News and Notes for September & October

     We have officially reached the fall season!  Fall has always been one of my (Mrs. Lipskoch) favorite seasons!  Cooler temps (hopefully!), colorful leaves, and fun holidays to look forward to are some of the exciting things that happen in the fall.

     Around here, the thing that always kicks off our fall season is the Tent Meeting.  This is an encouraging and exciting time for us here at Harvest.  Our hearts are always full after the evenings of hearing the encouraging messages from God's Word.  Tuesday night is our School emphasis night, and Bro. Scott Justice will be preaching.  Those of you who have heard Bro. Scott before will know what a blessing he is to us here.  Your students will also be doing a bit of singing that night, so you don't want to miss that! 

     Don't forget that Monday through Friday of this coming up week will be adjusted school hours.  We will begin at 9:15 instead of 8:15 each morning.  This allows the teachers and student to be able to attend tent meeting without being exhausted by the end of the week!

     We have scheduled a field trip for October 28.  We will be combining this field trip with our fall party.  Mrs. Rhonda will be heading up plans for that, so if you have any ideas or questions, be sure to get in touch with her.  Our plan right now is to go to Tannehill State Park and enjoy some outdoor time in the beauty of God's creation.  This is a whole-school field trip, so we hope lots of you are able to attend. 

     The student will begin enjoying the cooler temps soon, but remind them that school work must still be done!  There will be several days away from school in the fall season, so they need to work diligently while they have to opportunity to.  Have a great week, we hope to see you at Tent Meeting, and Happy Fall, Y'all!


    

Summer Fun and School Supplies!

     I hope you are all having an enjoyable summer break!  Mr. and Mrs. Lipskoch have returned from their big summer adventure...with most of their sanity intact!  We had a good time, and want to state our appreciation for the prayers and gifts you all gave to make our trip possible.

     We are back at work here on campus and are in the middle of preparation for the upcoming school year.  A couple of dates to remember are July 18, which is the last day to enroll for the upcoming school year, and August 10, which is the first day of school.  We will be having Orientation on August 8.  The calendar can be viewed on the website.

     I have already had some parents asking about school supply lists.  Our list hasn't differed much from last year.  A few items that are a "must" would be:

       *  KJV Bible.
       * Magazine holder for PACEs. (metal or sturdy plastic)
       * Box, cup, or other type of desktop organizer for school supplies.

     If your student chooses to use mechanical pencils, please remember that they will also need lead and eraser refills for those pencils.  (Mrs. Lipskoch may monitor these refills for the students in her Learning Center.)  Tissues and hand sanitizer will also be kept by the supervisors.  (Small personal sizes may be kept by older students in their own office.)

      Parents of younger students, crayons and glue sticks are probably the items that will need replacing the most.  They tend to get used up pretty quickly!  The 24 pack of crayons is probably the best size -- not too few, and not to many for them to keep up with.  Mrs. Lipskoch does prefer her 6 and under students to use regular wooden pencils, rather than mechanical.  (There is not enough lead in the world to keep a 4 year old in pencil lead!)       

     Just in case you need it, here is a link to our printable school supply list.  If you have any specific questions about school supplies--or anything else--feel free to message or call the school.

     Please pray as we prepare for another great school year here at Harvest!  See you soon!

Valentine Party!

     Our annual Valentine Party is scheduled for this Friday, February 12^th. As always, parents are welcome to attend as they are able. Lunch will be provided that day for the party. (Your student will still need to bring a snack for morning break.) If you are able and would like to bring something for that day for the party, please contact Mrs. Clevenger and let her know what you are able to bring. Some ideas are chips & dip, candy, and drinks.

      The students will be exchanging Valentine cards that day, if they would like to. Participation in this is not a requirement. However, if your student decides to give out Valentines, they must give one to every other student so no one is left out. Attached to this letter, you will find a complete list of the students to make this easier for your student to make sure each of their classmates get a Valentine.

      We will be out of school Monday, February 15^th for President's day.

      Regional Student Convention(RSC) is March 14^th – 17^th.

      RSC commitments are needed by Monday, February 15^th. We need to finalize registration. You can meet with us before school at drop off, or after school at pick-up to handle these items. Please call us with any questions.

      The students are really working diligently this quarter. We expect to see many of them make the Honor Roll for third quarter. Thank you for encouraging them to work hard in their studies as we begin the last half of the school year!

Student Name List

Lilly Caldwell       Sydney Jackson       Jenna Key           Levi Lipskoch

Riley Holmes       Will Vaughan         Rhiannon Wingo       Loxton Findley

Clayton Randall       Levi Findley       Julian Stanford        Sam Vaughan

Maddie Vaughan      Ethan Lipskoch      Jaden Lipskoch     Hannah Stanford

Dalton Randall         Jake Key               Landon Nolen        Sierra Scott

Dawson Scott       Haley Clevenger       Autumn Dye        Josh Randall

Danae Randall     Tyler Vasiceck        Shane Trejo

Funeral Arrangements and School Closing

As many of you already know, we lost a member of our school family last Saturday. Tabitha Smitherman, Sydney's mother, was tragically killed in a car accident. Her two boys were in the vehicle with her, and are currently recovering from their injuries at Children's Hospital.

