The Gift of Learning New Languages
Written by Mr. Stephen Ownby, Specifics Lead Teacher
There are so many languages in our world. There are the languages that are understood via
speech, and then there are the languages that are demonstrated, acted out, and creatively produced. The students at the Academy for G.O.D. are getting experience in all of these languages.
Students will spend time with Spanish, English, and even Hebrew at our school. Additionally, they are learning the value of communicating through the creative arts such as music, drama, and even athletics. All of these skills and expressions are ways that people communicate, and it is preparing them not only for the future, but also for their present interactions with one another and their greater communities.
Jr High students, alongside Vice Principal Muñoz, lead the student body in worship during a school wide chapel service.
During times of worship you can see older students effectively leading worship for their peers. Throughout the building you'll hear the languages I mentioned above, but it's also possible to hear Hindi, Swahili, Tagalog, and multiple other languages spoken from around the world. I believe that the education our children are receiving is better than we could have ever imagined for them. Our students are incredibly intelligent, and they are growing in wisdom and discernment every day as they experience the Spiritual, Ethical, Social, Emotional, Academic education that they are receiving.
I use the word experience because I witness our teaching staff facilitate creative moments every day for your children to grow closer to our God who has demonstrated His great love for us. These kids are learning to speak many of the various forms of communication that exist in our world, and mostly they are learning how to love in the way that God has instructed us to do through our words and actions.
Deut. 4:5-8 -- "See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?"
John 13:35 -- "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Arcola Winter Retreat
Preparing to enter a rigorous spring semester, our Jr High and High students headed up to Arcola, IL to meet up with other Christian youth and spend concentrated time in worship, prayer, Bible studies and fellowship. This time is being facilitated by a passionate team of Academy faculty, staff, and parent volunteers.
Preparing to enter a rigorous spring semester, our Jr High and High students headed up to Arcola, IL to meet up with other Christian youth and spend concentrated time in worship, prayer, Bible studies and fellowship. This time is being facilitated by a passionate team of Academy faculty, staff, and parent volunteers.
Why would we invest such an incredible amount of energy into a road trip just on the brink of a new semester? Because we fully believe that these times of being collectively focused on the Lord offer our students an invaluable, grounding and energizing time that will transform the remainder of the year.
One of the five aspects of The Academy’s holistic education is that of spiritual development. It is our goal to see youth conformed to the image of Christ, filled with God’s spirit and displaying that fruit in their lives. We are grateful for the volunteers that made this trip possible, and eager to see the good fruit that is produced this semester, in strengthened friendships, sensitivity to the Lord, and grounding in His word.
High School CLEP Opportunities
At the Academy for G.O.D. I have the pleasure of being directly involved in our high school CLEP Program. The College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), offers students the opportunity to take college level courses while still in high school and eventually the opportunity to test out of those same courses, with credit, at the college or university they attend upon graduation. Currently at the Academy, we offer our high school students the opportunity to take up to 6 different CLEP courses during their four years with even more offerings being planned for the very near future.
Written by John Edmondson, Jr High & High School Resource Teacher
In CLEP American Lit I this semester, we utilized the “Kahoot!” App with our tech-savvy students to incorporate CLEP practice questions into student review and study times.
At the Academy for G.O.D. I have the pleasure of being directly involved in our high school CLEP Program. The College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), offers students the opportunity to take college level courses while still in high school and eventually the opportunity to test out of those same courses, with credit, at the college or university they attend upon graduation. Currently at the Academy, we offer our high school students the opportunity to take up to 6 different CLEP courses during their four years with even more offerings being planned for the very near future.
There are many benefits to being able to offer these courses to our students. From a fiscal standpoint, the benefits are obvious. “From 2008 to 2018, the average tuition at four-year public colleges increased in all 50 states. On average, tuition at these schools has increased by 37%.” The ability to test out of almost an entire year’s worth of college classes, with only having to pay nominal testing fees, can save our students tens of thousands of dollars in tuition and exponentially more in future student loan repayments.
From an academic standpoint, we offer many opportunities for our students to parse out those areas and subjects where they have the greatest interest. The benefit of doing this is that it allows them time to decide where they want to focus their study in college before they start college. With CLEP, our students would have the ability to not only start college with credits toward graduation, but they would also be able to step directly into major coursework in their field of interest, side-stepping general education courses in the process.
Simon Liley & Channing Gondzar work through course material in CLEP College Composition during the 2018 Fall Semester.
