CCA News: April Edition

Happy Birthday To

4/3: Caroline Robertson       4/13: Fisher Angelle       4/13: Audrey Smith       4/16: Caroline Splane       4/28: Benjamin Leonards            

Field Trip Fun

Written by: Noah Kidder

Mrs. Jessica and Mrs. Katie are heading out for a field trip on April 4th to see the Worm Lady, where their class is going to learn about composting, its benefits, and how it will be beneficial for the worms. They are also going to have a composting bin here at school that they will be able to put their lunch scraps in, and compost them.

Mrs. Christi is planning a field trip for April 10th to the vet’s office, because the kids are currently learning about zoology. They will be given a tour of the office and will get to see the animals being cared for. There is going to be a Christian vet who teaches the kids about treating animals, and they will get to experience a day in the life of a vet. Afterward, they will go to Moncus Park to hang out, and play.

AARON’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Written by: Aaron Alexander

On April 17th, we will have our annual school-wide Egg Hunt. This is also our last day of school before Easter Break – which means school’s out for Good Friday! The students will need to bring baskets or bags to collect eggs, and all students are responsible for bringing 2 dozen pre-filled eggs by Wednesday, April 16th. (See Mrs. Kari’s future announcement on the Parents & Friends Facebook page for more information) This is a much anticipated day, especially for the younger students, and even the upper classmen join in the fun by hiding the eggs around the front lawn!

Following the Egg Hunt on Thursday, we’ll begin our Easter break which is also the final break of the year before the home stretch to the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! This will last from April 18 -25. We hope all students will enjoy this special break with their family.  

Caroline’s Classroom Chronicles

Written by: Caroline Robertson

Spring is here, but let’s dive back into March to see what CCA’s students were up to in those final days of winter! 

To begin, in Science, Mrs. Darlene’s Kindergarten class has been learning about planets. Mrs. Darlene made a model of earth cut in half to show all the kids the different layers, (based on man’s view) and spent their time studying and defining them, as well as how they are different. Then in Grammar they have started to learn bigger words, and dove into parts of a sentence, such as verbs, nouns, ect. Whereas, in Math they have worked on their lefts and rights, along with dividing things into halves, which they used crackers and cookies to demonstrate. 

In Mrs. Christi’s first grade class, they have started regrouping, Factors in addition, and how many more on a graph. To help learn this the class took polls. For example, “Dogs v.s. Cats” or “ Favorite Colors”. As a class, began reading “The Little Pilgrim’s Progress”. While in Grammar, they learned prepositions using the ‘Dr. Seuss’ books, as well as finishing all of their Shirley Jingles for the year! In their Science class they’re learning Zoology: the study of animals. Specifically diprotodontia, which involves kangaroos, possums, wombats, and wallabies. If you see one of Mrs Christi’s students you can ask them what diprotodontia means, it’s very fun to see how they explain it to you. Following their lessons about kangaroos and possums, they finished off by watching “The Riot and the Dance” – which gives them an even closer look into the interesting animals God created. 

The Second Grade class, taught by Mrs. Jessica, did a bunch of things last month! In their Bible class they learned about the Ten Commandments and the Israelites in the desert after escaping Egypt. In Science, they learned about creatures of the sea – some examples include whales and dolphins. The big question for this lesson was: “How are they mammals but still live in the water?” In Grammar, they continued pronouns and Mrs. Jessica introduced possessive pronouns. In Geography, they learned about the eleven Southeastern states, from Louisiana to Virginia. Then in Math, they have learned finding halves, greater than, less than, and equal to, and multiplying by fives. 

Mrs. Katie’s Third and Fourth graders are next. Firstly they finished “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”, and began their last literature book of the year! In Grammar they are on the ninth writing assignment in the school year… writing essays. Using those writing skills, they had a fun history project, where the students got to pick a missionary, and write a paper about him or her on a poster board. They talked about their life and background, which they presented in class. During that time, they also learned, in the Bible, about David and his life, particularly David and Bathsheba. Lastly, they moved to more advanced phonograms in SWR. 

Next, in Mrs. Anna’s Fifth Grade Math class they learned all the four different types of Arithmetic as well as dividing fractions, how to multiply them, and the circumference of a circle. Her Sixth Graders learned how to find the square roots and area of the circle. In Science, they continued with Astronomy, specifically the sun and the moon, the differences between meteorites and meteors, and lastly solar and lunar eclipses. In Grammar they learned direct and indirect objects, along with split, end, and beginning quotes, also known as dialogue. In their Bible class, they continued to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are reading different stories like “The Rich Young Ruler” and “Jesus Raising Lazareth from the Dead”. And for further reading, they were reading “The Princess and the Goblin” by George MacDonald for Literature. As finally for this busy class, in History they learned about Africa and the missionaries who ministered there – for example, Mary Slessor, a missionary to Nigeria. 

