Post Tagged with: "ACSI"

ACSI High School Leadership Conference

On Sunday, November 19th, twenty seven juniors and seniors headed to Washington DC with four of our teachers, Daniel Vasquez, Paul Jones, Laura Mills and Audra Williams for a 3-day Student Leadership Conference sponsored by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). 

Schools from all over the East Coast traveled to Washington, DC to hear from national speakers on a variety of current issues and worship collectively. During this conference, they spent time focused on bringing clarity to the biblical definition of identity, the purpose of relationships, and the path forward. The excursion this year was to Arlington National Cemetery where they witnessed the changing of the guards, had the opportunity to walk around the grounds and learn about the history of the cemetery. They worshiped, they were in fellowship and they were able to gain clarity around who they are in Christ.

ACS Students Excel at March 23 Spelling Bee Sponsored by Association of Christian Schools International

Members of the ACS Spelling Team excelled and made their mark at a March 23 South Jersey-Philadelphia spelling bee for 1st to 8th grade students sponsored by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). 8th grader Garrett Martin came in 2nd place overall and 5th grader Joey Kinch placed 5th. Seventeen of the twenty-seven students on the ACS team received ribbons for winning 1st to 4th place and six ACS students won 1st place in their grade-level bees.

ACS and two other schools competed in the ACSI bee — The City School in Philadelphia, which hosted the Bee, and the New Jersey United Christian Academy in Cream Ridge.

The Bee got underway with students first competing in their grade level. Seven students in the 1st-4th grades won 1st to 4th place in their grade-level bees — Jordan Vielma (1st place-1st grade), Ellie Campbell (3rd place-1st grade), Jack Sawyer (4th place-1st grade), Molly Klinetob (4th place-2nd grade),  Ellie Sellers (1st place-3rd grade), Rachael Eachus (2nd place-3rd grade), Caitlin Doucett (1st place-4th grade), Eric Protesto (3rd place-4th grade), and Hadley Basso (4th place-4th grade).

Eight ACS students in the 5th-8th grades placed 1st through 4th in their grade-level bees — Luke Sabulao (1st place-5th grade), Joey Kinch (2nd place-5th grade), Brody Panetta (3rd place-6th grade), Gaebriel Hahn-Chaney (4th place-6th grade), Antonino Miranda (1st place-7th grade), Matthew Coates (2nd place-7th grade), Garrett Martin (1st place-8th grade), and Caedyn Hahn-Chaney (2nd place-8th grade). These students then advanced to compete in a Spell-Off to determine the overall top spellers.

Thank you to the parent and staff volunteers who assisted at the Bee — Despina Bara-Protesto, Marques Chaney, Joe Coates, Rhapsody Hahn-Chaney, Walter Klinetob, Spelling Team Coach Jessica Martin, Clint Sawyer, Meredith Sellers, and Lisa Smith.

High School Students Learn About Importance of Making Every Moment Count at ACSI Conference in Washington, DC

By Robby Barberio

Twenty-six 10th-12th grade students traveled to Washington, DC in late November to participate in the  Redemption Everyday Conference in Washington, DC, which focused on the importance of making every moment of your life count and seeking to make a difference in the world around you. The students also had the opportunity to tour the Museum of the Bible and meet in small group sessions for deeper discussion.

The conference, held from November 20-22, was organized by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), of which ACS is an accredited member school. Each conference day opened with a time of worship and eight speakers were featured over the three days of the conference — Megan Almon, Dave Binewald, Amy Crouch, Gian Paul Gonzalez, Kathy Koch, Bobby Manning, Justin McRoberts, and Derek Melleby.

Faculty member Dan Vasquez, one of four ACS group leaders on the trip, said his favorite speaker was Gian Paul Gonzalaz. Gonzalez was a former NCAA First Team All-American forward from Montclair State University. After playing in the NBA Summer League in 2007, he was offered a few professional basketball contracts, but turned them down to work with at risk youth. He is currently a high school teacher at an inner city school in New Jersey.

“Gian Paul was called by God just by doing everyday work,” Vasquez said. “He didn’t do anything spectacular, but he is serving God in his everyday life. He was a reminder to me to stay faithful.”

During breaks between speakers, comedian Keith Coast entertained the some 400 students from ACS and other schools in the northeast region with skits and fun, interactive games. ACS 10th grader  James Papanikolaou and staff member Jessica Martin were invited to the stage to compete in a game where a student team faced off against a team of chaperones to guess the meaning of a Swedish word that was the name of an Ikea product. The student team won.

At the end of each day, the ACS students met with their group leaders to discuss what they had learned from the conference speakers. Faculty member Chris Lopez, another group leader, said he was encouraged to see how the students processed the things the speakers had talked about.

