By Maria Richardson Homecoming 2013

was a success! We won our first homecoming game against Crown with a score of 14-13 – what an intense game! This means that the Saints will be playing in the playoff games. The turnout was great, and everyone got free cowbells. At halftime, we represented our senior football players: Asa Meadows, Nathan Parsons, Micah Nibbs, and Elijah. It was a great night to be a Saint.

The next day was the homecoming dance, located in the gym of Sandy Springs

United Methodist Church. There were lots of balloons, blue and white for the Saints

of course, a photo booth, and an amazing DJ. At the front of the dance floor, there were

cardboard letters that spelled out “Homecoming!” We had so much fun at the photo

booth, with all the fun props. In the back, we had a punch bowl, with delicious blue

and white frosted cupcakes. Outside the building a bal-loon arch welcomed everyone coming in. It was pretty awk-ward the first hour (not every-one wanted to dance), but later on through the night every-one warmed up and it was a great night! Towards the end of the night, we threw it back and danced to some 70s and 80s music, then made a conga line… that failed. Everyone looked so great all dressed up and it was a super fun night. Let’s hope next year’s homecoming is just as fun!

I had the pleasure of inter-

viewing Mrs. Gragg. She is a wonderful English and French teacher for Johnson Ferry Christian Academy. I have Mrs.Gragg as my English teacher this year and I decided to interview her.

How long have you been teaching?

“I think I have always been a teacher at heart! In high school, I was the section lead-er for the clarinets. It was my job to teach the music to my group. I taught French at Campbell High School, to homeschoolers, to preschool-ers, and here at JFBC. I think I

have taught Sunday School to every age from babies to 8th grade. I taught science here at the Timothy ministry and have been teaching happily at JFBC for 7 years.

What subject(s) do you teach?

“This year I am teaching French 2 and French 3, as well as 5th grade English. I often teach middle school history, too.”

What subject was your favorite when you were a child?

“As a child, spelling.... isn’t that weird? I love words.

My favorite subject ever? Definitely French.”

Why did you decide to teach?

“I love students!!!! Kids are honest and fun and real about life. Adults scare me some-times.”

Who was your favorite teacher when you were a child and why?

“Julie Wolfe, my 5th grade teacher. She never subscribed to the whole “be mean til Christmas” thing.

(continued on Page 2)

By Josie Burnette

In This Issue:

Sports: Page 2

Saints ObserverThe November, 2013 • Vol. 1 Issue 21

Homecoming Game and Dance Exclusive

JFCA’s First Homecoming was a Blast

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT:Mrs. Janette Gragg

Current Events:Pages 3 & 4

Clubs: Page 3

The Saints football team had a momentous season filled with both highs and lows. Each player gave his best and played every game with great spirit and dedication. Asa Meadows, the team captain, posted a touching dedication to God’s blessings, his coach-es, and his teammates on Facebook and gave The Saints Observer special permission to include it in the paper:

“People said it couldn’t be done. At the beginning of this season, the saints football team had around 4 players. We were a first year team that was estimated to win one, maybe two games, if we were lucky. God decid-ed to show up and blessed us with Sprayberry high school’s facilities, brand new equipment, and what I believe to be the great-est coaching staff possible. What we were missing was a team. We struggled pre-season to find enough play-ers to at least make a team.

But again God is good and blessed us with just enough. We couldn’t slack off, or skip out on a drill or prac-tice. We dedicated our lives to this team and made it our own. First game comes and we lose, confirming a lot of people that we were just going to be an average first year team. The season

continued and God’s power became evident. You see, what God does is awesome, he takes the weak to humble the strong, not to show our power, but to show His. We get to the playoffs and that little first year team that no one thought would win more than 2 games was #1 in the playoffs. We ended our

season in the championship against Augusta Prep. The game was hard fought by both teams through double overtime. The victors of the game was unfortunately not us. The team was down, and so was I. But why? Our coaches reassured us by say-ing that to be upset is missing the point. We came to shock the world and we did. No matter what the score was in that final game we shocked the world by winning more

than one game, we shocked the world by actually field-ing a team, we shocked he world when we showed up to play for champion-ship, and we shocked the world when we went into double over time with a team that was estimated to beat us easily by 45 points... I just wanted to say thank you to my team, my coaches, and my God for the greatest senior year a guy could ask for. I love y’all, Asa”

What a Season for Saints Football!

