Summer Months…What to do?

By: Sally Allen, Director of Marketing & Development

School is almost over! Summer is almost here! “No more classes, no more books…” and nothing but sleep and gaming to keep students entertained after that first week of “freedom.” What’s a parent to do? There are many opportunities for kids to be busy and happy during the summer break without sacrificing the parents’ sanity.

Community Service: Students of middle and high school age can benefit from spending part of their summer involved in community service. Hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are usually delighted to have young people young people volunteer their services at any time. Teens can serve as aides in hospitals at information desks and gift shops. Students of all ages are welcomed by senior living facilities to read, play games, do hair and nails, or just hang out with the residents. Participants of both age groups benefit immensely from this interaction.

Classes: Some high school students may be eligible to take college classes during the summer term after their junior year. Most of these classes are only four to five weeks in length and offer the chance to experience the college/university scene without plunging into full time scheduling.

Camps: Nearly every student organization (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H, churches, etc.) offers summer camps. Those camping experiences offer students the opportunity to meet new friends, pursue current or new interests, and to escape the boredom of being at home. Clarksville Academy offers a variety of summer camps for all ages. Check the CA web site for details. https://marketplace.clarksvilleacademy.com/summercamps/

Summer jobs: Whether it is babysitting, mowing yards, pet sitting, or any other task, a summer job offers teens an opportunity to learn and earn. Jobs teach respect, time management, responsibility, and interpersonal skills while providing a chance for earn their own spending money (a help to both students and parents!).

Sports: There are sports teams and camps for a variety of sports, both team and individual. If your student is not interested in an athletic team, perhaps lessons in a life-long individual sport such as golf, tennis, or swimming would spark an interest that could follow him or her throughout life.

Travel: If a long summer vacation is not on this year’s calendar, consider a day trip. There are many interesting and fun places within a day’s drive from Clarksville that offer fun, education and experience. From Civil War battlefields to historic places to museums and amusement parks, there is a destination, and a price, for every family. Find some great day trips here: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-day-trips-nashville/ or https://vacationidea.com/ideas/best-day-trips-from-nashville.html

Finding a summer activity for students may require some effort, but the benefits are great. Students must be actively engaged in some activity to help them maintain learning practices for the school year. Different activities may spark an interest that will aid students in school and beyond.

Whatever you choose, enjoy summer’s laid back season.

Crosby named Head Football Coach at Clarksville Academy.

Clarksville, Tenn.Clarksville Academy, a Pre-K through 12^thgrade private college preparatory school, announced Tuesday that Head Football Coach, JD Sellers will leave Clarksville Academy and that assistant coach, John Crosby will take over as Head Coach.

Crosby, a 2001 graduate of Battle Ground Academy, is no stranger to private school athletics. Immediately upon his 2006 graduation from the University of Tennessee, Nashville Christian hired him. In the past twelve years, he has worked as a defensive coordinator, won a 2015 state championship title, coached a top 10 scoring defense in the state for four consecutive seasons, was a member of the District 10 Staff of the Year twice (2013, 2014), and coached the Mr. Football finalist in 2015. In addition to those accomplishments, Crosby also helped to guide his team to a 59-9 record over a five-year period. During his time at CA, Crosby increased our weight training program, served as the Head Strength coach and Defensive coordinator and inspired our players to be more on and off the field. Head of School, Jennifer Hinote, “John has been an important part of our coaching staff for the past two years. He has helped our team to grow both physically and mentally. We are proud to have him step into the role of Head Coach and know he will be successful!”

Crosby stated, “I am extremely honored to be named the next Head Coach at Clarksville Academy. Since I arrived here two years ago, we as a staff have worked extremely hard to build a culture that demonstrates the value of hard work. As this program continues to grow, the goal of CA football will be not only to win games, but to shape young men into being future leaders of society. I fully embrace the opportunity of leading this great program forward, and thank all involved for entrusting me to be the newest head football coach at Clarksville Academy. “

Crosby has over ten years of teaching experience four of those were as Head of the Physical Education Department at NCS and he has been an integral part of the Physical Education department at CA.

