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Weekly Update
Jason W. Powell, Ed.D.
Head of School
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Important Dates
October 28
Student Holiday Teacher Workday Extended Care Closed
October 29
Student/Teacher Holiday
Extended Care Closed
November 2
8th Grade Student Parent Meeting for Dominican Republic
November 3
Kindergarten Chat
8:00 am
Library & Media Center
November 4
Report Cards go home
8th Grade
High School Info Night
7:00 pm
Reformation Chapel
November 5
Boosterthon Fun Run
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TCS Family,
Today is the last day of our first quarter. I am grateful for the awesome start to the 2010-11 school year. Please take a moment to reflect and give thanks for the great things we have already experienced this year: - Students in grades K-8 are joyfully engaged in a strong academic program that continues to strengthen their love of learning
- New high-quality faculty members have seamlessly integrated into our professional faculty culture
- Our Parent Teacher Fellowship is full of highly supportive and committed parent ambassadors
- The Christ School name is growing in the community with the launch of a new website and our campus signage
- The combination of the great new middle school faculty team and our updated middle school wing has created a strong middle school student culture that is full of excitement
- The foundation of the future of The Christ School, our kindergarten and first grade classes, are full with a waiting pool in place
- Several new students have joined our school during the first quarter
- Throughout the month of September, we presented our 5-year plan to supportive and engaged families at neighborhood meetings
- The entire TCS community celebrated Family Fun Night together
- Our 7th grade girls' volleyball team won the conference championship
- Our students are the beneficiaries of the partnerships nurtured between our teachers and parents at the school-wide parent conferences held earlier this month
- Our entire school served the Central Florida community at last week's One Great Day of Service
It is a pleasure to be part of this experience with you.
Here are a few additional announcements: |
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 One Great Day of Service
Flower beds were freshened, weeds were pulled, books were read, lunches were served, hygiene bags were assembled, playgrounds were cleaned, food shelves were stocked and many, many organizations benefitted from the service and smiles of TCS students during our One Great Day of Service for Downtown Orlando. TCS celebrated our 11th year of service through OGD and gives thanks for the many organizations who serve our community through all seasons of life: pre-schoolers - seniors. TCS students are encouraged to serve each and every day, however OGD is THE day when all TCS students, K-8, gather together to dedicate their service to our community. OGD provides a unique opportunity to learn the value of serving others and to experience first-hand the joy of showing compassion to others. This year, 13 different organizations were served by our students. The organization required to orchestrate this massive project was accomplished through a team of dedicated volunteers led capably by PTF committee chair Terri Partlow. TCS students, faculty and staff send a resounding standing ovation to our parent and grandparent volunteers who served us first so we could serve others. |
Sanctuary Balcony Closed
First Presbyterian Church of Orlando Sanctuary balcony is closed until further notice as FPCO performs necessary repairs. Parents, please join us for morning chapel by sitting behind the last row of students on the main floor of the Sanctuary.
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Now Accepting Applications for 2011 - 2012
We are excited to announce that we are beginning to receive Applications for Admission for the 2011-2012 school year. Applications for siblings went home in backpacks a few weeks ago. If you need an application for a friend, please click here or contact Sharon Darin, Admission Coordinator, for further information.
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Noted Educator and Author
Shares With Middle School Students
 Distinguished educator and author, Dr. Walker Buckalew, graciously shared his gifts and experience with 5th - 8th grade through workshops last Wednesday. Dr. Buckalew talked with the students about his writings and then gave them an opportunity to write their own introductions to a text. He encouraged them to write for a particular audience and to write captivatingly enough so that the reader would want to keep reading. He then had the group critique various samples of their writings. Thank you, Dr. Buckalew, for providing a unique and enjoyable learning experience. It is a rare privilege to have such a notable writer and educator address our students.
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Boosterthon Launched!
The 2010 TCS Boosterthon launched Monday morning with two very lively, very loud pep rallies held in the gym and energized by the Boosterthon team. Rockets were launched, balls were tossed and Mr. Bosscher donned Boosterthon garb to demonstrate his enthusiasm as a Boosterthon coach!
