2018 TURNER COUNTY FAIR TACO STAND - Freeman Academy

Freeman Academy News and Notes
                                                        August 2018

            2018 TURNER COUNTY FAIR TACO STAND

       Freeman Academy will once again operate a food stand at the Turner
County Fair in Parker, SD, August 13-16 serving Indian tacos, soft shell tacos,
brats and French fries. This fundraiser generates around $20,000 for special
projects, events, equipment and the current fund. DID YOU KNOW that last year
we sold 2563 Indian Tacos and 1909 elephant ears? That means we used 559
frozen loaves of bread dough!!! Breaking that down, it averages 140 loaves per
day.
       The taco stand at the Turner County Fair is a GREAT OPPORTUNITY to
get started on parent volunteer hours for the new school year! It is also an
opportunity for us to generate income from outside of our local community
resources, and to present Freeman Academy hospitality and service to a
greater public audience. In fact, we have focused on presenting a stronger
image about Freeman Academy from the Taco Booth, eliminating the
separate enrollment and marketing booth that we staffed several years ago.
       IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR ALL FAMILIES TO
PARTICIPATE IN WORKING THIS EVENT! This is a project that takes
many hands, and it is also a FUN and great way to get to know other school
families. Even if you don’t participate in the parent volunteer hour program, we
need your help because ALL Freeman Academy students benefit from the funds
raised at this booth. This venture emphasizes adults and students working
TOGETHER! Student help from grades 7 – 12 is needed and welcomed, but
their work does not count as tuition reduction hours since they benefit directly
from the funds raised. Students in grades 5 and 6 are also welcome to work a
shift serving bottled drinks. We also invite alumni and FA friends to come out and
join us! All who work during one of the serving shifts will receive a personalized
food coupon to be used at our stand.
       Work begins the week before the fair with one day of cleaning the fair
booth. Contact a committee member for more details. Please consider working

more than one shift during the fair. We have approximately 152 worker positions
to fill. Individuals and/or families may choose to work a double shift on one day
rather than drive to Parker on two different times, OR persons might take a shorter
shift on two or three different days if coming to the fair for other reasons. Choose
from the shift times listed below:

Monday only: 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – sanitizing equipment
Monday through Thursday Shifts:
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. food preparation (dicing and chopping)
11:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. cooking and serving the public*
3:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. cooking and serving the public
5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. cooking and serving the public
7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m./closing cooking and serving the public, clean up
Thursday night only: 9:00 p.m. – until booth is cleaned (DOUBLE parent
hours!)

*Cooking and serving the public stations include:
Brats/greeter,  french fries fryer,
dough prep,     dough fryer,
elephant ears,  nachos,
taco assembly,  drinks,
cashier,        assistant to committee/dishwasher

*** Heather Haggerty is setting up the worker schedule…please contact her (925-
7549) or login to the Google calendar she sent out July 17 to reserve your desired
day/time/position. Thanks so much!!!!

Due to the strict guidelines given to us by the state health departments, please
observe the following:
    WEAR CLOSED-TOE SHOES!! ABSOLUTELY NO SANDALS OR
     FLIPFLOPS!!
    Long hair must be pulled back.
    Wear your FREEMAN ACADEMY CAP. We will have FA caps available
     for you to borrow. (We request that all workers wear a FA cap.)
    Do not wear jewelry. Ponytail bands are not to be worn on wrists.
    Wear appropriate clothing while representing FA. No spaghetti strap
     tops, muscle shirts, skimpy shorts/skirts, or anything with offensive
     images/messages.
    Do not touch hair, face or body while working in the booth.

 No eating or drinking in the booth.
Also, eat before or after your shift. Please do not plan to eat during your shift
unless you are working a double shift.
      Questions may be directed to the committee members: Lois Wollman (387-
5600), Sonja Waltner (925-4722), Joline Thomas (925-7075), Michelle Fink (659-
5591) or Janet Balzer (648-3822).

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FA Opening Convocation
All parents, students and community members are invited to attend the 2018-19
school year opening activities held on the evening of August 19. The evening
begins with a picnic supper served in the Link from 5:30-6:30 p.m. At 7:00 p.m.
we will gather in Pioneer Hall for a service of blessing for the new school year. All
faculty and staff will be introduced along with new students.

Deadlines on Registration Forms
ALL FORMS are due August 1 in the FA business office. Students will not be
given FA computer log on access on the first day of school if all forms are not
submitted by due dates.
If your student is participating in Soccer, Cross Country or Volleyball, ALL
physical forms must be in the office PRIOR to the first practice.
      Soccer practice will start on July 30 at 7:30 p.m. until dark.
      Cross country practice will start on August 9.
      Volleyball practice will start on August 9.
If your student will be participating in any of the grades 5-12 FA athletic programs
this school year, please make an appointment immediately to have their school
athletic physical completed.
All forms are required for homeschool students who are participating in ANY
Freeman Academy athletics, high school choir/instrumental contests or are taking
any educational courses. These forms can be found on the FA website.

