This edition of our newsletter includes news on extracurricular activities, classroom events, school news, the IPF buget and fundraising, and a calendar of upcoming events.
Extracurricular Activity News
Basketball Update
Our season started with a disappointing 44-23 loss against Falls Lake Academy but our team came roaring back for three straight wins! We beat St Raphael 34-32, then Thales-Rolesville 33-26, and then Thales-Apex 53-22. The next game is December 8 against Light House Home School in Wake Forest and then we have a rematch for our first game in January against Falls Lake Academy. A very special thanks to the Andersons for allowing the team to use their van to get to our home court at the Wendell Community Center and to IA parents Sami and Marylou Hanna who own S&H Transportation for the use of their luxury passenger vans to go to our away games. Below is a very brief highlight clip of the outstanding play of the Swordsmen at the St Raphael game.
Wrestling Update
From Coach Mitchell: "Iron Academy is thrilled to introduce the sport of wrestling to its athletic opportunities! The spirit of competition in a one on one battle, emphasizing sportsmanship and discipline fit in perfectly with the young men here at Iron Academy. We've enlisted former college wrestlers who share our passion for the Lord and in building young men. Coach Nick Watson and Stan Chambers are joining me in leading the charge on the mat. As a club team, the young Swordsmen are learning the basics of the sport, including basic moves, movement, strategies, conditioning, and nutrition. The wrestling club members are: David Anderson, Stephen Anderson, Garrett Anderson, Jaedon Olmstead, Robbie Jones, Tate Meredith, Gage Meredith, David Hagerty, Dylan Hector, and Jonah Moscati. The wrestlers will compete in local open tournaments against other club teams through February. The Swordsmen wrestlers are still accepting members. Practices are in the gym on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:30." Debate Team Update
Congratulations to the students who were selected to be on the debate team: Casher Collier, Elijah Jordan, Daniel High, Ian Taylor, Brendan Hanna, Caleb Stroup, Noah Kirby, and Ethan Manning. We are pleased to have a new debate coach this year, Nathan Wilson, who is a nationally ranked debater in high school and college. Mr. Wilson's goals for the debate team members are "...to work with each student to turn him into the most excellent communicator that he can be, providing him with the confidence to speak up no matter the situation and defend his personal values and views. Our world is becoming increasingly hostile toward the Bible and a Christian worldview. As such, being able to explain and defend your beliefs in a manner that is both clear and attractive to those who disagree with you is a valuable skill for all believers."
The team will have its first tournament on December 7 against Prestonwood Christian Academy from Richardson, Texas. To debate the Texan team, the teams will have the use of Cisco System's cutting edge Telepresence Technology at their headquarters in RTP and it will be the first ever moderated academic debate to be held using this new invention! The resolution they will debate is "Resolved: In response to the current crisis, a government should prioritize the humanitarian needs of refugees above its own national interests." The students will need to prepare a pro and con side of the argument and be prepared to persuasively argue whichever side they are assigned during the debate.
Classroom Activity News
Snippets of some educational experiences in our classrooms: As always, our students have a lot of fun with their historical re-enactments with Ms. Bowen. This past month the 7th graders learned about espionage techniques of the Minutemen and eating Johnnycakes. The 6th graders had gladiator fights and dressed as Roman soldiers. Many thanks to parent Denise Hanna for helping to create these fun activities! In 8th grade science class, the students learned about the human reproduction system and benefitted from very wise words from Mr. Mack on dating and marriage. In the 8th grade literature class, they are memorizing passages from Romeo and Juliet. The 8th and 9th grade Spanish classes recently took a field trip to a Hispanic grocery store to compare and contrast the food and atmosphere with a more familiar store. In 9th grade biology, the students have recently learned in great detail about the "ingress" and "egress" of the digestive system. Ninth grade literature is studying short stories and poems.
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| Left: 6th grade Roman soldiers and gladiator fights. Right: Decoding techniques of the Minutemen |
School News
Accreditation Update
We plan to pursue accreditation through Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and receive dual accreditation with AdvancEd. To be eligible to apply for accreditation, schools must be in existence for at least two years. Now that we have passed that mark, we have a Steering Committee that has examined the standards for accreditation and we are working this academic year to document how we meet the standards and write our self-study report. The planned timeline is to apply for accreditation in Fall 2016 and we will be visited by an accrediting team. We should receive accreditation by Spring 2017, long before any of our students begin the college application process. Once accredited, our curricular choices, rigorous academic environment, strategic planning for college admissions, and intensive development of gentleman scholars will prepare our young men to be strong candidates for the universities of their choice.
Prospective Family Information Sessions
We have our first prospective Family Information Session on Tuesday, Dec 8 at 6:30. The list of dates for all of our information sessions are on our website in the admissions area. Please encourage any young men and their families who would be good candidates for admission to attend. And recall that Mr. Hahn has offered $500 tuition vouchers if someone that you recommend enrolls at Iron. See Mr. Hahn for further details.
Prospective Family Information Sessions
We have our first prospective Family Information Session on Tuesday, Dec 8 at 6:30. The list of dates for all of our information sessions are on our website in the admissions area. Please encourage any young men and their families who would be good candidates for admission to attend. And recall that Mr. Hahn has offered $500 tuition vouchers if someone that you recommend enrolls at Iron. See Mr. Hahn for further details.
