Holiday Newsletter

Letter from the Headmaster

Thanksgiving is a time for eating turkey and stuffing, spending time with your family, and reflecting on the successes of the past few months of school. We have so much to be thankful for and proud of at Bulloch Academy. The week before Thanksgiving, we welcomed record numbers of guests that could join us for our annual Thanksgiving meal. Grandparents, parents, teachers, staff, and students gathered for a time of fellowship and created special
memories for our students. A special THANK YOU to the lunchroom staff and PTA volunteers who made this possible!

December is just around the corner, and I look forward to the many activities at BA in the upcoming weeks. I hope you can join us for some of the festivities! To get you in the Christmas spirit with our precious younger students, we invite everyone to the Christmas music programs on the following dates and times in the cafeteria:

December 12th 8:30 a.m. Kindergarten Christmas Program
December 12th 9:30 a.m. Fourth Grade Christmas Program
December 14th 8:30 a.m. First Grade Christmas Program
December 14th 9:30 a.m. Second Grade Christmas Program
December 14th 1:15 p.m. Third Grade Christmas Program

As the new year approaches, my hope for each of you is that you have time to relax and reflect. Given our increasingly demanding world, budgeting time for these activities is becoming increasingly more difficult, but it is still essential for all of us. I hope everyone has a chance to take some time for themselves and their family during the holidays.

On the behalf of teachers, staff, administration, and school board, I would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Leisa Houghton
Head of School

Pre-K Press

By Kim Burnette, Lower School Director

Our four-year-olds are always in motion and having the most fun every day!  Our learning themes keep them busy and engaged every week. They started going to structured PE one day a week in early November.  This will continue throughout the school year and is in addition to their regular recess schedule!  They also continue with computers and story time once a week outside of their regular classroom activities.

They have learned a lot about Fall and the farm and took their first field trip! We had a super visit from the Mobile Dairy Cow, and we are so thankful for this partnership that brings the cow and milking process to the students.

The next few weeks will be a whirlwind of holiday activities and learning!

Lower School

Welcome Back, Journey

It’s the most WONDERFUL time of the year and Journey is back at Bulloch Academy!! He appeared this week ready to spread Christmas cheer and the GOOD NEWS of Jesus!
Each day, he will visit new classrooms with words of hope and encouragement, and help remind us of the true meaning of Christmas! Visit our Facebook and Instagram accounts each  day to see where Journey might be

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Veteran’s Day

By Walter Leveritt, 5th Grade Teacher

Under the direction of our music teacher, Ashley Wren, our fifth graders presented an amazing Veterans Day program. Every fifth-grade student participated and each one did an awesome job.

Mrs. Smith’s class played ukuleles while singing “America the Beautiful.” Mr. Leveritt’s class played ukuleles while singing “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In.” The group also sang “My Country ‘tis of Thee”, “This Land is Your Land”, “The Caissons Go Rolling Along”, “The Marine Hymn”, “Anchors Away”, “The Air Force Song”, “Thank You Soldiers”, and “God Bless the USA”.

Featured soloists were Alice Anderson, Addi Cheney, Brynnley Keel, Avie Lanier, Raelyn Moseley, Knox Peavey, Olivia Pierce, Brant Sumner, Emery Whitfield, MaryElla Avra, Asher Davis, Brooks Fuller, Charlee Grace Mitchell, Stella Newman, Wilt Page, Wade Strickland, and Addison Taulbee.

As another special part of this program, a Veterans Day video was presented. In this video, several fifth graders were interviewed and asked questions about various topics related to veterans and the work they have done.

A very touching part of the program was the enactment of a scene from America’s White Table by Margot Raven. Several students took part in this heartwarming activity.

Thank you, Ms. Ashley Wren and fifth-grade gators for this awesome Veterans Day program.

STEAM

Technology for our Students

By Anne Williamson, Director of Technology

Teachers expect all students in grades 5 thru 12 to have a Chromebook or PC in class with them each day. To start off the year, we tried to be flexible and understanding when students were not prepared for class. Students have been able to check out a device to use, but students have come to depend on this backup. There will be some changes made in the near future that we hope will require students to remember to bring their devices. There will be a limited number of consecutive days for checkouts and fees charged for late returns. There will also be a 1 hour check out window in the morning for students to acquire a device.

With Christmas approaching, I have seen sales on computer devices. Parents, if your child doesn’t have a device for school, you might want to take advantage of these special prices. This requirement will be enforced in the coming semesters.

Music

Gator Guidance

By Tara Nix, Upper School Counselor

October and November have been full! We launched Red Ribbon Week to increase drug/alcohol awareness. The sheriff’s department presented a ‘drunk goggles’ session and brought their k-9 unit to educate us about the importance of making good choices for ourselves, our classmates, and our families.  We also hosted a combined presentation from Bulloch Alcohol and Drug Council; Freedom Through Recovery; Ogeechee Drug Court and Mental Health Center. We are encouraging our students to take some time to ‘think’; to go ahead and make their individual decisions about what they will do or won’t do before they are tempted or asked when it comes to alcohol, drugs, vaping, texting and driving. The pressure is less if their decision has already been made. We had themes for dress-up days to help us to think and remember. Our themes were:  “Put a cap on drugs” (wear red and a hat); “Hide from drugs” (wear camo) and “Team up against drugs” in your favorite team jersey.

