Exam Schedule

Issue 25 May 19, 2011

Upcoming High School Exams…

May 31 9:15–Phys Ed, 12:45–Spanish & Computer Applications
June 1 9:15–Science, 12:45–Northwest History & Keyboarding
June 2 9:25–English, 12:45–Bible
June 3 8:30–Assembly, 9:45–Algebra 1 & Algebra 2

We have added Tuesday, May 31 to the high school exam schedule so that we are able to get everything in. Tuesday through Thursday, high school students will need to arrive at school by 9:00 and they will be able to leave as early as 2:45. On Friday, They need to arrive at 8:30 as there will be a general student assembly. Again, they may leave when they finish their last exam at 11:30.

K through 8^th grades will meet and leave at the regular times. 8:30 to 3:15, Tuesday to Thursday; 1:00 on Friday.

Study hall is available for High school students who arrive earlier or leave later to accommodate travel schedules.

Track Meet Rescheduled

Well, based on the weather reports, we made a decision to cancel, and it turns out to have been the wrong decision. Tuesday was a beautiful day, and our students were frustrated that they had practiced to no end. We checked with Pasco High, and it turns out we can do a make-up event this coming Friday. And so, we are scheduling a grades 1-6 track day at Edgar Brown for May 27. Our 7/8 classes will still be away that day on their class trip and our 9/10s will just have returned. We will start at 8:30 and students can be picked up from the field as early as 1:00. Those who are not picked up by then will be returned to the school by 2:00.

School Constituency…

Currently, four Adventist churches in the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Kennewick Spanish, Richland, and Riverview) own and operate TCJA. Besides serving students from each of these four churches, we also have students from Ephesus, Grandview, Othello, Pasco Spanish, and The Reach attending our school. This makes for a lot of juggling when we try to do programs on weekends, and we appreciate the flexibility of our school families over this past year, inviting us in to worship at your various churches, and forgiving us for taking your families so the children could do programs elsewhere on Sabbaths.

HS Open Review Sessions

For those who are interested, Mr. B will run a HS Science Review from 8:30 to 9:05 on Tuesday, May 31. That same day, Mr. O will run an English Review from 2:45 to 3:30.

May

23 Muffin Monday (last one for the year)

23-26 9/10 Class Trip

25-27 7/8 Class Trip

27 Track Meet (8:30-1 @ Edgar Brown)

30 Memorial Day – No School

31 HS Exams Begin (PE, Computers, Spanish)

June

1 HS Exams Continue (Science, NW History)

2 HS Exams Continue (English, Bible)

2 PK-6 School Concert / Year-end program – 6:30

3 HS Exams Continue (Algebra 1 and 2)

5 7-10 School Closing and Awards program – 7:00

6 Last day of School

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Student Article

People are addicted to social networking. I Googled “Greatest Social Problem.” One of the results I got was “Facebook solves the greatest social networking problem.” It was not the first result, it was about halfway down the page, and it occurred to me that perhaps the social network is our greatest social problem. Some people, even adults, are almost constantly connected to Facebook and other social networking sites. Technology allows almost anyone to get on Facebook and other sites almost whenever and wherever they want: at home, at the office, in their cars, even church; and they do. People become seriously addicted. They post the most random things that nobody cares about and put up pictures that nobody wants to look at. Fans of these sites try to amass as many “friends” as they possibly can. Instead of actually meeting with and talking to others face-to-face, people just talk on social networking sites. This means that “social” networking sites may actually be making people less social, something we really do not need happening in our society. Many people’s social skills are already poor enough, probably thanks in part to these sites, we do not need them getting worse. After all, if you can talk to anyone from the comfort of your recliner, (or church pew for that matter) why go have a meaningful conversation with maybe just one or two?

By Cameron Smith

Riddle - Mr. O’s Stumper

Be the first student (Fri morning on) from each division (primary, middle school, elementary) to come into the office, answer the question and get a prize.

Some Presidents are great – others, not so much. Which President was OK?

changes

Issue 24 May 12, 2011

Staffing Change

We are saddened to announce that Mr. Wilson and his family will be leaving us after six years here at TCJA. Mr. Wilson has accepted a call to leave the classroom and follow his Administrative training as the Vice-principal at Blue Mountain Academy, a boarding school of 200+ students in Pennsylvania. He will be completing his responsibilities here in mid-June, after the end of our current school year.

We thank Mr. Wilson for the years he has spent here and wish him well in this new phase of his professional experience. We also wish Jayden and Shayla all the best in their new schools next year.

Elementary Intramurals…

Elementary intramurals will begin in the gym this coming week. For two weeks we will be playing Maxball, a Newgame designed by a student in a PE class about 27 years ago. First through sixth graders who think they may be interested are invited to come to the gym on Monday at 12:15 to be introduced to the game. After that, they can sign up to be on a team, with two games taking place each day for the next two weeks, Monday through Thursday.

Upcoming High School Exams…

High school freshmen and sophomores will be sitting for exams from June 1 through June 3. On Wednesday and Thursday, they will need to arrive at school by 9:00 and they will be able to leave as early as 2:45. On Friday, They need to arrive at 8:30 as there will be a general student assembly. Again, they may leave when they finish their last exam at 11:30. K through 8^th grades will meet and leave at the regular times. Watch for the exam schedule which will be posted in next week’s Dirt.

