Vol 44: Issue 1 (September 2022)
WELCOME to the 2022–2023 Academic Year!
As your family school, ACA is committed to providing an excellent academic and nurturing environment for our students to THRIVE. This was our word for the academic year, as our staff embraced the theme, “nourish to flourish”
ACA remains committed to Truth, the self-expression of God and a firm pedestal for our school community to collaborate in excellence.
“Every Child in the Image of God…”
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“Every Child is made in the Image of God
…and is therefore of Inestimable Worth”
At ACA, we believe this wholeheartedly as our “Core Value #1”. Our teachers are dedicated to giving every child the love, attention, education, and nourishment they need at each stage to thrive, and we believe in the importance of knowing each child by name, serving, and catering to their needs, while raising them (with increasing independence) to become responsible adults.
Pictured above, is our Early Childhood Coordinator, Ms. Tosin, with our youngest member of the ACA Family, our newest Crèche “student” (all settled in on her first day of school!)
“ACA offers services from Crèche through 12th Grade (including boarding for older students), with special US track (AP) and UK track (AS/AL) high school programs. ACA offers two new International Programs at the 11th/12th grade level: International Degree Foundation Program (IDFP) and Medical Pathway Foundation Program, as well as Dual Enrolment Explorer Program (Marquette University) both offering direct entry through partnerships with various universities across the world.”
WELCOME BACK to our Monthly Blog!
Scroll through for an insight into life at ACA, get a glimpse into your child’s day with us, and learn more about who we are as we look back on our “Back-to-School” month of September.
Back to School!
We celebrated the beginning of the 2022 – 2023 academic year with one of our most celebrated performances from the past school year:
“BACK TO THE BEGINNING”
For us at ACA this year, it is a year to THRIVE and FLOURISH, just as in the Garden of Eden. Join our children as they discover a time machine, and embark on an unplanned musical adventure traveling through time to find their lost friends in the Garden of Eden. On their journey, they learn about the story of Creation and discover a message of God’s love, hope and redemption.
<View YouTube Links in our “SPECIAL MONTHLY VIDEO FEATURE” segment at the end of our Blog>
…from our 30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Celebration last academic year.
WELCOME Back to School!
Let’s take a walk down memory lane,
as we give you a rundown of our back-to-school activities this past month…
Orientation Day for NEW Families!
Tuesday 6th September, 2022
After prepping our staff to give the very best to our students, we kicked off our welcome week activities with a warm “WELCOME!” to our new students and parents! We loved sharing what we’re all about at ACA, as we are committed to love, excellence, and nurture as we cater to your child’s educational and life needs. Our school policies, procedures and programs are available in our parents–students handbook, and we are looking forward to involving our new parents in all aspects of their child’s life and growth at ACA.
Our new students got to meet their teachers and play fun games, as current ACA students took their new classmates around the school. We are always happy to see the whole family!
Here are a few snapshots:
View our FULL Orientation Day Recap on Instagram – @ACAOneFamily:
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Meet ACA’s New Students:
“Welcome to our ACA Family!”
Opening Assembly
First Day of School!
Wednesday 7th September, 2022
Our different schools had a fun and engaging time gathering together and getting to know one another, playing interactive games, and learning about what’s in store for the new school year.
Back-to-School Nite
At ACA, we always look forward to our tradition of welcoming students and parents back with a fun “Back to School Nite”. Due to increased enrollment this year, we were excited to have not just one, but TWO back-to-school events! Parents got to meet teachers one-on-one and got a glimpse into a day in their child’s life, as students enjoyed sports, games, music and outdoor fun. We all enjoyed taking a look at student artwork, refreshments (including a suya special!) and live music, as our middle schoolers auditioned for the Senior Musical Performance Club.
Our interactive map and guided tours gave our ACA community a look into our Preschool spaces, Elementary classrooms, brand new Middle School building and classrooms, High School labs, and Wellspring Suites for Boarding, as parents and students stopped to sign up for clubs and get their new uniforms.
Lastly, we upheld our commitment to parental involvement through interactive Q-and-A sessions, in-depth presentations on school policies, new projects & programs (including our brand new Middle School program; the iPad project in Upper Elementary, with new interactive boards throughout Elementary School; our UK and US-based Foundation and Dual-Enrollment programs in addition to our AS/AL and AP programs in 11th–12th Grade; Preschool literacy and learning programs; and our new SENCo program for Special Educational Needs); and providing ALMA support for our advanced cloud-based student information system.
