Acta Equitum - November 2022

Acta Equitum November 2022

The Newsletter of Franklin Classical School

On the Cover: Eighth graders gather for a photo at the Homecoming Dance.

Inside: The History of the Quarterly Project Homecoming Recap Upcoming Events Announcements November Birthdays

The History of The Quarterly Project Quarterly projects are one of our most defining and most celebrated traditions at FCS. In a classical education, students gain proficiency in the 5 canons of rhetoric.

Quarterly projects are the process through which the learn eack of those canons or steps. Inventing a creative product or visual aid to accompany their speeches is also a key component.

With each quarterly project, students walk out each of these of canons, or steps. Every year they build upon the skills learned in previous years, and by their junior and senior years, they present with remarkable skill.

For instance, one year 5 of our juniors and seniors participated in an essay contest in which the judges selected, from multiple dozens of entries, 10 finalists to attend a banquet and deliver their essays in person.

Judges evaluating the essays didn't know students names or schools, and 4 of our 5 student entries were selected to be invited to the banquet. After giving their speeches, FCS students won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place as well as the college scholarship money awarded for each of those places.

In addition, employers who work with teh public actively seeking out our students to fill entry-level jobs because the students are articulate and poised. These are just a few of the many examples of how the process begins benefitting students even before they graduate.

In addition to these practical benefits, projects give students opportunity to sometimes work in groups and sometimes work alone. they help students learn to encourage one another and respect one another's God-given distinctive. Through the years, projects also help students discover and practice their individual interests, talents, gifting, and callings. In fact, we leave some element of student couice in each project specifically for that purpose.

As students progress through the grade levels, the amount of choice becomes broader and broader. This discovery process often helps them begin to discern not only what they want to do for a career but also how they can use their giftings to serve God and others.

Every year, seniors competing for college scholarship are required to write essays and are often required to compete in person at the college or university by giving an oral presentation. And every year, many of our students individually win thousands of dollars in those competitions.

Mrs. Hatcher's Fifth Grade Class continued on next page

Quarterly Projects Continued Canon 1: Invention Finding Something to Say What students invent to say must integrate with the time period being studied in Humanities and meet other topic criteria that varies from project to project.

Canon 2: Arrangement Determining how the Material Should be Written Is the assignment a poem? A narrative? A simple paragraph? A thesis? etc.

At the early grammar level, arrangement will simply be writing correct sentences and then a correct paragraph. At the logic and rhetoric stages, students write speeches, narratives, poems, declamations, and other types of composition.

Canon 3: Style Using Rhetorical Devices and Techniques to Communicate with Persuasive Power At the grammar level, students again focus on well-written sentences and paragraphs.

In Lower Division, students begin using higher levels of style, and in Upper Division they continue mastering the artistry of style.

For instance, students writing a poem might include rhyme scheme, verse form, syllabification, or meter. For other types of writing, students learn a wide variety of tropes, attention-grabbing techniques, and elements of logos (appeal to logic), ethos (appeal to credibility), and pathos (appeal to emotion).

Will Brittain with Miles Minard Seniors

Canon 4: Memory Memorizing the Presentation so the Speaker can use Delivery Techniques to Engage and Persuade the Audience This step is often the easiest for grammar students because they are at an age where they memorize naturally.

Canon 5: Delivery Using Proper Posture, Mic Form, Projection, Enunciation, Intonation, Gesturing, and Facial Expression to Engage and Persuade an Audience Decorum also functions as an important part of delivery, behavior and attire appropriate to the situation and the message. For this reason, we require presentation attire for each project unless the teachers a second option, such as a costume. In the early grammar years, we focus simply on standing in front of the mic and speaking. It's amazing to see how quickly young students learn to be unafraid of a microphone and an audience and instead become eager and excited for their time to speak. This experience truly gives them an advantage for life. continued on next page

Quarterly Projects Continued

Charlie Kendrick 3rd Grade

Caleb So 2nd Grade

Anna Kate Jenkins Sophomore

Lincoln Garland 1st Grade

Kayler Mae Collins Sophomore

Isabelle Dake 3rd Grade

Tori Ruzicka 2nd Grade

Jackson Avila Freshman

Vesper Lenox 4th Grade

d o o g w n i y l l m o o c H e m o H A

Upcoming Events November 1 New family 2023 – 2024 admissions applications open

December 5 Senior Class Songwriters' Night fundraiser

November 4 Upper Division Skate Night Brentwood Skate Center 7:00 – 10:30 pm

December 6 Grammar School Christmas Program 7:00 pm FCS auditorium

November 7 DEFY Spirit Day 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

December 6 – 8 6th – 8th grade 2nd Quarter Project Presentations

November 11 – 12 FCS Players' present The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

December 6 – 8 9th – 12th grade 2nd Quarter Project Presentations

November 17 FCS Fall Open House 7:00 pm FCS auditorium

December 9 K – 5th grade 2nd Quarter Project Presentation K – 5th grade early dismissal Last day of K – 6th grade classes Spelling Bee – Grammar School and Lower Division

November 21 – 25 Thanksgiving Break offices closed November 28 Pinewood Christmas Tree Farm Family Night

Year at a Glance November 21 – 25 Thanksgiving Break – offices closed December 19 – January 2 Christmas Break – offices closed March 13 – 17 Spring Break – offices closed May 20 Class of 2023 Graduation

December 12 Study Day – 7th – 12th grades dismissed December 13 – 16 7th – 12th grade Midterm Exams December 16 End of 2nd Quarter December 19 – January 2 Christmas Break; offices closed Updated 2022 – 2023 Calendar available in RenWeb/FACTS – Resource Documents

Upcoming Events

SPIRIT DAY November 7 t h 10am to 1pm 1647 Mallory LN Brentwood

Please bring flyer and FCS will receive 20% in return!