1200-Strong Update…

We are pursuing the first of our projects, beginning with a proposal to tonight’s Board to improve our gym floor. We will be applying for funds from the Capital Improvement holdings, but we are excited by the people who are signing up to be a part of the 1200-Strong, and believe that this could be an incredible year for many improvements at TCJA. In the next couple of weeks we will put a link on our website that will track the progress, holdings and developments of the 1200 strong program. We wish to thank those who have already committed, even before this program is fully off the ground.

Please prayerfully consider participating alongside those who already are part of the 1200-Strong.

May

13-15 UCC Pathfinder Fair at Lewiston

16 Muffin Monday

17 Track Meet – @ Edgar Brown – 8:30-2:00

18 Grades 1-4 field trip to Health and Safety fair

19 Music Concert (Adv. Band, Bells, Choir) – 7:00

23-27 9/10 Class Trip

25-27 7/8 Class Trip

30 Memorial Day – No School

June

1-3 High School Exams

2 PK-6 School Concert / Year-end program – 6:30

5 7-10 School Closing and Awards program – 7:00

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Track Meet

May 17. Crestview Christian (Moses Lake), Hermiston Junior (middle school grades) and possibly Beacon Junior (Lewiston) will be joining us for the day. It should be a fun day. Records to be challenged are posted in hall by early next week.

7^th through 10^th graders opting not to participate will be at the school for the day (8:30 to 2:00), where there will be special academic and physical education type activities.

Classes for all students dismiss at 2:00pm, however, Bells practice will follow that dismissal time and there is a special math class that already meets Tuesday at 3:30 which will meet as usual at that time.

For those who cannot be picked up at 2:00, daycare will be provided gratis at the school until 3:30. Study Hall options will also be available for the same.

Student Feature - Mr. O’s pick

Ryan Lingscheit, Lexi Scotson and Bradley Birney – Ryan made an appointment to talk to me so he could sign up to become our youngest member of the 1200-strong program. Bradley came in April and signed up. In May he decided to pay the entire year’s commitment down. Lexi became our newest club member this morning. Several parents have also signed up their families, but I selected these three because they are jumping in with their own money. I admire that. While there won’t always be rewards for stepping up to the plate in life, this week there is. You have my pick as students of the week. There is a free muffin waiting in the office for each of you this coming Monday.

Registration Discount

The rate, up once again to $280, is still discounted from the fall rate ($380). The next cut-off date is June 10.

April is Gone

Issue 23 April 28, 2011

1200-Strong…

At our constituency meeting this past Monday, we talked about a plan to potentially raise up to $144,000 in one year for upgrades to the school. The plan is for every church member (and every parent and student) to participate in a systematic giving program in the amount of $10 per month for one year. You could start in April, May, June or July. We already have several people who have joined the giving program, and we are excited to see what will happen as people commit to becoming one of the 1200.

We plan to start our facelift projects as early as this summer, and as funds come in, we will continue through our list. In the last two issues of The Dirt, we asked for your input and we have had responses that tell us that the gym floor is a priority, with a school sign and fencing the yard coming in close behind.

Please prayerfully consider participating as one of the 1200-Strong.

5/6 Class Heads to Mivoden

The fifth and sixth grade class will head to Mivoden on Monday morning for one full school week, where they will be involved in Oudoor School. Mr. O will be driving the bus for the group. There will be no school activities for those students in these grades who are not participating in this trip.

Constituency Meeting

We would like to thank all of the delegates and others who came out to the constituency meeting this past week. We especially appreciate those students who came out to listen in and otherwise participate in the evening. Our most important announcement arising from the meeting is the addition of a fourth church to our governing body. We welcome the Kennewick Spanish Church as our newest partner in Adventist education in the Tri-Cities.

Elementary Intramurals…

Mr. O will be gone next week with the class that is headed to Mivoden, so the next elementary intramural league will not start up until the following week. We will be playing Maxball. Students who think they might be interested in playing are invited to come out after lunch on Monday, May 9 and try it. If they decide to continue, they wil be put on teams which will play over the next two to three weeks.

April

29 Spanish Class Bake Sale – Missions Fundraiser

29 WWVA AcroKnights / Assembly – 10:40

30 Band & Choir at Kennewick Church Service

May

1 Bloomsday

2 Muffin Monday

6 9/10 Bake Sale – Class Trip Fundraiser

10 SWLC Family Night/Celebrating Mothers – 6:00

11 Elder Folkenberg to do Assembly Worship – 9:00

13 Pathfinder Fair (through the 15^th)

17 Track Meet @ Edgar Brown – 8:30-2:00

19 Spring Music Concert – 7:00pm

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Track Meet

May 17. Start Practicing. Records will be posted in the hall by early next week.

Student Feature - Mr. O’s pick

Makenna Shirinzadeh- you have been selected as this week’s student to receive a free muffin this coming Monday. Thank-you for always being so helpful and friendly.

Registration Discount

The rate, up to $230, is still a substantial discount from the fall rate ($380). The next cut-off date is May 10.

This Week’s Giveaway

I have 2 new conditions for my prize giveaways…

1. Prize winners are to be students or teachers who have not claimed a prize off of me yet this year.

2. The contests begin Friday mornings at 8:20.

Only his boot stands where this famous General’s sculpture might have been.

Items to Recycle…

We have a couple of items to give away or sell this week. First, I have a couple of music stands. The first one is complete. I am asking $2. The other is just the base and I am giving it away. You would have to purchase the top for it.

We also have a portable basketball stand with plexi-glass (plastic) backboard and breakaway hoop that we are selling for $25. We stopped using it in the gym because the base had a seam leak and wouldn’t hold water, but it could hold sand and would work. The basket needs a weld, but also will work as is.