The Lighthouse - The South Shore Christian Academy Newsletter

2009-2010 Theme Verse

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34-35

NEWS AND UPDATES

Update: Search for Head of School

As you know the search for the next Head of School has been underway since last fall. This effort has been led by the Board of Trustees, which constitutes the Search Committee. The Board has been assisted by the Search Advisory Committee, which includes parents, faculty and members of the administrative team. SIMA International was retained by the Board as our search consultant.

Together, we completed several important tasks. Close to 30 interviews were conducted with board, faculty, administrators and parents. A comprehensive survey was completed by parents and employees on the state of SSCA. The interviews and survey formed the basis for the development of critical leadership benchmarks and an opportunity profile. This profile was shared with close to 6,000 contacts in the SIMA database. Additional advertising was placed in several prominent Christian organizations including ACSI and Independent School Management.

This outreach effort resulted in approximately 190 networking contacts for SIMA, which produced, in turn, 70 possible leads. These leads resulted in 41 actual applications for the Head of School position. SIMA has reviewed all these applications and has identified the strongest 5 for Board consideration.

Of those 5 candidates, the Board has invited 3 to visit SSCA next week to interview with the Board and Advisory Committee members. We ask for your prayers at this very critical point in the process. Please pray for all involved in the process, including the candidates. Please pray for discernment of God's will. We are specifically praying to determine if one of these 3 has been chosen by God for the leadership role at SSCA.

We are excited to have reached this critical point in the process and appreciate your ongoing support and prayers for SSCA.

ACSI Regional Spelling Bee

Laurie Brutus, a student in grade 6, recently participated in the ACSI Regional Spelling Bee in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Laurie advanced to the 6th round and then misspelled the word knavish. She received a certificate for her fine effort and enjoyed the bee very much.

Sisters in Christ Sleepover

Friday, March 5th @ 7:00pm for girls in grades 9 - 12

Sleep Over @ SSCA Permission Form
South Shore Christian Academy
45 Broad Street
Weymouth, Massachusetts 02188
781-331-4340

Student's Name: ______________________________ in grade ____ is invited to participate in the following event: Overnight Sleep Over for Girls @ SSCA

Activity: Sisters in Christ Sleep Over Date: Friday, March 5, 2010

Teacher in Charge: Mrs. Atwater                  Grade(s) Attending: 9 - 12

Special Items Needed: Please bring a Bible, toiletry items, sleeping bag, jammies, slippers and a pillow.

Time: 7pm (Friday)-8am (Saturday)     
Location: SSCA      Cost: None

Food: Snacks, drinks and dessert will be provided. Juice and donuts will be available for breakfast. No dinner will be served.

Other Information: Please pick up your daughter promptly by 8am as there is basketball in the gym scheduled to start at 8am. Students should not bring an Ipod with them. Cell phones may be brought, but will be collected and held by Mrs. Atwater. This is to ensure that the girls have good bonding time together. They may be used, if needed, with permission from a chaperone.

Students should use the middle doors in front of the gym for entering and exiting the gym. Students not sleeping over should note below when they are getting picked up and by whom.

Special Needs: If your student has allergies or other medical or special needs, please attach a detailed letter explaining what they are and any special instructions to this sheet, and initial below.

Special student information attached. Parents initial here: _________  If you initialed this space, please also communicate your wishes to your child.  Thank you!

I have carefully read all the above information and understand its terms. Please check one:

_____ I give permission for my/our daughter to participate in this activity and she will
stay overnight and be picked up by 8am on Saturday.

_____ My daughter will leave at ________ pm on Friday and will be picked up
by __________________________________________________.
__________________________________ __________________________________
Father/Guardian's Signature Date Mother/Guardian's Signature Date
Home Phone:_________________________
Cell Phone: _________________________

Spirit Week Starts Next Monday!

March 8 - 11

Lower School only
Monday - Crazy Hair/Clash Day
Tuesday - Favorite Movie Star Day
Wednesday - Chapel dress
Thursday - Class Day (wear your class t-shirt with jeans or sweatpants and sneakers
Thursday we will also have March Madness in the gym from 1-2:30.
Friday - NO School for students - Faculty Professional Development day

Upper School only
Monday - Crazy Hair/Clash Day
Tuesday - Favorite Movie Star Day
Wednesday - Chapel dress
Thursday - Heritage Day (wear clothing from a country or dressed as a food that is representative of a country.
Friday - NO School for students - Faculty Professional Development day

SSCA's Got Talent!