The Seventh and Eighth graders were on a roll last month. In Mr. Jordan’s Humanities class, they learned Roman History by reading Livy’s “The Early History of Rome”. They also learned “What makes things good?”, going into detail how everyone has a different definition of good. The Christian definition is God, and God alone. Reading along with “The Best Things in Life” by Peter Kreeft. The seventh graders, in Algebra ½, learned polynomials and graphing on a coordinate plane. While in the Eighth grader’s Algebra 1 class, they started to get into the basics of Algebra 2, preparing them for next year. In Logic, also taught by Mr. Jordan, they learned about validity in arguments. In their Art class, the students started their new assignment in watercolor. Miss Shirah had the Seventh graders reconstructing with water color whereas the Eighth graders began a watercolor painting of a canyon, using only three colors of their choosing. In Science, taught by Ms. Belle, they finished their modules on Atomic Structure and Chemical Bonds and moved to their final module of the school year – Physics: Light. For their Grammar writing assignments, Ms. Belle and Mr. Jordan teamed up to shed further light on their Humanities lessons by challenging them to write a paper answering the questions: “Should you be friends with a non Christian” and “Should you still be friends with people who you know or suspect are taking advantage of you”.

The Ninth and Tenth graders finished their impersonation of Jesse Owens, an Olympic gold medalist, in Writing and Rhetoric – one of their final impersonation essays of the year. Then, in Omnibus, taught by Pastor Aaron Shamp, the class finished both Animal Farm by George Orwell and The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, as well as parts from Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. They went on a deep dive on the corruption in “American life”, as well as communism, and ungodly ruling in history. In Dr. Stan’s Biology class, they learned about protists and fungi, along with beginning biological classification in Chapter Eleven of their book. In Art, Miss Shirah had them finish drawings of a town they designed and then they began brainstorming for their next cross hatching assignment. 

Lastly, in the Eleventh and Twelfth Grade Humanities class, taught by Pastor Scott, they began reading “Prince” by Niccolo Machiavell. In Miss Shirah’s Art class, they continued work on their last project of the year! They also learned how to be honest business members and how to be a salesman, like Joseph in the Bible, during their Economics class, instructed by Mr. Jordan. In Public Speaking, Pastor Brandon had them making a “How to Do” five to seven minute tutorial where they got to choose what they’d be instructing on – for example, “how to bake a cake” or “ how to draw a dog in under 10 minutes.”  

It was a busy and full month in the classrooms at our school! I can’t wait to see how we kick off the final quarter and finish the year in the classrooms!

Sports (& Games)
with Luke & Landon

The 2025 CCA track season is going strong! Our most recent track meet had some things to note. So here are the scores and placements from the Middle and Elementary meet on Saturday the 22nd:

TEAM SCORES:
Men’s Elementary: 5th
Men’s Middle School: 4th

Women’s Elementary: 3rd
Women’s Middle School: 2nd

We congratulate our CCA Track and Field athletes for their hard work and determination! To reiterate, these stats are from the most recent track meet for CSTL only. For more information, go to Athletic.net and search for Christ Church Academy.

Teacher Highlight:
Mrs. Jessica Ruiz

Written by: Amelia Nealy

Mrs. Jessica Ruiz is CCA’s Second Grade teacher. She is a woman who truly loves the Lord, and spreads that love to those around her. Her husband, children, students, and friends, all benefit from such an amazing woman. Mrs. Jessica also loves to dance. She teaches dance lessons once a week to the young girls of Christ Church, sharing her love of the sport. Reading is another one of Mrs. Jessica’s hobbies, even though she didn’t start enjoying it until after becoming an adult. Along with reading and dancing, Mrs. Jessica enjoys crocheting in her free time. Even with three kids and one on the way, Mrs. Jessica somehow still finds the time to teach, read, crochet, and dance. I asked Mrs. Jessica a few questions about her teaching, and these were her answers. 

What is your favorite part about teaching?

Mrs. Jessica loves seeing her students grasp the new concepts she teaches. 

Why did you choose to teach?

Mrs. Jessica has always wanted to teach; she believed it was God’s calling for her. She also loves the new challenges it brings, and how rewarding it is. 

How long have you been teaching?

All in all, Mrs. Jessica has six years of teaching experience. She taught Pre-K for two years, First and Second for three years, and now just second grade for the first time. 

