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Monday morning, Jackson Academy families awoke to snow on the ground and enjoyed the day off from school to play in the snow. The school’s administration announced Sunday that school would be closed Monday as a winter storm blanketed parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and, most importantly, Mississippi, in snow.
The Mississippi Association of Independent Schools held the annual concert band clinic Thursday and Friday in an abbreviated fashion. Jackson Academy musicians were among those who auditioned via recordings to perform with musicians from other independent schools. MAIS limited the clinic to 50 students this year. Students from eight schools earned spots. In a socially distanced setting at Hinds Community College, nine students represented JA, most holding first or second chair positions.
On Thankful Thursday, third and fourth graders reflect on the people and things they feel grateful for. They write their thoughts in gratitude journals, and on some Thursdays, they write their thoughts in letters to the people they are thankful for. “Ms. Love has started doing Thankful Thursday each week during her morning message to the Lower School,” Fourth Grade Teacher Abbie Cox explained. “In conjunction with this, many teachers have discussed being thankful more in depth on Thursdays in their morning meeting. Now more than ever, it is so important to recognize the many blessings we have been given.”
Yesterday, JA fourth graders looked at their math classrooms from a new perspective. Rulers in hand, they searched out items to measure, learning the length of desks, books, and even floor tiles as they studied measurement.
At JA, our fourth graders do math a little differently. Around 2005, Head of the Lower School Sarah Love heard of another school that had started dividing boys and girls into same-sex classes for mathematics. Love began doing research on her own and implemented gender-based math classes in 2006.
JA brightens up the season each year with a “Merry JA Christmas Carpool,” this year held Thursday, December 10. Special friends such as Elsa, Ana, and the Grinch, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Claus, delighted students during their morning arrival.
College is different from high school, no doubt. Last week members of the class of 2018, 2019, and 2020 joined the current senior class in the Learning Commons to talk about the college experience. The first panel was held on Wednesday and attended by senior girls, who heard from Reese Anderson ‘20, Kennedy Nations ‘20, Azaria McDowell ‘20, Kayla Shepherd ‘20, Lizzy Childress ‘20, Avery Hederman ’19, Olivia Stringer ‘18, Skylar Alexander ‘19, and Erin Hederman, ‘19. The senior boys heard from Brent Butler ‘20, David Robertson ‘18, Miles Johnson ‘20, and Joseph Adams ‘20 the next day during their lunch break.
Jackson Academy’s fall athletes played exciting and rewarding seasons this semester, and celebrated together as circumstances allowed. Players and fans alike overcame the challenges of playing and supporting sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we recognize the varsity football team, the cheer and dance teams, the softball team, and the varsity and junior varsity girls soccer teams. Congratulations to each student athlete and team on their accomplishments!
The Board of Trustees of Jackson Academy announced Thursday that W. Palmer Kennedy has been named the next Head of School. He will join JA in July of 2021.
Jackson Academy’s fall athletes played exciting and rewarding seasons this fall, and celebrated the end of their season with awards events. Players and fans alike overcame the challenges of playing and supporting sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to recognize our students’ accomplishments. This week, we recognize the junior high football teams, the cross country teams, and the volleyball teams. Congratulations to each student athlete on their accomplishments! We look forward to recognizing our remaining fall athletes next week.
November 9 through 13, Jen Henson led an intense, five-day ACT preparation boot camp for Jackson Academy’s junior class. With 22 years of experience as a high school English teacher and nearly ten years owning her ACT coaching company Goal Digger, Henson’s work equipped students with a detailed map to increasing their scores and potentially locking in more competitive scholarships. During a break in her day, we sat down with Henson and asked for her top three tips on how parents can help their children prepare to perform their best on the test.