Lower School News: March 6 – March 10, 2017

Special Guests

A big thank you to our APSU Baseball team who visited the Lower School this week and read to many of our classrooms! The students enjoyed having them as guests!

We were also very lucky to have many, many special guests read to our lower school throughout the week. Here are just a few of our friends who came to visit.

Seuss Yourself Contest Winners

Congratulations to the following classroom winners for our Seuss yourself contest! These students each won $5 Seuss Bucks to use at the Spring Book Fair! Congrats!

Mrs. Alsup-Lucia Hoffman
Mrs. Holt-Robert Bowles

Mrs. Clinard-Grace Sauls
Mrs. Samuels-David Nixon

Mrs. King-Landon Lamm
Mrs. Lindsey-Keith Gosa
Mrs. Lynn-Alora Ellis

Mrs. Clemments-Anna Kate Seay
Mrs. Traughber-Jay Patel

Mrs. Smith-Jackson Gardner
Mrs. Williams-Lucy Schoor

Mrs. Meek-Meredith Maxwell
Mrs. Morgan/Mrs. Calvert-Isaiah Cawood

Mrs. Hyde-Hannah Polosky
Mrs. Shea-Savannah Valencia

1st Grade

First grade had a great week celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read Across America! We had some very special guests on Thursday come read us one of their favorite Dr. Seuss books! A huge thank you to the APSU baseball team for visiting our classes and reading a story to us!!

WE NEED YOU!

The CBL health and fitness group is working with the City of Parks and Recreation to create a commercial to advertise the Bcycles and visiting downtown Clarksville. We will be filming on Saturday March 11. We would like to have others participate in the filming of the commercial. If you and your family want to join in on the fun please contact Mrs Hardison at nhardison@clarksvilleacademy.com.

Science Lab

Third graders noted temperature ranges as they continue their study of weather and weather instruments. They also received their Bonnie Plant Cabbage sprouts, and information about a nationwide contest that they can choose to enter from home. The contest rules and guidelines can be accessed online, and participants/entries are also submitted online.

Second grade concludes their study of Water Habitats. We created a pond using local pond water. We added animals and insects related to pond life. We tested water quality using Project WET supplies, from a recent workshop. Due to our extremely warm weather we were even able to see some larval stage invertebrates.

First graders begin their study of Matter. We examined the properties of Solids, Liquids, and Gases. We placed capsules in our liquids, and observed their expansion.

3rd Grade

Third grade is soaring as they learn about Weather & Clouds. Students create a Clouds Poster and identify types of Clouds, their appearance, location in the sky & what kind of weather they bring.

Students in third grade are anxiously awaiting their arrival of a clutch of chicks!!! They observed and tested to see if the eggs were winners, yolkers, or quitters. This technique is known as candling. The students were enthralled and excited about their discovery!

Spanish

Ms. Swadley will begin offering an afterschool enrichment course for Spanish. Details regarding this course can be found on our website at:

https://clarksvilleacademy.com/ca-events/afterschool-enrichment/

Check out all our After School Enrichment opportunities such as Art with Mrs. Holt, Piano with Mrs. Thomas and Fitness with Coach Magrans!

Box Tops

This is a reminder that CA collects Box Tops through our CAA. The money raised from this project funds various school improvement projects. Last year we raised over $2000 through the Box Tops program alone! Please turn yours into your child’s teacher or Ms. Turnage in the front office.

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

Upper School News: March 6 – March 10, 2017

Honors Biology

The students have been focused this week on learning about a special group of proteins called enzymes. During our enhanced schedule days the students conducted and Enzyme lab using potatoes and hydrogen peroxide. During the lab students used ground raw potatoes, diced raw potatoes, and cooked diced potatoes. All animal and plant cells contain the enzyme catalase. When catalase comes in contact with hydrogen peroxide it chemically breaks the hydrogen peroxide down into water and oxygen gas (bubbles). The objective of the lab was for students to determine how environments factors, such as temperature and surface area, affect the enzyme reaction rate.