This year's theme is Leader LAUNCH! Each letter of LAUNCH stands for a great leadership lesson. Your child/ren will be learning about how leaders are. . .
L - Learners
A - Active
U - Uplifting
N - Not Bullies
C - Courageous
H - Helpers
The students will also learn how they can help The Christ School by asking family and friends to sponsor them in the Boosterthon Fun Run. Most students will run between 25 and 35 laps (35 is the cap), so their sponsors can either pledge them for each lap they run or give a flat donation. Pledges are entered at www.FunRun.com using each student's access code found on their Boosterthon PledgePack.
The only thing we ask of you is to have fun and connect your child/ren to sponsors. Please help The Christ School by connecting your child/ren to 10 different sponsors. They can ask family, friends, neighbors, local businesses, and even your co-workers. We also want to try and secure pledges from all 50 states!
Can you help them get connected?
Thanks for all your support! |
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 5th Grade Students Excel With The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Projects
Fifth grade students worked in groups to create their own fantasy kingdoms like the land of Narnia. The project was a culmination of their study of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and had several goals: teamwork, creativity, and application. Students learned cooperative skills in order to problem-solve and work together effectively - a real-world skill. Through open-ended assignments, students were able to let their creative juices flow in the direction of their own interests. Students were able to demonstrate how well they understood learned concepts by bringing them into their own lives' experiences. This project applied structural engineering, laws/consequences, map skills, characterization, economics, and history, as well as, the basic elements of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
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TCS Shows Spirit in College Park
TCS had a BIG presence at the Edgewater High School Homecoming parade last week thanks to Mary Orlando and her cheerleading team, the Darley family for their BIG Hummer, Rory and the other students who marched. Students threw candy and TCS neon green pencils which were a hit with the families and Edgewater H.S. students who lined the one-mile route. We'll be back next year.
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Students Use Orff Instruments to Make Joyful Noise
The Christ School is excited to welcome our new music teacher, Mrs. Teressa White. After familiarizing herself with our music curriculum and supplies, Mrs. White requested that an investment be made in additional instruments for the music classroom. We are pleased to share that the instruments have arrived and are being used by our students. We have added new glockenspiels to our collection, along with a new bass metallophone. In addition, we now have several xylophones! Pitched Orff instruments are modeled after African wooden instruments. Each type of instrument, dependent upon its size and material, has a different and unique sound. As children play Orff instruments, the simplicity of sound allows them to appreciate good sound almost immediately; thus they feel a great sense of accomplishment. These instruments are simple and easy for even the newest of musicians, yet they have potential for the more advanced students to experience great music as well. It's exciting to see how thrilled the students are when they walk into music class and realize that they will get to play the instruments. As children experience music on the barred instruments, they are learning all about pitch, the musical alphabet, rhythm and many other characteristics of music. They do this while learning the joy of improvising, creating and playing music together. |
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SGA Announces Halloween Door Winners
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K-2:
Mrs. Dodgion |
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Specials/Office:
Mrs. Rose
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3-5:
Ms. Whitman |
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Middle School:
Mrs. Burchak |
Thank you to our Student Government Association for sponsoring the door competition and thank you to all the participants for brightening our hallways with your creativity!
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Sports Update
TCS Crew - No Crew this weekend! Basketball - Game On - MS basketball practices have begun and our teams are fired up. Please check Edline for all information and schedules. All elementary basketball forms are due and practices will begin after Thanksgiving.
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The Father/Daughter dance - a girl's special night of dressing up, wearing corsages, getting a special picture with daddy and then promptly leaving him to spend the evening with her girlfriends. Dad's can usually look forward to hanging out with the other dads to catch up on the football scores and golf games while their daughters are doing the electric slide. Not so at the first annual TCS Father-Daughter dance. Much to their surprise (and enjoyment) dads were swept off of their feet by their daughters and spent the evening "cutting a rug". We are not just talking about a couple of slow dances - we are talking conga lines, line dancing and the YMCA. Envious moms all 
around town are 
scratching their heads wondering if it is really true. Well - it is. Remember that phrase "wrapped around his little finger"? 