Dr. Allen Guelzo, a member of The American Academy’s advisory board and an authority on America’s sixteenth president, recently reviewed Steven Spielberg’s film “Lincoln” for David Frum at the Daily Beast.

The John Jay Institute (http://www.johnjayinstitute.org) is sponsoring a public lecture by Dr. Joseph Loconte, entitled “The Searchers: The Quest for Faith in the Valley of Doubt.”  The lecture will be held at noon on Thursday, September 27th at The Christian Association (118 S. 37th St., Philadelphia, PA at the University of Pennsylvania).  From the Institute’s web site:

In The Searchers, Joseph Loconte brings an historian’s eye to bear on an ancient story that transformed and shaped the world we have inherited. He finds in that story something to make sense of each of our own stories and to guide us in the way that we will leave that world for those who follow after us.

Dr. Joseph Loconte is Associate Professor of History at The King’s College in New York City, where he teaches Western Civilization and American Foreign Policy. A Faculty Affiliate of the John Jay Institute in Philadelphia, Loconte previously served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University, was a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and held the first chair in religion as the William E. Simon Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. His other books are The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler’s Gathering Storm and Seducing the Samaritan: How Government Contracts Are Reshaping Social Services. His commentary on religion and politics appears regularly in the nation’s leading media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, and National Public Radio. He is also a regular contributor to the London-based Standpoint Magazine and Italy’s La Stampa. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Loconte divides his time between New York City and the Washington, D.C. area.

For more information, see the Institute’s web site for full details about this event.

Last week, TAA students in grades seven through ten skirted tornado weather and visited the PA Historical Society and viewed six different copies of the U.S. Constitution.  The exhibit was very important because both the hand-written copies and the printed copies of the Constitution showed viewers how the ideas of the delegates had evolved over the four months of the Constitution Convention.  For example, students could see the words that had been crossed out at early stages, how the Preamble had been altered from listing the names of the individual states to its present form that reads, “We the people,” and finally the printed copy that confirmed names of the thirty-nine delegates who signed the Constitution, the “supreme law of the land.”  This was an extraordinary opportunity to be only a few feet away from these priceless documents that established our nation’s government, two hundred twenty-five years ago. It is a special privilege for our students to study the important ideas represented in this document and then to see the actual results of delegates’ actual work as it appears in print.

On November 6, 2011 Mrs. Nancy Huston Hansen, hostess of the Capstone Living Legacies Radio Program, interviewed Mrs. Lee Anthony, Head of School, about her personal testimony and about The American Academy.  Click the link below to listen.

Interview with Lee Anthony of the American Academy

We are very grateful to the Capstone Legacy Foundation for inviting Mrs. Anthony to the program.

Please visit Capstone’s web site to learn more about their mission.  From their home page:

Capstone Legacy Foundation exists to provide Christian donors with tax-efficient charitable gift planning, fund strategic ministries, advocate and leverage support in the Greater Philadelphia Region and beyond to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

After studying fairy tales, and reading a number of Hans Christian Andersen’s tales, the kindergarten and first grades were able to attend the world premiere musical based on his story, “The Flea and the Professor” at the Arden Theatre on May 10. The children were quite surprised at the ending of the musical, which was much different from that of the story, but they thoroughly enjoyed the tale of unusual friendships and rousing adventure, and each has chosen a favorite character.

Our Scottish dancers, under the tutelage of Mrs Susan Null, have been traveling far and wide to compete in various Scottish games and dance competitions.  In late April, in a difficult novice competition in southern Maryland, Jaqcueline Hofstetter scored 5th and 6th places in 4 dances.  In the beginner competition, Magdelena Harnish and Nathania Hofstetter both scored second and third places, moving them one step closer to novice level. Brava ladies!

We have received the results from our National Greek and Latin exams.  We are very proud of our students, and give the glory to God for their accomplishments.  Congratulations to Samuel Anthony, for his certificate of merit in the intermediate Attic Greek.  The results for the National Latin Exam are: Introduction to Latin: David Matej, Magna Cum Laude (certificate of merit); Jim Mearnes, Magna Cum Laude (certificate of merit); Molly Wells, Magna Cum Laude (certificate of merit). Latin I: Molly Harnish, Maxima Cum Laude (silver medal); Nathania Hofstetter, Cum Laude; Harry Robinson, Magna Cum Laude; Josiah Wells, Summa Cum Laude (gold medal). Latin II: David Null, Magna Cum Laude. Latin V-VI: Sam Anthony, Cum Laude.

On Thursday, May 12, the classroom was literally brought inside from the outdoors when a large and beautifully marked moth decided to pay a visit, much to the delight of our students. The moth was lovingly kept on a table to warm in the sunshine and our students were able to closely observe the creature and identify him in an encyclopedia of insects as a Polyphemus moth. From Wikipedia:

The Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) is a North American member of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths. It is a tan colored moth, with an average wingspan of 15 cm (6 inches). The most notable feature of the moth is its large, purplish eyespots on its two hindwings. The eye spots are where it gets its name – from the Greek myth of the Cyclops Polyphemus. The caterpillar of the Polyphemus Moth can eat 86,000 times its weight at emergence in a little less than two months. It is widespread throughout much of North America, from southern Canada to parts of Mexico.

You see another reason why knowledge of the classics and mythology comes in handy and enhances our understanding and enjoyment of the world!

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SEAPERCH Underwater Robotics project sponsored by the Navy, MIT, Drexel 4/16/11

Robotics Team: Sam Anthony, David Null, Eli Holmes, The American Academy
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There will be an informational session about the school this Saturday, May 7th, at 9:30 AM at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Anthony, 1426 Farview Road, Villanova, PA 19085.