SSCA's Got Talent! Our second annual Talent Show is coming up on March 26th. Applications are in the Main Office, the submission deadline is March 11th. This is a fundraiser to help defray the costs of the junior-senior prom. Last year was such a fun event showcasing the talent of both upper and lower school students. Reserve the date; you won't want to miss it!

Special Guests Visit Grade Six

The sixth grade was delighted with a visit by Mr. and Mrs. Karakey, sixth grader Emilio Karakey's parents, last week on Friday. Grade six has been studying Latin America, and the Karakeys were missionaries in Paraguay. They shared about their experiences in the country, as well as interesting cultural and living aspects of living in Paraguay.

Interested in Skiing or Snowboarding?

SSCA goes to Ragged Mountain on March 6th for skiing or snowboarding for all grades. Family and friends are all invited and transportation will be provided by parents and carpools, if possible. Discounted tickets and package deals will be available depending on the number of participants. If you are interested or have questions please contact Mark Cherwek at mcherwek@comcast.net or call 617-828-7289.

Enrolling now for Summertime Kids 2010!!

Once again Pam Todd is offering her Summertime Kids Program for children in Preschool to Grade Six.

This year the theme will be iVaya a Mexico!

Deadline for registration is April 30th.

The Spring Fundraiser is coming!!!

The Spring Fundraiser will be March 10th thru March 19th and will feature food products from Joe Corbi's. We enjoyed samples at last week's Lower School Movie Night.
Joe Corbi's made pizza, cookies, breadsticks and more - YUM!!! Please look for packets to be sent home next week with your child(ren). Please contact Martha Nevill at rhlmmom@comcast.net with any questions. Brought to you by Parent Fellowship

Change of date for the SSCA School Play

Mrs. Atwater has volunteered to co-direct the school play this year with senior, Alex Waterman. This year's play is entitled "The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood"
and will be performed at SSCA on Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19. More details will be available in March.

SPORTS NEWS

Sports report:

Congratulations to the girls' varsity team for a wonderful season of basketball! Also many thanks to Coach Atwater for his efforts in helping the girls to meet with great success.

CAA BASKETBALL:

Stone Mountain Security, SSCA Division 2 basketball team is in the finals. What will make this exciting event even more exciting is that our opponant is Main Street Deli, the other SSCA Div 2 Finalist. Both teams have done really well this year.

Stone Mountain gained its final spot by defeating First Baptist last Thursday at the Calvary Chapel Academy gym in Rockland. I was very impressed with the entire team. Our defense was excellent and our offensive play was terrific. Sebastian Barros and Nathaniel Tyszkiewicz are my pick for "most improved players" while Domenic DePaoli was the MVP. Aiden O'Laughlin, Samantha Veth and Micheal DeAmicis are an offensive threat at any time, while Jalen "NBA" Jones drives the lane. Caleb Tusi, Ethan Archambault and Allegra Dziedzic are secret weapons that can score without warning at any given opportunity and have already proven that statement.

We are looking forward to the finals this Thursday. It should prove to be a terrific match up. No matter how it turns out, I am very proud of these young players. They are a great reflection of our school and what it stands for. God has truly blessed all of us; parents, teachers and coaches by giving us the chance to play a role in their lives. I hope you all get a chance to come to the game and cheer for our teams.

God Bless You,
Coach O'Laughlin

REMINDERS:

Pre-planned Absences

This is a reminder that Upper School students taking a pre-planned absence from school need to fill out the appropriate paperwork and have it signed by their parents and Mrs. Warner before the dates of the absence. Forms are available in the Main Office.

Watching for School Cancellations

Channels 4 & 7 will list South Shore Christian Academy on the TV listings as well as on their websites. Channel 5 will only list SSCA on their website.

Inclement Weather Policy

In the event of inclement weather or an emergency, please check the school web site as the first means of notification. In addition, South Shore Christian Academy's name will be announced on major television stations for no school/delay of school announcements. The third means of notification will be the Honeywell "Instant Alert" system. Please be sure your Honeywell information is up-to-date.

The decision to cancel, delay, or release school is not taken lightly, and is decided primarily for the safety of the students. If, as a parent, you feel that the driving conditions are unsafe due to inclement weather and school has not been canceled, please call and notify the Main Office. This will be considered an excused absence.