Grace River Academy

Happy Last Day of School! Today was a bittersweet day as we said goodbye to our students, because we will not be returning for another school year. It was a very difficult decision, but we have been truly blessed by all of the students that have walked through our doors and we know they will do great things and impact the world for Christ. Thank you to all of the families who have allowed us to teach their children, it was truly an honor!

Our 2025 Kindergarten Graduates! 🎓📚

We had a wonderful time on our field trip to the Virginia Aquarium on Wednesday! 🐠🪼🪸

We had a great time yesterday at Cullipher Farm on our field trip! We were given a lesson about strawberry plants and the farm, picked strawberries, took a tractor ride through the farm, and played on the playground. 🍓☀️

On Friday, one of our own students was honored to be chosen as one of the winners of the Virginia Beach Water Awareness Calendar contest! He attended a reception hosted by the Mayor where all of the winners were honored. His art can be viewed on the Virginia Beach Public Utilities website. We are proud of your hard work, Jaeden!

Last week, our school butterflies were released and the students were excited and sad to see them go. It has been so fun to see them transform over the past few weeks. 🦋

Happy 100th Day of School! ✏️📚✂️

Throughout the month of November, church members and students have been donating food items for families in our community in partnership with the Virginia Beach Department of Health and Human Services’ Holiday Project. Yesterday during Chapel, students packed the food items into boxes and colored some Thanksgiving messages for the families. Students learned that, while we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, others in our neighborhood are not as fortunate but that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus by providing them with everything they need to have a memorable Thanksgiving meal. 🦃🧡

Today, our second and third grade class took a field trip to the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach! ✈️ Students went on a guided tour of the Great War Hanger followed by the Navy and Army Hangers. While touring the collection of antique military planes, some over 100 years old, students traced the innovation and key design changes throughout early aviation. The STEM-focused tour highlighted the principles of flight and how technological advancements impacted the engineering design process. Students then put their newly acquired knowledge to the test as they built paper airplanes, testing and improving their creations to produce increased flight distances from 6 to 30 feet!

Yesterday in STEM class, students learned about the science and engineering of simple machines such as levers. They were tasked with creating a catapult that used a pumpkin as the fulcrum. Students then tested their creations to see whose could catapult a tin foil ball the farthest. We learned that sometimes simple is better than complex and that greater force applied to one side of the lever makes for greater opposite force on the other side. 🎃

Our Kindergarten and First Grade class had a blast today on their field trip to Hunt Club Farm! 🎃🍂🐐

Happy first week of school 📚☀️ It has been a wonderful week getting to know one another and getting back into our regular routine. This is a great group of students God has placed with us and we are so blessed to be a part of their journey. It’s going to be an amazing year!