Cliff Notes

What It's Like to be a Dentist

2011-03-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

Meet Bro. Peter Akl. He's a dentist who attends our church. During our interview with him, Bro. Akl said that his favorite part of dentistry is working with his hands. His least favorite part of being a dentist is hurting people. He decided that he wanted to become a dentist in his first year of college. It took twelve years to become a dentist - 4 years of college, 4 years of dentist school, and 4 years of residency. A few of his words to those aspiring to go into dental work are, "It's a great field to go into because you can have your own practice, your own hours, and your own office." Bro. Akl says he definitely sees a future in dentistry; one of the latest technologies in dentistry is computerized teeth! With this tool, Bro. Akl can design crowns on the computer. Bro. Akl has been a dentist for 20 years and has treated a total of about 10,000 patients. WOW! That's a lot of teeth! We are thankful for the time Bro. Akl took to tell us about his job. And we are really thankful that the entire Akl family has come to our church!

Dentist joke:
What time does the dentist go to work?
2:30. (tooth hurty!!)

Snowglobe Days

2011-01-26T10:55:00.001-05:00

The frenetic pace of the holidays ended, January school days bring about welcome change. Long, quiet, studious days—no sounds in the classroom, but the scratching of pencils on loose leaf and the gentle perking of the class hot cocoa pot. It’s a nice time of year—freezing cold outside, yet warm in so many ways inside. Learning, growing—the days are passing—January ticking off the days of the New Year like the secondhand of a clock.

These days of this first month, quiet and unhurried as they can be, serve to remind us that life itself is composed of silent, soundless days, not unlike these “snowglobe” days of winter. But these days, and so I tell my students, are meant to be treasured. Not to be regarded as the dull winter days, but rather as the passing of something you will never know again, and we will never be the same because of it.

January days remind us that there is much value in the “average day.” Take the time to take a good look at everyone and everything around you one of these bright and chilly mornings and keep those pictures tucked away in your hearts for a day when January is long gone.

Meet Johnny!

2011-01-21T15:20:00.001-05:00

Meet Johnny! He’s six-years-old and his favorite color is yellow. His favorite subject in school is science. When there was a blizzard and we couldn’t go to school, this is what Johnny did—he played Robin Hood and his family threw snowballs at each other! Johnny likes our school because the teachers teach us right from wrong. Johnny’s favorite thing to do at home is to play Nerf guns in the basement. He loves egg and cheese breakfast burritos. Johnny says that Mrs. Pratnicki is a great teacher and is very kind. She’s the best teacher ever! Johnny’s favorite verse is John 3:16.

Megan's Musings... Snowstorms and Snowdays.

2011-01-20T15:25:00.000-05:00

Well, what an exciting week we had! Because of the big snowstorm last week, we had a two-day school week! It was a time of snow fort making, hot cocoa, and watching movies with friends. But, I’m glad to be starting another fun week at school among my favorite people!

A new interview!

2011-01-20T15:19:00.000-05:00

Her favorite snack is yogurt and she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up! Click the image to the left to find out who she is!

Bella's Bits

2011-01-11T13:14:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone from Long Island Baptist Academy! We're so excited for all the snow that's coming! It is getting colder and colder outside (I'm sure you have noticed). I love snow! It's just so nice to look outside in the morning and see how beautiful it is! We should be getting at least a foot tomorrow, January 12th! Also, Mrs. Graf is starting a new series called, How to be Good. She is teaching us wonderful character traits and, basically, how to be good! I am so thankful that we have such wonderful teachers who take the time to teach us what to do. I hope you all have a wonderful week - Isabella

New Interview!

2010-12-16T05:00:00.013-05:00

Click on the image to the left and you'll meet the creator of this amazing fish bowl ornament - it even had a REAL FISH swimming around inside!

LIBA Christmas Ornament Contest

2010-12-15T12:23:00.000-05:00

Hello - it's Bernie again. Three days ago, the Christian Academy had an ornament contest. There were so many creative ornaments that it was hard to choose which ones where the best! Madison made a real gingerbread man which was coated with lacquer to make it last. Megan made a silver sled with silver bells. Brooke made a big, beautiful ornament out of red flowers and made them into a ball. Everyone voted and the winners where announced. Brooke, Megan, and Stephan where the winners! Stephan's ornament was a glass bulb with a real live goldfish swimming around! I guess everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit! I hope everyone will have a merry Christmas! Bye for now, Bernie

Holiday Happenings! by Megan

2010-12-13T10:54:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! We have some exciting upcoming events this week at LIBA. On Tuesday, Dec. 14th, each student is baking two-dozen cookies and bringing them in to school. Then every student gets to exchange their cookies among their classmates!

Also, on Wednesday of this week, all of the kids will bring in their favorite Christmas CD and we will listen to music while snacking on some old fashioned goodie bags. And if that's not enough, we are also having an enjoyable breakfast on Thursday where we will be bringing in a beautifully wrapped Christmas ornament to exchange with another student!

All of these things just add so much fun and happiness to the school year! We're grateful for all of these holiday happenings! posted by Megan

2010-12-08T00:27:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! In our school, we have a thing that we do called, “If it’s raining it must be Monday.” We have figured out that it has rained two Mondays of each moth so far since school started in September. (Once it even snowed!)

On December 21st, the first day of winter, we are having a full moon. A full moon has occurred only nine times on the first day of winter since 1783! On that night, starting at about 1:15 a.m., we will also be having a lunar eclipse, when the earth’s shadow will be cast on the moon. And on the 13th there will be a fantastic meteorite shower! Thanks for reading, Bella

2010-12-07T11:33:00.005-05:00

Last week, the whole school stayed after school for a Christmas classroom decorating contest. We had dinner at the school – my compliments to the chefs! It was delicious! We had baked ziti, salad, Italian bread, and brownie sundaes whi9le eating by candle light. And on Sunday night, the whole church voted for the best room. We will find out Wednesday night who won and may the best class win! Don’t forget, the winners go out to a great restaurant—The Good Steer—for lunch! Yours for LIBA, Justin R.

