Eighth Grade Missions Team Prepares for Trip

You can see from the above picture and the website slideshow that the 8th graders were clowning around on Saturday! Many thanks to Miss Rachel McLaughlin and our helpers for showing them how to apply their clown faces. Mrs. Mitchell did another great job leading them through the practices on their skits! Miss McLaughlin remarked on how well this group did today compared to others.

The team will be going to Corpus Christi, Texas this year to minister to children and adults and work with a new church plant to draw the people to that church. The trip is April 1-7, 2009.

It is heart-breaking to see the violence that is taking place in Juarez, Mexico where we have been ministering since 1991. We ask you to pray - I have the feeling that you will be hearing more about what is happening there in the future because it is spilling into the US.

You can follow the team further at http://fmcsmissions.blogspot.com/

PK3 - Preschool Scavenger Hunt

It was great to see Mrs. Jean (teacher), parents and students out for a scavenger hunt on campus - looking and exploring for items that they have been talking about in class! PARENTS - TEACHERS -STUDENTS WORKING TOGETHER - THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT!

Excuse Me if I Get Nostalgic Today

I can't help but focus on school history today - a 20 year anniversary. It was 20 years ago TODAY that the Lady Eagles High School basketball team played in the state semi-finals, and then the finals of the Class A State Basketball Tournament. As a coach, it was one of the highlights of my life and a group of young ladies that started the year unranked in the state, and then ended the year #2 in the state! (We lost in the finals) They gave all that they had and we enjoyed a memorable journey that I will not forget. We were:

- the first state basketball game played in the Lakeland Civic Center

- the first team to score a point for a high school state basketball game in that location

- the team to win a state basketball game at the Lakeland Civic Center

- the first girls basketball team in SOUTHWEST FLORIDA BASKETBALL HISTORY to make it to the state finals

THANK YOU LADY EAGLES BASKETBALL 88-89!

Kingdom Assignment Ends This Weekend!

First: a praise

Mr. Mitchell- I just wanted to share my experience with Kingdom Assignment. A few weeks ago my Mom reviewed the assignment with me & we read Matt 25 & talked about what it meant. My Mom knows someone who sells perfumes, so we called her & she sent us a large box of colognes and perfumes. We made Valentines gift baskets and baked cookies, chocolate covered strawberries & cupcakes, along with other goodies. We turned the $5 into a lot of baskets (with a little help from my Mom) and have raised about $200 so far. Thank you for the Assignment. I sure hope that we all raise a lot of money.

God Bless - PK3 Family

Second - Monday, please bring your kingdom assignment in a sealed envelope so they can mark your name off their list as returning the money. It would be great to slip a short note in the envelope and tell us what you did!

Lee County Spelling Bee

At tonight's Lee County Spelling Bee, 45 students competed for the local championship and a chance to go to the finals in Washington D.C.on ESPN/ABC.

You can see the replay online - click here

Congratulations to 8th graders, Maria Swiersz and Jordan Gulbrunson for representing FMCS.
GREAT JOB: Jordan did make it to the final 15 before going out. (He officially finished 13th)

8:32 p.m. update - Through three rounds, 15 students remained alive in the Lee County Spelling Bee this evening at Three Oaks Middle School.

1. Christian Dimaculagan, Veterans Park Academy
2. Jimmy Stafford, Trafalgar Middle
5. Deshani Semann, Mariner Middle
10. Jordan Gulbronson, Fort Myers Christian
13. Allie Pakrosnis, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle
14. Michael Bobman, Crestwell School
18. Nicholas Betancourt, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle
25. Johanna Gyure, Crestwell School
26. Madelyn Pendarvis, Alva Middle
28. Jennifer Lear, Trafalgar Middle
33. Ashley Stewart, St. Francis Xavier
40. Maria Monroy, Lexington Middle
43. Michael Wozny, Gulf Middle
44. Lanaii Canada, Bonita Springs Middle
46. Kurt Ekdahi, Mariner Middle

Sixth Grade Science - Physics

From 6th grade science teacher, Stacey Leatherman:

In 6th grade science we took learning outside today. This chapter focused on Motion and Machines - students built courses that would demonstrate Newton's Three Laws of Motion. They were each given a toy car (many thanks to Daniel Betzer for providing them) and were able to utilize any raw materials they could find in Mathew's Garden. You can see that the results were not only interesting but fun! By the end of the class they all knew Newton's Three Laws and what the Three Laws meant. Yea for making learning fun! We love that in Leatherman world!

