Homecoming festivities began with an outdoor pep rally at the Brickyard. Seedsters from the Mustard Seed and representatives from the Susan B. Komen Foundation were recognized as JA gave Mustard Seed three iPads and the Komen Foundation a check, both funded by proceeds from the homecoming T-shirt and ticket sales. Friday evening included the traditional halftime presentation of the homecoming court, auxiliary performances, the game, and the homecoming dance. See next week's Tuesday Raider for more photos.

View more photos from the pep rally here.

Lady Raider Softball finished the 2015 season 6-17, but won the program's first ever post-season game in the 2015 MAIS AAAA-D1 tournament. The Lady Raiders started off the district tournament with a win against Presbyterian Christian School and played three straight games back to back over the course of six hours. The second game was against the eventual 2015 state champions, and the third game was against the then reigning state champions. It was the most successful season for softball thus far, and numerous individual and team records were set, including an All-Star selection.

The 2015 Lady Raider Softball banquet was held on October 28 and receiving awards and recognition were:

All Conference Delaney Wallace - 3rd straight year Columbia Holeman - 2nd straight year All-Star Delaney Wallace Raider Awards Imari Gray Emily Thompson Natalie Thompson Most Improved Ashton Berry - Improved batting average over 200 points from previous year Coach Scott Branning Award Delaney Wallace Best Defense Delaney Wallace - Third straight year, 97 percent fielding percentage in 2015

Best Offense Ashton Berry - .434 batting average, 23 hits, 22 RBIs MVP Delaney Wallace - 3rd straight year Coaches: Head Coach Will Whitehead Assistant Coach Amiee Plunkett

Basketball season officially kicks off November 10 with a game against Bowling Green at JA. The girls game starts at 5:00 p.m. and the boys game follows at 6:15 p.m. 

Follow the seasons at the following links:

Boys Varsity Boys Varsity Boys B Team Junior High Boys

Girls Varsity Girls Junior High Girls

For other details and Middle School teams, check out the athletics section of the JA website: jacksonacademy.org/athletics

JA senior Sydney Hays was recognized October 30 by BankPlus/Blitz 16 as a scholar athlete for 2015-16. WAPT 16 recognizes metro area athletes each week who are strong scholars and also participate in varsity sports. Each winner and the school's principal or counselor are honored at an end-of-year luncheon sponsored by BankPlus. Look for Sydney's interview on WAPT in mid-November.

Sydney is an outstanding young lady in the classroom and on the field. She has a 4.0 GPA and a 31 ACT score. Her academic achievements include National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, academic honor student since ninth grade, and 10 Advanced Placement classes with a focus on honors science and math.

She was a starter on the volleyball and soccer teams that both advanced to MAIS state championship play, with volleyball winning the MAIS state championship and being ranked No. 1 in the state in both public and private schools. She also plays fastpitch softball.

Her nomination included the following statement: "Sydney is the type of athlete that is always laughing and smiling on the field. I have no idea how she does it all along with keeping her grades so high in the classroom."

The Service Club is sponsoring a used uniform collection drive! Bring any gently used uniform pieces that are collecting in your closets and drawers or classrooms (except for ties, shoes, or other accessories). There will be boxes in the Upper School halls and at carpool pickup/drop off locations this Thursday through Tuesday of next week. Bellwether Church will be re-purposing the uniforms through their mission ministries. 

1. Open Safari on your iOS device.
2. Go to jacksonacademy.org
3. Tap the "Share" button on the menu bar (the box with the arrow pointing out of the top)
4. Tap on Add to Home Screen
5. On the next screen you can change the name of the link for the icon
6. Tap on Add in the top right corner
7. The icon will now be on your home screen

If using an Android device:

1. Open your web browser
2. Go to jacksonacademy.org
3. Tap the menu button, then tap Add to Home Screen
4. On the next screen you can change the name for the icon

*Note: Some Android phones may require a different method. Check with your phone's manufacturer if this does not work on your phone.

Upper school art students created 24 colorful paintings to decorate the new pediatric unit at Merit Health. Pictured with a few of the canvases are (from left) Kyle LeDuff, Frances Anne Fortner, Janise Bennett, and Cameron Welch.

The theme for the new pediatric unit is rain forest animals, so art teacher Susan Ingram took coloring book images in the public domain and projected them onto the canvases for outlines. After tracing rain forest animal images, the group began to paint. Each canvas was a group effort, said Ingram. No one person had complete claim on any one canvas. Student artists will be invited to a reception in recognition of their contribution to the pediatric unit's new look.

Jackson Academy President Cliff Kling was named to the Southern Association of Independent Schools board of directors during the group's meeting in Atlanta October 17-19. He will serve a three-year term. Jackson Academy has maintained a presence on the regional and national level in education organizations for many years, helping the school keep current with industry best practices and having a voice in changes that affect education. President Kling currently serves on the the Mid-South Independent Schools Business Officers (MISBO) board of directors.

Corky's Real Southern Style Memphis Bar-b-que will be available to order for both Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons this year. Support the JA Band and make holiday cooking easier! Companies or offices that place several orders can arrange for delivery.

Thanksgiving orders and money for Corky's are due to Lisa Thomas on November 16 by 9:00 a.m. Pick up in the Band Hall is scheduled for November 20.

Christmas orders and money for Corky's are due to Lisa Thomas on December 7 by 9:00 a.m. Pick up in the Band Hall is scheduled for December 11.

Lisa can be reached at 601-613-3533 cell; 601-856-9567 fax; or LCPSTAT@aol.com email.

Jackson Academy is accepting applications for 2016-17 Jernberg Scholars from now until December 5. Visit the Jernberg Scholars section of the website to learn more about becoming a Jernberg Scholar at jacksonacademy.org/jernbergscholars.

The Jernberg Scholarship, created in honor of former Headmaster and President Peter Jernberg, is a competitive scholarship that provides full tuition and fees (includes select fees in school sponsored clubs, activities, and sports) to exceptionally gifted students who have some demonstrated financial need. The scholarship will help students entering fifth through eleventh grade, who demonstrate outstanding academic success and motivation to excel in a challenging, innovative environment, obtain a Jackson Academy education.