The Rock - Foundation Academy - November 08

Calendar of Events

Parent Teacher Conference

November 2008 November 6th Grades Due

RUMORS

November 7th - 11th School Closed November 13th Parent Teacher Conference

BOOK REPORT DUE

www.foundationacademy.com

(904) 241-3515 SACS CASI Accreditation

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November 2008 NIPSA Accreditation

November 21st & 22nd RUMORS 8:00PM November 23rd RUMORS 2:00PM

Christmas Concert

November 26th - 28th School Closed

During our Fall Festival this year we explored the foods of different cultures….

Wow it's November. I look forward to seeing you a lot this month. Please bring friends and family to all the fun filled events. The comedy "Rumors" by Neil Simone, will be our first TFA production in our new theater.

We explored the way other cultures dress…. We played games from different cultures.

Our Student-led Conference Our first 2008-2009 family breakfast. Our first Big Thank you and Honor Society induction ceremony on our new campus. It is the year of firsts. You need to be part of them. We have so much to be grateful for. These are difficult times for many. Remembering our bounty reminds us how truly blessed we are. You and your children as part of our lives we count as a great bounty. Let us praise God together. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1 Nadia

3675 San Pablo Road South Jacksonville, FL 32224 Phone: (904) 241-3515

Fax: (904) 821-1247

Web: www.foundationacademy.com 3675 San Pablo Road South 1 Jacksonville, FL 32224

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Phone: (904) 241-3515

Fax: (904) 821-1247

Web: www.foundationacademy.com

Second Book Report Due December 2nd Ninth and tenth grade students should be reading something special for their next book report, due right after Thanksgiving break. In addition to reading at home, students might take advantage of the TFA school-wide reading time at the end of Portfolio Seminar every Wednesday from 12:00-12:30. Of course Wednesday afternoon early release offers another opportunity to read and write. So please take your student to the library often and encourage reading and talking about what is being read. Because talking about what we read can be as important as writing our insights, HILI 1-4 classes are initiating Reading Circles. Students have the chance to persuade four or five fellow students to read the same book, make Book Mark notes, and use those notes to help everyone look at the text together to discuss it. If students do not bring their own books, stories will be provided for these reading exercises. However, these Reading Circles are meant to provide a chance to work toward the book report if a student so chooses. There will be more book report assignments as the year progresses, so encourage your student to plan ahead, choose books, and convince some classmates to read the same book to form a Reading Circle. Check your student’s Planner to know what days are devoted to Reading Circles. --KLSH

HILI 1-4 Book Report Instructions Questions? Call Dr. K: 242-0607

Staff Bio

Teacher Bio

Ray Szaltis

Greg Stites

Ray Szaltis, our new vice principal, comes to us with over 30 years experience working in education. The majority of Ray’s experience was with Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida. More recently he worked with Center Academy and the Broach schools as both a teacher and school director. Married for 32 years to his wife Jennie, they operated Studios for Creating, an art school, for 13 years in the Lakewood area. They have two sons, JP and Nick, who are attending college in Orlando. Please welcome Mr. Ray to our family.

I have been teaching in one capacity or another for about fifteen years. My first job as a teacher was in Metairie, Louisiana. I taught seventh and eighth grade Social Studies. I also coached Football and Soccer. My next experience came in an alternative school setting called the Eckerd Wilderness Educational System. I worked with behaviorally and emotionally disturbed youth, helping them to work on and through their difficulties in order to return to a more normal and productive setting. I worked for this organization for seven and a half years in North Carolina. My most recent stint came as the Drama Teacher at Greenwood School, here in Jacksonville, FL for the last six years. I started and built up their theatrical program from the ground up. I am enjoying the opportunity to work here at The Foundation Academy and look forward to continued development of my skills as a teacher and member of this wonderful community. Please feel free to initiate a conversation with me if I don’t start one with you first!

Study: Sex On TV Linked To Teen Pregnancy

Read a book of your choice and write an essay that addresses all of the following points, 1-8, with an illustration (9). Choose your examples from many different parts of the book. The final essay should be typed, or very neatly written, on one side of the paper, in blue or black ink. Each book report (essay with illustration) will be presented in class, so plan to show off!

