Dear AFA Friend,
Welcome to the Spring 2019 issue of the Ad Fontes Fountain newsletter! This month we are highlighting some of the many community building events going on at Ad Fontes Academy in 2019. Enjoy!
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Grandparents Day
On March 1, many Ad Fontes grandparents braved the bad weather and joined us to watch student presentations and see their grandchildren's work in the classrooms. Other grandparents who live out of town were able for the first time to view the presentations on a live stream video. This was a wonderful day of friendship and sharing a love of learning across generations!
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Spirit Week
Spirit Week was held from Monday, March 11 to Friday, March 15. The Lower School had 3 dress up days including Color Day, Occupation Day, and Sports/Activity Day. The Upper School dress up days included America Day, Color Day, Decade Day, Famous Person Day, and Theme/Pi(e) Day. Students in each grade loved showing off their class pride by dressing up for each of these days!
In the Upper School, a member of the faculty leads a spirit assembly filled with fun games and traditions each day. On Theme/Pi(e) Day, each class brings in homemade pies that are judged for class points. Additionally, each class can put on a musical act or sketch, read an original poem about pi(e), or even recite digits of pi. At the end of the week, one class is announced as the winner of Spirit Week. This year, the Seniors won!
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Field Day
Field Day was held on Friday, May 3 on the CPC campus this year. The weather was beautiful. Students were split into small groups that included both LS and US students. The groups traveled around to 10 different stations that included an inflatable obstacle course, a rock climbing wall, a dunk tank, water balloon toss, carnival games, relay races, and even a stop at the Kona Ice truck. At the end of the day, the US students competed in a House Dodgeball game cheered on by Lower School students. Field Day was definitely a day of FUN!
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LS Readathon
The Lower School did an excellent job in this year’s Read-a-thon by collectively reading 132,035 minutes over our 10-day reading race! The race is one of endurance and is not based upon how well a student can read, but how long. Naturally, by spending time reading, all of the participants come out stronger readers at the end of the race.
Here are just a few of our readers' achievements:
- About 120 elementary students collectively read 2,200 hours over ten days!
- One of our youngest readers, Victor, in Kindergarten read 1,188 minutes over ten days!
- The highest overall reader, Leif, a sixth grader, read over 73 hours in ten days!
Not only did our Lower School Readers improve their reading skills and achieve their class goals, but they also raised over $16,700 toward AFA’s Learning Center, which enables AFA to come alongside its students in need of academic support at all grade levels.
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LS Oratio
The Lower School students in first through sixth grades were truly amazing in their second annual Oratio competition, March 25-26. The Oratio is similar to an old-fashioned speech meet that encourages students to develop their
rhetorical skills at an early age. (Oratio is the Latin word for “speech” or “lecture.”) In this competition, students may recite poetry, a famous speech, Bible passages, or a classic story in front of fellow students and guests. Sixth graders have the option to present a persuasive speech of their own creation. This competition helps students to
overcome fears of public speaking, to expand their aptitude for memorization, to develop poise and effective communication skills, and ultimately to grow in their confidence before an audience. Students are judged by a panel of parents and teachers, and winners are selected from each grade. We congratulate our Lower School students on their hard work and beautiful presentations!
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5th Grade Medieval Living History Museum
On Friday, April 26, the 5th grade presented its Living History Museum. The students did an outstanding job in presenting 15 different characters from the Middle Ages. From Alfred the Great to Joan of Arc, the 5th graders faithfully represented the greatest figures of Medieval times. It was lots of fun and very informative!
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6th Grade Travel Exhibition
To complete the Travel Exhibition project, each student in sixth grade chose a country to research according to their preferences. The students consulted at least two books and other reliable sources to compose a detailed research report and to setup their travel booth. This project not only taught students valuable time management skills but gave them an opportunity to delve into different cultures, embrace their inner artist, and share their passion for travel with others. After doing their best to convince the public to travel to their destination of choice, the class concluded with a delicious Flavors of the World Feast.
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US Readathon
For this overnight event, students selected and read books together through the night along with much eating,
playing fun games, making a late night playground visit, and for some, sleeping
. Students selected Edgar Allan Poe’s creepy short stories for this year's Readathon. Students stayed up reading Poe’s stories until the morning when parents cooked up fresh pancakes and waffles!
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Spring Formal
This year, a few Ad Fontes students and parents organized the Great-Gatsby themed Spring Formal dance. The high school students had a fantastic time dressing up, dancing together, taking pictures at the photo booth, and hanging out around the fire on the patio. The spring formal is always a memorable event for the high schoolers.
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Feriae Artium
For this house competition, members of all four houses submit photography, sketches, paintings, 3D artwork, prose, and poetry to be judged for house points. Additionally, there is a talent show portion of this competition. This year, we had everything from fire-spinning to a blind-folded pianist to comedy acts in the talent show.
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Socrates Revenge
For this house competition, each house splits into four teams. Each team answers trivia questions based on the Ad Fontes 7th-12th grade curriculum to get points for their house. This competition is always a fun way for the houses to use everybody's strengths, whether it be in history or rhetoric, to get points for their house!
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Thank you for reading our newsletter,
The Fountain
!
We hope we have provided content that gives you a deeper connection not only
to the mission of AFA, but also to the people that make up this great school community!
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Want to see more of Ad Fontes Academy?
Invite your friends and come visit us at one of our next Open House Events:
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Admissions
: 571-348-0784
Lower School
: 703-673-1145
Upper School
: 703-673-1145 x102
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15452 Lee Highway
Centreville, VA 20120
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We value and appreciate your support to further the mission of Ad Fontes Academy.
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The Ad Fontes Mission
To glorify God by assisting Christian parents in equipping their children to be servant leaders through a classical education based on eternal biblical truth.
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