A new interview!

2010-12-07T06:00:00.001-05:00

Our newest interview is with a girl who really wants to be a veterinarian one day. She's in Mrs. Graf's class and is loved by all - even the animals! Click on the picture of the veterinarian and you'll soon find out who she is!

Guess who wants to be a nurse?

2010-12-06T06:00:00.010-05:00

One of our students wants to be a nurse when she grows up! Click over to our student interview page and you can read all about her!

Christian Academy Annual Thanksgiving Collection

2010-12-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

About one week ago, we had a Thanksgiving program for a special group of people in our church. We do this every year and are blessed to have such a goodly heritage in our lives. We enjoy blessing that special group every year and that’s the least we can do for them. We know how much they appreciate it because some of them even sent us thank you cards. After looking around at all these good examples, I can surely say we do have a goodly heritage! posted by Justin R.

2010-12-02T12:31:00.001-05:00

Hello, it’s Bernie writing all the current events in the Christian Academy. Today, we finished our Christmas crafts. Yesterday, the class mothers came in the fellowship hall after lunch to help us do our crafts. The little kids made Christmas trees and the older kids made wreaths. The little kids made their Christmas trees out of chocolate kisses and stars, while our group went outside to spray paint our wreaths. Also, we are beginning to decorate our classes. Our classroom is going to look the best and we are going to win! Thank you everyone for supporting our blog.

The second pow-wow of the season...

2010-12-01T12:18:00.000-05:00

Reading the charges...

Apologies made.

Uh oh...

It's really hard not to laugh!

2010-11-30T14:25:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! This is your current-event-updater here telling you what's going on at LI BA. This Wednesday we will be having an ornament contest. Here's how it goes. Each student is going to design his or her own personalized ornament. I'm sure this will be both fun and interesting as well! Also, on Thursday of this week we will have a high school and junior high holiday appetizer contest. The entire school will get to taste and judge and vote for their favorites - should be a delicious day!

That's all for now!
Megan

Write This on Your Calendar!

2010-11-30T12:18:00.000-05:00

On December 13th and 14th (a Monday and a Tuesday), people on Earth will be able to see a METEORITE SHOWER; about 15 of them will take place every hour! And it will be going on all night long - WOW! That's what I call Christmas lights!

Progressive Dinner photos

2010-11-24T10:51:00.001-05:00

Hello again everyone – it’s Bernie telling you all of the events. A couple of days ago, we had a progressive dinner. All of the 7-12 graders stayed after school for it. We all played ping-pong until it was time to go. First, we went to the Graf’s house to have appetizers. We had mini-hot dogs, mini-quesadillas, and French fries with cheese. Soon, we drove to the Johnston’s house to have salads, which I personally love salads! Next, we went to the Albani’s house to have dinner. We had chicken, potatoes, rolls, and green beans. Also, we had a little chess tournament and I won two games! I would like to tell you about the Bryant’s and the dessert they made for us, but if you really want to know about it, see Justin’s thoughts below! So then, this is my humble report on our fun progressive dinner!

A lovely, innocent looking rope...

We had a great time at the Bryants! As soon as we got there, we saw a huge bonfire in the yard! We sang songs and had a delicious dessert, but the highlight of the evening was the rope climbing contest. We all decided to award Bro. Fryman as the Champion Rope Climber and only we know why! A special thank you to all the parents who had us over – we had a SPECTACULAR evening! Posted by Justin R.

Two new interviews!

2010-11-23T14:28:00.000-05:00

Check out two new Cliff Notes interviews! Click here to read all about one really sweet girl and one really great guy!

Progressive Dinner Tonight!

2010-11-18T09:52:00.001-05:00

The high school class and seventh graders are so excited to be going to the PROGRESSIVE DINNER with the Frymans tonight! For this special event, we will be going to different family's houses for a wonderful meal and a BIG BONFIRE! It is so much fun to be with all your classmates for this extraordinary night - I can't wait! Posted by Megan

There's a Viking Among Us...

2010-11-18T05:00:00.001-05:00

There's a student in our school who is a Minnesota Vikings fan! Click on the image to the left and you'll soon find out who it is!

Who's Having a Birthday Today?

2010-11-17T13:46:00.004-05:00

A very special student in our Christian Academy is having a birthday today! You can read all about her and her favorite things if you'll just click right HERE.

MEGAN'S MUSINGS...

2010-11-11T10:24:00.006-05:00

Hi viewers! Here's the latest news here at LIBA! The months of November and December are chock-full of exciting activities and projects that we're all looking forward to with great anticipation!

To start off, we're having a competition between the boys and girls to raise money for our traditional Thanksgiving fundraiser. This is to honor the senior saints and those who faithfully come to our church but who don't have family attending with them.

Which team will have the best school spirit ever this year? Come on everyone! Let's all give it our best!

Pow-wow

2010-11-11T10:03:00.008-05:00

Recently, we had a pow-wow between Mrs. Graf's and Mrs. Pratnicki's classes. The kids in Mrs. Pratnicki's class LOVE pow-wows, especially when they get to voice their opinions!

A very suspicious teacher. Something must be wrong!

All ready for a pow-wow!

He made this face at me!!!

Madison telling what she saw.

VERY serious girls!!!

In the end, apologies were expressed and all was forgiven - another very successful pow-wow!

"Bella's Bits" - November!

