Friday, December 6

All the FCS News That Is the News This Week

FCS' Newsletter is updated each Friday

“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”

ALL SCHOOL NEWS

(Use the scroll bar at the right to navigate to each division's news)

WINTERLIGHT CONCERT

Monday, December 9, 7:00 pm, FBC Auditorium.
Come join us for WinterLight! 
It's singing and drama, and a great time of Christmas celebration.
All the FCS family is invited to attend.

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY
There may be an occasion when we have to close school or have a delayed start due to inclement weather. Please be advised the administration will make decisions regarding school closings and will not follow any county closings. We will post our decision on the website and on the local TV stations; WSB-TV, 11-Alive, CBS Atlanta and FOX 5. If possible, we will send out a RenWeb email so it is imperative to keep us updated on any changes for your email and telephone numbers. If school is closed for ANY reason, there will be NO after-school activities (even if conditions improve).

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18 LATE START CHANGE

Wednesday, December 18, No Late Start for Middle & High School; Elementary will have a normal late start day. Middle and High School will start @ 8:00 am due to exams. If your student rides the bus, please note the buses will run on the early schedule NOT a late start schedule.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOX COLLECTION

Today, Friday, December 6 is the last day of the FCS annual OCC shoebox collection. Please join us as we make a difference in the lives of children around the world! Pack as many shoeboxes as you like. According to Carol Smith, OCC Atlanta Area Coordinator, Fellowship is the largest contributing school in the Atlanta area. 
Monday December 9 and Tuesday, December 10 some of our junior, senior and 8th grade students will be delivering the donated shoeboxes to the OCC warehouse and volunteering there for several hours each day. They will be helping to ready the shoeboxes for shipping all over the world. 

DID YOU KNOW  TODAY, Friday, December 6 was the day to turn in your pledge of support for the 2013-2014 Fellowship Fund? HOWEVER, to accommodate busy schedules this month, the date for turning in pledges or gifts has been extended to December 31. 

We want to reach the $500,000 goal in pledges and/or gifts by the end of this month. Payment of pledges may be made any time before May 31, 2014.  For budgeting purposes we kindly request a record of your pledge amount by December 31 because donations are counted toward this school year’s budget. It's easy, too! Donate online or mail your gift postmarked by December 31.  

DID YOU KNOW donors contributing $1,000 and up will be invited to a reception with our Head of School, Kathy Teston, prior to the State of the School address on January 27? Don’t be left out!

DID YOU KNOW we have currently reached 47% parent participation in our 2013-2014 Fellowship Fund  and have raised $200,217 toward our goal of $500,000?

GEORGIA GOAL
Through Georgia Goal Scholarship Program you have the opportunity to tell the Georgia legislature to redirect up to $2,500 of your tax dollars to Fellowship Christian School. Doing this redirects your tax money, in the form of student scholarships to help qualifying families who could not otherwise afford to send their children to FCS. What a great way to say, "I Am Second." Read about how...

MEN'S FRATERNITY

Wednesday, January 8, 6:00 am begins the second semester of Men's Fraternity in the "Quest for Authentic Manhood". We have a strong core group of Fellowship dads, and it's a great way to start off the new year with a renewed purpose. Learn more about Men's Fraternity @ FCS on our blog. All FCS dads are welcome to join us every Wednesday morning at 0600, Room 103, high school building.

RE-ENROLLMENT BEGINS

January 28, 2014 continuing until midnight February 7, 2014 begins FCS re-enrollment for the 2014-2015 school year. Families that re-enroll during this time will have the $250 registration fee waived and will pay only the $500 tuition deposit per student. After the re-enrollment time period is over, new families will be accepted. In January, current families will receive an email from the Admissions Department with re-enrollment instructions. This email will go to the custodial mother’s email address as listed in RenWeb.

REMINDER

FCS Spiritwear can be purchased at the Athletic House. It is no longer available at the Paladin Center.