Honors Zoology

The students are becoming more comfortable with the process of dissecting and discovering unique anatomical features of each group of animals. This week the focus of studies has been on the group of animals classified as annelids. In addition to the earthworm, leeches, and marine worms belong to this group. Next week the students will study Gastropods, examples of organism in this group are squids, octopus, and nautilus. The students will dissect a squid.

Mock Crash

Next Friday, the Transportation CBL group in conjunction with the Clarksville Police will be staging a mock crash at the Cougar Sports Complex. Actors from our CBL group will be in the “crash”. Emergency vehicles, including a LifeFlight helicopter, will come to the scene as if it’s a real crash. All sophomore, junior, and senior students will be in attendance.

WE NEED YOU!

FCA

FCA meets weekly on Wednesdays at 7:15AM in Coach Williams’ room. We invite all US students to attend.

Box Tops

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

Intermediate School News: March 6 – March 10, 2017

Driver’s Education

Intermediate School students were invited to participate in an interactive Driver’s Education program. The program used a game show style presentation that educated students on the dangers of distracted driving (drinking, texting, eating, etc.) This was wonderful program for our students!

St. Patrick’s Day Dance

The annual Intermediate School dance will take place on March 17 from 7:00-10:00 PM in the Auxiliary Gym. Semi-formal attire with no jeans. $5 admission at the door. Questions? Contact Coach Trent at mtrent@clarksvilleacademy.com.

Pre-Algebra

After learning about Percent, the 7th graders participated in a mock “Flea Market” activity where they were to buy and sell items. They had to set selling prices for their items based on the mark-up Percent, and then calculate their loss/profit from their sales.
“It was fun. We learned about loss n profit. It is an important knowledge for operating a business” said Christina Webber.

Social Studies

7th Grade Social Studies will be working on Group Presentations as part of our study of Russia. Topics that will be covered will include, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Rise of Communism, Soviet System, Famous Leaders, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.

8th Grade Social Studies students will begin study of Westward Expansion, exploring such topics as General Santa Anna, The Alamo, Lonestar Republic, Manifest Destiny, Mexican War and the California Gold Rush. Students will be assigned topics and present their findings to the class!

WE NEED YOU!

Intermediate School Sports Photos

We would love for you to share your action shots at IS sporting events. Please send action photos to photos@clarksvilleacademy.com for use in the yearbook.

FCA

FCA meets weekly in Coach Trent’s room on Wednesday at 7:15AM. We invite every IS student to attend.

Box Tops

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

All School News: March 6 – March 10, 2017

Dr Seuss Week

We have had such fun exploring Dr Seuss and all the wonderful books he shared with us. Thank you to everyone who participated in our dress up days and who read with our students. Mrs. Dirksen and the Cougar Café staff even got in on the fun!

WE NEED YOU!

Photos

Throughout the year if you take photos at various school events and would like to submit them for possible use in the yearbook or for marketing purposes, please send them to photos@clarksvilleacademy.com.

Important Dates

March 22-24 — Grandparent’s Day
April 1 — Steak Dinner
April 10-17 — Spring Break—No School

Box Tops

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

CBL: FEB 2017

CBL Feb 24, 2017

Our February Challenge Based Learning day found most groups implementing their INNOVATIVE Solutions.

Our morning Assembly began with Coach Bauer’s Youth Matters group, implementing their INNOVATIVE Solution called “Brown Bag Snack Challenge”. They distributed brown lunch bags, and CHALLENGED students to “match” what they would spend on a snack during the day. They filmed this process of distributing and collecting, and have completed a video to be sent to other schools to CHALLENGE them to repeat the ‘Brown Bag Snack Challenge’ as a way to raise money for other communities.

Our Health Group, facilitated by Mrs. Hardison, is starring in a commercial filmed by Clarksville Parks and Recreation. They will complete the commercial soon, filming more scenes in the coming days.

