School News & Updates > Spring Newsletter
Spring Newsletter
Letter from the Headmaster
Hello Gator Families!
Spring has sprung at BA, and our students are ready for a busy final nine weeks of the 2022-2023 school year! With springtime comes a renewed sense of focus, a renewed joy, and a promise of sunshine and laughter. Everyone seems to smile a bit more, and our steps are lighter as we close out the school year.
The renovation and expansion of the Upper School are scheduled to begin on the exterior side of the building facing the football field and quad area during spring break. Plans have been developed for work to begin early, with the goal of completion prior to the 2023-2024 school year. We will share more information, as it becomes available and work is on schedule.
As we progress towards May, I want to take time out to thank all of our families for your diligence in having your child(ren) to school on time, and well-prepared for learning each day. This both supports and optimizes our instructional goals for each child, and aids us in helping your child be as successful as he/she can.
Current family priority registration ended on February 28. If you have not yet registered, please do so as soon as possible, as some of our classes are filling and we will begin waiting lists. New family registration begins on March 1. Please share any names and contact information you may have for potential families with Morgan Conner at [email protected], as we will be sending out our new informational brochures to these families.
We are already planning for the 2023-2024 school year. Students will not be placed on class lists until they are registered. Tara Nix has started meeting with high school students for academic advisement and scheduling for next school year, and students must be registered to attend these meetings.
Our teachers and coaches are working on developing summer sports and academic camps, and we will have that information available later in March. With spring sports beginning and the unpredictable weather, please check sports schedules often, as we usually have to reschedule games due to rain.
Upcoming events and activities, such as field days, honors programs, lower school spring fling, baccalaureate, graduation, and much more! Please check the calendar on the website for details.
We are excited to see you at BA soon!
Leisa Houghton
Head of School
Pre-K Press
By Kim Burnette, Lower School Director
Pre-K students started off the new semester by carrying their very own lunch trays! This is a super big deal, and a milestone that every group looks forward to each year. It is just one more way they are growing up and becoming more independent.
Take a minute to reflect on your four-year-old and all they have accomplished this year. They are like little sponges – soaking up everything! They are learning new things, working together with their friends and teachers, and doing things independently. There is a lot more to come! Spring will be a busy time at the Academy!
Lower School
100th Day of School Celebration
Bulloch Academy’s lower school students celebrated their 100th day of school on January 20. Students and teachers dressed up and had lots of fun incorporating “100” into their school day. Students brought in 100 items to share with their class, they counted out 100 snacks and talked about what they wanted to be when they are 100. We are excited to see what the next 100 days will bring!
Diamond Del
We would like to say THANK YOU to our BA PTA who paid for all 3rd-8th grade students to have a “Diamond Del’s Gem Mining Adventure”. Diamond Del’s is a mobile gem mining experience where students were able to learn more about rocks and minerals and we are thankful for our PTA who provided such a unique learning opportunity.
Middle School
Bulloch Academy middle school students participated in the 2022-2023 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) essay contest. Students wrote a narrative essay describing what it was like to be a delegate in the Second Continental Congress during 1775-1776. BA Middle school winners are Catherine Jones (6th), Bryce Parrish (7th), and Harper Whitlock (8th). Catherine Jones’s essay won at the district level and is the 2022-2023 state winner for 6th grade. Congratulations to our accomplished writers!
Congratulations to Thomas Smith, 2022-2023 Bulloch Academy Middle School Spelling Bee winner, and Paisley Parrish, first runner-up. Both students competed in the GISA District Spelling Bee. Paisley is a semi-finalist for the district and will compete at the district run-off in Macon on February 28th. Good luck, Paisley!
High School
STAR Student
This year, Bulloch Academy congratulated James Burke on being STAR student! The PAGE STAR program honors Georgia’s highest achieving high school seniors and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development. To obtain the STAR nomination, high school students must have the highest score on any single test date of the SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average.
James was asked to choose STAR Teacher who made an impact on his life and education. He chose Mrs. Beverly Campbell who has taught Pre-K for 47 years. “She’s one of the most dedicated and passionate people I’ve ever met, and she taught me over 14 years ago. She would build these elaborate sets to teach us about the jungle and outer space and everything in between, I would feel really excited to come to school every day. That’s no small feat when you’re dealing with 4-year-olds, I think”, said James.
