News on our beloved Vice Principal, Robert Muñoz
This letter is to inform you of a tragedy that has taken place in our Academy family related to our beloved Vice Principal, Robert Muñoz. This blog contains sensitive information.
This letter is to inform you of a tragedy that has taken place in our Academy family related to our beloved Vice Principal, Robert Muñoz. This blog contains sensitive information.
Dear Academy Family,
As you may know, this last week we had a mission team serving in El Salvador made up of Academy students, G.O.D. summer interns, and GOD Int’l facilitators. They had a powerful week of ministry to the poor with God moving in powerful ways.
On July 4, the G.O.D. Summer Interns and the Academy El Salvador team were enjoying a recreational day at the beach on their final day. Everyone at the beach was given rules and warnings about the ocean and staying shallow, including having two in-water personnel to create the outer boundaries and keep students within it, plus several other personnel in a lifeguard watch role.
Tragically, two trip facilitators, G.O.D. staff members Michael Davis and Robert Muñoz - having of their own volition chosen to go beyond the restricted boundaries, were caught in a rip current. Three lifeguards rescued them out of the water, Michael conscious and Robert unconscious. Several attempted to help, performing CPR, and transferred Rob quickly to a hospital.
Our team, including RN Jordan Miller, Midwife Celesta Bargatze, and a team of development workers trained in emergency situations performed CPR on Rob while swiftly transferring him to the hospital. Rob’s best friends, Gregg Garner and Jason Roufs never left his side. Sadly, Rob passed away on the evening of July 4th.
Rob and Heather’s families, along with the Community Church for GOD, are surrounding the Muñoz family in prayer and support. Rob has been instrumental in the formation of the Academy for G.O.D. and so beloved as the Vice Principal. We cannot imagine the Academy hallways, or the morning announcements, without him. We know that Rob would want the Academy students to continue worshipping Jesus alongside their best friends, just as he did. We hope to honor him by continuing to cultivate that kind of legacy at our school.
We have gathered a list of resources for you regarding talking with children about loss (listed below). We ask for your mercy and your prayers as our team has had to navigate the loss of one of our founding pillars and best friends, alongside caring for Academy kids on the trip and the school family God’s given us. We have done it to the best of our ability with God’s help.
Books
Helen Fitzgerald. The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and their Friends.
Earl A. Grollman. Bereaved Children and Teens: A support Guide for Parents and Professionals.
Michealano Mundy. Sad Isn’t Bad: A Good Grief Guidebook for Kids Dealing with Loss (Picture book, for young kids)
Alan D. Wolfelt. Healing A Friend’s Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas for Helping Someone You Love Through Loss.
The Dougy Center. 35 Ways to Help a Grieving Child.
Website: The Dougy Center - Grief Support and Resources for Kids, Teens, Young Adults, and Parents. https://www.dougy.org
Academy Field Day: A Demonstration of Who We Are
The morning of May 21 dawned bright on a cloudless sky. A blanket of heat promises summer is on the way - but first! A cool breeze flutters a web of streamers lining the G.O.D. Int’l pavilion, overlooking the soccer field. As the clock ticks toward 9am, parents begin to gather and Academy for G.O.D. staff, unified by rainbow tie-dyed tee shirts (Field Day on the front, This is Who We Are theme on the back) set up tents and stations on the field.
Field Day at the Academy for G.O.D. 2021 kicked off with a dance competition led by Trinity Thomas and her daughter, Ari. Parents watched, danced, and cheered for their kids from the pavilion overlooking the field throughout the whole event.
It means only one thing. Time for the 7th Annual Field Day, a much beloved event at the Academy for G.O.D., enjoyed by parents, staff, and most of all, students. The music fades in, DJ’d by Headmaster Gregg Garner, and students begin to stream on to the field, running to their team tent, denoted by color. Blue, turquoise, green, yellow, red, orange, purple - all decked out in face paint and tie-dyed tee shirts to represent. From 9am-12:30pm, the competition unfolds - a series of events including a traditional relay, Bible trivia, Heroes of Faith themed scrabble, and an extreme egg toss (read: water balloons launched at teachers, parents, and Principal Castro decked out as the school mascot, the Phoenix.)
When asked about her own experience of field day as a child, Celesta Bargatze, mother of four Academy students, said, “When I was in school, we had field day, but it wasn’t like this. It was a lot of races, the 5 fastest kids always won, and then there was a tug-of-war at the end. It celebrated athleticism, but it wasn’t fun for everyone. This is a completely different kind of field day. The kids look forward to it all year.”
