One Hundred Three Years of SDA Ed!!!

May 20, 2022: Police Therapy Dog: Officer Brice Woolly and K-9 Officer Rip Woolly: Officer Woolly brought the police therapy dog, Rip, a large poodle, to our classroom. What fun!! The dog is different from most K-9 officers. He is not tasked with catching and biting, or even search and rescue, but with providing therapy for stressed out people in extreme situations, for instance, if a child has just lost a parent in a traffic accident, or an officer has had to deal with an excruciating experience in trying to serve the public. Our city is very fortunate and very unusual in having a police therapy dog!

We were also fortunate to have Sgt. Brice Woolly, who was Ardmore Police Department's "Officer of the Year" for 2020. Officer Woolly talked seriously with the students about their physical safety and their safety when online. What better way to educate students than to bring an impressive Officer Woolly and his inspiring partner, K-9 Officer Rip, to class!

May 6, 2022: Nutrition Expert: Dr. Diana Fleming from the popular "Full-Plate Diet" online came to talk with the students about having a really sound, healthful, nutritious, and delicious diet. It was a very "tasteful" presentation--and one that could potentially save students lots of pain and disease later!

May 3, 2022: Hospital Careers Day: Mrs. Hutson RN Anesthetist, brought some anesthesiology equipment and talked to the students about her career as a nurse and a nurse anesthetist. She highlighted some issues, not just with pain management, but with surgery and respiratory functioning. The students were absorbed in the subject and interacted freely and enthusiastically with Mrs. Hutson! We're so glad she came!

April 21-22, 2022: Growing in a safe and healthy way: Dr. Jill Carlson, a child psychiatrist, came to help girls and boys understand important things as they grow up. She answered tons of questions and gave very good information. The students got a good education!

Mar. 31, 2022: Bird Lady: Brenda Schnell, a local bird expert, came to the school to light up the students' interest in birds! It was very informative and quite enjoyable! The students were energized to notice the birds and pay attention to the wonderful life of birds. Did you know there is a bird that flew non-stop for 9 days straight? There is a lot more fun things to know about birds than most people dream of!

Mar. 24 & Mar. 29, 2022: Ministry to the Ukraine: Ardmore Adventist Academy sent 165 cards of encouragement to the refugee children in the Ukraine. The students drew pictures and also colored pictures with encouraging messages on them. These were take by a member of the Gideon Rescue Company to the Ukraine where they have sent up a project to help refugees. Then on March 29, another member of the Rescue Company was leaving for the Ukraine, and we sent 237 more cards, making a total of 402 cards! Each card had both an English message of some sort and a Ukrainian message. It was a LOT of work, but we were happy to be helping in any way we could!

Mar. 21, 2022: Garlic Education: The students learned about garlic today. They pulled cloves apart to prepare them for planting. Some had never handled garlic before, and knew nothing about how it grows, how it helps your immune system, and how good it is; but it was easy and fun, and they'll never think about garlic the same again!

Feb. 11, 2022: Student Service: To help out the younger children, students have prepared multiple sets of origami lions and popsicle stick figures of Daniel, King Darius, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and angels for the Sabbath School to use in their lessons on "Daniel and the Lion's Den" and the "Fiery Furnace." Malachi cut out intricate wooden figures, Sarah produced yarn-wrapped figures, and Eli made double sets. It was lots of fun, and we produced enough lions to totally eat up Daniel--if it weren't for the angel guard!

Jan. 22, 2022: Student Sermonette: Malachi prepared an delivered a sermonette at church. He also helps with videoing the services.

Jan. 20, 2022: New Students. We got two new students this month. Welcome!

Jan. 13, 2022: Bee Rescuer Gives Presentation! Donna Cox, a local bee keeper and bee hive rescuer, gave an extremely informational, very enjoyable, and tenderly spiritual presentation to the school students! She brought along a bee box, lots of photos, her bee keeping tools, and a full bee keeper's outfit (including a large magnet in her back pocket as a nifty way to hold one of her bee tools)! She had interesting stories of the bee hives she's rescued under quite amazing circumstances! She takes hives that are about to be destroyed because of their dangerous locations and relocates them, paying attention to their surroundings and what that will do to the bees and the flavor of their honey. It is a much more involved process than you'd think, and if you don't know what you're doing, the bees will suffer--and so could you! To top it all off, at the end of the presentation, she handed out special biscuits she had baked so we could all sample some of the honey that came from her bees. It was truly a "sweet" experience!

Dec. 11, 2021: Christmas Program - Secrets Revealed! The students presented an elaborate and very exciting Christmas program featuring the birth of Jesus and many details foretold in prophecy. In fact, there are so many details that we can prove were foretold BEFORE Jesus' birth, that no random person could have ever accidentally fulfilled them all. His birth was carefully preplanned by God. And the fact that such details could be told hundreds and thousands of years beforehand, helps us know that there is, in fact, a God; and Jesus is, in truth, who He says He is!

Every student had multiple memorized speaking parts, which were learned so well that they were skillfully spoken with very little mishap. (Students had been carefully trained for public speaking and public performance.) The combined bells/chimes choirs performed very sophisticated music, and all students were in choir. One of our students played the piano for one of our choir pieces.

Our ensemble (several keyboards/band/orchestra) also did well. Several students were new to music this semester, so their being able to perform well was quite an accomplishment!

We have special thanks for the ladies who were in charge of costumes (Vivian Howard and Meredith Pool) and those who help buy and build our backdrop which was a fantasyland on the nativity theme (Meredith Pool, Wils Teal)!

Oct. 14, 2021: AAA Hosted Firefighter's Program for the Community: AAA hosted the Ardmore Fire Dept. program for our students as well as a good group of community visiters. The program was arranged because of the personal relationship of one of AAA's students with one of the firefighters.