We have had several Community Service Opportunities this fall: Bulloch County Parks and Rec; Cross Country home meets; Elementary Archery on Tuesday mornings; 7th Mile Farm and the HOPE chest (pulling groups together); Coming soon: opportunities with the Youth Action Team through the Bulloch Alcohol and Drug Council.

“The Georgia Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) is a residential summer program for skilled, knowledgeable, and talented high school sophomores and juniors. GHP offers instruction that is significantly different from the typical high school classroom and is designed to provide students with academic, cultural, and social enrichment necessary to become the next generation of global critical thinkers, innovators, and leaders.” We were given the opportunity to nominate ten students from Bulloch Academy. The following students were nominated from BA: Jacob Avery, Casen Cheney, Peyton Coulter, Kellen Daly, Maddie Herrmann, Kate Mock, Vivian Nguyen, Camille Wall, Sammy Mendez and Carmen Uribe. They are working on their applications now!

As far as college guidance, we have hosted admissions counselors from Valdosta State, Mercer University, Young Harris College and Georgia College. Several of our students attended the PROBE fair at GSU where colleges were represented from all over the nation.

We have a FAFSA representative coming on December 5th to walk through the process of applying for federal aid and staying in compliance with the Zell and Hope scholarships. We are in full swing for dual enrollment for spring classes and will be offering a “coffee and conversation” about dual enrollment and AP in January.

We have a winter college tour scheduled for February. We will visit Clemson, Furman, The University of South Carolina, Charleston Southern, The Citadel and The College of Charleston.

In looking at brain health which feeds our social-emotional health, I encourage each of us to take a ‘screen break’ or to ‘slow our scroll’ in order to invest our time and energy into our relationships with one another instead of with the device in our hands or on our desks. We can choose other things that are meaningful by being deliberate to redirect our attention to other activities like talking with one another; taking a walk, baking, drawing, listening to music, making a phone call to a grandparent, going for a run, writing a card for someone or playing a game together. Our brain health and relationships with one another are worth our effort. We need each other and we thrive when we are intentional about connecting.

Lower School Guidance

By Ashley Hand, Lower School Counselor

Whew! It’s been a busy year already! We’ve had a great time between Red Ribbon Week, Homecoming Week, our 5th Grade Veteran’s Day program, and way more! Parents, shout out to you for helping with all the dress-up days! This is something our children will remember!

We are working through our Energy Bus lessons each month. We have discussed “Creating a positive vision”, “Fueling your ride with positive energy”, and “No bullies allowed”. Next stop is to “Love your passengers” and “Enjoy the ride”. We usually read a lesson and then watch a video and/or do a worksheet that coincides with the lesson.  We took a break from our regular lessons during Red Ribbon Week for 3-5th grade to enjoy a dirt cake with a theme of “I’d rather eat bugs than do drugs” Needless to say, the classes loved it!

Even though Thanksgiving has passed, let us remember that thankfulness and gratitude are not just for a season. It’s a mindset we can cultivate and grow each day. We are coming up now on Christmas and a few more dress-up days (parents stay with me now) 🤪so let’s remember to slow down, enjoy the small things, and just breathe. The things we do now are making a lasting impact. May you all have a Merry Christmas!!!

Athletics

By Kevin Nix, Athletic Director

Winter sports are already creating a flurry of events on campus.  We have hosted elementary, middle school, junior varsity, and varsity basketball games.  Basketball coaches are Chandler Dennard, Zach Brackett, Ashley Burke, Leslie Belcher, Riley Cook, Braxton Hopper, and Josh Paskaukas.  Assistant football coach Robbie Holder is the elementary basketball coordinator and is a tremendous asset as well.  Coach Hodges can be sighted back on campus moving well and getting better every day.

Wrestling opened the season with a MS event at home and the match featured more than 10 successive pins by BA grapplers. Elementary wrestlers have been busy as well.  Varsity is just getting started due to the length of the high school football season. Wrestling coaches are Trey Walker, Spencer Sharp, Brian Reiss, and Josh Mager.  Senior Dylan May helps out with elementary wrestling as well.

Coaches Crystal Fisher and Jody Wiggins are doing a great job organizing elementary, MS, and HS archery.  They are the early birds on campus practicing at 7am at least three days a week. They hosted a fun shoot on campus for elementary and plan to do another soon for MS and HS.

Cheerleading is getting ready to compete in the Game Day Cheer competition in Macon, GA on December 10th.  Coaches Courtney and Kim Burnette along with Logan Murdock and Jan Marie Page never seem to slow down with our cheer program. All of our cheerleaders in MS and HS can be seen enthusiastically supporting all of our basketball teams at home.

Recently, our shotgun team represented BA at the state competition, with Blake Reed and Porter Wood leading the team with strong individual performances. Coaches Dwayne Conner and Jody Wiggins continue to work hard to guide these young men and women.  And many thanks to former coach Barbara Conner for all her help behind the scenes.

