Untitled - Liberty Christian Academy

NEW BAKERY IN TOWN!!!
By Allison Baxter
There is a new bakery in town! Well, actually a
confectionery, Taste Selects Confectionery. A
confectionery is a store that sells cakes, cupcakes,
caramel apples, chocolate dipped strawberries,
cookies and much more! Taste Selects just moved
from its original location to downtown Lynchburg,
right across from the Bank of the James. Taste Selects
started one day when a lady named Beth Baxter took some chocolate chip cookies to
the owner of Joe Beans Express Espresso, Linda Brown. Mrs. Brown asked, "Have you ever considered selling these?"
Then an idea was born. At first Taste Selects was in the basement of Beth's house. Then they moved into their first
store in December of 2007. You will find them now downtown at the corner of 9th Street and Main Street. Stop by for
delicious cakes, cookies, muffins, and treats.
Bubble and Wiggle
By Cameron Webb
“They are so much fun and the students love them!” What is second grade teacher Mrs.
Patterson talking about? She is talking about the two African Dwarf Frogs she bought
for her class pets. These frogs are small, only around 1.5 inches long. They live almost
entirely under water .They eat tiny pebbles of food that smell pretty bad. Their names
are “Bubble and Wiggle, and they are very easy to take care of. Mrs. Patterson only has
to feed them two times per week and only has to clean the tank 2-3 times a year. Mrs. Patterson had the idea back in
July to get frogs because they are an easy class pet and they are cool to watch. She says
they fight over the food. She also got the frogs to help the second graders as they
learn the life cycle of frogs in the new science curriculum. Second grader Logan
Webb says, “I like having frogs in my class because it is fun to watch them fight over
the food.” The second graders in Mrs. Patterson’s class will be able to enjoy Bubble
and Wiggle all year long!
In Remembrance of 9/11
By Chance McKisic
Officer Brian Smith, who was a firefighter at the time of 9/11, came to speak to our class recently.
He lived in Brooklyn, NY at the time of the terrible tragedy. He was walking to his car when he
heard the first plane crash into the first tower. He volunteered to respond to the call even
though he was actually off duty. He and his buddy went to help the injured people. They
spent most of their day helping injured people at a firehouse close to the towers. When
the second plane hit the other tower the towers began to fall. When they fell it trapped them
inside the firehouse. The energy from when the towers fell picked him up and threw him to
the floor. He got a slight concussion. He described many horrific events of that day. Officer
Brian Smith knows that God kept him alive that day. When destruction was happening all around, he was kept safe. His
own father lost his life trying to save others. He also said that his faith in God helped him recover from that day. He was
able to give the burden he felt after 9/11 to God instead of carrying it all himself. Hearing from Officer Smith was a great
way to remember the people and events of 9/11.
Forest Flames
By Hunter Fariss
The Forest Flames are a collection of twelve of the best
ten and under baseball players in Forest Virginia. Wesley
Clarke, a fourth grader, and Kyle Horton, a fifth grader,
are two of the players from LCA. They play travel ball at
the highest level. Wesley, who plays right field and
designated hitter, said he practiced five days a week to
play at this level of competition. Kyle’s positions are Short
Stop and Pitcher. The Forest Flames is a team of the
United States Specialty Sports Association. They are the
2009 Big Dawg Classic Champions, Va. State Warm –up
Champions, The Beast is Here Champions, Hitters LongBall Champions, and Spring Warm- up Champions. This
summer they competed at the Dixie Youth Baseball World
Series. Congratulations Forest Flames!
Sub x Five
By Mary Fuqua
The day before Mrs. Carniol went in to surgery, Mrs. Alder came to our class to learn the ropes of Mrs.
Carniol’s rules and schedule. Mrs. Alder went to the nurse’s office at 2:00 in the afternoon because she
wasn’t feeling well. While she was waiting she fainted. So, the next morning, she could not begin filling in
as the long-term substitute teacher. We had Mrs. Gregg instead. Everything was going great until Mrs.
