6th Graders Enjoy The Nutcracker

Mrs. Bennett's 6th Grade literature class had the opportunity to experienced a Christmas tradition by attending The Nutcracker at the Thomasville Municipal Auditorium on Friday, December 11th. This performance was presented by the South Georgia Ballet.

Pre-K Students Preform around Bainbridge

GCA's Pre-k students have enjoyed spreading Christmas Cheer thoughout Bainbridge the past two weeks. Our K4 classes performed their Christmas songs for residents at Willow Ridge and Riverside Place on December 4th while the K5 classes performed and danced for Memorial Manor residents on December 11th. What a wonderful way to share joy and love this Christmas Season!

K4 Students Enjoy Thanksgiving Feast

Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Cox's K4 students enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast several weeks ago. Mrs. Cox class dressed as Indians and Mrs. Morris class celebrated as Pilgrims.

Walmart Supports GCA!

Many thanks to Sharon Vickers and all the great employees of Walmart for graciously supporting GCA. Walmart has donated $1,000 to the Grace Athletic Department....YEA!!

MS Students enjoy Historic Westville

The entire Middle School student body enjoyed a beautiful day in Historic Westville on Friday, November 13th. They had an opportunity to visit with Desoto, General Oglethorpe, Mary Musgrove, a Frontiersman, and even a Creek Indian and his camp. A few of the students even got to see a Cherokee Blacksmith and enjoy an African Storyteller. What a great way to make history come alive!!

Scholastic Book Fair Earns - $2,795.12

Many, Many thanks to everyone of helping us have such a successful event! WAY TO GO!!

Literature Come to Life at GCC Meeting

GCA Elementary and High School students performed a "mini" literature event at the November GCC meeting. Several 3rd graders were on hand to show how they celebrated their book -"Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs", Sam McRae told about his selected character and book, while some of the high school students explained how they celebrated and educated the elementary students on Shakespear. It is always great seeing what our kids are learning and experiencing!

Announcement...WF Raffle Deadline

We have had several student request to sell raffle tickets through the Thanksgiving Holidays; therefore, we have extended our deadline to Monday, November 30th. If you would like to continue to sell your tickets, please note that they must be turned in no later than Nov. 30th to be counted towards your total and have and opportunity to win one of the $150 prizes.

If you have finished selling, please turn in your tickets by this Friday. PLEASE NOTE..... We need all tickets returned (sold or unsold) as we have others needing tickets and we need extras the night of the festival!

Tip-Off Tournament @ Byne

The Cougar Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys Basketball teams competed in a Tip-Off Tournament November 6th & 7th at Byne Memorial Baptist in Albany. Congratulations to the girls as they placed third in the tournment and congratulations to Brock Bailey and Taylor McDonald for being named on the all Tournament Team!

GCC Meeting - Monday, November 16th

Please mark your calendars for our next GCC (Grace Christian Connection) meeting scheduled for Monday, November 16th at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Topics of Discussion will include: Highlights from our English/Literature event that was held Oct. 28th ; all the current news on our 2009 Winter Festival; Trip Week planned for March 2010; Moms In Touch ; GCA Foundation news; and sports news from the Cougar Booster Club.
The GCC provides a great opportunity to learn more about your school and creates an avenue service for our parents that want to get more involved. Please make plans to join us!

8th Graders Enjoy Classics in Macon

The 8th Grade Literature Class enjoyed a wonderful trip to Wesleyan College in Macon for the Chamber Theatre Production of Classics! A talented Boston Troupe performed five "classic" plays that are currently being studied in their literature curriculum.

Pumpkin Day Party for Fun for K-4

Mrs. Morris K-4 class had fun celebrating at their Pumpkin Day Party on October 30th.

Cougar Running Club is Created

GCA has started a new club - the Cougar Running Club and they will begin meeing (Running) this Wednesday, November 4th. The club is open to any and all GCA students grades 1st -12th. The club will gather each Wednesday after school and run from 3:15 - 4:00 p.m. at the YMCA. Students can run or walk laps at their own pace and progress will be rewarded with prizes! CRC will continue each Wednesday until the end of school in May.

