THREE MORE DAYS until our Legacy Gala with Carson Wentz on Monday, April 30. There are still tickets available, so don’t miss your chance to hear this extraordinary young man talk about his Christian faith, football, and how he does everything with one goal in mind — doing his best for an audience of one.

The program will be on an elevated stage and projected onto two giant screens so every seat will have a great view. To purchase your tickets, go to: bit.ly/WentzGalaACS. There are $75 and $100 tickets available and your ticket goes to support our school.

A Silent Auction will be held during the Sponsors-Only Reception from 5:00-7:00 p.m.  Some of the exciting items up for bid will be a Carson Wentz autographed  jersey, a Carson Wentz autographed commemorative Super Bowl football, a game-worn Mike Trout batting glove, Lancaster Excursion tickets, a deluxe Ocean City Boardwalk basket, ticket packages for Wildwood Water Parks, and gift certificates from other local restaurants and attractions.

The main Gala Program will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the ACS gymnasium and doors will open at 6:30 p.m..  Food trucks from Chick-Fil-a, Kona Ice, and Shore Shake will be on site to provide outdoor refreshments in a tailgate party-like atmosphere.

CLICK HERE to read a new article streaming online about the Gala.

The High School Art Workshop class, led by Mrs. Sherry Mirakian, is helping set the stage for our big night with Carson Wentz. Painting stage backdrops on loan from Sojourn Productions, the students started with a bold geometric pattern in green, black, and white. A majestic gold eagle stenciled by staff member Priscilla Garner will add the finishing touch. Students working on the exciting Legacy Gala project are Lindsey Ash, Mariyah Black, Naomi Glancey, Constantine Jiang, Luke Johnson, Samantha Rhodes, Nora Vu, and Caraline Winkel.

Please note the following important change to the school schedule for this coming Monday, April 30. Due to ACS holding the Gala at our school campus, Monday, will be a half-day with a 12:30 p.m. dismissal. Extended care will be available until 3:00 p.m. Early Ed will also close earlier, at 3:00 p.m. instead of 5:30 p.m.

A friendly reminder — this coming Tuesday, May 1 is the deadline to apply for Tuition Assistance for the 2018-2019 school year. Tuition assistance is available to school families with students entering grades K-12 who have demonstrated financial need. Applications must be submitted online to FACTS Grant and Aid Assessment. The application fee is $30. Once an online application has been completed, supporting financial documentation will need to be sent to FACTS. CLICK HERE to go to the FACTS link to apply.

For the 12th consecutive year, ACS will be hosting the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference Track Meet on Wednesday, May 9. At least 175 athletes from 7 area Christian schools will be participating in the day-long event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A concession stand will be selling food throughout the day, including hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza, with all proceeds benefiting the ACS Athletic Department. Parents and other family members are welcome to attend and cheer on the athletes. Go Cougars!

Students and staff are lining up to fill their water bottles with healthy, delicious filtered water from the school’s first new water bottle filling station, conveniently located in the Multi-Purpose Room. The filling station was installed over spring break and has already been used to fill up 780 bottles of water. If lined up in a row, that many bottles would stretch to over 162 feet, about half the length of a football field. That’s a great positive impact on the environment, with fewer plastic bottles to dispose of, and the school family is also saving money and being encouraged to drink more water.

The water bottle filling station, which also has a regular water fountain in the front, was purchased with a grant from the AtlantiCare Healthy Schools, Healthy Children program. AtlantiCare Lead School Health Specialist Amy Hogan visited ACS on Friday (pictured above) to see the new water bottle filling station and Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen thanked AtlantiCare for its grant support. ACS is also grateful to Lowe’s in Egg Harbor Township for providing discounted pricing on the Elkay machine and to Gary Higbee Plumbing and Heating for donating its services to install it.

Eight ACS middle school students and four chaperones spent April 2-5 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania doing volunteer service for the Bridge Academy, a non-profit that works with inner-city children from preschool to the 8th grade. The ACS missions team worked with some 60 young people in the Academy’s after-school program and did groundskeeping and other hands-on projects at the Camp at Old Mill, which the Academy uses for summer youth camp programs.

“We helped the students with their homework, played games like Ga-Ga Ball and 4 in the Corner, did arts and crafts, and assisted students working on projects in a woodworking class,” said ACS middle school math teacher Lisa Dye, who was one of the trip chaperones. The team also brought snacks, school supplies, and cleaning products that were donated to support the Academy’s efforts.

