Middle School Summer Moments
June 10, 2019
From the Desk of Mrs. McCoy, Middle School Principal
Investing in Christian education is the best thing that my husband and I did for our three children! I am so grateful for its influence on them now that I am seeing them function in the adult world. I am proud of your investment in Christian education too! The stories you shared with me at the end of the year warmed my heart. The ways that our teachers impacted your student is why we are at this school. SBA teachers stand out in building relationships. They do so many things that I am not even aware of unless you tell me. I am grateful for that.
In this changing culture, we are fighting for the hearts of our children. I am with you in the battle and am so grateful that we have God’s word to guide us. So, as you enjoy the summer days, remember to spend some time training your children to suit up and put on the full armor of God as we know from Ephesians 6:10-18. It is a critical part of the day.
Dr. Tim Elmore, who leads Growing Leaders, and who is spending his life trying to engage the next generation has reminded us to get students up and out during the summer months. Vegging out in front of a video game or on their phones all day is NOT a healthy scenario. From his article Twelve Ideas for Students to Try During Summer Break, here are some ideas:
Twelve Ideas for Student Activities This Summer:
1. Make your own music video or movie.
This will get their creative juices flowing and consume more time than they think it will. Challenge them with a deadline to make a music video, or write their own screenplay and shoot their own movie. The result? Work ethic.
2. Work a very different summer job.
Most teens don’t work summer jobs, sometimes because they believe those jobs are beneath them. I believe jobs offer the best preparation for adult life. Challenge your teen to find a job, even if it’s part-time for spending money.
3. Invent a new type of pizza.
If your teens like cooking or fancy themselves as creative, challenge them to list some unique ingredients and to build their own pizza pie. This can be lots of fun (I’ve done it before) and it taught me what flavors go well together.
4. Start your own business.
This idea cultivates so many social, emotional and intellectual muscles. What if your teen considered what they did well and found a way to monetize it for folks in your community or on a website? The result? Accelerated maturation.
5. Eat food you have never tried before.
This is a great idea, especially if your teen isn’t used to trying new things. Have your teen shop for groceries (with or without you) and find something they’d typically not eat and try it. This will help them venture out from the familiar.
6. Host a car wash (or some fundraiser) to raise cash for a good cause.
One of the best ways to invest their time is to find a great cause they believe in and come up with a way to raise money for it: car washes, bake sales, e-bay sales, mowing lawns, you name it. This builds altruism and work ethic.
7. Grow some vegetables you can eat with the family.
If you have a backyard, why not challenge your teen to identify a vegetable they like, cultivate a garden and grow the plant as summer begins. This builds patience, perseverance and becomes a tangible goal to anticipate and enjoy.
8. Offer to read to children at the local library.
If your teen is good with kids, why not challenge him or her to sign up to read to younger children at the library? Often librarians need people to volunteer for an hour or two at a time. This builds empathy and teaches teens to add value.
9. Help plan the details of your family vacation.
When vacation time arrives, what if you challenged your kids to help plan the details? If you take a road trip, for example, they could choose the hotel spots, the stops for gas, meals, and sightseeing locations. This builds ownership.
10. Make your family dinner once a week.
What if you challenged your teen to get creative and both plan and cook the meals for the family once a week this summer? This develops planning skills and may even cultivate creativity. Also, it builds a servant-leader.
11. Redecorate your bedroom.
If they are into their personal brand, they could actually take some time to plan and decorate their rooms in a new fashion. New posters, new knick-knacks and even new rugs. This can develop their creativity and design thinking.
12. Volunteer at a local non-profit organization.
Finally, one of the best uses of summertime as far as I’m concerned is to volunteer time at an organization they believe in. This can develop good qualities like service, compassion, passion, and purpose.
We will see you soon and I pray that you have a safe and restful summer full of sweet times with your family.
Blessings!
Summer Hours at SBA
The Academy will be open from 8:30 am until 1:00 pm every Monday through Friday this summer except for July 1st-5th.
All Academy visitors should come in Door #7 (elementary entrance) throughout the summer.
Upper Library Summer Hours
The Upper Library will be open on the following days from
9:00 am - 1:00 pm:
June 11th
June 25th
July 9th
July 23rd
HEAD OF SCHOOL LIST AND HONOR ROLL LIST FOR THE 2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR
Life Skills Class on July 29 - 31
The Life Skills Class flyer has the information for you. You may email Jeri Rizzo at jrizzo@silverdaleba.org if you have any questions or would like to sign up your child for this class.
Mentor Family Volunteers
Every year I get the privilege of meeting and talking to new families all summer, but I KNOW that they would like to hear from you. Please consider making yourself available to those students and families coming to our school next year. You will be blessed and make their transition so much richer.
If you would be interested in mentoring a new SBA family this summer and next school year and would allow us to put your name and phone number on the Middle School Parent Portal so new families can reach out to you, contact Jeri Rizzo at jrizzo@silverdaleba.org.