They are popping up like wildflowers! These colorful jars to support the Cedar Springs Library are popping up at local businesses everywhere. Look for these matching fundraiser jars and throw in your loose change (we take paper money, too) to help the library get closer to the $50,000 matching grant towards a new building.

Thanks to the CTA staff and students for their part in decorating the containers—they are truly works of art! Also, a big thanks to the Cedar Springs Post and the many others who have put in their time and effort to support our local library.

CTA’s boys varsity basketball team traveled up north to take on two Traverse City teams.

Friday night, CTA tipped-off against St. Mary’s of Lake Leelanau. The Eagles of St. Mary’s bested the Chargers with a final score of 42-24. 14 of the Charger’s 24 points came from Senior guard, Cole Chilcote. Early in the 3rd quarter, Chilcote hit a 14-14 game tying 3-point basket. However, St. Mary’s found a way to convert turnovers into baskets, and make it difficult for the Chargers to score for the remainder of the game. Guards, Travis Johnson and Austin Armstrong each added 4 points.
The good news was the Chargers did not have to hang their heads long over Friday night’s loss. They played the Bulldogs of Traverse City Homeschool early Saturday. The first half looked shaky for Creative Tech, as the Bulldogs used their 6’3” center to have their way around the basket on both ends of the court. The Chargers made a few adjustments on the defensive end, and held the center to just a few touches for the remainder of the game. The Chargers were also more determined to attack the basket and get their forwards involved. Creative Tech took the momentum of a buzzer-beater 3-point shot from the hand of junior Austin Armstrong into halftime to trail the Bulldogs by just 2 points. However, the biggest points may have come from senior Zach White from the charity line. With less than 30 seconds left in the game, White’s made free-throws put the Chargers up by 4 points, making it a two-possession game. The Bulldog’s settled for a desperate 3 point attempt as time ticked away. The shot came up short bouncing out of bounds, possession to the Chargers. The Chargers were able to play keep away for the remaining 10 seconds and win with a final score of 26-22.
Creative Tech improves to 5-4 as they reach the halfway point in the season. Tuesday, they take on Waypoint, of Muskegon, and end the week with a trip to Grattan Academy.

CTA Grades K-6

Daddy/Daughter Dance

February 9, 2011
CTA Cafeteria

$10.00 per family
Refreshments, Desserts, Photo Included

Spring Parent/Superintendent Town Hall Meeting

(originally scheduled for April 23)

Has been rescheduled to
Thursday, April 19, 2012

This is also Family Night at CTA!

Hope to see you all there!

January     27     Boys and Girls Bball @ Grattan Academy, Greenville, MI 6:00PM & 8:00PM
31     Boys and Girls Bball @ Fremont Home School, Fremont Christian Middle School 6:00Pm & 8:00PM

February    3    Boys and Girls Bball @ Wellspring Prep, Grand Rapids, MI 4:30 PM and 6:15 PM
7    Boys and Girls Bball @ WMAES, Grand Rapids, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
9    Daddy/Daughter Dance (K-6th Grade) CTA Cafeteria 7:00 – 8:30 PM
10    Boys and Girls Bball @ Lakeshore Christian, Grand Haven, MI 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM
13    Boys and Girls Bball @ Grand Rapids Prep, Grand Rapids, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
17    Boys and Girls Bball @ Waypoint Academy, Muskegon, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
22    Boys and Girls Bball Tournament @ WMAES, Grand Rapids, MI 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM
22-24    No School for Students and Staff – Mid-Winter Break
27    No School for Students Teacher PD Day 9 AM – 3:30 PM
28    Boys and Girls Bball Tournament @ WMAES, Grand Rapids, MI TBA

Dr. Elizabeth Stolle

Ms. Jenny Yonkman

Dr. Elizabeth Petroelje Stolle, a reading professor in the College of Education at Grand Valley State University, is collaborating with Ms. Jenny Yonkman’s sixth grade students at Creative Technologies Academy and Ms. Lisa Campbell’s students of Cross Creek Charter Academy on an exciting opportunity. Ms. Yonkman, Ms. Campbell, and Dr. Stolle have been working on this collaborative project for three years now, connecting adolescent readers around texts through online discussions. The project will continue in January and February of 2012 as the students read and discuss the novel, Phantom Tollbooth.
It was important to the three educators that they establish a project that is beneficial to all involved. In that way, Ms. Yonkman, Ms. Campbell, and Dr. Stolle have established clear goals for the students within the project and have collaborated extensively to insure that their goals will be met. The hope is that the sixth grade students will: (1) experience honest talk about texts, that is, that students can share their ideas and opinions about the novel; (2) understand the various aspects of communication, that is, students come to experience how audience and purpose play important roles in the ways by which we write and communicate; and (3) make a true connection to their reading and writing as they engage in an authentic reading and writing experience.
With these established goals, the sixth graders will be placed into groups and asked to communicate online for four weeks discussing the chosen novel. In the discussions, all individuals will be responsible for framing discussion questions, sharing insights and ideas, and exploring the text in terms of language use, theme, etc. During this time, the sixth grade students will access an educational website, nicenet.org, in order to post responses, questions, and reactions to the text. Nicenet.org is a secure site where only our students will have access to the discussions by using usernames and passwords. Therefore, each student will be issued a username and password to this project’s discussion board only. With that, all posts will be monitored by Ms. Yonkman, Ms. Campbell, and Dr. Stolle. Usernames and passwords will be made available to the parents of students, as well so they can see the exciting discussions unfold. Data will be collected through both the online discussions and classroom observations.
Participation in this study is voluntary and will not influence student grades or their standing at school.  If a student chooses not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty. All collected data will be coded and name and identity will be removed. The results of the research study may be published, but student names will not be used to protect confidentiality. There are no direct benefits from participating in this study other than the benefits of adding to the knowledge base regarding online discussions and 21st century literacy skills.
All data collected through the online discussions will only be accessible to the researcher with a password.  All online discussion interactions and threads will be saved to an external harddrive at the end of the four weeks. Dr. Stolle will code all names on the online discussion transcripts and the written observations.  After three years all data will be deleted, keeping student confidentiality.
CTA is pleased to work with Dr. Stolle once more in research to improve middle school language arts instruction and enhance student reading experiences.  Plans are underway to expand collaboration with Dr. Stolle to the high school language arts in the near future.