First Day of School
The first day of school will be August 22 and will begin at 8:00 a.m. for ALL
STUDENTS.

Student Absences
A parent or guardian needs to call the school office, 925-4237, to report all student
absences or tardiness BEFORE 8:00 a.m. Please leave a message on the
receptionist phone. If parent notification is not received within 24 hours of each
day’s absence or tardy, the absence or tardy will be considered “unexcused” and
may affect student classroom credit that day.
DO NOT leave absence/tardy messages directly on any teacher’s voicemail. If you
choose to email your notification of student absence, please email at least 2 of the
following: Nathan Epp, nepp@freemanacademy.org, Judy Graber,
jgraber@freemanacademy.org, and Jill Hofer, jhofer@freemanacademy.org.
If your student is ill and will be gone more than one day, please call and leave a
message each day. Do not assume that school officials are aware that your student
is still ill.

Locks on Lockers
While FA Is typically a safe environment, unfortunately each year we have a
number of items taken from locker rooms, classrooms and hallway lockers.
Students are encouraged to be careful with their valuables. Keep valuable items at
home, locked in lockers or in school bags.

School Pictures
Individual and group class pictures of all students in grades 1-11 will be taken by
Joe Mason, art instructor. We will alert you to a timeline when we have this
information.

Calendar Reminders
     July 30         Soccer practice begins
     August 1        ALL registration forms are due in the FA business office
     August 9        Cross Country & Volleyball practice begins
     August 13-16    Turner County Fair – FA Taco Booth
     August 17       Teacher In-Service
     August 19       Opening Convocation Activities
                                  5:30-6:30 p.m. - Picnic Supper in Link
                                  7:00 p.m. – Convocation Program in PH
     August 20-21    Teacher In-Service
     August 21       7 p.m. FA Board meeting
     August 22       8 a.m. FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL; Booster Club Breakfast
     August 24       All School Retreat
     August 26       HS Retreat

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                            TRIP News and Updates

TRIP Tip

Parent Lois Wollman: I use TRIP to easily mail gift cards for out-of-state
graduations and weddings we are unable to attend. It’s convenient and pays back
at the same time! Also, if you didn't think ahead to get the plastic cards (speaking
from personal experience), it works fine to order "ScripNow" and print it within
minutes on your home printer.

Share your best TRIP tip with us for a chance to win a $25 gift card to a local
business of your choice!

TRIP Schedule

Orders Due / Pick Up Days
Friday, July 27 / Friday, August 3
Friday, August 10 / Friday, August 17
Friday, August 24 / Friday, August 31

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INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

The 2018-2019 school year is starting soon! If instruments need to be repaired or
cleaned, please see that they are finished before school starts. All woodwind
players need to have at least 3 good reeds to begin the year and percussionists must
have at least one pair of snare drum sticks with wood tips. All instrument cases
must be marked with a durable name tag. If you would like Mrs. Ries to order any
supplies such as reeds, valve oil, slide grease, drum sticks, etc. please send an
email to her school address, dries@freemanacademy.org. Please check the school
supply list for other information.

Students in grades 7-12 should bring their instruments on the first day of
school! Fifth grade students will have the opportunity to choose a band instrument
during the first few weeks of school during grade 5-6 band period. Students will
explore the woodwind, brass and percussion instruments by getting a chance to
hold and play instruments from each group. Mrs. Ries will be in contact with the
grade 5 parents during this process, but parents should feel free to contact her with
any questions they might have during this time. Other new students should contact
Mrs. Ries during the first week of school if they would like to learn how to play an
instrument. Lessons will begin shortly after instrument selection is completed.

Lessons are a very important part of a band student’s development and are
required of band students in grades 5-8. If you have a child in grades 6-8, please
contact Mrs. Ries by school email about scheduling lessons for your child. High
school students wishing to take lessons should contact their teachers. Teachers
need to be in place by September 4. You can find more detailed information
concerning private music lessons in the FA Private Music Lesson Policy which is
also included in this newsletter. Please contact Mrs. Ries with any questions or
concerns that you may have.

Reminders:
High School All-State Orchestra auditions are in mid-October.
Middle schoolers have their All-State Band audition music.
Now is the time to get instruments checked over and cleaned.
Purchase or order reeds and other supplies needed.