2010-11-04T11:48:00.013-04:00

November is a really great month of the year for so many reasons. For one thing, there are 5 birthdays in this month. Last month, all the people with birthdays in October bought pizza for all of the students to have for lunch. I am excited to see what all the people with birthdays in November are going to do! But one thing I don’t like as much is that the amount of daylight time that we have in one day is getting shorter. On Tuesday, the sun rose at 7:24 AM and set at 5:57 PM! I will be glad when the spring/summer season comes; then we’ll have more time to do outside activities. June 21st has the most amount of daylight in the whole year! The reason I like November is that this weekend, we will be turning our clocks back one hour, so that means we will have more time to sleep and do other things that we want to do. I am so glad I can go to a Christian school where our teachers put time and effort into telling us things like this.

-Bella

LIBA Fall Festival!

2010-11-04T11:05:00.005-04:00

The fall festival was a huge success! Let me tell you about it—some parents of the students were so kind and thoughtful that they decided to host a little festival for us. We were all so excited! Soon the day came and the parents provided a beautiful lunch of sloppy joes, chips and Texas sheet cake. Andrew cam in dressed as a clown and sprayed silly string at us! Soon we went outside and played many games. We played bean bag toss, quarter toss, three legged races, egg and spoon races and potato sack race. Also, we had to guess the amount of candy corn, which I won. A few days later, we had an apple pie sale and make $200.00 (which will go towards the Sr. Class trip next spring). I hope you like my first story. Thank you parents for making these days wonderful! - Bernie

2010-10-23T04:35:00.000-04:00

It all started when the 7th grade English class had an exercise in which they had to convince or persuade a partner to change his or her mind about something. Brianna's partner was Bernie and she tried to convince him that chocolate is absolutely one of the most fantastic things on the face of the earth. Our class decided to have a chocolate tasting contest. Mrs. Graf went out and bought several types of chocolate and we all sampled them. Here are the results:

Lindt chocolate won, beating out Hershey, Ghirardelli, Cadbury, Wonka, Mars, and Nestle.

Ewwww!

2010-10-21T16:30:00.001-04:00

Anna found this giant wolf spider lurking on the windowsill in our classroom! We tried to get rid of him, but he got away!

photo by Brianna

Winnie the Pooh's Birthday

2010-10-19T14:27:00.003-04:00

2010-09-30T14:55:00.003-04:00

< This is what the refrigerator looked like on "Bring Your Friend a Lunch Day."

How Kids Study for Scripture

2010-09-21T11:29:00.003-04:00

A few days ago, during morning announcements, Mrs. Graf asked four people how they study for their memory work in school. These kids were asked because they regularly achieve perfect Scripture. After hearing that, I thought it would be a good idea to ask six more kids how they study their Scripture memory work. Here's what they said:

Brianna – “I study one verse at a time until I know each one and then I say the whole thing.”
Marky – “I study the whole thing every night before bed.”
Annisa – “I listen to our memory work on Bible on CD.”
Justin J. – “I study very-by-verse and then say the whole thing to my parents.”
Tommy – “I look the whole thing over and over until I know it.”
Stabe – “I say it about fifty times to myself the night before.”
Brooke – “I study a verse at a time.”
Noel – “I study one verse until it’s memorized then go to the next verse.”
Megan – “I study with a tape recording of the Scripture from my mom when I was younger.

Well, that’s how some of our students here study. Hope you enjoyed that little post!

Keeping you in-the-know about L.I.B.A.,
Ty

Additions to our Wonderful Blog

2010-09-16T13:59:00.000-04:00

This year, Long Island Baptist Academy’s blog has added some new additions. We have new ideas with new people to help! We hope to make our blog the best it’s ever been—we want to make it interesting and keep our wonderful readers in-the-know about what really goes on behind the doors of our school. I hope you have as much fun reading our blog as we do writing it!

Keepin you in-the-know for L.I.B.A. Cliff,
Ty

“We’re Back and Ready to Start!”

2010-09-14T10:29:00.002-04:00

Hey viewers! School is back in session, which means so is blogging! I can’t wait to share all the interesting, funny things that go on in our school this year. To start off, you might be interested to know that we have four seniors this year. But just like last year’s opening post, I’ll say it again, “We have all year to talk about them.” For now there’s not much going on except we’re all trying to take a good starting dive into our work and hope to make this the best school year L.I.B.A. has had. Happy 21st first day of school L.I.B.A!

Keeping you posted,
Tyler

2010-05-26T14:36:00.001-04:00

If you click on the horse right over there to the left, you'll find out which student in our school is enrolled in horseback riding lessons! She even has a favorite horse at the stable where she rides!

2010-05-19T15:29:00.004-04:00

There's a student in our Christian Academy who just loves to play hopscotch with the other girls when they're on break! And she likes taco chips along with some other yummy things in her lunch! Her teacher calls her a burst of sunshine. Wanna know who she is? Click HERE.

2010-05-18T01:00:00.001-04:00

One of our students recently received very good scores with NYSSMA! Click on the graphic to the left and you'll find out who it is...

2010-04-29T01:00:00.002-04:00

Click on the image of the clay animals to read an interview with our school's claymation artist!

A new interview...

2010-04-27T01:00:00.003-04:00

One of our students has a unique interest in building birdhouses! This student loves to build things and actually made something special in the backyard! Click on the birdhouse to find out who it is ...

Coming right up... GRADUATION!

2010-04-25T01:05:00.000-04:00

School Without Seniors
by Ty

Wow… to think that in one month we will be without our seniors! It is saddening for many reasons. Let’s start with one of the main ones for us guys… SPORTS! What are sports gonna be without Josh and Luke—the two who always complain because we don’t let them be on the same team? And they wonder why! Maybe it’s because they’re the two best in the school. Anyway, being Josh and Luke-less is going to stink. We now must move on to more important reasons. For the girls, loosing Silvia is like losing a part of their circle (even though that circle is made up of four people.) But with that thought, the circle will deplete by one whole person. Now it’s going to be a triangle. What is a triangle? Come on, a circle just makes everything completer. As you can see by only these couple of reason our seniors will be missed. Our student body in high school is not going to be the same. Sure—we do get to go on the senior trip with them before they’re gone, but we will greatly miss our seniors and our school will just not be complete without them. So, in closing this post, I wish on behalf of all the school and myself—we hope you have a great life and live for God and be very blessed for the rest of your lives!

