Lunch is served! Volunteers are an essential part of the ACS family and nowhere is that more evident than in the Multi-Purpose Room each day during lunch.  We are very grateful to the parents, grandparents, and other friends of ACS who volunteer throughout the school year to serve lunch and help with clean-up. Thank you also to Steve Thomas, ACS alumni parent and owner of Town & Country restaurant in Egg Harbor Township, who is once again providing delicious and healthy catered hot and cold lunch menu choices.

Interested in being a lunch room volunteer? Volunteers can choose to serve daily, once a week, or once a month. We can accommodate anyone’s schedule. To sign up, please contact Services Coordinator Anne Block at ablock@acseht.org or call 609-653-1199, ext. 381. Looking for another way to volunteer at ACS? Click here to download our Volunteer Sign-Up Form and send it in with your student. Forms will also be sent home next week.

Twenty-six students from six different foreign countries are part of our diverse student body this year. The largest number of students — 18 — hail from China, with the rest coming from Germany, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. While the students are primarily in high school, Mrs. Hopwood’s sixth grade class gave a warm welcome this week to 11-year-old Gabriel Gombedza from Zimbabwe (pictured above right), who is in the United States for the first time and is living with a host family in Somers Point.

Admissions Director Heidi Sray works with several different agencies to arrange placement of the international students and oversees connecting them with host families. According to Sray, ACS is in its 11th year of providing an international student program. Faculty member Patti Scardilli is once again teaching several English Language Learner classes to help the students strengthen their English proficiency, joined by faculty members Anne Dice, who teaches Cultural Connections, and Dena Johnson, who teaches ELL Bible.

Two veteran ACS staff members have been promoted to new positions of leadership for the 2017-2018 school year. Gail Alford, who served as a kindergarten teacher at ACS for the past 12 years, is the new Director of Early and Elementary Education (pictured above left). She will also be teaching middle school science. Pam Hitchner, who has served as a PE teacher and head coach of the ACS Varsity Girls’ Basketball team, is the new Athletic Director (pictured above right). She will also continue as the high school girls’ PE teacher.

Mrs. Alford, a graduate of Misericordia University, is in her 13th year at ACS and is pursuing her Master’s in educational administration. “I am very excited about working with our phenomenal teaching staff and dedicated support staff as we build close relationships with our some 300 preschool and elementary students and their families,” Alford said. She and her husband Joshua have four children who attend ACS, ranging in age from PreK3 to the 8th grade.

Mrs. Hitchner, a graduate of Clark Summit University, first came to ACS as a PE teacher, serving from 1985-1989. Thirteen years ago, she rejoined the ACS staff as a PE teacher and later became head coach of the Varsity Girls’ basketball team. She has received numerous accolades, including being named Varsity Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year in 2017 by the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference, receiving the Coach of the Year from the National Christian School Athletic Association in 2015, and receiving the ACS 2016-2017 Servant’s Heart Award.

Working alongside Mrs. Hitchner is ACS alumnus Kaylee Breunig (’12) as the elementary PE and MS Girls’ PE teacher, and long-time ACS staff member and alumni parent Ray Picking as the MS and HS Boys’ PE teacher. Mrs. Hitchner and her husband Eric have three children who have all been involved at ACS. Casey Hopwood is in her 2nd year as a middle school teacher after working in the preschool for two years and is coach of the MS Girls’ Soccer team; alumnus Carly Witherow (’08) is in her 4th year as head coach of the HS Girls’ Soccer team; and youngest daughter Dakota, who graduated from ACS last year, is attending King University on a full athletic scholarship.

Ready….Set…Run….

Planning is underway for our annual Race for Education fundraiser, which will kick off  with information coming home to parents the second week of school. Families with students in preschool through the 8th grade will be asked to participate to help us reach our goal of raising $23,000 from this fun, outdoor event held on our school track.

There will be special prizes that an individual class or individual student can earn. It just requires your participation by providing the names and addresses of people you know who would be willing to make a donation to sponsor your child or children as they run or walk laps around our school track.

Parents — please keep an eye out for an information packet coming home in your child’s folder on Friday, September 15.  And mark your calendar for Friday, October 27, from 9:00 a.m.-noon — that’s the date of the Race for Education. We’d love for our families to be there to cheer on the students and to volunteer to help with the Race.