Gregg broke her Ankle! That meant good-bye to sub #2! Tuesday morning Mr. Sparkman was there to fill
in, followed by Mrs. Bentley. She was fun and taught us the head, shoulder, knees, and toes as an exercise
game. Neither of those subs could stay long-term, so finally Mrs. Miller arrived. She is doing a great job
and will be with us while Mrs. Carniol recovers from her shoulder surgery. It was fun having all those
different subs. A big thanks goes to Mrs. Falwell and Ms. Wild for helping get all the lesson plans and stuff
to the subs.
Big Play at LCA
By Kaitlynn Gaebe
Heavens Hope is the largest play LCA has ever performed. Third through ninth graders were allowed to audition. One
hundred students came to audition over a period of two days. Once auditions were complete, a cast of sixty students
was selected. Roles included speaking parts, singing parts, and walk-ons. Practice began for the cast on Friday,
September 9, 2009 where everybody on the cast went to practice. The play stars Jessica Falwell as Courtney, a popular
girl who is very self-conscious and little angry at the world. Brianna Jones is Edna, a brilliant, yet extremely annoying
nerd who invents a time machine. Jansen Collins is Ethel, Edna’s friend who is also a nerd and
equally annoying. The Play, in a humorous way, teaches people that God is more powerful than
Satan and his demons. Carrington Erquiaga, a fourth grader describes the play as cool and
awesome. Tiffany Jeff Coat is a fifth grader who plays the part of a valley girl. She is excited
because the play is fun and she loves being an actor. She looks forward to her first LCA play
performance on October 22 and 24 at the old Thomas Road Church. So what do nerds, time
machines, and valley girls have in common? Come and see Heavens Hope to find out.
Book Buddies
By Ashton Hunter
Book Buddies is a program where fifth graders get assigned a kindergarten
student. The fifth grader helps them to read a book and write about it. The
Book Buddies can choose a book from the classroom, or sometimes they
bring their own. In the beginning the kindergarteners are shy, but they
quickly become friends with their Book Buddy. I had a Book Buddy in
kindergarten named Amanda Rutigliano. She is now in tenth grade. I still
see her around at LCA and I remember how she helped me with my
reading. I asked Jordyn Geukgeuzian what she liked about Book Buddies
and she said, “I like that they read books to you. I also like that they talk to
you.’’ Jordyn also added that she wants the Book Buddy to help her with
her writing. Book Buddies is a great way to help out a younger student and
hopefully make a lifelong friend. Take it from me; you won’t forget your
Book Buddy!
www.GreatGames.com
By Jonathan Britton
All the best games on the Internet are right here on www.GreatGames.com. If it is a rainy day
and the TV is out and you have a computer, it does not have to be a boring day. You can play
for free on these three great websites, Addictinggames.com, Maxgames.com, and
gamesgames.com. These games are the funniest and sickest sites on the web. There are tons
of games on Addictinggames.com. The games go from fun to funny to scary and silly. It is
probably the best of them all. Maxgames.com is a lot like Addictinggames.com, it is also
exciting and scary. Gamesgames.com is a true game website. It is great for kids of all ages. It is
exciting and wonderful and has a great selection of games. As with anything on the internet,
please get your parent’s approval before visiting these sites. Then go…and have fun!
A New Art Room
By Anna Fletcher
There is a new art room close to the indoor track. It is amazing! Mrs. Maus
Thomas is still getting things in for it. It is smaller than her other classroom.
She has it all set up and all the boxes are moved out but she is still waiting for
two sinks and a white board. “Mrs. Maus Thomas says, “It is a blessing to have
a new art room.“ Annie from Mrs. White’s
class said, “It is more colorful than the
other one.” The new art room is awesome
and it has everything we need. I hope we
have a great year in it.
The Snow That Never Melts
By Rebekah Howard
LU, LCA, and the public are so excited to see the new Liberty Mountain Snow Flex Center.
The LU Snow Flex Center is the only ski slope in the United States that is open year
round. You can go tubing, skiing, and snowboarding. The Snow flex is made out of some
kind of Velcro and is wet down with water. It’s an exciting rush of fun! Right now
they’re expanding it with longer runs for more fun! Kids enjoy it a lot when they feel
the wind in their face. But make sure you wear gloves when you tube, snow board or
ski because it hurts a lot when you fall and scrape up your hands, legs, arms, and face.
