ACS students joyously celebrated Christ’s birth at two Christmas concerts on Thursday, December 13. The Early Education students, from infants and toddlers to PreK4, presented their concert the morning of December 13, singing classic favorites like “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” as well as songs sharing the message that the birth of Jesus is the reason we celebrate the season. Students in middle school and high school presented their Christmas concert Thursday night, with performances by the Middle School and High School Choirs and members of the Middle School Band.
One highlight of the Middle School/High School concert featured the combined choirs singing “African Noel” a cappella, accompanied by the lively beat of bongo drum. Other highlights included students performing solos or duets. 8th grader Jada Logan played “Jingle Bell Rock” on the saxophone. A trumpet trio of 6th grader Alex Holmstrom, 7th grader Ryleigh Martin, and 8th grader Dylan Reilly performed “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” 6th grader Isabell Alford did a stirring solo during the Middle School Choir’s performance of Michael W. Smith’s “All is Well” and 12th graders Ayolola Oguntuase and Imohimi Unuigbe performed a duet during the high school choir’s performance of “Noel.” The high school “Take Note Ensemble” performed Lauren Daigle’s “Light of the World.” Music Director Jaron Beadle announced the exciting news that the ensemble will be performing with Daigle in Carnegie Hall in January as part of a 200-voice choir. Congratulations to Music Director Beadle and to the Early Education teachers for working so diligently to help our students prepare for their outstanding and uplifting concerts.
ACS students in grades K-5 will be presenting their Christmas concert on Friday, December 14.
As the sacred season of Christmas unfolds this month, the good news of the birth of a Savior, Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, is being joyously celebrated at ACS. We are very grateful for the prayers and donations from ACS parents, grandparents, alumni, alumni parents, current and former faculty and staff, churches, businesses, and many other community supporters that have made it possible for us to boldly proclaim the name of Christ during Christmas and in everything we do throughout the year.
Christmas shopping doesn’t have to be a chore! On Saturday, December 15, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., let the students in the ACS Bahamas Missions Team provide a safe, fun evening of Christmas activities for your children (age 3 – grade 5) while you shop till you drop!
Thank you to our ACS basketball coaches and parents for participating in our winter 2018 Coin Drop fundraiser on Saturday, December 1. Dressed in festive Christmas hats, the ACS representatives greeted drivers at the intersection of Zion Road and Ocean Heights Avenue from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., asking for donations to support our middle school and high school athletics program. In just six hours, the coaches and parents collected $2,083.52 from our generous community members.
ACS students and teachers have begun decorating their classroom doors for the Christmas season as classes compete for prizes based on Facebook Votes, Student Involvement, Spiritual Message, and Originality.
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The Freshman Class will be selling Christmas-Grams next week, from December 10-17. For just $1.00, a student, staff member, or school family member can send a personalized message with a candy cane to spread joy to friends, teachers, students, coaches, and more! Orders are due by December 17, and forms are available in the main office. Your support helps our freshmen raise funds for special class activities.
As the Christmas season quickly approaches, it is easy for us to get caught up in our “to do” lists.” In the busy-ness of life, we can sometimes forget those who have greatly impacted the lives of our families and children the most, in particular the wonderful teachers and staff here at Atlantic Christian School. In the near future, we will have the opportunity to show them how much they mean to us and to our children through the “Christmas Love Offering” that we will take at each of the upcoming Christmas concerts on December 13 and 14. Through the Love Offering, we have the chance to bless our ACS teachers and staff and show them our deep appreciation for all they do to educate our children and train them up in the Lord.
Thirteen middle school and high school students are part of this year’s cheerleading squad, coached by staff member Mrs. Kelly Flynn. Practices got underway this week to begin preparing for a busy season with plans to cheer at both home and away games to support our middle school and high school teams.
With the completion of tryouts this week, the basketball season for our middle school and high school girls’ and boys’ teams is now underway. The first home game of the season will be this Friday, November 30, starting at 5 pm. The High School Varsity Girls’ team, under ACS alumnus Kaylee Breunig (’12) in her 2nd year as head coach, is hosting Abundant Life Academy from Nutley, NJ. The Varsity Boys, under Dan Carney in his 3rd year as head coach, will be playing Friday and Saturday in a tournament at Doane Academy in Burlington.
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.
Thank you to the parents, faculty, staff, local businesses, and friends of ACS that purchased beautiful poinsettia plants for the Christmas season. The net proceeds from the poinsettia sale will support the Junior Class and the high school “Take Note” Choral ensemble’s exciting trip to New York in January, where they will be performing with Christian solo artist Lauren Daigle. The poinsettias purchased will be decorating the ACS stage at our December 13 and 14 Christmas concerts. Anyone who purchased a plant will be able to pick them up after any one of those concerts. Thank you for your support.
On Wednesday, November 28, Dr. Christopher DiSanto, Associate Professor at Stockton University’s School of Arts and Humanities, visited ACS to work with 4th and 5th grade band students in a clarinet workshop. DiSanto, who was invited to ACS by Music Director Jaron Beadle, teaches music appreciation, music theory, and conducting at Stockton. He is also the Principal Clarinetist of the Bay Atlantic Symphony and director of its Music Mentorship program. This initiative affords selected Stockton music students the opportunity to be paired with musicians from the Bay Atlantic Symphony who act as mentors in a unique setting as visiting instrumental specialists in local middle and high school music programs.
Over 450 grandparents visited the ACS campus on Friday, November 16 for our annual Grandparents’ Appreciation Day. The PreK4 students warmly welcomed the grandparents as they sang “Happy Grandparents Day” to open the all-school chapel. The chapel program continued with students from elementary through high school praising God through musical presentations, scripture recitation, and prayer. There were also some humorous highlights, including a student in a turkey gobbler costume running around the stage as the kindergartners sang “Turkey Time,” under the direction of Mrs. Shirlene Perini.