In my CLEP American Literature course this Fall, I have had the opportunity to teach college-level American Literature to Freshmen! Not only do our students have the ability to receive the benefits associated with the CLEP Program, but we at the Academy for G.O.D. are intentional with our spacing and scheduling of those courses. The student’s schedules are thoughtfully designed to avoid unnecessary stress on our upperclassmen, instead spreading the college-level coursework over their entire four years instead of just the last two.
After teaching several CLEP courses, I can already testify to the fruit it has produced. Simon Liley, a 2019 graduate of the Academy for G.O.D., took the CLEP College Composition course I taught last year and was able to test out of its equivalent at the Institute for G.O.D. this past Fall. He recently shared with me his gratitude for the ability to do so, which allowed him the opportunity to take another class in his field of interest—Biblical Studies—instead. We have high hopes that Simon will be the first of countless students who will reap the benefits of our CLEP-inclusive curriculum during their high school careers.
Sources:
AbigailJHess. “The Cost of College Increased by More than 25% in the Last 10 Years-Here's Why.” CNBC. CNBC, December 13, 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/cost-of-college-increased-by-more-than-25percent-in-the-last-10-years.html.
Removing Stress from Reading
Learning to read can be stressful. It can also be a lot of fun! As a kindergarten teacher at the Academy, I am thankful everyday that we teach individual students how to read, rather than forcing each five and six year old student to fit a predetermined reading mold for which they might not yet be ready. According to the New York Times, few five year olds are even ready to be independent readers. Thinking that a kindergartener who isn’t reading simple books on his or her own is “behind” is stressful and can be detrimental for both the parent and the student. When a child associates reading with stress, they can be less likely to want to try it.
Written by Ms. Rachel Nowlin, Kindergarten Lead Teacher
Learning to read can be stressful. It can also be a lot of fun! As a kindergarten teacher at the Academy, I am thankful everyday that we teach individual students how to read, rather than forcing each five and six year old student to fit a predetermined reading mold for which they might not yet be ready. According to the New York Times, few five year olds are even ready to be independent readers. Thinking that a kindergartener who isn’t reading simple books on his or her own is “behind” is stressful and can be detrimental for both the parent and the student. When a child associates reading with stress, they can be less likely to want to try it.
In kindergarten, reading is made fun! Our students are grouped with other like-minded students to work on the aspects of reading they are ready for. If they crave books, we give them books and they enjoy the challenge! If they are still cementing their letter sounds, we play fun games to help them nail these down. If they are still learning to recognize their letters, we give them lots of exposure through games and activities while making sure that they associate letters with fun so they want to start reading when they’re ready.
We also don’t load down our students with reading homework they will struggle to do, but we encourage families to spend time together by reading books out loud to their children. Even when kids start to learn how to read, they still want you to read to them. I love hearing from my students about how their parents read them Bible Stories every day at home. They hold on to those memories! Deuteronomy 6:7 talks about the necessity of parents teaching their children about God’s word, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
I love reading. I grew up reading and still love it. So, it didn’t take long this year for my students to start copying me by saying, “It’s my favorite class - Reading!”
UNITY!
A new year and new semester brings a time to set goals for the rest of the school year and even beyond. On the first day back from winter break, students discussed this verse and goals they have for themselves and our class. They discussed how being unified in a task makes it much more doable than if a person is trying to work alone. I gave them the example of how Headmaster Garner wanted to start a school that would holistically educate children but he needed teachers that had the same heart for children and the Lord in order to make the Academy what it is now.
Written by Mrs. Hayley Gowen
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell in unity!“ Psalm 133:1
A new year and new semester brings a time to set goals for the rest of the school year and even beyond. On the first day back from winter break, students discussed this verse and goals they have for themselves and our class. They discussed how being unified in a task makes it much more doable than if a person is trying to work alone. I gave them the example of how Headmaster Garner wanted to start a school that would holistically educate children but he needed teachers that had the same heart for children and the Lord in order to make the Academy what it is now.
The students agreed that this semester they want to grow in their relationships with one another and set a goal to be kind to one another. They also created personal goals that included:
helping people to get along
learning to solve conflicts
helping others when needed, and then praying for them
The first two weeks of each semester is spent helping students reorient to the learning environment and enjoy team-building activities with their classmates and teachers.
These goals will be a stepping stone for bringing about unity in our classroom. I’m excited about where this semester takes these students when they are so insightfully setting goals that will help them learn how to love their neighbor. Practically, students will participate in a time of focused prayer where they will grow in their endurance to pray for longer periods of time, more times of group prayer, and discussion of topics related to their semester goals. It’s going to be a wonderful semester