State Archery Tournament

The CCS-Leland and CCS-Whiteville Archery teams competed in the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) state tournament last month in Winston-Salem. CCS-Leland finished in fifth place and CCS-Whiteville in eleventh place.

Along with the experience of competing, research shows that target archery improves students educational performance by enhancing their focus and concentration. NASP schools also find that archery builds confidence, self-esteem, and helps students become more connected with their school.

Congratulations to the coaches and athletes for their hard work this season! We are so proud of the talent, sportsmanship, and character displayed by all.

CCS-Leland Pictures

CCS-Whiteville Pictures

Start Your Pencils!

Racers are signed up, Pit Crews have been announced, and Tune-ups have begun… FASTAR® is here! Students will spend March practicing their arithmetic and reading skills to prepare for the race days in April.

FASTAR® is a voluntary, extracurricular academic tournament. It stands for Fluent Academic Skills Tournament in Arithmetic and Reading. The goal of FASTAR® is to encourage students to improve their basic skills through practice in an exciting and rewarding tournament modeled on automobile racing. Research shows that practicing to the point of fast, smooth, nearly automatic response – fluency- has several benefits: memory of the skill is retained longer, the student is able to perform the skill for a longer time before getting tired, comprehension may be improved, complex tasks are easier with a stronger foundation in basic skills, and homework time may decrease.

Check out last year’s FASTAR® videos at the links below!

CCS-Leland

CCS-Southport

CCS-Whiteville

CCS-Wilmington

Race of Champions

Students of the Month 

Virtue is an important part of CCS-America’s classical curriculum. Each month, students are recognized for displaying a specific character trait that they are not only learning and practicing, but also recite daily in our Pledge.

February’s character trait was Dependability. Students who are dependable do what they say they will do, even if it is difficult. Dependability is seen in the School Pledge as “I Pledge to be truthful in all my works.” Students apply these words to their everyday lives by being responsible decision-makers others can rely on.

Congratulations to all students who demonstrated exemplary dependability. Check them out at the links below!

CCS-Leland

CCS-Southport

CCS-Whiteville

CCS-Wilmington

Electives Spotlight: Life Skills

Classical Charter Schools of America offers numerous electives for middle school students. Electives provide educational opportunities that allow students to learn skills, work together, and sometimes even compete. Two electives offered are Life Skills I & II that focus on providing students with the tools needed to succeed.

In Life Skills I, students learn the necessary skills for everyday living. This course emphasizes goal setting, decision making, problem solving, communication, healthy lifestyles and relationships, sewing, nutrition, personal safety, citizenship, and consumerism. After students complete Life Skills I, they are eligible to sign up for Life Skills II where they continue to build on these skills.

Each year, Middle School students participate in at least two electives to allow students to explore their interests. For a list of current CCS-America electives, see the link below.

Elective Descriptions

Handwriting Contest Winners 

Congratulations to CCS-America’s 2023 Handwriting Contest winners, honorable mentions, and classes that displayed overall handwriting excellence! Winners and honorable mentions will receive a cash prize, and classes with overall handwriting excellence will receive a door medallion.

The classes with overall handwriting excellence are: 

The winners and honorable mentions can be found at the links below. Great job to all CCS-America students for their continuous hard work!

CCS-Leland

CCS-Southport

CCS-Whiteville

CCS-Wilmington

Staff Spotlight

Classical Charter Schools of America is proud to share that Mrs. Katy Bannerman, CCS-Leland’s 8^th Grade English Language Arts teacher, has been selected to serve on the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust. 

The North Carolina Council on the Holocaust works with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to curate resources and develop curriculum content and professional development.

“The Holocaust is and always has been a part of History that I am passionate about. Not only from the perspective of an educator that believes it is so very important for students to learn and understand the significance of the Holocaust, but also as someone with Jewish heritage. My mother’s family is Jewish, and I am proud to be a descendant of this ancient lineage. While I am not a member of the faith, their stories of courage and fortitude during such a dark time in their history must live on in the hearts and minds of all students,” Mrs. Bannerman says.

She continues, “Our school’s focus on character brings an even deeper and more special focus on this time period in History. We instruct and encourage our students to be healthy in spirit, morally straight, truthful, virtuous, courageous, hope for a better future, and to have charity towards their neighbors.

