Second graders learned about the drums of Native American and African cultures during art class in February and made their own tin can drums which they are now learning to play in music class to perform in the Elementary Spring Concert on May 14.

“This project has been a fun collaboration between our art and music departments and I’m looking forward to seeing the students playing their drums at the spring concert,” said art teacher Sherry Mirakian.  During art class in February and March, Mirakian said the students looked at the geometric patterns found in the art of the Native American and African cultures and practiced drawing some of them on paper with markers and colored pencils.

The students then used tin cans and different colored balloons to make their drums and then decorated them with their  geometric designs. They also made a pair of drumsticks with florist sticks and bottle corks.

In mid-March, Music Director Tim Rosie began teaching the students how to play their drums during music class, using their hand-made mallets and their hands. They are learning to make interesting sounds by playing both ends of the drum — the tin can end and the end covered with a rubber balloon.

“The students have been learning about the different tone qualities that can be produced by playing on various surfaces,” Rosie said. “They are also learning to play using a variety of rhythms and musical styles and to perform them following music notation.”

Rosie said the students will be performing one song with the drums during the Elementary Spring Concert.

Are you a people pleaser? Do you make decisions and choices based on what others are saying and doing instead of what God wants you to do?  Pastor Matt Mouliert challenged ACS students from kindergarten to the 12th grade with these questions during his powerful message at our all-school Easter chapel on Wednesday, March 31.

“If you live for the crowd and try to please others, you are going to do things that you know are wrong,” said Pastor Mouliert, senior pastor at Crossroads Fellowship Church in Pleasantville.  “Integrity is more important than popularity.” In his message, Pastor Mouliert focused on a part of the Easter story recorded in Mark chapter 15, where Jesus was arrested and taken before the Roman governor of Judaea, Pontius Pilate. Pastor Mouliert described Pilate as a “people pleaser,” noting that he made the decision to hand over Jesus to be crucified because he wanted “to satisfy the crowd” of people who were chanting, “Crucify him.”

“Don’t do what Pilate did,” Pastor Mouliert said. “The only person you need to please is God; He made you unique, so be your true self and live for God.”

Pastor Mouliert also tested the students’ knowledge of Easter-themed trivia during a light-hearted contest that engaged everyone, with the promise of a giant chocolate Easter bunny as the prize. In the end, after more than 15 rounds of trivia questions, kindergarten student Janessa Obot was the final winner, with fellow kindergarten student Grisha Kagramanov finishing second.

Various student groups also participated in the chapel program. 7th graders Alexis Andujar, Amelia D’Anna, Gabriella Goodwin, and Dariana Ortez, who are in the Middle School American Sign Language 2 class, opened the chapel signing to the Elevation Worship song, “Graves Into Gardens,” joined by vocalists from the High School Worship Team.

Four students from the 5th grade worship team — Zoey Holmstrom, Julia Morris, Solia Pecou, and Chelsie Richards — led worship with choreography to “God’s Not Dead” and “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.”

The High School Worship Team led worship to close the chapel, with Elevation Worship’s “Echo” and Passion Conference’s “Glorious Day.” The 10 students on the High School Worship team were: Elizabeth Alford, Tommy Ellison, Vera Huff, JJ Jacoby, Evangelina Kim, Rebekah Kimmerley, Jada Logan, Haven Sanchez, Quinn Schrag, and Noelle Thompson.

Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen, in her closing remarks at chapel, noted the joy that she felt seeing the entire student body together, a sentiment that Early Ed Director and Elementary Principal Gail Alford and Upper School Principal Meg McHale also expressed during their chapel remarks.  Oblen noted that it had been 15 months since the students had last gathered for an all-school chapel, on December 22, 2019.  Oblen also gave a final challenge to the students, asking them to tell at least one person about Jesus during their time off for Easter break –“tell them the truth because they need to hear it.”

CLICK HERE to see a photo gallery of the Easter chapel.

The heavens declare the glory of God! – that was the theme of a research project on our solar system recently completed by students in Mrs. Fosbenner’s and Mrs. McCarthy’s 3rd grade classes.  Large, colorful posters with paintings of Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, and other planets that the students researched have been on display since mid-March in the hallway outside the 3rd grade classrooms.

“This was a multi-stage assignment where each student selected a planet in our solar system and then learned the steps and skills of how to do a research paper on that planet,” Mrs. McCarthy said.  During class time, the students gathered facts online using a child-friendly search engine, then wrote a first draft of their research paper, reviewed and revised that draft, and then produced a final version. The project also included painting a poster of their planet. In Mrs. Fosbenner’s class, the students worked on their projects as a homework assignment.

“This project taught our students important research and writing skills that they will build upon each year,” said Mrs. Fosbenner. ” But there is also a spiritual lesson in this project because as the students gathered information for their paper they became more knowledgeable about the awesome details of the planets that God created and how they are uniquely placed within our solar system.”