The Snow flex is located atop LUs quiet, beautiful 5,000 acre mountain. It’s open six
days a week 12 p.m-1 a.m. The rustic lodge is decorated with trophy animals like
bear, moose, turkey, fox, mountain lion- -all donated gifts to the university. If you
get thirsty or hungry, visit the snack bar. They make great hot chocolate! The
Liberty Mountain Snow Flex Center is definitely a family activity for all ages. You
can have tons of fun with your family and friends right here in Lynchburg, VA!
The Greatest Time of My Life
By Mark Bradley
I went to Kings Dominion this summer. I rode on a scary ride called the Dominator. It was
so fast that I was still scared and shaking when I got off it. My dad rode it with me, he was
scared too! Next we went on the Stunt Coaster. This ride started out very fast and felt like
we were going to fall off. It was really cool. I love roller coasters! Later that day my family
and I rode on the bumper cars. My mom liked that ride a lot, even though she couldn’t catch me to bump me.
Mom and I also went up the Eiffel tower. The tower is 331’6” tall. My mom was very scared. I thought it was funny to
see her so scared. After a full day of rides and fun we went to the hotel. We went out to dinner and then we went to the
pool at the hotel. Swimming at night was great. I really enjoyed Kings Dominion. It was the greatest time of my life!
The First Grade Apple Orchard fun!
By Levi Templeton
What do you get when you mix a
bus load of first graders and a
bunch of apples? A bushel of fun!
Recently, the first graders went on
a field trip to Johnson’s Apple
Orchard. Johnson’s Apple Orchard
has been around for several
generations and is located at the
foot of the Peaks of Otter. It was
a very long ride but it was worth it. The first graders said it was soooooo fun! Their
favorite part was picking apples and talking about Johnny Apple Seed. At their lunch time people told them stories about
Johnny Apple Seed. And they let them sample apple butter and apple cider! Good thing they studied about apples, fruit
trees, and other things before the trip. Comments I heard about the trip were, “I really loved eating apples and going to
an apple orchard!” “Apple orchards are so fun!” It was a very fantastic trip for all of them!
Human Body
By Logan Pratt
If you walk down the hall of LCA you will find bodies hanging everywhere. Not live ones,
they are life-size cut outs of the students in third grade. The idea came from Dr. Todd
Campo and it is called human body art. It is a learning activity about putting together the
entire body. They start with tracing and cutting their body out of large white paper. Next
they draw their face and put in lungs, the heart, brain, muscle and bone until it resembles a human body (minus the
skin). The project will take two weeks or more to finish and three weeks or more to take home, depending on time. The
third grade teachers are teaching this for a big test on the human body. You can see this work in the third grade hall.
Our New Computer Lab is Looking Good
By Zachary Thornton
This year at LCA we got brand new Dell computers in our lower school lab! Of
course they came with brand new mice and keyboards too. We had to learn a
lot about them and we still haven’t learned everything. We have thirty brand
new computers. They look and are a lot different than the Macs we use to have.
They are two pieces and the old ones were one. The pieces are the monitor and
the actual computer. It also has a new design, like you have to pull out the key
board tray to use the keyboard and the mouse. The computers have new
software on them like Microsoft Office 2007. They are really fast! Mrs.
Bunyard, the Computer teacher says, “It was a big change at first, but now
everyone is getting use to the new computers and enjoying them.” LCA is
fortunate to have such great technology available to all the students.
Privileges of A.R. Field Trips
By Skylar McMinn
Students kept up their great reading habits over the summer and were rewarded recently with a trip to
Camp Hydaway. Students were given an AR goal for the summer and dates were scheduled for them to
come to the library and take Accelerated Reader quizzes. Everyone who met their goal went on
Thursday, September 10. They read, read, read, read, and read to get their goal. I went and we had an
awesome time. We played miniature golf and played on the play ground too. Mrs. Horne even had an
awesome time. She thought miniature golf was the most fun at Camp Hydaway. If you were there, you
know there were some crazy things going on. Some girls in the fourth grade were playing football. Most
all the boys were playing football the whole time. We had snacks to and it was pretzels, m&m’s, and
cookies. It was one of the best rewards ever! The first AR quarter has begun, so be sure to meet your
goal and enjoy the next reward.
