Georgia-Cumberland Academy
Encyclopedia
Georgia-Cumberland Academy (GCA) is a private co-educational Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

 high school operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Georgia and Tennessee
Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
The Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is the organizational body of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for Georgia, East Tennessee, and Cherokee County, North Carolina in the United States...

 located in Calhoun, GA. GCA offers an Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools high school diploma program. It was named the 2004 Seventh-day Adventist Academy of Excellence by The Alumni Awards Foundation.

History

GCA officially opened its doors on August 30, 1965 with 160 students enrolled. As the school was in the building process, a campaign was started called the "Penny Campaign" which was used to raise money for the school. Nearly three and a half million pennies were collected across the southeast to raise funds for the new music building and were taken to the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank to be deposited.

Technology

Every classroom is equipped with projectors and the school has implemented a one-to-one laptop program where every student has a laptop. There is also a full IT helpdesk support staff composed of students that performs routine maintenance on the laptops. The IT department streams GCA music and athletic events so that parents can watch online and maintains the school website. Also, the graphics department has done work for various companies.

Performing Arts

GCA has a very active performing arts program. The department consists of two choral groups, a drama team, concert band, and other small band ensembles. Camerata is the elite touring group from the school that participates in local community events, weekend trips to churches and schools, and a biennial touring trip to various places around the U.S. The GCA Choral is the school's more general singing group that is taken as a course for credit and is the largest group on campus. GCA also has a full concert band that performs locally at the GCA church and also occasionally goes on tour.

Several GCA students have also been recognized with various awards such as performing in the Southeastern Piano Festival at the University of South Carolina, and the Berry College
Berry College
Berry College is an American accredited, private, four-year liberal arts college located in Mount Berry, unincorporated Floyd County, Georgia, north of Rome. It was founded in 1902 by Martha Berry.-Location:Berry College is located on U.S...

 Concerto Competition.

Athletics

There are several athletic opportunities offered by the school. Students can participate in four varsity team sports, Acrosport Gymnastics, and intramural teams. Sports offered at the varsity level include boy's basketball, girl's basketball, boy's soccer and girl's volleyball. Wally Fox has been the athletic director since 1975.

Community Service

GCA dedicates several days a year for the students to go out and serve the community by raking leaves, picking up trash, working with kids, and visiting and helping the elderly.

Mission Trips

Two annual mission trips are sponsored by the school. In October, GCA joins Madison Academy
Madison Academy (Tennessee)
Madison Academy is a Seventh-day Adventist academy located in Madison, Tennessee. Established in 1905 under the visionary inspiration of Ellen White, Madison Academy is co-educated day high school located approximately ten miles north of Nashville, Tennessee, on a bend of the Cumberland...

 and Columbia Adventist Academy to serve the people in the Appalachian foothills of Liberty, Kentucky. They do various jobs such as building churches, school houses, and picnic shelters, painting, and fixing up homes in desperate need of repair. During the school's Spring Break in early March, a group of students travel to Central America to build churches and to offer evangelistic meetings.

See also

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