The Asheville Citizen-Times published an article on our school today. Read the article and see some great photos at their website.

The New Classical Academy will hold an open house on February 5 from 5 to 7 pm at the Weaverville school. Mark your calendars and plan to attend, as the next few weeks promise to hold even more exciting developments for our school.

Good news on the expansion front! We have secured locations to open both of our proposed new schools. The New Classical Academy of Azalea will be located between Oteen and Swannanoa on Tunnel Road near Zaxby's Chicken. The building has four large classrooms, a huge open assembly room, a covered picnic shelter and a large flat grassy field for play. The building was formerly a church, and the new owners plan to put a coffee and ice cream shop in the front of the building, which should be fun for both parents and kids (not to mention teachers).

We have also been given the go ahead from the church in Sylva. We will hold an informational meeting there on Monday, January 29 at 6:30 pm. Go to our new Sylva School web page for more information and photos of this new school space.

Part of our philosophy at The New Classical Academy is that tuition should be all-inclusive. We try to set your tuition at such a level that we do not need to do small fundraisers or charge you for other expenses during the year. We will fund raise for two purposes-- capital campaigns and scholarship funds. All other needs of the school will be met either by tuition or by donation.

Parents are encouraged to donate their time and expertise by volunteering in the classroom, driving on field trips, and conducting special classes. Each school will maintain a "wish list" of items that anyone may donate. These donations will be fully tax deductible as The New Classical Academy is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation.

The only fund raising activity that will take place at the school sites will be the school store and curriculum sales. The school store will be run by the students. All profits from these activities will go to the scholarship fund.

When a school is ready to begin their capital campaign, a committee of parents will be formed. This committee will prepare a detailed plan and submit it to the Board of Directors of The New Classical Academy for approval.

We occasionally do off-site fund raisers like our popcorn sales. These are parent driven, fun events which put our name out into the community. If a parent would like to organize such an event, they should contact the directors for approval.

Our last day of school before winter break was an exciting one, with the entire student body reciting the Declaration of Independence and then performing a musical about the American Revolution. Lacey, 7th grade, played two of the songs on piano, and afterwards we shared food and holiday cheer. Speaking of pianos, the Comito family generously donated one and we have added music lessons to our curriculum. It is such a joy to hear our many accomplished pianists play each day, and to watch the younger students gain confidence as they practice simple tunes. We have also been doing Brain Gym every day and Andy's classroom is starting to look like Antarctica as the students transform it with the help of some plastic and a lot of styrofoam.

Kelly grew up in Syracuse, New York but has lived in Asheville with her husband Chris for 18 years. She has two children: Samantha, 16, and Colin, 13 (who attends TNCA). For part of the year, Kelly is the Vendor Director at The Lake Eden Arts Festival where she enjoys interacting with artists and musicians from all over the world. She has many interests including art, music, teaching, puppetry and drama, camping with her family and friends, gardening, cooking, and yoga. Kelly works one day a week in TNCA office and is also a substitute teacher. She loves working with the students and faculty and looks forward to learning and growing in this exceptional educational environment.