Oct. 11, 2021: Oklahoma City Ground Zero Rescue Dogs: AAA hosted Oklahoma City's honored disaster rescue dog organization called Ground Zero. The organization has its roots in the famous Oklahoma City bombing. They are a very, very special group with very professional training. They brought several dogs with them and demonstrated how the dogs are trained and how they work. It was especially important because the group was able to use our students in a specialized dog-handler training situation that Ground Zero has not had a chance to train for before. We are humbled and very deeply appreciate the opportunity to contribute to such a distinguished group of vital rescuers! We had a good group of community visitors attend the program at AAA with us.

Oct. 10, 2021: Bike-a-thon: Students joined with other SDA youth groups on a Bike-a-thon. There were 380 miles ridden/walked. Unsual aspects included one student who rode many miles on a unicycle, and a parent who rode an electronic skateboard. Everybody enjoyed themselves and were hungry for the picnic lunch served afterwards!

Sept. 24, 2021: Caring for Others: Students have painted special pictures and written comforting Bible verses for distribution to older persons/nursing home residents.

Sept. 9, 2021: Student Recycling Project: Students are now collecting items for a neighborhood recycling project. It's good to learn about how to conserve Earth's resources.

May 21, 2021: A Video on the Farm: The Conference if making a video about our farm. Pastor Christian has come twice to shoot video. On the latest trip, one of our students, Eli, was able to give his feelings about the garden. Eli asserted that the garden speaks to him of God and it confirms creation for him. He also mentioned that helping to plant and harvest the produce has made eating vegetables more inviting for him.

May 19, 2021: Circuitry Training: Students wrapped up the year by working with resistors. We had some guests for this session, and those students who have been attending the this year were able to help the guests enjoy building some circuits for themselves. We have learned a lot this year and are planning even bigger things for next year!

May 8, 2021: School Presentations & Bells Performance: On May 8, several of the students presented a slide show and told the audience at church some of the highlights of our school activities this year. We also performed the classic "Be Still My Soul" by Jean Sibelius on our bells and chimes.

One of the highlights of our program was when Jordan presented his remake of a Veggie Tales video clip. Knowing that he was working on it, but not being allowed to see it ahead of time, the other students were eager to join the audience to see it! It was fun!--and it had an important and serious message: We must be careful to be accurate when we handle Bible stories.

April 23, 2021: Hands-on Electronics Classes: We have for several weeks been having hands-on electronics classes. Students are experimenting with various circuits and learning a lot about electricity. We are building up to larger kits.

April 20, 2021: Eli = 1, Goliath = 0. We had the lesson of David and Goliath as recorded in the Bible, noticing several things we don't usually think about. Afterwards, Dr. B shared with the students a personal sling similar to those in the Bible. When the pastor came, Dr. B mentioned that she had been taught how to use the sling using marshmallows. The pastor then decided to go buy, not only marshmallows, but the rest of the fixing for smores. The students then practiced hitting a large tree we dubbed "Goliath." It is harder to control the sling than one might imagine. Anyway, Eli managed to hit the tree, so we awarded him the point against Goliath. We then went inside and had a "David & Goliath" party. It was a "HUGE" success!

April 2, 2021: Community Emergency Response Team Training (CERT): Many of our students participated in a full-blown course of Community Emergency Response Team training. Everyone worked hard. There were lots of fun things and some serious ones too. Students learned how to respond to the needs of themselves, their families, and the community in disasters. They learned a lot about safety and first aid, but they also learned how to respond when no other rescue personnel have arrived yet. Among many other things, training included hands-on first aid, knots and rope work, transport of non-critical victims, extrication of victims trapped under heavy debris, boat rescue, water safety and rescue, hands-on training with fire extinguishers, a dog search and rescue demonstration, and a simulated disaster scenario.

March: Wilderness Survival Series: Students have started a weekly series of lessons on wilderness survival. They have learned a lot of things they can do to survive ice storms. They have also been learning about fire safety and how to make fires without matches. (They have also had a chance to actually use and discharge a fire extinguisher at an actual fire.) Students also learned what to do if lost in the woods in the cold when a fire is not feasible.

Feb. 15-19: Icy Zoom: When the ice storm hit, we ended up on zoom for our classes. Fortunately, for the most part all of our students have had prior experience with zoom; so the disruption was minimal. Dr. B was stuck in Nebraska, and so ran zoom from her phone the first day. Because most of the lessons had already been put online, and Dr. B was able to borrow a computer, the rest of the week went fine except for the occasional disruption in electricity or internet service. We went out for snow play each day during the PE class. None of the students seemed to mind that! Compared to many schools, we fared well. Our sympathies go out to our sister schools who were not so lucky.

Jan. 29, 2021: A Lesson to Eat: Cabbages and carrots were the topic of our Farm Lesson this week! Students learned that harvesting cabbages actually took some skill and technique! They also enjoyed digging in the dirt to choose which carrots to harvest. After helping harvest their own cabbages and carrots, they got to take them home to help provide for the family! Our farm produces high, high quality foods, as our farm manager is very careful about adding nutrients to the soil so that the food is very nutritious! Often he comes by with some tidbit (vegetable) harvested that day to give to students to interest them in eating things they rarely, if ever, have tried before. All of this variety will pay off in their health later in life if they continue to enjoy these foods!

Jan. 2021: Flying High: We just finished standardized testing. Our combined scores are well above average; and excluding our stricken first grader from the situation (for obvious reasons), incredibly, every one of our students scored high in both reading and language arts! We tested well in the other areas too!

Jan. 2021: Tragedy: This month, our first grader, Arsalius, and his family are mourning the tragic loss of a loved one. On January 10, the family received the news that Arsalius' father had been killed in a car accident that morning. The family is requesting our prayers. Arsalius' mother is relying on God for strength in this difficult time. The local church and our school have been reaching out to help with the family's needs during this time of loss. Please join us in lifting them up to God in prayer.