LCA strings program
By Alexis Brueilly
I interviewed Mrs. Hales the director of the LCA strings program. She has 19 students plus 18
upper school students and a 9 member ensembles. She has 42 students in all. Her favorite
string instrument is the violin because she plays that. But she also likes the viola. Mrs. Hales
wanted to teach the strings program because she felt the Lord was leading her to start
something new. If she wasn’t teaching the strings program she would be home schooling.
And lastly, Mrs. Hales lived in Roanoke, Virginia before she moved to Lynchburg. I hope many
students are encouraged to join the strings program by this article. Mrs. Hales is very excited
to be teaching the strings program. During the lessons, Mrs. Hales is very energetic and
exciting to be around. She is very nice and thinks you’re a pro no matter what. I think
everyone should join the strings program because string instruments are very elegant. Not
everyone plays string instruments because it’s hard. If it was easy everyone would do it.
Help the Orphans in Uganda
By Elizabeth Mertz
Ms. Katherine Kirshburger is going to help the orphans in Uganda. She has asked that all the
kids of Liberty Christian Academy to bring flip flops, crocs, or sandals for the kids of Uganda
because there are bugs that will get into the children’s feet and give them sores or
sometimes eat their whole foot off. So that is why they need shoes. Also they need
toothpaste and a toothbrush because if they don’t get some their teeth will rot out. There
are about a million orphans out there So please bring shoes and toothpaste and a
toothbrush Ms. Katherine Kirshberger is going to Uganda soon so ask your parents to take
you to the store to buy flip flops for the children of Uganda and tooth paste also a toothbrush .If
you have any questions please ask Ms. Kirshberger the librarian or you can ask Ms. Katherine. So please
bring summer shoes and toothbrushes and toothpaste. She is leaving on Sept. 26, 2009.
E-mails From Around the World
By Ashley Mattoon
Mrs. Bunyard has challenged the K-5 students to help her collect an email from every state of the U.S and every country of the world.
Students send requests to people they know outside of Virginia and
ask them to send an e-mail full of interesting facts about where they
live. In this program you get to email people from all around the
world. All you have to do is put your name state, or country.
Interesting facts could be anywhere. Each week kids come to the
computer lab and they bring the emails they receive. Mrs. Bunyard
uses the information to teach children geography, map skills, and
culture. You can find facts like China’s capital is Beijing, or that Asia
has 53 different countries, or even that last year there was 6.721 billion
people in the world. This is a great program for children and adults. Kids come and we send it to people that know
others in different countries. They talk about their culture, climate, population, and education opportunities. This will
give kids the chance to learn geography and how the of a computer which has made communication with people far
away much easier. This is great program that helps students hear from people all around the world.
LCA Football Season
By Chris Van Alstine
Every Friday night under the bright lights you can see the LCA bulldogs play some football! Right now
the bulldogs are 3-1 in the season. One day I had the privilege to talk to the coach of the LCA
bulldogs, Coach Rocco. One of the questions I asked him was if someone offered him another job,
would he take it? He said that he was not planning on it, but God is in control. I also asked him
how he thinks the season is going, and he said they have a few injured players, but he thinks
they’re doing well with only three wins and one loss. The LCA bulldogs are a great, great team, and
hopefully one day I can play for the Bulldogs and maybe even play for the Flames.
Virginia Diner comes back to LCA!
By Lena Witt
Virginia Diner is back and ready to go! As you know Virginia Diner is the main fundraiser for the
lower school. Students sell peanuts and candy for our school. We are raising money for new
playground equipment. The goal is $100,000! That is a lot of money! Sadly Virginia Diner is
coming to an end! The deadline is September 25. But keep on racking up orders! Because you
get prizes such as a mystery prize, gift cards, wiis, net books, etc. If you want to sell, just ask your
family, neighbors, and even people from far away! To get orders from people far away just have
them log on to www.Virginia Diner.com! They can order anything they want! They send you the check, and Virginia
Diner will send the peanuts to them or you send the order to them! Be safe while you do it though! You sell you win!