For questions or more information, contact Event Coordinator Jessica Martin at jmartin@acseht.org.  We’re looking for 100% participation by our families.  The more families who participate, the more money we will raise.

Pre-season soccer practice got underway in August for the Varsity and Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer Teams. Congratulations to our Varsity Girls’ soccer team for getting its first win on Thursday in a pre-season scrimmage game at home against St. Joe’s with a score of 2-1.  The Lady Cougars were the Tri-State Christian Athletic League champions last year and we look forward to a strong season this year.

Any middle school or high school student interested in playing on an ACS team still has the opportunity to join. Please come out to practice after school starting on Wednesday, September 6, which is the first day of school. Practice on September 6 will be earlier due to it being a half-day of school, but regular practices will be from 3-5 p.m. Be sure to bring both running shoes and cleats.

Let’s fill the bleachers for our games this year and show our support for all our teams.  The first regular season Varsity games will be at home on Friday, September 8 starting at 4 p.m. against Cumberland Christian School. The first Middle School games will be on Monday, September 11 away against Pilgrim Academy. The Athletic Calendars, with information on all upcoming soccer games, are posted on the ACS website and are updated as needed. Paper copies of the calendars are also available in the school office.

Following is a list of the coaches:

Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer

Coaches: Ricardo Leon and Casey Hopwood

High School Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer

Coaches: Gregg Laskow and Carly Witherow

For more information or questions, please contact Athletic Director Pam Hitchner, phone: 609-653-1199, ext. 315; email: phitchner@acseht.org.

The ACS Cougar Closet Thrift Shop is in a new, larger, and more visible location on the ACS campus.  The Thrift Shop is now in the house that faces Zion Road, just right of the main school entrance. The house got a new coat of paint this summer and a new parking area was added in front of the house.  Our August 26 Back-to-School Sale was a big success and helped make room for new fall inventory in the Thrift Shop. Thank you to the students, parents, and staff who volunteered to help with the sale.

The Cougar Closet hours of operation remain the same — Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from 10 am to 4 pm. Come out and shop and share the news with your family and friends. . You’ll find lots of high quality items at bargain prices. All proceeds from the Cougar Closet benefit the ACS educational programs.

A record number of students, ranging from the 4th-11th grades, participated in our 4th annual summer Band Camp and this year it grew to be a two-week program from August 7-18.   For the close to 50 campers there was one-on-one instruction and small group rehearsals, culminating in performances on Fridays of both weeks for family and friends to attend. What a great way to help our students get ready for the school year and develop their God-given musical gifts. In addition to the lessons, there was time for refreshments and team-building games like making robots out of clean “trash” and creating spaghetti towers.

The ACS Early Education Center and the ACS Cougar Camp recently both received  The Press of Atlantic City’s 2017 Readers’ Choice Awards — one in the category of “Best Daycare Center” and the other in a new category of “Best Camp.” Thank you to the ACS family and friends who voted. This is the 4th consecutive year for our Early Education Center to receive a “Best of the Press” Award, receiving a Bronze medal this year. Cougar Camp received the Silver Medal.  Under the direction of Dara Kimmerley, a record number of some 50 students from grade 1 through the 6th grade enjoyed an expanded 10-week program that included field trips, movies days, lake days, STEM activities, sports, music, and much more. We’re so proud of our Cougar Camp staff and our Early Education teachers and aides for their dedication and love for each of the students who were part of these programs.

Thank you to the dozens of ACS students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends who helped over the summer to get our school ready for the new year. We saw helping hands on display in a variety of ways — moving new desks and chairs into classrooms, cleaning the school kitchen, painting our Multi-Purpose Room, steam-cleaning classroom carpets and area rugs, stripping and waxing our tile floors, setting up for the Thrift Store’s Back-to-School Sale, repairing the divider curtain in our gym, and even breaking down tables and chairs at New Family Orientation Night. This is what being part of the ACS family is all about. Your actions are speaking louder!

Shopping for the new school year? Shop on AmazonSmile for back-to-school items and support ACS!

When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to Atlantic Christian School.

To shop at AmazonSmile, go to: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/22-1935456.

Thanks for supporting ACS!