The Booster Club is working on some major projects to support all of our programs and we are excited to see what is in store.  In January, we will have our varsity athletic sports banquet which is organized and funded by the Booster Club.

It is a blessing to work with so many coaches, teachers, parents, and athletes who care so much about BA.  I like to believe we all consider the following as words to live by – “let us not grow tired of doing what is good and what is right for we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Curriculum Corner

By Brandilyn Stroup, Director of Curriculum

It’s hard to believe that the first semester of the school year is almost completed! We have had a busy last few months with some exciting happenings. Our first Coffee and Conversation was held yesterday with a great turnout! This event is a time to speak with various members of the administration and staff about different topics concerning our Bulloch Academy students. Our first meeting dove into digital citizenship and our new program, The Social Institute to teach students to be responsible internet users. There are two more meetings scheduled this year.

Please see the topics and dates below:

January 19 – Dual Enrollment and AP Classes: 8:30 AM and 6:00 PM

March 2 – Academic Success: Lower School at 8:30 AM, Middle/High School at 9:30 AM and all grades at 6:00 PM

We are also excited to be selling 3D-printed Bulloch Academy Christmas Ornaments this year! Miss Ashley Burke’s 7th grade STEAM class has worked diligently to learn the Tinkercad software program and designed their own Christmas ornament. The staff voted on the winning design, which was created by Emree Brooke Cartee. These will be sold December 12-15th and quantities are limited. The cost of the ornament is $10 and all proceeds will go toward materials for the 3D printers. You can choose your preferred color of green or gold!

Nurse’s Notes

Happy holiday season to everyone! It certainly seems like the fall season has flown by! I’d like to extend a huge thanks to everyone who has donated to the Gator Clinic. I am always humbled by your generosity. I love caring for your students, and your donations make it possible for me to do just that.

We had around 60 participants in the SBF (Student Based Flu) vaccination clinic at Bulloch Academy. In Bulloch County, flu season has already been particularly nasty to our residents. The flu map from the CDC indicates that Georgia is currently experiencing a very high level of flu activity. Please continue to keep your children home when they are symptomatic. Vaccinations are available throughout Bulloch County and are the single most effective way to prevent the flu.

My favorite parts of the week are health lessons! Our elementary students are always eager to learn. In October, we covered several Red Ribbon Week topics which included: healthy versus unhealthy foods and medications (K), candy versus medication (1st), and peer pressure (2nd) in the lower grades. In 3rd-5th grades, I hope these students came home and talked with you about our lesson. They had a chance to discuss their understanding of what a drug/smoking/vaping is and to ask questions about drugs/smoking/vaping. Miss Ashley Burke and I collaborated on a contest in which the students created a drug-free ad on the computer. They had to use shapes and mostly an original design (no clipping all of the graphics). Our winners were posted on the school television monitors during Red Ribbon Week. The kids did an AWESOME job! I am so proud of them and amazed at their technological abilities!

In November, we discussed nutrition. The lesson was based on the MyPlate.gov food groups but adapted to a “Mealcraft” format (much like the popular Minecraft game). It was a hit! In fifth grade, we took the lesson a little further and explored why sugar is bad for you. Hopefully, we laid the groundwork for a healthier diet while your students are home for the holidays!

As we leave for the break, I hope you and your students have a fantastic holiday season full of flu-free family fun!

BA Community

Canned Food Drive

Bulloch Academy hosted its Annual Food Drive this month. The drive was sponsored by the High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This year, Bulloch Academy exceeded its goal of 2,000 cans and students collected over 4,000 cans! This has the potential to feed up to 6,400 people this Holiday season. Thank you to the Statesboro Food Bank for the important work you do in our community.

Way to go Gators!

On Saturday, January 28, 2023, Bulloch Academy will host the BA Lifetime Legacy Ball (The BALL) at the Nessmith-Lane Building at Georgia Southern. The BALL pays tribute to the distinguished Anderson Family and beloved teacher and alumna Sylvia Brannen Thomas.

The Ball, led by Valerie Woodrum, event chair, and Anne Williamson, Director of Development, is Bulloch Academy’s largest fundraiser, attracting 300 parents, grandparents, and community business leaders. Proceeds raised at the event will support both Bulloch Academy’s campaign to update our facility and the PTA’s traditional programs, with an emphasis this year on technology-related needs.

In addition to a special program honoring the Anderson Family and Sylvia Brannen Thomas, this year’s event features a cocktail buffet, desirable auction items, and dancing to the swinging sounds of Jeremy Davis and the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra from Savannah!

Please consider supporting this important fundraiser by sponsoring the event, honoring our legacy families with a “Friend” sponsorship, or purchasing tickets for your family or employees. Sponsors receive high-level visibility benefits. Sponsorships are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Read more about our sponsorship opportunities!

For more information, please contact The Ball committee members, Valerie Woodrum at [email protected] or Anne Williamson at [email protected]

Purchase your tickets HERE!