What is your favorite subject to teach?

Reading is Mrs. Jessica’s favorite subject to teach. 

What is your favorite activity, apart from teaching, to do with your students?

Mrs. Jessica was very quick to respond with “dance parties”.

Her fellow teachers have this to say about her…

“She loves the Lord and she loves her family very much. She is also very gracious with helping us other teachers learn.” -Mrs. Darlene

“Mrs. Jessica is very patient and thoughtful. She has a wonderful attention to detail and always has a willingness to help! Mrs. Jess is a woman of many talents. I enjoy having nerdy convos with her. I’ve seen God’s hand in her life in the years since meeting her, and her love for the Lord is incredibly endearing.” -Mrs. Christi

“She is a passionate teacher that loves the Lord and stewards her students well.” -Mrs. Katie

“She’s always looking for ways to help her students learn, and she genuinely loves teaching!” – Ms. Belle

“Kind, loves her students, very caring, a good friend.” -Mrs. Anna 

Teacher Highlight:
Pastor Aaron Shamp

Written by: Amelia Nealy

Pastor Aaron Shamp is a teacher, pastor, husband, father, and fitness instructor. He’s married to Mrs. Layla and they have two kids, Gideon and Norah. Reading is one of Pastor Aaron’s favorite things to do. He teaches High School Humanities, but also has experience in college settings. Classes like his are necessary for a good education, and he also helps to bring a love for reading into the hearts and minds of his students. I have asked Pastor Aaron about his teaching, and these were his answers. 

Why did you start teaching?

He said that he believed that it was God’s calling.

What’s your favorite part about teaching?

Along with many other teachers, Pastor Aaron loves seeing a student understand what he is teaching. This is the true goal of teaching, which makes it most teachers’ favorite part about teaching. It shows how much teachers care for their students, and how much they love to see their students learn. 

How long have you been teaching?

While this is only Pastor Aaron’s first year teaching at CCA, he has also taught for New Orleans Seminary for three years, and has been teaching in a church setting for over a decade. 

What are all of the different subjects you have taught?

Pastor Aaron has taught Christian Apologetics, Systematic Theology, Biblical Studies, Leadership, and High School Humanities.

Out of all of your experiences teaching, which was your favorite? 

Christian Apologetics was Pastor Aaron’s favorite subject to teach. 

Teacher Highlight:
Dr. Stanley Brown

Written by: Amelia Nealy

Dr. Stan Brown is an incredible teacher and teaches our High School Biology class at CCA. He has many years of experience in teaching college sciences. He is married to Yvonne Brown and together they have three children and two grandchildren. He loves to talk about his grandchildren! Writing is one of Dr. Stan’s favorite things to do. In his many years of teaching college, writing was a large part of his job, and even when not working he loves to write. Dr. Stan also loves exercising. During his class, he explains the science behind why you are tired while exercising. I asked Dr. Brown about his teaching experiences, and these were his answers. 

Why did you start teaching?

Teaching, for Dr. Brown, was really an opportunity for research. He wanted to study and do research in science, but also needed a job, which led to him being a professor.

What’s your favorite part about teaching?

“Enlightening young minds.”

How long have you been teaching?

Dr. Brown started teaching in 1988, and has been teaching over all for 37 years. 

What are all of the things you have taught?

Dr. Brown has taught Anatomy, various courses related to Physiology, and now, High School Biology.

Out of all of your experiences teaching, which was your favorite? 

Rehabilitation of the heart, which is what he has focused on researching. 

Parsonage Wars:
The Prank Wars

War has begun.

Though there were not many progressions throughout the month of March, there were a few that officially continued the prank wars within the parsonage. To start, on Thursday March 27th, Mr. Jordan’s seventh and eighth grade class went around to all of the classes within the parsonage, not excluding fifth and sixth grade, and gave each a donut hole covered in pickle flavoring. Some enjoyed it, others did not, but it was a great way to continue the prank wars in the parsonage. CCA’s Ninth and Tenth grade class returned fire with a sneak attack during lunch and seran wrapped the Middle School classroom. Desks and chairs, the white board, the stand up fan, the lecturn, some of the students’ books, and even part of the door were enveloped in seran wrap when they returned from lunch. The reactions were priceless, and we hope to report back with more of the fun (I mean, battles) next month.

Student Editor

Our Student Editor is Kloey Walling. Kloey is the daughter of Steven and Jennifer Walling and a student in Ms. Belle’s 9th Grade class. This is her first year at CCA and she has shown diligence in her work.