“By participating in this Council, I hope to bring both my personal passions and experiences in our classical curriculum environments for the benefit of this new Holocaust curriculum and students all over North Carolina. I am especially grateful to Dean Lopez for sharing this opportunity, everyone at RBA, and CCS-Leland for mentoring, training, and encouraging me as an educator so that I get to participate in opportunities like this,” Mrs. Bannerman adds.

Congratulations to Mrs. Bannerman on this opportunity, and we can’t wait to see everything she accomplishes on the Council!

The Danger of Rewriting Children’s Books

Each year, CCS-America’s fourth-grade students typically read George Selden’s Newberry Award-winning novel, Cricket in Times Square. But next year will be different after the beloved modern children’s classic was altered to placate woke critics, who complained that the Chinese characters’ speech was presented in an offensive manner.

Rewriting books is a slippery slope, especially when the authors (George Selden passed away in 1989) are no longer here to defend their work or give permission.

If this becomes the norm, other modern classics such as The Joy Luck Club, The Indian in the Cupboard, and To Kill a Mockingbird also will be modified or banned to satisfy critics. Mark Twain’s classics, Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, already have been removed from many libraries and reading lists across the country.

To rewrite books to fit an agenda is an assault on literature and freedom of expression. In sports there’s a saying: No harm, no foul. A similar rule should apply to literature.

National Handwriting Day

National Handwriting Day is celebrated each year on January 23^rd, the birthday of John Hancock. He is best known for being the first and most prominent signature on the Declaration of Independence and because of this, a person’s signature is sometimes referred to as a “John Hancock.”

In 2019, CCS-America began hosting a Handwriting Competition on National Handwriting Day where students in all grades are given a phrase to copy and a prompt to answer in their neatest handwriting. Grades 4-8 are required to write it in cursive. First-place winners and honorable mentions receive a cash prize and classrooms that display overall handwriting excellence receive a door medallion.

There are numerous benefits to writing in cursive, also known as “longhand” writing, most notably that it seems to increase information retention. Many studies also show that pairing cursive writing with reading aloud improves both skills; so, they should progress hand-in-hand in the curriculum. Be on the lookout for the announcements of the 2023 Handwriting Competition winners soon!

Read more here

Students of the Month

Character education is an important part of the CCS-America curriculum. Each month, students are recognized for displaying a specific character trait that they are not only learning and practicing, but also recite daily in our Pledge.

January’s character trait was Honesty. Students who show honesty are truthful in what they do and say. Honesty is seen in the School Pledge as “I Pledge to be truthful in all my works.” Honest students apply these words to their everyday lives by telling the truth, playing by the rules, and not exaggerating facts.

Congratulations to all students who demonstrated exemplary honesty. Check them out on the links below!

CCS-Leland

CCS-Southport

CCS-Whiteville

CCS-Wilmington

CCS-Wilmington Marches in the Annual MLK Parade

Classical Charter Schools of Wilmington joined the Wilmington community on Monday in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade.

Students and staff at CCS-Wilmington have participated in this event for nine years in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s birthday is an opportunity to bring people together and pay tribute to the positive changes he brought to our country.

Dr. King was due to visit Wilmington on April 4, 1968, the day he was killed, but postponed his trip to assist striking sanitation workers in Memphis, where he met his untimely death.  

Pictures

Even the King Must Follow the Law

In 1215, King John of England was forced to sign the Magna Carta, or great charter, which placed the king under the rule of law (rather than above it) and documented a series of rights and liberties that for more than 800 years have served as the foundation for individual rights in England and the West. The Magna Carta had a significant influence on America’s founding documents and the concept of Americans’ unalienable rights. CCS-America schools therefore, ensure our students understand the Magna Carta’s importance. Our classical history program spends four days devoted to teaching the Magna Carta. Students learn its significance and its relevancy today. The mini unit culminates in a play where students re-enact King John being forced to sign the Magna Carta by his nobles.

Learn more about the Magna Carta by clicking the links below.

History the Magna Carta in the United Kingdom

The Magna Carta at the United States’ National Archives

CCS-Southport Pictures

Alumni Spotlight

Meet Rebecca Applewhite Hester! Mrs. Hester graduated in 2007 as the salutatorian of the first RBA graduating class and is now working in the pharmaceutical industry.

Mrs. Hester says, “RBA laid the foundation and supplied me with tools that I still reach for fifteen years after my graduation. I am forever indebted to my teachers who ensured I was set up for success and for supplying me with a safe environment to achieve my goals.”

Learn more about Mrs. Hester and how her RBA education has continued to benefit her here!

Welcome Back! 