1st Graders Visit Aplin Farm's

The first graders went on a field trip to Aplin Farm's Pumpkin Patch on October 23rd. They visited a pumpkin and sunflower field where they each got to choose their own pumpkin and sunflower. They also enjoyed a petting barn and a farm life maze. Everyone had a great time! After the kids returned to school, they got to participate in a math activity with their pumpkins. They measured and weighed each pumpkin and then they counted the seams and seeds inside. As a finale, they got to carve their pumpkins and turn them into their very own Jack-O-Lantern.

Square 1 Art - Order Deadline Nov. 11th

Be on the lookout for YOUR CHILD's ART....It's on 20 LARGE STICKERS, now isn't that smart? Our kids are excited, they're one of a kind! But ordering more products is a rare find?
Square 1 Art will be coming home with your child next week. You will be able to order your childs artwork on stationery, ornaments, puzzles and more.....shirts, aprons, tiles, to good to ignore! Deadline for orders will be Wednesday, November 11th.

K-4's Enjoy Visiting Riverside Place

Mrs. Morris & Mrs. Cox K-4 kids enjoyed a fun "field trip" to Riverside Place Assisting Living Facility here in Bainbridge. The residents of Riverside were throughly entertained by our precious children!

Parade & Children's Festival - Awesome!!

The First Annual Reading Celebration Parade was huge success as each class did an awesome job with their costumes and props! Precious books came to life in our downtown square on Oct. 28th - from Goldilocks, Where the Wild Things Are to Cloudy With A Chance of Meatball .........all the classes did an outstanding job!The High School literature classes took it to the next level with the Children's Shakespear Festival following the parade.

Children's Shakespeare Festival - WOW

In celebration of "Book Week", GCA's High School literature class created and preformed a Shakespearean Festival for the 2nd - 5th graders following the Character Parade on Oct. 28th in Willis Park. Way to go guys....beautifully done!!

7th & 8th Grade - Georgia Study Tour

The 7th & 8th grade classes will be participating in a Georgia Studies Tour March 3-5th. Information on this wonderful opportunity was sent home on Oct. 22nd and the deadline to reserve your seat is November 15th.

4th Graders Create "Character Pumpkins"

Mrs. Sheffield's 4th grade class brought characters to life in one of their recent reading projects. Each child selected an AR book from the school library and were asked to design a pumpkin to look like the main character of their book. Each student had to "show & tell" about their pumpkin and book to the class.

Good Luck XC Team!!

The Cross Country Team will be competing Saturday, October 24th in the Panhandle Championship in Marianna. Good Luck!! And here is the rest of it.

Reading Parade - October 28th in Willis Park

The week of Oct. 26th - 30th we will be celebrating "Book Week" and we have several exciting activities including our Scholastic Book Fair going on throughout the week.
GCA's first annual Reading Celebration Parade will take place on Wednesday, October 28th at 9:30 a.m. in Willis Park. The Primary School through fifth grade will be marching. Each grade has chosden a book to honor durning the parade and will be dressed up as the characters in their book. The 2nd - 5th grades will also be participatng in a Shakespearean Children's Festival that will take place in the park following the parade. It will be presented by the GCA high school literature classes and will start around 10:00 a.m. Please come and support this wonderful educational experience! And here is the rest of it.

9th Annual Winter Festival Set for Dec. 1st

The 9th Annual Winter Festival is scheduled for Tuesday, December 1st. As you know, this is our largest fundraiser for the year and we have lots of opportunties for you to be involved and participate. The General Store committee is looking for Home-Made casseroles, lasagna, chili, baked goods, arts & crafts, jewelry, etc... The Auction Committee is looking for nice items for their silent auction. Order forms for our newly designed T-shirts and our 1st annual GCA Christmas Ornaments have already been sent home but they will also be available that night. All the wonderful Student Art will be available again this year and we still have a few classes that need help with their projects so if you have ideas and want to help, please contact Allison Godwin. Mardi McRae will need volunteers to help with the Outdoor Games and activities so check your calendars now as it promises to be a fun, filled evening!!