Mrs. Graf’s PS—As sorry as we are to see our much-loved seniors leave, not to worry high schoolers! You’re getting my “fabulous five” 6th graders: Bella—Brianna—Bernie—Justin, and Marcus! So you see… things aren’t so bad after all!

Who could it be?

2010-04-22T01:00:00.000-04:00

Read what's ahead!

2010-04-21T01:00:00.000-04:00

“What’s Ahead…”

by Ty

When I took on the challenge of doing the blog for our school, I was assigned as a “current eventer,” if you will. But looking back most of my posts aren’t current eventing, they’re more like posts about whatever is on my mind to share with our faithful viewers. So now I’m going to change it up a bit and share with you what every high schooler is looking forward to—our senior trip! One of the things I love most about our school’s senior trip is that we really (most of the time) don’t have over fourteen people altogether that go. Less people equals more fun! Another thing is the great time we have. It’s always fun wherever we go and trust me, I have not always been someone into history, but the way history is brought out to us on this trip I’ve learned to appreciate it. There is always one thing that makes our senior trips sad and that is that we are having this trip because we are losing people from our school. Other than that, the trips are a great time!
This year we are going to Washington, DC. I’m not going to share with you what we’re going to see down there until afterward. But all I know right now is it’s going to be a great time and I can’t wait to share all that happens with you!

Yours for LIBA Cliff,

2010-04-20T13:27:00.002-04:00

Marcus, an aspiring claymation movie producer, has shared his first published movie here! Good job, Marcus!

2010-04-20T01:00:00.000-04:00

We All Need Friends

Most of you who are reading this have probably heard of the famous song from Camp Shiloh, “We All Need Friends.” Although made-up for laughs, because every line in the song is “we all need friends,” it has some meaning to it. We all need a friend that we can talk to about anything and who we can pour our hearts out to when there’s no one else. Someone who will listen to your problems and, through their knowledge of the Bible, help you in all your struggles. But I will say this, however important it is to have friends on earth to help you through your struggles, there is no friend like Jesus. He sticketh closer than a brother. When there is no one, there’s Jesus. Cast all your care upon Him for He careth for you. His yoke is easy and His burdens are light. Trust in Him. Be saved and allow Jesus to be a friend that will never leave you or forsake you.

Yours for LIBA Cliff,
Tyler

A word from Tyler...

2010-04-19T01:00:00.000-04:00

“Blessings from the People of Our School, Church, and Lives”

We are a very blessed student body. Just to think of all we have as young people… We have our parents who love us and try very hard, with God’s help, to be the very best parents they can be. We have our pastor who watches for our lives. He works to lead and guide us to the right path and then helps us to stay there. We have our teachers who instill in us the knowledge we need to have a blessed and successful adult life. They not only teach us grammar, math, history, and science, but they teach us good character, politeness, God’s Word, etc. Our school is great no matter what difficulties may happen through the journey of it.

Another reason we are so blessed is because of our Sunday school teachers. I will write specifically about Bro. Fryman. He is a great man, a great leader, teacher, preacher, and man of God. I love and appreciate him so much for the help and influence he has in my life and in the lives of plenty of other people. We love you Bro. Fryman!

The last and the most important way we’re so blessed is to have God our Father, Who has given us everything and everyone in our lives. He is the biggest and most important reason we are where we are.

Now, I’d like to point out a side note to everyone who reads this post, especially my fellow friends and classmates: if there is ever a thought of leaving this church and this school and all these people who have been such blessings in our lives, then root that thought out. God has given us all these people that I’ve mentioned for a reason and that is to help us with mental, physical, emotional, and most of all, spiritual thoughts and actions in our lives. Take advantage of all the advice from these people and please listen to my words in this post… leaving here is not worth it. From experience, in closing, it’s just not worth it.

Yours for LIBA Cliff,
Tyler

2010-04-15T01:00:00.000-04:00

One of the students in our school just loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up! She is a sweet and gentle girl and we are sure that everyone would trust her with their family pets. Click on the image to the left. It will take you to our interview page so you can find out which vet you can take your pet to someday!

2010-04-14T01:00:00.001-04:00

And the winners are...

2010-04-13T13:12:00.003-04:00

Here are the winners of LIBA's speech contest. In the senior high category, Luke won first place and Stephan took second. In the elementary category, Annaleise won first place and Brooke won second place. In the primary group, Ben got first place and Johnnie got second. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS!

But can he draw a taco?

2010-04-13T10:04:00.000-04:00

2010-03-22T14:11:00.001-04:00

Click on the image to the left to find out who's the chess phenom at Long Island Baptist Academy!

Oreo Cookie Creativity

2010-02-16T11:48:00.002-05:00

Recently, Long Island Baptist Academy held an interesting contest - design and create something original completely from Oreo cookies! The results are pictured below:

HONORABLE MENTION - "Leaning Tower of Pisa," by Stephan

THIRD PLACE - "St. Louis Arch," by Frank

SECOND PLACE - "Chess Board," by Silvia

FIRST PLACE - "Cabin and Ranch," by Justin

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!

Teeth in Training

2010-02-03T11:37:00.002-05:00

Look who got braces! Brooke and Shayna both have teeth in training - CUTE!

SPEECH CONTEST!

2010-02-01T13:14:00.003-05:00

Sometime during the middle of March, our school will be having a speech contest. Now, reading this you may be thinking, "March, that's so far away!" But for us here at the school... IT'S NOT! I mean, with thinking of a speech and having it memorized, THAT'S A LOT OF WORK! For now, this is just a little note to let our readers know what's coming up!

