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Praisye Yeo

May 12
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PCA Second-Grader Wins 2021 Best Invention in Health and Wellness

By PCA News

What should a student do to calm down if they are frustrated during class? That’s what second-grader, Eric, set out to tackle with his invention of “The Calmer Box”.

Second-grade student Eric recently participated in the 2021 Northern New England Young Inventors’ Program. Eric won Best Invention in Health and Wellness for Second grade as well as 2nd place for Best Invention for Second grade.

Eric has been inventing for two years, and this is his second win regionally. His invention, “The Calmer Box”, is a box that fits inside students’ desks to hold items that will calm them down if they are frustrated, without disrupting the teacher or class.

This invention can be filled with items personalized to the student such as gum, headphones, a calming photo, a squishy ball, and other items. The box is a multisensory tool itself with scratch and sniff stickers and shiny hinges. Rough and soft Velcro are on either side of the box for sensory seekers.

Eric has been invited to participate in the 2021 Invention Convention US Nationals being hosted by Invention Convention Worldwide and The Henry Ford in Dearborn, MI. on June 24. The PCA community congratulates Eric for his accomplishment.

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May 12
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3 PCA 7th Graders Launch Food Drive to Make a Difference During COVID

By PCA News Stories

PCA Junior High girls step up and make an impact by helping the local community during the COVID pandemic

By Karin Best, PCA Volunteer and Mom
Helping people. That was the mindset of Portsmouth Christian Academy (PCA) 7th graders, Chloe Bosma and Erika Best, when their class was posed with the question “What do you want your legacy to be?”. While the girls individually thought of helping people, upon talking with each other, they realized they could help more people by combining their efforts. Erika and Chloe easily agreed upon a food drive, deciding to partner with local non-profit, Gather, located in Portsmouth, NH. Both students felt it was especially important to run a food drive given the large need for reliable food due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Hearing what her classmates were doing, Sophia Workman asked if she could join her friends to help with this service project. Teamwork quickly became an added bonus for the trio. Chloe shared that, “working with Erika and Sophia was incredible. We’re best friends, so it made the project more exciting and motivating.” 
The legacy question originated from the 7th grade culminating research paper asking students to ponder their own legacy while researching a person who has made an impact with their own legacy. Sophia chose to write about Susan B. Anthony, Chloe wrote about Princess Diana, and Erika chose Jackie Kennedy for her research paper. School-wide, PCA utilizes the Independent Investigative Method (IIM) teaching a step-by-step method for researching and writing a paper. This project provided students the opportunity to reflect on how humans can affect our world and, in turn, how they hope to affect their world. Each and every day PCA students are posed with ideas such as these, keeping in line with its vision statement of  “Christ-centered graduates impacting the world for good”.

With the desire to help those in the Seacoast area, the girls needed support in reaching their food drive goal, and the PCA community eagerly jumped into action! Students, parents, teachers, and staff all stepped up with the week-long food drive. As a result of abundant generosity, 524 items were collected, weighing a total of 581 pounds! Erika reflected that, “None of this would have been possible without the PCA community. Families took the time and made the effort to bring in donations. The staff at PCA helped so much too.”

In-person learning made an opportunity, such as this, a possibility this school year. Despite the pandemic, PCA was one of a handful of New Hampshire schools able to offer full-time, in-person learning to its students beginning in August and continuing through the remainder of the 20-21 school year. Staff, teachers, and parent volunteers worked tirelessly designing safety protocols and reconfiguring the school to provide the best possible learning experience for all students. Opportunities to learn and grow, similar to this service project, occurred this year due to the daily dedication of countless volunteers, faculty, and staff.

The group logged approximately 20 total hours planning and executing the food drive at school, with the vast majority of that time working together. Executing the service project allowed Chloe, Sophia, and Erika the opportunity to experience all the behind-the-scenes work involved: deadlines, teacher/advisor guidance, administrative approval, marketing school-wide flyers, communications (both verbally and electronically), meetings, collecting donated items, checking for expired food, and delivering to Gather.

The group worked closely with their English teacher/project advisor Miss Juliana Scott and PCA Lower School Principal Dr. Carrie Abood.

When asked to reflect on the service project, Scott said, “Erika, Sophia, and Chloe demonstrated their organization skills, their persistent determination, and most importantly, their kind hearts as they donated their time to a school-wide food drive. I am so proud of them. They are certainly leaving behind a remarkable legacy.”

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Volunteering is not a new concept for these young ladies, who all agree that age is not a factor when it comes to helping. In fact, they hope to inspire other kids. Sophia has helped at an eldercare facility, Chloe made cards for healthcare workers, and Erika donated hand-made blankets to the Salem Animal Rescue League for animals in need. They echo each other stating that as the next generation of volunteers, kids can make a difference because volunteering is fun and satisfying. Perhaps their hope to inspire other kids did work as it was the first grade that donated the most items. The future looks very bright with these kids ready and willing to help!

Stay up to date with the difference our students are making and what our community is up to!

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Apr 14
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10 Reasons Why In-Person Learning is Important in a Child’s Education

By Better Together Blog

Why is Distance Learning So Difficult?: 10 Reasons Why In-Person Learning is Important in a Child’s Education

After seeing the title of this article, we can all agree: Remote learning? It’s not easy. We’re all looking for the best-fit learning environment for our families, from our little ones to our high schoolers – and COVID hasn’t made it any easier. We all know remote/distance learning isn’t always the most conducive format for our young learners. But why is it so hard? And what can we do as parents to help make it actually work?

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Apr 08
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Why Is Remote Learning So Hard? (Full Article)

By Better Together Blog

Why Is Remote Learning So Hard? 

By guest author: Peg Dawson, Ed.D., NCSP 

For many years, I’ve been leading a study group on executive skills sponsored by the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists. When the pandemic hit last March, we switched from meeting in person to meeting over Zoom, and it’s given me the opportunity to observe how distance learning has impacted student learning and performance in schools in my state. Because my area of interest and expertise is executive skills, I’d like to look at the effects of the pandemic through that lens.  Read More

Apr 06
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PCA Seniors Perform at NH Jazz All-State

By PCA News Stories

Portsmouth Christian Academy (PCA) congratulates seniors Cort Baussmann and Will Kuzman for being accepted into Jazz All-State last November. Just last week, the 2021 Jazz All-State performance premiered live on April 2 at 7:30 pm. The stream features Cort performing in the Honors Jazz Band and Will performing in the Honors Jazz Choir. PCA celebrates these outstanding musicians.

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Apr 06
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12 PCA High School Student-Athletes Recognized by NHIAA for Academic and Athletic Excellence

By PCA News Stories
Portsmouth Christian Academy (PCA) congratulates its 12 Upper School student-athletes who were recognized by the NHIAA for academic and athletic excellence. Each student who received this recognition maintained at least a 3.5 GPA, played two varsity sports, participated in community service activities, and served as a positive role model to their peers.

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Apr 01
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What We Can Learn From PCA Preschool’s Performance of ‘The Great Kapok Tree’

By Better Together Blog, PCA News Stories

Every year, PCA’s Preschool (PCAP) works together to put on their biggest performance of the year: acting out the story of The Great Kapok Tree.

Harlee Tuttle, PCAP Director, once compared this event to PCAP’s equivalent of the Super Bowl. Needless to say, the littles ones worked hard to put on this show! Tuttle writes:

“The children in the Polliwog and Frog classrooms have been studying the Rainforest during the month of March. Children have learned about the ecosystem- and how all living things are connected and depend on one another.” Read More