Sellers came to CA in 2017 from his post at Austin Peay State University. During his time at CA, the varsity football team has made its way to the first round of the State Playoffs twice. “Coach Sellers has been an asset to our program for the last two seasons and we are sad to see him leave. We understand his desire to move closer to home and know he will be successful in Georgia,” Athletic Director, Jake Peterson commented. Sellers is accepting an assistant coach position and moving closer to his hometown of Baxley, GA.

For more information on CA and its programs please visit clarksvilleacademy.com

Weekly News: April 23 – April 26, 2019

Summer Camp

CA’s summer camps are live this week! Check out what we have to offer online here:

https://marketplace.clarksvilleacademy.com/summercamps/

State of the School

Wednesday, April 24 will be the Intermediate School State of the School at 11AM and 5PM in the library. Come hear Mrs. Burkhart discussed the new initiatives for the 2019-2020 school year. Parents for students currently in grades 5, 6, 7 should attend!

Upper School State of the School will be held on Tuesday, April 30 at 9:30 AM and 5 PM in the library. Mrs. Christmas will discuss new initiatives for the 2019-2020 school year to include the Winterim in January 2020, Freshman Seminar, changes to grading and more. Parents of students currently enrolled in 8, 9, 10, and 11 should attend.

PreK/ Kindergarten Social

All current PreK and Kindergarten families are invited to a parent social at Lloyd and Jennifer Hinote’s house on Thursday, April 25 from 5-7PM. This is a come and go event. Childcare will be provided at CA by our Upper School students. Please RSVP to Sally Allen by Wedneday, April 24. Sallen@clarksvilleacademy.com.

Lower School Spelling Bee

Congratulations to our Spelling Winnters, 1st Place Patrick Lucas, 2nd Place Jay Patel and 3rd Place Braeden Parker. Great job by all our spellers!

Teacher Appreciation Week

April 30-May 3 has been named Teacher Appreciation week at CA. The CAPA will host daily meals and more for all our staff at Clarksville Academy. If you are interested in helping with Teacher Appreciation, please contact our Teacher Appreciation Chairs, Melinda Byard at cmbyard@charter.net or Regina Clift at rpclift@gmail.com.

Marketing

CA’s Instagram is now live! Follow us on Instagram at CACougarsTN.

Have you seen our new video? We’d love you to share it on social media or with friends or neighbors you think would be interested in CA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O6sx–YQUs&feature=youtu.be

Engage, Embrace, Empower

Clarksville Academy is blogging! Our new blog launched the week of Thanksgiving and will post twice weekly. The hope of this blog is to offer insights for parents. We will discuss a variety of topics from technology, to parenting ideas, ways to prepare your child for testing, long breaks, etc. We hope you will choose to subscribe and to encourage your friends to do so as well. These blogs will not be CA centered, but will offer insights for any parent at any school. Subscribe at: https://clarksvilleacademy.com/category/engage-embrace-empower/

Giving

Giving is ongoing at CA. In the past weeks we hosted our 30th Annual Steak Dinner, which will benefit our operating fund. This annual event is much needed to offset the cost of tuition. We encourage you to reach out with questions regarding giving or with ideas on how you can support Clarksville Academy in our giving efforts. Please contact Sally Allen at sallen@clarksvilleacademy.com to find out more about how you can help.

Important Dates

April 24 – Intermediate School State of the School 11AM & 5PM Library
April 30 – Upper School State of the School 9AM & 5PM Library
April 29-May 3 – ASPIRE TESTING
April 29-May 3 – Teacher Appreciation Week
May 24 – Graduation 7PM

Going Back to School

By: Amy Burchett, Admissions Director & Christie Burger, Admissions

Whether you are new to your child’s school community or have been there for years, is it time for you to consider walking the halls again alongside your child? Research shows that increased parent participation at a child’s school directly effects student performance and emotional well – being. So, grab your backpack and your sack lunch and let’s explore the importance of becoming, or continuing to be, an active member in your child’s school community.

