Issue 14 December 7, 2012 HELLO PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, GUARDIANS & SPONSORS:

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1 Issue 14 December 7, 2012 HELLO PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, GUARDIANS & SPONSORS: You must be looking forward to sharing the Holiday time with your cadets. It s just a little while before leave begins for the College and Academy cadets. Please see the dates and times leave begins below. Soon there will be just one semester to go for academic year 2012/2013. Time does fly, doesn t it? DECEMBER/JANUARY AT A GLANCE: Date and Time Event Location Notes 9 Dec. No Chapel Service 6:00 PM 13 Dec. After 3:30 PM 16 Dec. 11:00 AM 12:15 PM 17 Dec. 1:00 PM Christmas Vespers Chapel Open to the public Wreaths Across America Chapel and Open to the public campus sites Please see below Chapel Service Chapel Open to the public Chapel Parade College Midyear Graduation Main Area Eisenhower Hall Weather permitting VF Staff and guests of graduates College Winter Holiday Leave 20 Dec 6 Jan Academy Winter Holiday Leave 28 Dec 4 Jan Regimental Band and Choir go to London, England to perform in the New Year s Day Parade, other venues and enjoy the sights of this historic and fascinating country 6 Jan Academy and PG Leave No later than ends Begins after last exam or duty Begins at 4:00 PM on 20 Dec We wish them a safe and enjoyable journey Details are below Details are below

2 6:30 PM No later than 6:30 PM College Leave ends for those college cadets who are required to support the in-processing and training of College midyear plebes No Chapel Service 8 Jan. College Mid-year Inprocessing 9 Jan. No later than 3:00 PM 13 Jan. No later than 6:30 PM College Leave ends for those college cadets who are members of the men s wrestling and basketball teams College Leave ends for all other college cadets 11:00 AM Chapel Service 12:15 PM Chapel Parade 15 Jan. Academy Mid-year Inprocessing 19 Jan. VFMA&C Wrestling Tournament 20 Jan. Chapel Service 11:00 AM 12:15 PM Chapel Parade 21 Jan. Dr. Martin Luther King Day College Community Service Day Jan. No Chapel Service Non Training Weekend Eisenhower Hall Main Area Eisenhower Hall Price Gym Main Area Open to the public Weather permitting Open to the public Open to the public Weather permitting CHRISTMAS VESPERS: On Sunday, 9 December at 6:00PM in the Chapel of Cornelius the Centurion, we will also celebrate the Nine Lessons of Christmas with sacred music and scripture readings. This event is open to all parents, family members and friends as we allow the spirit of the season to instill us with harmony and thanksgiving. During that time, our Jewish cadets will meet with Rabbi Kaplan and our Muslim cadets will meet with Dr. Selim. Family members and friends are also welcome.

3 WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA: The mission of Wreaths across America is to Remember, Honor and Teach, carried out in part by coordinating wreath laying ceremonies on the second Saturday of December at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC as well as veterans cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond. In the last two years, bikers who are also veterans from motorcycle organizations from all over the country, visited VFMA&C to place wreaths on the VF graves in memory of veterans of all wars. This was a very moving and inspirational ceremony which began in the Chapel. Please join us for this event you will not soon forget. The date is Thursday, 13 December and the time will be late in the afternoon but after 3:30 PM. The exact time depends on when the many cyclists and their other vehicles arrive. WINTER HOLIDAY LEAVE: All cadets are required to depart campus. College Cadets Leave begins after last exam or duty on 17 December. -College leave ends no later than 6:30 PM on 6 January 2013 for those college cadets who are required to support the in-processing and training of College midyear plebes. -College leave ends no later than 3:00 PM on 9 January 2013 for those college cadets who are members of the men s wrestling and basketball teams -All other College leave ends no later than 6:30PM on 13 January Academy Cadets leave begins at 4:00 PM on 20 December and ends no later than 6:30 PM on 6 January The Shuttle Bus to the Philadelphia International Airport will depart from Continental Drive on Thursday 20 December at 4:15 PM. Please keep in mind it will be at least a one hour drive from VF to the airport at that time of day. If you have questions concerning travel, please contact Col. Ken Seitz, Adjutant, at or KSeitz@vfmac.edu. Academy Parents/Guardians: Airlines and rail services have different policies regarding the age at which a child is considered an unaccompanied minor. Unaccompanied minors are required to have an adult escort to and from the airport or train station. A fee is charged for this by the airline/rail service. If your child is traveling by air or rail, please check with your choice of the specific airline or train for their age policies.