Coach Watson’s Fitness group continues to investigate a partnership with Clarksville Aquatic Center, and Kleeman Recreation Center as they continue their challenge: How can we offer assistance to facilities that promote fitness in Clarksville Montgomery County.

Our Mentoring group, facilitated by Dr. Beach and Mr. Christmas, continue their progress making tutoring more accessible to those who are looking to improve in a specific area. They are also implementing plans to create a series of videos to offer a better understanding of each club or extracurricular activity offered at CA.

Our Food Security Group is creating some publicity material for Loaves and Fishes, as part of a sustainable Solution. The film, requested by the L/F coordinator, will be used by them as they present information to our community. Our students have volunteered numerous times, donated items as part of a partnership with another organization, and assisted with lunches.

Mr. Neizke and Mrs. Drake’s Beautification Group continue painting on their mural project. They have completed 2/3 of the mural and have received compliments from community members, staff at Animal Control and Adoption, and the Montgomery County Mayor’s Office.

Our Food Production Group, facilitated by Mr. Boyd and Mr. Walker, had a guest Karla Kean (Montgomery County Horticulturalist) visit CA. She assisted them with planting seeds for our community garden. The group received a donation of a Grow Lab which provides them with the opportunity to start sprouts and seedlings before the actual garden can be planted.

Coach Magrans’ Recreation group: Team Pura Vida submitted a followup report on their Disc Golf course. They have created an INNOVATIVE survey utilizing a QR code, so course users can submit responses evaluating the effectiveness of this group’s community project at Rotary Park.

Ms. Stonesifer’s First Responders group continues to explore options in assisting our First Responders. They are concentrating on assisting all first responders by suppling items that will be used when responding to emergency calls.

Coach Bragg’s Military Support group assisted with a Battalion that was returning to Fort Campbell from deployment. They created Welcome Home posters and delivered Care Packages in appreciation of our Military Servicemen and women.

Mrs. Little and Mrs. Lindsey’s Environment group continues working in cooperation with Dunbar Cave State Park and its staff. They are creating displays for the center. Students researched and created display boards of regional animals, regional plants, water cycle, and the history of Dunbar Cave State Park. These display boards will be used at the interactive stations to teach 3rd – 5th grade students. These learning stations will contain information about various aspects of the park and will be utilized by our community, especially elementary school age students who visit Dunbar Cave. Michelle Rogers, State Coordinator of Project WET, APSU Center of Excellence for Field Biology, worked with the students on interactive activities that they could use at their stations.

Transportation, facilitated by Mrs. Moore and Coach Hood, have created a public service announcement centered on Distracted Driving. This follows, from last month, a presentation on the tragedies that can result from distracted driving.

Mrs. Hollis and Mrs. Pitt’s Performing Arts group hosted a concert at Uffelman’s Assisted Living Residence, and Downtown on Franklin Street. They continue to use their talents to reinforce the importance of Performing Arts in our community.

Upper School News: February 27 – March 3, 2017

Science

This week honors ecology students constructed a three tier decomposition column to introduce our unit on biogeochemical cycles. Students are responsible for monitoring changes in water quality and observing changes in the terrestrial and decomposition chambers. The columns include earthworms, seeds, and beta fish.

Honors biology students tested the effects of several variables on the catalyst-substrate relationship between catalase in liver and peroxide. Temperature, pH, and surface area were altered to determine the optimal conditions for enzyme activity.

Jamie Martz, a senior medical laboratory technician student at APSU, spoke to honors anatomy classes on Wednesday about blood groups and typing. Students then were given the opportunity to determine their blood types. On Thursday, fifth period honors anatomy classes examined the effects of epinephrine and nicotine solutions on blood vessel diameter in goldfish. Sixth period honors anatomy classes observed the effects of temperature on the rate of respiration in goldfish.

Honors Biology the student conducted the hands-on macromolecule indicator lab. Student experimented with several different food based solutions and tested them for the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.

