If your varsity athlete would like a letter jacket, you can place an order through the School by September 21.  The approximate cost of the jacket is $200, including the letter, a hawk head on one sleeve, a number on the other, and the athlete's name embroidered on the front of the jacket. Please complete this formand return it to Simone Dupree, or email her to let her know you would like to place an order.

The Heritage Grandparents' Club is forming!  Courtenay Budd and Sandra Fuller, current grandparents and parents of alumni, are heading up the group.  They will have a tent set up at the Homecoming Game on October 14 to capture new members, verify grandparent contact information, make introductions, and socialize. Our Heritage grandparents are a valuable group with much to offer.  We hope you will join Mrs. Budd and Mrs. Fuller on the 14th.

Heritage recently received over $500.00 from the Target Take Charge of Education program!  Thanks to all who are currently participating in the program.  By simply shopping with your Target Credit Card, Target Debit Card or Target Visa Credit Card and designating our school, a percentage of the dollar amount of each purchase you make is donated back to our school.  If you are not already taking part, please consider doing so. Grandparents, alumni, friends, and neighbors can participate.  To participate, please visit target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6242.

Heritage students kicked off the school year by accepting Rachel's Challenge to "start a chain reaction of kindness." Rachel Scott was the first student killed at Columbine High School in Colorado on April 20, 1999.  Following her tragic death, her family discovered a series of diaries and essays that Rachel wrote. Her written words gave light to a powerful spirit of compassion that underwrote every aspect of Rachel's life.  Her words, and the testimonies of those she touched, are the subject of Rachel's Challenge, a motivational program that has been shared by more than 15 million people worldwide since her death.  

Our students attended programs over the course of an entire day - by division. Rachel's message was adjusted to meet the age-appropriate needs of each audience, but the underlying message in all sessions was very clear: look for the best in others; treat others the way you want to be treated; choose positive influences; speak words of kindness; accept and include others; and forgive yourself and others when hurtful experiences take place.  

Heritage parent, Allyson Powell, introduced us to Rachel's Challenge by virtue of her friendship with Robbin Steed, who works at 11-Alive, which has sponsored a state-wide initiative to share Rachel's Challenge with schools all over the state of Georgia. The first ever state-wide rally, during which paper chains comprised of links representing individual acts of kindness, will be joined in to one long chain at a Rachel's Challenge Rally at the Georgia Dome on November 11. 

In an essay entitled "My Ethics, My Codes of Life," Rachel wrote, "If one person will go out of their way to show compassion, it will start a chain reaction of the same - people will never know how far a little kindness can go." Rachel chose as her role models Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr. Like Rachel, Heritage students were encouraged to write down their goals in a journal. 

"As a parent," said faculty member and Heritage parent Meg Barbee, "I think it's a great way for us to encourage each other as a family." 

"The children were eager to accept the challenge and were very engaged in the program," said teacher Kay Huffstickler.  

Upper school students engaged in a training session meant to empower them to take ownership of sustaining the challenge campus wide. A Friends of Rachel Club - FOR Club - will be established, the mission of which will be to host motivational activities, post empowering messages around campus, and raise awareness about the positive impact that words and actions can have in the school environment. 

"I have attended Heritage my whole life," said junior Cheney Thomasson. "I didn't know what it was like to be the new kid.  To see this really opens my eyes to what it's like, and I'm going to make sure I go up to the new kids every year and make a point to get to know them.  It was inspiring,"

J.B., our Rachel's Challenge speaker, cautioned students not to sit back and wait for other people to make a change first.  "You can't change other people," he said. "All you can do is change yourself, which will ultimately inspire others to change ." 

To learn more about the program, visit http://www.rachelschallenge.org/. 

Gray Barbee and Olivia Ayers, fourth grade hosts for the August assembly, are pictured with two of the 118 boxes of cereal we delivered to the Food Pantry.  We are appreciative of the parent support for this worthwhile Lower School project.  In September, we are collecting applesauce.  We hope to take at least one can or jar of applesauce representing donations by each Lower School student to the Food Pantry.  We will collect the applesauce during our September 30 assembly.