Getting involved within your child’s school community can be much easier than you think. From filling-in your name on a classroom sign-up sheet, to holding an office in your schools parent association, every effort makes a difference. Here are a few ideas about how you can get involved:

1. Attend a home or away sporting event.

2. Visit your child for lunch or even volunteer to be a lunchroom monitor.

3. Become a member of your school’s parent association.

4. Offer your expertise for school events and fundraisers.

5. Become a club or team sponsor.

6. Volunteer to be a guest speaker or reader in a classroom.

Over time, you will begin to see and feel the benefit of going back to school. Chances are, your child will too. Not only will you have the opportunity to build new relationships with other parents and school staff, you will be showing your child the importance of school, community, and service. On average, students will spend 1,000 hours in school each year. How can you make just one of those hours better?

Serving Others

By: Lisa Little, Key Club Sponsor

My first eyewitness experience of community service was at my great-grandmother Rosa Anderson’s home in Tennessee Ridge. Tennessee Ridge is a small community found on the outskirts of the town of Erin. As a child, I looked forward to riding the ferry across the Cumberland River that created the county line between Stewart and Houston counties. She was a tall, slender built woman with red hair that was always in a long braid down the middle of her back. She loved to cook, garden, quilt, crochet, and raise chickens. Often times during our summertime visits, she would take me to the garden to help her collect the bounty provided by the rich, red clay soil. She also liked for me to help her collect eggs from her brooding hens. I wasn’t always fond of this task as I had been pecked several times while attempting to retrieve the eggs. After our outside adventures, Granny Anderson, as we fondly called her, would lay the vegetables and fruits out in cardboard box lids that lined the floor of the enclosed back porch of her home. This room also had boxes stacked in every nook and cranny containing mason jars filled with canned vegetables, jellies, and jams. Locals would stop by to purchase fresh and preserved items or eggs. Though she lived on a fixed income, she charged very little for the items she sold. More than once, I walked with her to nearby homes to deliver boxes fresh fruit and veggies, as a gesture of neighborly love. She would give her handmade baby sweater sets or quilts to friends or church members. She would take some of her earnings to the local hardware store to purchase supplies for her crocheting and quilting. She collected used clothing to make quilts. She was resourceful, talented, and a beloved member of her community.

My great-grandmother passed away over 30 years ago. She is one of many members of my family that have what I call a heart of service. I began my own journey of service by joining Key Club as a freshmen student at Northwest High School. Through my family’s examples and my 4 year involvement in Key Club, I learned how to serve others in various ways and found it brought a great feeling of joy to my soul. In 2001, I was a founding faculty member of Rossview High School. During the assigning teaching and sponsor responsibilities by administration, I was granted the opportunity to establish a chapter of Key Club. It was truly a moment that came full circle. It was now my turn to give students the joyful experience of helping your fellow man.

Four years ago, I became a member of the Clarksville Academy faculty and again was blessed by becoming the Key Club Advisor. In the past four years, club member have earned over 10,000 hours of service. Through the leadership of club officers, these students have served many local organizations and charities. They have collected Jeans for Teens, food items for Manna Cafe, winter clothing for The Well, and children’s toys for Vanderbilt’s Ronald McDonald House. Additionally, they have painted Halloween pumpkins and created non-skid socks for local nursing home residents. Some students spent time tutoring classmates or middle school students during study hall. Others have volunteered to work at school events. A most recent service project involved creating PLARN from plastic grocery bags to make sleeping mats for the homeless.

