Hello, Everyone! What a week we have had for the Parent University Coin Drive. Today alone, between both schools we brought in $937.66. This brings us to a combined school 5-Day total of . . . . $2,158.86. We have exceeded our goal of $2,000.00. You are all so awesome! We could not have done this without every parent and student doing their part. Thank you so much! In Elementary, Mrs. Tuma’s 3rd graders brought in another $198.07 today putting them way over the top in first place at an amazing $604.90! Congratulations to 3rd grade and their hard-earned efforts! You have won the pizza party and Mrs. Tuma please start thinking about what store you would like your gift card to be from. In second place was Mrs. Couch’s 5th grade at $140.94 and in third place Mrs. Jennings’ second grade with $127.77. It was a great effort by all classes in Elementary. You should all be proud of the wonderful job you did. In Middle School, Mr. Blikstad’s 7th grade had a phenomenal day and brought in $288.80 soaring them into first place with a 5-day total of $456.62. Congratulations to 7th grade for awesome job – start putting those orders in for your pizza party! Mr. Blikstad – congratulations! I know you had the lead last year and lost on the last day. Time and opportunity happen to us all and this year is your year. Great job by everyone in 7th grade for holding the lead! Mrs. Mitchell’s class also did an awesome job and came in second place with $323.85 – still an amazing job! You should be proud! Mrs. Crouch finished in third place with $111.62 and Mrs. Leatherman in fourth place with $56.27. Bottom line is together we got the job done. The computers are on their way and so is the pizza! I want to give out a special thank you to our Parent University Coin Drive Co-Chairs Rebecca Furdell and Teri Waite who stepped up to the plate and ran this event for us. You two are amazing and it was a pleasure working with both of you. I knew it was in good hands! Thank you again for all of your hard work and dedication to FMCS! Thank you everyone for all you do for FMCS! I would put you guys up against any other school, any day! You rock!

Rita Massaro, Parent University

The Christian Chamber of Southwest Florida honors private school teachers each year with the Golden Halo Awards. (The equivalent to the public school’s Golden Apple Awards) Ten teachers are announced each year prior to the special ceremony as finalists for the awards.

On Thursday, March 31st, three teachers at FMCS had surprise visits from the Golden Halo committee:

1) Miss Rachel Tuma – 3rd grade teacher and graduate of FMCS. This is her second top ten finish!

2) Mrs. Myra Stewart – learning Resource program director/teacher. This is her first top ten finish!

3) Mrs. Gayle Shell – 1st grade teacher. This is her first top ten finish!

This year’s awards were be held on Saturday, April 16 at the Spanish Wells Country Club. The winner was Mrs. Kelly Monsees from ECS. For more information, go to the Chamber site.

2011 – From March 30 to April 5th, the 8th grade missions team of 18 students and 11 adults ministered in churches, bus stops, homeless mission, parks and nursing home in Corpus Christi, Tx. See all the highlights at www.fmcsmissions.blogspot.com

Over 200 grandparents were our special guests today for our annual Grandparent’s Day event on Friday, February 18th. It is one of the best events of the year and we enjoy having them all on our campus. Mrs. Yorty and the children did a great job singing today. Big thanks to ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEERS – we had a great turnout today! We want to thank all of our teachers, aides, staff, Pastor Betzer, NJHS, maintenance, sound and video teams - A REAL TEAM EFFORT! I am very proud of Sissy Felice, Janice Zarick and Paula Dillon for putting together a great day for all that attended

GRANDPARENT’S CLUB: Our Grandparent’s Club started in 2006 to provide a tangible opportunity for grandparents to contribute to our financial aide program. What a great investment - blessing more and more grandchildren with the opportunity for a Christian school education! Proverbs 17:6 states “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”

We are thankful for over $30,743 that has been contributed 2006 – 2010:
- 2006: $6694
- 2007: $7461
- 2008: $5926
- 2009: $6284
- 2010: $4,378

- 2011: Received money = $3748; Pledges: $5700 = $9448. THANK YOU! , please send your donation to this address, place your grandchild’s name in the memo and add “grandparent’s club” (all checks payable to FMCS):

