News & Announcements

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Volume 18, Issue 43

Andrews Academy's

Official Newsletter

February 4, 2025

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Honor Roll

Andrews Academy is pleased to announce the names of the students who made the honor roll for the first semester of the 2024-25 school year. Pictured is the freshman group of honor roll students. Congratulations!

Grade 9

London Acquah, Kwame Amponsah, Lily Bailey, Lily Bell, Mary Bidwell, Cameron Bliven, Juliette Brieva, Dani Cross, Axel Davis, Michael Elliott, Malachi Florivilus, Migdali Glanz, Alex Gogoy, Juliette Goluch, Christiana Hayes, Connor Hentschel, Gai Igaso, Evangel Kobimbo, Annamarie Krull, Josiah Largent, Hanan Legoh, Rachel Lehmann, Matt Loenser, Jack Newbold, Joshua Omwocha, Imani Parkinson, Juliana Payne, Zarah Prentice, Benjamin Ramos, Khenzie Reiner, Mackenzie Ritzenthaler, Zimri Schilke, Sebastian Silie, Kaden Spare, Solomon Steinke, Sorcha Stutzman, Anna Toczylowski, Nina von Maur, and Kelsey Yang.

Grade 10

Matthew Arn, David Beatty, Caleb Bliven, Keila Bowerman, Danny Butnaru, Edrei Cantillano-Belardo, Hazel Cerna, Noah Chung, Diego Contreras, Nathan Crownover, Samantha Elanko, Melanie Fusté, Jack Hill, Jerianna Horton, Gadi Igaso, Carson Kantor, Autumn Leets, Mya Mann, Audrey Marschner, Kaitlyn McKenzie, Jonathan Mills, Lyol Netteburg, Adriel Ogando, Jinwoo Oh, MinWoo Oh, Ava Patel, Losa Poua, Alayna Prentice, Luke Reid, Ethan Roper, Jonni Rosenthal, Lisa Seidel, Briauna Skinner, Dayaris Soler Antoine, Samantha Spare, Cooper Stuckey, Nito Suarez, Max Thorne, Nia Tynes, and Ava Zygowiec.

Grade 11

Sarah Ayaz, Nicholas Bairagee, Anna Bell, Andrew Bennett, Dylan Bergmann, Hetu Brahmbhatt, Pace Carlsen, Danielle Chung, Seth Crownover, Lily Dronen, Elizabeth Dyman, Seth Freeman, Shema Gaparayi, Victoria Goluch, Carter Hayes, Kelvin Igaso, Ishmael Jacques, Emery Jones, Eric Kacelenga, Emerson Kim, Hannah Kim, Jaira Kim, Kristen Kim, Daniel Kondrat, Sabrina Leak, Josiah Leets, Sarah Lim, Maqhawe Mangena, Elliot Marschner, Ivan Mawrie, Kevin Mendonça, Solomon Miller, Lily Murphy, William Newbold, Dynae Newkirk, Lara Oliveira, Daniel Ortiz, Micah Pyo, Arthur Rakmeni, Jonathan Raveloharimisy, Nicole Rezepina, Zeta Schilke, Havvah Schnepp, Zakhar Semkiv, Audrey Simpson, Monty Snyder, Ella Stankovic, Isabella Steinke, Ella Taylor, Alina Titkova, Misael Villareal Lopez, Luke von Maur, and Olivia Zappia.

Grade 12
John Alvarez-Wilches, Lucas Barcelos Palacios, Caleb Beatty, Fabiola Belisario Gonzalez, Pablo Benalcazar Sosa, Megan Bokon, Sophia Bourget, Alaina Burks, Aaron Carterman, Brady Case, Chris Coffen, Janielly Cruz, Evia Dasher, Andrea De Leon, Lily Delacruz, Anabel Dockerty, Noah Fitzpatrick, Oscar Flores, Caitlyn Gomez, Andrew Gordon, Jimmy Hajaj, Elena Hardinge, Matthew Henderson, André Henry, Aubrey Isaak, Nicole Izdebski, Ethan Johnson, Yendy Joseph Villar, Minki Kang, Cesar Larco Medina, Micah Leiterman, Sara Lemon, Noah Lim, Kiera Lyons, Stephanie Manoukian, Jamir Marquez, Lawrence Mattson, Brenden Meyer, David Mills, Sam Mitole, Nicolas Poloche, Joey Ramos, Leah Reid, Kalyse Reiner, Connor Robertson, Gabby Roper, Jenny Rothermel, Amy Salinas Alfaro, Marcus Silie, Eliel Silvestre, Marina Slavujevic, Aurora Stutzman, Adrian Toczylowski, Josh VanDenburgh, Ilan Villamizar, Mateo Villareal Lopez, Hailey Woods, Kate Yang, and Timothy Yi.

Ice Skating & Class Vespers

Class vespers and activities provide a meaningful time to be drawn closer to God, to develop friendships outside the classroom setting, and an opportunity for class officers to develop leadership skills as they plan and lead in the activity and worship experience.