Join us in congratulating both of these individuals on this outstanding accomplishment!
Black History Month
Science Club Visits Georgia Southern
The science club went on a field trip to Georgia Southern University on February 9th with Mrs. Bailey, Chris Horton, and Dr. Bailey serving as chaperones. Nearly forty students attended the event. Students traveled to different departments to explore science in action! Each student heard from four different scientists and some activities were hands-on. The following were the professors and their areas of expertise:
- Dr. Beati — The Tick Museum on Loan from the Smithsonian
- Dr. Casler-Failing — Robotics/Innovation Studio
- Dr. Smith — Whale Paleontology
- Dr. Davari — Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Dr. Narendrepurpu — Organic Chemistry
- Dr. Radko – Environmental Geology
Students were often grossed out by the tick museum yet learned the importance of cataloging and identifying ticks around the world. Students enjoyed programming robots to do simple tasks in the Innovative Studio. Dr. Smith’s discussion of Whale Paleontology was very pertinent to fossils that are found on the coastal plain region of Georgia. Students went to a lab in the new Engineering Building as Dr. Davari explained some basics of electrical engineering with student interaction. Dr. Narendrepurpu demonstrated how most of the equipment worked in the organic chemistry labs and how the data was used to solve problems. Dr. Radko took students outside to discuss water quality issues in our local area and students helped to analyze water samples in the University setting. The students were well-behaved and represented Bulloch Academy in a very positive fashion.
Gator Guidance
By Tara Nix, Upper School Counselor
Our seniors are on the fast track now as they complete the last leg of their high school careers. We have some outstanding students and I continue to learn from them daily. I am thankful to have come on board with this special group of students. I want them to continue to give their best efforts in everything they do and to celebrate their wins but also know their significance and worth apart from any test score or college acceptance. Balance is key and we get to help them achieve that!
All upcoming high school students have completed their course interest forms for next year and our advisement sessions begin soon to get their schedules set.
We celebrated our STAR student (James Burke) and his STAR teacher (Beverly Campbell) this past month. We were able to nominate 10 students for the Governors Honors Program and Camille Wall has made it to the semi-final round. Congratulations to all!
BA continues to be a great place to host! Our ‘Coffee and Conversations’ went well in January as we dove into the details regarding Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE). A big shout out to Courtney Burnette and Jacob Ward for their help with explaining AP and to Chandler Tate and Madison Frawley for their help informing us about what dual enrollment is. We were able to discuss the pros and cons of both so that students and parents can make an informed decision. Holly Greeson continues to be exemplary and her knowledge base regarding all involved is outstanding!
Carol Ann Lott from the Georgia Student Finance Commission was a huge help to our students and parents the day she came and helped them walk through completing the complicated FAFSA.
We recently hosted the Georgia Southern testing center to administer the accuplacer and we will administer the SAT on March 22nd. We will have admissions representatives coming here from OTC and GSU in the coming weeks to help students get registered for their dual enrollment classes. I appreciate the partnership we share with the colleges. Both colleges offered counselors breakfasts recently and their efforts and appreciation is encouraging!
We have several things coming up for our juniors and seniors to consider. First, we have a field trip to Aspen Aerogels mid-March. OTC is partnering with ACE to offer internships to select students who may be interested in training to be an electrician. We will have a Career Fair at BA on March 8th to expand our students’ knowledge base and tap interest. Our hope is to expose them to a variety of careers so that their options and opportunities increase.
I encourage us all to wind up before we wind down this school year. It is going to be a fantastic spring and we get to adventure together. Chin up and hopes high as we journey through the last few months. We are stronger together and I am thankful to get to be on your team.
Athletics
By Kevin Nix, Athletic Director
Winter Sports is a wrap at Bulloch Academy. Our Varsity Girl’s basketball captured yet another region championship and finished second overall in the State! Our Boy’s Varsity basketball team won the hearts of many BA faithful, they restored pride back into the program, and they earned the respect of other teams and coaches across the region and state.
