Pine Castle Christian Academy
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| Pine Castle Christian Academy |
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 |
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| Established | 1983 |
| Type | private school |
| Affiliation | Pine Castle United Methodist Church |
| Faculty | 48 (2006) |
| Students | 600+ (2006) |
| Grades | Pre-K–12 |
| Location | 5933 Randolph Drive Pine Castle, Florida USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Maroon, Black, and White |
| Mascot | Harry the Eagle |
| Yearbook | Wings |
| Newspaper | The In-Flight Times |
| Website | www.pccaonline.org |
Pine Castle Christian Academy (PCCA) is a small Christian private school in Pine Castle (near Orlando), Florida that was founded in 1983. Since Fall 2001, PCCA has been led under the vision of its headmaster, Dr. Lorne Wenzel. With its relatively small enrollment, the school has kept its average class size down to 18.[1]
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[edit] History
Originally Methodist Country Kindergarten, a ministry of Pine Castle United Methodist Church for pre-schoolers and kindergarteners founded 1954, the inception of the school as an academy came in 1983, when PCUMC opened PCCA to first through sixth grade students. Each year after that successively introduced one more grade level, until, in 1990, the first senior class graduated.[2]
To accommodate its broadened range of students, the Academy constructed the Family Life Center (FLC) in 1985 as its primary campus building. In recent years, only high school and eighth grade students have attended class in the FLC; lower school classes were moved to the Lighthouse Educational Center, completed in 2000. Other classes, such as art, music, photography, and athletic training are located in the smaller Candler Center. The Beacon Foundation, a non-profit group that supports PCCA, and the Admissions Office are located inside the Beacon House, an early-1990's Florida "cracker" style house. Many school functions occur on the adjacent Crawford field or in the Pine Castle United Methodist Church Sanctuary. Due to sustained growth in the Academy's student body, all sports are scheduled to be reclassified as 2A in the 2007-2008 school year, except football, which will remain 1B.
[edit] Athletics
[edit] Football
Pine Castle Christian Academy's football team finished its inaugral 2005 football season with an 8-2 record[3], although it did not make the play-offs. In the 2006 season, Pine Castle again finished with an 8-2 record[4], this time winning districts 2006. As of spring 2007, the Eagles football team was classified as 1B, ranked lower than the Academy's other, 1A, sports; the classification is due to the recentness of the program's inception.
In the 2005 season, Pine Castle Christian Academy began a contest with its rival, The First Academy, called the "Showdown for the Scepter." The competition centers around a wood scepter painted in each school's colors (black, maroon, and white for PCCA; blue, yellow, and white for TFA), and symbolizes the two academies' rivalry. Each year, when the two schools face each other, the winner of that game brings the scepter back to its campus. In 2005, The First Academy won the Showdown; in 2006, Pine Castle Christian Academy took back the scepter. The team's head coach is David Langdon.
[edit] Volleyball
In 2005, the Pine Castle Christian Academy girls' varsity volleyball team advanced to the Elite Eight and won the District Championship[5].
[edit] Basketball
Both girls' and boys' varsity teams won the Florida state 1A championship in the 2006-2007 season. Girls' won with a 38-37 victory over runner-up Malone High School; boys' finished with a 55-46 victory over The Rock. In the 2005-2006 season, the boys' varsity basketball team finished 25-4, won Districts, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen[6].
[edit] Softball
The girls' varsity softball, in its 2006 season, won the Florida State Championship. The administration hailed this as a landmark for the academy, as it was the first State Championship won by any PCCA team.
[edit] Baseball
PCCA's baseball program is coached by former professional baseball player, Joe Oliver.
[edit] Soccer
Pine Castle Christian Academy's boys' soccer program finished its last season in 2004; in 2005, it was replaced by the football team.
[edit] Theater Department
Each year, the Pine Castle Christian Academy Theater Department puts on two plays: a drama in the Spring and a comedy in the Fall. Many plays feature a dinner or desert theater. Since Spring of 2006, each play has also had a "Parent Preview Night," which allows relatives of the actors to view a dress rehearsal free of charge.
Pine Castle is also a part of the SAK Comedy Lab high school improv league, started in the 2005-2006 school year. Students meet once per week in the Fall to practice improv games together, then compete in against other schools in the Spring. PCCA won in the league's first season and took second in the 2006-2007 competition.
Although the theater department usually produces pre-existing scripts, PCCA's eighth high school play, Welcome to Justice, was an original play by the academy's drama department head, Dan Buck. The showing of Justice was a test-run and last chance for revisions of the script, before it went into full production in professional theater.
List of Plays:
| Year | Spring | Fall |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Annie Jr. | (none) |
| 2003 | All My Sons | The Foreigner |
| 2004 | Judgement at Nuremberg | Harvey |
| 2005 | Dial 'M' for Murder | God's Favorite |
| 2006 | Welcome to Justice | See How They Run |
| 2007 | The Last Night of Ballyhoo |
[edit] Clubs and Extracurricular Activities
| Active Groups |
|---|
| Spanish Club |
| Chess Club |
| History Club |
| National Honor Society, Eagle Chapter |
| Spanish National Honor Society |
| Junior National Honor Society |
| Improv Team (with SAK Comedy Lab) |
| Quill and Scroll Society |
| Angler's Society (fishing club) |
| Culinary Club |
| Student Government |
| Band |
| Discontinued |
| German Club |
| Robotics Club |
| Book Club |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.pccaonline.org/AboutPCCA_GeneralOverview.htm
- ^ http://www.pccaonline.org/AboutPCCA_History.htm
- ^ http://www.fridaynightfootball.net/Teams/PineCastle/Schedule05.php
- ^ http://www.fridaynightfootball.net/Teams/PineCastle/Schedule.php
- ^ http://www.pccaonline.org/NEA_Athletics.htm#accomplish
- ^ http://www.pccaonline.org/NEA_Athletics.htm#accomplish