This year, High School students were assigned the role of coach for their teams. Teachers stepped back and observed, only occasionally guiding the older students to be the example and give clear instruction to their teammates. Student leadership is a strong value at the Academy for G.O.D., and the upperclassmen know how much the younger ones look up to them.
Teams are made up of all ages from kindergarten to High School. Every activity is linked to an academic discipline (Creative Arts, Social & Emotional Learning, Language Arts and STEM) a goal (honesty, demonstration of skills and information learned, teamwork) and an opportunity to display team dynamics: selflessness, strategy, encouragement, unity, communication, obedience, cooperation, positivity.) Masters of Ceremony Craig Duffy (Elementary teacher) and Stephen Ownby (athletic director and High School teacher) monitor, award points, and encourage the kids throughout the day.
Field day is just as full of life for spectators as for the kids. Parents can watch the whole event while enjoying biscuits and gravy made by parent Missy Brooks, or volunteer to make snow cones from fresh juice or popcorn to refresh their kids. Students are ceremonially appreciated throughout the morning for outstanding participation on sports teams, extracurricular committees, and awards given throughout the year for character and outstanding performance. Every aspect of field day reflects something that is true about this school. It is an intentional event, meant to appreciate our students, our values, and to give glory to God.
Cloud of Witnesses Scrabble challenged students to first identify what Hero of Faith was being described, then work together to organize themselves with members of other teams to spell out the name of that individual. The first group of students to organize themselves with a correct spelling received the most points for their respective teams.
Heather Horst, mother to two students who have been at the Academy for three years, said of the event: “Field day was full of contagious happy energy, all the fun food like popcorn, fresh juice icees and corn dogs! Watching the kids and adults run around the field had me wishing I was a kid all over again! My boys were bursting with excitement! We are so thankful for this amazing school!”
When asked what Field Day at the Academy for G.O.D. is all about, Deputy Headmaster Corey Foster said, “Field day at the Academy is a snapshot into every aspect of holistic education that our students receive on a daily basis. From engaging challenges that require critical thinking, linguistic skills, social emotional awareness, and biblical knowledge to students knowing their strengths and the strengths of others. From God’s Word being highlighted to the values from it being implemented in the interactions of both students and staff. From kindergarteners to high schoolers displaying unity to the older serving the younger. Field day is a celebration of who we are.”
Oliver Sherrod (6) crosses the finish line to win the relay race for Purple Team, flanked by team members Justice Garner (15) and Leif Nadeau (16) who ran the final lap with him, encouraging him toward the finish line.
To all students of the Academy for G.O.D., congratulations on a year finished well. Have a great summer!
Blog written by: Sara Davis
Manager of Communications for G.O.D. Int’l
STEM Comes to Life Through Integrated Learning
Jr High and High school STEM students explore how science, math, and technology span a variety of their courses to produce chemical reactions, flight paths, wave pools, and more!
Written by Ms. Rebekah Davis, M.S.
Spring is officially here and STEM teachers are taking it to the next level with experiments that get students up, active, outside and shooting things off into the sky!
Every good STEM teacher strives to help their students understand the application of their discipline -- to witness how scientific and mathematical principles don’t exist in a vacuum, but when integrated and applied to the real world, they unlock the potential to create! Teaching STEM in an engaging way is no easy thing. We are so proud of our Jr. High and High School teachers who work hard to make integrated learning happen.
Last week at the High School level, Ms. Castro (Math) and Ms. Hartnell (Physics) collaborated on a rocket ship project which had the students creating and launching bottle rockets across the field. In planning their rockets, each student had to consider drag, lift, thrust, center of gravity and center of pressure when designing a flying craft. They also learned how to calculate velocity and acceleration to build their quadratic equations.
LEFT: Ms. Hartnell guides students through the process of building rockets. Students had to consider drag, lift, thrust, center of gravity and center of pressure when designing a flying craft.
MIDDLE: High School Math teacher Ms. Castro looks for every opportunity to engage young bodies along with their minds. Coming back from Spring Break, she put chalk in the hands of Pre-Algebra students and turned them loose to review linear equations on the basketball courts. Students loved it!
RIGHT: After launching their rockets, students used the time and distance from their flight paths to build quadratic equations which mapped the trajectory in a parabola.