Raffle tickets will be sent home in early November.

GCA Book Fair - Oct. 26th - 30th

The GCA Book Fair is scheduled for next week, October 26th - 30th. It will be set up in the cafeteria and open each day from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. with a Family Night scheduled for Monday evening, Oct. 26th from 5 - 6:30 p.m. Please visit our Book Fair website at http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/publish/gca. There is a special section on the site that you can sign-up to volunteer. All proceeds from the book fair benefit the GCA Library. And here is the rest of it.

YEARBOOK SALE STARTS OCT. 5TH

1st Annual Grandparents' Day - WOW

What an exciting day September 25th ended up being for our school. The GCA Foundation along with our awesome faculty and staff hosted the 1st Annual Grandparents' Day @ GCA and it was wonderful! Over 270 grandparents attended and enjoyed a delicious spread of goodies prepared by Lisa McClendon; a violin duet performed by Russell King and Jordan Davis; an exciting slideshow; a foundation presentation by Mike Harrell and a performance by the GCA Praise Band and Choir. Following the program, the grandparents had an opportunity to visit the classrooms and see their grandchildren at work. The Foundation Board also hosted a hospitality tent for all the grandparents that were able to stay for the GCA Soccer games that afternoon. What a Great Day!! Many thanks to all of you (faculty & staff) that made it such a success!

6th Graders Enjoy Theater Productions

Mrs. Bennett's 6th Grade class enjoyed a great trip to Albany on Oct. 2nd to view several "classic" plays performed by Chamber Theater Productions. The plays included: They Saw, Tell Tale Heart, The Monkey's Paw, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Necklace, and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

Deadline for DC Trip - October 9th

October 9th is the deadline for registering for the Washington DC Trip scheduled for February 28th - March 6th, 2010. There are currently 25 students and 8 adults registered to go but there is still a few more slots available. This trip is open to all high school students and parents. It will be an amazing trip packed full of lifetime memories. Fundraisers are it he works and if you are interested please contact Mrs. Kathy Bennett for more details!

Sports Schedule for Week of October 5th

Cross Country:

Soccer:
October 2nd - Home - Malone @ 5:00 p.m.
October 6th - (JV/V) Home - First Preb. Christian - 4:30 p.m.
October 8th - Eastern Regionals (#2 vs. #3) - TBA
October 10th - Eastern Regionals (Finals) - TBA
October 16th & 17 - PCC Final 4 - TBA

Volleyball:
October 2nd - Away - Tallavana @ 4:00 p.m.
October 6th - (MS/V) - Away - Sherwood - 5:00 p.m.
October 9th & 10th - Regionals @ Covenant, Panama City, FL
October 16th & 17th - Final Four @ Alethia, Pensacola, FL

FALL PICTURES - SEPTEMBER 30TH

Mark your calendar for next Wednesday, September 30th as you will want to send your child to school looking their best for our Fall Pictures!

GCA 5th Graders Poetry Published

Mrs. Sheffield's 2008-09 4th grade class entered a poetry contest with Anthology of Poetry, Inc. last fall and several of her students were chosen to be published in the 2009 Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans. The children could write their poems on anything. Their work had to be original and without any help from their parents or teacher. The following students were selected and received their own copy of the poetry book and an extra copy was given to the GCA Library: Tyler Rentz, McKenzie Ferry, Brandon Swicord, and Mikayla Buckhaulter. Way to Go... We are so proud of you!!