Senior Job Shadow

On Friday several of our Seniors had the opportunity to Job Shadow various leaders in our community. This was a wonderful experience for our students and one they won’t forget.

Costa Rica

Danny Magrans, 3 parents and 25 students are on the adventure of a lifetime! Over a 10 day time span the group will travel through various parts of Costa Rica immersed in the culture. Students will exchange currency, speak the language and interact with members of these communities. Trips to waterfalls, jungles, a local school and more are planned. Stay up to date on what is happening through their blog! Some areas are remote and internet and phone access is limited, but we will continue to update the blog throughout and after the trip!

Click here to read more.

Interact Club

The CA Interact Club is hosting a speech contest that is based on the Rotary Club International’s Four Way Test. Students in grades 9-12 should compose a speech based on one aspect of the Four Way Test, and then recite the speech for the contest on Tuesday during study hall. Prizes for first, second, and third places are $100, $50, and $25. The winner will represent CA at the District Competition in Dickson.

FCA

FCA meets weekly on Wednesdays at 7:15AM in Coach Williams’ room. We invite all US students to attend.

Box Tops

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

Intermediate School News: February 27 – March 3, 2017

Roxy Field Trip

The 7th grade had the exciting opportunity to attend the live performance of the Diary of Anne Frank at the Roxy. We have been reading the novel in English class over the last few weeks but to experience this live performance enhances the literary knowledge for the students tremendously. We feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful treasure within walking distance to our campus! After the performance, we took advantage of another downtown Clarksville jewel by enjoying lunch at the Blackhorse.

Drama

Join the Intermediate School Drama classes on Monday, March 13th at 6:00pm in the Auxiliary Gym for two of Shakespeare’s famous comedies- “The Tempest” and “Much Ado About Nothing”. Admission is only $2.00 per person and we would love to see you there!

Intermediate School Sports Photos

We would love for you to share your action shots at IS sporting events. Please send action photos to photos@clarksvilleacademy.com for use in the yearbook.

FCA

FCA meets weekly in Coach Trent’s room on Wednesday at 7:15AM. We invite every IS student to attend.

Box Tops

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

Lower School News: February 27 – March 3, 2017

Science Lab

Second graders create a mock oil spill to see the effect on animal life. Using bird feathers and vegetable oil we attempted to clean the feathers after they were exposed to our “oil spill”.

First graders demonstrate planet distances using a Planetary Tape Measure. They recognize the farthest planets from the sun and learn about Rotation and Revolution.

Dr. Seuss Week

We will celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with a week of fun! February 27-March 3 we will have several opportunities for your child to show their love of Dr. Seuss.

Monday—Sneeches Day—Wear Stars
Tuesday—Cat in the Hat Day—Wear a hat or crazy hair
Wednesday—Thing 1 & Thing 2 Day—Grab a friend and dress alike
Thursday—Sleepy Day—Wear your favorite PJs or comfy clothes
Friday—Seuss Yourself Day—Dress like your favorite Seuss Character! Enter the “Seuss Yourself” Contest!

Spanish

Ms. Swadley will begin offering an afterschool enrichment course for Spanish. Details regarding this course can be found on our website at:

https://clarksvilleacademy.com/ca-events/afterschool-enrichment/
Check out all our After School Enrichment opportunities such as Art with Mrs. Holt, Piano with Mrs. Thomas and Fitness with Coach Magrans!

PE

Lower School had a great week with our hockey unit. Nashville Predators watch out!

FUSE

Officer Granderson talked to 5th grade about dealing with bullies, having integrity, and managing feelings like frustration and anger in positive ways. They had a lot of fun and also learned a lot!

Box Tops

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

All School News: February 27 – March 3, 2017

Costa Rica

Click here to read more.

