November Starts Our Holiday Season and There is Much Going On!

It has been a while since the newsletter has been updated and I apologize for that but here is the latest:

* Go Ministries (Guatemala Outreach)is a ministry that serves orphans and extremely poor families in Guatemala. It is our adopted mission along with some others and we are excited to participate in it. Our students and their families donated, collected and gathered change and dollars from the beginning of the school year until now and collected a total of $425.00. We are so proud of everyone that participated. The school agreed to match that amount and when Master Sgro (karate grand master and Christian missionary)visited Christian Home Academy, he shared video and photos showing where and how our funds were put to use helping many. We sent him on his way with a check for $850.00 to help with supplying Christmas presents to orphans in Guatemala (it only takes $5.00 to provide a child with presents). 170 orphans who otherwise would receive nothing at Christmas will now receive Christmas presents because of our students, staff and families. Thanks be to God and all of our families for this blessing to the less fortunate. With each of these presents will be included a copy of the Gospel in their native language. Miss Amanda's class won the contest for raising the most money for Go Ministries and will be receiving a special party in their honor.

* We held our yearly fall festival on Friday October 28 and it was a great success. For most of the day, students played games, ate treats and generally had a good time. We had planned for a large inflatable obstical course/double slide but because of the rain that morning the company we contracted did not want to put it up as it wouldnt have been safe.

* A reminder about November 7th, there is no school. All of our teachers and staff will be in Orlando attending yearly Accelerated Christian Education training. This is one of the ways our staff stays current on the latest knowledge bases and technologies for being the best we can be. Pray for us as we travel.

* November 9th is school picture day. Have students looking their best and if you would like a family photo done as well, our photograpers will be happy to accomodate you. The school picture order form should be filled out returned to the office or the teacher as soon as possible. Also, our yearbooks are being ordered and again this year we are taking a step of faith and ordering yearbooks for everyone. They are going to be a step up from last years (which were pretty nice). Please order a yearbook for your family. This is a chance to support your school.

* On a financial note, a lot of our students are attending Christian Home Acadmey on the McKay Scholarship. These scholarships are based on a percentage of what is spent in the public school per student. We generally receive about 75% of what is paid for each student in the public schools. This year McKay cut back the amount of each scholarship because of the cuts in the public schools. The basic scholarship was cut about $700.00 per student. That was a big unexpected hit for the school. As you know, unlike most private schools, we accept the basic McKay scholarship without asking for the student families to pay the difference between the scholarship and the actual tuition. We are a ministry here and we strive to keep the tuition low so more families can affort to attend. Our services will not be reduced or cut back, however, when we do fund raising to assist with various activities (like our yearbook and pictures etc), your participation is an important blessing that we cannot afford to be without. Please participate to your utmost when we do these fundraisors, especially in these lean times. Enough already with the money stuff!

* We are blessed to have students that will volunteer to serve others when needed. We had many students show up to help Asbury United Methodist Church to unload pumpkins for the pumpkin patch. It was very hard work and our students and some parents handled it like pros. We are rewarding all of our volunteer students with their own pizza party. Thanks again to all the volunteers! We had another group of students volunteer to load and spread mulch on our fenced in playground at the school. Another hard work project handled wonderfully by our student volunteers. They also will be having their own pizza party as a way of saying thanks for their hard work. At Christian Home Academy we try to foster a spirit of serving others to the glory of God. Our students show our efforts are working.

* Thanks be to God for all the blessings He has provided for our school. Msy your families be blessed during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Thank you Jesus!

School has started and week one is a success!

Week #1 at Christian Home Academy has come and gone. What a blessing it is serving Jesus at C.H.A. There are several changes from last year that I want to share. These are changes for the better we believe.

* School hours are 8:30am until 3:00pm.

* Pickup procedures are as follows:
Park in the parking spaces in front of building. Staff is no longer using those spaces for parking to make them available for parents. Please make sure you park in a designated parking space. Come to the front door (closest to the front offices). Please do not use the side door for pickup. The pickup change is an attempt by the school to be a safety improvement.