FMCS Family Night at Chuck E Cheese

We had a great turnout tonight at our Parent University Family Night at Chuck E Cheese! Thank you for coming - 15% of all sales went back to the school (we will let you know when we have a total). Thanks to Chuck E. for coming to school today! (check out the slideshow on the blog for more pictures)

Thank You Parents!

Your involvement in fundraisers is paying off! Many thanks to all of you for providing the funds to make our playgrounds safer with wood mulch and rubber mulch. Thanks to Parent University and to First Assembly of God's maintenance director, Jeff Hoffman.

Kindergarten - Future Firefighters!

Many thanks to the South Trail Fire and Rescue Squad for their service to the community and for hosting our kindergarten students today. (Special thanks to Mrs. Lauer for providing pictures)

Kingdom Assignment Reminder

Last week to complete your Kingdom Assignment!

Here's another praise report of what our students and familes have been doing:

Dear Principal Mitchell,

Last weekend we enjoyed some family time baking cookies and preparing for our Kingdom Assignment “outing”. (My son) was able to stretch his $5.00 into $151.00 (and counting) by selling home-made cookies to friends within the neighborhood. He was so happy to have raised money for the Financial Aid program at FMCS….and had lots of fun doing it.

Fifth Grader Honored at City Hall!

Today at Fort Myers City Hall, fifth grader, Tyler Williams, was honored along with five other students as the February winners of the Fort Myers Police Department’s “Do The Right Thing” award. (Pictures below, Tyler and family at the awards; Tyler sitting in the mayor's chair in the hall chambers - a sign of the future?)

Congratulations to Tyler and his family. He was nominated by his teacher, Robin Couch. This is her nominating letter:

Dear Do the Right Thing Program,

Tyler Williams is a fifth grader at Fort Myers Christian School. He just celebrated his 11th birthday in November. He received some money as gifts from friends and relatives and discussed with his mom about sharing with others less fortunate. During the Thanksgiving holidays, Tyler’s Spanish teacher suffered a sudden stroke. The school has been praying for Mrs. Rivera as she struggles to breathe on her own and recover from this devastating event. Her family is missing work and staying at her bedside in ICU. Tyler has decided to give some of his birthday money to help the Rivera family during this holiday season.

The Rivera’s will face hospital bills and an uncertain future as Mrs. Rivera is still in Intensive Care. He plans to provide a meal for their family and give his money towards helping them during this difficult time. I feel that Tyler’s actions show exemplary behavior and a heart for others. I proudly would like to nominate him for Do The Right Thing.

Sincerely,
Robin Couch
Fifth Grade Teacher

Basketball Upset!

Congratulations to the boys 7/8 varsity team for pulling a shocker at Southwest Florida Christian Academy (SFCA) in the first round of the playoffs! The boys won 49-37 and move on to the semifinals Thursday at St. Michaels.

Alumni Congratulations

My wife and I had the honor to attend a ceremony ar Grace United Methodist for FMCS alumni, Jacob Derums. Jacob reached the level of Eagle Scout - only about 5% of all Boy Scouts achieve this honor, 1.7 million SINCE 1912! Congratulations to Jacob and his family! FYI - it just so happens that his Scoutmaster is FMCS alumni, Steven Howard ('87).



-- Post From My iPhone

Thank You Grandparents!

The fact that it was "Friday the 13th" had no impact on an excellent Grandparents Day at FMCS! We were blessed with over 200 in attendance, a great music program led by a special "make-shift" Jamaican band, Dorothy Gulbronson and the kids, Pastor Dan Betzer, and activities in the classroom. The school was also blessed by the new members of the Grandparents Club who have already given $4849 and pledged $2285 for a total of $7134!!! Grandparents continue leaving a legacy in providing financial assistance to help students attend FMCS. It was a great day! Many thanks to Mrs. Liz Allen, parent volunteers, faculty, staff, aides and teachers.