Take a look at our 1-minute recaps below, and follow us on Instagram – @ACAOneFamily for more exciting updates!
Back to School Nite #1: ELEMENTARY
Friday 16th September, 2022
Back to School Nite #2: PRE–, MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL
Friday 23rd September, 2022
“What’s New?” on ACA’s Campus
NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL BUILDING/PROGRAM
The Middle School program consists of 6th-8th grade and offers a unique blend of U.S. and U.K. curricula. The rationale for the program include: integrated subjects to bridge the gap between Elementary and High School programs, increased instructional time for 6th grade students as they begin to learn IGCSE content, a more controlled number of subjects, and as school will close by 3:30 pm, students will be able to join High School clubs.
To accommodate this new program, we now have a brand new Middle School Block (complete with new classrooms) designed by one of our very own! Malik Melli, 2016 ACA graduate, moved on to study Architecture in Cyprus. He returned to Nigeria last semester and was employed to design and supervise the new extension, completed last week. Take a look at our new Middle School Building!
NEW CLASSROOMS
From brand new classrooms for our Middle & High School classes to some much needed reshuffling, upgrades and a fresh new look in our Preschool & Elementary classrooms, most of our students came back to an exciting and welcome change. With increasing accommodation for technology in our classrooms and within our school programs, we are especially eager to make use of our new ICT room and interactive boards in all our Elementary classrooms.
Our New Library
A quest to develop a reading culture, independent study habits, and much more…
A Word about Study Hall from our Study Hall Coordinator:
“Study hall at ACA is a quiet space that allows students to take a breath, consider their priorities, and make progress on their next-right-thing. This could include peer tutoring, homework, or simply taking a break from the long school day.”
Our New SENCo Room!
Our Special Educational Needs Room is definitely a universal favorite!
A Word from ACA’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo):
“All students can thrive with access to the right support and educational provision. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) department, therefore, is a unit of the school that is specifically built to provide a safe and empathetic place for students to overcome their learning challenges.
This provision offers a wide range of support including individualized learning plans, one-on-one support and a SEN room that provides a comfortable environment for children to experience a sense of calm, practise self-regulation and improve focus. The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) oversees this unit.”
Class Features
“WELCOME to Our Classrooms!”
Preschool
Looks like it’s been lots of fun with COLORS all throughout Preschool this month! As our Nursery students had fun making patterns through building blocks of colors, sorting buttons by colors and learning the color “yellow”, our older Pre-KG students got creative drawing and coloring in their lovely artwork with their favorite colored crayons.
Nursery
Pre-KG
Elementary School
Just over 3 months ago, we saw our little Kindergarteners graduate to Elementary School! Time surely flies… Here’s a little “throwback” :’)
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Now in 1st Grade, let’s take a look at what they’ve been up to…
We kicked off the school year with a fun little “Welcome to First Grade” photoshoot! “Ms. Funmi’s Firsties” got the special treatment as their teachers welcomed them with a handmade photo booth and frame. We’re all cheering you on and wishing you a wonderful Elementary School experience at ACA!
1ST GRADE
LITERACY: “I Pick ‘Just Right’ Books!”
We’re READY for Elementary School Literacy and we’re learning how to “go shopping” for books in our Library! Students learned to pick “good fit” books the way they pick “good fit” shoes.
1st Grade Library: Students learned to pick “good fit” books the way they pick “good fit” shoes.
SCIENCE: “Beans in a Cup” – Introduction to Scientific Investigations
Our First Graders are getting an early introduction to the process of a scientific investigation. They ask questions, make a prediction, plan and do a fair test, then record and analyze results. The investigation was determining which bean seeds will grow, cooked or uncooked bean seeds.
MATH: “Cubes” – Patterns
Students used cubes to make patterns, as they learned about ‘repeating’ and ‘growing’ patterns.
SCIENCE: “The Sandwich” – The Engineering Design Process
This served as an introduction to the Engineering Design process in Science. First, we designed a sandwich to solve the problem of hunger. We then analyzed it and redesigned a better sandwich using the results from the test of the first design. Here’s to our future creative STEM leaders, innovative thinkers and problem-solvers!
Middle School
Our Middle Schoolers settled in to a brand new building and classrooms, as ACA launched it’s new Middle School program! We look forward to sharing more with you.
6TH GRADE: Science and Literacy
Here’s a first look into our new 6th Grade classroom, with our Middle schoolers hard at work in Science class. In English Literature, students worked in groups to create a paragraph: “Writing a Summary”.
