ACS celebrated the many achievements of our sixty-six 8th grade students, the largest 8th grade class in the school’s 52-year history, and offered prayers of encouragement and affirmation at a “Blessing Ceremony” on June 13 in the school’s gymnasium. Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen welcomed and thanked the parents and families for choosing a Christian education founded on a Biblical worldview and encouraged the students to strengthen their relationship with the Lord as they move into high school.
“I pray today, and over this summer, that you make up your mind to be steadfast in your relationship with the Lord and with your future education,” Oblen said. “Remember the importance of a strong start, the importance of persevering through, even when it’s hard, and to run the race with endurance and to finish well.”
The ceremony then got underway the way every school day begins — with the reciting of pledges to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible and with prayer. Three 8th graders — Joshua Maxwell, Alexis Shropshire, and Kaylee Tardif — led the pledges and Cylas Finx gave the opening prayer. The Valedictorian of the Class of 2023, Paige Noble, then gave a challenge to the 8th graders — to use your talents and abilities to glorify God and “to focus on what God thinks about you, and not what your classmates think about you.”
Two middle school teachers participated in the program to give parting words of advice. Social studies teacher Amy Parker and literature teacher Linda Stiteler encouraged the students to seek God’s purpose for their lives and to let Him guide their steps as they move on to high school.
Oblen and Upper School Principal Meg McHale presided over the presentation of scholarships and awards that recognized students for their accomplishments in academics, citizenship, and displaying Christian character. Athletic Director Pam Hitchner presented students with physical fitness awards.
On behalf of the Parent-Teacher Fellowship, PTF President Terry Vogel presented a devotional and a gift card to 16 students in the class who had attended ACS since kindergarten. Vogel said the gifts were a way of saying thank you to the families who had made a long-term commitment to Christian education. Vogel also announced the winners of the PTF Christian Service Scholarship, an essay-writing contest that focused on the question — what does Jesus say about serving others and what impact has serving others made on your life? She noted that 22 students submitted very well-written essays and the PTF board decided to give each student a $100 credit to apply toward tuition next year.
After the students received their awards and certificates of completion, a quartet of 8th graders from the Middle School Worship Team — Ashlee Alford, Abigail Kelley, Isabella Santos, and Rowynn Shevlin — performed a soulful rendition of “Make Room,” followed by the middle school faculty and staff surrounding the students seated on the stage as faculty member Dan Vasquez offered a prayer of blessing. After remarks from Principal McHale, 8th grader Luke Odell closed the program in prayer.
Following is a list of the special awards and scholarships that were presented to students in the 8th grade class:
- Highest Overall GPA — Kalee Tardif
- Academic Subject Awards for Highest Grade Point Average — Lily Boyle and Natalia Flores in Bible; Aiden Cortes in CP Literature; Sophia Capito in Honors Literature, Writing; Garrett Martin in Social Studies; Natalia Flores in Algebra 1; Ryan Utoff in Honors Algebra 1; and Isabella Santos and Shelby Tomlinson in PE.
- Highest Honors, earning a 3.8 or higher GPA — Lily Boyle, Sophia Capito, Josiah Christmon, Aiden Cortes, Cylas Finx, Natalia Flores, Mackenzie Flynn, Victoria Hines, Tanner Koob, Gracie Leon, Kiara Loo, Garrett Martin, Heather Milstead, Alex Newhall, James Nixon, Luke Odell, Anna Rice, Emilee Richards, Isabella Santos, Rowynn Shevlin, Alexis Shropshire, John Smith, Kalee Tardif, Nathanael Thompson, Paige Uthoff, and Ryan Utoff.
- High Honors, earning a 3.5-3.79 GPA — Ashlee Alford, Stephanie Ballester, Gabriel Correa, Annalena DiMaio, Zahir Hollis, Lucy Huff, Kylie Jackson, Abigail Kelley, Bryce Mooney, Luca Sullivan, Shelby Tomlinson, and Alexis Uthoff.
- Citizenship Award (for service to others and to the school) — Sophia Capito and Josiah Christmon
- COMPASS Award (for consistently displaying the fruits of the Spirit in their personal and spiritual life) — Aiden Cortes and Gracie Leon
- Cougar Award (given to one boy and one girl who have played at least 2 sports and have demonstrated Christian character, leadership, and responsibility in athletics, who are returning to ACS for 9th grade) — Ethan Costello and Kalee Tardif. ACS will pay the full athletic fee for each student for one Varsity sport.
- Parent-Teacher Fellowship Christian Service Scholarship — 1st place tie: Annalena DiMaio and Mackenzie Flynn, $400 scholarship; 2nd place: Alex Newhall, $250 scholarship; 3rd place: Jadelyn Ramos, $100 scholarship. Scholarships will be applied to their 9th grade tuition.
Congratulations future class of 2027! Photo credit: John Loreaux.
