ACS collected over 300 hats during a December Hat Drive that were donated to the non-profit, Ellie’s Hats, on January 6. Members of the Student Council, who organized the hat drive, presented Shanice Beltran, an Ambassador for Ellie’s Hats, with three big boxes filled with hats that will be donated to children undergoing cancer treatment. Beltan plans to deliver the hats sometime this month to the Pediatric Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia specialty care unit of hematology and oncology in Voorhees.
“I am so grateful to see the outcome of this hat drive,” said Beltran, who is also an ACS parent and works in the ACS Early Education Center. “These hats are going to be a blessing to so many kids. I never expected to receive such a large number of hats.” Beltran’s daughter, Emma, underwent cancer treatment for a tumor in her kidney in 2018 and received hats to wear from the Maryland-based Ellie’s Hats, during her treatment.
“When children are going through chemo and experiencing hair loss, having a hat to wear gives them some comfort and helps them not think about the ugly side of cancer,” Beltran said. She said the children at the Voorhees clinic will get to choose which of the donated hats they would like to have, helping them reflect their creative and expressive side.
ACS families with students from kindergarten to the 12th grade donated to the Hat Drive, which ran from November 29 to December 20. Student Council Advisor Dave Genter said a total of 306 new hats were collected, in sizes ranging from babies to teenagers.
“The Student Council members were excited to organize this hat drive for Ellie’s Hats and we’re very pleased with the enthusiastic response from our school families,” Genter said.
Barbie dolls, LEGOs, puzzles, and toy cars were among some 90 toys that were donated by Atlantic Christian School on January 6 to the Hispanic Association of Atlantic County for their “Three Kings Day” event on January 8. Thank you to our generous Early Education Center families who donated the toys to our December Toy Drive to support this charitable event.
Parents and guardians can sign up now for our winter Parent-Teacher Conferences that will be held Tuesday-Thursday, January 25-27. Twenty-minute time slots are available from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, and from 1:00-5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The sign-up site will close on January 18 at 6 p.m., at which point any parent/guardian who has not signed up will be assigned a time to meet with their child’s teacher.
Congratulations to our Varsity Boys’ Basketball team for winning first place at a Christmas Basketball Tournament hosted by Cairn University on December 29 and 30, beating Faith Christian Academy of Sellersville, PA in the championship round in overtime play. The Varsity Girls’ team also advanced to the championship game, but lost to Faith Christian Academy of Sellersville, finishing in second place.
Student Council members kicked off the Bowls of Hope Food Drive this week, making presentations to students in various classrooms on Friday morning and distributing white plastic grocery bags to take home for families to begin collecting canned soup and other non-perishable food for the Community FoodBank of NJ, Southern Branch. Please return the Food Drive bags to ACS by Friday, February 4, or bring them with you to the February 5 Bowls of Hope event. Families can also bring donations to ACS during Parent-Teacher Conferences to be held the last week of January.
Students from kindergarten to the 12th grade are invited to audition for the Bowls of Hope Talent Show, to be held during the Bowls of Hope Soup Cook-Off on Saturday, February 5. Talent Show auditions will be on Thursday, January 2o, from 3:15-5:00 p.m. in the Music Room. The sign-up form for the auditions is in the school office and students will receive a specific audition time slot.
Students in the 6th to 12th grades are being challenged to create an original video to promote the Bowls of Hope Soup Cook-Off. The contest offers VISA gift card prizes for the top three entries and the winning videos will be posted on ACS social media in January and early February and shown at the Bowls of Hope Soup Cook-Off on February 5.
Give the gift of blood and help save a life. The Red Cross is reporting that it is experiencing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Make an appointment to donate blood at the American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, February 9, 2022 from 3:00-8:00 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room. Our goal is to collect 47 or more donations.
Students in Miss Stonelake’s 8th grade integrated science class designed and built large models of roller coasters as part of a month-long class project that concluded with classroom presentations on December 21 and 22, which was also Christmas Pajama Dress Down Day. The students worked individually and in groups, both in class and at home, using household materials to complete their unique designs, some of which spanned nearly 4 feet high and 4 feet wide.