Little Paladins, Big Pride

ELEMENTARY BOYS LACROSSE CLINIC

December 10 & 12, Tuesday & Thursday, 3:30 - 5:00 pm,  Paladin Field. 

• Registration deadline: Sunday, December 8
• 3rd through 5th Grades
• Beginner to Advanced
• Cost: $0.00
• Instructed by: Andy Petrovich, FCS Varsity Lacrosse Coach, and the FCS varsity players
• Have your own equipment? Please bring it (helmet, gloves, pads, cup, mouth guard) 
• If you need equipment and to register, call Coach Petrovich, 770.853.5066, andypetrovich@comcast.net.

CELEBRATING OUR ATHLETES

Friday, January 31 -  Mark your calendar for a Sports Dinner celebrating our winter elementary Basketball and Wrestling athletes. Join your teammates, families, and coaches for a delicious meal then join our school in cheering for our varsity Basketball team in the their last home game of the season. Players and coaches will be honored during the game. More details to come!

CALLING ALL PERFORMERS

Wednesday, February 5, the fifth annual Elementary School Variety Show. This show allows our students from K5 to Grade 5 to showcase their talents in a non-competitive venue. In the past, we have had the pleasure of watching our talented students sing, dance, play an instrument, cheerlead, hula hoop, perform magic tricks and more!  You can perform as a solo act or with a group of friends. We are also looking for 4th and 5th grade students to help with stage set up for each performer. 

If you would like to showcase your God-given talents “on the stage” or help us create a magical show “behind the scenes”, please download the permission slip. Questions? Contact Krista Jaroszewski at kjaroszewski@precyse.com. We look forward to your participation.

REMEMBER THESE DATES

Wednesday, December 11 - Sacred Praise and Worship Chapel

Wednesday, December 11 - Christmas Musical Program 7-9 pm, ES Auditorium

Wednesday, December 18 - No Chapel

Thursday, December 19 - Christmas Family Chapel

SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, February 22 - ES Father-Daughter Dance, sponsored by the FCS' Senior Class

YEARBOOK NEEDS YOUR PHOTOS

Share your photos of ES activities and class events! Supply them on a CD, DVD or flash drive to your child's teacher or drop it off at the ES office. Place your name on your flash drive so it can be returned. Thank you so much! Questions? Contact Loren Hagearty, Lhagearty@gmail.com.

SIXTH GRADE BOOK TALKS

Mrs. Corbett, Mr. Tacquard and Mr. Morecraft dropped in as 'Celebrity' Book Talk guests in Mr. Parsons' 6th grade English class to discuss books each recently read. "What is a Book Talk?" you ask. This semester each student in the class is required to choose a book from a list provided by Mr. Parsons, read it, answer five simple questions about it, and, finally, present their book to the class in a discussion format like the guest 'celebrities'. Book Talks keep middle school minds actively engaged in reading while exposing students to many books read by their peers. Much enjoyment is gained from reading and from the awesome presentations in class which, hopefully leads to more reading and more awesome presentations. It's all about avid readers and maybe even authors in the making!

MORNING TARDIES Middle school doors lock at 8:00 am (Wednesday at 9:00 am). Late students will not be admitted at the middle school doors. Students must enter through the main office if they arrive late. 8th GRADE SOCIAL

TODAY, Friday, December 6, 3:15-4:15 pm, Gym 2. Parents will pick up students outside the main entrance.

8th GRADE OCC FIELD TRIP
Tuesday, December 10. The 8th grade class will depart promptly at 8:00 am for their trip to the Operation Christmas Child warehouse. Please arrive at school by 7:45 am to load the busses. Students will return for afternoon carpool.

NHS MATH AND SCIENCE TUTORING

Wednesday, December 11, before and after school, Room 108. As a service project the National Honor Society members have formed a free tutoring club for middle school students for next Wednesday, December 11. Tutoring takes place in room 108 for the 30 minutes before school and the 30 - 40 minutes after school.  Any middle school student is welcome to attend, no sign up is required, however, if possible please email Miss Topham, bethany.topham@fcspaladins.org, that you plan on attending. In addition there are students willing to take on independent tutoring for a fee if parents desire a more permanent tutoring arrangement. Contact Miss Topham for more details. Any high school NHS student wishing to be added to the tutor list can also contact Miss Topham. 

