Post Tagged with: "Middle School"

Bowls of Hope Food Drive Collects 1,021 Pounds of Food For Community FoodBank

Our Bowls of Hope Food Drive was a huge success! Thanks to the generosity of our school families and friends, ACS collected a whopping 1,021 pounds worth of canned soups, vegetables, beans, tuna fish, and other non-perishable food items to donate to the Community FoodBank of NJ, Southern Branch. ACS middle school and high school Student Council members helped pack up the donated items and loaded them onto a Food Bank truck on Thursday, February 6.

Colette Kraus, Food Sourcing Manager for the Community FoodBank, thanked ACS for the donation which she said “will help many in our community who need our assistance.”

The donations came in throughout the month of January, with the school-wide Food Drive concluding the night of the Bowls of Hope Soup Cook-Off on February 1. Many people who attended the Bowls of Hope brought canned goods and other non-perishables to donate to the Food Drive, which this year collected three times more than last year’s drive.

Varsity Cheer Squad Fires Up ACS Basketball Fans

A talented, high-energy 15-member cheerleading squad has been getting ACS fans fired up at home basketball games since early January. The squad will be cheering at three more games before the basketball season concludes — at this Friday’s JV and Varsity Girls’ games against Winslow; at the senior game on February 11; and at the semi-final playoff game on February 20. Come on out and cheer our Cougars on to victory!

The middle school and high school students on the squad, co-coached by staff members Kelly Flynn and Morgan Gibson, started practicing in November to learn nearly 50 chants, cheers, and half-time routines and to develop their tumbling, stunts, and pyramids.

“I love the way this squad really works together,” said Mrs. Flynn. “They help and support each other and not just when they’re cheering, but they’re building great relationships for life.” In addition to practicing or cheering at a game three to four days a week, the squad has also enjoyed their time together at team dinners and Bible studies.

The squad is led by two captains — 9th grader Lauren Kent and 8th grader Haven Sanchez. The other members of the squad are: Angelina Alexis, Isabell Alford, Ava Barberio, Leah Boyer, Victoria Dade, Rebecca DiMaio, Adrienna Foo, Grace Johnson, Paityn Kates, Autumn Loo, Savannah Schwenker, Makayla Tomlinson, and Stephanie Valdes.

ACS Participating in Coaches vs. Cancer Campaign

ACS and other Christian schools in the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference are combining their efforts to support families dealing with cancer with a “Coaches vs. Cancer” campaign. Donations and gate fees collected at the February 3 middle school and high school basketball home games and at the Tuesday, February 11 home JV and Varsity games against Gloucester County Christian School will be donated to the TSCAC campaign.

Special T-shirts are being worn by ACS basketball players and cheerleaders at these games to support the cause. Income from the sale of the T-shirts is also being donated to the campaign.

Athletic Director Pam Hitchner said the funds collected this year will go to two families who have family members undergoing cancer treatment. One family is affiliated with Calvary Academy. The other recipient will be Kevin Weeks and his family. Mr. Weeks, who resides in Egg Harbor Township, is 31 years old and has six children. He is related to two members of the ACS Varsity basketball team, Aaron and Sam Glancey.

Join Us Today! ACS Spirit Day at Buffalo Wild Wings

See you there! Today is ACS Spirit Day at Buffalo Wild Wings in Mays Landing. Eat wings and help raise funds for ACS Athletics.

This is the second year for the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Mays Landing to be partnering with ACS to support our school. For this school year, the restaurant has decided to increase its donation to 20% of the total bill of any customer who presents our special fundraising ticket between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. on January 24. The restaurant is located at 4311 Black Horse Pike in Mays Landing.

Please spread the word about this exciting fundraiser to benefit ACS middle school and high school sports programs.

CLICK HERE to get the special yellow printable fundraiser ticket to present when you order your meal. Tickets are also available in the school office.

Middle School Basketball Teams Off to a Great Start

Atlantic Christian School’s Middle School Girls’ and Boys’ basketball teams are off to a great start in the Atlantic Cape Junior High League, both with strong winning records at this half-way point in the season.

“Both teams have a lot of talented players who can defend and score and they’re doing very well,” said Athletic Director Pam Hitchner. “One highlight in the season so far has been beating Saint Joseph Regional School at their home court in Somers Point. They always have good teams and this is the first time in several years that both of our teams have beat them.”

The MS Girls’ team, led by Grant Miller in his second year has head coach, is undefeated in the Atlantic Cape League with a 6-0 record, and is 6-2 overall. The two losses came in early December at the start of the season when ACS played in the Dixie Howe Tournament in Ocean City. The MS Boys’ team, under second year head coach Lee Martin, has a 5-1 record in the Atlantic Cape League and is 7-2 overall. The team won 2 out of 3 games in the Dixie Howe Tournament.

ACS Students Learn About the Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mrs. Fosbenner’s 3rd graders created special projects this week on the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I have a dream.” Those memorable words are the centerpiece of a special history project that students in Mrs. Fosbenner’s 3rd grade class completed this week ahead of Monday’s national holiday honoring the late civil rights leader and minister, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The students created portraits of Dr. King, accompanied by excerpts from his famous “I Have a Dream” National Mall speech to a crowd of some 250,000 people at the 1963 March on Washington. The students were also challenged to list five ways they can help others in the spirit of Dr. King’s message. In addition to creating the portraits, the students are reading a Scholastic News article about Dr. King’s life and impact on society.