Dec 5, 2020: School Program: In spite of the pandemic, students were able to produce a program which was performed on Sabbath, December 5, at church. Instead of the traditional Nativity story, our program had an interviewer who interviewed the various "people" involved in Jesus' birth--His mother and father (Mary and Joseph), shepherds, wisemen, etc. The story was very carefully researched so that reactions and answers to the interviews were both accurate and informative! It was a wake-up call to all or us to be sure that Jesus really IS who is guiding us moment by moment.

Oct. 2020: Garden: We planted new seedlings into trays. We have done several things with the garden, including using a special machine to plant seeds outside.

Oct. 2020: New student: We welcome our new student!

Oct. 2020: Condolences: Condolences to former students Tyler and Mehala for their losses. We care about you. So sorry. The cards we sent you are just the tip of the iceberg on how much we care.

Sept. 25, 2020: Learning about tomatoes: The students learned about pruning today. The tomatoes cannot be left to grow just any old way if they are to produce well. The extra branches have to be pruned back. The one tall leader stem then puts all the energy into making its tomatoes. Even at the end, the tip of the leader is pruned to save all the energy for the fruit.

Sept. 2020: New standardized testing! Students are taking standardized tests this year using the MAP tests from NWEA. These are computer driven tests that match questions to student ability. The new tests will be taken several times a year and will give an ongoing picture of student skills.

Sept. 8, 2020: Peaches: Students are selling peaches as a fund-raiser for the school. Wow, do those fruits taste good! Juicy and tasty!

Aug. 2020: PE has changed! Due to the pandemic, our recess and PE schedule has changed. Our practical arts program--especially the garden--is flourishing and students not only get good PE exercises, but get the fresh air and invigoration that comes from working with plants! If you haven't tasted our farm products, check out our Lesson Book Farm.

Aug. 17, 2020: New Teacher's Assistant (TA): Mrs. Schmidt is our new teacher's assistant this year. She will be helping Dr. B with many different kinds of tasks, including some tutoring. We are glad to have her on board! She is sweet and kind, and it's nice to have her with us!

Aug. 17, 2020: School is in session! We are up and running! We have some in-person students, some all-online students, and some that are hybrid between the two--but we are running strong! Of course the pandemic has changed some things about our operations. We are working very hard to keep everybody safe, as well as express our caring and consideration for those around us. In addition to social distancing (we're having classes in the gym), we are using masks, and students are taught good pandemic hygiene. We have taken a number of other steps to make things safe.

May 21, 2020: Support for a student: Even though our school term had ended for the year, most of the students gathered on zoom on Thursday, May 21, to greet and encourage a student who had had to miss the final two days of school due to a death in the family. We are very sorry for this student and her family's loss. Our prayers are with you.

May 20,2020: End of a whole quarter of online school. Well it is official that we successfully completed a whole quarter online. We managed to have every class, and had teacher interaction all day. Students attended Bible, math, language arts, science, social studies, and the other classes. We had a very, very good track record of completing assignments. The teacher could use Zoom to contact students in the afternoon or at night when they missed class for some reason.

Classes were very interactive. We found ways for students to record the answers to various assignments online. These answers then automatically were sent to the teacher's spreadsheet. (Grading a spreadsheet of student answers is actually easier than dealing with paper.) Students could take part in class discussions. They also could annotate the teacher's screen, share their own screens, and add their contributions to the class lesson through chat. In addition, they could show the rest of the class their artwork and other projects. Students even checked off some memory work orally. Students did PE, learned songs on virtual pianos, and practiced keyboarding. Perhaps the funniest thing was when students conducted fire drills in their own homes and reported the timing to the teacher for an official class record. (It is just as important to know how to be safe at home, as it is to be safe at school!)

Even though sometimes the internet was spotty, we surged forward and completed our curriculum! Yes! That's right! We completed our curriculum, even though thousands of schools across America did not! We are so proud of our students!

April-May, 2020: Foundation of Financial Peace--Dave Ramsey: We starting taking this practical economics course before the pandemic hit. We were just over halfway through the material. The students were very interested in the material, which is very engaging and informative. When the pandemic hit, we no longer had access to some of our materials. One of our board members, Mr. Withers, then arranged for us to have the course online. This allowed each student to watch the video materials on their own computers. (The online course also includes reading materials and quizzes.) We were so happy! The students finished the course. They have learned so much!

May 14, 2020: Dr. Diana Fleming: Some of our students have been asking deep and thoughtful questions about nutrition. The teacher researched these questions, and then decided to invite an expert. Dr. Diana Fleming, PhD nutritionist, works for Full Plate Living (https://www.fullplateliving.org/), which is a DBA of the Ardmore Institute of Health. The Full Plate approach to healthy eating involves a high-fiber diet based on whole, unprocessed fiber foods: fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds. This evidence-based way of eating is well-known for promoting health and longevity. The students plied Dr. Fleming with question after question, and she answered with good solid research, expressed in language the students could easily understand. When it was time for her to finish, the students could hardly let her go because they were so interested.

May 2020: $5000 Versacare Grant: Ardmore Adventist Academy has received a $5,000 grant from Versacare for use in our technology department and STEM education program. This is an amazing opportunity for us, and our students will greatly benefit from the availability of good quality equipment, software, and other STEM resources.

Apr. 22, 2020: Help for a Student Family: On Thursday afternoon, April 22, some rather rough storms came through the Ardmore area, and one of those caused a dangerous swarm of huge tree branches to blast down on one of our student's (Marlii's) house and the car pictured here. The Gideon Rescue Company (GRC), a ministry based out of the Ardmore SDA Church, had been finishing up some training and decided to see if there was anyone needing help after the storms. They happened to see Marlii's house. The crew, including some students from AAA, set to work to help the family, who was wondering what to do because the man of the family was away for a few days. It was a wonderful thing to be able to help one of our own school families in need! Marlii's grandmother was very grateful for the help, and even wondered if she could join the Gideon Rescue Company to help other people in their time of need! The GRC and some of their family members also cleaned up several other trees around the neighborhood. They had a lot of fun and praised the Lord the damage wasn't worse! Chelsea Spiedel, whose husband is part of the GRC, said, "Our strength and ability to do this kind of ministry comes from Christ alone, but we appreciate the prayers and support of our church family!"