ACS teachers have been working hard this week preparing their classrooms to be a warm, loving, and welcoming place for their students.  On Monday and Tuesday, current and new teachers and staff attended in-service training and workshops where they had an opportunity to get acquainted, review school policies and procedures, and focus on this year’s spiritual development theme verse in James 1:22 — “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen shared the news that due to a significant and exciting growth in enrollment, 14 new employees had been added to the ACS faculty/staff (pictured above).

Each in-service session began with worship and devotions. ACS Business Administrator Kelly Flynn, ACS Facilities Director Bill Smallwood, staff member Lee Martin, Sojourn Community Church Pastor Sean Griffith, and Board Chair Doug Pearson provided inspiration and encouragement through the worship songs and the spoken word, urging teachers and staff to lead by example and to continue to invest in the lives and hearts of every student.  Teachers and staff also received practical training at various workshops including one on differentiated learning. Delicious breakfasts and lunches were generously provided by the Parent Teacher Fellowship and the Board of Directors.

Year-end Honors Chapels on June 9 and 15 recognized students in grades 1-5 and in grades 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 for their hard work and accomplishments in their academic subjects as well as in the areas of physical fitness, Christian conduct, service, and citizenship. Pictured above are: middle/high school students who earned the highest GPA in physical science. Pictured below are elementary students singing a song they had learned in Spanish class about the fruits of the Spirit. Click here for the photo galleries on the ACS website of the various honors chapels.

Over 500 family members, friends, faculty, and staff turned out to celebrate an amazing year of learning and growing at the Early Education and Kindergarten Promotion Programs the morning of Tuesday, June 13. The children recited Bible verses and smiled and danced as they sang songs giving praising to God for His love and many blessings. Forty-two PreK4 students received diplomas and warm hugs from their teachers, Dawn Bird and Teresa Bird.  At the kindergarten promotion ceremony, Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen presided over the presentation of diplomas to 28 kindergarten students, who proudly posed with their white graduation caps. Kindergarten teachers Gail Alford and Julie Reilly, assisted by aide Priscilla Garner, presented the students with special awards for achievement in science, math, language, penmanship, Bible, and Christian character. Click here for the photo galleries on the ACS website of the PreK and K promotion programs.

It was Immigration Day in Mrs. Hoover’s 4th grade class on June 9 as students gave presentations on the melting pot that is America and the diverse heritage of our citizens. A variety of countries were featured in the presentations, including Armenia, Egypt, Guyana, Ireland, Italy, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. The students were encouraged to dress in traditional clothing and bring a sample of food from their chosen country. The month-long history project also required the students to interview a friend or family member to learn about their roots and to do on-line research on their country in the ACS computer lab.

ACS celebrated the accomplishments of twenty-two 8th grade students at a promotion ceremony on Wednesday, June 14 in the school’s gymnasium. The ceremony opened with Joshua Darragh, Ayotoye Oguntuase, and Mariah Pettinelli leading the pledges to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. Rebekah Kimmerley read from the Bible passage of Isaiah 40:29-31.  Sydney Pearson was selected by her classmates to give the Christian character address and challenged her classmates to stay focused on God and be ready to share the gospel with others as they move on into high school. Mikayla D’Anna, valedictorian for the Class of 2017, encouraged the 8th graders to trust God in every situation and be ready to follow His plan for their lives, rather than their own plans.

A number of students were recognized for their accomplishments in academics, music, physical fitness,  citizenship, Christian character, and service.  Eight students received a special gift for having attended ACS since kindergarten — Joshua Darragh, Kayla DeNick, Kami DeNick, Matthew Dietrich, Isaac Hart, Joshua Jacoby, Sydney Pearson, and Chloe Vogel. Darragh, who plays the flute in the Concert Band, was also recognized for his accomplishments as a young musician. In addition to being selected to play in the South Jersey Junior High Honor Band, Joshua recently won a regional solo competition sponsored by the Assemblies of God Youth Ministries. He will be competing this summer at their National Fine Arts Festival in California. James Massey, pictured at left, was presented with a certificate of accomplishment from the Egg Harbor Township PAL. He was a member of PAL’s SeaPerch team that placed 3rd in the nation at the National SeaPerch Challenge in May. They competed against some 100 other middle school teams with a Remotely Operated Vehicle they designed and built out of PVC. James drove the ROV through the underwater obstacle course and posted the best time overall (1:02) in that technical event.