Exchange Student

Are you interested in hosting an exchange student? The Rotary Youth Exchange is looking for host families in our area for the 2017-2018 school year. There are 4 students who need placements from Belgium, Taiwan, Germany, and Brazil. The exchange can be for the entire school year or can be a few months. For more information you can visit www.scrye.org or email Interact Sponsor, Mrs. Amanda Pitt, if you would like to be a host.

Regional Tournament

We want to thank everyone for their support during the regional basketball tournament this past weekend. The crowd’s support went a long way to encourage our players to play their hardest. Unfortunately, both teams lost the game in the final minute. They were both hard fought, intense games, but we are so proud of our Cougars!

Photos

Important Dates

February 27-March 3—Dr. Seuss Week
March 22-24-Grandparent’s Day
April 1—Steak Dinner
April 10-17 Spring Break—No School

Box Tops

Social Media

Please like us on Facebook—Clarksville Academy; and follow us on Twitter—CACougarsTN.

Costa Rica – Day 4

Hard work should be rewarded at the end.

Today was probably, from an adventurous point of view, the highlight of the trip. In one day we did a canopy tour (zip line) of the rain forest, hiked down to the tallest waterfall in Costa Rica, rode horses through the rain forest and then relaxed at one of the most beautiful and most renowned hot springs in the world called Tabacon Hot Springs (definitely worth the google search).

Zip lining was created for many reasons and has been around for hundreds of years. Some believe it was first used by ancient and Native tribes to travel through very difficult terrain. Later, scientist decided to incorporate these methods of traveling to improve efficiency and effectiveness in their studies. Scientist used and still use this method to track the amazing creatures they have dedicated their lives to studying. It’s was also an effective way of transporting goods. Today it is an adventure that attracts millions of dollars to Costa Rica. Many businesses have created lines for people of all skill.
Our goal was to meet in the middle of intensity. Some extreme and some simple. To put things in perspective some lines are long, almost a half a mile long, and some are extremely fast allowing one to travel at speeds of fifty miles or more an hour. Technique is critical. So is courage.

Deep in the rain forest of the northern region of Costa Rica exists one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It is called Arenal and it’s majestic and powerful beauty leaves all who are fortunate enough to see it in awe. When the skies are clear one can see the peak of the volcanoes expelling smoke. At night, If lucky and with clarity one might see lava seeping. Oh yeah! One more piece of information. The volcano heats the rivers with its thermo energy. More on this later.

La Fortuna, the fortunate one, is one of the tallest and most powerful waterfalls in Costa Rica. To reach the bottom of the waterfall one must march down a very steep mountain. 450 steps to be exact. Not so bad when one is counting the steps on the way down. The students were cautious with every step and knew that a tremendous reward waited for them at the bottom: the ability to jump in the freezing pool of this glorious waterfall. And indeed they did. In fact it was here that my students and I shared one of our most powerful moments but I will leave it up to them to share.

What goes down must go up. Funny how students think. At first the trek back up the mountain didn’t seem so bad. In fact, I think I heard some ask why I was climbing so slowly. Somewhere around step 250 my students understood why. The good thing was we only had 200 painful steps to go. And painful it was. I am proud to report we all made it back to the top, huffing, puffing, and perhaps with a few choice words.

Life is better when one establishes goals and rewards await. Through all the exhilarating, endurance filled and exhausting activities we accomplished today, we had to keep our eyes on the prize. Tabacon Hot springs. This is personally one of my favorite excursions. The students now know why.

The natural springs are heated by the energy of the volcano. Each spring is heated at a different temperature. I’m sure one could provide a scientific reason as to why and how, but usually when we arrive to Tabacon I am lost after the first word, welcome, in my imagination and desperate need to simply allow the beauty of each spring to take over. And take over they did. For over two hours my students, chaperones and I celebrated the day’s accomplishments by spoiling ourselves. Moving at our own pace and relaxing as much as needed in each spring.

If one were to ask my students about the greatest lesson of today’s busy agenda, I would have to assume it could be answered in one word: BALANCE. Hard work should be rewarded in the end.