Spring Has Sprung!

We are in the Passion Week when we reflect upon the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ! May you have a joyous celebration with loved ones this week and weekend as we await Easter. Let us rejoice that the Lord has risen- He has risen indeed. Jesus is ALIVE!

Just as we celebrate our risen Lord, there is also much to celebrate here at ACA this Spring. We have been learning a great deal. View the photos below of classroom celebrations, chapel presentations, ministry fair, the Saturday movie for families, and many other school happenings.

Children are excited to hold our Grand Pal Open House on Friday, April 26 where visitors will enjoy many activities with the students who invite them. Children and their Grand Pals can view student artwork in the lobby and art hallway, enjoy a photo presentation in the auditorium, look at books at our book fair, and listen to the children sing and play their instruments at the Spring concert.

On the evening of April 26, there will be a table where student artwork will be sold to benefit our art department. One can purchase 10 notecards/$10.00 of children’s artwork from grades K-6. The proceeds will go to our art department where there are many things that our art teacher Mrs. Mueller would like to have in educating the elementary artists.

  

Before you know it students will be presenting their talent on May 10 during “Students in the Spotlight” talent show. There were many children who auditioned in the past three weeks and their display of talent was wide and varied! Later in May, our students will participate in track and field day. Our students await the last day of school when our children in kindergarten will experience graduation and we will hold the Elementary Awards Assembly. As we experience warmer weather it is just one more indicator that school is winding down and summer soon will be here!

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January Jots

                                        

Science Fair Summary

On Jan. 24 th 19 men and women volunteered their time at ACA to judge the Ankeny Christian Academy Science Fair. Students in fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth grades researched a topic and presented a report or conducted behavioral or experimental research to provide information about their hypothesis. Their final project included biblical integration or a Bible verse or passage, an abstract (title and description of the project or research), photographs, data collection sometimes in graph/chart form, a paper, a summary and a bibliography. An oral presentation where each student individually answered questions or defended their hypothesis for a judge was the capstone of the scientists work!  Students who graduate and go into the world often credit the research and oral presentation as a life skill that has helped them to communicate in an effective way in the real world!

Mr. Jacob Taber, Mr. Ben Weber, Mr. Garrett Crown and sixth grade science teacher Miss Brugioni

Aidan Beck presents to Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Long

Mr. and Mrs. Cathey and Mr. and Mrs.Weathers join as a team to assess science fair projects

Elianna Ruggles presents her project to Mrs. Logemann and Mrs.Huckaby

Garrett Crown, ACA Alumni class of 2015, and Jacob Taber Drake Secondary Chemistry student evaluate a student’s display

Mr. Mahoney and Mr. Wolterman determine what score this display earns

Teachers Have an Opportunity to Learn

Teachers gathered to learn all day on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. The topic for the learning was a gradual release model where teachers help learners by showing first doing together then having the learner be responsible. In one session during the day long professional learning, the topic of guiding learning was addressed and an article was read speaking to the importance of using questions, prompts and cues. These techniques when used in the classroom can lead students to think through their own misunderstandings and is a powerful way to teach.

Two consultants from Heartland Area Education Association presented sessions on students evaluating their own learning using seven strategies of assessment for learning and the importance of using debate in the classroom. Third grade teacher, Miss Suzanne Sears and fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Lisa Ihnen presented information on metacognition- thinking about thinking!

A time during the day was dedicated to teaching from a biblical worldview. The upper elementary faculty gathered to view a video while primary grade teachers and Mrs.Thompson viewed another with a brief introduction from Miss Hult. She and two other teachers, Jenny Anderson and Joel Willoughby, form the Biblical World View Task Force. Three years ago they were asked by the Instructional Leadership Team and the Board of Education to create a resource bank of articles and videos to saturate one’s heart and mind so that as teachers teach God’s word. I praise God that HIS word is taught here at ACA!

Mentoring Matters

Photographs of first grade children in Mrs. Kelli Moore’s classroom with his/her high school mentor are highlighted below. Weekly highschool students leave their Bible classroom where Mr. Willoughby is their instructor to assist younger students with Bible verse memorization, reading and writing tasks. ACA is blessed by a mentoring program where begindergarten students are mentored by seventh graders, kindergarten students are mentored by eighth grade students and first graders are mentored by ninth grade young men and women. In these photos a few older highschool students joined in on the FUN!

Merry CHRISTmas!

At this Holy Season and Throughout the Year, 

May God Quiet You with His Peace 

Comfort You with His Presence

And Bless You with His Love

This month it was a great joy for me to be in the audience of the preschool and elementary Christmas concerts as the children sang and played instruments as their offering to Jesus. At this season take time to reflect on God’s gift to the world through Jesus’ birth, salvation for our sins on the cross and victory over death. He reigns on high and through his Spirit can call each of us to himself to experience a person relationship with him!

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Christmas is a time we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us!

If you wish to have a fun time with loved ones drive by The Davenport home located at 705 NE Canterbury Drive in Ankeny, Iowa 50021. Josiah who is a freshman at ACA has put together a synchronized light display to delight and bring joy to all who experience it.

In the article by Amy Kort spotlighted in the December edition of the “Ankeny Magazine,” she reported “When Josiah was a 6 year old, a holiday light show programmed to music in the Des Moines metro captivated him. I don’t know what it entailed, but I loved it” he says.

“I love programming and music so I started this project in July,” Davenport says. Josiah spent more than 100 hours on this project of love. His display includes more than 650 feet of lights timed to music that is broadcasted through the radio on FM 89.5. The show runs from 5pm -9pm Sunday -Thursday and 5pm -10pm on Friday and Saturday.

Songs to our Savior

Shoppers Succeed in Finding Just the Right Gift

The Christmas Store sponsored by ACA’s Parent Teacher Fellowship and carried out by MANY volunteers and the Sixth Grade Kingdom Kids was a blessing to all children who came to shop and all volunteers who witnessed the wide smiles of the children who were sure to surprise family members with the gift that they had chosen!

Volunteers are Appreciated

The blessing of being a part of ACA are the incredible parents/guardians, grandparents and community members who help by being “hands and feet to serve” at God’s school. A few years ago we had over 300 volunteers who made all of the things possible at ACA. I am not sure this year how many have graciously volunteered, but I appreciate all the kind people who share their love for Christian education by providing hours of help!


If you might be interested in helping at ACA our motto is the more the merrier! Whether it is serving lunch, screening and covering library books, being a judge for Speech Meet or Science Fair, reading a book to a class, cutting lamination for teacher projects or tearing down after a concert, we need people to make all the things happen that ACA provides each year.


Below are photos of volunteers at ACA's Christmas Store PTF sponsors and lunchroom helpers that make our three lunch periods run very smoothly.

Visitors Welcome at Lunch with Parent/Guardian Permission

If a student’s parent/guardian or grandparent desires to eat lunch with their child/grandchild we can make that happen! Our school is a guest friendly school. If other guests desire to visit a student then parent/guardian permission must first be obtained. We have enjoyed welcoming extended relatives, pastors, youth leaders and friends to visit a child with permission. The office is the place to call in or email to share in advance that someone has permission to eat with your child/ren.

I trust that your Christmas will be a time filled with family and frends focusing on the true meaning and worshipping the KING. I look so forward to 2019 when we return to school with new students and ACA Association Members who are excited to call Ankeny Christian Academy their school too!