The varsity wrestlers had a small team in terms of numbers, but what they accomplished was no small feat. The Gators had three young men claim region titles and 2 of them placed in the top three at state.
Not to be outdone, our BA Archery “took aim” at the state tournament and finished in 3rd place, with two archers finishing in the top three, one in the Bullseye competition and in the 3D competition.
All of our MS programs were fun to watch as they improved each and every day and they represented BA with their hustle, their competitiveness, and their commitment. The wrestlers were able to bring home a 2nd place trophy in their End of Season tournament and the MS archers brought home the gold in their final tournament as well.
Spring has sprung! No rest for the weary. We are sprinting to the finish, but maintaining our course to build a firm foundation, evidenced by coaches who are investing in the hearts and minds of young people and helping them understand their purpose.
Curriculum Corner
By Brandilyn Stroup, Director of Curriculum
The past few months have been very exciting and full of learning opportunities for our students. We are very excited that our Art classes will be seeing a new addition of Ceramics in the coming months. Mrs. Vanessa North and our art program received the stART Arts Education Grant, funded by the Georgia State Board of Education. $10,000 was awarded to Bulloch Academy to fund the purchase of a Kiln and other materials to build a Ceramics education program for our K-12 students. Be on the lookout for some fun items created by students in art coming very soon!
On February 1, our 7th-grade students traveled to the Armstrong campus of Georgia Southern to participate in the Junior Achievement Finance Park simulation. Students participated in various lessons regarding budgeting, credit scores, and more financial literacy topics leading up to the simulation. Upon arrival at the simulation, students were assigned a random “life situation” in which they were given an education level, salary, job, and family scenario. They visited various storefronts to purchase items within their budget, including housing, utilities, food, clothing, etc. Students also applied for car loans and home loans and learned about how a credit score impacts financial well-being. It was a wonderful educational experience for our students! Our 6th-grade students will have a similar simulation in April, completing the Junior Achievement Biztown simulation, in which they will learn how to start and run a successful business. We are grateful for this new partnership with Junior Achievement and look forward to future groups of students learning about financial literacy.
Nurse’s Notes
By Heather Dabbs, RN, BSN
I trust you all had a wonderful winter break! Some of our warmer afternoons tease us with spring and summer weather soon to arrive. I’ve also noticed the yellow “snow” covering my car each day. Pollen and outdoor sports seasons are here, and with them come sneezing, watery eyes, runny noses, and not feeling well at times. Please be mindful as you prepare for school each day and treat allergy symptoms accordingly.
The Bulloch County Health Department will come to BA in late March for the county scoliosis screening clinic for 6th and 8th graders. Many of you have already returned your paperwork for your student to or not to be screened for scoliosis here. If you have not, please let me know if you need another copy of the paperwork. Your student WILL be screened if you have not signed a refusal. Also, it is the responsibility of the parent to provide the necessary documents for the student’s permanent record if your student is under the care of a physician for scoliosis.
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Our next health lesson in lower school will focus on dental care. Our Pre-K and Kindergarten students had their “annual check-up” with Dr. Marie Wall and her special friend. I hope your children told you all about Dr. Wall’s visit! In grades 1-5, we did a short teaching lesson and a fun craft to reinforce our dental lesson. If you are having trouble at home with dental care, this is a great time to talk more about it! Some of the “teeth” we will use (mini-marshmallows) will probably not stay in place. You could even use this as a visual of what can happen when we don’t take good care of our teeth. Our last health lesson for the year will focus on a wellness topic.
For immunization questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].
As always, it’s great to “BA” gator, but it’s even better to “BA” healthy gator!
BA Community
Bulloch Academy hosted the 2023 Lifetime Legacies Ball on Saturday, January 28. Throughout the evening, the Mike Anderson Family and Sylvia Brannen Thomas were honored as Lifetime Legacies for their commitment to Bulloch Academy. Both Mike and Sylvia are BA graduates who returned to continue their unwavering support of the school. The evening’s program included surprise videos where friends and family spoke about Mike and Sylvia’s dedication to the BA community over decades. Through the generosity of those in attendance, over $148,000 was raised to help equip the new middle and high school classrooms. The funds raised will impact students for many years to come!
