VCCA Thanksgiving Feast 2009

VCCA has truly been blessed, and there is no better way to celebrate than by spending time with each other as a family. Thank you to all of you who came to our school-wide Thanksgiving feast. It is quickly becoming one of our cherished school traditions.

Gingerbread Man Missing From VCCA

Middle school teacher the likely culprit…

Gingerbread Man Day is a time-honored tradition at VCCA, one that the kindergarten class participates in every year. This year, on Wednesday, December 9, that tradition was forever altered when the main star of the show, Mr. Gingerbread Man himself, went missing halfway through the festivities.

Kindergarteners began the day by making small gingerbread men – rolling the dough, cutting the cookies, and preparing them for baking. They also created a giant gingerbread man as a class by giving him yummy, decorative details such as licorice hair and candy buttons. Then they left their gingerbread man in Mrs. Whites’ classroom while they went to art class.


Upon their return to class, the students were shocked to discover that the gingerbread man was nowhere to be found, and so they set out to hunt down the whereabouts of “Gingy” and bring him back to his rightful place.



The students searched everywhere, sometimes finding a trail of crumbs that would lead them to their next destination. Upon searching the art room, Mrs. Ducey’s office, the playground, and numerous classrooms, they finally had an encouraging tip from 5th grade, who saw Gingy make his way to Mr. Koos’ room. When Mr. Koos was questioned, he seemed hesitant to give the kindergarteners information, but they finally extracted the next clue from him by learning that Gingy had made his way to Mr. Golich’s room.

The kindergarteners were shocked to discover that Gingy had indeed been discovered by Mr. Golich – who promptly bit off one of Gingy’s legs. When questioned about the incident, Mr. Golich responded, “He just looked so delicious; I couldn’t help myself!” Nevertheless, the kindergarteners triumphantly returned Gingy to their classroom, missing leg and all. Rumor has it that kindergarteners might be pressing charges for Mr. Golich to serve lunch detention, but reports are not yet conclusive.

Here’s hoping the rest of Gingerbread Man Day went a little more smoothly.

VCCA Spelling Bee Winners!

Congratulations to all our winners in the VCCA Spelling Bee! Those who placed either 1st or 2nd will continue to represent us at the regional level of the ACSI Spelling Bee in January.

1st Grade:
Alexis K., 1st place
Brenna A., 2nd place

2nd Grade:
Jessi M., 1st place
Jacob F., 2nd place

3rd Grade:
Trinity C., 1st place
Lilly G., 2nd place

4th Grade:
Ameliya A., 1st place
Hiram O., 2nd place

5th Grade:
Jimmy G., 1st place
Brooke A., 2nd place

6th Grade:
Kelsey B., 1st place
Maddy A., 2nd place

7th Grade:
Juliet A., 1st place
Jill C., 2nd place

8th Grade:
Audrey D., 1st place
Delainey D., 2nd place

Good luck as you prepare for the regional competition. We are proud to have you represent VCCA!

Latin in Action

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this video is worth...well, you can do the math. It probably involves some algebra. Either way, nothing speaks for our school like the students themselves. Watch this video of our 1st and 2nd graders reciting the Lord's Prayer in Latin. It's pretty impressive.

What Do You Know About ACSTO?

Here’s a small news flash for all you friends and family of VCCA: Most of us don’t have too much money to burn. Perhaps this might be a statement that is contrary to the general perception of families in private schools. If you look at the families that make up VCCA, however, you will see parents who sacrifice, often greatly, in order to send their children to private school.

While VCCA strives to keep tuition costs low, we realize that the tuition is a great financial burden for many families, especially in this economy. This is why we want to make sure everyone is aware of the opportunity to take advantage of the tuition tax credit. Simply put, joint households are able to get a dollar for dollar tax credit by donating up to $1000 to the student/school of their choice.