90-minute pass $24.99 (ages 5+) and $18.99 (ages 3-4) grip socks are sold separately at $3.50 per pair.

THANK YOU to the PTO for planning these special events to benefit our students, families, and school!

Upper Division Humanities Field Trip to Winstead Hill 4023 Columbia Avenue, Franklin November 10 8:00 a.m. — @ 9:15 a.m.

Please plan transportation for your children to the site that morning and back to FCS afterwards.

Dr. George Grant will lead our tour of the site and talk about the Battle of Franklin, one of the most important battles of the War Between the States.

Please plan to dress warmly for this special outdoor occasion.

Announcements FCS Players Present The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Tickets are now available for the FCS Players presentation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Performances will take place Friday and Saturday, November 11-12, in the FCS auditorium. Performance times are as follows:

CLICK HERE to PURCHASE TICKETS!

Friday, November 11 – 6:30 pm Saturday, November 12 – 12:00 pm Based on the beloved novel by Mark Twain and adapted by Dave Barton and Matt Bond, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer tells the humorous and heart-warming tales of the spirited Tom (played by Freshman Joshua Riddle) and his friend Huck (played

by Freshman Quincy Minard) as they grow up on the Mississippi River in the late 1840s. From the white-washed fence to the epic battle in the cave, this play is packed with adventure and is sure to delight young and old.

Our production will feature live musical performances from FCS students as well as an art exhibit featuring paintings by our own Ms. JoEllen Thatcher. This event will leave you smiling and tapping your feet!

Parents in Prayer Two more opportunities to join Parents in Prayer remain this semester! We hope you will join us for one or all these upcoming meetings.

11/11 at FCS 🦃 Thanksgiving 🦃 12/9 at FCS Questions may be directed to: Dana Duggan PTO Prayer & Community Support (912) 506-7342

Announcements Senior Class Songwriters' Night Every year Dr. George Grant hosts a lecture series for graduating Seniors in London, England. The 10-day trip has become known as the capstone of the FCS experience, and students receive study abroad credit. They visit notable sites from Antiquity to Modernity that they've studied over the previous 4 years and focus on the Christian fore-bearers who have inspired our students to emulate them in such a way as to impact our culture.

To help with costs, the Senior Class will host a Songwriters' Night: December 5th 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Williamson County Performing Arts Center featuring: The Warren Brothers Jessi Alexander Jon Randall

The Warren Brothers

Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall

Would you consider sponsoring a table as a corporate gift to clients? People love Songwriters' Nights because they get to hear all the stories behind songs they’ve heard and love.

A sponsorship is $1,000 for a table that seats 6, and your gift is tax deductible.

Your donation will be a tremendous gift to our very small Christian school, and our incredibly large idea of students seeing firsthand the places they've spent so much time learning about.

Please contact an administrator or a Senior if you'd like to sponsor a table.

Thank you!

2022 Math Skills Competition Winners

C ong r M a th a tu la tio n s F a ir W in n , e rs !

3rd

1st

2nd

Prelgebra

Liv Avila Shelby Walls

Landon Hobson Sarah Kannankeril

Algebra 1

Sophie Parks

Anne Charlotte Brothers Sam Toski

Algebra 2

Kenzie Browning

Presley Alvarado

Jackson Avila

Owen Morrison

Aeryn Shaefer

Tess Duggan

Precalculus

Alyssa Kenny

Luke Roberson Jordan Wilsterman

Jacob Wilsterman

Calculus 1

Micah Morrison

Whitney Duggan

Ella Hepp

Cailyn Davis

Lauren Pace

Avery Abruzzo

Geometry

Calculus 2

Kelsie Wiegman

2022 Technical Art Competition 1st

2nd

3rd

LD Floor Plan

Liv Avila

Naomi Hayes

Nicholas Goodyear-Brown

Tessellation

Sarah Kannankeril

Mac Monroe

Olivia Bennett

Perspective

Will Metzger

Abbey Howell

Landon Hobson

UD Floor Plan

Quincy Minard

Presley Alvarado

Myla Gaddy

Tessellation

Micah Morrison

Jillian Bender

Brady Eberhard

Perspective

Jackson Avila

John Ten Napel

Whitney Duggan

FCS Fine Arts

On October 9th, members of the FCS spring production, Les Miserables, had the honor of performing at a wedding reception as a surprise for the bride, who is a big fan of the show. This was arranged by the bride's mother, who contacted Mrs. Austin, looking for singers to perform "One Day More." The cast wore costumes and entered the room as the music started, to the delight and amazement of all of the guests. The students sounded amazing, and there were tears from several wedding guests. Needless to say, the bride loved it!

Hap

November 1 Colette Hendrickson Harper Gurley Hadley Grant November 5 Liv Avila November 7 Lela Duggan November 8 Kayler Mae Collins November 10 Kyle Harlow Macy McCoy November 14 Mrs. Melissa Austin Whitney Duggan November 18 Tess Duggan

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r i B t h y p

November 22 Mrs. Sherri Clark November 24 Jackson Rapo Leighton Rapo November 25 Kelsie Wiegman November 26 Landon Hobson November 27 Riley Costello November 28 Avery Abruzzo

November 30 Mrs. Sherri Chapman Malachi Elliott Julian Davidian