* Drop off procedures(morning)are as follows:
Side Door is opened at 8:20am. Once your student enters the building, it is safe for you to depart. Please do not drop off your student and leave untill they have entered the building as they will be unsupervised outside. Side door remains open until 8:35am. After that all drop offs will be at the front door. If you need before care, it is available for a fee and the students will be indoors. We live in a fallen world and we want to ensure the safety of all students at all times.

* All extra activities will begin September 6th (karate, art, music tutoring). This gives us time to evaluate and organize all academic issues first.

* A reminder about cell phones and all other electronic devices: Cell phones, Ipods, MP3 players etc are not allowed in the students possesion during school hours. Students are allowed to bring cell phones to school but they must
turn them in to the teacher upon arrival and may pick them up upon departure. Students that fail to turn them in will be in violation of school policy and subject to disciplinary action. Parents please help us with this.

* All Friday food orders must be paid on Thursdays. The students pick what they want on Wednesdays and bring money on Thursdays.

* Friday is dress down day and there is a dress code for dress down. Jeans (with no holes or tears) are allowed. Baggy jeans or pants and jeans that hang down past the waist will not be appropriate for dress down. If a student repeatedly has to be addressed about dress down, that student will not be allowed to dress down in the future. Dress down is not a right but a privilege. Shirts may not have graphics with one exception. Christian t-shirts or polos are alowed. Patriotic t-shirts are allowed, however it must be strictly patriotic. Shirts that combine patriotic themes with other subjects will not be allowed. Examples of this might be a secular music band with a flag also on it or believe it or not, we once had a student wear a Jack Daniels shirt with a flag on it saying it was patriotic. The principal reserves the right to make final decisions on any clothing issues. If a shirt is deemed to be not for C.H.A., the student will be directed to turn the shirt inside out for the remainder of the day. Girls may wear capris. Jean shorts are not allowed. All shorts must be finger tip length. Skirts are not allowed but skorts are.

* We will be selling school spirit t-shirts in the month of September and Wednesdays will be school spirit day every week. Students may wear their school spirit t-shirts on those days instead of their regular uniform shirts. The t-shirt sale will be a fundraiser for field trips. The more t-shirts we sell, the better the field trips we can take.

* Diagnostic testing has been going on all week and should be finished by end of day on Friday, August 19th. Remember, that the initial testing is a starting point and the staff will be continuing to diagnose appropriate levels for each student as the first few weeks of school continue. If you desire to discuss the testing results or process, please call to schedule a conference.

* I hope all the rule explaining hasn't been too tedious but it is important that we all stay on the same page to avoid misunderstandings and confusion. We all believe that this is going to be a great year for the school and the students and it is our desire that the Lord direct us and guide us as we work through each day. Our staff starts every day with prayer and Bible study and we ask that you pray for us often. May God bless your families.

2011-2012 School Year is Almost Here!

School starts on Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

• The Staff and Administration at CHA are very much looking forward to serving your students and families in the upcoming year.  We will be praying individually and corporately for God's favor in the coming year.
• New parent orientation (parents only) is on Saturday, August 13th, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the school. This is an important meeting for the parents of new students.
• Place shirt orders by August 1st. All parents please contact the school to place your order so they will arrive in time for the start of school on August 16th.
• The 2011-2012 schedule and School Supplies lists are posted on the School's website
• We are so looking forward to the upcoming year.

The End of the School Year is Approaching

Things have been happening at CHA the last few weeks and I want to share some of them with you. 

• Our school field day has been changed to Thursday April 21, 2011 instead of April 15.  If you would be interested in helping us on that day, please call the office.  We could use some help.

• We are going to have a summer school program in June, July and August.  It will be starting at 6am and ending at 6pm.  Academic work will be from 9am until 3pm.  Parents may bring and pick up students at any time that works best for you during the 6 to 6 time period.  Monday thru Thursday will be academic work and Fridays will be field trip day every week.  The cost will be $495.00 per month (multi child discounts are available) and will include everything except some field trips may require students to bring some money.  Call the office if you have any questions about the summer program.  This will be a great opportunity for students to either catch up or get ahead with their studies.  All work done during the summer program will count toward 2011/2012 school year for credit and awards.

