Spero :: November 2018

Spero

November 2018 • Stronger Together Issue

November 2018

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Headmaster: Stuart Tutler Academic Director: Cady Wilson Advancement Director: Parker Page November 2018 Issue Written and prepared by: Stefanie Edwards Communications Director For inquires or submission suggestions please email to sedwards@nhafranklin.org

Pre-K students get a demonstration from Franklin fire fighters about how they put out fires

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Creative Shields

November School Calendar

Nov. 5 - 9:

Book Fair

Nov. 19 - 23:

No School - Thanksgiving Break

Nov. 26:

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

During their study of ancient Greece, third-graders created their own shields and costumes to replicate the ancient craft.

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A letter from our Headmaster

Striving for Reconciliation

By Stuart Tutler

The longer you are a part of the New Hope Academy family, the more evident it becomes that we are walking in line with our founding philosophy.

We believe our lives should reflect God’s character. New Hope Academy strives to mirror God’s image, reflecting His light through our works. By educating our children in that practice, we have the opportunity to pour infinite facets of that light into future generations.

Day by day, we strive for reconciliation amongst all people, across all demographics, and always in line with Holy Scripture. Our students are learning that we value the person for who they are - spirit and personality - not based on their socio economic status, skin color, or other characteristics.

I wanted to address that as we move forward, we as a school, will strive to eliminate racial issues. We don’t want to label individuals, identifying them by their skin color. We don’t want to invite in factors that could serve as divisive factors. Rather we want to stand united under the blood of Christ, knowing that if He can love us all equally, enough to die for us all, then we can learn to love and value each other in the same accord.

You may have noticed in our annual report that we made some modifications to how we addressed cultural backgrounds in our community. We’d rather not report on such factors, but we know that because we are a leader in racial diversity, we should acknowledge the good works God is doing here. Instead of identifying

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students as a color or a government-sanctioned label, we connected people by their primary heritage, such as Native American, European decent, African decent, and so forth.

We encourage you to pray with us as we strive to become leaders in our community, region, and hopefully culture in shaping the message of reconciliation amongst all people. It is bigger than race or economics; it is a heart matter that only God can redeem. We are actively pursuing ways that we can rise up and help to impact American culture to be connected with God and all people in a more receptive manner. In the coming months, we hope to offer community classes to invite open discussion and education on valuable issues in light of Holy Scripture.

In the meantime, we remain committed to loving our students and families with all our heart, just as Christ has first loved us.

1 John 4:19-21 (NIV) - We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Blessings, Stuart Tutler, Headmaster

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First Grade Fun Run p.6

First-graders found their own way to support New Hope Academy through an organized Fun Run. The students collected pledges for laps completed and donated the funds to the Annual Fund. Lap after lap, they pushed themselves to meet their goals. Most students completed 10 or more laps in just 20 minutes. These students were proud to support their school!

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Pre-K at Lucky Ladd Farms

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1st grade goes to Lucky Ladd Farms p.10

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Parent Spotlight

Dana Andrews As Dana Andrews steadily grew aware of New Hope Academy, she remembers thinking, “This seems like such a sweet place.” She had grown up with Robbin Robertson’s son, Brad, and knew she taught here, and then Dana had two friends who sent their kids to NHA. All of these soft trinkets left an impression on Dana’s heart.

Years ago when she first met her England-born husband, Richard, they found commonality over their shared passion for racial diversity. That passion grew and when their children were ready for school, the Andrews family felt drawn to New Hope Academy. “We felt the spirit of God working here,” Dana said. “We witnessed children of different ethnicities worshiping God together, and I just felt that I could trust my children to the teachers here. That these special teachers would continue building the foundation they need.”

“I love that my kids are learning Scripture at school,” Dana shared. “They are capturing Scripture and tucking it into their hearts for their lives. They are able to combat the world with the Scripture that they know. We are giving them lifelong value and that is the

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most important thing I value about New Hope Academy.“ Dana and Richard currently have three of their four children enrolled at New Hope Academy, and this is their fifth year as a part of our family. This year Dana began serving part-time as New Hope’s Volunteer Coordinator where she helps orchestrate external volunteers, plugging them in for service on campus. She’s also been busy helping out with the launch of the parent alliance, where she serves as the Vice President. “I’m so excited to be a part of the mission of New Hope,” Dana said. “And I think the new parent alliance will just continue fostering the sweet community here!”

“God knew what we needed,” Dana shared.

“I accepted the position for part-time Volunteer Coordinator as my one-day-at-a-time plan with God. Every time we have received a new contract for the next school year it has been daunting to sign and commit to coming up with the funds to send my children here; one after another. This year God provided by setting up this position. It met my needs and has affirmed the direction God has for me and my family.”

Dana is fully vested in New Hope Academy.

Those who know her know her warm heart and friendly manner of drawing you in for a hug. She loves those around her and has been a blessing to our community. She welcomes you to get involved. Whether as a volunteer or as a parent participating in various projects. NHAPA (New Hope Academy Parent Alliance), is just one of those great ways to connect.

way amongst other parents and find your sweet spot.”

“I didn’t need New Hope Academy for the community, the way some parents do,” Dana said. “I was raised in Franklin and have a big family and group of life-long friends, but God knew there was another layer of joy the New Hope Community could bring to my life. I invite you to come find your place here. Start by attending morning devotions. It’s a great way to meet people, especially on Friday’s when NHAPA hosts the morning coffee meet-ups. It is an easy, no pressure way to connect.”

