"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." - John 1:14, 16-17

As we enter the Christmas Advent season, let us focus on the greatest gift we have ever received, the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God! We pray that this is a season of joy for each of you as you reflect upon Him and praise Him for His astounding grace upon grace.

NCA is joining Brightmoor Christian Church and Revival Tabernacle to provide Christmas blessings to the Highland Park community. On Saturday, December 17, Revival Tabernacle will invite parents to shop in the toy store and choose one "wow" gift for each of their children. Allowing parents to have the ability to choose their children's gifts is a great blessing. While parents are shopping, children will be engaged in an activity rotation including a Gospel presentation.

How can you help? We are asking families to donate 1 new, unwrapped toy valued at $25-$40. This should be a "wow" gift, not many small gifts. Please purchase a gift that would be for the same age and gender as your student so that we receive a variety of gifts, including middle school and high school students. Toys need to be unwrapped and should be dropped off under the Christmas trees in either school lobby between Monday, November 28 and Wednesday, December 14. Please label gifts with the age and gender of the intended recipient to make sorting easier.

NCA has a goal to collect 300 presents. If we meet our goal, NCA students will receive a free jeans day.

This year, the NCA Christmas Concert will be held in the Brightmoor Worship Center on the evening of Friday, December 16 at 7pm. There will be plenty of seating, all family and friends are welcome!

All elementary students may choose formal attire for the concert in the following colors:

Red, Green, Silver, Gold, Black, and White. Dresses should be knee length or below and shoulders will need to be covered. Students need to be able to walk comfortably in their shoes to avoid tripping on stage.

Middle school and high school choir girls should wear their black choir dresses; boys should be in black suit pants with white button-down shirts, and Mrs. Bink will provide the ties.

Middle school and high school band students should be dressed in all black formal attire, red accents are allowed. As a reminder, it is a requirement that if girls choose to wear a dress, they must wear leggings underneath while on stage. Please refer to the NCA student handbook for details on formal attire requirements.

Some questions from previous years include:

“Why can’t my child wear (whatever the trend color is that year), and why do her shoulders need to be covered?”

The program is visually just so beautiful when we fill the stage with Christmas colors and the children appear more cohesive as a group. While this could be achieved with any number of colors, using the same field of colors each year allows families and friends to use the same formal attire for multiple years. The Christmas concert is being held in the Worship Center where church service is held each week. As a show of respect, we want to encourage our children to exercise modesty in this space.

“Can my child just wear his/her uniform?”

Clean black pants and clean black school shoes are completely acceptable options, but we would encourage a more formal button up shirt or sweater on top, or a sweater or suit jacket over the white uniform polo to add some formality to the occasion.

“Can my child wear a hat or antlers?”

No, they may not. While we do LOVE a great hat, this does cause problems on the risers. There is no room to move children around because someone’s hat, festive headband, or tall updo is blocking out another child. It is sadder yet to realize after the performance that we missed the obstruction, and someone could not see their child during the performance. Therefore, we are requesting no hats or tall headbands. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

As Mrs. Bink excitedly prepares the kids for the upcoming Christmas concert, she is also hard at work on the spring musical, "Dear Edwinda," which our high school and middle school students will perform this March. She is always grateful for the offers of assistance each year and has assembled a Sign-up Genius of ways you can help. Any time donated, or money spent, will count towards your parent volunteer hours. Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AA5AE29A5FF2-music

Lunchroom volunteers are so appreciated! Remember to log in your service hours in your Family Portal. Please sign up for December dates using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040E4DA4AF28A4FD0-ncalunch3

Closing schools due to bad weather is a difficult and complicated decision under the best of circumstances. We recognize the effects it has on the routines and schedules of parents and families; however, our primary concern is for the safety of our students, families, and staff. Our decision to close or school is based on many factors. We do consider what other school districts are doing but will not rely solely on them. Our considerations as a private school, with individuals and families driving, often for many miles and from many different communities, differ from a public school district. We also acknowledge that the ultimate decision to go out on the roads and into the weather is a decision that must be made by the parents of our students.

If school is closed, school closing information will be posted on RenWeb, NCA Facebook pages, and on local media outlets. A text message will also go out to staff and families.

It's not too late to participate in the Square Art Fundraiser! Please see the attached flyer for more details. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Hall, ehall@warriorweb.org.

PTF put on a wonderful Donuts with Dad event! We filled the gym with amazing dads and excited students. Thank you to all of the dads who took time out of their morning to have a donut with your child and to the PTF for making this a special memory for NCA students!

The NCA Feast of Nations was a huge success! Thank you to the many families that shared food from their culture and heritage. K-12 students and staff were able to sample foods from various countries including, Albania, Canada, England, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, South Korea, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Palestine, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Wales, and Zimbabwe!

We are looking for 1 or 2 parents that would be willing to coordinate, set up, and run the register for the spring book fair. As this would be a large commitment, we would consider this a fulfillment of all of your parent volunteer hours for the year. If you are interested in receiving more information, please reach out to Mrs. Stotler, dstotler@warriorweb.org.

Please continue to display your family name on the passenger visor in your car when picking up your children. We often have staff rotate dismissal duty, so all staff on any given day need to be able to read family names to ensure children are getting into the correct vehicles.

NCA is pleased to provide snow bags to each student in K-5th grade to hold all winter recess gear while at school. Please make sure your child has snowpants, boots, hat, gloves, and a warm winter coat every day!

On January 23, the Elementary will hold the annual Spelling Bee for 1st-5th grade. Parents are welcome to attend. Word lists will come home before Christmas so that students can be practicing at home. More information will be coming home with students later in December.

Congratulations to all of the students who made the Honor Roll for first quarter!

The counselors are continuing to assist seniors as they complete their college applications. If you happen to be in the building, take a look at the college signs on the senior lockers showing where they have applied and been accepted. We are very proud of the class of 2023 as they have been awarded numerous scholarships from various colleges and universities.

As the senior class prepares to move on, the juniors are beginning their college searches. We recently discussed their PSAT scores to better prepare them for the ACT or SAT later this year. Due to our school size, we do not administer either of these assessments at NCA. If your student has any questions regarding registering for either of these exams, have him or her stop by the counseling office.

The counselors recently spoke to the freshmen and sophomores to go over their Pre ACT test results as well. Both classes were very attentive as we explained how these results can benefit them as they prepare for future assessments.

High school boys and high school girls basketball practices began in November. Middle school boys basketball and middle school girls cheerleading will begin on Monday, December 12, 3:30-5pm. Online registration is available here (https://ncawarriors.bigteams.com) and hardcopies are attached. A sports physical is required for middle school sports.

NCA Athletics always has opportunities for parent volunteers on game nights! Please sign up in advance. Here is the link: Basketball & Cheer: W2022-23 Home Game Concessions (signupgenius.com)

Wednesday, January 4 - return from Christmas break

Saturday, January 7 - Girls Elementary Cheer Clinic (9:30-11am)

Monday, January 9 - All School Chapel

Tuesday, January 10 - 8th Grade Exploration virtual parent meeting

January 10-13 - Senior Presentation Rehearsals

Monday, January 16 - No School, MLK Day

January 17-20 - Elementary NWEA Testing

January 17-20 - MS/HS Final Exams (half days)

Friday, January 20 - End of Quarter 2 and Semester 1

Monday, January 23 - 1st through 5th grade Spelling Bee

January 24-26 - Senior Presentations

January 30-February 3 - Spirit Week

February 3 - Homecoming Game

February 4 - Homecoming Banquet