Ice skating and class vespers will be this Friday, February 7. Due to space limitations, the first 110 students that turn in their signed permission slips and $10 for ice skating at the main office will skate together, and then classes will have a vespers and some food (details pending). Students who don't go ice skating can still go to the evening vespers, and they will still need a permission slip ($10 not required if not going ice skating).

As you load the bus at 2:45 PM in the parking lot of AA to go ice skating, please bring cold weather gear since the rink is outside. Students are not allowed to drive themselves.

Updated permission slips are in the main office and were emailed to everyone last week. The $10 is to cover the cost of using the ice rink, skate rental, and to help defray some of the cost for transportation to the rink.

We will leave the rink at 5:30 PM and bring you back to AA by around 6:00 PM for class vespers or pick-up. There will be a light meal and vespers at AA, ending at around 7:30 PM.

Badminton Tournament Postponed

The AA PE department is sponsoring a whole school Badminton tournament on Tuesday, February 25, starting at 5:00 PM. This is a doubles competition, and it does not matter what class your partner is in. Choose a partner and indicate it on the sign-up sheet posted on the glass gym doors. We need at least 12 teams to run the tournament, so please sign-up early and ask your friends to sign-up to play. If you have signed up, you have committed to being present for the tournament on February 25, so please remember to mark it down on your calendar. Sign-ups are due by Friday, February 21.

There will be areas for spectators to watch the games and cheer on their fellow students and athletes.

Equipment will be provided to each of the players for the tournament.

Looking forward to this fun event.

~ Mrs. Mills

Calendar Change

Please note that Monday, April 21, will now be a Professional Development /E-Learning Day. This day replaces two half days for Professional Development that were originally scheduled for March.

SA Election forms will be available starting Monday, March 3, at the SA Election Orientation meeting. ~ Mrs. Mills

Textbook Buyback

We are excited to announce an initiative aimed at helping reduce the cost of books for the 2025-2026 school year.

AA is implementing a Textbook Buyback Program, which will allow us to purchase books that were used by students this semester/school year. Soon we will be sharing detailed information regarding the buyback process, including the list of eligible books, pricing, and procedures.

This program is designed to make book costs more manageable for our families while promoting sustainable practices.

Note that some textbooks are used all school year, and that we will also buy books back this coming summer.

We encourage all families to keep an eye out for further communications with specific dates and instructions. If you have any questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office.

Thank you for your continued support of Andrews Academy and for partnering with us in this initiative.

Opting into Texting for One Call Now

Andrews Academy utilizes One Call Now, an automated messaging service, to contact students and parents about school cancellations, upcoming events, and performances, etc.

Please make sure that we have the phone number that you would like to have contacted. We also send an email, put the announcement on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and alert local TV stations (WSBT, WNDU, ABC57).

To receive a text notification instead of a call (text works best), please text “ALERT” to 22300. Please make sure that you have given us the number that you would like to be texted on as well. Email ginam@andrews.edu with any changes. Thank you!

Parents Positively Involved (PPI)

As the AA school year and events are well under way, we are thrilled with the parent involvement thus far. There are many more opportunities to serve, and I encourage you to look ahead at the school calendar of events.

Please email me (aappi@andrews.edu) if you are available and willing to serve at any of these events. Note that all volunteers need to do the Sterling Volunteers training and background check, providing proof to AA. ~ Mrs. Kimberly Spare

Tuition

Payment #7 is due on or before February 25. You may put your payment in the drop box on the post by the main doors if needed.

Please contact Ms. Gracie at gaytan@andrews.edu with questions.

Preparing for Backpacking Tour

This past Sunday, the members of the backpacking tour class hiked for a few hours on the AU trails in preparation for their backpacking trip this spring in Tennessee. They hiked 3.7 miles in the cold, snow, and ice, and most slipped and fell at some point. This spring, they will be hiking many miles in the mountains of Tennessee…in relative warmth instead of in the snow!

Dr. Byron Graves, AU music professor, taught band and bells at Andrews Academy for a number of years. During his time here at AA, as well as afterwards, he also taught backpacking, which is a hobby that he really enjoys. Thank you, Dr. Graves, for teaching this class!

Satellite - PMC Youth Activity

This Sabbath, February 8, between 3-8 PM

Attention Students: If you would like Friday's boxed lunch, those who are signed up for the lunch program must order it each week by Wednesday at 2:00 PM. The sign-up sheet will be at lunch or in the front office.

Parents: To sign your student up for the lunch program or add funds to your student's account, please pay at the Academy main office (cash/check/credit card) until a website is set up to load funds online. You may still pay cash or check in the Academy office even when the website is available. The preset amount for 20 lunches is $132, unless your student has been approved for reduced lunch.

Indoor Triathlon

You are invited to participate in the 2nd Annual ACW Indoor Triathlon, hosted by Andrews University at the Andreasen Center for Wellness!