Tuesday’s win over West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science (WMAES) evened the Chargers record on the season to 2-2.
The boy’s varsity team from Creative Technologies Academy executed a near-perfect defensive game as they held a competitive WMEAS team scoreless in the first, third, and fourth quarters. After jumping out to a 16-0 lead after the first quarter, the Chargers were challenged by WMAES as they played even with the Chargers, matching score for score to end the first half with a 27-10 Charger lead. Unfortunately for WMEAS, their scoring run would end there, as CTA charged on to a 52-10 victory.
A big reason for the successful night was the 33 combined offensive and defensive rebounds, as well as getting a team total of 18 steals.  Junior, Austin Armstrong lead statistically for the Chargers with 6 steals, 6 rebounds, and 13 points.  It was a great performance from the junior, but the Chargers victory was a team effort. Twelve of the fourteen Chargers scored at least two points to lead to balanced scoring.
The CTA boys hope to improve their record as they head to Fremont to face the Fremont Home School Mustangs for one last game before taking a break for the holidays. For a complete CTA Charger’s schedule, please visit the athletics page at www.ctaschool.com.

On Saturday, October 29, the cross country teams from Creative Technologies Academy concluded their racing schedule at the inaugural Michigan Independent High School Championships at Allendale High School. The meet featured schools from around the state and provided a venue for non-MHSAA schools to compete against each other.  The men’s team from CTA earned runner-up honors against tough competition from Grand Rapids Track Club, who won the meet, and narrowly defeated third place Kalamazoo Home School by one point.
The Chargers were led by sophomore Aaron Nutt (5th place) in a time of 17:57.  Also scoring for CTA were junior Jeremiah Wortz (19:23), freshman Benett Tomandl (19:49), seventh grader Brandon Beck (19:58), and senior Steve Van Enk (20:08).  “The boys decided before the gun that they were going to win a trophy today.  They immediately put themselves in position once the race started and never looked back.  I was very satisfied with the team performance,” remarked Coach Gerry Verwey.
CTA’s ladies team placed third at the meet.  Sophomore Erin Munger (20:35) won the race and was crowned “MIHS Champion.” Freshman Hannah Hubbard, sophomores Alicia Beck and Michaela Smith, and junior Grace Van Enk contributed in the scoring as well.
After experiencing their most successful season of cross country in their young four years of existence, the Chargers celebrated their accomplishments with a highly interactive and festive team banquet on November 9th.  The banquet featured a murder mystery dinner, in which each team member received a character and objectives to act out to solve an imaginary crime, all while partaking in a wonderfully fulfilling three-course feast provided by some of the parents.  The party also featured mock awards and photo highlights, complete with funny stories from the season.
“This was one of the most memorable seasons ever,” commented Verwey.  “These kids were a team from day one – from camp through to the end.  It was incredibly rewarding to see so many students set new lifetime personal bests throughout the season.  I can’t wait to see what we will do next year.”

When:  December 1, 2011
Time:  4-8 pm

McDonald’s is generously donating 15% of their total sales to Creative Technologies Academy on the above day and time to benefit the 4th and 5th grade students’ field trip to Mackinac Island.
You eat and the kids earn!

Valid only at the
Cedar Springs McDonald’s.
4141 17 Mile Road Northeast
Cedar Springs, MI 49319-9451
(616) 696-3150

*McDonald’s McTeacher’s Night Program provides an opportunity for local schools to raise funds. Friends and Families of the school are invited to visit McDonald’s at a designated time period. Thank you, McDonalds!

The Power Pack is a great way to save and support CTA students/area businesses.

Power Pack includes:
1. Magazine gift card
2. Value Card (14 merchants)
3. Key Chain Tags (2)

For 15 dollars, you can take advantage of great subscriptions and a year of various discounts! With its generous amount of savings, the Power Pack immediately pays for itself.

Order your POWER PACK TODAY!!!
Call April V. or Shawn S. at (616) 890-5869/ (616)881-8045