The students in Mrs. Reilly’s kindergarten class wanted to give back to their community helpers, and who better to appreciate during this time of year than mail carriers? The students wrote “thank you” letters during class on December 23, the last day before Christmas break, and created hot chocolate gifts for their mail carriers to enjoy after a long day of work.
Students and staff gathered to worship and celebrate the birth of Jesus at an all-school Christmas Chapel on December 23. Students from preschool to the 12th grade participated in the chapel program with drama, vocal, and instrumental presentations. Event Coordinator and high school Bible teacher Christian Delacruz encouraged everyone in his chapel message to be thankful for the best Christmas gift of all — the gift of grace, love, and eternal life made possible through the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Students from kindergarten to the third grade took center stage to share the story of the Biblical events that led up to the birth of Jesus at their Christmas concert on December 16. After the opening prayer by Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen, the kindergarten students performed “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Jingle Bells.” The concert program then transitioned to a presentation of the children’s musical — “Beneath a Shining Star.”
The jingle-jangle of bells rang out to open the Early Education Christmas Concert on December 17, getting family members and friends in the Christmas spirit. The program featured ACS preschool-aged students dressed in their best Christmas outfits singing songs that celebrated the birth of Jesus, interspersed with an interactive reading of the Christmas story by Early Education Director and Elementary Principal Gail Alford.
Between each class performance, Mrs. Alford gathered for a special story time at the front of the stage to read the Christmas story aloud as several students from Mrs. Kelley’s and Mrs. Bird’s PreK4 classes listened and asked questions. The students who were part of the story time were: HazelMarie Black, River Finnegan, Jaxon Fiorilo, Lucas Keaney, Michael Lombardi, Wesley Myers, Lily Platt, Moriah Ragland, Teagan Raughley, Zoe McNulty, Roman Siu, and Hunter VanHenninga (from Mrs. Bird’s class); and Robert O’Donoghue, Brielle Sabulao, Jackson Sawatzke, Julian Walder, and Johannah Wilson (from Mrs. Kelley’s class).
School parent and pastor Lee Martin presented a Christmas message to the hundreds of parents, grandparents, other family members, and friends in the audience, reminding them that the best gift ever given was Jesus and the eternal life that comes through Him. The PreK3 and PreK4 students closed the concert with an enthusiastic rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
The students in Mrs. McCarthy’s 3rd grade class surprised ACS Event Coordinator Christian Delacruz on December 23 with a special Christmas gift — a poster full of hand-written letters thanking him for his dedication and hard work serving the students and staff and an envelope filled with $300 in cash.
In the students’ letters to Delacruz, they thanked him for all his efforts to make the Race for Education and the One Christmas Night Festival a success. They also talked about the valuable lesson they learned about sacrificing by giving up their personal time to do chores to be a blessing to someone else. The students described the various chores they did, including setting the table, doing dishes, and cleaning their bedroom.
The Middle School basketball season got off to an early start this month as the boys’ and girls’ teams competed in the Dixie Howell Jr. High Basketball Tournament in Ocean City from December 10-15, with only a few practices under their belts. The regular season for Middle School basketball kicks off in January, with the first games to be played at home against King’s Christian School on Wednesday, January 5. Come on out and cheer for our Cougars! Please note that Atlantic Cape Junior High League rules this season require that masks must be worn by spectators at all games, whether at home or away.
In the Dixie Howell Tournament, sponsored by the Ocean City PBA Local 61, the Middle School Boys’ team won one game and lost one game and advanced to play in the Tournament’s Boys’ Consolation game, where they lost to Upper Township 38-20. The Middle School Girls’ team lost its first two games and did not advance to the final round.
The 15 members of the Middle School Girls’ Basketball Team are: Alexis Andujar, Angela Awad, Sophia Costello, Mikayla Cubbage, Gianna Flynn, Lucy Huff, Gracie Leon, Grace Lushina, Malena Meyer, Solia Pecou, Nina Purdy, Skyler Shivers, Kalee Tardif, Shelby Tomlinson, and Anyae Welch. Faculty member and ACS alumnus Grant Miller (’07) is in his third year as head coach, assisted by his wife and faculty member, Minelva Miller.