An Interview with Soccer Coach Scott Wilder

She was kind, fun, inter-esting, and challenged me to write. She always expected a lot and our best.“

Describe your family.“I have been married to my

ginger husband, Tony, for 22 years. My daughter, Rachel, graduated from JFCA last year and is attending North Greenville University. Becca and Tyler are both juniors here at JFCA. We have a very sweet but brainless dog named Daisy and a tailless cat named Dakota.”

What would be your perfect day?

“A chilly day in a cozy mountain cabin, curled up with comforters, hot tea, and a great book. Then, following a short walk in the woods, someone brings me some hot Johnny’s pizza, followed by some s’mores on the outdoor porch fireplace.”

What is your favorite movie or TV show?

“Probably National Treasure... I love Nicholas Cage, but I am a sci-fi nerd, too. “

What’s your favorite holiday?

“Thanksgiving!” If you were strand-

ed on an island, what would be three things you would want with you?

“I would want my Tempurpedic mattress and pil-low, a knife, and flint for fire. Can I have bug spray, too?? (I wouldn’t make it more than a day!!! I hate the outdoors!!!)”

Teacher Spotlight: Cont’d

Photo Credit: Owen Hagood

By Anabelle Willoughby

A: How long have you been coaching and how/when did you start playing?

SW: I played a little intra-mural (involving people from the same place/school) soccer in college and while in the Army. I’ve been coaching youth soccer since 1997 and last season was my first year at the high school level.

A: How was the first sea-

son at JFCA?SW: Last season was our

first at JFCA and we had some great success on both

the lady’s team and the men’s team. I really enjoyed getting to know the students and the families.

A: What does the team

need to work on this year and going forward?

SW: Our main challenge going into this season is replacing some key players from both teams, who either graduated or moved schools. We have a strong corps of returning players, so getting them and the new players to ‘gel’ on the field quickly is one of my priorities.

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By Beau Keller Sources like

PCMag or PC World have many ground rules for find-ing the perfect school laptop. From humble tips to impor-tant advice, any help in decid-ing is great for a student who doesn’t know too much about com-puters. Here are a few:

For start-ers, make the big call: Windows or Mac. This is largely a matter of per-sonal preference, and unless your school has a spe-cific requirement, you should probably stick to the platform you know best. (Caution: Apple Products are not my favorite) Next, think about your computing needs. If it’s mostly word process-ing and Web browsing, an inexpensive system like the Dell Inspiron 15 or Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5320 will get the job done. However,

these entry-level models rely on entry-level processors (the Intel Celeron and AMD E-Series, respectively), which lack the horsepower for high-er-education tasks like CAD and video work.

For a more future-proof

purchase, consider some-thing with an Intel Core i3/i5 or AMD A6/A8-Series processor, like the Samsung Series 5. These machines also tend have more robust graphics hardware, making them better suited to more demanding software. Of equal importance, decide how big you want the laptop to be.

The size of the screen tends to dictate the overall size of the system, and because stu-dents are highly mobile, big-ger might not be better. An 11.6- or 13.3-inch screen will afford maximum mobility. Of course, if you’ll be spending

most of your time at a desk, you may prefer something larger.

As for stor-age, consider what you need to store. If you don’t play 3D games or work with video (both of which consume a lot of space), consider a system

with a 128GB of 256GB sol-id-state drive (SSD). Because they have no moving parts, these drives run much faster and cooler than their mechan-ical counterparts, at the same time consuming less battery power. Unfortunately, they also cost a bit more.

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By Faith McColl, Editor I have a blog called

“Musings of a Chronically Unique Teen”. I write about my life and the ways that I am different. We are all “chronically unique” because we have unique personali-ties and we’ll never have the same personality as someone else. We are fused to our own identity.

There’s a woman named Joni Earickson Tada who was paralyzed from the neck down as a teen. She has used this to reach so many people, whether they have disabilities or not, that she

never would have met oth-erwise. The entire course of her life was changed, and it was all God’s perfect plan.

You are just the way God

intended you to be. You may wish that you were like some-one else, but there can only be one of each person, and you are YOU. God doesn’t have favorites. He has a special plan for you, and your life will never be completely fulfilled if you spend your life wishing that you were someone else.