“The school will naturally benefit as we unite as parents to support each other and help support the school,” Dana said. “We are community driven. We want to help you find your

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Saturday School p.14

Once a semester New Hope parents join their students in the classroom for a half day of learning and fun at what we call Saturday School. This experience gives parents the opportunity to experience first hand what life is like at NHA.

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Creative Study Second grade students painted salt dough maps of Africa as a part of their study.

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Writing Stronger Stories

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Upper School students finished their Personal Narrative Writing Unit by creating a collaborative art piece and sharing their stories with third and fourth grade students. Their artwork included feathers made by each student and a quote saying, “A writer creates wings of words and lets them fly in the sky of readers’ minds.� Students focused on writing stronger stories by focusing on one small moment, including dialogue, and using their inner thoughts and feelings. Copies of their work will be on permanent display in the classroom.

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Pumpkin Math

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Second graders did an amazing job practicing their math skills using pumpkins. The had to guesstimate the weight, height, circumference, and how many seeds they thought were inside the pumpkin. They measured in centimeters, inches, and pounds.

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Donor Impact :: Featuring Scott Roley

This article orginially published in the Annual Report, in October 2018.

To view the 2017/2018 Annual Report for New Hope

Academy, visit: https://issuu.com/ nhafranklin/docs/ annual_report_2018_ print_alternate

Giving For Change Scott Roley served in pastoral leadership at Christ Community Church for over 20 years, first as a youth minister and later as their ordained pastor. Guided by the Bible and the experience of John Perkins, a poor sharecropper’s son from Mississippi who grew to forge a new beginning for racial reconciliation and poverty empowerment, Scott began sharing and encouraging others to join him in reshaping our community. He began individually, adopting children and living amongst the poor in The Hard Bargain community of Franklin. As his passion grew, so did the impact he had on getting others to invest in the vision of supporting our community by ending poverty and bringing about racial unity.

One of those individuals was Paige Pitts. “We had the opportunity as a team to travel to Mendenhall, Mississippi to observe what John Perkins had started in his community,” Scott said. “They had built up a school in addition to the medical center, community center, and other programs. With her educator’s training and God’s direction, Paige realized that it would take daily involvement in a child’s life, through a school setting, to help bring about radical change in their lives. Paige cast the vision of combining classical education with caring for the poor, and that was the start of New Hope Academy.

“As a pastor, I had the platform by which to help motivate and connect people.

With the help of many volunteers and people committed to giving, we were able to launch a community development initiative here in Franklin,” Scott said.

“There were so many amazing ways God worked to encourage this project. God used so many people and organizations throughout the community to give continually to see the fruition of the school taking place.”

But the support didn’t stop once the school opened. Throughout the years Scott continued to witness how donors kept the school going. “There were hard times financially since we operated on a different tuition structure than other private schools,” Scott said. “We held true to our mission to use the school as our ministry and relied on the faithful provisions of our donors. There were a few times we’d end a Thursday afternoon with no clue on how we would make payroll the next morning, and then overnight a donor would come through and infuse us with the cash needed to pay our teachers. God worked so many

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miracles. Including how God has blessed us with the right teachers who embrace our mission wholeheartedly. To this day, we have the most amazing group of teachers and staff working at New Hope Academy.”

“New Hope Academy is the best kept secret in education,” Scott said. “This school is the answer our educational system needs. We have found a way to intentionally bring people together in unity, giving all people an equal opportunity for success. But it takes the sacrifice of many people who are willing to give financially to keep New Hope Academy going.”

Scott Roley

“For the longest time, New Hope Academy has had the right people coming together to sacrifice their talents, time, and money,” Scott said. “It is amazing that today we remain debt free on our beautiful property, serving our community after 22 years. I pray our mission never ceases. That we will always have the right donors willing to support New Hope Academy. Because when it is all said and done, community efforts like providing housing, food, jobs, etc. are all great, but education is truly the way to help end generational poverty. It all starts with providing an exceptional education to students, who can grow to get a college education, land a good job, and begin a new trend of security and provision for their family.”

About Scott There’s a lot Scott has been involved in amidst our community. He has helped to pilot the establishment of multiple community efforts including the launch of Mercy Community Healthcare and Hard Bargain Association. Although Scott has retired after serving for over 20 years in church leadership and on the New Hope Academy Board, he now volunteers through various community initiatives, and strives to empower others to step up to help.

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Worm Dissection p.24

Fourth graders looked at how God created these amazing organisms to decompose organic matter and renew our soil in the process. Who knew worms could be so fascinating?

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Witnessing a Live Veterinary Surgery

Dr. Pals, an NHA dad and veterinarian at Goose Creek Animal Hospital performed a live neutering on Mr. Grigsby’s dog, Pac, for the fifth grade Science classroom. Students were able to see a scientist at work and understand one of the many values of learning the anatomy and physiology of creation.

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Monday, November 26th 8:00 - 11:00 am

Join us for

Grandparents and Special Friends Day Register online: https://conta.cc/2QcxsSW November 2018

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50th Day of School

Pre-K students had fun celebrating the 50th day of school with a 50’s themed party. Dressed in rolled up blue jeans and poodle skirts, the kids bopped and twirled to the music.

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Exploratory Learning

Fifth graders explored artifacts from the Tennessee State Museum traveling trunk.

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5th graders working on triorama projects in preparation for Saturday School

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Fifth grade field trip to see Tuck Everlasting at the Nashville Children’s Theater after having read the book together.

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