Mar. 25, 2020: Digital Distance Education: On March 25, AAA (along with all the other Oklahoma Conference schools) transitioned to online education. We are holding group classes using zoom and keeping track of assignments using Google classroom. Setting these items up took a lot of work because of the things required of us to have access to the sites, but we are up and running. The teacher's son, who teaches computers at a school in Nebraska, helped many students set up. However, the students found it a relief to be able to talk to their classmates, and the classes are going well. Our only real problem is that sometimes the internet glitches a little. During the school day we have a mix of group classes, individual assignments, and active projects--such as for P.E. The teacher tutors students before and after regular school and is available by appointment until 8:30 p.m. (4 p.m. on Fridays) to hold face-to-face internet help sessions with any student who needs it. It feels good to be back in touch with each other!

Students have written essays on how they feel about the pandemic and how they have reacted to online distance education. In general, students enjoy the online work with the only real issue being the internet connectivity. Students are now much more trained to handle the minor problems however.

Mar. 4, 2020: SCHOOL EVALUATION: AAA went through a major interim evaluation Wednesday. The visiting team went through each item carefully and we passed every single item with flying colors! Thank you to all of the AAA volunteers who helped us make such high marks! We are proud of you, and proud of our school!

Mar. 1, 2020: Cleaning Day: Sunday was a school community cleaning day with several families participating and a number of students also came to help spruce up our school. It really looks nice out there, and a number of things were fixed. We are enjoying a high level of maintenance!

Feb. 29, 2020: Gym Night: We had an exciting gym night! Lots of people came! We enjoyed veggie burgers, which is an amazing food which everybody loves!

Feb-Mar, 2020: Foundations of Personal Finance: Students are taking a Dave Ramsey course called Foundations of Personal Finance. It is an amazing course! Each student has their own personal student text/workbook, and the course is specifically targeted for youth! It is well cons

tructed and interesting, and the students just love the course. It is making them aware of important issues they will have to decide about, and they are gaining some real wisdom! We are happy for them!

Feb. 2020: Medical Project: Students are studying a medical unit in science. They have picked medical professions that interest them. They also have had some interesting PE activities, such as bandaging relay races where they bandage a teammate and transport them on a scooter to the "hospital"! In another variation, the teacher calls out an ailment, and the teams have to scramble to get their victim to the right type of clinic. Students also simulated being blind and having to find their way without sight.

Students have also been discussing important topics such as, how to strengthen your immune system, coronavirus, general good hygiene practices, etc. Although it was not planned that way, this medical unit happened to occur at a most advantageous time.

Feb 28, 2020: Church Performance: The bell choir performed for church. We enjoy these performances, and they are well received. The church phone announcement system even invited visitors to come to hear us play! The students did extremely well.

Feb. 16, 2020: Music Fest: Our special bell choir traveled to Tulsa, OK to perform chimes. Our special group had 7 players, but played 25 chimes! You should have seen some of them scramble to play that many bells. Fun was had by all.

Feb. 1, 2020: Gym Nights: It is a tradition here at school each winter to host a series of gym nights as a way to socialize and enjoy various games, such as volley ball, basket ball, ping pong. At times there is also a sundown vespers, and food is also served sometimes. Not only do students and their families enjoy these gatherings, but we often have friends and supporters who come as well. Call the principal or chair person for more information.

Jan. 24, 2020: Puerto Rico Disaster Community Service: Puerto Rico has recently suffered from earthquakes which has been very difficult for the local people to deal with. Ardmore Adventist Academy decided to assist Ardmore's Gideon Rescue Company, which flew representatives to Puerto Rico to help. Students formed an assembly line to put Glow Tracts on several topics (including tracts specifically aimed at comforting people) into packets which could be handed out at the disaster site. Not only did students do this at school, but several students also helped the next day when church members also worked to package up Glow Tracts.

Jan. 24, 2020: Certified School Nutrition Program: Students are participating in a series of training events by Certified Nutritionist, Nichole Walker. Friday they made a food called a "Rainbow Boat" which is similar to a burrito, but is made of Romaine lettuce, carrots, red cabbage, humus, tomatoes, avocados, and several other foods of various rainbow colors. Students are learning that a healthy diet includes lots of colors. Other classes will follow as we work toward certification as a nutritionally healthy school. Some students tried some of these things for the first time. It was amazing to see students going after seconds and even thirds. Enthusiasm was high. Besides, it was fun making the food!

Jan. 23-26, 2020: Shawn Boonstra's Final Empire Seminar: The Ardmore SDA Church has been having an outstanding series of meetings on the United States and it's religious roots in history. Students from AAA not only helped babysit every night, but also helped with the take-down efforts after the meetings.

Dec. 7, 2019: Christmas Program: Students present the life of Christ through His mother Mary's eyes. The students sang in choir, played bells, and played in an ensemble of a flute and 14 pianists playing simultaneously!

Synopsis: “Through a Mother’s Eyes” is the story of Jesus as experienced by His mother. Many people wonder about Mary’s role as mother to God who is also Human, but the Word of God is clear about many facets of this experience. Mary, although a pure and devout worshipper of God, was human. She was given amazing evidence of Jesus’ Messiahship, and His character and miracles confirmed this; but she misunderstood what it meant to be the Messiah. She, along with Jesus’ other followers, kept thinking that He would declare Himself an earthly king. Although there were many things about Him that she did not understand, she trusted Him implicitly. At the temple, when Jesus was 12 years old, He made it clear that His marching orders came from His Father in heaven. Again at the wedding feast, Jesus indicated that even the timing of His mission was according to a heavenly plan. Jesus loved His mother, but she could not be in control of His actions, because the Father in heaven was to be the One in charge.
The Bible is clear that there is only one name under heaven whereby we must be saved--that is the name of Jesus. It took the life of God to pay the inestimable price for the sins of man; but a human form was also required for Him to resist temptation and be fully our Substitute. Jesus was God, and His human side came through Mary (“Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” Rom. 1:3). Had Mary been a God, then Jesus would not have come in the flesh; something the Bible makes clear that we need to acknowledge (1 John 4:3). Mary was not God and never was equal with God. She, in fact, needed to trust in Jesus as her own personal Savior, just like we need to. Her relationship to Jesus could never earn her salvation--which required the sacrifice of the life of God. The truth is that God loves you so much, Jesus would have done all this for just you. His love for you is infinite. The only person who can choose to have you be lost is you.

