at Faith Christian Academy. On the soccer team, he was a 2nd team Mason Dixon Christian Conference selection as a goalkeeper. On the basketball team, he was a 1st team Mason Dixon Christian Conference selection. He finished his basketball career with over 1,500 points, set the school's single season assist record and is the school's all time leader in assists. He has signed with Clarks Summit University to continue his basketball career next year. Congratulations Will.
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From the Librarian's Desk
This year has been a year for new things in the library. The library has a website created to encourage reading, introduce new books, and provide resource links for research. The book fair changed vendors, new curriculum was added to 4th and 5th grade library, and problem-solving activities were added to elementary library classes to set the stage for the addition of Makerspace next year.
Additionally, the library promoted reading with several special events this year. Two area restaurants provided incentives. Chick-fil-A gave prizes for the summer reading program as well as the "I Scream for Books" reading challenge in January and February. Third grade had the largest percentage participation and won an ice cream party. All students who participated received a Chick-fil-A gift card. Chipotle provided reading incentives for the spring reading challenge that was well received.
We celebrated authors in the month of January with two authors visiting the students. A local author Erin Mackey, read to students in grades Pre-k through 4th. Ellen Bryan Obed, author and also a grandmother of one of our fifth graders, also read to the students in 1st through 5th grade. The students enjoyed both events.
There are more new things coming next year. In the meantime, keep your children reading this summer! The local public libraries have reading programs available for area residents. In addition, the elementary students brought home a brightly colored card encouraging them to read five books this summer. Put it on your refrigerator and keep track of the books they read. Send it back to school with them in August for a sweet treat.
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Fifth Grade Goes to Starbase
Community Helper Project
The fifth graders enjoyed a week at Starbase in May. Each year, the students travel to the 167th Air Guard and attend classes that focus on STEM topics. The program is designed to foster interest and develop skills in the areas of S
cience, T
echnology, E
ngineering, and M
ath. Students are also exposed to military careers and the environment of a military base. Starbase is one of the highlights of the year for 5th graders! Click here to see more pictures from their week.
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The Wellness Center at Berkeley Medical Center
Sponsors Athletic Excellence Award for Faith Christian Academy Athletes
2017 marks the 12th year that Faith Christian Academy has given out this award. This year marks our first year with our new sponsor - The Wellness Center at Berkeley Medical Center. They have generously donated $1,000 dollars to be split among the recipients of this award. We are very grateful for their contribution to our student-athletes.
Athletic Excellence Award: Given to outstanding athletes who have shown excellence in leadership, spiritual growth, athletic ability, and sportsmanship. Each athlete must have participated in at least two varsity sports during his/her senior year. This award is not a competition among the seniors to find 'the best athlete' but is a way to recognize their impact on Faith's athletic program and reward them for a job well done in representing FCA in the athletic arena. Congratulations to: Shaw Brown, Matt Hott, Abigail Michael and Will Smoot.
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Winter/Spring Sports Season Recap
The Lord blessed at FCA with a great winter and spring season in our athletic department. In the winter we fielded basketball teams for our middle school boys and girls as well as varsity girls and JV and varsity boys, a total of 54 student athletes. In the spring, our track teams included 51 student athletes on middle school and high school girls and boys teams.
Both middle school boys basketball teams were very young after losing a combined 12 8th graders from championship teams the year before. Our boys finished 6th in the Mason Dixon Christian Conference regular season and the girls finished fourth. Highlights from the boys season included a thrilling 29-27 OT win at Heritage. The girls team finished 5-5 in the MDCC regular season, good enough for 4th place and a home playoff game in the first round. Both teams lost their first round playoff games, but will return a good core of players and look for to improve on the things that were built this season.
The varsity girls basketball team was the youngest team we have had in recent memory. After a knee injury to their only senior, the team was made up of all freshman and two sophomores. The girls played a tough MDCC schedule and out of conference games against Berkeley Springs, Hancock and Hedgesville. They also participated in a tip-off tournament at Mt Calvary Christian School falling just short of the championship game after a furious comeback in the opening game. They fought hard all season and showed significant growth that will benefit them as they continue through high school.
The varsity boys graduated just one senior from the year before and looked to improve on a 16- win season from last year. After a slow start, the boys won the Mt Calvary Christian School Christmas Tournament in Lancaster, PA. Faith had the opportunity to be the Mason Dixon Christian Conference tournament host and held the league tournament at the Berkeley County Recreation Center. The boys lost a hard fought Final Four game to number one seed Shenandoah Valley and then won the consolation game the next day over Shalom Christian at the buzzer to finish in third place. The boys finished the season by traveling out to the NCSAA Basketball Championships in Mt. Vernon Ohio, winning 2 of their three games and finishing 3rd in their division. Highlighted by an 11-1 home record and the first 20-win season since 2003, God blessed the boys with an excellent season.
The track teams also enjoyed a great year this spring. The middle school teams ran in meets at schools such as Maryland School for the Deaf, Berkeley Springs and Greencastle-Antrim. The athletes showed great growth throughout the season. New school records set this season included Noah Cupp in the 800M and 1600M and Connor Smith in the high jump and long jump. Our high school team ran in meets at Greencastle-Antrim, Southern Fulton, Hancock and South Hagerstown. School records were set in the shot put by Alicia Tucker and the discus and by Abby Michael, as well as the 4x800 relay by a team of Hannah Marambio, Abby Michael, Rilla Samsell and Emily Boehler. The end of year ACSI Championship Meet in Bangor, PA was a cold, rainy day that wasn't conducive to personal and school records being set, but our athletes performed admirably despite the conditions. Three of our four teams brought home trophies as the middle school boys finished in third place and the middle school and varsity girls both brought home second place. It was a great day for our student athletes.
At senior graduation, we awarded our Athletic Excellence Awards to deserving seniors. We were excited to partner with the Wellness Center at the Berkeley Medical Center as our sponsor for this award, who generously donated $1000 to be split between the recipients. Congratulations to Shaw Brown, Matt Hott, Abigail Michael and Will Smoot for receiving this award.
We are always so grateful to the Lord for his grace in the lives of our student athletes as we seek to teach lasting spiritual and life lessons through athletics. Go Falcons!
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