Lower School (Grades K-5) Tours:  February 8, and March 14 and 28 at 9:30 a.m.
St. Johns Episcopal Church, 5649 Mount Gilead Road, Centreville

Upper School (Grades 6-12) Tours: February 7, and March 13 and 27 at 9:30 a.m.
Centreville Presbyterian Church, 15450 Lee Highway, Centreville

K-12 Recitatio: February 24 at 7:00 p.m.
Centreville Baptist Church, 15100 Lee Highway, Centreville

To RSVP for an event, schedule an alternate time or for questions, please contact Paula Sloan, AFA’s admissions director, at 571-345-4755 or admissions@adfontes.com. We look forward to meeting you!

February 3 is the early admissions deadline to receive priority enrollment consideration for the 2012-13 school year. New applications received by February 3 will be reviewed following returning student applications for available seats. A number of classrooms will have limited capacity for the 2012-13 school year. Following February 3, applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis.

You can refer to the Admissions page or contact Paula Sloan, Admissions Director, at admisisons@adfontes.com for further details on the admissions process.

While Samantha has found AFA’s homework load and curriculum to be a challenge compared to her previous public school experience, she says, “I know it will help me to be better in the long run.” In addition to juggling schoolwork, Samantha plays the piano and enjoys the friendships she has made at AFA: “friends that I plan to keep for a long time.” When she came to Ad Fontes, Samantha found it easy to “become friends with people and attend tons of school events,” but keeping up with homework and test preparations was more difficult. “I wish someone would have told me before I entered Ad Fontes, that Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and all those social networks are distracting and you do best with books.”

Samantha’s down to earth, diligent attitude about her work can be traced to the reasons why she attends AFA in the first place.  After different experiences in schools where “no one really cared what you learned and what you did,” she decided to search for a new environment for her sophomore year.  “I found [AFA’s] website online and said ‘Here’s my school.’  I admit I didn’t really understand everything I was getting into, but I knew I was ‘in’ for the duration.

That does not mean that Samantha has never questioned her choice.  “My GPA was much higher at my previous schools.  Here I work hard and still get ‘C’s.’  Sometimes that’s hard to live with, but there is something in my gut, telling me to stick it out, knowing God’s promise that ‘I will be with you.’  I want to see this through to graduation.  I want to be able to look at my class ring and know that I worked hard and accomplished something.

After she “sees this through”, she plans to pursue a major in Elementary Education.  “When I was little I would be the teacher for my stuffed animals.  I’ve always loved working with little kids.  My own experiences have taught how important it is to have a start strong with teaching the youngest children.  My own struggles with learning disabilities help fuel my passion to build that strong foundation for others.

Education, as Samantha knows all too well, “is not something you can slack off on. It takes time, dedication, and focus.”

Unlike many others her age, Shalini says that, “I spend my free time with family. I’ve learned so much from them.  From an early age I’ve been interested in medicine, so I love my brother’s stories about life working in the ER. I love to hear my mom tell stories about her life.  My mom has the ability to relate even her small adventures back to God’s presence in her life, and His faithfulness; I take great comfort in that.”

Shalini’s previous school closed after her sophomore year, and she came to AFA as a junior.  “I wasn’t sure what to think.  Ad Fontes seemed odd to me.  Uniforms?  No prom?  But immediately the closeness of my classmates surprised me.  Previously, I wasn’t accustomed to ‘community’ at school, but at AFA I couldn’t ‘check out,’ and my classmates welcomed me. Now, I know I could talk to them 10 years down the road.  Also, the academics greatly challenged me.  Previously, memorization was how I learned, but at Ad Fontes I was taught to focus more on context, outcomes, and understanding. This type of learning has also helped me in my walk with the Lord. I have discovered more ways to integrate my faith into daily circumstances.” Spoken like a true scientist at heart.

Shalini’s passion for science led her to apply to the prestigious Aspiring Scientist Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) run by George Mason University this past summer. By God’s grace, she was selected as a research assistant in the Molecular Neuroanatomy and Developmental Neurogenetics laboratory of Dr. Daniel N. Cox.  In Dr. Cox’s laboratory, Shalini learned to work with the powerful genetic model system: Drosophila melanogaster, more commonly known as the “fruit fly”. Her project in the lab was to elucidate the role that various genomic transcription factors had in neural development. Shalini was fortunate enough to be awarded 2^nd place in the “Art in Science” competition held by ASSIP. Her work will be presented in an exhibition in the  Science Museum of Virginia this coming year.