CANDY CANE GRAMS

Seniors are selling Candy Cane Grams to the middle and high school for $1 each. An encouraging messageaccompanied by a candy cane will be delivered during the school day. Send a Christmas message to students, teachers, staff, and any other friends you wish to bless. Candy Cane gram message forms are available in the front office. Submit your orders by Wednesday, December 11. Thank you for supporting this Senior class fundraiser.

TREAD

Thursday, December 12 is the due date for forms and payment for the Tread Backpacking trip on Friday & Saturday, December 20-21 on the Appalachian Trail of North Georgia. The group will backpack for a total of 15 miles from Woody Gap over the backside of Blood Mountain - some of the prettiest trails on the Appalachian Trail! Information is available in the office. Questions? Contact Coach Hughes, trip.hughes@fcspaladins.org.

The spring break Kayaking trip is now full. See Coach Hughes to be put on the wait list.

Test Calendar

MS MID TERM EXAM WEEK DETAILS

FCS Fall 2013 MS Exam Schedules can be found on the FCS website

Please note: Middle School students will be taking the essay portion of their English exam on Friday, December 13, during their regular English class.

Middle School Exam Week dismissal times

Monday, December 16  - Normal schedule

Tuesday, December 17 - 11:45 am Dismissal

Wednesday, December 18  - 11:30 am Dismissal

Thursday, December 19 - 11:30 am Dismissal

Friday, December 20 - 9:45 am Dismissal for those taking a Math exam, 11:30 am Dismissal for 8th Grade Spanish 1 only

AFTER SCHOOL STUDY HALL

Tuesday – Friday, December 17-20 afterschool study hall will be canceled because of exam week early dismissal.  Monday, December 16 will be the only day for study hall that week.

LOST AND FOUND ITEMS WILL BE DONATED WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18

Please retrieve you personal belongings before this date! 

 

HS ROBOTICS TEAM

Saturday, November 23, two of our four Fellowship Christian Robotics teams began the season competing in the Peachtree Ridge High School VEX qualifier. One of the two finished fourth in ten qualifying matches versus 38 teams reaching a top eighth finish overall. The second team was chosen as an allied  team for the finals. Keep up the great work guys!

Team members L to R:
Jimmy Wallace, Jonathan Yancey, Wesley Deal, Zach Schenken.
Team members not pictured:
Chris Archer, Drew Cookston, Avery Lear, Harrison Shaw

WRESTLING

Congratulations to our Paladin wrestling team for its victories this week against St. Francis and Athens Christian. Senior leaders Clay Hostetter, Connor Nelson, and James Wilson all recorded wins, and freshman Nate Shirley began his varsity career with a dominating performance, winning by technical superiority (18-0) against his upper class opponent. Your grapplers will be in action again this weekend against Walnut Grove and next Wednesday versus Mt. Pisgah, North Cobb Christian and Mt. Vernon at Mt. Pisgah.  Come help your team make history on the mat!

BASKETBALL TONIGHT

Friday, December 6 vs Whitefield Academy, Paladin Court. Our basketball teams have gotten off to a great start! Come cheer on our Paladins! See the FCS website for games, times and results. Follow FCS Athletics on Twitter at @Paladinsports.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD FIELD TRIP

Monday December 9 some of our juniors and seniors will be delivering the donated shoeboxes to the OCC warehouse and volunteering there for several hours each day. They will be helping to ready the shoeboxes for shipping all over the world. 

SPRING BREAK TRIPS

Information may be obtained in the office through Monday, December 9 for the mission trips to Dominican Republic or Venezuela during spring break.