4 If you need special assistance for an unaccompanied minor, please contact your child s TAC Officer or Col Seitz at KSeitz@vfmac.edu no later than 4 December. International Parents: Please consider the distance from VFMA&C to the airport you choose before making airline reservations for your cadet. The Philadelphia International Airport is approximately 40 minutes from VF if traffic allows. JFK and LaGuardia Airports in New York City and also Newark Airport in New Jersey are approximately 3 hours from VF. Your cadet would have to travel by taxi to and from VF if you choose an airline so far away. If you cadet is an unaccompanied minor there is no staff availability to accompany your cadet to and from the gate. Also, as per the recent , please do not make travel arrangements for early dismissal. Your cadet should not miss class time unless it is due to an extreme family emergency. The leave times are listed above. Please contact your cadet s TAC if you have questions. Thank you for your cooperation. DOHA GOALS FORUM: Mr. Joseph Haughey, Capt. Peter Ross and Dr. George Anderson will be traveling with Cadet Aaron Still-Lock, Cadet Christian Minich, Cadet Louis Sarkozy, Cadet Daymar Rosser, Cadet Kabine Conde, Cadet Jake D Agostino, Cadet Lawrence Holman, Cadet Casey McCormack and Cadet John Cataldo to the Doha GOALS Forum in Doha, Qatar. This three day convention focuses on the unifying power of sport for promoting peace, social unity, and cultural tolerance. Each Cadet selected excels academically and athletically and will not only to represent Valley Forge but to be a cultural ambassador for the United States. All the Cadets are excited to have their group proposals heard at the forum, so that they may have the ability to contribute their input to this global symposium. Look for the results of the trip in the next Parents Newsletter! ONLINE COLLEGE COURSES OFFERED: Online Winter Courses will begin on December 22 and February 2, Courses available are: BU 201: Principles of Management EN 102: Analytical Writing & Research LT 205: Non-Western Literature MA 101: College Algebra MA 103: Pre-calculus

5 MA 112: PL 101: PY 101: Statistics Introduction to Ethics Introduction to Psychology Key Dates: Registration begins: November 1, 2012 Registration ends: December 20, 2012 Add/Drop: December 28, 2012 Last day to withdraw: January 26, 2013 To register and reserve your spot on the e-forge Online Program, please visit: or contact Gloria at or for further information. PHILABUNDANCE UPDATE: I am proud to report that the Valley Forge Military Academy Boy Scout Troop 971 delivered 1,751 pounds worth of food and cash donations to the radio station "Preston and Steve Morning Show " 93.3 WMMR's Camp Out For Hunger this morning. All donations and proceeds went directly to Philabundance. Our Scout-Cadets represented VF very well this morning at the Plymouth Meeting Metroplex. This effort would not have been possible without the help of LT Adam Messenger (Assistant Scout Master) and 2LT Martina Mansell. We wish to thank the entire VF community for their support in this endeavor. We hope to make this a yearly mission! It was great to see such massive community effort as pallets of food were loaded onto a line of 18-wheelers for delivery to local food shelters an inspiring display of humanity. The Scouts involved today were: Cadet Shenghao Dong, Cadet Chengchao Hong, Cadet Damien Frombach, Cadet Yijia Gui, Cadet Prabhjot Monder and Cadet Gene Tioutine Thank you. CPT Brian Fetterman English Department VETERAN S DAY COMMUNITY SERVICE: On November 12, the College Corps of Cadets traveled to nine locations throughout the local area and performed various acts of community service. These activities ranged from clean up details at Valley Forge Park to having lunch and a conversation with senior citizens at Rosemont Village. Throughout the day as I visited the various locations, I was greeted with sincere praise for our cadets, their work ethic, their conduct, their courtesy, and generosity were lauded by everyone I met. Individuals representing the locations we worked, were appreciative and look forward to having our cadets return for future visits. Another group of individuals that also needs to be recognized are the College Faculty who escorted and worked with our cadets at the service locations.

6 Valley Forge Park: Dr.Rabbi and Professor Hull Church of the Savior: Professor Greenspoon Devon AME Church: Dr. Reilly Wayne Senior Center: Dr. Sukulpa, Professor Saitloff Our Lady of the Assumption: Dr. Kurumetyand Professor Amlin VFMA&C Library: Professor Ramakrishnan Unitarian Church of Wayne: Professor Kirsch Rosemont Village: professor Durwood and Professor Amlin. WELL DONE TO THE VFMC FAMILY. Major R.G.McComas- Wood Dean of Student Services CROSSED SABRES YEARBOOK ADS FOR SALE: Purchase a Yearbook Ad for your Business or a Special Message to your Graduating Cadet The Yearbook will be Full Color this year! *Full Page = $ *Half Page = $ *Quarter Page = $ All ads must be given to me in a PDF. file format. If you need help with setting up an ad or not sure how to set up a PDF. file you can contact me at: jirvan@vfmac.edu or (Text and photos can be ed to me for ad set up if needed) Space is Limited!