NEXT BOOK REPORT DUE: December 2, 2008. 1. In the first paragraph, introduce the book to your reader with a sentence giving the title, author, and date of publication; then explain something you find unusual about this book; and finally, describe what kind of person would enjoy this book. Next write a minimum of one paragraph (5-7 sentences) for each of sections 2-8 below. 2. Tell the main CHARACTER’S name and describe in your own words the character’s appearance and personality. Then quote (copy and give page number!) a passage from the book that describes the character well. The quote is evidence for your interpretation. Do all of these steps for a second character. 3. Describe a location (SETTING=time and place) in the story and tell what happens in this place and time. Quote (give the page number!) a description from the book that clarifies what you have described.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A study published Monday claimed it had established for the first time a link between TV programs with sexual content and teenage pregnancies. Researchers interviewed 2,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 three times between 2001 and 2004 and found that those with the highest exposure to sex on television were twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy than those with the least exposure. "Adolescents receive a considerable amount of information about sex through television and that programming typically does not highlight the risks and responsibilities of sex," said Anita Chandra, the lead author and a behavioral scientist at RAND, the nonprofit research organization that funded the study. "Our findings suggest that television may play a significant role in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States," she said. Researchers said the study demonstrated that programs with sexual content create the perception there is little risk of sex without contraception. By the third interview, 744 of the 2,000 teenagers in the survey said they had engaged in sexual intercourse and 718 of the youths shared with RAND information about their pregnancy histories. Of that group, 91 teens, 58 girls and 33 boys, were involved in a pregnancy. The rate of teenage pregnancies has increased for the first time in 15 years, measuring 41.9 births per 1,000 Americans aged 15 to 19 years in 2006, according to the Center for Prevention and Disease Control (CDC). "The amount of sexual content on television has doubled in recent years, and there is little representation of safer sex practices in those portrayals," said Chandra. The findings have implications for broadcasters, parents and health care providers, she added. The US has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates among industrialized nations, with nearly one million adolescent females becoming pregnant each year, with the majority of these pregnancies unplanned, according to RAND.

Performing Arts Presents: Rumors

4. Tell three important events in the story (PLOT). Explain how/why the first causes the second and the second causes the third. Create a timeline to clarify the sequence of events. 5. Quote (give the page number!) something funny (or scary or some other emotion) (MOOD) and explain why it is funny (or scary). Then quote something sad (or some other emotion, such as anxious or mysterious, or daring, etc.) and explain how that part makes you experience that emotion. 6. Text to Self: Find something in the story that reminds you of something you have experienced. Quote (give the page ber!) that part of the story and then write a detailed comparison between the story and yourself.

The Performing Arts department is getting ready for the first production of the year! On November 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, high school drama students will be putting on Neil Simon's “Rumors” in the brand new Blackbox Theater. This will be the TFA theater’s inaugural performance and you will not want to miss it. “Rumors” is an hilarious farce written by one of America's best loved playwrights. As always, our students are working very hard to make this show top quality and we want to give them a full house every night! “Rumors” will run for one weekend only, so please reserve your tickets with the front office today!

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7. Text to Text: Explain how a part of the story reminds you of another book, movie, song, or other artwork. Quote (give the page number!) that part of the story and write a detailed comparison between the story and the work it reminds you of. 8. Text to World: Quote (give the page number!) something from the story that you must research in order to understand it. For example, maybe the character is wearing a “garanimals” shirt so you must look it up to see what that brand looks like. Look up the thing you chose and write what you learned. Tell where you found the information. 9. Create an artwork (a drawing or collage) that illustrates what you wrote for one of the “TEXT to…” parts (6, 7, or 8).

Foundation Academy Christmas Concert It's getting around to that time of year again! Our Christmas concert will be held in the new Blackbox Theater Monday, December 15 and Tuesday, December 16th at 7pm. The whole school is involved in this event, so please come support TFA and enjoy a great holiday concert filled with music and dance! Since our theater has limited seating, we are encouraging guests to choose which night they would like to attend and let the front desk know.

Show Times: Friday November 21st and Saturday November 22nd @ 8:00 pm Sunday November 23rd @ 2:00 pm

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