🗓 Date: Sunday, February 23, 2025
⏰ Time: 9:00 a.m.
📍 Location: Andreasen Center for Wellness

This unique event is perfect for athletes of all levels (at least 16 years old)!

Participants will compete in the following activities:

10-minute swim in our indoor pool
20-minute cycling session on stationary bikes
15-minute run on treadmills

How You Can Get Involved:

Register as participants or bring a team!
Sponsor the event to gain visibility and support wellness in our community.

If you have questions or are interested in sponsoring the event, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

We hope to see you there!

Mr. Herbie Helm

Aquatics Director

Andrews University

herbert@andrews.edu | 269-471-6093

Full Calendar on Website

2024-25 Year-at-a-Glance Calendar

Textbook Information

Our online textbook store is open. Please follow the instructions for purchasing workbooks and digital content that are automatically placed in your cart, which is required to purchase from them as part of our contract. The bookstore will list all of the textbooks required for each class that the student is registered for (note that some textbooks are optional if there is digital content required).

Email Mrs. Gina Meekma (ginam@andrews.edu) with log in difficulties. Contact EdTech with questions about your order.

AA Uniforms Available from Lands' End

Uniforms can be purchased from Lands’ End, including for PE. Click on the option(s) that you would like, then choose the size (kid or adult). Please be mindful that Andrews Academy is not responsible for your orders.

We understand that uniforms are on back order from Land's End. We do have a limited supply of uniforms for sale at AA (cash or check only) during office hours.

Please review the Sourcebook (pgs 79-81) for more information regarding uniforms. Only approved logoed uniform wear is allowed. A solid-color, long sleeved undershirt may be worn under the AA short-sleeved polo (no writing should be visible on the undershirt). If a student is wearing an AA logoed jacket, they should also have an AA logoed shirt underneath. Only AA logoed jackets are allowed to be worn in the building.

The PE uniform can only be worn during PE class.

AA's Lands' End Store

Google Account Security Key Required

PLEASE note that if your child still has their security key from last year, you DO NOT NEED to purchase them a new one.

If you have not done so already, please purchase the Multi-Factor Authentication Security Key for all AA students. This key is essential for your child to access all Google platforms (AU email, Google Classroom, etc.), as well as secure documents from Andrews University and Andrews Academy. Each student needs their own security key.

Security Key Link

If you have any further questions, feel free to email me.

Forms to check out a school computer for use at home during the school year can be found in the main office. Both a parent and the student's signatures are required.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Mr. Caleb Akins, MA

Media Ministry Director

Andrews Academy

akins@andrews.edu

FACTS or Andrews Email Log In Help

If you need help logging in to FACTS or help with your Andrews email and password, please contact Mrs. Gina Meekma (ginam@andrews.edu) in the main office.

You can find your schedule, grades, missing assignments, etc. on FACTS.

Important Attendance Information

Pre-arranged Absences: Please be sure to fill out a pre-arranged absence card if you know in advance that you will be missing school due to a doctor/dentist/orthodontist appointment, trip, basketball tournament, driver's test, etc. These cards can be found in the main office or online. A parent's signature is required, then the office, and teacher(s) of the class(es) that you will miss.
Class Schedule Adjustment (CSA) Requests: A CSA is available for students who have a study hall at the beginning or ending of the school day or will be working during a study hall during the school day. A CSA is required for students who leave the Academy to attend classes at Andrews University, who are going to work off campus, or who wish to begin the school day later or leave earlier on a regular basis. The CSA request form must be filled out and signed by everyone indicated on the form before the student stops attending their study hall. Students must adhere to CSA guidelines that are printed on the CSA application. Any violation may cause the CSA to be revoked. I will email students and parents when a CSA is approved.
Other Absences: Parents, please call the front office (269-471-3138) or email aaattendance@andrews.edu if your student is going to be absent or tardy. These are the preferable methods.

Please provide the reason why your child will not be attending school and how long you think they will be out.

Parents/Guardians are the only authorized individuals who can excuse a student's attendance. When emailing, parents must send correspondence from their email account to maintain the validity of the request. Please include the name of the student.

From the Sourcebook (pg. 83):

Students who miss three (3) consecutive school days due to illness must provide written documentation from a certified medical professional corroborating the necessity of that absence.

For any attendance questions that you would like to ask by email, please direct these questions to aaattendance@andrews.edu.

Thank you!

Ms. Leslie Nieves
Guidance Counselor/Attendance Officer
Andrews Academy
269-471-3453

School Communications

The E-Sanjo and other communications from the school, including classroom teacher communications, use the email address(es) that you (and your parents) have recorded in FACTS when you registered for Andrews Academy. We will also use students' AU email address. Some have been wondering why they are not receiving their school communications to a certain email. If you wish to have communications sent to a specific email address, please send the change to ginam@andrews.edu. Thank you!