“There’s a temptation to blindly agree with a speaker just because they are speaking at a large conference,” Lopez said. “But I was encouraged to see the students challenge the speakers out of love.”

On the third day, the students worked with their leaders on an action plan of projects or activities they could bring back to ACS to implement during this school year.

In addition to the group sessions, the students also had the chance to explore Washington, DC and visit the Museum of the Bible. “My favorite part of the trip was exploring downtown DC with my friends and seeing different parts of the city,” said 12th grader Daniella Ajayi.

Overall, the leadership conference was a time of learning and bonding for the students. When asked what his favorite part of the trip was, 11th grader Noah Gibbs said — “I just enjoyed learning about God, and it’s even better with my friends.”

The students who attended the conference were: Daniella Ajayi, Kaia Barbour, Maddie DeNick, Tommy Ellison, Zac Fosbenner, Noah Gibbs, Sam Glancey, Vera Huff, Richie Jackson, Dee Jang, Grace Johnson, Manny Johnson, Moges Johnson, Ali Lushina, Ryleigh Martin, James Papanikolauo, Haven Sanchez, Alek Stein, Nate Stein, Makayla Tomlinson, Trae Walls, and Grace Wroniuk. The four adult group leaders were Chris Lopez, Jessica Martin, and Dan and Erin Vasquez.

 

High School Students Attend Leadership Conference in Washington, DC; Focus on God-Honoring Ways to Respond to Human Suffering

Twelve ACS high school students attended a leadership conference November 18-20 in Washington, DC that focused on human suffering around the world and how to respond to that suffering through the lens of God’s Word. The annual conference was sponsored by the Association of Christian Schools International and drew over 400 students from Christian high schools in the Northeast.

The students participated in large and small group sessions that explored how humans are stripped of their inherent value and dignity through typical responses to issues such as poverty, human trafficking, physician assisted suicide, abortion, and other problems that plague our society.

Upper School Principal Meg McHale, who attended the conference with the students, said the speakers challenged the students to use the inspiration they felt from the conference to transform how they looked at and valued others within their world and to take action. McHale said that in the final session the students worked together to begin planning a response to one of the issues that each school group chose to address and that the ACS group chose to focus on the issue of human trafficking.

The conference activities also included worship, a presentation by comedian Keith Coast, and an afternoon guided tour of the Capitol Building, led by American Christian Tours, that incorporated interesting and inspiring facts about the role of Christian principles in the founding of our nation. The students who attended the trip were: Elizabeth Alford, Rudy Dalinger, Rebekah Darragh, Emily Elgersma, Solomon Griffith, Paige Hoover, Ashleigh Martin, Joshua Mizrahi, Lola Oguntuase, Sydney Pearson Imohimi Unuigbe, and Caraline Winkel.

 

 

 

 

 

ACSI Accreditation Team Concluded Visit at ACS This Week

A six-member team of educators representing the Association of Christian Schools International spent three days at ACS this past week assessing various aspects of the school’s operations. ACS is seeking to be re-accredited by ACSI and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the site visit was the final phase of a year-long re-accreditation process that included preparing a 97-page self-study report for the team to review.

During their visit, the team members met with Board members, faculty, staff, parents, and students and conducted classroom observations. The members of the accreditation team and ACS administration pictured here are, first row, from left: Roxane Southcott-Roberts (Calvary Academy, NJ); Sandy Moritz (Liberty Christian, MD); Lori Cole (Lancaster County Christian, PA); Anita Whisler (Conestoga Christian, PA); second row, from left: Sam Osbourn (Red Lion Christian Academy, DE); Paula Frey (Cornerstone Christian Academy, PA); Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen; and Upper School Principal Meg McHale.

Team chair Paula Frey said ACS will receive the decision from ACSI regarding re-accreditation after the meeting of the ACSI Northeast Regional Accreditation Commission in early December.  Middle States will make its decision regarding re-accreditation in spring 2019. ACS received its first dual 7-year accreditation in 2012.

 

 

 

Middle School Students Hone Leadership Skills at ACSI Philadelphia Conference

Eighteen students in grades 6-8 attended the ACSI Middle School Leadership Conference in Philadelphia on Wednesday, October 17. The conference, organized annually by the Association of Christian Schools International, focused on helping students see that their fallen state has led to brokenness, identifying their  leadership style, and realizing how more more can be accomplished by working together to see redemption take place through action. Students from 11 other Christian schools in the Greater Philadelphia area, who along with ACS are members of ACSI, participated in the conference.

ACS students listened to speakers, interacted in discussion groups with students from the other schools, and then worked collaboratively to develop ideas and plans to make a difference at ACS. “It was a full day and we are excited to see the kind of impact these emerging leaders in our middle school will be making on our student body moving forward,” said Upper School Principal Meg McHale, who attended the conference along with middle school faculty member Sara Coates and parent chaperone Polly Ellison.