Their reach has even extended to the needs of our four-legged friends. Two years ago the club collected pet food. This year, they decided to recycle their own t-shirts into dog toys. These students are full of enthusiasm and creative ideas of how to grow CA Key Club’s service to others. They never cease to amaze me; I learn from them at each meeting and event. Most of their ideas don’t involve spending money, but looking for ways to invest their personal time or how to recycle items as a useful product to others. I could go on for days about all that this wonderful group of students has done. Each one inspires me to be a better person, to help make their visions a reality, and to guide them in developing their own hearts of service. Two things that I hope I will continue through my lifetime are to never stop learning and to never stop giving of the talents afforded me.

Weekly News: April 15 – April 19, 2019

Summer Camp

CA’s summer camp sign ups will go live this week! Be watching for more information and prepare to spend your summer at CA!

Steak Dinner

What an excellent show! Thank you to everyone who helped to make Steak Dinner a big success! Congratulations to Mrs. Debbie Hollis on her 25th and final Steak Dinner. We appreciate her dedication so much! Thank you to Mrs. Hollis & Mrs. Thomas for such a wonderful show! Thank you to Mrs. Dirksen & her staff for all their hard work in the kitchen. Thank you to Nick & Nicole Williamson and Coach Williamson’s art classes for painting our wonderful night sky backdrop and to Mike V. for putting it all together. Thank you to Mrs. Pitt and her fabulous student servers for all their hard work serving our meal! Last but not least thank you to our wonderful sponsors: F&M Bank, C-L Barnett Properties, Byard Construction, Clark, Herrera & Rocconi Families, Ashley Roberts’ Family, Ground Support LLC, Providence Builders, Joe Maynard Family, Wofford’s Nursery, Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd Hinote, Little Piping & Mechanical, Jenkins & Wynne, and Hawkins Home. We truly appreciate their support!

Stay tuned for more details on how much we made and where the money will go! If you were unable to pre-order your video but would still like to receive a copy please email Sally Allen at sallen@clarksvilleacademy.com immediately and send payment to school Attn: Sally Allen. They are $25 each.

State of the School

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will host “State of the School” addresses for each of our divisions. Beginning April 16 with the Lower School and ending April 30 with Upper School, each divisional Head of School along with Mrs. Hinote will host a town hall meeting revealing our new initiatives for the 2019-2020 school year. This is something everyone will want to attend! We will offer day and evening times. Dates are listed below in the Important Dates section and an invitation will be sent via email very soon!

Lower School Spelling Bee

This Thursday, April 18 is the Lower School Spelling Bee. Parents are invited to attend the Bee at 8:30 in the gym.

Teacher Appreciation Week

Marketing

CA’s Instagram is now live! Follow us on Instagram at CACougarsTN.

Have you seen our new video? We’d love you to share it on social media or with friends or neighbors you think would be interested in CA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O6sx–YQUs&feature=youtu.be

Engage, Embrace, Empower

Giving

Giving is ongoing at CA. Last week we hosted our 30th Annual Steak Dinner, which will benefit our operating fund. This annual event is much needed to offset the cost of tuition. We encourage you to reach out with questions regarding giving or with ideas on how you can support Clarksville Academy in our giving efforts. Please contact Sally Allen at sallen@clarksvilleacademy.com to find out more about how you can help.

Important Dates

April 16 – Lower School State of the School 10 AM & 4:30 PM Library
April 19-22 – Easter Break
April 24 – Intermediate School State of the School 11AM & 5PM Library
April 30 – Upper School State of the School 9AM & 5PM Library
April 29-May 3 – ASPIRE TESTING
April 29-May 3 – Teacher Appreciation Week
May 24 – Graduation 7PM

There is No Math Gene

By: Michelle Hyde, FUSE Math Teacher

If you’re a person, and you do math, then good news! You are a math person! As a passionate math educator and self-professed math geek, here are my favorite tips to help YOU help your child be a better math student.