Kim Gaebe said “I am trying to get more orders because I really want the playground finished!” Jack Wilson says “My
experience with Virginia Diner is going really well.” He also says, “I am selling peanuts because I want the playground
equipment to come.” So keep on selling and that shiny new playground equipment will be more than just a dream!
Editorial: Less Junk Food More Healthy Food
By Noel Palmer
American kids have a very high obesity rate. To help this problem, school cafeterias need to have
healthier food. The food in the cafeteria is often unhealthy. These foods in the cafeteria could
lead to someone having a heart attack at a young age. The cafeteria needs to have foods like
salads fruits, and vegetables. Instead of these healthy foods, the cafeteria has foods like
hamburgers, greasy chicken, hot dogs and so on. I think that buying lunch
should be only if your lunch box is left at home. A lot of kids buy lunch
every day and they do not know how bad it is for them. I am not saying
that all the food in the cafeteria is unhealthy. In fact they do have some healthy choices. I am
saying that there needs to be more healthy food and less junk food. The food in the cafeteria is
very tasty. It is very tempting to buy lunch every day. But students should be sure to make healthy
choices in order to stay in good shape and learn well at school.
The Kindergarten Picnic
By Kathirynn Owen
On September 18, 2009, the kindergarten classes at LCA celebrated family week with a
picnic. They had planned their picnic to be outside, but because of the rain they had to
picnic inside. Changes had to be made for the picnic. Some of the classes had to go to the
regular lunch room and eat. Mrs. White’s class had to stay in their classroom. But the
weather did not keep them from enjoying a special time together. About 230 adults came
to the family day picnic. I got the chance
to talk to some of the students. Riley Kidd
in Mrs. Green’s classroom said “She really
wanted the picnic to be outside”. She also
said “She really liked kindergarten, and
loved when they had picnics.” Arianna
Grinstead said, “I was really happy that my
mom, Dana Grinstead, was able to come.”
As for the picnic, it went really well! All of the kids and parents were
really happy about the picnic and the fun they had. The rain didn’t stop
the kindergarten classes from enjoying their picnic day.
Get Fit with the Bulldog Fitness Program
By Veronica Anderson
LCA is starting a fitness program. Leading it is Gorgette
Joyner the lower school PE teacher. She has started it to
get fourth and fifth graders running in the morning. She
will give you a pedometer and you will run till you get 1000
or 1200 points. Once you get all of your points you go over
to the other side of the gym.
There you do extra things like kickball, sit-ups, push-ups,
running, obstacle games, and more. But as soon as the
buzzer buzzes you go back over to the other side of the
gym and you go to this table were they count up your
points. But there are also other things they do like they
play music and they let you talk with your friends. It really
helps people to get motivated in the morning. Mrs. Joyner says, “Mr. Forcey and I decided that the children needed a
time to be up and active before school –not sitting.” She is very thankful that God put this opportunity in her life. She
also thinks that the kids would be sad if there was no more fitness club because the Bulldog Fitness Club is motivating
many students to begin healthy habits that will be carried with them all through life.
Theater
By Laurel Hinton
I am really blessed to be involved in theater. This year I wanted to be in a drama camp at
LU and I got my wish. I went in thinking that I would get a small part but I did auditions
to the glory of God and had fun and when I saw the cast list for Cinderella. I was
amazed! I had gotten the part of Drizzella, Cinderella’s evil stepsister. God used that to
show me I should audition more. Forty girls showed up for Annie Get Your Gun
Auditions, but that didn’t stop me. I went home that night after auditions waiting for
Monday to come. When I went to see the cast list Monday, I saw that I had gotten the
part of Nellie, Annie Oakley’s little sister and I was overjoyed. Practice was very hard
and fun, but it all paid off in the end. Theater is good for children of all ages because
you can have fun and be what you want to be.
Very Special Person
You can’t be at LCA long without meeting a very special person, Jacob Fincham. Jacob has been a part of the LCA family
for many years and is always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone that needs one. Jacob keeps busy delivering mail
and selling candy. In his spare time, he shares his testimony with different classes and has even been seen teaching the
kindergarten Spanish classes the “Macarena”. The kids love it when he participates in their theme days and even
accompanies them on an occasional outing. Once you meet him, you will agree, he is one very special person!