Georgia-Cumberland Academy

Georgia-Cumberland Academy (GCA) is a Seventh-day Adventist private high-school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Georgia and Tennessee located in Calhoun, Georgia, United States.[8] GCA offers an Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools high school diploma program.[8] It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.[9][10][11][12] It was named the 2004 Seventh-day Adventist Academy of Excellence by the Alumni Awards Foundation.[13]

Georgia-Cumberland Academy
Address
397 Academy Drive Southwest

Calhoun
,
Georgia
30701-7405

United States
Coordinates34.463058°N 85.019646°W / 34.463058; -85.019646[1]
Information
TypePrivate
Religious affiliation(s)Seventh-day Adventist Church
Established1965
PrincipalSerge Gariepy
Faculty31[2]
Grades9 - 12
Enrollment248[3]
International students16[3]
Classes46[4]
Average class size25[3]
Student to teacher ratio1:16[3]
Campus size500 acres (2.0 km2)
Color(s)  [5]
AthleticsFour varsity teams and Acrosport Gymnastics[5]
MascotJaguar[5]
YearbookFountain Reveries
Graduates59 [6]
AccreditationAdventist Accrediting Association
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools[7]
Websitewww.gcasda.org
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History

As the school was in the building process, a campaign was started called the "Penny Campaign" which was used to raise money for the school. Nearly three and a half million pennies were collected across the southeast to raise funds for the new music building and were taken to the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank to be deposited.[14]

GCA opened its doors on August 30, 1965 with 160 students enrolled.[15]

Academics

Technology

Every classroom is equipped with projectors and the school has implemented a one-to-one laptop program where every student has a laptop.[16] A full IT help desk support staff composed of students performs routine maintenance on the laptops. The IT department streams GCA music and athletic events so that parents can watch online, and maintains the school website. The graphics department has done work for various companies.[17][18]

Performing arts

GCA has a very active performing arts program. The department consists of two choral groups, a drama team, concert band, and other small band ensembles. Camerata, the elite touring group from the school, participates in local community events, weekend trips to churches and schools, and a biennial touring trip to various places around the U.S.[19][20] The GCA Choral is the school's more general singing group, which is taken as a course for credit and is the largest group on campus. GCA also has a full concert band that performs locally at the GCA church and occasionally goes on tour.

Several GCA students have been recognized with various awards and recognition, such as performing in the Southeastern Piano Festival at the University of South Carolina, and the Berry College Concerto Competition.[21][22][23]

Athletics
GCA basketball (2009)

Various athletic opportunities are offered by the school. Students can participate in four varsity team sports, potato chip eating contests, and video game nights.[24][25] Sports offered at the varsity level include boys' basketball, girls' basketball, boys' soccer and girls' volleyball.[26] Wally Fox has been the athletic director since 1975.[27]

Mission trips

Three annual mission trips are sponsored by the school. In October, GCA joins Madison Academy and Columbia Adventist Academy to serve the people in the Appalachian foothills of Liberty, Kentucky. They do various jobs such as building churches, school houses, and picnic shelters; painting; and fixing homes in desperate need of repair.[28] During spring break in early March, a group of students travel to Central America to build churches and offer evangelistic meetings. More recently the school has sponsored trips to Thailand and China, working on humanitarian projects with ADRA.[29]

Spiritual aspects

All students take religion classes each year. These classes cover topics in biblical history and Christian and denominational doctrines. Instructors in other disciplines also begin each class period with prayer or a short devotional thought, many of which encourage student input. The entire student body gathers together every week in the auditorium for an hour-long chapel service.

Outside the classrooms there is year-round spiritually oriented programming that relies on student involvement.

List of principals
  • E.F. Reifsnyder (1965-1968)
  • W.A. Sowers (1968-1970)
  • James Clizbe (1970-1973)
  • Lyle Anderson (1973-1978)
  • Wayne McNutt (1978-1982)
  • Cyril Connelly (1982-1988)
  • Victor Kostenko (1988-1989)
  • John Thomas (1989-1997)
  • Arnold Schnell (1997-1998)
  • Fordyce Koenke (1998-2002)
  • Greg Gerard (2002–2022)
  • Serge Gariepy (2022-Present)

See also

References
  1. "Free US Geocoder". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  2. "Adventist Online Yearbook". adventistyearbook.org. November 4, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  3. Private School Review Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  4. Georgia-Cumberland Academy - Courses Offered, Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  5. Georgia-Cumberland Academy - Sports, Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  6. "GCA receive High School diplomas". Calhoun Times. May 24, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  7. International Registry for Accreditation Archived 2014-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  8. "Georgia Private School Accreditation Council". Gapsac.org. January 27, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  9. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/1115/For-real-education-reform-take-a-cue-from-the-Adventists"the second largest Christian school system in the world has been steadily outperforming the national average – across all demographics."
  10. "Seventh-day Adventists - Christian Denomination | Religion Facts". Archived from the original on 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  11. "Department of Education, Seventh-day Adventist Church". Archived from the original on 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  12. Rogers, Wendi; Kellner, Mark A. (April 1, 2003). "World Church: A Closer Look at Higher Education". Adventist News Network. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  13. The Alumni Awards Foundation – Alumni Awards Foundation -Programs/Grants Archived 2008-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Sarasota Journal March 18, 1964. "Advent Youths Collect 11 Tons Of Pennies" Page 26. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_R4eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7osEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3537,2307135&dq=georgia-cumberland-academy&hl=en
  15. Southern Tidings, October 1, 1965, "Georgia Cumberland Academy officially opened", Atlanta, Georgia
  16. "Into the principal's office: A Q&A with GCA's Prinicpal [sic] Gerard". Calhoun Times. January 7, 2011. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  17. "GCA: Where Technology Goes from Theory to Practicality". Georgia-Cumberland Conference of SDA. April 21, 2009. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  18. "Georgia-Cumberland Academy Basic Information". Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  19. Calhoun Times, April 30, 2003. "Camerata Singers"
  20. Calhoun Times, "Adventists hear Camerata"
  21. Calhoun Times, September 22, 2007, Katie Drexler, "Local teens attend national piano festival"
  22. "2009 Southeastern Piano Festival Participants". University of South Carolina. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  23. "Thirteen-year-old is a Musical Winner". Georgia-Cumberland Conference of SDA. May 26, 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  24. "GCA - Intramural". Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  25. "Acroflyers -About Us". Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  26. "Georgia-Cumberland Academy Sports". maxpreps.com. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  27. Calhoun Times, February 24, 2010. Whitney Gentry, "Wally Fox: connections through coaching"
  28. "Appalachia Outreach History". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  29. "Double Impact". Georgia-Cumberland Conference of SDA. February 28, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
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