Dye said the team’s main goal was to teach the students about God and how He loves them unconditionally. “As we interacted with the students, we learned about the serious daily challenges they face, as so many of them come from families in crisis,” Dye said. “Our students were deeply impacted and just wanted to love and encourage them.”  The middle school students who participated in the trip were: Maddie DeNick, Allie Friend, Hunter Jorgensen, Allie Lushina, Allie Schlundt, Uriah Wilkenson, Eden Wilson, and Eve Wilson. In addition to Dye, the other chaperones were staff member Morgan Gibson, Worship Leader Dakota Mason, and Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen. This was the second year that an ACS missions team has served in Coatesville and Dye said she hopes ACS will continue to  build that relationship.

Congratulations to Miss Price’s kindergarten class for being selected as the school winner of the AtlantiCare Healthy Schools, Healthy Children’s Green Mustache Contest held in March. The winning photo (pictured above left) featured five students in Miss Price’s class showing off their bright green mustaches after sampling healthy smoothies during lunch. The fun activity was held as part of National Nutrition Month in early March. During chapel this Friday, Mrs. Alford, Director of Early and Elementary Education, presented Miss Price with a certificate of recognition and a $50 VISA card from AtlantiCare to use for classroom supplies.

Tickets to the May 11 High School Prom will go on sale for one week only — from Monday, April 23 to Friday, April 27. The Prom will be held at the Great Bay Country Club from 6:00-10:00 p.m. with After-Prom to follow at ACS, starting at 10:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased from Mrs. Spiker before homeroom and during lunch. Ticket prices are $45.00 per person (prom only), $50 per person (prom and after prom), and $10 per person (after prom only). The last day to purchase tickets will be Friday, April 27. All students and guests must have permission slips. Dresses must be approved by either Mrs. Spiker or Mrs. DeNick (must have a clear picture of the student wearing the dress, both front and back view.)

Two new after-school classes are set to begin soon.

— Drama Club for students in 1^st-8^th grades starts Wednesday, April 25. The price for this 5-week class is $50 per student.

ACS first graders recently created spring flower-themed art from recycled egg cartons and sushi plates and several outstanding projects were selected by art teacher Sherry Mirakian to be entered in the ACUA’s 4th annual Recycled Art Contest. The ACS student art projects, along with projects from other local area schools, were on display at the Atlantic County Library in Egg Harbor Township from late March through April 16. This week, the ACUA judged the art projects and the winners will be recognized during the ACUA’s Annual Earth Day Festival this Sunday, April 22. What a great example of a creative project that helped our students develop their God-given artistic abilities.

Rep. Frank LoBiondo made a special visit  to ACS on Monday, April 9 to give 3rd and 4th grade students an opportunity to learn more about the role of the U.S. Congress and the federal government.  The Congressman encouraged the students to follow their dreams and to work hard in school. “Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do something,” LoBiondo said. “The only one who can really hold you back is you.”

4th grade teacher Mrs. Hoover invited the Congressman to speak to ACS students about his job representing southern New Jersey in Washington and the legislative process as part of their social studies unit. The Congressman emphasized the importance of time management and said he wakes up at 4:30 a.m. each day to spend time at his Washington office organizing his busy work day.

The Congressman said he decided to get involved in public service because he was taught by his dad’s example to give back and be involved in your community. Prior to serving in Congress, LoBiondo worked in his family’s trucking business. He plans to retire from Congress at the end of 2018.

A friendly reminder to all school families with students entering grades K-12 that the deadline to apply for tuition assistance for the 2018-2019 school year is Tuesday, May 1. Applications must be submitted online to FACTS Grant and Aid Assessment. The application fee is $30. Once an online application has been completed, supporting financial documentation will need to be sent to FACTS. CLICK HERE to go to the FACTS link to apply.

Fifteen ACS students and five adult chaperones set off for Los Cocos de Jacagua in the Dominican Republic on March 3 for a week-long missions trip. The students worked hard, assisting in building and painting two homes for needy families. They also did children’s ministry, delivered supplies to the local clinic, did prayer walks in the neighborhood, and shared the good news of Jesus Christ with local families and children.