If you would like to become a member of the Grandparent’s Club

Ft. Myers Christian School
Attn: Grandparent’s Club
1550 Colonial Blvd
Ft. Myers, Fl  33907

Our 2011 Grandparents Club members:

- Luis and Magaly Aldana|
- Bob and Betty Bennett
- David and Janet Bilyeu
- Paul and Kay Buckley
- Donald and Susan Caple
- Harry and Mary Chernin
- James Conway
- Darlene D’alberto
- Paul and Hazel Evans
- Terry and Linda Felber
- Marcelo and Ana Fernandes
- Peter Foges
- Joseph and Maureen Folgo
- Jean Gaines
- Adir and Lucy Gequelin
- Gary and Mary Alice Goguen
- Jacqualine Halvorson
- Hal Hayward
- Jean Holden
- Lane and Sally Jackson
- Rich and Karen Jensen
- Harold and Jo Keller
- Richard and Janice Kirk
- Terry and Dot Lewis
- Maureen Lysakowski
- Kristen Mader-Torres
- Thomas and Margie McAtee
- Bob and Evie Metts
- Fred and Diane Miller
- Ray and Judy Miller
- Mel and Joyce Mitchell
- Howard Newhard
- A.J. and Judie Piccola
- Bounmy Praxaya
- Ray Puthuff
- Greg Rasmussen
- Patricia Richards
- John and Lydia Ryan
- Isabel Santos
- Connie Schultz
- Sandra Sewell
_ David and Karen Sims
- Evelyn Snodgrass
- W.F. Still
- Thomas and Gayle Stonefield
- Roger and Shelia Tabor
- Margo Tansacha
- Helen Thompson
- Judy and Bill Thompson
- Brenda Tyson
- John Urban
- Betty Warden
- Authur Weber
- Ed and Gloria Wertz
- Phillip White
- Louis and Deborah Woods
- Jean Zelko

1/29/2011 – Of the nine middle schoolers that entered the Edison Regional Science Fair, five of them received a ribbon – which means they will find out on February 2 at Alico Arena what place they finished and if they are moving on to the tate Science Fair! Over 420 middle and high school students in public and private schools entered the event that reached its 54th year. First, congratulations to Tori Weller, Josh Harriott, Elijah Benzon and Tristian Upton who advanced from the school competition to have their projects on display at Harborside.

 Great job Mrs. Leatherman, their middle school science teacher and the parents!

- Second place, junior division, behavioral and social science – Sarah Sweirsz, 7th grade

- Plant science, junior division, honorable mention – Josh Harvey, 7th grade

- Environmental management, junior division, Honorable Mention – Will Perri, 8th grade

- FGCU Summer research scholarships for Sarah Sweirsz, Tyler Williams and Zach Liebetreu!

- 7th grader, Josh Harvey: “Can plants grow by different liquids?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- 7th grader, Tyler Williams: “Are fingerprint patterns inherited?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- 7th grader, Sarah Sweirsz: “Take Another Look”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
- 8th grader, Zach Liebetreu: “Can citrus peek be used to dissolve polystyrene?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- 8th grader, Will Perri: “Trash to Gas”

Nolan Tarantino is a graduate of FMCS (1996) and is now a missionary in Europe – you never know what God is going to do in the lives of those students that walk the hallways of your school. We are proud of Nolan and the impact that he is making in the world for Jesus Christ (THAT is in our missions statement!). Students give each week in their chapels offerings and one of the support ministries is for Nolan and the ministry that he is involved with:

Our main focus here is with a the network called Master’s Commission Europe (MCE) (It is the desire of MCE to help the local church raise up a generation of world changers, recklessly abandoned to the cause of Christ. A generation trained and equipped to live out and fulfill the great Commission of the Master.) We have set up and administrate the MCE headquarters in Brussels. This means we are working to strengthen the network of MC’s across Europe.