Yours for LIBA Cliff,
Tyler

2010-02-01T10:34:00.002-05:00

Luke just turned 18! Luke is a wonderful part of our school family. He is always very friendly and knows how to make people laugh. We hope you had a great birthday Luke! Here’s what the high school kids and teachers think about Luke:

Mrs. A – Very tender-hearted and much loved
Mrs. G – Individualistic
Megan – Creative
Tyler – great character, friend, and sense of humor!
Stephan – great character
Chris – best friend
Silvia – good sense of humor
Justin – hilarious and kind-hearted
Michaela – energetic
Joshua – outstanding
Frank – best friend, hilarious, and spiritual
Rachel – unique in a good way

2010-01-31T19:44:00.004-05:00

Guess who wants to be a sixth grade teacher when he grows up?
Click right HERE to see.

2010-01-27T14:52:00.003-05:00

The students of Long Island Baptist Academy would like you to participate in a poll. Check out our art contest HERE and cast your vote!

2010-01-26T11:44:00.001-05:00

We have a new interview on our interview page - click the image below for a fun and interesting article!

There's a new student at L.I.B.A.!!

2010-01-19T14:31:00.003-05:00

A new student has entered our school this New Year... Madison! She is five-years-old and is, of course, starting in Mrs. Pratnicki's class. Yesterday was Maddie's very first day wearing our school's uniform. She looks so cute! I hope Madison has some really great years here at Long Island Baptist Academy just as we have.

WELCOME MADDIE!

Yours for L.I.B.A. Cliff,
Tyler

Picture by Megan

2010-01-11T15:12:00.002-05:00

What are your thoughts about the New Year? You can see what Megan thinks by reading her article, "Fresh Start" right underneath our poll.

Happy 2010!

2010-01-11T14:47:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year from Long Island Baptist Academy! As all of us know, it’s the year of 2010, or twenty-ten or 2-0-1-0, however you prefer. One discussion we have in our school is, “How would you say this year’s name?” Please tell us what you think and vote in our poll located to the right of this post.

Now in this New Year I’m going to tell what some of the kids in Mrs. Graf’s class did for Christmas break activities:

Bernie, Shayna, Grace, and Johnny – Went to New York City to see the Nutcracker play and also saw the tree in Rockefeller Center.
Marky – Went to the Nets vs. Cavaliers game
Marcus – Went and saw the tree and then stopped at the oldest deli in New York City called Kat’s Deli. This deli is 120 years old!
Noel and Justin – Went and saw the tree and then stopped at a famous BBQ place called Dallas BBQ.

In closing this New Year post, I would like to share some of the Junior/Senior High’s New Year resolutions. Hope you enjoy them and thanks for reading.

Yours for LIBA Cliff,
Tyler

Luke

Be humble and closer to God
Know the Lord’s will for my life
Dunk a basketball
Get stronger
Find Bigfoot

Josh

Graduate!
Read at least 10 books
Become a really good snowboarder
Get my driver’s license

Rachel

Get a job in the summer
Memorize Scripture
Get fit
Make jewelry
Take driving lessons
Learn how to paint
Get braces off

Megan

Read more books
Go to Ireland
Learn how to crochet
Become a better cook

Justin

Read at least a book a month
Get saved
Get a 100% on all my Social Studies tests
Pass the Presidential Fitness test
Have E level all school year

Silvia

Increase Bible reading and prayer life
Graduate :o)
Read more books
Exercise daily
Try out new recipes

2010-01-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

There's a new interview on the interview page - click here to see who it is!

Girls will be girls!

2010-01-05T14:04:00.008-05:00

Several of the girls in our Christian academy are the happy owners of their very own American Girl dolls! Today, all of them (girls and dolls!) gathered in the nursery to share the fun! Here's Bella with her doll and all the lovely clothes her grandmother made by hand! Bella graciously shared all of them with the other girls. Thank you Bella!

This is just a small sampling of the different outfits and accessories the girls brought to school...

Emily with her beautiful doll Alexandra. They look alike, don't you think so too?!

Gracie with the doll she named Elizabeth... sometimes Gracie wears ponytails just like Elizabeth's!

Brooke with Rebecca, a doll named for a Russian Jewish girl growing up in New York City in 1914. Brooke's doll is part of the American Girl historical series of dolls. She has quite an interesting life story.

Madison with Kirsten, a brave pioneer girl growing up in America in 1854. Madison's Pop gave her this special doll for a Christmas present. Kirsten has been discontinued and Madison is so happy to have her! Madison enjoys American history, even at the age of five.

Ann with her doll named Gwen and Shayna with Kit - a girl who grew up during the Great Depression. Ann and Shayna take very good care of their dolls.

A pair of sandals found on Gwen, Ann's doll...

And a table full of clothes!

American girls (and dolls!) are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for!

2009-12-07T13:47:00.002-05:00

There's a new interview on the Interview Page! Click here to see who it's all about!

"Boy, Time Does Fly!"

2009-12-07T09:51:00.003-05:00

As most of you know from reading Megan’s interview, there was a “harmless prank” played on our wonderful high school teacher, Mrs. Androvich. I thought I would tell you the story of how it all came about:

Last Tuesday, we skipped morning announcements and started our classes early at 8:30 a.m. The extra time we gained made for such a long morning (it felt like forever) and helped me to finish my work way ahead of schedule. Mrs. Androvich was in a class with the seniors helping them with advanced algebra. While reading my Social Studies assignment, I looked up at the clock and thought, “It would be so funny if we moved the clock forward an hour or so.” Megan walked by my desk after scoring her work and I briefly told her my idea. She sat down and laughed but agreed to get Chris to be the one to move the hands forward on our classroom clock. Pretending to score his work, Chris stood near the scoring table and waited for me to give him the signal that all was clear. While Mrs. Androvich was writing on the board, I gave him the okay and Chris quickly took down the clock and moved the hands forward 45 minutes. When he tried to put it back up, the nail holding it to the wall fell on the floor! We were all relieved when he finally got the clock back to where it was supposed to be without Mrs. Androvich catching on.

