GREATER HOULTON
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

Happy Birthday to Sarah

GET INVOLVED IN THE BIKE-A-THON!

With an ambitious goal of $40,000 and amazing incentives, such as a FREE LAPTOP for EVERYONE who meets the minimum requirements, NOW is the time to get EXCITED about the 2008 Bike-a-Thon! Also called the Tour De Pitlock, the GHCA Bike-a-Thon is THE most CRUCIAL fundraiser we do. We need your involvement. We need your help. We need your excitement! Click here now to learn more about this year's ground-breaking Bike-a-thon fundraiser!

Note - The bike-a-thon committee is trying to track the pledges to see how close we are getting to the school goal for a DAY OFF FROM SCHOOL. If we reach $40,000 in pledges by May 21st, we will have a four day Memorial weekend! We will be checking how much each student has raised in pledges on the following days: May 5, 9, 12, 16, and 20.

UPDATE (05/09/2008) - pledges as of Friday, May 9th: $14,270

LAPTOP INITIATIVE - GET THE FAQS

Our new Laptop Initiative is generating a lot of questions. We anticipated this even before making the announcement, so we have created a separate section of the GHCA website to handle the various details regarding laptop use at GHCA. All material regarding the GHCA Laptop Initiative is available by clicking the link! If you later wish to access this subsection of our website, you can do so easily by entering http://www.ghca.com/laptops into your web browser's address field. Make sure to check out all the various pages, including the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you still have a question after thoroughly reading this material, email those questions to laptops@ghca.com. Your email will be forwarded to the appropriate personnel.

WALK-A-THON

Part of the Bike-a-Thon is an around-town walk, provided for those who either don't have bikes or are physically unable to bike. This too is a way to gain sponsors for the GHCA Annual Fund (see above headline). Of particular interest is Miss Gooding's plan, which includes her Mum and her "interesting ride". For more details, please check out Miss Gooding's Blog!

DC WASHINGTON CONCERT

UPDATES - Check Mr. Harris's blog for the latest news, updates, and info!

On May 24th, GHCA will be hosting a concert at the Houlton Wesleyan Church, 7:00 PM, featuring D.C. Washington from Springfield, Virginia. This concert will also feature an orchestra and band as accompaniment for Mr. Washington. Please visit www.dcwashington.org and read about D.C., as well as listen to samples of his music. Also, please tell your friends and family from all over about this concert. Invite them to come. I was once told that the best advertisement is by word of mouth. So, "Go ye therefore..." and tell all of this upcoming concert.

If you have any questions or are interested please call 532-0736, or email me at sharris@ghca.com.

POINTS OF DISTINCTION

The Board of Directors and the Administration of GHCA has just completed the work of a Five Year Strategic Plan. This plan will shortly be made available in its entirety on this website. One of the two strategies in this plan is to "Enhance our educational programs in order to create an environment of academic excellence." GHCA desires to maintain a learning environment that fosters academic excellence while encouraging dialogue and understanding as to how a biblical worldview interprets and affects the academic point of view and personal lifestyle..... To view these "Points of Distinction", you are highly encouraged to click here now!

SHOPPING FOR SCHOOL CLOTHES?

Click link to download the Revised Elementary Dress Code and the Revised Secondary (grades 7-12) Dress Code (opens with PDF reader).

With several parents recently offering excellent input and asking good questions regarding the recently posted dress code, there have been some modifications made that address the issues that were raised.  These modifications for both the elementary and secondary dress codes still maintain the original intent and integrity of the rationale of the school's dress code while offering parents the opportunity to keep their children's clothing expenses at a minimum. That rationale is that "a well-groomed and neatly dressed student should come to school with an attitude that prepares him for neat, conscientious work. His attire should convey respect for himself, his fellow students, and his teachers."

It is also recognized that if the parents and students do not regulate the child's dress, the school must do so. Therefore, it is the final responsibility of school personnel to check the students' compliance to the dress code and to enforce the policy. As hard and time-consuming as this may be, it will have to be done. We will commit to this task for the 2008-2009 school year. We thank each parent for sharing their thoughts with Mr. Jago.

We are looking forward to next school year and the exciting things we believe God is doing in and for our school.

2008-2009 SCHOOL CALENDAR ONLINE

You can now download next year's calendar in the portable document format (PDF). This will allow you to print out our calendar of important dates and hang it on your refrigerator! Of course, you are always encouraged to visit our website and click the "Events" link on the top of the page for the latest, detailed event listing.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Math Teacher Sought for 08-09 - GHCA is looking for a qualified high school math teacher. Must be a dedicated Christian gifted to teach and committed also to equipping young people to think and act biblically. In addition to overseeing and growing a strong Upper School math program, able to teach an introductory computer class is also preferred though not required. For more information, you can contact Head of School Mark B. Jago via email at headmaster@ghca.com or send your resume to 27 School Street, Houlton, Maine 04730.