“I’m not a math person,” are the five most harmful words you can say in front of your child. Avoid telling your child things like, “I was never good at math either.” As adults you use math successfully every day, oftentimes, not realizing it because of your inherent number sense.
Encourage number sense. Number sense is your ability to use and understand numbers and their relative values. It includes using numbers to make judgments by developing useful strategies for mental math, counting, measuring, estimating, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. For children of all ages, number sense development is crucial, so think out loud. Be aware of when you’re applying math skills in your daily life and talk about it with your child. For example, at a restaurant, grocery, on-line shopping, gas station, etc., explain how you are determining the tip, the grocery budget, an on-line order with tax and shipping, gas mileage, compare gas prices, etc. Don’t worry about “teaching.” Just talk through your thought processes. Have your child assist you with or without a calculator. Also play games esp. with dice and cards to promote number sense in a fun way.
Be real. Relate to your child’s struggles with math and share your perseverance and success with math. Just as children meet developmental milestones such as walking and talking at different ages, your child will also master math concepts at different points throughout the school year. Students move from concrete thinking to abstract reasoning at different rates.
Be patient and positive when doing math homework with your child. If math homework becomes too stressful, take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes. If a math strategy is unfamiliar, look at class notes, examples, and/or contact the teacher. Avoid criticizing “new math,” the curriculum, or the teacher. Math skills and strategies that are new to a child (and sometimes to a parent) allow for brain growth. Just like a good personal trainer will push you to do new exercises that initially cause struggle and sore muscles, your gains in strength and muscle tone allow you to value the workout, the trainer, and the belief in yourself.
Avoid associating math success with speed, which creates anxiety. Students who work slowly are often deeper thinkers and develop stronger logical reasoning and problem solving skills. If your child makes a mistake, find logic in their reasoning. For example, if your child states 3 x 4 = 7, explain how it’s easy to rush and accidentally add. Remind your child to slow down and take a closer look.
Have your child think aloud and explain his/her thinking. Guide your child’s thinking and avoid telling him/her the answer.
Above all, encourage a growth mindset. After all, MATHmeans Mistakes Allow Thinking to Happen. When your child makes a mistake, tell him/her “That’s great because that means you’re learning, and your brain is growing!”

Failure…it is an Option.

By: Adam Welch, Varsity Golf Coach, Science Teacher

What do the following people have in common: Thomas Edison, J. K. Rowling, Walt Disney, Michael Jordon and Beyonce’? Every one of these powerful individuals failed at their craft sometime during their lifetime. Edison did not succeed the first time with the light bulb, Rowling wasn’t accepted at her first college choice, Disney was fired for not being creative, Jordan didn’t make the varsity basketball team and Beyonce’ lost on Star Search. If any of these individuals had stopped or quit after failure, how would that have affected their future? The question then becomes, do we let our children fail, or do we step in and make sure that does not happen?

Failure is eminent throughout our lifetime and will also be a part of our children’s lifetime. Our children should understand some extent of failure. Failure teaches us many things including perseverance, problem solving, humility, creativity and experience. Thomas Edison said about the light bulb, “I have not failed, I have found 10,000 ways that wouldn’t work.” Through perseverance, creativity and experience, he eventually found a way for it to work. In the classroom, not every student is going to get every problem or question right every time, but if they learn from their incorrect answers, success should follow.

As a coach, I see failures on a daily basis. In basketball, not every shot is made, not every dribble or pass is perfect and even the best fail most every time they step on the court. Every baseball player strikes out or makes an error at some point of their career. Even the best golfers hit a bad shot into the hazard or out of bounds, but they continue to play. Teaching athletes that failure is going to occur, but what can be learned and applied to future attempts makes the best athletes. Michael Jordan was once quoted, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Being successful is not an attribute that we are born with, it is achieved through hard work, persistence and yes, even failure.

Weekly News: April 8 – April 12, 2019

Steak Dinner

The 30th Annual Steak Dinner will be held on April 13, 2019, on Procter Court. Dinner will begin promptly at 6:00 PM. Join us for an evening of delicious food, great entertainment, and friends!

