Miss Reeder's 1st Place AR Reading Cake

Miss Reeder's 1st grade class wins!! The class came in 1st place for the AR reading contest for the first quarter of the school year. The class was blessed with this amazing cake made by Mrs. Huizenga, her son Gerritt is in the class. WAY TO GO!! Keep up the great work!

More International Day photos

International Day was so much fun!

It was a colorful, exciting day for our elementary classes.

Students getting ready for our parade through the secondary building.

International Day

The Elementary Admin Team dresses up for International Day!

Reading Buddies at CCA

Mrs. Taylor's kindergarten class has teamed up with Mrs. Vlachos' fourth grade class for our "Reading Buddies" program. This beneficial program has been in place since CCA began and our students love getting together with their reading buddies. The students in Mrs. Vlachos' class benefit by having the chance to be role models and encouragers to the kindergarten class as they help them refine their reading skills. The students in Mrs. Taylor's class look up to their "buddies" and love having an older friend who is involved in their lives.

The two classes also get together for many exciting seasonal activities as well. They plan picnics together and have a Christmas book exchange, at which time students shop for a gift book on their buddy's reading level.

Tomorrow, the fourth grade class will illustrate the message of God's redemptive work by carving a pumpkin for their reading buddies. It should be a great time of reflection for both classes as they see a visual of God's cleansing work in our lives.

Mrs. Veith's 4th Grade Class Party

Mrs. Veith's class gets together for a time of fun, fellowship and great food!!!

The 5th Grade Safety Patrol Goes Bowling!

Wednesday, October 15th, the 5th grade Safety Patrol was treated to an afternoon of pizza and bowling to thank them for their daily service to our CCA community. The patrol begins their day at 7:25 AM with prayer and then heads off to their respective posts on the east and west side of campus to monitor students and open car doors. Thank you patrol for a job well done!

Ms. Reeder's 1st Grade Class~Dads Visits

Mr. Benson was able to come share with the class a story of a little girl from Russia. He also brought in several items from Russia that they collected while on their trip there. It was a special time learning about a place far away.

Mr. McBean blessed Ms. Reeder's class by coming in to read to them "The Little Engine That Could." It was a time that everyone really enjoyed.

Spike

Spike, the bearded dragon, is the class pet of Mrs. Veith's 4th Grade class. The students are learning how to care for Spike and seeing how God has made him so he can survive in his environment. The students have been responsible for bringing in veggies for him to eat and are enjoying watching him eat LIVE crickets.

Visit to the Firehouse

Mrs. Eynon's Kindergarten class visited the Ft. Lauderdale Firehouse on Friday.

PK focusing on the letter P

Mrs. Woodruff's class reinforced their learning of the letter "P" by having a Picnic at the Park with some Parents and then taking a Picture that they sent to the Principal for him to Post on the blog.

Learning history with cars and planes

In 5th grade social studies class the students recently studied the development of the early automobile and airplane. The students participated in an assembly line where each student had a specific job. The students were amazed at how quickly the cars were built using the assembly line. The students also enjoyed creating their own paper gliders, and then had fun launching them off of the bridge to see whose glider went the farthest.

Hat Day

Mrs. Ellis' PK class is looking good for a special hat day as the students are learning the letter "H."

Reading for Touchdowns

Debbie Gregory’s fifth grade reading students have partnered with Publix, Sun Sentinel News in Education (NIE), and GameWorks on a special reading program with other 4th, 5th and 6th grade students in the tri-county area.

We are excited about promoting reading, both in school and at home. The elements of the program include a STUDENT PLAYBOOK in which the students record the number of minutes they read each day for 5 weeks, for which they earn "yards".

Publix’s Reading for Touchdowns will start on Monday, October 6th and will run for five weeks through Friday, November 7th, 2008.

GameWorks is providing game cards to EVERY student who completes the program! The top 3 students in the county will get 3 tickets to a Miami Dolphins home game compliments of Publix! The top 3 classes per county will get a party in their classroom with cake and drinks and a visit from Sonic the Hedgehog to help celebrate the great reading.

We’re excited because students can include books they are already reading for Accelerated Reader or the Crown Award Program. So, join us in cheering these readers on!

Fifth Grade Trip

This year the fifth grade students have been blessed with the opportunity to enhance their studies in Science by going on an overnight trip to Lake Swan Outdoor School, Thursday, October 30 to Friday, October 31, 2008. The trip to Lake Swan (http://www.lakeswan.com/) will include a two day, hands on, science experience, from a biblical perspective with a Christian organization in the Gainesville area. Students will have an opportunity to work together in groups using problem solving skills, learn canoeing techniques which includes a canoe race on Lake Swan, explore the forest at night, increase their understanding of Florida’s Aquifer and gain knowledge of our Florida wetlands. A devotion time and worship around the campfire will take place Thursday evening after which the students will head off to the snack shack for ice cream and fellowship. Some of our students are in need of sponsorship in order to attend this trip. The cost of the trip is under $200. After prayerful consideration, if you would like to sponsor a student or make a donation toward a student’s trip please, contact Jason Rachels, Elementary School Principal, at jasonr@ccaeagles.org.

Behind the scenes

Jennifer Hollingsworth, Cynthia Hansen and Liz Turner work secretly (until I published this photo) behind the scenes to deliver hundeds of CCA Weekly's to teachers' classrooms each Thursday so that you can get the latest and greatest CCA news each week. If you see them on campus, thank them for what they do to provide greater service to parents, teachers and students.

Violin for VE

David Schwartz, CCA dad and orchestra director at a local school, performed on the violin yesterday for the listening pleasure of the students in the Varying Exceptionalities class. Thanks, David, for taking the time to share your talent with the students and for giving them such a great learning opportunity.