Tabitha's funeral arrangements are as follows: visitation from 12:30 to 2:30 Thursday, February 4, at Peoples Chapel Funeral Home on Brooklane Drive in Hueytown. The funeral service will immediately follow the visitation, and the graveside service will take place at Big Creek Baptist Cemetery.

In order to allow any who would like to attend these services to be able to do so, we will be canceling school on that day.

Many of you have expressed a desire to help in any way, and if we learn of anything that needs to be done, we will be sure to pass on the information to you. Tabitha's parents and family have expressed their thanks for the support and prayers they have received.

Please continue to pray for Tabitha's family, especially her children, as they begin to cope with the loss of their mother. We are thankful that Tabitha professed a belief in Jesus as her Saviour, and is now in Heaven with Him. Please be mindful that you do not know how much time you have on this earth, and where you will spend eternity is of vital importance. If there is anything we can do to help you or your students with this matter, please make the time to talk to one of us.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:

he that believeth in me, though he were dead,

yet shall he live:”

John 10:25

How Does It Work? Scoring

    It's been a little while since we have done a "How Does It Work?" post.  These posts explain the ideas behind the procedures that are a part of the ACE curriculum.   In this post, the scoring procedure will be explained in detail, including the benefits of having your student check and grade their own work.

     "Scoring" is the process in which the student takes the work that they have completed and checks it against a Score Key which has the correct answers in it.  Throughout the PACE, there are specific places where the student is required to stop, raise their flag to get a supervisor's attention, and ask permission to score the last few pages of their work.  The supervisor then looks over the completed work, asks the student to quote from memory the Scripture verse found at the beginning of the PACE, and signs the strip which gives the student permission to score.  Then the student goes to the designated scoring stations in the middle of the Learning Center, retrieves their correct Key, and uses a red pen to compare their work to the Score Key.  A red "X" is placed by any incorrect answer, and the student then returns to their office to make any necessary corrections.  After these have been made, the student raises their flag again and receives permission to restore their incorrect answers.  A circle is placed around the red X if the answer is correct and the student returns to their office to continue with their daily goals.  

    The benefits of this process are many.  The process of reading and carefully looking at each answer reinforces the learning of the material.  Also, the student benefits from learning the very important ability of beings responsible for holding themselves to a standard.  They must learn to understand that they are not always correct, and to correct themselves.  

     Probably the most important aspect of the scoring process is the development of character in the student.  Because they are expected to correct themselves, they must learn to develop the required character traits of humility and thoroughness that it takes to complete the scoring correctly.   They are also taking the responsibility of learning to manage their time and energy to be successful in their work.  

    Usually, the first thing that crosses parent's minds when they are new to the ACE program is "Well, that seems an easy way to cheat.  You are giving them the answers!"  Yes, we are.  And yes, the temptation to take shortcuts is there.  And we have seen just about all the ways that a student can think of to find these shortcuts!  There are several stop-gaps in place to bring any misuse of the procedures to the supervisor's attention.  Scoring takes place in the center of the room, under the notice of the supervisors.  The PACE completion guidelines are also helpful in catching any carelessness in the scoring process.  And PACE tests are always a good indicator of what a student actually knows.  If a student makes a very low grade or fails a PACE test, but their work throughout the PACE has been perfect, it raises a red flag.  The supervisor then can look through the PACE and speak with the student if there is a need.  

     Another concern many parents have is that the scoring process is to "complicated" for their student to handle.  It takes too much time away from their other work; you can't expect them to be able to follow through with the more complex scoring; they are not mature enough to handle the responsibility -- these are all excuses parents have made for their students when scoring has become an issue.  However, the ACE Procedures Manual says it best: "Even a second level student can score Physics."  Because the issue is simply one of matching.  The student must be trained that "close enough" is not good enough!  If your answer does not match the Score Key (with rare exceptions), then your answer is incorrect.  

     The scoring process is an important step in training a student to take responsibility for their own learning, which is the goal of the ACE program.  Of all the processes in this curriculum, it is the one that really puts the character of the student to the test.  Shortcuts during in scoring procedures leads to lazy students, poor performance, and low test grades.  Review of the material and the correct answer during the scoring process cements the knowledge in the student's mind.  

     I hope this look into another important aspect of the Learning Center has helped you understand a little more about what takes place in your student's daily school responsibilities.  Encourage your student to take the job of scoring very carefully, and to be diligent and honest in this process every day.  They will be better students and grow in character when they put into practice the traits they have been studying in their PACEs!