Nov. 17, 2019: "Casting the Vision" Ardmore Adventist Academy Farm Supper: Sunday the community was invited to AAA for a short program outlining the vision for our farm. Mr. Brock Mayer, Mr. Shawn Speidel, and Dr. B gave short presentations. Afterward the community was invited to a free supper provided by Mrs. Mary Bernt. The delicious supper was plant-based and included a watermelon drink made from the watermelons harvested from the AAA farm. The community really enjoyed the evening!

Oct. 27, 2019: Community Watermelon Feed: Sunday, Oct. 27, anyone who drove into the AAA parking lot was met with several tables of cut watermelons and various stations that gave information about our school, our beliefs, and our garden. There were 8 humongous tubs totally filled with watermelons to give away, and as people loaded up their cars, more melons were brought in. There was a whole field full of melons and everything was free--due to the untiring, faithful efforts of our farm education manager, Mr. Shawn Speidel and his wife, Chelsea. The students were particularly interested as they had worked with the crop in several ways. Some had helped planting the melons. When the days were so hot, all of the older students had worked to keep the irrigation system going. Students now joyfully helped harvest extra melons and transport them in a cart or wheelbarrow to the watermelon feed. We all ate our fill! It was a very, very enjoyable event!

Oct. 25, 2019: OSF Program: Friday, Oct. 25, the Oklahoma Scholarship Fund director came to AAA to present us with a scholarship check which benefits several of our students! After a tour of the school, Director Rob Sellers, along with Senator David Bullard, and Representative Tammy Townley attended the program presented by AAA. Our student bell choir played a song entitled, "Alleluia, Praise to Jesus." Our boys piano ensemble also performed. Dr. B and Mr. Shawn Speidel explained the mission of the school to those present. Each of the dignitaries gave a short, interesting speech. The big moment arrived, and Director Sellers then presented the school with a very large-sized check! We are very grateful for the assistance of this fine program and urge people to check into donating to this cause--it's a good one, and it carries benefits for the donars as well.

Oct. 13, 2019: Bike-a-thon: Laughing students lined up for the annual bike-a-thon on Sunday, Oct. 13. It's always lots of fun, and this day was no exception. Most students rode bikes, but some walked the route around the AAA neighborhood. Several adults also participated, either by riding a bike or by walking. Collectively we rode 248 miles!

Many neighbors recognized the event, and several stopped to hand donations to bike-a-thon officials. In all, we raised $2,098 for the school! Great job, everyone!

100th ANNIVERSARY ALUMNI REUNION: Aug. 31, 2019: Ardmore Adventist Academy celebrated its 100th year of continuous operation by a spectacular alumni reunion, Sabbath, August 31. It all started by a special full-length Sabbath School presentation of exciting mission stories by Adventist World Radio representatives, Pastor and Mrs. Clarence and Renee McKey.

To start the special worship service, Dr. Jill Carlson enthusiastically introduced the alumni. Other alumni who had a part in the program included Brenda Schnell, Sharee Franks, Adam Dean, Dr. Stephan Zigo, and Dr. Steve Lee. School Board Chairpersons, Sheila Teal and Dr. Leonard Shockey, represented school boards--present and past. During the program, a six-student four-piano ensemble presented the song, "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho." Remember that the walls came tumbling down by faith--and it is faith that has overcome so many obstacles for our school! Students and alumni were then called to dedication by a special prayer of consecration given by Oklahoma Conference Educational Superintendent Tim Kripps. The sermon, given by Dr. Mary Burton, focused on how to get to heaven for the great reunion we will have there (by choosing Jesus and accepting His transformation and forgiveness).

The huge crowd then drove to the beautifully decorated school for a delicious potluck and heart-warming fellowship. Other activities included a delightful alumni fellowship circle and an earnest vesper service presented by beloved former teacher Bruce Williams. Games in the gym rounded out the day. Included among the many distinguished alumni, parents, and friends in attendance were Christine Walker Lain (respected alumnus who attended school in the 1950's), and cherished former teachers David and Sherry May (from Oregon). AAA is thankful to God for 100 years of His blessings and guidance! (Link to the sermon outline quotes on how to get to heaven: Click here.)

Piano Ensemble: Sept. 31, 2019: The AAA Piano Ensemble--four pianos and six pianists of both genders--presented "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" for the offertory for the 100th Anniversary Alumni Reunion Service. Everyone enjoyed it immensely! Nice job!

Boys' piano group: August, 2019: Our boys' piano group (4 pianos) has decided they want to perform for the upcoming alumni weekend. Anytime before or after school, or between classes, you'll hear them practicing up a storm! We're cheering you on, boys!

Computer security: August, 2019: To offer better protection for our students, we are upgrading a student security system to regulate the types of websites and website materials that students will access.

School garden: August, 2019: Students have been trained to run many aspects of our irrigation system for our watermelons. It is quite a leadership challenge, and the young people have stepped up to the plate in amazing ways--taking turns being completely trustworthy for the performance of really important tasks! What an opportunity for students to do things that really matter! The faithfulness and care of these students has been stellar! Congratulations, students!

