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Mrs. Kristin Clinkinbeard
Upper School Resource
August, 2025
Setting the Stage for an Academically Excellent year!
Isaac Newton Christian Academy is well known as a school that prides itself on academic excellence. The dictionary defines academic excellence as the extent to which students, teachers, or institutions have attained their short- or long-term educational goals.
When one sets out to achieve any goal, whether it is spiritual maturity, improved health, or a scholarly endeavor, it is critical to develop sustainable habits in order to create lasting results. For example, when one embarks on a health journey, they must track calories, exercise daily, drink more water, and get plenty of rest. All these habits ultimately result in the achievement of a healthier lifestyle. The same is true for us as Christians: in order to gain spiritual maturity we must read our Bibles, meet with other believers, and spend time with Jesus each day.
At Isaac Newton, we realize that academic excellence is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. The administration and staff continually make strides to ensure that academic excellence is achieved for all students who attend our school, regardless of grade level. In order to accelerate the process, Isaac Newton Christian Academy Upper School is making several alterations to the academic schedule and corresponding day-to-day routines for the 2025/2026 academic year. One important change is the implementation of Canvas School for the Upper School students and staff. Canvas is an online learning management system (LMS), which will serve as the central hub for students, parents, and teachers to communicate about students’ assignments and grades. Parents will create their own log-in to access their child’s Canvas accounts so they can see exactly what the students see and what they are working on.
This summer, Mrs. Clinkinbeard, Upper School Resource teacher and Mrs. Harlan, Upper School Principal, have been working alongside a team of teachers and Canvas trainers to launch Canvas School for Grades 6-12. During teacher in-service week, we will introduce Canvas to the staff. Mrs. Harlan will show parents how they can access this system during the Orientations on August 21 or 22. Mrs. Clinkinbeard’s work with our Upper School students during the 2024/2025 academic year has made her a great resource as we implement Canvas.
“As we strive for academic excellence for all of our students I am excited at the growth they will make this year.”
- Mrs. Clinkinbeard