We also work with an organization called Convoy of Hope Europe. (Convoy of Hope is a non-profit organization that exists to provide resources to churches and organizations worldwide to meet physical and spiritual needs of the socially weak and underprivileged, for the purpose of making the community a better place). Through Convoy of Hope, hundreds of thousands of people have received tangible help and a compassionate touch of hope. Nolan has helped with a lot of the media for Convoy of Hope Europe. We also volunteer on many of the trips and outreaches.” (From website: http://whereintheworldarethetarantinos.com – check it out!)

Nolan is blessed with his wife Hannah and their new addition – Colton.

Nolan sent a thank you card to the school this Christmas:

“This season we want to know how thankful we are for the support you’ve given us throughout 2010. It has been a great year and God has done amazing things! We look forward to sharing what he will do in 2011. Thanks again for your continued support”

Nolan is the first FMCS graduate that we were able to support financially in our chapel offerings! Thank you for your giving!

Over 25 of our students and alumni displayed their talents at the Southwest Florida Creative Arts Academy Fall Recital on Saturday, December 11th at First Assembly of God. Many thanks to Mrs. Liz Jarrett and the staff (including teacher and alumni, Suzie (Drake) Davis and our current music teacher, Mrs. Dorothy Yorty) for all the lessons this past semester – the kids are doing great!

Those students involved were:
- Cy Gala
- Tyler Williams
- Sarah Swiersz
- Annalisa Swiersz
- Drew Zullo
- Courtney Simmons
- Emily Reeves
- Tristian Upton
- Christian Gala
- Sean Choe
- Alexandra Chlumsky
- Kaitlyn Nicolosi
- Nicky Chlumsky
- Dylan Tansacha
- Alyssa Tansacha
- Eva Xioutas
- Hannah Upton
- Robin Mitchell
- Alyssa Snodgrass
- Emma Ravish
- Olivia Jones
- Sarah Branthoover (alumni)
- Jessica Purves
- Joshua Harriott
- Kaleb Harriott
- Tucker Zahorian (alumni)
- Lauren Hearn
- Victoria Weller
- Kendra Stonefield

One day they are walking the hallways of FMCS, and today the Lord has placed them in incredible places to impact the world we live in! Pictured on the left is Mr. Steve Ewing (pictured right with Governor Charlie Crist), head of the Compassion Alliance; and on the left is Matt Caldwell and his family – Mr. Caldwell was recently voted into the Florida House of Representatives!

Steve Ewing and Compassion Alliance:

Ocala, FL—A local Ocala faith-based organization, Compassion Alliance, was recognized by Governor Crist as the recipient of the 2010 Humanitarian of the Year Award at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on May 28, 2010. The Awards Committee is composed of representatives from Florida Division of Emergency Management (FEMA), Florida Emergency Preparedness Association, American Red Cross and the National Weather Service and selects award recipients based on their activities and accomplishments.

Compassion Alliance reaches out locally and globally providing relief such as supplies, food and volunteers during hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. Specifically, the award recognizes their efforts, spanning their 5-year history, in providing more than $50 million in aid during such events as Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Katrina, the 2007 Groundhog Day Tornadoes, Tropical Storm Fay, and the 2009 Spring Floods. Also, their current response to the earthquake disaster in Haiti has established them as one of the largest donators in the world giving aid to that country.

 In addition to disaster relief, Compassion Alliance works to raise people above the cycle of poverty by providing training, ministry and other resources to help them help themselves. Partnerships with communities have resulted in the building of orphanages, churches and schools throughout the world. Internationally, containers of supplies have been shipped to Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Zambia, Timor, Sudan, Malawi, Niger, Indonesia, the Philippines, Swaziland, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda Zimbabwe and Albania.

Part of the State Emergency Response Team (SERT), the organization has an outstanding reputation among its partner organizations for donating its transportation services to bring life-saving relief supplies to disaster areas and has authorization to enter areas even before such groups as The National Guard and FEMA. (taken from http://compassionalliance.info/category/in-the-news/)

Matt Caldwell:

(from http://www.votecaldwell.org)“We have worked very hard over these last few months and it is because of that hard work and your support that today, I am the Republican nominee for District 73 of the Florida House of Representatives. I am humbled and grateful by the sacrifices so many of you have made.  Without all of your help, this victory would not have been possible.