We waited while Mrs. Androvich helped Luke, wishing and hoping that they would get done soon! But they didn’t, and the clock ticked away the time until it read 11:50 a.m.—the time we get ready for gym. So we moved the clock BACK to 11:30, and waited AGAIN while Mrs. Androvich helped Luke with his math. And the clock continued to tick until it read 11:50 a.m. for the second time that morning.

Mrs. Androvich finally finished with her math student and FINALLY looked at the clock; it read: 11:50 a.m. “Time to get ready for gym,” she told the class. And we all just sat there, not knowing how to act because we forgot to plan what we would do after Mrs. Androvich read the wrong time. So Chris and Stephan (knowing it wasn’t really time to get ready for gym) started playing ping-pong! “I said to go get changed for gym, not play ping pong,” said Mrs. Androvich. Then we all started laughing and our teacher said, “Did I miss something here?” Then we finally explained what had been happening and we all got a good laugh. By the time our “prank” was finished, it was 11:30 a.m. and we went back to work until it really was 11:50 a.m. It was really, really funny and now I think you understand the title of this article.

Yours for LIBA Cliff,
Tyler

Mrs. Graf's World

2009-11-30T13:27:00.007-05:00

I think the boys in my class are a little disappointed. For the past year or so, they had turned a tiny little room in our classroom into the “Boys’ Club.” This small room is actually directly behind the church baptistry. And it was built so that someone could have access if there were any repairs needed. So the boys met in this little room almost every day at lunch time and free time. They voted on who should be the club president and collected small fees that enabled them to buy things for their club. One year they even had a popcorn stand in there—carting bags of buttery popcorn and selling them throughout the school. They made a nice profit, though they argued incessantly about who would sell, who would pour the butter, and who got to wear the “popcorn for sale” sign, which would (to quote in the pig-Latin my students are fond of using) drive me “azycray” by the end of each lunch day. By-and-by, the boys decided they would sell things in their fort, which turned it from a cute little boys’ club to what looked to me like a side alley at Attias Flea Market. And so, I had had enough. It was, I announced at the beginning of the school year, the girls’ turn to have the room. You could hear the squeals of delight all over the school and, as is so typical of girls, they lost no time and got right to work cleaning. Carrying all sorts of piles of stuff and marveling at how dirty the “place” was—and the poor boys just stood there, mouths agape, seeing their whole world crumble right before their eyes. I heard, from one of the boy’s younger siblings, that he went home and cried his eyes out because the girls took their fort. Wow. I never expected this. And then, to make matters worse, the girls started bringing in things from home: a pink rug, a purple bean-bag chair, flower pots, candles, and a jewelry box that plays a pretty little tune. The boys were sickened by all this. And the girls were thick as thieves—at first—cramming themselves in there at each break like so many baby rabbits all snuggled into the hollow of a tree. So the boys grumbled and complained and at break time, if even one of the girls peeped her head out, the boys would verbally assault with words like, “Oh, so now you want to come out,” and “Oh, we thought you liked your new dollhouse…” Well, the boys were told to refrain from their snide comments and leave the girls be. The girls, however, seem to be spending less and less time in their house and often I find them joining the boys’ games of four-square in the back of the room. The girls haven’t decided to have a club president, or sell things either. It’s just a peaceful place to resort to with each other, and listen to their music, and take turns resting on their bean bag chair. A quiet, clean, pink and purple place that gives them so much satisfaction—and that the boys just can’t understand at all.

2009-11-25T12:25:00.002-05:00

There's a new interview on the interview page! Check it out HERE.

Mrs. Graf's World

2009-11-10T14:47:00.004-05:00

One morning, during opening exercises, I was going over one of the points listed in our daily study, “Reasons We Need the Lord.” This day’s topic happened to be, “We need the Lord to take away our fears.” As I explained what God’s Word says about fear, I also read a list of existing phobias I found while reading an article on mental health. Some of the phobias were pretty common, such as fear of heights and fear of the dark. Others sparked a wave of hilarity—phobias such as fear of bearded men, and fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. When my class returned to our room to start the day, one boy asked if there was a name for “fear of the Yankees losing the World Series.” We promptly dubbed it “Yank-a-lose-aphobia.” Here are some other “phobias” my 3rd – 6th graders came up with:

Fear of your sister or brother tattling on you: “Siblaphobia”
Fear of getting the hiccoughs: “Hicaphobia”
Fear of exploding: “Kaboomaphobia”
Fear of getting electrocuted: “Zapaphobia”
Fear of losing your hair: “Baldyaphobia”
Fear of getting chased by the Graf’s dog when you’re taking out the school trash: “Beauaphobia”
Fear of things under your bed: “Monsteraphobia”
Fear of someone sneezing on you: “Germaphobia”
Fear of teachers: “Teachaphobia”
Fear of high school boys: “Highboyaphobia”
Fear of falling of the Empire State Building: “Splataphobia”
Fear of someone making fun of your baby pictures: “Googooaphobia”
Fear of school being closed: “Boredtotearsaphobia”

2009-11-10T10:40:00.003-05:00

Noel is featured on our interview page - GO there now! Also take notice of the new article by Tyler called, "Morning Announcements." >

Fire Prevention Week

2009-11-09T16:04:00.005-05:00

During Fire Prevention Week, the Holtsville Fire Department made a visit to Long Island Baptist Academy! All the kids had a great time learning about fire prevention and how the equipment that a fire fighter uses actually works! Here are some photos taken from that day...

Take Note!