Community help: August, 2019: Many school and church family members and neighbors came out to help plant watermelons! Wow! It was a lot of work and a lot of helpful hands made a huge difference! THANK YOU EVERYONE!

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School program: May 11, 2019: Students performed for church. The bell choir played Malotte's Lord's Prayer. After this each student presented slide shows that they had put together themselves. The shows covered topics depicting school life this year--things such as study activities, special projects, this year's performances and service projects, the banquet, the bike-a-thon, art, music, science, the garden, and many other special moments in various classes and events.

Service Project for Majestic Hills Neighborhood: May 9, 2019: Students distributed free salad greens to the neighborhood. These are the salad greens that we raised ourselves in our garden. It was very satisfying to not only see the product of our labors, but be able to bless everyone around with the greens! Students also got to take home free produce for their own families. Thank you to our very knowledgeable and experienced garden manager, Mr. Shawn Speidel!

Yearbook 2018-2019: May, 2019: Students received the opportunity to choose a yearbook topic, choose photographs, and design their own yearbook page. It was lots of fun!

Community Disaster Relief Training Student Participation: April 12, 2019: The students of Ardmore Adventist Academy participated in helping to train disaster rescue personnel on Friday, April 12, 2019. The students traveled there around 10 a.m. to be fitted with fake "injuries" and moulages to be the victims to be "rescued" as part of the community training. The activities were held at: Ardmore Downtown Executive Airport.

In preparation for the event, students received intensive training, and after the event they received further training on how to optimize their own safety and rescue if they were actually involved in a disaster. The training they received was top-notch!

Perot Museum and Nature Center: April 4, 2019: Students were excited to participate in many very educational science activities. Students extracted and examined DNA, rode an earthquake simulator, made simulated light-enhanced contour maps, enjoyed wall-reflections of their body positions, moved themselves to two different computer simulated body reflections--including skeletal reflections, and played with sounds and music (including a giant xylophone and musical stairs). They also rode a simulator drilling for oil and attended an Imax on oceans. In addition they studied various animal and fossil displays, enjoyed looking at gems, generated electricity,analyzed star spectra, generated colored light, and many other activities. Older students were excited to see that the computer coding the museum used to run remote controlled vehicles was the same code they had learned at school. All in all, they had a blast!

Building the Garden: March, 2019: A form was built so that students could take aluminum hoops and bend them into shape for the garden. Students had to cooperate to balance the forces needed to bend the hoops properly. Another day the students learned how to hoe the garden. Then March 27, 2019, the students worked together as a team to lay down tarps to control weeds on a portion of the garden yet to be planted. Students also get both science and character/spiritual lessons along with these activities. We have also done some rather complicated math problems related to the numbers of plants planted, plugs per tray, trays per row, etc. It is a very educational endeavor!

Baby Goats: March, 2019: During this month students have been bringing baby goats to school for science. It is amazing how much a newborn goat can do. Both days we had goats, the goats took well to the students and a good time was had by all!

Former Teachers: March 16, 2019: Former AAA teachers, Waunita and Stephen Dennis recently visited the district. They were able to fill in many items of our school's history. They were here during the tornado. The night of the tornado, there was supposed to be a meeting in the library with conference personnel. Earlier however, because Ardmore had done so well, the meeting was deemed unnecessary; so it was cancelled. The board would have been in the library with the tornado struck! The hallway was totally full of debris! Mr. Dennis had to crawl under debris to retrieve important items off of his teacher's desk. Mrs. Dennis had a computer on her school desk which was left unharmed, while all around was total destruction. The bells were left unharmed in a room where everything else was chaos! Truly, God helped us so that nobody was harmed!

Student Participation at Church: March, 2019: Students have been participating in adult church services quite often in the last few months. They read scriptures and help lead out in song service. We appreciate our church's cooperation in training our students as future leaders!

Garden Project: March 13, 2019: Students have already spent time obtaining core samples to analyze the soil for our garden project. Yesterday morning before school, students filled trays with soil; and today they planted hundreds of plants during the lunch hour. They are also doing complicated math problems related to rows, planting distances, plugs, trays, carts, percentages of yield, prices, etc.

Music Video: February 22, 2019: Recently a teacher within our system was killed in a mountain accident in Guyana. He had two little girls. Our students traveled to a place where they could use professional recording equipment to make a special music video for the family to encourage them. The video was then edited to include a short message.

Condolences Video: February 22, 2019: Along with the music video, AAA students also recorded a second video of personal messages of encouragement and condolence to the two little girls mentioned above. Students also sent letters, cards, art, and stuffed animals to the girls. Our hearts go out to them in their great sadness. The materials were hand carried to Guyana by a mission pilot.

Music Festival: February 17, 2019: Students presented a bell ensemble of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" on February 17, 2019. The music was based off of the original hymn by Martin Luther and contained portions in various time signatures. It also contained a middle portion in a modal key representing the Christian who is attacked by life, but who through the confusion and strife manages by faith to let the theme of our Mighty Fortress, Jesus Christ, shine through. The ensemble consisted of keyboard, violin, and 14 bell artists playing 33 bells.

Christmas Program: December 8, 2018: Students put on a program on the incarnation of Christ as the Christmas theme. The material the students memorized and presented was very informative and interesting. Interspersed with the student parts were musical selections, including choir, a piano trio, and bell ensemble. Music in four languages was performed (Romanian, Korean, Muskogee Creek, and English). One of the arrangements was composed by a student. The incarnation is an impressive theme when you realize just how much Jesus was willing to risk for our salvation! God is not willing that anyone should perish and pledges Himself to ensure the success of any person who will submit his/her life to His keeping and trust Jesus as their Savior.to guide, cleanse, and transform him/her.

Bike-a-thon: Oct. 14, 2018: What wonderful fun the bike-a-thon and lunch afterward are each year! Students will ride/walk to earn money for the school. They always have a blast!

Student Participation in Local Program for the Public: Starting Oct. 11, 2018: Students are scheduled to help with a local program designed to serve the public. It will be hosted at Veggies, a well-known local health food store and restaurant.