Meanwhile inside with the Jr. High students, Mr. Aaseby was making magic happen with a chemical experiment involving “elephant toothpaste”. Students analyzed the chemical reaction and pinpointed variables of the reaction, then changed those in order to produce a new hypothesis with a new result. 8th grader Blessing Davis says, “I learned how important it is to be really specific in predicting outcomes when the variables change.”
Jr. High Science teacher Skylar Aaseby is known for ensuring his students truly understand even the most challenging topics. He was inspired to build this wave pool to demonstrate to his students how transverse waves are additive and subtractive when they interact together.
Not only were students applying the scientific method, the experiment also gave significance to the concept of exothermic reactions as the beakers were warm from the produced heat. One student who is reluctant when it comes to science shared, “Mr. Aaseby works so hard to make a difficult thing like science make total sense! I don’t really like science, but I’ve actually really enjoyed his class because he makes it easy for me to understand. He is most definitely a top example of what a teacher should look like.”
Bravo teachers, here at The Academy and all over our nation this year, who work so hard to provide an engaging learning experience for the students. We appreciate you!
Take the Lid Off - No Grade Levels!
Elementary teacher, Ms. Vagatai, expounds on the Academy’s approach to grade levels, student progression and the future of education!
Written by elementary teacher, Ms. Leafa Vagatai
“We don’t have grade levels in our school!” My sharp response to my students when I overhear them describing themselves as “second graders” (1).
I proceed to explain to them that our school is fluid because we create classes, activities, and content to meet their individual needs as they continue to grow.
Elementary students often complete assignments and projects with a partner or small group. Developing the ability to cooperate, share, and acknowledge one another’s abilities are skills gained at this age level.
“Everyone grows at a different pace in different disciplines and not everyone's the same. Instead of forcing everyone to be the same, we adjust ourselves.”
Cue the critic…
“C’mon, it’s all just semantics right? You’re a second grade teacher!”
No, I’m not and a comment like that is only indicative of a misunderstanding of the philosophy of the Academy and also what the goal of education should be: to holistically educate children, not manufacture them. Not only is this the future of education, but it is what’s desperately needed in education right now.
When the pandemic of Covid-19 hit, schools across the globe shut down and the concern for educators and administrators has been what to do about the inevitable learning gap (2). Remediation has always been a hot topic within education, but now it’s everyone’s problem as students are missing months, and soon to be years, of education on a global scale.
The fluidity offered between levels for students opens up opportunities for some students to be challenged to a greater extent while others gain the needed support in another level. Seeing students thrive in their level placement is a goal of our teachers!
Studies throughout the years have shown the impact that the disruption of school has on children for years to come. One article published by RISE program explained that even when Pakistani students were able to return 3 months after an earthquake in 2005, 4 years later were still 1.5 years behind in schooling, identifying a major contributor to that gap being an inflexible and unadaptable pedagogical practice (3).
So, what’s the solution to the impending learning chasm? It’s what we’ve been doing from the beginning of the Academy for G.O.D.; fluidity in curriculum and an individualized approach to a child’s education. Meeting children where they’re at and helping them to move forward. Remedial or not, this is education.
Fall 2021 Enrollment & Prospective Family Events
Sign up today for your tour this spring! Applications for campus and homeschool programs are now released. We look forward to meeting you!
Spring 2021 is the time to learn more about the Academy for G.O.D. through a tour or open house. We hope you’ll plan your visit today!
At the peak of the 2020 global lockdowns imposed to counter the spread of COVID-19, 1.6 billion children were out of school.(1) Families immediately began experiencing the effects of having to care for their children, facilitate virtual schooling (if available), and maintain their own jobs. Despite being mandated to close our campus in March 2020, Academy students remained connected to their teachers and classmates, and 100% of students finished the spring 2020 semester in full. As we’ve moved into the beginning of the spring 2021 semester, our campus is open with over 230 students enrolled on campus or online, and our programs are thriving!
Our faculty and staff are committed to the best practices to promote the health and safety of each individual on our campus each day. With policies and prevention plans in place, we will continue to keep our campus open. However, the Academy also continues to offer programs for homeschool families in the Nashville area, the United States at large, and international students. If you have questions about which program would be the best fit for your family, please reach out to our admissions department. We also invite you to visit our campus this spring and learn more about who we are. All guests must RSVP to attend events this spring, so don’t miss your opportunity to sign up today!