Ad Fontes Academy 25th Anniversary Fountain Newsletter September 2020 Issue

Dear AFA Family and Friends, I pray this note finds you well after six months of life under COVID.  This summer, Ad Fontes engaged our largest influx of new family interest in our history while diligently planning for a healthy, in-person school opening.  Now, the school year is underway, and we celebrate a milestone--our 25th anniversary! Our classrooms and celebrations may look different due to COVID, but they promise to be just as impactful in developing learned scholars and servant leaders. Through this year, we will look back to all who have built AFA, to our present community, and to our future hopes. Thank you for your contribution to AFA and for your prayers and support! Soli Deo Gloria,

Dean Luckenbaugh President, Ad Fontes Academy dluckenbaugh@adfontes.com

SCHOOL UPDATES On-Time, Five Days, In-Person Schooling! Ad Fontes opened in-person as scheduled on Wednesday, September 2. We have made great efforts to protect community health by practicing social distancing, requiring face coverings and daily health screenings for all staff and students, and limiting materials sharing, cross grade level interactions, and outside visitors. By God’s grace, there have been no staff or student COVID cases so far. Keep praying for us!

Record Enrollment! We set two new records this year when we welcomed 64 new students and reached a total enrollment of 218 students. A huge thank you to our returning families who have done an amazing job welcoming these new parents and students to the AFA Family!  Generous Supporters! COVID has impacted us in many ways including a significant increase in tuition assistance requests for families facing economic challenges and many  unexpected supply, equipment and staffing costs due to the pandemic. Our AFA community has stepped up to the plate and donated over $108,000 towards school needs. Thank you! You can support AFA with a tax deductible donation at https://adfontes.z2systems.com/np/clients/adfontes/donation.jsp or contact Dean at dluckenbaugh@adfontes.com. AFA Employment Opportunities We currently have 3 available staff positions to further our classical Christian mission: part-time lower school Latin teacher (Grades 3-5); full-time upper school aide (Grades 7-12), and a full-time Development Coordinator to support AFA fundraising efforts. Please pray for these positions and share with any potential candidates. STUDENT NEWS AFA Latin Scholars Congratulations to ninth graders Nick Attiliis and Nathan Docherty on their Certamen (Latin Quiz Bowl) success! Both were chosen to represent the state of Virginia at the 2020 National Certamen tournament for the Intermediate Competitive Competitive division. Nick and Nathan dedicated many hours studying on-line with students from other schools as well as several hours a day on their own to prepare for this fast-paced competition. The Virginia team made it to the National Semifinals.

TEACHER NEWS Mr. Carey Leading National Math Community One delightful consequence of the pandemic is that grown-ups now think it normal to gather via video conferencing and build community. To that end, Mr. Bill Carey, AFA’s lead Math and Science teacher, started a nation-wide community of Classical Christian mathematics teachers (38 at last count) that met weekly during the summer and meets monthly during the school year.  Bill and his colleagues are rethinking math education by moving beyond formula memorization to engaging great mathematical thinkers and equipping students to confidently attack increasingly challenging problems in a collaborative community. This model develops adept mathematical thinkers who bring creative, outside the box thinking to real life problems. For example, students in Algebra II don't just memorize the properties of exponential expressions, they *prove* them. ALUMNI NEWS  Matthias Overos (AFA ’15) and Caroline Sawyer (AFA ’16) became the 6th Ad Fontes alumni married couple! God blessed them with a wonderful wedding day on July 25 at the Sawyer home! Matthias graduated from Covenant College in 2019 with a BA in English and a minor in education. He is now pursuing a Masters in English and serving as a Teaching Assistant at the University Tennessee-Chattanooga. Caroline is at Covenant College completing her Senior year majoring in Philosophy with a minor in Linguistics.

Peter Mouton (AFA’16) graduated from Old Dominion University in 2020 with a degree in History with a Political Science minor. He now heads off to Quantico for Marine Corps officer basic training as a Lieutenant (photo: his commissioning ceremony, receiving his lieutenant bars from his parents). He shared that “AFA helped me become a lifelong student.”

David Chenette (AFA ’14) graduated from George Mason University in 2020 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He works at Northrup Grumman as a Systems Engineer. He shared that “AFA helped me develop good relationships with students and teachers, established my work ethic, and cultivated spiritual growth.” INSIDE THE AFA CLASSROOM In lieu of their annual Krispy Kreme field trip, Mrs. Lee brought the donuts to the 3rd graders for a Book Tasting with Homer Price.

As part of the 6th grade’s study of early Japanese history, Mrs. Bone prepared a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

Our Upper Schoolers engaged in team building, house competitions, and outdoor challenges on our annual retreat!

The Lower School art classes got creative with their color wheels.

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!

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.

Ad Fontes Vision: Ad Fontes Academy is a K-12 Christ-centered classical school with a beautiful, permanent campus serving 500 students that is established and financially sound, providing skilled, caring teachers who partner with Christian families to: support and challenge students of varying academic levels through a robust liberal arts and sciences, fine arts, and athletics program; equip current students and well-rounded graduates and alumni to think critically and excel in a wide range of vocations; and walk with students on their journey to love God and serve their neighbor, preparing them to be salt and light in the world.