9th Graders Research Biomes

Biology students at Grace Christian Academy recently completed projects to learn about biomes. A biome is a major type of ecosystem with distinctive temperature, rainfall, and organisms. These ninth-grade students researched ten different biomes and wrote a paper about these biomes. They were asked to write about deserts, tundra, steppes, prairies, savannas, coniferous forests, deciduous forests, rain forests, and two aquatic biomes - freshwater and marine. To enhance their study of ecology, students were required to make a poster or other display with pictures of these various biomes. Posters/displays were judged by Ms. Suzy Loeffler, and cash prizes were awarded to the top three. Alea Simmons won first prize. Veronica Harrell, who and-drew all of her pictures, won second place, and Paul Randall Soden won third place. Congratulations on a job well done!!

Cool Shirts @ Bainbridge Pharmacy

Many thanks to Edward Reynolds and Lori Shiver from Bainbridge Pharmacy & the Corner Bistro for taking time to design and order GCA T-Shirts. We so much appreciate their support!

Just one more way for you to show your GCA Spirit......stop by & purchase your "cool" t-shirt today!

SYATP - Awesome

What a beautiful morning to meet for See You At The Pole (SYATP). We had a wonderful crowd of students that got up early and gathered around our flag pole at 7:15 a.m. to Praise God for all our blessings and ask him to protect our School, our Students & our Country. Mrs. Butler's 3rd grade class came out later in the morning and hosted their own SYATP event. Totally Awesome!!

Bus Drivers Needed!!

We are so proud to have such a wonderful GCA Bus for all of our activities - sports, academics, and field trips but we need more bus drivers to be able to enjoy all the benefits of our bus. If you are interested and think you might could help out for some of our events, please contact Justin at the school 243-8851.

GCA Booster Club Meeting Sept. 22nd

The GCA Booster Club will have a meeting tomorrow evening, Tuesday, Sept. 22nd @ 7:30 p.m. in the GCA Library. If you would like to be more involved with GCA Athletics, this is the meeting for you!! Please come and get involved.....we need your input, your spirit and your support to make Grace the best it can be!!

Lady Cougars on a Roll!

Pictured: Front - Haley Smith, Danielle Rutton, Emma Heard, Melissa Mills, and Kelsey Harrell as manager. Back Row - Coach Erwin Harrell, Alex McLendon, Sydney Harrell, Brock Bailey, Stephanie Mills, Morgan Baker, Jessica Register and Coach Betsy Flowers. (Photo compliments of Joy Key Photography)After dropping the first three regular season matches to Emmanuel (1-3), Ridgecrest (0-3) and Robert F. Munroe (0-3), the Lady Cougars have roared back to win 3 out of the last 4 matches. The winning began when the ladies traveled to Panama City on Tuesday, Sept. 1st to take on the Lady Lions. After losing the first 2 sets, the Lady Cougars took the final 3 sets to win the match (17-25, 25-27, 25-16, 25-21, and 15-8). They returned home on Thursday to take on the Sherwood Lady Eagles and again found themselves down 0-2. But the Lady Cougars... refused to give up and they won the final 3 sets convincingly to win the match (22-25, 20-25, 25-14, 25-9, and 15-12). The ladies traveled to Tallahassee to take on the defending Eastern Conference Champions and dropped a hard fought match (20-25, 14-25, 16-25). The ladies concluded the week with a re-match with Ridgecrest winning 3-2 (25-18, 24-26, 27-29, 25-16, and 15-10). Coach Harrell stated how proud he was of the team, "the ladies really fought hard to win these matches. They never gave up and came from behind to win each of these matches."

MS Volleyball....Fast Start

The Middle School Lady Cougar Volleyball Team is off to a fast start. They began the year by defeating Robert F. Munroe 2-0 (25-20 & 25-22). Next they faced the Lady Eagles of Sherwood Christian Academy and won 2-0 (25-22). Dating back to last year, these ladies have won 9 straight matches. Keep it up Lady Cougars!!

Pictured: Front Row - Mattie Dunn, Brittany Heard, McKenzie Ferry, and McKenzie Brown.