• We had 19 entries in the Clay County Fair Art Contest and we recieved 8 awards for our entries.  Our students did fantastic and we are so proud of them.  All the award winners received cash awards as well and all of our student award winners donated all their winnings to Guatemala Outreach Ministries for our sister school in Guatemala.  Praise God! Their donations totaled $100.00.

• During our fundraisor for Mr. Sgro's ministry (Guatemala Outreach) the students and staff raised $400.00 which CHA matched and we were able to donate $800.00 to our sister school in Guatemala (Patochle Elementary).  Our students are learning to give to and to help others less fortunate and share the love of God. 

• SAT testing will be taking place during the month of May for all students that are required to take the test.  We will be notifying those that are required during the next few weeks.

• We will be having an end of the year school banquet on Monday, May 23, 2011 at 6pm at IHOP on Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park.  We will have the entire place reserved for CHA that night.   Every student will be receiving recognition for their work and all awards will be given out that evening.  Keep watch for the flyer that will be coming in the next couple weeks. 

Spring is on the way!

• Christian Home Academy has been blessed in so many ways and we can see the Lord's hand at work througout our school. We have students making outstanding progress both academically and spiritually.  Our staff has been great and there are a few items I want to share with everyone:

•     We held our first (of many) Parent Advisory Group meetings and it was a great time of fellowship and an opportunity for the school to hear ideas for improvement.  We believe in continuous improvement at the school and we received several very good suggestions to make Christian Home Academy a even better place for kids.  Some of the ideas involved things like :

            Improved student pick up procedure
            Instituting a mid term grade report with important details
            Starting the National Beta Club at CHA
            Beginning a sports program
            Getting parents more involved

• We will be continuing the Parent Advisory Group meetings and inviting different parents to attend each time.  We believe that when a school stops looking for ways to improve, they stop improving.

• We are excited about a new endeavor CHA is starting.  We will be adopting an impovershed school in Guatemala as a sister school and we will be communicating and supporting them on a long term basis.  Grandmaster (Tang Soo Do)  David Sgro will be coordinating our efforts as he is a full time missionary in Guatemala with primary emphasis on the poverty stricken and orphans.  Our sister school is in dire need of funds to help bring students (that otherwise could not even attend school) to get an education.  We believe that our students here at CHA will gain an understanding of service to others in need as well as learn to appreciate what a blesssing it is to attend a school like CHA.  It costs only $50.00 a year for a child to atend school in this area of Guatemala and even so, most children cannot atttend due to a lack of money.  The average family in Guatemala lives on less than $2.00 a day.  That is right, I said two dollars a day.  We will all be blessed to be a part of this mission.  "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27 NKJ).

• Grandmaster Sgro will be arriving from Guatemala at CHA on April 7th and will be conduting our chapel services that day and presenting video and powerpoint presentations about our sister school and the new mission work we will be taking on.  We are honored to be able to be part of this and encourage our students and our students' families to help us in the fund raising effort.  The school will be matching dollar for dollar everything we raise from students, families, staff and friends in this effort.

• We would like to thank everyone for their cards, letters and love as our family personally dealt with the loss of Lynne's sister Judy this past month.  We appreciate all the prayers.  One of the things that makes this a lot easier for Lynne is during her visit to her sister in New York this past October, Judy Ralston accepted the Lord Jesus as Lord of her life.  What a blessing!

• This has been an especially difficult time as we also mourn the loss of the founder of Christian Home Academy, Judy Sperry.  Judy Sperry was a very godly woman and gave her all to establish this school and nurture the children for the first eight years of it's existance.  She has gone on to be with the Lord and our prayers go out to Mark (her husband) and Austin (her son).  May God bless both of you.

Easter break will start on Friday March 18th and we will return to school on March 28th.  We wish everyone a wonderful time with family and friends during this break.

• We will be going on a school field day for grades 2 through 12 on April 15th at the park.  We will be grilling outside and playing various sports activities and generally just having fun and fellowship.  Any parents interested in particiapting and helping on this trip will be welcome and appreciated.