Closet Sale Wednesday, September 28, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm in the softball parking lot and 2:00 - 4:00 pm in the SLC 

Don't miss out!  This is a great opportunity to pick up Heritage logo items and khaki bottoms at a discounted price.  Items for sale will include khaki bottoms of any kind, navy or white polo shirts, navy or Heritage logo sweatshirts, P.E. uniforms, jackets or fleece outerwear, and possibly backpacks, lunch kits, raincoats, and umbrellas. 

Please consider donating your clean, gently used uniform clothing by September 26.  Collection bins are located in the Media Center and the SLC. For more information, contact Sherry Windom at (770) 301-5697.

The Discount Card fundraiser is underway now through September 28.  Each student is challenged to sell ten discount cards, or fifteen if selling as a family with multiple children.  The Community Discount Card features local business discounts that can be used continuously at each business for one full year. The card also features a one-time use coupon purchase at Jump 2 It or Urban Jungle Laser Tag. Each Discount Card sells for $5 and offers savings each time you shop!

The fundraiser will end on September 28. Envelopes will be returned on September 29. All collected money and unsold cards should be returned in the supplied envelope to the student's homeroom by the deadline.

Parents' Club September Newsletter 

Please take a look at the latest news from the Parents' Club.

Meredith Wilson's Graphic Design students were inspired during a field trip to Portfolio Center in Atlanta on September 2. Portfolio Center is a graduate program for aspiring designers who wish to polish their portfolios to enter the profession.

Pictured at right are students:
(back row) Jeffrey Cullen-Dean, Sarah Berks, Arjun Pandya
 (front row) Seraphina Lee, Katie Griffin, and Marianna Spragins.

Shown at left, Arjun is invited to try out one of the chairs designed by a Portfolio Center student.

The French Department is excited to offer a trip to France and Switzerland next Spring.  Departing March 28 and returning on April 6, 2012, students will spend the first three days in Paris, where, in addition to visiting popular tourist sites, students will go to an "'Ecole Boulangerie," where they will learn to bake bread in the traditional French style.  They will also dine at "58 Tour Eiffel," a restaurant which is located in the Eiffel Tower.

From Paris, students will head to Geneva, Switzerland, and then back to Chamonix, France, in the Alps.  In Chamonix, they will compete in a scavenger hunt to learn more about the culture of this alpine town.

From Chamonix, the students will head to the Riviera, visiting Nice and its beaches and the beautiful town of Eze.  They will also visit the famous Fragonard perfume factory where they will be able to create a custom perfume scent.

This trip is open to all Upper School students and their parents. The cost of the trip is $3,231 for travelers who sign up  with a $195 registration deposit.  These costs include everything except lunch on each day of the trip.  Interested travelers may also elect to set up a monthly payment plan for the trip.

Please contact Alice Browning (abrowning@heritagehawks.org) with questions.

Cross Country
Varsity - Sept. 17 (Sat) Mercer Invitational at Georgia Children's Home in Macon
JV - Sept. 19 (Mon) Stratford Invitational in Macon

Football

Varsity - Sept. 16 (TONIGHT) vs. Central Fellowship at home at 7:30 pm. Varsity football has started 3-0 for the first time in school history!  Read more in the Times-Herald.
Middle School - Sept. 22 (Thu) vs. Skip Stone Academy at home at 6:30 pm.
Lower School - Sept. 22 (Thu) vs. Community Christian at home at 5:00 pm.

Softball
Sept. 19 (Mon) vs. Loganville at home at 4:30 pm
Sept. 20 (Tue) at Holy Spirit at 4:00 pm
Sept. 21 (Wed) vs. Arlington at home at 4:00 pm (Senior Day) 
Sept. 22 (Thu) at Griffin Christian at 4:30 pm

Volleyball
MS and JV - Sept. 19 (Mon) vs. Harvester at home at 4:30 pm
MS - Sept. 20 (Tue) at Oak Mountain at 4:30 pm
MS and JV - Sept. 22 (Thu) at Heirway at 4:30 pm