Student Community Service: Oct. 12, 2018:Students have been given the opportunity to work with the Gideon Rescue Company (Ardmore) in preparing materials of encouragement for disaster victims. What a privilege it is to help fellow Americans who have been faced by widespread disaster such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, etc.

Volunteer, Supporter, Alumni Appreciation Dinner: Sept. 30, 2018: Students will put on an appreciation dinner for all those who are and have in the past so graciously supported us and been part of us. All of you are gratefully, wholeheartedly appreciated!

Training in Public Speaking: Sept., 2018: Several students have participated in giving public reading of the scriptures and other capacities at church this year. Students receive training at school in voice, handling of nervousness, and stage deportment in preparation for this.

Training for Many Emergency Situations: Aug., 2018: Remember when you were in school and received training in fire drills? Students at AAA not only received this training this year, but also received training in tornado safety, intruder safety, earthquake response, harassment prevention/response, and blood-borne pathogens. Further training is scheduled in the future.

Congratulations - Teacher of the Year: May, 2018 Congratulations to our teacher for winning the Southwestern Union Teacher of the Year Award!

Plans: 2018-2019

This next year we will be planning on learning enough music theory and composition for the students beginning writing their own music.
Students will be working on a long-term oil-painting project this next year.
Students will be working on a microscope project.
Students will be doing a social studies/geography travel study.
We have several prospects for global outreach we will be considering.
We have a NASA project that is planned.
We will have intensive training on task-management memory-enhancement skills.

Encounter Bible Courses: 2018-2019: This next year AAA will be using a new Bible Curriculum. The new material is very child-centered and promises to be lots of fun as well as inspirational and instructional!

Congratulations: May, 2018: Congratulations to our graduating kindergarten class. You have worked very hard to able to decode unfamiliar phonetic words that are 4 letters long!

One Piano/Three-Keyboards/24-Bells/chimes Performance: May, 2018: Our ten-student music group performed "Great is Thy Faithfulness" using three keyboards and a piano to accompany a 6-person bell/chime choir! Twenty-four bells and chimes were handled by only 6 people who also had to share bells because the melody is too rapid for a single person to manage only certain bells.

Student Presentations: May, 2018: Students chose from a large database of school photos to illustrate a student-chosen aspect of school life at AAA. The students then arranged the pictures along with supporting material and captions into a slide show which was then presented to the church. Students received public speaking and presentation lessons and spoke from a written script. There is real skill in making a speech from a script sound natural and interesting. The program was well received.

Community Service: May, 2018: We are happy with our students' attitudes towards helping others. Every month this year we had at least one community service project, and quite a number of times we had more than one project. Student-chosen projects were especially meaningful!

Yearbook: April, 2018: Students cooperated to help produce the yearbook again this year. Students chose which yearbook page they wanted to design. They then chose pictures and other things for the page and arranged the layout. Students produced pages for the yearbook last year as well, so they are getting quite skilled at the process.

Physical Genesis: April, 2018: AAA students participated in the North American Division Physical Genesis research program. Students participated in PE activities to build up strength. Student PE scores were then reported (for anonymous analysis) to La Sierra University. Not every school participated, but there were still over 7,000 students who participated across North America.

Chickasaw Cultural Center: April, 2018: The school went to the Chickasaw Cultural Center for one of its field trips. This trip was especially fruitful. There was a lot to be learned from our Chickasaw guide. There was a real life-sized village and a miniature one as well. A short hike included a special bridge. We saw Native Americans playing their games. We also went through an indoor "hike" that was beautiful with nature items. Many people don't realize that the Chickasaw went through the Trail of Tears, but the special hall devoted to this aspect of history was both haunting and engaging. The teacher was also able to explain the use of many traditional items to various students. To top it all off, some of the students were allowed to participate in a social friendship round-circle dance with the Native Americans.

Outdoor School: A group of our students got to go to Wewoka Woods for Outdoor School for a few days. They had a blast! They learned a lot about nature and got a chance to reconnect with good friends from other schools as well. Our school provided the school nurse for the event. We are proud of our students, sponsors, and nurse!

School Safety: March, 2018: Our school is overhauling our safety policies and practices. As a result, students have been receiving additional specialized training in not only school safety, but personal safety as well. We have added additional types of safety drills that most schools do not have. We will also be working with the fire department, police department, ambulance services, and medical personnel to review and update our programs.

Relationship Skills Training: Feb., 2018: AAA places a lot of emphasis on relationship and conflict-resolution learning skills. This occurs both in formal classes, and informally when students run into challenges either at school or in other areas of life. Relationship skills follow a structured program dealing with communication, body language, emotional needs, empathy training, and many other aspects. We plan to expand our program even more this coming year.

Panama Spotlight: Students were blessed with a guest speaker who has been to Panama several times. We learned a lot about the country and its history. In addition, our speaker provided the students with a fun memento of her visit with us.

Bell Choir: Feb., 2018: Due to circumstances in which some students had to be on a trip and some could not attend Music Festival, our bell choir was reduced to five students, but our five students handled 23 chimes for a full chord, background movement rendition of "How Great Thou Art!" Students also had to share bells so that the melody and other parts could be performed. The music was specially arranged for the bell choir so that each chord was fully rounded out and each student could play his/her parts by using both hands and changing chimes rapidly. This represents huge progress in reading music and in skill in handling chimes from the beginning of last year when each student could only play one chime and had to be individually directed.

Student-written Music: Students took the familiar hymn, "What Child is This;" and as a class, they wrote new music for it. To prepare for the task, students studied the theory and form of several hymns. Then proposals were made for various parts of the new music. The class voted on the best renditions and the music was compiled. An accompaniment was then added to the class's music and printed copies were given to each child. The children then memorized the music and performed it at church. We are proud of the work this group has done.