2009-11-01T19:31:00.007-05:00

Two of our talented bloggers, Megan and Tyler, each have a new column in the right sidebar - "Megan's Musings" and "Just Something to Know About L.I.B.A." Megan's articles are sure to interest you as she fills you in on her view of the world. Tyler will present different, amazing, and sometimes funny facts and information about Long Island Baptist Academy. Be sure to check Cliff Notes often - you don't want to miss any new articles!

YANKEE MANIA is HERE!

2009-10-28T09:58:00.010-04:00

Yankee Mania has arrived at Long Island Baptist Academy and signs of the upcoming World series are showing up all over the place! Mrs. Graf, a true-blue Yankee fan, encourages all the students to wear Yankee paraphernalia.and to support the finest team in baseball! Here she is with Bernie sporting his "Battle Royale" shirt:

Mark, Noel Justin, and Marcus all had the same shirts on to show how much they are looking forward to the World Series. Let's go YANKEES!

And here's Gracie, sporting her "Jeter Jersey." You look great LaGrace!

Thanks for stopping by our blog!
Yours for LIBA Cliff,
Tyler

Yankee Mania

2009-10-26T15:25:00.003-04:00

As pretty much everybody who reads this post knows, the Yanks are moving on to the World Series! Yeah! So, in honor of the best baseball team on earth, we are having Yankee Mania Week here at school. This week means a lot to most of us because it’s just the start of a soon coming, great World Series with Phillies vs. Yankees. For all of the fans in our school, we can’t wait to see the Yankees… well you get the idea—I don’t want to brag right away.

Yours for LIBA Cliff Notes,
Tyler Albani

PS—Let us all remember something… “LET’S GO YANKEES! Pics are coming soon!

Here is the pkedge we say for the best baseball team on earth:

PLEDGE to the YANKEES
by Liz Graf

I pledge allegiance
To the Yankees,
The best baseball team on earth.
And to the legends
Upon whose shoulders they stand.
One team,
Undefeatable—
With records
Surpassing the rest.
I will root for the Yankees,
Wear Yankee paraphernalia,
And respectfully
Regard the opinions of
John Sterling and Susan Waldman.
So help me!

Happy Birthday Maddy! by Tyler Albani

2009-10-26T15:05:00.001-04:00

Friday, October 23rd, was Madison Fryman’s birthday. Madison, a.k.a. Maddy, is not yet officially in our school but she’s preparing for it by getting homeschooled. She does sing in our choir though. I would have to say that Maddy is one of the sweetest, most respectful, and one of the funniest five-year-olds I have ever known! She is going to make a great addition to our school next year and Maddy, Long Island Baptist Academy wishes you and hopes you had a very, very special birthday! Love from your friends at Long Island Baptist Academy

Mrs. Graf’s World

2009-10-25T19:54:00.015-04:00

Pickle Problems

One of my students—not mentioning any names—placed a huge jar of pickles we purchased for our snack shop in the freezer. This morning we looked for them and found the entire jar frozen solid (why do things like this only happen in my class?)! So, several of the kids in our school decided to try a “frozen pickle” and here is what they decided:

La Grace – “They were juicy and cold!”

Marky – “They were icy but really good!”

Justin R. – “They were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside!”

Bernie – “They were sweet and good.”

Brianna – “Very different but mine had ice in the center.”

Shayna – “It was fantastic—I loved it and I would definitely eat it again!”

Civil War Days

2009-10-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

The students of Long Island Baptist Academy participated in Civil War Day during School Spirit Week and really put together some terrific costumes - so much so that many of these photos look authentic. Check out the following pictures and see for yourself - and remember, you can click on any image to make it bigger.

Megan Mrs. Graf's class...

Mrs. Pratnicki's class and Madison...

The junior and senior high students...

The boys...

All the lovely ladies...

Chris and Noel - quite convincing, wouldn't you say?

Bernie, honest Abe (Stephan), and Mark

Justin, Thomas, Stephan, and Josh

Rachel, Megan, and Silvia

Brooke and Bella

2009-10-21T08:00:00.002-04:00

There's a new interview on our interview page!
Click on the microphone to the right to read about this wonderful student at Long Island Baptist Academy.

2009-10-20T09:20:00.020-04:00

A Most Spectacular Yankee Game!
By Tyler Albani

On Tuesday, September 29th, the Junior and Senior high school young men got to go to the Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals game. This game was a present to us from Pastor Graf because of all the work that we did at the church with helping out with different things. Now, about this game, it wasn’t just a game, it was much more than that… here’s how our day went—

We were at school “doing work” until about 1:35 p.m. when we stopped what we were doing and we started heading towards the old faithful church van. As we were heading to the van with Bro. Josh Fryman, we saw Barry Greer and Jonathan Rivera sitting out in Bro. Greer’s car. When we walked out of the building, Bro. Greer saw me wearing my Cardinals stuff. He said that he respected me wearing this paraphernalia, but he also feared for me walking into the stadium with that on. Anyway, so after he said that I put my Ohio State sweatshirt on. So we finally loaded up the van and went to go to Yankee Stadium to catch the 4:00 pm. batting practice.
We made it to the stadium at 3:15 p.m. which gave us time to look at the Yankee stores near the stadium. They were very expensive. I tried to look for a Yankee hat to replace my Cardinals one, but they were just too expensive. Back to the story…

We got into the stadium at 4:02 p.m. and went down to right field to watch the batting practice. Almost every one of us got a baseball from the players down on the field. Justin Johnston got a signed baseball from one of the relieve pitchers. When batting practice was over, we got some food and then went to our seats. They were great seats. At around 6:45 p.m., they started a ceremony for Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. It was a great surprise. We stayed for the whole game. Our group even started a wave at around the 8th inning and the whole stadium participated! The Yankees had a great comeback and we all lost our voices! Yay!! It was a great time! It was the best game that I (and pretty much everyone else) had ever been to!