Underground Railroad

The 8th grade was busy again today! This time with Mrs. Mitchell's on-campus reanactment of the Underground Railroad for history class!
-- Post From My iPhone

Basketball Playoffs Update

From the "office" of the Suncoast Junior High League: junior high boys and girls playoffs begin next week. The regular season ends this week.

The boys finished fifth in the league, and will start next Tuesday at SFCA.

The girls finished sixth in the league and next Tuesday will play at St. Andrews.

The semi-finals and finals would all be at the Highest Seeded team school. Semi-Finals on Thursday 2-19-09, and Finals on Tuesday 2-24-09.

Eighth Graders Participate in Natiional Assessment Today

The eighth grade class participated in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress this morning. Our school and 19 other private and public schools are involved in the assessment. The NAEP will administer assessments in mathematics, reading, and science to over 50 million students. For more information, go to http://nces.we.gov/nationsreportcard/


-- Post From My iPhone

Academic Standouts

Today the middle school spelling bee was held in the Colonial Chapel. The winners who will represent FMCS at the Lee County Bee are: first place, Jordan Gulbronson and second place, Maria Swiersz! Special thanks to our judges: Mrs. Crouch, Mrs. Leatherman and Miss Shrader.

The certificates for the FMCS science fair were passed out by Mrs. Leatherman - first place was Zach Liebetreu for his study on the best contact lense solution that kills germs (Clear Care); Maria Swiersz was second with her study on Gatorade vs. Water.

Parent University Cafe

We had a great turnout this morning of over 20 parents for the Parent University meeting. We have had an excellent year in leadership and involvement and look forward to a great second semester! Please check the calendar for the Chuckie Cheese Family Night, Coldstone Night, coin drive, gold tournament and more. Next meeting (which we had free coffee donated from Starbuck the last two meetings) will be March 16th.

-- Post From My iPhone

Over 70 Dads and Daughters Enjoy Breakfast Together!

After a great WAY-FM Concert Friday, I had a great morning back at the school with our first Parent University Dads and Daughters breakfast. We had a great turnout - over 70 dads and daughters - enjoyed pancakes, sausage, bacon, OJ and coffee! We packed out the Children's Center cafeteria and then made our way over to the Kidztown chapel and a special message from Pastor Dave Richards on becoming Superdads! He took the word "hero" and challenged us to make sure we do four things with our daughters:

H - hugs

E - encourage

R - recreation

O - observe

I want to thank our donor for providing the funds to pay for an outstanding breakfast from Rene's Catering, Pastor David for the message, and my volunteers who did a great job: Joan Faux, Nancy Romstadt, Wendy Fulton, Joni Schopke and Courtney Schokpe. (I also want to thank my daughter Robin for helping me also)

The Father/Son breakfast is coming March 7, 2009. If we have anyone that would like to volunteer to help, email me at MMitchell@fmcs-fl.com

I want to continue to encourage the dads to plug into http://www.allprodad.com/ (even moms should check out http://www.imom.com/

Great Night at First Assembly: WAY-FM Concert Rocks and Packs the House!

A sold out crowd had a great time Friday night at the WAY-FM concert at First Assembly of God. The school and church partnered with WAY-FM and World Vision to provide a great night with Sanctus Real, Matthew West and Jason Gray. Their music and words blessed us, challenged us, and invited us to strengthen our faith in Christ!

I want to give a HUGE thanks to Colleen Marinello for all of her hard work coordinating the concert with the school, church and WAY-FM! Thanks to Brian Finger for setting this concert up for us months ago!

A THOUSAND thanks to the team effort of First Assembly staff and FMCS's staff, faculty, school board and parents who volunteered in many different areas before, during and after the concert.

WHAT A BLESSING to hear the comments from WAY-FM and each of the concert groups on how they were treated by the church and school! Jason Gray even bragged about Mary Snyder's food from the stage during the concert!!!!