Transporting Bob

Bob the bunny, from Mrs. Fussner's kindergarten classroom, spent the weekend with a CCA family and these young lads are making sure that he gets back to his homeroom class for the new week of school.

Is your child's name on everything?

Many items make their way through the lost and found at CCA, so many in fact that if we didn't move them out on a regular basis, we wouldn't have the space to store them all. So after dating items and giving the owner many days to retrieve them, we then send on the items in good condition to the Thrift Store. Don't let this happen to your child's things, please write your child's last name and teacher's name in everything they bring to school.

And if you see Ana Santos (pictured here) around campus, thank her for volunteering her time to regularly go through the lost and found to sort, organize, date and move out items so that it is easier for all of us to find what was lost. Thanks, Ana!

International Day

International Day is the culmination of our Missions Month in elementary chapels. During the month of October, the students are learning about children from other parts of the world and how God is using His people to reach them for Christ. On Friday, October 24th, elementary students come to school dressed as if they lived in another country. This is one of our students’ favorite days, as they enjoy dressing up and celebrating the heritage of the country they are representing.

As they learn from missionary speakers in October, our students gain a new understanding of our friends across the seas and a vision for what God can do with a life that is fully committed to Him. As a special treat in honor of International Day, our students in each chapel will be blessed by a short presentation by our Kindergarten students, and a visit from our CCA missionary to Merida, Mexico. Since this is a half-day CCA, students will not need a change of clothes unless they are staying for aftercare on the 24th.

Bottled Water Anyone?

CCA students needed bottled water today and we deliver. As I am sure you were aware, Fort Lauderdale had some trouble with their water

supply so we had to close down water fountains and drink some higher quality water today. Charlene Boothman, CCA's Director of Campus Safety, in conjunction with the Grill, took care of us by providing bottled water immediately.

One of the things we're working on

We're looking to take Accelerated Reader to the next level this year with greater participation across the elementary student body. Keep a lookout for additional news on this which will be developing over the next several weeks. In the meantime, have your 1st - 5th grade child check out a book that is on the AR list and get to reading. Your child can then take a test on one of the computers in their classroom to earn points for upcoming challenges and prizes that we hope will be just one more incentive to help them want to read even more. Of course, the greatest incentive is the joy of reading itself.

Elementary Back to School Night

Thanks to all the parents who made it out to Back to School Night. It was a great time for parents to connect with their child's teachers and to get more informed about how to have a successful year in elementary. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on the event including ways we could better serve families in the future.

Room Mom Team Meeting Major Turn-out

An amazing number of moms showed up this morning for the Room Mom Team Meeting (this photo taken on my phone couldn't capture all of them). Thank you, ladies, for your willingness to play key roles in serving this community, the students, the teachers and the parents.

We encourage all of our parents to get involved in some service to the CCA community. Connect with Pam Sturman at pamelas@ccaeagles.org or your class room mom for ways to get involved.

Morning drop off

In the interest of security and minimizing the traffic inside the building prior to the start of school please note the following. Parents who would like to wait with their child in the morning (as opposed to dropping them off) are encouraged to do so at their child's normal morning drop-off location rather than inside the PassPoint protected area of the elementary building. If you prefer an air conditioned place to spend some morning time with your child prior to saying goodbye and sending them off with their class, feel free to wait in the sanctuary corridor, the Grill, or the east corridor. Please connect your child to their class by the time the teacher arrives to collect the children for class. If for some reason you do need to enter the PassPoint protected area of the building please enter through the south entrance near the fish tank and get a visitor's badge from reception. Thank you for your understanding and your assistance in this manner.

Elementary Back to School Night

We look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday, September 16 at 6:30pm in the sanctuary for the Elementary Back to School Night. Your child's classroom teacher will present to you information on what this year will be like for your child. There are two sessions so that those with multiple elementary children have a better opportunity to visit all of their children's teachers. Parents are encouraged to visit their child's specials teachers as well (music, art, computer, PE, Latin 3rd -5th, science, media, drama, movement, etc.). Please note that childcare is not provided for this event.

Good use of time

After a long day at school, these students make the most of their time at car line with some reading and music practice.

Tell us how your school year is going so far

Just click the comment button and tell us how it's been. We want to be in touch with the experience you are having so that we are more informed and better able to serve the children and parents. Many may prefer to send an e-mail directly to us rather than post their comment here for all to see. If that is the case, please don't hesitate to e-mail us instead at the following e-mail addresses:

Jason Rachels - Elementary Principal - jasonr@ccaeagles.org
Jan Lashbrook - Early Childhood Coordinator (PK, K) - janl@ccaeagles.org
Susan Alexander - Assistant Principal (1st - 5th grade) - susana@ccaeagles.org
Pam Walker - Exceptional Student Education Coordinator - pamw@ccaeagles.org
Lisa Eakins - Cafeteria & Student Drop-off and Pick-up Coordinator - lisae@ccaeagles.org

We want to provide your family with the greatest level of service possible.

New Staff Orientation

In the first week of August we had our new staff orientation. We used the time to begin to bring these new staff up to speed with various aspects of CCA such as our mission and vision, biblical integration, and how we co-labor with parents. Please welcome our new elementary teachers:
Janelle Clark - kindergarten
Sharon Stressau - K, first, second grade computer
Irene Contento - second grade
Eslyn Bryan - 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade Latin
All come with many years of experience and a passion for serving the Lord and teaching elementary age children. We are glad to welcome them to the teaching staff of the elementary school.

Welcome

Welcome to the CCA Elementary Blog. We created this blog so that we could stay more in touch with parents, students and staff. Periodically we will share what's going on around campus and perhaps some thoughts on topics that impact CCA students and families.