Lower School Community Service

Happy Thanksgiving, Lower School Parents,

We have officially entered into the holiday season. The excitement is building. Our Lower School halls are filled with beautiful Christmas music. This is a very special time of year. Beginning with Thanksgiving our hearts fill with thankfulness to our Lord and our hands reach out to others in need. Our HCA Mission Statement states “HCA endeavors to help students pursue higher levels of academic and occupational areas, all of which are supported by programs in the arts, athletics, and community service.” This year we want to reach out into our community and make a difference. Our Lower School will be collecting new and “gently” used toys and canned goods during this holiday season. We have names of families who are in desperate need. Between Sampson and Duplin County there are over 200 families who have been identified by the local schools.

Please involve your child in the process of picking out the toys and food. These items will be collected through December 9 and will be given to the families on December 10. Thank you so much for your willingness to help us teach community service and God’s love to our children.

Second Grade Visits Poplar Grove Plantation

HCA Graduate Speaks About Leukemia

Mr. Hunter’s language arts class is reading a book entitled Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. This book, by Jordan Sonnenblick, is about a boy named Steven who finds out that his brother Jeffrey has leukemia. The story chronicles the experiences of Jeffrey and Steven throughout the ordeal.

On Wednesday, November, 16, 2011, Dillon Villegas (son of Emily Villegas) came to speak to the class about leukemia. Dillon was diagnosed with leukemia during his high school career. He enjoys recounting his experiences and inspiring others who are going through difficult times. He is a strong Christian who loves to proclaim how his experiences have strengthened his faith in God.

Dillon shared a lot of information about how he has dealt with the disease. Students were amazed by the number of pills that Dillon had to take. During his presentation, he said, “I did the math on the way here. I have had to take 29,oo0 of these pills,” as he pointed to a green bottle.

 Students were able to ask Dillon questions about leukemia. When a student asked Dillon how he felt about having the disease, Dillon said, “I was angry with God at first and I didn’t understand it, but now I am closer to God than ever and I love to share my testimony with others.”   

Message from HCA Board

Dear HCA Families,

            What an exciting time it is to be a Harrells Christian Academy Crusader!  With our building project nearing completion, our upper school students and teachers are preparing to make the move to their new high school classrooms.  Our new building comes complete with state of the art technology, larger classrooms, and science labs with new equipment. The Activities Center is open for physical education classes and basketball practice.  All of our basketball teams, from middle school to varsity, are enjoying the additional court space.  The final phase of the Activities Center will include the installation of bleachers and completion of locker rooms, concessions, stage, etc.  At the end of the project, we will be proud to have on our campus the HCA Activities Center, a facility not only for athletic events, but also for classrooms, lower school events, middle and upper school banquets, and graduations.

            At our last full board meeting for the year 2011, the Board of Directors stands committed to doing all things possible to ensuring “excellence in education through Christian motivation.”  With this in mind, and recognizing how last year’s large increase may have put a financial strain on many families, the board has voted to not increase tuition for the 2012-2013 school year.  It was a very difficult decision for the board and one we do not take lightly.  The school is faced every year with rising costs and although many needs remain from completion of the capital campaign to doing all we can to retain top quality teachers, everyone at HCA from the board to Dr. Montgomery is committed to providing an affordable quality education in a safe, Christian family environment.  At HCA, we pride ourselves on developing the whole child- academically, socially, artistically, athletically, and most importantly- spiritually.

            I encourage you to continue to stay involved as a parent in the constant changes HCA goes through to continually improve the education that your child is receiving.  You will notice on our website that the school hosts tours every Wednesday at 10:00 am or by appointment.  Check the website daily to see all the good that goes on at HCA and share the news with others.  Please continue to support all of our programs through our Academic and Athletic Boosters and our Capital Campaign.   If you have any questions about how you as a parent can best help the school please don’t hesitate to ask Dr. Montgomery, a teacher, or a board member.  Harrells Christian Academy will be stronger if we all work together!

            Thank you again for your continued support of Harrells Christian Academy.  May your family be blessed this Thanksgiving holiday and may you be reminded each and every day of God’s love and His many blessings

Wendy Murphy

Chair, Board of Directors

HCA Students Honor Veterans During Technology Resource

 Students at Harrells Christian Academy honored veterans this week during their Technology Resource time.  The history of Veteran’s Day was explained and students had the opportunity to choose a special way to show their appreciation to those who have served our great country.  After their class computer lesson and a brainstorming session of words they would like to say to veterans, each student wrote a poem using words like heroes, respect, nice and awesome.  The students also prepared pictures of airplanes, medals of honor, and poppy-adorned crosses to be given to local veterans.

The poems and pictures will be presented to local veterans during the Warsaw Presbyterian Church Homecoming Celebration in Duplin County and during the Wounded Warrior Fishing Event on Topsail Island in Pender County.

Submitted by : Michelle R. Quinn, Lower School Technology Instructor

HCA Artists At Work

College Bound Crusaders!!!

The HCA Class of 2012 has been hard at work submitting their college applications.  This is a very busy, but exciting time for them.  The colleges and universities they have applied to so far are listed below:

Campbell University

Catawba College
East Carolina University

Mount Olive College

UNC-Chapel Hill

UNC-Wilmington

UNC-Greensboro

UNC-Charlotte

NC State University

Hampden-Sydney College

Meredith College

College of Charleston

Wake Tech

Florida International University

Appalachian State University

Lipscomb University

Maine Maritime Academy

Coastal Carolina University

Wake Forest University

Princeton University

Duke University

University of Virginia