• Bible Award, for the highest GPA ($35) — Faith Carroll
• Christian Education Essay Scholarship ($250) — Kayla DeNick
• Citizenship Award, for service to others and to the school — Kami DeNick, Joshua Darragh
• COMPASS Award, for displaying the fruits of the spirit in everyday life — Chloe Vogel, Jack Loeb
• Cougar Award, for excellence in Christian character, leadership, and athletics ($250 each) —Chloe Vogel
• History Award, for the highest GPA ($25) — Serena D’Anna
• Language Arts Award, for the highest GPA ($25) — Serena D’Anna
• Parent-Teacher Fellowship Scholarship, for the best essays describing their experience at ACS as aligned with Biblical teaching — Chloe Vogel, 1st place ($400); Kayla DeNick, 2nd place ($250); Kami DeNick, 3rd place ($100); Jack Loeb, 4th place ($50)
• Science Award, for the highest GPA ($25) — Serena D’Anna
• Spiker Family Math Scholarship, for the highest math GPA and returning to ACS for high school ($100) — Joshua Darragh
• Thomas H. Heist Community Service Award, for demonstrating the “give back” spirit by volunteering in three community service activities ($150) — Chloe Vogel

We’re No. 1! The Varsity Boys’ Baseball team and the Varsity Girls’ Softball team won their second straight Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference titles with victories in championship games on June 3.  Two ACS players were also named the TSCAC MVPs — senior pitcher Dakota Hitchner and sophomore shortstop and pitcher Solomon Griffith. Varsity Boys’ coach Ray Picking was also named TSCAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. We’re so proud of our student-athletes, head coaches, and assistant coaches for their dedication and hard work!

The Baccalaureate Service on Monday, June 5 was a time of prayer, praise, and inspiring messages from ACS high school faculty members that reminded the Class of 2017 to draw upon the Biblical foundation built at ACS and to follow the plans God has for their lives. A number of students received special recognition for their academic achievements, commitment to community service, physical fitness, and for displaying Christian character traits. Two students — Andrew Jacoby and Carl Phillips — also received a special gift from the Parent Teacher Fellowship for attending ACS since kindergarten.

We are very grateful to the individuals, organizations, and businesses who donated to provide over $4,300 in scholarships and awards to our students. Out of the 25 students in the class of 2017, 23 will be continuing on to higher education at various colleges and universities,where they will be receiving tens of thousands of dollars in full or partial scholarships from those institutions. These schools include Cairn, Eastern, King, Liberty, Penn State, Rowan, Stockton, Temple, and the University of Delaware.

Seventeen students were recognized for academic achievement in the 2016-2017 school year, three for earning a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and fourteen for earning a 3.8 GPA or higher (pictured above). Among those who provided scholarships and awards to bless the students were Crossroads Fellowship, the Thomas H. Heist Insurance Agency, the PTF, the Carney, Mazzitelli, Ordile, and Spiker families, and Egg Harbor Township Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough, who during the program personally presented a new public service scholarship to Brianna Lomangino and Amelia Sray (pictured below left and right).

“It’s so important to remember who you are as sons and daughters of God,” said English teacher and ACS alumnus Ariel Richvalsky (’05). “As your loving father, God will give you what you need and He knows what will make you the most joyful.” Bible teacher and pastor Joe Rowell gave the students the simple, yet profound charge to  “spend your time facing truth, chasing truth, and embracing truth.” Other faculty members who spoke were Anne Dice and Gregg Laskow, and Lee Martin led the some 110  students, family members, friends, and faculty/staff in a time of praise and worship.

The recipients of the various awards and scholarships were:

Josh Burns: Mazzitelli Memorial Music Scholarship; Parent Teacher Fellowship Scholarship; Thomas H. Heist Community Service Award
Justin Choi: Crossroads Fellowship Leader Scholarship
Mikayla D’Anna: Academic Achievement Scholarship; Parent Teacher Fellowship Scholarship; the Spiker/Carney Math Achievement Award
Dakota Hitchner: COMPASS Award
Brianna Lomangino: Mayor McCullough Public Service Scholarship; The 5:14 Award
Joanna Noto — Academic Achievement Scholarship
Amelia Sray — Mayor McCullough Public Service Scholarship

Photos taken at Baccalaureate are posted in a photo gallery on the ACS website.