7TH GRADE: Devotions
Our 7th Graders had fun hanging out in the music room for Devotions before moving to their new classrooms in the Middle School Block!
High School
Our student presentations are well underway in our 11th–12th Grade Entrepreneurship and Accounts classes. New students got an early start in the Chemistry Lab, as other 10th–12th Grade students took a trip to Lagos for the EducationUSA Fair for Universities.
CLUBS
From various Sports to Dance, and from Languages to Music; from Fashion Design, Arts & Crafts to Science Experiments, and from Etiquette to Cuisine, we’ve got your child’s extracurricular needs covered this year!
Our after-school clubs kicked off this week!
Stay tuned for more features in our next blog!
Special Monthly Video Feature
BACK TO THE BEGINNING (Musical)
From ACA’s 30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Celebration
Join our children as they discover a time machine and embark on an unplanned musical adventure through time in ACA’s: Back to the Beginning (Musical). On their journey back to the Garden of Eden to find their lost friends, they learn about the story of Creation and discover a message of God’s love, hope and redemption.
– Featuring the Elementary Performance Club and ALL our Elementary School students
– Directed by Ms Funmi (ACA’s Lower Elementary School Coordinator)
– Co-Directed by Ms Bimbo (Preschool & Lower Elementary Music, PE, and Dance Teacher)
Call-to-Action!
Watch our Back to the Beginning videos, share with a friend, and look out for our upcoming Christmas Musical and Senior Recital at the end of this semester!
<Part 1: https://youtu.be/dEObnKX5Tno>
<Part 2: https://youtu.be/05nVzx8jkCE>
Follow us on Instagram – @ACAOneFamily to keep up with updates over the 2022-2023 academic year.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel – American Christian Academy. We have some exciting videos coming your way!
<Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC2Q3kqkM-QVAHMZR-GbF3Q>
School Updates & Announcements
BACK TO THE BEGINNING (Musical)
From ACA’s 30th Anniversary Thanksgiving Celebration
Join our children as they discover a time machine and embark on an unplanned musical adventure through time in ACA’s: Back to the Beginning (Musical). On their journey back to the Garden of Eden to find their lost friends, they learn about the story of Creation and discover a message of God’s love, hope and redemption.
– Featuring the Elementary Performance Club and ALL our Elementary School students
– Directed by Ms Funmi (ACA’s Lower Elementary School Coordinator)
– Co-Directed by Ms Bimbo (Preschool & Lower Elementary Music, PE, and Dance Teacher)
UNIFORMS
Please note that as of Wednesday, October 5th, all students Elementary, Middle and High School will be checked at the gate to ensure proper uniform attire. Boys must wear black belts with their uniforms from 2nd grade upward. Students will only be allowed to wear ACA’s customized hoodies from Wednesday, as all sizes will be available in the Accounts Office from Tuesday afternoon, October 4th.
NEW High School Programs
MUSON Exams
AND THAT’S A WRAP!
We look forward to seeing you again in our next monthly blog,
Vol 44: Issue 2 (October 2022)
Birthdays
SEPTEMBER
1 Mr. Ajani
2 Ms. Blessing OK, Nimi O.
5 Karam
7 Deepika
8 Kamal, Ore Oluwasanmi
9 Boluwatife, Toni F.
10 Helen
11 Ms.Seema, Moussa Sader, Aaron
14 Mohammed S., Marley, Akintunde
17 Arnold
20 Agnes, Zahraa, Ninma
21 Chelsea, Raheem
22 Ife Aw., Opemide, Feranmi O.
23 Eyin, Mr. Seun, Ire A
24 Darasimi
25 Alexa
26 Taha
28 Daniel L.
29 Ifeoluwa Ol.
30 Yatharth
OCTOBER
1 Felobater, Fisayo, Titobioluwa
2 Jomiloju
3 Arya, Eniola I., Sunidhi
5 Assil
6 Hansel
7 Riya G., Mr. Shina Adegbo
9 Jayden, Feranmi, Bowofoluwa
10 Mr. Timothy, Fola O
11 Utkarsh, Mr. Lucky
12 Mr.Idowu (Canon), Israel
13 Kiishi
16 Ms. Favour
17 Ms. Karen
20 Lavina, Mumilore, Toni F., Ali Saleh
21 Tomi
22 Eniife I., Harvey, Prantishtha
25 Bilen, Mahith
26 Mia, Ade O, Tessy A.
27 Adewole
28 Ms. Mary, Araoluwa, Geroge
31 Anaborhi