Spring Snapshots from the House of Joy

In Warriorville, the Middle School is lovingly referred to as the House of Joy and with good reason. Exuberance fills classrooms and hallways as students, faculty, and staff immerse themselves in high octane education. Throughout the year, students engage in “transformation days” where the whole building or a classroom undergoes a thematic metamorphosis to bolster skills in math, science, language arts, and more. As the spring semester progressed with joyous outside-the-box business as usual, middle school education transformed in ways not anticipated. The outcome, nonetheless, was a thing of beauty!

Classroom Transformation days have included Mystery Day, S'more Math Review, Prepositional Sports Challenge, and "Sweet Shoppe" Fractions to name a few. Mystery day certainly cracked the code on the fun of learning. Students became detectives investigating clues and details in order to complete an assigned task. “Every class had some kind of mystery to solve. In Bible, we investigated the disappearance of Jonah, and in language arts, we investigated an act of vandalism. When we walked into science class, the song, “Who Let the Dogs Out,” was playing. Mrs. Glover said that we were going to learn about our new pet dog. We had been studying about DNA, and we were given an envelope with DNA strips. We had to combine and look at those strips to see what our new dog would be like. Then we drew our dogs.” -Allison Lank, 6th grade

“In every single class, we had to find clues of some kind. In math, we had to work many calculations to solve the case of the missing mayor. In history, we decoded names and did stations of states. In language arts, we decoded commas using M&Ms. My favorite part of the day was dressing up in a wig and detective goggles. Coach Risher also created a mystery for us to solve. I really liked being able to tell him that we figured it out.” -Skeet Boshears, 5th grade

Spiritual Equipping Week focused on Phlippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” What it means to be true, just, and pure were delved into deeply. High School students visited and conducted small group devotionals and discussions. Middle school students examined the concept of not conforming to this world and guarding their hearts and minds.

Later, a large group of middle schoolers attended Space Camp in Alabama, while others took part in learning adventures in central Arkansas. Around this same time, life changed drastically. The concept of AMI became the word du jour. Although the learning venue changed from the LRCA campus to students’ homes, the goal was the same. “Through everything we wanted our students to still receive their education and feel connected. We strived to maintain unity through our house system and by using platforms such as Gimkit, Padlet, and FlipGrid for community building with all students. We were still the House of Joy,” Mrs. Murry says with a smile.

Middle school faculty worked hard to keep the enthusiasm for learning level high. AMI engagement themes included LRCA Family Edition of Minute to Win It, National Scrabble Day, Virtual Spirit Week, All Star Teacher Appreciation Day, and Kindness Bingo.

“We encourage our students over and over again to be the hands and feet of Jesus. These students have such servant hearts. During AMI, a student made masks to give away. Students were building things with their parents, writing letters to essential workers and nursing home residents, and helping around the house. They were looking for every opportunity to serve,” shares Mrs. Murry.

Caitlin Jones, 6th grade English teacher, says jokingly of AMI, “My favorite part was my sweatpants!” But seriously shares, “We try to be so hands-on and non-traditional to engage our students. It was challenging to replicate that, but I was able to see just how much kids really love school and being in the classroom. I’m so thankful for technology. Kids were engaged and asking questions. We were able to continue relationships. Students would email me, ‘We miss you.’”

Whether physically on campus or joined virtually, the House of Joy’s spring semester was one of transformational spiritual and educational growth.