The process of research itself taught me a lot,” she recalls.  “I didn’t realize how many factors go into the big discoveries.  Previously, I thought I wanted to be a doctor, but now I want to do research.  I saw a gap that needed to be bridged between research and medicine.  One of the causative factors of this gap is ineffective communication.  Many brilliant scientists are lacking in their ability show the ‘everyday’ relevance of their discoveries. I feel as if the tools of ‘rhetoric’, taught to me at AFA, will aid me in the effort to translate academic science to the laymen.

Shalini hopes to reapply for the internship this coming year, and attend George Mason University in the coming fall. Her current plan is to continue to add to her science knowledge by majoring in biology.  When she reflects back on her life Shalini realizes that, “My dad’s passing is the reason I want to work in the realm of medicine.  I know what it’s like to lose a family member, and I want to work to prevent others from suffering the same thing.”

Upcoming Prospective Parent Event

Upper School (Grades 6-12) Open House: Nov 15th, 7:30 p.m. at Centreville Presbyterian Church, 15450 Lee Highway, Centreville

This night, we encourage parents to not just hear about classical Christian education, but to participate in the classroom themselves with our tremendous Upper School faculty.  Prospective parents will have the opportunity to visit a variety of short classes to experience the AFA classroom. Parents will also interact with school leadership, teachers, students and parents.

Please RSVP to Paula Sloan at admissions@adfontes.com or 571-345-4755.

Henry at ACCS Conference

The whole project, now senior Henry Overos remembers, started with Ghandi. “I always had wanted to study him.  I knew that he stood for truth and I felt Christians could learn from him.”  As his excitement for his junior thesis topic grew, he decided to share this passion and enter the Chrysostom Oratory Contest, a national speech meet for Classical Christian students.

For the speech, Henry moved beyond focusing on Ghandi into the more general question of a proper Christian response to injustice.  His key theme was “proportionality.”  He explained it this way: “The first level concerns the immediate decisions confronted by individuals.   Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not have time to form a movement, but that didn’t make their response any less effective.  But, as the injustice grows, so too should the response.  Numbers and “movements” should not be despised. When the possibility of peaceful reconciliation is no longer an option, Christians can increase their response even further.  That’s why I believe the German pastor Deitrich Bonhoeffer was right to try and kill Hitler.  At some point ultimate sacrifices and actions are called for.”

So impressed were the judges that Henry took second place.  The award provided Henry the opportunity to share his speech at the national ACCS conference last June.  “Finishing second was very humbling.  It was important that I had the chance to stand in front of 1000 people, speak my mind, and have them take me seriously.”  Along with that came a plaque, $500, and a pledge from Henry.  “Oh yes,” he commented, “I would do it again!”

As time passed Henry found out more about how he was made and what made him tick.  “I played classical piano since first grade.  I enjoyed that, and still do, but it was too complex.  I was only copying the music, and couldn’t make it artful.” His piano experience changed with his introduction to jazz in eighth grade.

“In jazz the structure of the music allows for more freedom of expression.  There are so many possibilities and permutations.  I’m able to play the same songs differently each time.  I love the idea that I’m creating something.”  For Henry, however, this creativity does not happen in a vacuum.  “Jazz has many classic songs with long histories.  I saw that the best artists have to admire those who came before, and hearing others gives me insight into my playing.  It’s a great learning experience.”

Henry’s admiration for the past partly comes out in his love of movies. “In some ways,” he admits, “I approach movies like an art historian.  “I love the ‘classics’ and creative process of my favorite directors like Akiro Kurosawa. If I could pick any job it would be writing and directing film.”

Henry came to AFA in seventh grade and admits, “[Coming here] was not my decision.  I knew I would miss my friends from public school.  I thought, ‘I’m going to act cool around these private school kids,’ but I liked it when I visited.  I realized that my classmates cared about community and each other.”  Still, his transition brought challenges.  “Previously it was easy to get homework done, but teachers demanded a lot more of me here,” he recalls.  “I also resisted the concept of a Christian worldview in various subjects.  The devotionals and prayer time also at first seemed rote and disconnected. But [the methodology] grew on me, and now I can really appreciate their importance.”  He also came to see that, “I loved that I could converse with my teachers.  They gave me something to think about even if they did not give me answers.  For example, I sometimes disagreed with Miss Faulkner, but she always encouraged me to keep asking her questions, and to keep thinking.  I really respected that.”