ACS Graduates 25 at June 7 Commencement

At ACS, we’re a family — that was the recurring theme at Atlantic Christian’s commencement exercises held on Wednesday, June 7 in the ACS gymnasium. “I will dearly miss the family I have here at ACS,” said salutatorian Joanna Noto. “Each of us has our own unique spiritual gifts and we come together, unified as graduating seniors, soon to move on to do great things for the glory of God.” Noto will be attending Atlantic Cape Community College in the fall on a full scholarship through NJ STARS.

Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen opened the commencement exercises and thanked the parents of the graduates for choosing a Christian education for their children. She also thanked the faculty and staff for creating a loving, family atmosphere and taking a personal interest in the lives of each of the graduates. Oblen was later joined on the stage by Board of Directors Chair Douglas Pearson as they presented the diplomas to the 25 graduates in the class of 2017.

Valedictorian Mikayla D’Anna encouraged her fellow graduates to rely on God and to step out of their comfort zones without fear as they enter the next phase of their lives.  “Sometimes God places us in situations that are out of our comfort zones to give us opportunities to mature and grow ourselves and grow closer to Him,” said D’Anna, who will be attending Eastern University in the fall to pursue a degree in psychology.

In what has become an annual commencement tradition, Heather Huff Peterson (’86), presented the alumni reflection. She expressed gratitude for the important spiritual impact that the teachers at ACS had on her life and noted that the strong bond of family she experienced was still alive at ACS 31 years later.

Keynote speaker Drew Carney, who teaches high school math, shared three lessons drawn upon his own life experiences — to love others unconditionally, to adjust their expectations for a change of season, and to be confident in knowing that “God is weaving things together in your lives to accomplish his purposes.” Carney prompted surprise and laughter at the start of his remarks when he showed off a suit decorated with pink flamingos, a device he hoped would help the graduates better recall the message he was sharing with them.

Other ACS students who participated in the commencement program were student body chaplain Joshua Burns, who presented the Christian character address, Brianna Lomangino, who delivered the benediction, and a high ensemble that included seniors Burns, Dakota Hitchner, Andrew Jacoby, Jialin “Ann” Li, and Amelia Sray performing “He Never Failed Me Yet.”

The students in Mrs. Hoover’s 4th grade class learned all about the challenging life of New Jersey scallop fishermen during a field trip Tuesday to Cape May. The class was hosted by ACS grandparents Tom and Sherri McNulty, who own and operate several scallop boats docked at The Lobster House. The trip was a great way to learn first-hand about an important part of the economy and culture of New Jersey, which is the social studies focus for students in 4th grade. The students had the opportunity to board and get a tour of one of the scallop boats, led by the McNulty’s son, Tommy, who is an ACS parent and captains two of the family boats.

Tommy gave an overview of how scallops are caught and brought to market and shared how fisherman are often gone 10-14 days at a time and face many dangers at sea. The students also got to try on a fisherman’s wetsuit.  In her presentation, Mrs. McNulty showed the students items that had been caught by the fishermen, including dishes, animal bones, parts of ships that had sunk, and even “leftovers” from wars.  She also reminded the students about the four disciples who were fishermen that Jesus called to be “fishers of men.”  The students were treated to lunch by the McNultys and sampled some of the seafood. “This is the 9th year that the McNulty family has welcomed our students to experience life as a fisherman in South Jersey and our trip is always the highlight of the year,” said Mrs. Hoover.

The Cougars are heading to the Championship games! The Varsity Boys’ Baseball and the Varsity Girls’ Softball teams will compete Saturday afternoon in the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference Championship games after handily winning their playoff games on Thursday. Senior Carl Phillips (at far left) pitched a no-hitter, leading the Varsity Boys to a 10-0 win against Pilgrim Academy. Senior pitcher Dakota Hitchner (3rd from right) led the Varsity Girls’ to a 20-9 win, also against Pilgrim Academy. Both championship games will be played at 2 p.m. at Cumberland Christian School, located at 1100 W. Sherman Avenue, Vineland.

The undefeated and #1-seeded Varsity Boys’ Baseball team will be facing Gloucester County Christian School and the Varsity Girls’ Softball team, also in first place, will be playing Cumberland Christian School. Thank you to our dedicated and talented senior players (pictured above)  for the important contributions you have made to our teams this year. Go Cougars!

