Annual Events at ACDS

Country Market - Held in October, this is a wonderful community-wide festival featuring vendors, a bake sale, food, face painting, games, crafts, and much more. Open to the public, it is one of the ways ACDS reaches out to its neighbors in the metropolitan area.

Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day - This event, held on the day before Thanksgiving break, commemorates and celebrates grandparents and other special people in our students' lives. There is a reception, a visit to classrooms, and then a program of music and remembrance.

Holiday program - The holiday program is presented on the day before winter break commences. It features presentations by the ACDS Singers, the beginning and advanced bands, student guitarists, readings, songs, and a rousing sing-along at the end.

Festival of Learning and Festival of Learning dinner - The Festival of Learning is a yearlong celebration of a country, a people, an era, or a theme. It is organized by the faculty, with our librarian serving as a focal point, and the PTL, and is designed to draw on resources within the ACDS community and the Washington environment. Past festivals have focused on Native Americans, Japan, the '50s, and Mother Earth. The festival culminates in March with a weeklong, intensive series of presentations and visitors representative of the theme, and a schoolwide dinner that concentrates on the theme.

Back-to-School Nights - Back-to-School Nights are conducted at the beginning of the school year for each class. Parents visit classrooms, meet with teachers, and learn about what their child has to look forward to during the upcoming year.

Open Houses - Admissions open houses are held four times during the admissions season, from October through January. Students and parent volunteers lead tours, followed by a reception and Q&A time with current parents and faculty members.

Trustees' Day - In early January, after the winter break, members of the Board of Trustees visit the school, enjoy breakfast with faculty, and visit classrooms.

Band concert - The beginning and advanced bands present a concert in the spring for the entire school community.

Celebration of the Arts - In mid-May, a Celebration of the Arts is conducted featuring musical performances and displays of student artworks.

Spring gala - The annual spring gala is a wonderful event that serves as both a substantial fund-raiser through its silent and live auctions, and a great social event for parents, faculty, and board.

New Primary "Meet the Teachers" Party - This event is held in March, after new student enrollment contracts have been returned. Students who will be joining the school officially in September are invited to join with their parents to meet the teachers in their division.

New Elementary and Middle School "Meet the Teachers" Party - Similar to the New Primary "Meet the Teachers" Party, this event introduces incoming elementary and middle school students to the teachers in their divisions.

Spring play - The annual spring play is a musical production featuring students in grades five through eight. All students are encouraged to participate, if not as principals then as crew members.

Spring musical - Students in kindergarten through four present a short musical in which all have a role.

Speeches & Sweets - Beginning in fifth grade and each year thereafter, students plan, write, and deliver an original speech on a specified topic to their peers and parents during an evening program in the school library. Prizes are awarded in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. A boy and girl winner from the eighth grade then competes in an oratorical contest sponsored by the Optimist Club. Winners go on to compete at various levels and are eligible to receive the grand prize of a $1,500 college scholarship.

Faculty-Staff-Board BBQ - This gathering is held before school starts in the fall.

New Students Pizza Party - This welcome party is held for new students in grades three through eight just before school begins.

New K-2 Get Acquainted Party - Likewise, this party is held for new students entering kindergarten, first, or second grades.

Jump Up/Shadow Day - Jump Up/Shadow Day occurs in May, when students visit the classrooms of their next grade, or, as is the case for graduating eighth grade students, revisit their kindergarten classrooms.

New-Host Family Picnic - This picnic is held in May and introduces new families and students to their host families, those to whom they can turn during the summer months for information about the school, neighborhoods, and activities.

Trustee's Holiday Party for faculty and staff - This gathering takes place in early December.

Graduation - The graduation ceremonies at ACDS are held in the sanctuary of the church across the street and feature music, tributes by seventh and graduating eighth grade students, and a reception.

Awards Assembly - The Awards Assembly is held on the day before graduation. It is a ceremony during which graduating eighth grade students and others are presented with academic and athletic awards and recognitions.

Field Day/Founders' Day - Field Day/Founders' Day takes place on the last day of the school year. The students are divided into two teams and during the morning, students proceed through stations featuring competitions of various types. Some examples are the wet sponge pass, tug 'o war, and make-a-mummy-of-the-teacher.

Halloween parade - Costumes abound, the band leads the parade, and everyone circles the building once before heading inside for classroom parties and the eighth grade's haunted house.

Fall cocktail party - The PTL graciously entertains the entire community of faculty, board members, and parents at a fall kickoff party.

Head-Parent coffees - Twice a year, the parents in each grade meet with the head of school for an informal morning coffee to discuss matters at hand.

Alumni Parents Cocktail Party - The Alumni Parents Cocktail Party is held in early March and is an opportunity to reestablish old friendships and share news about our graduates.

Alumni event - The annual alumni event is held in mid-May and affords alumni an opportunity to swap stories, share info, network, and generally catch up with each other.

Parent-Teacher conferences - Formal parent-teacher conferences are held twice a year, near the end of the first and second trimesters.