“The ideas behind AFA promote truth, beauty, and goodness,” and Henry appreciates that this has helped promote his own creativity. At the same time, “A lot happens at once here, and while the broad education can be beneficial, I can’t focus on anything in particular just yet.”

But that time is coming.  Henry hopes that a History major is in his future after graduation.  “History encompasses everything I want to study,” he comments.  He admits that a future in film is a “crazy dream,” but can see that “The connection is in the idea of stories.  History is filled with stories, and film is another medium to create a story, an interpretation of events.”  But ultimately, both of his passions connect on a deeper level.  “The idea that God creates a story for the world gives me an interest to see the implications of events.  It’s fascinating to try and get that ‘big picture’ perspective.”

While in Cambridge, the team also took the opportunity for college visits at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. MIT students hosted team members in their dorms.Harvard’s Mock Trial Association was established by Harvard students in 1996 and is completely run by students, including the high school seminar. The Seminar is a two-day program of extensive presentations, case building exercises, and scrimmages, all of which are led by members of the Harvard Mock Trial Association. Many instructors have been recognized on the regional and national level, and are All-American witnesses and attorneys.

Try-outs will be held in October for those interested in joining the current AFA team of four seniors, one junior and one sophomore.

By Janice Faulkner, former AFA Literature and Rhetoric teacher

Rhetoric is a class peculiar to a Classical Christian education, an education focused on training students to think critically and respond eloquently to the enjoyment of and glory of God.

“Rhetoric” can be a vague term in our modern context, but Aristotle defines Rhetoric as, “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.” The goal is to train the students to see how rhetoric is not merely an emotional appeal, filled with words and little substance, but rather the skill and art of eloquent persuasion in order to defend and promote truth. Such an exercise is usually reserved for postsecondary education. However, as usual, there’s nothing usual about Ad Fontes Academy training. At AFA, the thesis project is the culmination of the education a student has received through the earlier grades and a valuable exercise to train those students who may be new to the Classical Christian education in high school.

Rhetoric is a two-part class that extends over the junior and senior year. Each year, the Rhetoric project consists of extended research on a topic of the student’s choice, a written paper, an oral presentation and defense of that paper. In the junior year, the students focus on the theory of rhetoric. They study the different definitions of rhetoric, types of audiences, emotions to be evoked, subjects, use of logical and emotional appeals, and the five canons (or skills) of a rhetorician. The primary teacher they study with is Aristotle, from his book, On Rhetoric. After studying the theory, they put the principles into practice. Thus, the junior year consists of a great deal of reading good rhetorical examples, writing their own attempts at persuasion and delivering winsome speeches before their peers. 

The senior rhetoric project focuses on the practice of the theory the students learned the previous year. They continue to study other rhetoricians, such as Cicero and Augustine, as well as great examples of rhetoric throughout history. From Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail to Odysseus’ appeal to Achilles to rejoin the Trojan War in The Iliad, the students imitate the great speakers of the past, applying time-tested techniques to current issues.

It is the senior thesis project, with a 15-20 page paper, 15-20 minute speech and 20 minute defense,  that is such an intimidating challenge to students, both old and new, at AFA. Yet, it is also a significant rite of passage for students who can now educate themselves in a new topic, defend a position logically, and do so humbly and winsomely.  The result is not only a solid writing example to send to colleges, but also a real step forward in the training of a student to see God at the center of each field of study, and his ability to contribute meaningfully to that field.

Such an exercise draws from of the three stages of Trivium of a Classical Christian education. After studying writing in Classical Composition classes since third grade, the students are ready to launch into Rhetoric class. The students must gather the facts of their topic from many sources (grammar), analyze the arguments for truth and validity (logic) and then compose their own response to their study in order to artfully persuade their audience in both written and oral forms (rhetoric).

The thesis project also allows students to more deeply research an area of particular interest to them. Last year, our juniors selected topics ranging from the Navajo Code-Talkers in WWII to the Middle East peace process. We have provided three junior thesis papers from the 2009-2010 school year below as examples of successful junior thesis projects.

We encourage you to visit our campus and experience about the benefits of our Rhetoric program.