We hope you all had a wonderful break! Quarter 3 will be another busy and exciting nine weeks at CCS-America schools. Here are the highlights to look forward to:

Jan. 4             First Day of Quarter 3!

Jan. 11            Report Cards

Jan. 16           Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

Jan. 17            100^th Day of School

Jan. 18           Maintenance Recognition Day

Jan. 22-28     National School Choice Week

Jan. 23           National Handwriting Day

Jan. 31            2023-2024 Open Enrollment Closes                         

Feb. 3             Teacher Workday- No School for Students                         

Feb. 6-24       Registration for FASTAR is Open

Mar. 2            Dr. Seuss Read Across America

Mar. 3            I Can Read Ceremonies

Mar. 10           Teacher Workday- No School for Students                         

Mar. 13           Spring Break Begins 

A Classical Inspiration: Martin Luther King Jr. 

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was classically educated. He understood that for people to be truly free, they need to be able to think for themselves. King thoroughly studied the teachings of India’s celebrated civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi prior to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which ignited the Civil Rights Movement. Studying others’ works and being an avid reader are two cornerstones of a classical education, which Dr. King embodied. He was also a master of classical rhetoric seen in his speeches and writings. Each day we can honor the memory and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by seeking knowledge and being virtuous, “the goal of a true education!”

Letters from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. MLK Jr.

Keep Moving, Dr. MLK Jr.

New Year, Same Pledge

For many, the start of a new calendar year is a time for reflection and new beginnings. It encourages us to re-evaluate how we make choices and spend our time, and helps us prioritize what matters most to us.

At CCS-America, we know New Year’s resolutions can be challenging to maintain. Therefore, to maintain momentum and avoid backsliding, students say our School Pledge every morning. Our Pledge focuses on health, truth, and virtue, so it’s easy to connect your resolutions to our Pledge!

If one of your resolutions this year is to become “physically fit,” provide “charity towards my neighbor,” or even to exemplify “prudence in new undertakings,” our School Pledge can be a daily reminder of your goal. No matter what you decide, we encourage parents to discuss the tenets of the Pledge with their students and how both can apply it to their goals for this year!

School Pledge

Students of the Month

Character education is an important part of the CCS-America curriculum. Each month, students are recognized for displaying a specific character trait that they are not only learning and practicing, but also recite daily in our Pledge.

December’s character trait was Generosity. Students who shows generosity are careful with what they have so they can share with others. Generosity is seen in the School Pledge as “I pledge to be virtuous in all my deeds.” Virtuous students apply these words to their everyday lives and do good for others without seeking anything in return.

Congratulations to all students who demonstrated exemplary generosity. Check them out on the links below!

CCS-Leland

CCS-Whiteville

CCS-Wilmington

The Roger Bacon Academy wishes you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

We hope you all have a wonderful and safe break, and we will see you back at school for the start of Quarter 3 on January 4th.

Lakesha McDay, New Hanover Community Endowment Executive Vice President and Steve Smith, CCS-America Lead Administrator

CCS-Wilmington Receives Grant

Classical Charter Schools of America is happy to share that CCS-Wilmington has been selected to receive a grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment!

The grant will help improve and expand our school’s facilities at the historic Peabody Building. This beautiful historic building has housed the Wilmington campus since 2013. To continue providing families in Wilmington’s inner city with our classical education, additional facility improvements and equipment will further enhance learning opportunities and increase enjoyment for all students. This grant will make that possible.

We offer our sincere thanks for this vote of confidence in the work we are doing and we look forward to continuing this work at all CCS-America schools!

Pictures

Why Latin?

[Latin] “allows you to adore words, take them apart, and find out where they come from.” -Doctor Seuss 

At CCS-America schools, we are proud to teach Latin. Here are a few reasons why:

• 80% of English words come from Latin so it helps expand vocabulary
• Latin is at the root of the languages spoken in 57 countries so other languages are more-easily accessible
• Latin is based on logic and reasoning, which leads to greater mathematical understanding
• Latin helps us understand English grammar, which improves writing skills
• Students who have studied Latin consistently outscore students of Spanish and French on college admission tests

CCS-America students begin learning Latin in 4th grade and continue through 8th grade.

Latin: The Basic Subject

Alumni Spotlight

Meet Ms. Brooke Butcher Gooden! Ms. Gooden graduated RBA in 2008 and has recently returned to the classroom as a 1st grade teacher in Elizabethtown, NC. Learn about Ms. Gooden and how her RBA education not only shaped her academically, but also morally here!