Christmas Nativity DVD: December, 2017: The students produced a full-story DVD of the nativity! The students themselves made the various sets, including among other things, the town of Bethlehem, the wise men's house (which had tables, chairs, bookshelves with books, windows, bed with bedding, etc.), decorations of the camel and donkey, the manger (with swaddling clothes for the Baby Jesus). The students also each chose a Barbie or Ken doll to represent an angel and cooperated to make costumes for their angels and for the dolls that represented Joseph, Mary, Innkeepers, shepherds, wise men, and others. Each student then took speech lessons to speak the parts for their respective dolls. Recording voices is a much more involved process than most people realize, and the recorded voices have to be of the highest quality--expressing not only the words, but the expression, phrasing, and speed of words which is best. We had a student photographer who took hundreds of pictures. The script with close reference to the Word of God to preserve the highest accuracy possible for individual events. The DVD was then presented at church, with a student choir and bell choir adding music at the appropriate points in the story. There was also a short introductory scene in which the students presented a live skit.

Fall Festival: AAA rented a bouncy house for Fall Festival. The students really made use of that! There were lots of other fun things as well, including popcorn from an old-fashioned popcorn machine, snow cones, wonderful veggie burgers with the fixings, bobbing for apples, costumes, balloon darts, etc. One of the big hits was the jail--a fully enclosed bar system--which was kept quite busy all night! Everybody had really good time!

Projects: October 16, 2017: Students began working on personal projects related to science and social studies. We have started gathering materials and are thinking about topics.

Community Outreach: September, 2017: Students have been helping with a series of meetings doing various tasks. Most notable among these things is that the sixth-grade girls have taken major responsibility in the Cradle Roll Department, doing much of the work that needs to be done there. Special kudos go to them! In connection with these meetings, many students have been attending the "Astronaut Training Program" emphasizing information about the solar system and space as well as preparedness for Jesus' Second Coming [1 Thess. 4:16-17]. Thank you also for reading a scripture passage publically for the adult meetings.

Oklahoma City Fair Day: September 19, 2017: Students attended the Oklahoma City Fair, particularly the educational aspects of it. Highlights included watching native Oklahoman pioneer skills of various types, science activities, and petting deer, wallabies, a zebu, and various other unusual animals!

Skills for Success: August-September, 2017: Students have been studying various skills for success in life, including goal-setting and planning skills, skills to improve grit, emphasis on faithful attention to detail and intense focus, and many other things. There is also an emphasis on thinking and problem-solving skills, including skills related to CBT.

Bike-a-Thon: September 10, 2017: The students enthusiastically showed up with bikes and scooters to raise money for school projects! They covered more than 220 miles and had a blast doing it! Some parents also rode bikes or walked. There were even several babies who were pushed in strollers around the route! Now that's what we call TOTAL participation!

Picnic: September 10, 2017: Parents put on a wonderful picnic lunch for students and other bike-a-thon participants. Thank you, parents! Vegeburgers were provided by the Rodney Phillips and his wife. He is the one who was built our school building!

Students Make a Significant Contribution: August, 2017: Students made a significant contribution to preparing the school for the start of classes. They did many cleaning and organizing jobs, from vacuuming, to mopping, to organizing equipment, to cleaning windows, and the list goes on. Even the youngest students there helped move many, many chairs back and forth to accommodate power-wash cleaning! Their help really made a difference, and we are proud of them!

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Air Ambulance Helicopter Fly-in/Landing: Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 1:00 p.m. the air ambulance service landed on our grounds at 154 Beaver Academy Road! The crew presented a wonderful educational segment and students were involved in related activities. It was an amazing presentation of a most important service to our community!

https://www.kxii.com/content/news/Air-Evac-team-gives-demonstration-to-local-students-418278933.html

Bells Play for Church Dedication: The Chime-Bell choir played, twice for the Canadian Yukon Church dedication,
April 1. They did a superb job and many people commented on how much they enjoyed it.

Ardmore Adventist Academy Passes Major School Evaluation with Flying Colors! We recently had a team of supervisors and teachers from the Union and Oklahoma evaluate our the school. This was after a local evaluation of hundreds of items, rating everything from the academic program, to the resources for students, to the building itself, and many other areas. Every school within the Oklahoma Conference has to undergo this type of evaluation every few years. We received an extremely high rating. Thanks to one and all who helped with the evaluation!

At the Meyerson in Dallas: One of our students performed with the Southwestern Adventist University Music Festival Choir at the Meyerson Symphony Concert Hall in Dallas on February 26! It was a wonderful concert!

Veggie's Restaurant: Students made banana bread with the cook who is known city-wide for her very appealing Veggie's Restaurant! They then took the bread around the neighborhood and gave it away as a service to the community.

Pajama Day February 27 was Pajama Day. Because of the late night at the concert in Dallas, we had a Pajama Day. Students were treated to a pancake feed at the school. They then worked on various science projects including a wave machine and vibrating reed instruments. Other activities included English DOL punctuation, capitalization, grammar using a projector/whiteboard combination, three-part math inequalities for fifth grade, keyboarding for first grade, etc. The day ended with a NEST entertainment DVD on Hellen Keller.

Missionary Day was February 21. Students came dressed as missionaries of various types. The students have raised money to buy goats for Africa to help poor families there find a way to make a living, so they are excited about missions that help serve our global community!

Inventors' Day: Students brought in inventions and dressed as famous inventors. It was a great day to think about what needs to be invented.

Space/NASA Day is coming up.

Music Performances: Students will be going to perform at church next weekend. They are also scheduled to perform at Arbuckle soon.

Sewing Classes: Students are taking sewing lessons as part of a practical arts program geared to help them prepare for their future life as adults. Students made bags and other things, such as sewn dolls and doll clothes, repairing shoes, pillows, blouses, etc

Research and Report: Students are busy researching and writing reports on various topics. They are excited and happy. Some of the topics include the scientific aspects of sleep, body language communication, animal science, The natural history of Hawaii, etc.