I am not sure what the final count was but at one point over 61 African children were sponsored at the concert through Worldvision!

FMCS and Grant Writing News

When Pastor Brian Finger was with us at the start of the year, we was very instrumental in helping us get the assistance of a professional grant writer to help us at the school. We would like to introduce to you Mrs. Mindy Hoeth to help you find out who she is, understand how this process works and let you know how to pray for funds for FMCS:

My name is Mindy Hoeth and I'm blessed to be working with FMCS. I'm a member of First Assembly of God, volunteer as Dean of Students at Fort Myers Master's Commission, and serve in various ministries within the church. Pastor Finger asked me, last year, if I'd be interested in working with FMCS to identify grant resources. I immediately said "Yes", as I'm a fan of the school, but more so - believe in and support Christian education. I'm grateful to Pastor Finger - a mighty man of God and a man I'm honored to call friend.

After Pastor Finger's departure, I was uncertain as to how we would proceed. However, after meeting with Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Ryba, and Mrs. O'Brien a few weeks ago, we decided to proceed in the grant identification, grant writing, and grant administration process - and as they say in the movies, the rest is history! I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with such an esteemed group of people and looking forward to meeting teachers, parents, students, and other important stakeholders as I undertake the grant writing phase.

The grant identification phase is complete and I'm now in the process of relationship building with Foundations and the actual grant writing. Please pray that God opens the doors to the right people and the right people are receptive. As I continue to build these relationships, pray that our needs meet their scope of giving; i.e. our priorities are programs they will fund. Please pray that the information required is easily accessible and that God anoints my writing.

These are tenuous times in the grant-making and grant-seeking industry. Many Foundations' funds have been severely impacted due to the financial crisis. Many are freezing their giving for two or three grant cycles. All Foundations are being more selective than ever in granting monies only to programs and organizations that meet their scope -- to a "t". Some Foundations have been so severely impacted that they have been forced to shut down. It's vital that we all understand what we're facing as we seek money in a day and time of economic turmoil. I'm not ignoring the reality of the situation but I'm choosing to keep my eye on my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who tells me that "All things are possible to those who believe" - and I believe.

I appreciate your support and prayers . . . there is power in prayer.

FMCS is blessed and thankful to have Mindy with us - we will continue to support and pray for her as she looks for grants to help us improve our technology, supplemental academic programs, playgrounds, programs, and find opportunities to help our teachers in their professional development. Look for more of her updates in the future as news breaks in this area...

Student Scholarship News!

FMCS is proud to announce that 8th grader, (in order from above) Wray Burgess, Brian Richards and Jordan McBreen will be receiving partial scholarships from Bishop Verot High School. The school is sponsoring the 3rd Annual Father Chris Hudgin Scholar Awards. During the first semester students from FMCS, St. Andrews, St. Michaels, and St. Francis qualified. To earn this recognition, students must achieve a 90 percent or better in math or reading as seventh-graders on the SAT. They were then invited to take the Preliminary Scholarship Aptitude Test, or PSAT. (given to high school juniors and seniors) A score of 50 or better in any of the test´s categories - critical reading, math and writing -will earn them a $500 scholarship; two, a $1000 scholarship; and three, a $1500 scholarship. Wray was awarded a $1500 scholarship; Jordan was awarded a $1000 scholarship; and Brian was awarded a $500 scholarship.

A "Special" Email

A surprise email in my inbox tonight as we start Kingdom Assignment V:

Dear Principal Mel -

What a joy it was when your blog got "google alerted" to me because of the words Kingdom Assignment. My name is Leesa Bellesi and my husband, Denny and I founded Kingdom Assignment International when we handed out 100 dollars to 100 people to our congregation back in November 2000.

Sounds like you have carried on the message in a most beautiful way with your students.
Would love to hear more.

Please check out our website at www.kingdomassignment.org (see the WELL DONE Awards).

God's richest blessings to you, your family and your daily assignments for Him -

Leesa Bellesi
Kingdom Assignment International
"turning heads and hearts into the hands and feet of Christ"