If you are looking for ways to make tuition easier on your budget, this is the best way to procure money for your child. Ask family members and friends who live in Arizona if they would be willing to donate towards your child’s tuition. Remember, they will get every penny back in their taxes, so you are not asking them for a handout, you are asking them to redirect their taxes. For your child to be eligible to receive tax credit donations, he or she will need to be signed up to receive scholarships. VCCA most often works with ACSTO, which is a Christian tuition tax credit organization. The scholarship form is quick and easy to fill out.

For those of you who have not yet donated for the 2009 tax year, consider doing so. It can make more of an impact than you realize. Your donation might make the difference for a family who otherwise would not have the financial means to send their child to a Christian school.

For more information on scholarships or donating, please visit www.acsto.org. If you have further questions, please contact the school office.

VCCA Talent Night and Fundraiser a Big Success!

We don’t mean to brag, but the talent pool here at VCCA is pretty first-rate. Those in attendance were treated to all types of acts, ranging from singing, dancing, martial arts, figure skating, playing instruments, a Star Wars tribute, and…of course this is the perfect time to give a shout-out to the VCCA staff for putting on the best choreographed rendition of “We’re all in This Together” from High School Musical. Perhaps we should have called it “High School Reunion Musical”, but the thought is what counts. That is what we will tell the staff to keep their spirits up. Good thing the staff all has day jobs – and won’t be quitting them anytime soon!

As you all know, this year we chose to sell Land of a Thousand Hills coffee to raise money for our school, but the money also goes to another good cause, which is helping the victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. As our students have sold the coffee, it is our hope that they have become aware of the global community around them and realize that there are people around the world who need our help.

Now that the fundraiser is over, we would like to give a great big thank you to all those who participated! Remember that fundraisers are what helps to keep our tuition affordable, so every little bit you do to help goes a long way. Perhaps the VCCA staff expressed it well when they reminded us that “We’re all in this Together”. The lyrics are helpful to remember, even if the dance steps aren’t.

Family By Choice

Every morning, if I am lucky enough to have the luxury of a few moments of quiet instead of frantically making copies or hunting down the last cup of coffee in the pot, I like to stop and observe our students at playtime. This is, of course, where children are in their element. They interact with the other students around them, barely noticing the teacher, unless a whistle blows in their general direction. What I have observed, then, is the miracle of a family in the making. It has given me such joy to watch our older students with our younger ones. Our young students will often run to the arms of the older ones, ready for a hug, an untied shoe, or a push on the swing. Perhaps it has been a while since you have observed the teenager in his natural habitat. I have encountered many years of middle schoolers in my teaching career, and I can assure you that this is not always typical teenage behavior. Our change in campus this year has brought some challenges, not the least of which is limited places to play. The students could sulk about this, but instead they make it work, and not once have I heard complaining. I have witnessed kickball games where the 8th graders were in the outfield, and just so the 2nd grade girls could score some runs, the older students just so happened to fumble the ball. Badly. The girls squealed and giggled as they made their way around the bases, delighting in the fact that they had finally scored against the formidable 8th grade boys. I have seen our older students spend their time after school tutoring or babysitting so that staff members or parent helpers could get something done on campus in relative peace. This is genuine love and affection for our younger students. This is family. Our older students could be forced to do these things, but they cannot be forced to do it with a smile on their face. Hugs for a scraped knee cannot be faked; "losing" a kickball game is not something that can be planned. This is not just in praise of our older students, by the way. Some might argue that I am biased when it comes to my view of our older students, and they would be right. I am unashamedly proud. I think, however, this is just as much of a statement about our younger students and their incredibly delightful personalities. They make our day a joy, and anyone who has sat through one of our Wednesday morning chapels can attest to that fact. Our younger students certainly make it easy to love them. I also do not mean to say that every day is a series of Pollyanna-ish events. Families fight, and that is sometimes the nature of our family, too. What I am proud of is that our students seem to be inherently aware that we are indeed a family; it is our job to watch out for each other, to care for those who need help, and to provide joy to each other when we can. It is something that I think our school does very well, and I am proud to call it my family. Now if we could just figure out who keeps taking the last of the coffee from the coffee pot...