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South Dakota High School Honor Choir Concert, August 3
Phillip Balzer, Areli Cortes and Beau Miller will be representing Freeman
Academy at the 45th annual SD-ACDA Honor Choir concert on August 3 in Sioux
Falls, SD. Each spring, sophomores and juniors are invited to audition for this top
South Dakota high school choir. The 150-member choir is under the direction of
Judith Herrington, founder and artist director of Tacoma Youth Chorus in Tacoma,
WA. The week-long camp will take place at the University of Sioux Falls.
In addition to the students’ honor choir, an alumni choir is scheduled to rehearse.
The adult alumni choir is a part of the concert on Friday night and will sing two
numbers with the high school honor choir.
The concert will be held at the beautiful Mary W. Sommervold Hall of the
Washington Pavilion. Tickets are only available through the Washington Pavilion
Box Office. All tickets are general admission. Tickets prices are $15.00 (plus tax)
through the box office or $16.00 (plus tax) for orders online and over the phone.
The public is invited to attend the concert starting at 7:30 p.m.
Congratulations to Phillip, Areli, and Beau!

HS Choir/Chamber
All high school students interested in participating in the choir program are
welcome to join the concert choir. Concert choir meets Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays from 12:42-1:33 p.m. Members are required to attend all classes and
performances.
Chamber choir is an auditioned choir. Students must be a member of the concert
choir and a full-time student to audition for chamber choir. Class times for
chamber choir will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:08-11:00 a.m. Members
are required to attend all classes and performances. This choir also travels to the
Mennonite Schools Choral Festival in April.
Students who would like to audition for chamber choir should come to the choir
room in the music hall on Thursday, August 23 during third period (10:08-11:00
a.m.), prepared to audition at that time.

Audition Expectations:
    Sing a song either accompanied or unaccompanied. This song can be a
     hymn, contest solo or a song you wrote.
    Be prepared to do some sight-singing.
    Tonal memory – Mrs. Vetch will play a few notes and student will sing them
     back to her.

Should you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to contact Mrs.
Vetch at ahofer@freemanacademy.org.
A note to the parents: Each year FA is invited to participate and share in worship
at Hutterthal Mennonite Church, Salem-Zion (North) Mennonite Church and
Salem (South) Mennonite Church, all of rural Freeman. All concert choir
members are expected to attend and participate in these services. Please put the
following dates on your calendars!
    October 14 - Hutterthal Mennonite Church                           9:45 a.m.
     worship
    October 21 - Salem (South) Mennonite Church                        9:30 a.m.
     worship
    October 21 - Salem-Zion (North) Mennonite Church                   10:30 a.m.
     worship

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                      FA Private Music Lesson Policy
                                    2018-2019

Private vocal and instrumental lessons are available for students at Freeman
Academy. Students who take private lessons usually develop and improve their
skills faster and with more confidence. High School students wanting to participate
in the various musical groups at Freeman Academy as well as auditioning for state
and national events are strongly encouraged to take private lessons. (Several of the
FA student body do typically study with a private music teacher.) FA music
instructors, Amy Hofer Vetch and Donna Ries, are available for private music
lessons on campus along with the instructors listed below.

*All 5th-8th graders who want to participate in Band are required to take lessons
during the school year.

Scheduling and Cancellation
Private lessons are scheduled during the school day at a time that is mutually
agreeable to the student, the lesson teacher, and the classroom teacher. It is our
goal to schedule at least ten (10) lessons per trimester, possibly up to twelve. If a
student knows of a conflict with a scheduled lesson, he/she must inform the teacher
to try to reschedule. A 24-hour notice is requested. After one unexcused missed
lesson, the student’s account will be charged for missed lessons. In the case of a
student’s illness or injury, notice must be given to the instructor, if possible, or to
the office staff and lessons will be attempted to be rescheduled. If the instructor is
ill, the office staff will inform the students and lessons will be attempted to be
rescheduled.

Billing
The billing of lessons given by FA instructors will occur at the end of each
trimester. Student accounts will be charged at that time. Fees for Mrs. Hofer Vetch
and Mrs. Ries are set at $13 per half-hour lesson for the 2017-2018 school year.

This policy refers to FA Music faculty giving lessons to students occurring
during the school day. Lessons not given during school hours are not covered
under this policy and may have other arrangements. If you are taking lessons
from someone else, please inquire about their private studio policies and fees.

Instruction available w/FA Music Faculty
Donna Ries                                    Amy Hofer Vetch

   -Brass Instruments                             -Piano
   -Various Instrumentation                              -Voice

Private Instructors w/lessons on campus
Daniel Graber
   -Woodwind Instruments (double reed instruments not included)
   -Piano

Beth Preheim
  -Violin
  -Fiddle

Michelle Friesen
   - Piano