7 Deadline for Final ads will be February 5th unless all space is sold prior to this date. Checks can be made out to: Valley Forge Military Academy & College and please put Yearbook Ad in the Memo area. ** Mail them to the school at the address below and put Attention CPT Josh Irvan: Yearbook Coordinator and I will bring it to the Business Office for deposit. DVD S AVAILABLE: If you are interested in purchasing a DVD from the academy year, please contact Mr. John Haines at Jhainessr@gmail.com or DVD s are available for $24.95 each: Sept. 23, 2012: Oct. 6 & 7, 2012: Nov. 4, 2012 Nov. 3, 2012 Nov. 17, 2012 Chapel Service and Chapel Parade: Speaker: LtCol. John C. Church, Jr., USMCR Chapel Service and Joining the Ranks Ceremony Speaker: Col. James J. Doyle, USMC (Ret) Grandparents Day Chapel Service Speaker, Dr. Shane Claiborne Regimental Review with the Greater Pennsylvania Military Vehicle Historical Society College Football Seaboard Conference Championship Game. Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Bulldogs vs. Valley Forge Military College Trojans. VFMA&C Military Tattoo Field Music, Academy and College Drill Teams, Regimental Choir, Washington Memorial Pipe Band, Regimental Band perform Please note there are other DVD s from previous years available. SAT/ACT INFORMATION AND SCHEDULE: Please note that the location for the actual SATs for VFMA cadets is Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Transportation is provided by VFMA. The Academy uses Plymouth Whitemarsh High School for all seven SAT testing dates and their Test Center Code for registration is Once the cadets have registered to take the SAT at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, they should contact me in order to place them on the transportation list to Plymouth Whitemarsh High School SAT Test Dates Test Date Regular Registration Late Registration Closes Closes January 26, 2013 December 28, 2012 January 11, 2013 March 9, 2013 February, 8, 2013 February 22, 2013

8 May 4, 2013 April 5, 2013 April 19, 2013 June 1, 2013 May 2, 2013 May 17, ACT Test Dates Test Date Regular Registration Late Registration Closes Closes February 9, 2013 January 11, 2013 January 18, 2013 April 13, 2013 March 8, 2013 March 22, 2013 June 8, 2013 May 3, 2013 May 17, 2013 If you have questions, please contact Assistant Headmaster, MAJOR Brown at or FOLLOW VFMA&C ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER & GOOGLE+ VFMA&C is enhancing its social media status. Come follow us on Facebook, Twitter and/or Google+. With the new Facebook format, you can also share photos of your own. Share our stories with your friends and family, look for new photo albums of the unique experiences at VFMA&C. Facebook: On Twitter, On Google+, search Valley Forge Military Academy & College COMMANDANT S MESSAGE CONCERNING LEAVE: Please do not book travel arrangements for the year for your cadet unless you have confirmed the exact Leave times with his or her TAC Officer first. You may find the contact information in the Parents Handbook or call Lini at DEPARTMENT OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES (DSA): Each weekend as well as monthly DSA will post the events that are occurring for cadets on and off campus on the web site at: PARENTS HANDBOOK: For a quick look into the current Parents Handbook, please check this link for an online version. FYI: Taxi and Limo Services contact information is on Page 48 in the Parents Handbook. ADMISSIONS: Academy Admissions: College Admissions: MAKE HOTEL RESERVATIONS:

9 For hotels in the area and directions to VF, please click on this link: LOCAL RESTAURANTS: The Wayne area is very busy on the weekends. Please click on this link if you wish to make dinner reservations at any time during your visits. PARENTS SCRAPBOOK - CADET PHOTOS: If you are interested in viewing and/or purchasing cadet photos taken by our photographer throughout the year, please go to the Parents Scrapbook by clicking on this link and follow the prompts: CADET STORE/BIRTHDAY CAKE ORDERS: If you wish to order a birthday cake or large cookie for your cadet or you have questions for the Cadet Store personnel, please call , 1530 or CALENDAR OF EVENTS: In checking the see full calendar on the home page of the website, please make sure to click on each item in each date for further information. Please also check dates on the Significant Calendar Dates by clicking on this link: Lini Stevens Director of Parent Relations and Special Events Valley Forge Military Academy & College 1001 Eagle Road Wayne, PA Fax: LStevens@vfmac.edu Pride is Why!