Exam Schedule
Throughout exam week, parents may pick up their sons for early dismissal at lunch time at 11:30, but students can stay for study hall time each afternoon until their regular pick up time at 3:15. There will be afterschool care on Monday to Thursday only until 6:00. On Friday Dec 18, we will have a school cookout at lunch time and all students must be picked up by 12:30. A sign-up will go out soon for bringing in some items for the cookout. Parents and siblings are invited to the cookout. From Tuesday to Friday, the students will have two exams each morning, one from 8:00-9:30 and one from 10:00-11:30. The exam schedule for each grade is:
6th grade:
Tuesday: Bible A group or PE B group and Study Skills time
Wednesday: Bible B group or PE A group and Spanish
Thursday: Math and science
Friday: Literature and History
7th grade (Need to know if your son is in the A class or B class)
Tuesday: Bible A group or PE B group and Study Skills A group or Math B group
Wednesday: Bible B group or PE A group and Math A group or Study Skills B group
Thursday: Literature A group or Science B group and History (all 7th graders)
Friday: Science A group or Spanish B group and Spanish A group or Literature B group
8th grade:
Tuesday: Science and Bible
Wednesday: Literature and PE
Thursday: History and Spanish
Friday: Study Skills time and Math
9th grade:
Tuesday: History and PE
Wednesday: Greek/philosophy and Bible
Thursday: Spanish and Literature
Friday: Math and Science
Iron Parent Fellowship Budget Update
We have recently been able to bless the school with the $150 purchase of a durable Shark vacuum cleaner for the students to use each afternoon in chore time; we paid $2000 for the JV soccer uniforms; and we paid the $2800 cafeteria bill from Crucible Camp (Camp Rockmont) that is billed from Aramark and charged separately from the Rockmont lodging and activity fees.
Fundraising Update:
Toy Exchange: Thank you to everyone who donated items for us to sell at the Toy Exchange/Kids Exchange. We earned $230! Fundraising Update:
Wreaths: We have orders for 46 wreaths and our sales will earn $600 in proceeds to us! The wreaths will be delivered to Iron for pick-up on Monday, Dec 7.
Coffee: For gifts for coffee drinkers, remember that you can order weekly from Red Rooster Coffee Company and the school receives 50% of your purchase price.
Autobell: We placed our first order for 130 Autobell full service car wash tickets and have 36 tickets on hand for sale right now. We can place our second and last order on December 11 in order to get our tickets printed with our name on them and available to hand out by Dec 18. If you plan to buy some tickets or are able to sell some to your neighbors or coworkers, we will request those quantities on the "Autobell SignUpGenius" that will be out very soon. The single ticket price is $15.99, the same as Autobell charges, but we also have bundled prices of 10 for $144 (buy 9 get 1 free) or 20 for $256 (buy 16 get 4 free).
Make War Spiritwear: A SignUpGenius has been sent out if anyone wants to purchase our Make War clothing designed by Beckie Kiker. Only clothing that is ordered by Saturday Dec 5 will be printed and delivered to you the week of Dec 14.
Make War Spiritwear: A SignUpGenius has been sent out if anyone wants to purchase our Make War clothing designed by Beckie Kiker. Only clothing that is ordered by Saturday Dec 5 will be printed and delivered to you the week of Dec 14.
When submitting checks to pay for fundraising merchandise, please do put the name of the item you are buying in the memo line. All checks are written to Iron Academy. These payments are not tax deductible charitable contributions. You can submit cash or check payments to Anne York or Heather Mauzy and do let us know if you are turning in a payment in the mail dropbox by the school's front door.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
Arts of the Swordsmen Showcase will be held in May. Our AOTS event this year will also include recognition of our outstanding scholars and outstanding athletes. Travis Kiker will hold a planning session in January for parents and students interested in performing in or helping with AOTS.
Parents Night Out! For the past two years, we have had a parent Christmas party, but with all the busyness of the holiday season, the IPF Executive Committee decided to plan a Parents Night Out social evening for January or February. If your neighborhood has a clubhouse that we could rent or if you know of another facility for us to have potluck dinner and socialize, please contact Anne York. It has always been fun to get to know the other parents and create stronger bonds with parents who are taking a stand for biblical manhood with their sons.
Friday Dec 4th: Blade Maintenance Plan Report is due. See the email message sent by Mr. Hahn on Nov 26 with a document for your son to fill in the first page with a statement of strategy for how he plans to address each of the 4 areas of his personal BMP. Or click here to access this document. (This links works best in the Chrome browser.)
Tuesday Dec 8th:
-Kamado Grille Spirit Night 5:30-8:30
-Family Information Session 6:30-8:00
-Basketball team at Light House Home School 7:00-8:00
Wednesday Dec 9: Father's Breakfast 7:30-8:30
Wednesday Dec 16: Teacher Appreciation Luncheon - a SignUp will be sent soon.
Friday, Dec 18: School cookout for lunch - a SignUp will be sent soon.
Wednesday Dec 16: Teacher Appreciation Luncheon - a SignUp will be sent soon.
Friday, Dec 18: School cookout for lunch - a SignUp will be sent soon.
Every Wednesday morning at 7:50-8:30: Parent Prayer Meeting
Saturday, Jan 9: Lab Day at Neuse Christian Academy
Tuesday, Jan 12:
-Kamado Grille Spirit Night 5:30-8:30
-Family Information Session 6:30-8:00
