Our incredible school community continues to exceed all of our expectations. We are having the privilege this year of seeing our students thrive. They are producing incredible work, getting excited about mundane things (like memorizing the Declaration of Independence), making friends, play acting, drawing, painting, knitting, embroidering, conducting experiments, taking tests, eating popcorn, arguing, debating, laughing, singing, playing soccer and loving school to the fullest extent.

Andy and crew have been working hard on the grounds planting a few plants and lots of bulbs (which will show their colors in spring). Andy and the scientists have also been setting up and maintaining the aquariums at school which were generously donated by Warren and Pam Riggle. After a rocky start, the fish are now thriving in their new home.

The first play of the year, "The Gentle Giant Killer" , was a resounding success. Parents packed the assembly room to see our students in a comedy about delusions of grandeur and grammar. The drama students are now preparing for their next production, a musical about the American Revolution. Performance date is set for Friday, December 15 at 1:30. Emma Frellick will be the assistant director.

Popcorn was popular at the Lake Eden Arts Festival this year. The New Classical Academy sold popcorn on the porch of child care and had help from Daisy, Leroy, Emily H, Kate M, Mia R, Tatiana, Luther and Daisy Mabel. The money from the fund raiser will be added to our scholarship fund. Let Kelly know if you would like to help sell popcorn at LEAF in May, as this will be a biannual event.

On this, the one year anniversary of our first newsletter, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for keeping your subscription to our newsletter and for taking the time to read about us. As it is election day I would like to share our philosophy about the governance of the school and address one aspect of our mission statement.

Kate and I have a very strong vision for The New Classical Academy, and we plan to work for many years to bring that vision to full fruition. Kate and I will remain on our board of directors for as long as it takes to bring about our vision. As far as the day to day running of the school goes, our teachers and staff (who are often school parents as well) are full partners in this venture. We believe in finding consensus and building our staff into a team which shares all the joy and commitment to education that we do.

Finally the students participate in their own democracy: from choosing teams and making playground rules to the school newspaper, every student has an equal say and an equal vote. In these and many other ways we hope to fulfill our goal of creating the democratic citizens of tomorrow, today. I hope you'll agree with me that it would be wonderful to bring this opportunity to a world of children and that we should work towards that goal. In doing so we will take nothing away from our currently enrolled students but instead will spread the joy that is The New Classical Academy to as many children as possible.

Denise Hedges is a results-oriented Personal and Business Coach, speaker, and trainer. She coaches busy professional women and small business owners, nationally and internationally, to be successful and fulfilled in their careers while creating more time, balance, and joy in their personal lives. Denise has helped hundreds of women create the lives they want through individual and group coaching as well as customized workshops.

She has a BA in Psychology, a Masters Degree in Counseling, and is a graduate of Coach University.

Her clients benefit from her considerable business experience managing multimillion-dollar projects. She’s owned and operated a successful small business specializing in marketing and promotions, was the Executive Director of a thriving non-profit organization, and a fundraiser who generated over a million dollars annually. Her management skills were exemplified in her role as Festival Coordinator, responsible for Bele Chere, the largest, free outdoor street festival in the Southeast.