A Note From the Editor: Be Happy with How God Made YOU:

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JFCA Current Events

Tech Talk: Choosing a New School Laptop

Get Involved: Clubs at JFCAGet Involved: Clubs at JFCABIBLE STUDY

Bible Study meets every other Friday at 2:30-3:30 after school, there are Bible Studies for all ages of students. For National Honor Society it is a required activity.Bible Study Leaders:11th and 12th Boys: Thomas Nelson11th and 12th Girls: Heather Nelson9th and 10th Boys: Jeffrey Valerioti9th and 10th Girls: Brenda Kelling7th and 8th Boys: Michael Maiocco7th and 8th Girls: Kappy Memory5th and 6th Boys: John Noe5th and 6th Girls: Suzanne Campagna

LATIN CLUBLatin Club is available to all students who have taken or are taking Lat-in. Mrs. Sexton runs Latin Club and Owen Hagood is the president with Carmelo D’Urso as vice president.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETYNational Honor Society is a program for students looking to achieve ser-vice hours for/from the school. Lisa Ryan is the adult leading the meetings, Connor Lewis is the president, and Grace Chapin is the vice president. Throughout the year, there are various events and activities for members to earn service hours and serve the community.

MUSICAL THEATERThis December, the theatre group headed by Mrs. Ceccarelli will be per-forming “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Next semester, they will begin working on Willy Wonka. The class is available to all grade levels and counts as an arts credit for high school students. Practices are on every Thursday at 9:30 AM.

PRAISE & WORSHIPPraise and Worship, or band, meets on Mondays from 11:00 to 12:30. The band plays in each of the chapel services. This class counts as a fine arts credit, and currently has 8 members. Bobby Smith, the Contempo-rary Worship Pastor at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, leads the class and hopes that each member will use the opportunity to become better musicians for the worship of God.

By Cooper Foster Saints Spirit Days

are here! We have had some awesome Spirit Days, starting with Twins Day on October 18. Many people dressed up as twins, but the 5th grade boys topped off the competi-tion going as octuplets. Next, on October 25th, we had Decade Day. Seniors dressed up as the 20s, juniors dressed

up as the 80s, sophomores dressed up as the 50s, fresh-man dressed up as the 70s, and middle school dressed up as the 60s. There were several great costumes in all grades. Then, starting three days later, on October 29, we had our class wars. This time we are collecting soda can tops. It will be very exciting to see who wins!

Saints Spirit Days & Class Wars: Join in the FUN!!

JFCA Current Events

Support the Saints with Spirit Wear!Support the Johnson Ferry Saints with our exclusive Spirit Wear. Can’t wait to get your

hands on some? Just go to Edline, log in, and you’ll find all of our Spirit Wear in the link called “SPIRIT WEAR!“ under the menu on the left.

By Meghan Black Over fall break, some

of our upper class students got to go on a mission trip to serve in Nicaragua. They served along with the Chosen Children’s Ministries and the Cultural Enrichment Volunteer Program (CEVP) experiencing the world out-

side their local community while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

The students were able to give their testimonies, feed the children and those in need, and visit a school in Xiola that they had painted in October 2011. In Xiola, they then painted the inside

of a school room and helped with a VBS program, doing skits and playing soccer with the 150 students. Some of the JFCA students got to see some children they had met the year before while revisit-ing some of their previous sites. They got to see one woman who they had met the last trip while she was preg-nant. This trip, they were able to bring clothes for the baby and pray over them. They also traveled to a dump in Masaya where over 150 people live off of the trash. As trucks come and dump trash daily, the men, women, and children

search for things they can either eat, sell for recycling, or use. They were able to pur-chase and distribute $1,000 of food bags, each bag provid-ing meals for a week. Our students were able to spread

the good news of Jesus Christ and serve the community in Nicaragua, saving lives both spiritually and literally.

Read more about the trip at www.hismoments.com

JFCA Students are Making a Difference in Nicaragua

Items You Can Buy:• Hats• T-Shirts• Hoodies• Sweatpants• And more...All with our Saints logo!

Already got your JFCA Spirit Wear? Send us a photo of you and your friends wearing your spirit gear and we’ll put it in the next issue! Send all photosto Mrs. Buckner at paula.buckner@jfca.org

Photo Credit: Owen Hagood

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