The 3rd grade class projects will hang in the hallway near their classroom throughout this month. Dr. King’s biography is also on display on a bulletin board in the hallway near the school library. The display promotes the theme: Speak Love, Think Love, Show Love based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-8.

Over the next week, our elementary students will be reading, writing, and watching videos about Dr. King. As one example, Mrs. McCarthy’s 2B class will be reading “Martin’s Big Words” and completing a writing piece entitled “Martin Had Big Dreams and So Do I?” Our Upper School students learn about the life and legacy of Dr. King throughout the school year as part of their history/social studies curriculum.

ACS is grateful for courageous leaders like Dr. King who have helped us understand and apply the biblical truth that in Christ, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one.” (Galatians 3:28)

ACS Spirit Day at Buffalo Wild Wings – Friday, Jan. 24

See you there! ACS Spirit Day at Buffalo Wild Wings in Mays Landing is Friday, January 24. Eat wings and help raise funds for ACS Athletics.

This is the second year for the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Mays Landing to be partnering with ACS to support our school. For this school year, the restaurant has decided to increase its donation to 20% of the total bill of any customer who presents our special fundraising ticket between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. on January 24. The restaurant is located at 4311 Black Horse Pike in Mays Landing.

Please spread the word about this exciting fundraiser to benefit ACS middle school and high school sports programs.

CLICK HERE to get the special yellow printable fundraiser ticket to present when you order your meal. Tickets are also available in the school office.

New 2nd Floor Water Bottle Filling Station Blesses Upper School Students, Staff

Middle school and high school students and staff are lining up to fill their water bottles with healthy, refreshing filtered water from the school’s second new water bottle filling station, located on the 2nd floor of the school building near the bathrooms. The purchase of the new filling station was made possible by a donation from ACS parents Dr. Salaam and Lauren Alobeidy.

The Elkay filling station, which also has a regular water fountain in the front, was installed on January 3 by ACS parent and licensed plumber Phil Kates, and has already been used by our middle school and high school students and staff to fill over 160 water bottles. Pictured filling up their bottles in between classes are, from left, ACS high school seniors Emily Kelley, Ben Noble, and Dan Roland.

“We are very grateful for the generosity from our school families who support our efforts to provide a healthy learning environment for our students and staff,” said Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen. Oblen said the new filling station encourages everyone to drink more water and also has a positive impact on the environment, reducing the usage of disposable plastic water bottles. ACS is also grateful to Lowe’s in Egg Harbor Township for providing discounted pricing on the machine.

ACS installed its first water bottle filling station in the 1st floor Multi-Purpose Room in the spring of 2018. It was purchased with a grant from the AtlantiCare Healthy Schools, Healthy Children program. That filling station has been used to fill now close to 52,000 water bottles.

ACS Spirit Day at Buffalo Wild Wings – Friday, Jan. 24

Save the Date! ACS Spirit Day at Buffalo Wild Wings in Mays Landing is Friday, January 24. Eat wings and help raise funds for ACS Athletics.

This is the second year for the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Mays Landing to be partnering with ACS to support our school. For this school year, the restaurant has decided to increase its donation to 20% of the total bill of any customer who presents our special fundraising ticket between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. on January 24. The restaurant is located at 4311 Black Horse Pike in Mays Landing.

Please spread the word about this exciting fundraiser to benefit ACS middle school and high school sports programs.

CLICK HERE to get the special yellow printable fundraiser ticket to present when you order your meal. Tickets are also available in the school office.

Exciting Basketball Season Underway for Six ACS Cougars’ Teams

Cougars’ Basketball is in full swing with six teams playing in this 2018-19 season. Congratulations to the High School Varsity Boys’ basketball team, under head coach Dan Carney, for beating Gloucester County Christian School this week at home and remaining undefeated with a 6-0 record and in first place in the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference at this half-way point in the season. Tuesday’s game against Gloucester was a real heart stopper, with forward Cole Johnson sinking a 3-point shot with 3.5 seconds left in the game that tied the score and sent the game into overtime. ACS went on to win in overtime, 59 to 56. Johnson, finished with 14 points, joined by other outstanding contributions from forward Landon Shivers with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks, and point guard Ben Noble with 16 points. CLICK HERE to see a highlights video of Wednesday’s thrilling win. The High School Varsity Girls’ basketball team is also having a strong, winning season, with a 4-1 record and in second place behind King’s Christian School in the TSCAC.  The Lady Cougars, under head coach Kaylee Breunig, beat Gloucester County Christian 51-21 at home this week. The JV Boys’ and Girls’ teams are also seeing success and are gaining a lot of on-court playing time experience.

The Middle School teams are a third of the way into their season in the Atlantic Cape Junior High League. The Middle School Girls’ team, under head coach Grant Miller, started off strong winning a season-opening non-league tournament at ACIT and have continued to excel in posting an 8-1 record so far. Seventh-grader Evangelina Kim is the leading scorer off the bench as well as a strong spiritual presence on the team. The Middle School Boys’ team, under first-year coach Lee Martin, is currently 3-3 and continues to improve each time the young players take the court. Eighth grade guard Caleb Vogel has lead the team in scoring, averaging almost 15 points per game.

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.