NHS MATH AND SCIENCE TUTORING

Wednesday, December 11, before and after school, Room 108. As a service project the National Honor Society members have formed a free tutoring club for middle school students for next Wednesday, December 11. Tutoring takes place for the 30 minutes before school and the 30 - 40 minutes after school.  Any middle school student is welcome to attend, no sign up is required, however, if possible please email Miss Topham, bethany.topham@fcspaladins.org, that you plan on attending. In addition there are students willing to take on independent tutoring for a fee if parents desire a more permanent tutoring arrangement. Contact Miss Topham for more details. Any high school NHS student wishing to be added to the tutor list can also contact Miss Topham. 

CANDY CANE GRAMS

Seniors are selling Candy Cane Grams to the middle and high school for $1 each. An encouraging message accompanied by a candy cane will be delivered during the school day. Send a Christmas message to students, teachers, staff, and any other friends you wish to bless. Candy Cane gram message forms are available in the front office. Submit your orders by Wednesday, December 11. Thank you for supporting this Senior class fundraiser. 

TREAD

Thursday, December 12 is the due date for forms and payment for the Tread Backpacking trip on Friday & Saturday, December 20-21 on the Appalachian Trail of North Georgia. The group will backpack for a total of 15 miles from Woody Gap over the backside of Blood Mountain - some of the prettiest trails on the Appalachian Trail! Information is available in the office. Questions? Contact Coach Hughes, trip.hughes@fcspaladins.org. 

The spring break Kayaking trip in now full. See Coach Hughes to be put on the wait list.

HS MID TERM EXAM WEEK DECEMBER 16-20 DETAILS

FCS Fall 2013 HS Exam Schedules can be found on the FCS website. Please note that Wednesday, December 18 is an 8:00 am start.

AFTER SCHOOL STUDY HALL

Tuesday – Friday, December 17-20 afterschool study hall will be canceled because of exam week early dismissal.  Monday, December 16 will be the only day for study hall that week.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AND FACULTY/STAFF CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON

Tuesday, December 17, 11:30am - 12:15pm

Each year, our high school families provide food for a special Christmas feast for our students, faculty and staff. We ask that ALL families participate in order to make this a success. Please bring your food item in disposable platters on Tuesday, December 17 by 10:30 am or drop it off during morning carpool.

Freshmen: Heavy Appetizers (hot wings, chicken nuggets/strips from Zaxby’s or Chick-fil-A), meatballs, sliced sub sandwiches. For large trays, please feel free to coordinate cost with another family.

Sophomores: Last Name A-H: Heavy Appetizers (hot wings, chicken nuggets/strips from Zaxby’s or Chick-Fil-A), meatballs, sliced sub sandwiches. For large trays, please feel free to coordinate cost with another family.

Sophomores: Last Name J-Z: Side Salad or fruit tray

Juniors:  Finger food desserts

Seniors:  2 liter soft drinks or gallons of tea or water (two)

If you have more than one student in the high school, please bring in the item for the lowest grade student.  Questions? Contact Amy Spiegel, amysuespiegel@yahoo.com,  or 770-346-9706.

FROM THE GUIDANCE OFFICE

All high school students should check their second semester schedules as soon as possible (they may be different than 1st semester). They can be viewed on Renweb under Student Information – Schedules - View Schedule. Please contact the guidance office immediately if you have any questions.

ATHLETES AND COACHES OF THE MONTH

Read all about them on the FCS website Athletic page

LOST AND FOUND ITEMS WILL BE DONATED WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18

Please retrieve you personal belongings before this date! 

GIRLS SOCCER

Monday, January 13, 4:30 pm, Informational Meeting, Room 303. Girls interested in JV or Varsity soccer this year. Please mark your calendars for this informational meeting for parents and students. Students will sign up at this time, order gear, and receive season information. It is highly recommended anyone planning to play soccer this year attend this meeting. 

DROP BOX

A reminder! On these cold days parents may pull up to the curb in front of the high school and drop items off in our drop box which is located inside the front door. The box is checked throughout the day and items for any division (Elementary, Middle, or High), athletics, etc. may be placed in it.