The high school Art Workshop class recently completed painting a new, 3’x 5′ mural depicting various healthy fruits and vegetables with a scripture heading from Galatians 5:22-23 that reads: “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”  The mural is prominently  located in the Multi-Purpose Room where students eat lunch. The semester-long project began taking form in March, with 11th and 12th grade students working on the mural twice a week under the direction of art teacher Pat Taylor. The student mural artists, who each painted one of the 15 fruits or vegetables, were: Steven Chirinos, Jinsu (Justin) Choi, Jasmine Feliciano, Haoyuan (Bill) Geng, Mingbo (Mace) Huang, Yixin (Luke) Liang, XiaoQing (Samantha) Liang, Jiana (Nick) Lyu, Julia Murphy, Joanna Noto, Peter Park, Anthony Rodriguez, Amelia Sray, Haoyuan (Michael) Xu, and Yifei (Mike) Zhu.

Artwork featuring the talents of ACS students can now be seen on permanent display in eight different locations in the school building, including the main foyer where a large framed mural, created by art students in 2007, depicts various names used in the Bible to describe Jesus.

ACS students learned about the meaning of Memorial Day this week in various ways. The kindergarten classes made paper flags and the children in PreK3B and PreK4A created red, white, and blue thank-you posters to present to school parent and Airman First Class John Raebig during his visit to their classes. Students in the 6th-12th grade chapel Friday were asked to stand if they had a family member who had died while in active duty in the military. High school history teacher Gregg Laskow then offered a prayer in gratitude for the sacrifices of so many Americans who have died in defense of our country’s freedoms.

Volunteer Blesses ACS Preschool Students in Library

Thank you to dedicated ACS library volunteer Mar-Jo Atack. For the past school year, Miss Mar-Jo has brought children’s stories to life each week in the school library, reading to the students in Miss Dawn’s PreK4 class. Each week, Miss Mar-Jo would select an exciting story that coordinated with the weekly theme and often surprised the students with small gifts. For her last library day with the students this past Monday, Miss Mar-Jo read “The Night Before Summer Vacation” and then surprised the students with gifts of swimming goggles to help them get ready for summer. “Miss Mar-Jo has been such a blessing to us,” said Miss Dawn. “We are so thankful for her servant’s heart.”

New Teacher Desk Donated to Middle School Classroom

Middle School teacher Sara Coates showed off her new, spacious executive desk this week, a gift from school parents Dan and Courtney Mitchell. The Mitchell’s have two students attending ACS and their 1st grade daughter, Raquel, visited Mrs. Coates’ on Tuesday to see the new desk. 1st grader Mathew Coates joined Raquel in the visit. Also pictured is Cole Lewis, who is in Mrs. Coates’ 7th grade history class.

Some 100 parents, faculty, and staff gathered Monday night for the Annual Meeting of the Atlantic Christian School Association, spending time together in fellowship and prayer and taking action on a number of school governance matters. Members of the ACS Board of Directors served up a buffet dinner that preceded the formal opening of the meeting.

Three new members were elected to the Board, pictured below, from left: grandparent Christine Martin and school parents Lauren Alobeidy and Les Tomlinson. They will begin serving their three-year terms this summer, alongside five other Board members. In addition to electing new Board members, the Association members voted to approve several amendments to the school’s Constitution and listened to reports highlighting the school’s academic and financial progress.

Board Chair Doug Pearson announced that the Board had recently adopted a new mission statement for the school. The revised mission statement was based upon the recommendations of a Strategic Planning Committee that Pearson thanked for its diligent work over the past five months. The new mission statement reads: “The mission of Atlantic Christian School is to impact the world for Jesus Christ by nurturing and equipping students with a biblical worldview through an accredited educational program.” In his financial report, Board Treasurer Chris Loeb was pleased to announce the creation of a new Contingency Fund and the allocation of $70,000 to that fund this year. He also advised that the annual audit of the school’s finances had been completed and copies for review would be available in the school office.

Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen recognized and thanked some 10 teachers and staff who will be leaving ACS at the end of the school year due to retirement, relocation, or being called to a different vocation. Those present (pictured above) were presented with certificates in appreciation of their service, including faculty members Jim Ennis, Simone McKinnon, and Harry and Nancy Peterson.