Mark your calendar for our 9th ACS Bowls of Hope Soup Cook-Off Benefit to be held on Saturday, February 5, 2022 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the school gym. You won’t want to miss this enjoyable and entertaining evening of good food, fellowship, a student Talent Show, and a canned food drive — all to benefit ACS, the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Southern Branch.
The winter 2022 schedule of After-School Classes is finalized and there is something for everyone. To promote the benefits of health and exercise, there are classes for karate and gymnastics which start during the third week of January. There is also a new Mock Trial Team for high school students that will be preparing for February competition.
Thursday, November 18 started off like any other day for 12th grader Hyeonjin Choi, an 18-year-old South Korean international student at ACS, who his teachers and classmates know as Isaac. He had a bowl of Chips Ahoy cereal and some rice for breakfast, talked with his twin brother, Hyeonbin (Joseph), about their plans for the day, and caught the bus for school. But when he got to school and was sitting with friends in homeroom, he decided to check the College Board website to see if the results of his October 28 SAT test were released and that’s when his day took a dramatic turn — he learned he had scored an 800 on the math section of the SAT – a perfect score.
The 17 students in Mrs. Melody’s STEM class, a new Middle School elective offered this fall, built models of bridges and rollercoasters in December as they learned the fundamentals of structural engineering. The students have been working in teams since September, learning how to apply mathematical and scientific concepts to real life, hands-on projects.
The students in Mrs. Lewis’ Middle School Cooking Class got a head start on baking for Christmas when they learned how to decorate cookies in their December 16 class. For Mrs. Lewis, it’s all about sharing her love of cooking with the students and teaching them the fundamentals so they gain confidence and be creative.
Alumni, their parents, and friends filled the ACS gym on December 20 for the annual Alumni Basketball Games and fans were treated to some exciting, fast-paced basketball as over two dozen alumni took to the court for some friendly competition. The Alumni Girls’ Basketball Game, the first game of the evening, featured 14 former players who competed for ACS from 2008-2021. The white team won handily by a score of 57-31. The Alumni Boys’ Basketball Game saw 12 former players from the 2013-2021 graduating classes face off in a game that went down to the wire, with the green team winning 68-66. Dozens of alumni cheered from the bleachers and enjoyed complimentary food provided by the ACS Athletic Department.
Over 1,000 ACS families and friends turned out for our first One Christmas Night Festival on December 3 — a heart-warming, joy-filled way to kick off the Christmas season. Thank you for coming and making our One Christmas Night a success! There were a variety of fun activities for adults and children alike to experience, including a live nativity, tractor-pulled hayride, pony rides, a petting zoo, inflatables, Christmas craft making, face painting, Christmas Story Time, and outdoor Christmas movies.
The final results are in and our 2021 Race for Education raised $44,107 for our Annual Fund, exceeding our goal by 10% and raising over $4,000 more than last year’s Race. Thank you to our 20 Event Sponsors, 30 Classroom Sponsors, and hundreds of other donors, our student and teacher participants, and volunteers for making our 2021 Race for Education fundraiser a super success. Event Coordinator Christian Delacruz congratulated Jenna Howard, in Mrs. Kelley’s PK4A class, as the Student Grand Prize Winner during the December 10 Early Ed/Kindergarten Chapel.
The ACS Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Basketball teams headed to Pennsylvania on Friday, December 10 to play in the two-day Delco Basketball Tournament, just days before they would face off against Gloucester County Christian School on December 13 in their first Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference games at home in the ACS gym.
The winter cheerleading season is underway with 29 middle school and high school students participating, making it the largest cheer squad in school history. The team has ambitious goals, with plans to cheer at both home and away basketball games and to participate in several cheerleading competitions in the spring of 2022. The squad cheered for the first time at the December 7 home Varsity basketball games against Doane Academy and traveled to Pennsylvania on December 10 to cheer for ACS at the Delco Basketball Tournament.