Now for other news—the reason I mentioned my Cardinals hat and shirt is because during our batting practice enjoyment, I went with a few other guys to Monument Park. While we were on our way there, I stopped at one of those little shirt and hat vendors and bought myself a Yankee hat. By the end of the game I realized my true colors are blue and white pinstripes, and not red and white. I, and almost Bro. Josh Fryman, got converted to Yankees fans by the end of the game. So, all I can say is, “Go Yankees!” Here’s a picture of my new Yankees shirt. C.C. Sabathia has been very good lately, let's hope he keeps it up!

Brianna's Plastic Zoo

2009-10-19T14:55:00.007-04:00

Brianna is an animal lover and has collected quite a menagerie of mini pets! She has cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, and everything in between - she even has a hedgehog! All of them are painted and very life-like, with much attention given to the smallest details. She has names for nearly all of these little plastic creatures and takes very good care to keep them neat and organized. I enjoyed seeing Brianna's beautiful collection of animals and can't wait until she shows me her other animals (yes, she actually has MORE!) Click on any image for a larger view of these tiny creatures.

See if you can find the hedgehog in the photo above.
The photo below shows all the cats Brianna has collected.

These are some of my favorites, I especially like the sheepdog in the background.

Look at all those dogs!

2009-09-29T12:07:00.002-04:00

To learn more about Mark, just click his image!

Look Who Had a Birthday!

2009-09-26T17:07:00.003-04:00

Rachel recently celebrated her 16th birthday! Two of her dearest friends along with a favorite teacher surprised her and took her out to dinner one day after school - we all love you Rachel! We hope your birthday was wonderful!

New Link!

2009-09-26T15:43:00.002-04:00

For current interviews with students and staff, click the image to the left!

2009-09-26T15:26:00.000-04:00

Civil War Day Interviews

As most of our readers know, this past week at Long Island Baptist Academy was School Spirit Week. I interviewed one student from each class about their day. Here’s what each one had to say:

John Sengstock
Question: Who were you for Civil War Day?
Answer: A drummer boy
Question: What did you enjoy most about Civil War Day?
Answer: The cookies!
Question: Would you rather live during the Civil War Days, or now?
Answer: Now
Question Did you enjoy taking the pictures? What was your favorite?
Answer: Yes; the one he took with his class
Question: Who dressed the Best?
Answer: Boy—Ben / Girl—Gracie
Question: Who’s your Civil War hero?
Answer: Abe Lincoln

Gracie Sengstock
Question: What was your favorite part of Civil War Day?
Answer: Taking pictures
Question: Who were you?
Answer: A lady in a dress; a southern belle
Question: Describe your Civil War Day.
Answer: The girls ran in the field for an action photo shot, found a caterpillar, my dress was green, and I would rather live today and not back then.
Question: Who’s your Civil War hero?
Answer: Clara Barton
Question: Who dressed the best?
Answer: Boy—Justin / Girl—Anna

Megan Androvich
Question: Who were you?
Answer: A girl from the South, a Southern belle
Question: What was your favorite part of Civil war Day?
Answer: I enjoyed taking the pictures and dressing up. The day was altogether great.
Question: Who dressed the best?
Answer: Boy—Josh / Girl—Silvia
Question: Would you rather live then or now? Why?
Answer: Then, because of how lady-like the girls were.
Question: Who’s your Civil War hero? Why?
Answer: Clara Barton, because I’m a direct descendent!

2009-09-26T13:21:00.002-04:00

Interview with Mrs. Pratnicki

1. What is your favorite subject to teach?
Reading

2. What is your favorite time of the day?
Drilling in the morning.

3. What are your hobbies?
Reading and cooking.

4. What's your favorite type of food?
Italian food.

5. Where would you like to go in the world?
Ireland

6. What would you like to accomplish?
Being an artist.

7. What is your favorite part of teaching?
It is rewarding to be able to teach kids to read and write.

2009-09-14T10:51:00.001-04:00

First Week of School!
By Tyler Albani

This past week was Long Island Baptist Academy’s first week of school. It was hard for all of us to get back into the routine of things, but we’re all excited to be back with all our friends. Well, this year in our school we have three seniors—Josh, Luke, and Silvia. Wow! That may not seem like a lot of senior, but for a school of thirty-five kids, it’s a big deal. Here’s a little note about our seniors: Josh and Luke have been coming to this school since kindergarten and Silvia since sixth grade. That’s all on the seniors for this post.
On September 10th, our school took trays of cookies to our neighborhood fire department as a remembrance for not only 9/11/01, but for all their sacrifice in helping to keep our community safe. Now, here are some events that will be occurring in the near future. First, later on this month our school will be going on our annual school field trip to Old Bethpage Village Fair. Second, the junior and senior high school students will be going up to Camp Shiloh, which is on Lake Hatch—upstate New York. I will devote time talking about this wonderful place on another post. Third and last for now is the Long Island Baptist Academy School Spirit Week. This is a week we all look forward to between the activities, special lunches, contests, prizes, and a whole lot more! That’s all for the first week of school, but not for the year! I will be faithful to keep you posted on everything and anything else.

9/9/09 @ 9:09 am

2009-09-09T15:14:00.000-04:00

New Calendar

2009-08-05T11:52:00.000-04:00

2009-2010 School Calendar

Sept. 8th - School opens
Oct. 12th - School closed for Columbus Day
Nov. 11th - School closed for Veteran's Day
Nov. 25th - School closes at 12 pm
Nov. 26th - Thanksgiving, no school
Dec. 21st - Jan. 1st - Christmas break
Jan. 4th - Back to school!
Feb. 15th - 19th - Winter break
Feb. 22nd - Back to school
Apr. 5th-9th - Spring break
Apr. 12th - Back to school
May 31st - Memorial Day - no school
June 10th - Last day of school
June 11th - GRADUATION