Back Row - Coach Betsy Flowers, Rhaegan Henderson, Merrianna Parker, Melissa Mills and Kelsey Harrell. (Photo compliments of Joy Key Photography).

K-4's Enjoys Learning Letters

Mrs. Cox's K-4 class has been busy meeting and making new friends, experiencing the fun of painting, and learning how to write the letter of their first name. Look how much fun they had!!

REMINDER.......

Mid-Term Conference Week - Sept. 8th - 11th

"Blest be the ties that bind,

our hearts in Christian love...."

.......Just a reminder to "tie" together all the

loose ends of your magazine sales. Due

to the Labor Day holiday, all magazine

subscriptions are now due on

Friday, September 11th.

Every student is asked to sell

7 subscriptions to meet our goal!!

Soccer 101: Quick-Striking Attack +Tenacious Defense = First Shutout Since 2007!!

The GCA Cougars appreared to be hitting on all eight cylinders during Thursday night's match versus Byne Christian School (Albany, GA) as the team scored five goals n the first half. Taylor McDonald got the team going as he buried the Kyle Harris cross in the back of th enet during the very first minute of play. Chase Harris came off of the bench and promptly added two more goals from within the six yard box. Kyle Harris drilled a penalty kick following a foul in the penalty area to give the Cougars their fourth goal. Trea Kelly ended the half And here is the rest of it. as he chased down a ball lofted over the Saint's defense, beat the keeper and finished into the net. During the second half, the Cougars slowed the pace a bit as the team focused on ball possession. Paul Randall Soden scored his first varsity goal as he capitalized on a miscue by the Saint's keeper. Arguable, the highlight of the evening was the solid play of the Cougar's unyielding defense, let by T.J. Carlisle and Grant McDonald. The Cougar defenders were relentless as the visiting Saints were unable to take a single shot on goal during 80 minutes of play.
Final Score... Cougars - 6, Saints - 0.

K4 - All About Me Month

Mrs. Morris's K4 class enjoyed a wonderful August having fun learning their colors, shapes, letters and numbers. They also had fun learning "All About Me" by decorating cookies that looked like them, making the letter (I i) out of playdough, and enjoying some blue jello "ocean". Fun, Fun, Fun......

Chase Harris Takes 1st in 3K

Chase Harris, a GCA seventh grade student and a member of the GCA cross-country team, was the overall winner of the Miller Landing Madness 3K on August 29 in Tallahassee, FL.

Harris had a winning time of 11:26 in the 1.8 mile event in which 136 runners participated. The 3K race was a pre-season cross-country middle-school distance event for runners of all ages. In conjunction with the 3K race, a 5K cross-country high-school distance event, and an 8K were also held.

WAY TO GO CHASE!!! GO COUGARS!!

Mag. Sales - 2nd Turn-In Day Wed. Sept. 2nd

Our second turn-in day for Magazine Sales is this Wednesday, Sept. 2nd. Please note that anyone that turns in (3) orders on Wednesday will have an opportunity to "Pick A Pop" on Thursday and potentially win some cash. They will also win a spot on the "Game On Board". Don't Forget - the students that sell at least (10) magazines or total sales worth $200 or more will win a Free Day out of School!! Reminder.... Online orders are a great way to invite your out-of-town famiy and friends to participate. Just go to QSP.com and use our school code - 425054510.

Kelly Scores Cougar's Lone Goal in 71st Minute

Led by nine seniors, the Northside Methodist Academy Knights confidently rode into Bainbridge on Friday, August 28th, 2009. The 0-1-0 Cougars wasted no time and quickly mounted an attack on their opponent's goal. Unfortunately, the Cougars' youthful enthusiasm was eventually overcome by the greater experience demonstrated by the visting Knights. As the dust settled on the YMCA's field, the Cougars had fallen to the Knights by a score of 1-5. Game highlights for the Cougars included Trea Kelly's goal in the 71st minute to avoid the shutout.