Signature Painting
This year we have had a Rob Hendon original donated to Steak Dinner. For a chance to win this painting, patrons may make a $25 donation and be entered to win. Donations can be made in the front office. You do not have to present to win. Drawing will be made the night of the event. You may also contact Sally Allen to purchase your chance to win.

Steak Dinner Video
Anthony Taylor Productions will record the Steak Dinner performance this year. Flash Drives with the performance on them are available for pre-order at $25 each. Please contact Sally Allen to purchase yours. Please pre-order your video by April 11.

State of the School

Teacher Appreciation Week

Prom

What a wonderful evening we had on Saturday! Thank you to Prom sponsors, Amanda Pitt & Denise Walker for all their hard work setting up a wonderful evening for our students. Thank you to all the parents who worked so hard to make After Prom such a fun event!

Summer Camp

CA’s summer camp sign-ups will go live this week! Be watching for more information and prepare to spend your summer at CA!

Marketing

CA’s Instagram is now live! Follow us on Instagram at CACougarsTN.

Have you seen our new video? We’d love you to share it on social media or with friends or neighbors you think would be interested in CA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O6sx–YQUs&feature=youtu.be

Engage, Embrace, Empower

Giving

Giving is ongoing at CA. This week we will host our 30th Annual Steak Dinner, which will benefit our operating fund. This annual event is much needed to offset the cost of tuition. We encourage you to reach out with questions regarding giving or with ideas on how you can support Clarksville Academy in our giving efforts. Please contact Sally Allen at sallen@clarksvilleacademy.com to find out more about how you can help.

Important Dates

April 13 – Steak Dinner
April 16 – Lower School State of the School 10 AM & 4:30 PM Library
April 19-22 – Easter Break
April 24 – Intermediate School State of the School 11AM & 5PM Library
April 30 – Upper School State of the School 9AM & 5PM Library
April 29-May 3 – ASPIRE TESTING
April 29-May 3 – Teacher Appreciation Week
May 24 – Graduation 7PM

Libraries–Visit One Today

By: Dana Procter, Librarian

Let me be completely honest with you. I have always loved to read. I remember the experience of going to the library as a young child. I was able to check out as many books as I could safely carry. The excitement of taking them home to read was like a trip to Disney World. Books introduced me to people I would not get to meet and took me places I would never get to see. Books piqued my curiosity and just made me want to read and learn more.

When I had children of my own, I had the opportunity to share my love of reading with them. We visited to the library, checked out books, and read them at home. As a classroom teacher I loved sharing my classroom library with my students. Watching the students select books and read them was pure joy to me. I have had the most wonderful opportunity for several years of being our school’s librarian. I am surrounded by books and can share all of them with students. It is a delight to help a student find “just the right book” or a book about a particular topic.

Even though I have a passion for reading and books, I think some students have forgotten about the library. Our library is the hub of our school and has so much to offer students. There are choices of books such as early readers for beginning readers, picture books, young adult novels, graphic novels, biographies, and nonfiction books, to name a few. When you walk into the library, there are so many resources at your fingertips.

I want to help you find the book that will take you to a new place or a book that can teach you a new skill. So come with me to the library instead of googling your subject or reading a book on your Kindle. Let’s start as you enter the library, orient yourself. Look around at what is in the library. Most libraries are arranged in a similar pattern. But all can hold a special place for you, if you let it. Browse the various books available, take time to sit and read in a comfortable spot, or study and research at a table. Take time to stop in and quietly discuss a topic, subject or school project with a friend or group. The library is a welcoming place for all our students to come to.

If you haven’t been to the library in a while, you will notice that our library has changed. Libraries all over the world are changing and are embracing the changes as well. Many new things are going to be happening in our library. Even if you don’t love to read as much as I do, come visit our library or a library near you. You may be surprised at what the library has to offer and you may want to take a book or two home with you.