The students brought toothbrushes and toothpaste, collected before their trip, and distributed them to residents living in the mountainous area. They also distributed hundreds of Beanie Baby Bears to the children and acted out a Goldilocks and the Three Bears skit to the joy of children and adults. It was a week filled with fun, sweat, and some tears, especially as the time to say goodbye neared. Thank you to faculty member Anne Dice, who oversees the high school ministry and missions program, for organizing the trip. Under her leadership, ACS students have been going on missions trips to the Dominican Republic since 2012 and have assisted in the building of 11 homes, while experiencing the joy that comes from serving others and sharing God’s love with young and old.

Two additional ACS missions teams will be serving in communities closer to home — in Coatesville, PA and Houston, TX — during the Easter break week of April 2. Please pray that God will use them to be a light and a witness for His Kingdom.

Mrs. Ash’s 5th grade class recently filled several boxes with candy, chips, cookies, microwaveable meals, and encouraging letters and drawings that were sent to Colonel Diana Brown and other Air Force personnel currently serving in Afghanistan. Each ACS elementary class does at least one service project during the school year and this was the second shipment of care packages sent by Mrs. Ash’s class since September. Colonel Brown is a family friend of 5th grader Taylor Sutton and has been helping the students learn about Afghanistan by sending photos and letters back from the appreciative service members stationed there.

It was a challenging night of friendly competition, with plenty of bumps, sets, and spikes as ACS students, joined by some alumni and faculty members, faced off in the ACS gym on Friday, March 16 for the High School Intramural Volleyball Tournament. After three hours of double-elimination games, the all 11th-grade team named “World Domination” took first place. The members of the winning team, pictured above right, were (from left): Solomon Griffith, Ryan Lomangino, Emily Loeb, Lindsey Ash, Rebekah Darragh, and Elijah Chapman. The team “Serving It Old School,” comprised of two seniors, alumni, and faculty, came in second place, and team “Wakunda,” made up of juniors and seniors, placed third. Thank you to Athletic Director Pam Hitchner for organizing this fun annual event.

Several hundred ACS family members and friends enjoyed a diverse concert of vocal, instrumental, and drama presentations on Thursday, March 15, as ACS students had the opportunity to use their God-given artistic talents.  The concert included performances by the Concert Band, the Middle School and High School Chorales, and the after-school Elementary Drama Club. The chorale and band members wore special light blue T-shirts with the messages of “Actions Sing Louder” and “Actions Play Louder,” a take-off on this year’s spiritual development theme from James 1:22 — “Actions Speak Louder.” Chorale Director Lee Martin said the songs performed were selected with a distinct theme — to encourage Christians young and old to stand up for their faith and to live out what they believe. Thank you to Mr. Martin, Band Director Mrs. Perini, and Drama Director Miss Culleny for your hard work and dedication. CLICK HERE to see more concert photos.

Close to 100 fathers and daughters gathered in the ACS gym on Saturday, Friday, March 9 for the popular, 7th annual ACS Butterfly Ball. The fathers, as well as other escorts, dressed up in suits and ties to spend a special evening with their daughters, who presented a stunning vision of beauty in their formal dresses decorated with lace, velvet, chiffon, and more. The happy couples dined on a buffet pasta dinner, played freeze dance and musical chairs, visited the photo booth, and ended the evening with dancing. Thank you to several parents who donated food for the dinner and helped make this senior class fundraiser a success.

As a friendly reminder, standardized testing for all students in Kindergarten through 11th grade will be held next week from Monday to Wednesday. Make-up testing, if necessary, will be on Thursday. Please make sure your child receives plenty of rest each night, eats a healthy breakfast, and comes to school with two #2 pencils and a calculator each day. It is very important for your child to arrive on time and remain for the duration of the testing. Thank you for your cooperation!

High school students, alumni, and a handful of teachers will be participating tonight, Friday, March 16, in the annual Intramural Volleyball Tournament from 6:30-10:00 p.m. in the gym. Come on out and cheer for your favorite team. Seven teams will be competing for team medals and the winning team will play against an all-faculty team next week. Let the Cougar Games begin!

Students in Mr. Dickson’s middle school math classes celebrated “Pi Day” with a variety of flavors and activities. The informal holiday is based on the number 3.14 which represents the first three digits of the mathematical constant Pi as well as the date March 14. Students enjoyed sampling a wide selection of pies — apple, cherry, pumpkin, and chocolate, to name a few — made by Mr. Dickson’s wife, Melissa.

The students also engaged in various mathematical contests and games such as memorizing and writing as many digits of Pi as possible (below left) and trying to find their six-digit birthday in the first one-million digits of Pi (below right).  According to Mr. Dickson, every possible birthday is in there somewhere!