Issue 25 May 21, 2015 HELLO CADET PARENTS, GUARDIANS & SPONSORS: Congratulations to all of our College Sophomores who graduated on Friday, 15 May. We are proud of each and every graduate, wish them all the best and plan on welcoming them back at Alumni Homecoming Weekends in the future. Congratulations to all of the ECP College Sophomores, who were appointed as officers in the USA, in the grade of Second Lieutenants. ITINERARY AT A GLANCE FOR APRIL, MAY AND JUNE, 2015: o 25 May Corps marches in the Radnor Memorial Day Parade on Lancaster Pike. No special leave will be requested. Friday, 22 May has a regular class schedule and participation in the Parade on Monday, 25 May is mandatory. o 28 May Middle School 7 th grade cadets depart after last exam prior to 8:00 PM o 29 May Middle School Promotion Ceremony details below o 4 June Academy underclassmen depart after last exam o 6 June Academy High School Graduation Ceremony details below SAYING THANKS AT YEAR S END: As classes come to an end for everyone, and Academy seniors and their parents are looking forward to Commencement, it s a wonderful time to say thank you with a gift to the Forge Fund. Regardless of the amount, your charitable gift will be put to good use for the benefit of the Cadets. Parents who are able to make a gift of $1,000 or more will be members of The Society of the Golden Sword. President Stacey Sauchuk will host a reception for members in her home, Crossed Sabres, in October. Special thanks to all the parents and grandparents who have already made gifts this year! Your generosity has helped enrich the lives of every Cadet. If you have questions about making a gift to the Forge Fund, please be in touch with me, Lini Stevens, at 610-989-1328 or Lstevens@vfmac.edu, or Holly Cheshire, Director of the Forge Fund, at 610-998-6008 or HCheshire@vfmac.edu. Every gift is an important vote of confidence in the faculty. Gifts may also be made in honor of a particular faculty member. To expedite your gift you may go online to: http://www.vfmac.edu/donate/donate-online-now/
GRADUATION CEREMONY DETAILS: Middle School Promotion: Friday, May 29 at 10:00 AM - Chapel. There will be a reception in the Sara Crawford Room in Mellon Hall directly following the ceremony. Please contact Mrs. Reynolds at 610-989-1381 and CReynolds@vfmac.edu with questions. A special note from LT Earhart Dear Parents We are looking forward to seeing you Friday May 29th for the Middle School Promotion Ceremony. The ceremony will be held at 10:00am in the chapel. Immediately after the ceremony, parents and cadets will meet in the Sara Crawford Room in Mellon Hall for some refreshments. After refreshment, cadets return to the barracks to clear their rooms and sign-out for the summer. If you have any questions, please contact me 610-989-1286. Thank you. LT Earhart Russell W. Earhart 2nd Lieutenant, PAANG High School Graduation: Friday, June 5 5:00 PM - President s Garden Reception for graduates at Crossed Sabres. Each graduate may invite 2 guests and e-invitations will be sent. Saturday, June 6 8:30 AM - Coffee will be served in Eisenhower Hall. 9:30 AM - Graduation Ceremony - Parade Field, weather permitting Ten generic VF invitations with matching envelopes have been mailed. Your guests do not need to present them to attend and there is no limit to the number of guests you may invite. If you wish more invitations for souvenir purposes, please contact Mrs. Reynolds at 610-989-1381 or CReynolds@vfmac.edu. A MESSAGE FROM MRS. HAMMER, DIRECTOR OF THE HEALTH CENTER: On behalf of the Health Center we want to congratulate the graduating Academy and College classes of 2015. We wish all Academy and College cadets a safe, healthy and rejuvenating summer. A nurse will be available to answer any questions over the summer from 7-3 pm after 6/20/15; you may call 610-989-1518. If there are any packages or medications that parents wish to take home they are welcome to pick up at the Health Center. Medications will be disposed of after 6/13/15. Health Forms are available on line and physicals are to be done after June 1st for the incoming school year. All students returning and new are required to have annual physicals and PPD placements. Immunizations records are also required and will be required prior to returning to school.
DUNAWAY COMPETITION, A GREAT SUCCESS!: On Thursday, 7 May, Valley Forge Military Academy held the annual Dunaway Oratorical competition. Eight cadets competed in this prestigious event originally established by James Dunaway, 39. The competition showcases our cadets ability to deliver a message in a clear and convincing manner. Each cadet was scored on four main areas; introduction, body, delivery, and conclusion. This year s topic was The American Education System: Are we on the Right Track? Left to right are: Cadet Alexander Rusin, Cadet William Andrews, Cadet Damien Frombach, Cadet Qing- Tian Mei, Cadet Zack Lombardi, Cadet Sandy Saddler, Cadet Romeo LoGiurato and Cadet Elias Jesus The Upper Division (10-12) champion was Cadet Sandy Saddler from Bronx, NY. (left) The Lower Division (7-9) champion was Cadet Zack Lombardi of Wayne, PA. (right) Congratulation to all our finalists and champions!
COUNSELING CENTER UPDATE: The short film, On Beauty follows fashion photographer Rick Guidotti, who left the fashion world when he grew frustrated with having to work within the restrictive parameters of the industry s standard of beauty. After a chance encounter with a young woman who had the genetic condition albinism, Rick re-focused his lens on those too often relegated to the shadows to change the way we see and experience beauty. All of the Academy viewed this film and then engaged in teacher led-conversations. VERSAILLES FOUNDATION: On May 30, 104 Cadets and Staff from VFMA&C were invited once again to help with the swanky fundraising evening of the Versailles Foundation. The cadets are assigned a number of jobs to do during the evening and 13 lucky ones got to sit and dine with Royalty and some of New York s wealthiest people. This year the guest of honor was His and Her Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Bernhard of Baden, Germany. The Versailles Foundation, Inc. was organized to stimulate and encourage understanding and acceptance of cultural relations between the citizens of the United States and the citizens of France by the preservation, maintenance, assistance and rehabilitation of the chateau de Versailles and other historical monuments. Mme. Barbara de Portago, President of the Versailles Foundation, is the proud mother of Valley Forge alumnus, Russell Grant, 03 05C and a treasured friend of Valley Forge Military Academy & College. Phil Evans, WOII Royal Marines (Ret'd) Front row from left to right: CPT Alfred Gonzalez (Deputy Commandant, VFMA&C,) 1LT Jessica Romanov, (TAC, Von Steuben Hall,) 1 st CPT Kyle Kirvay, His and Her Royal Highnesses, Prince and Princess Bernhard, 2 nd CPT Nicholas Stewart, Mme Barbara de Portago and Philip Evans, WOII Royal Marines (Ret d) TACTICAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITY FOR CADETS: On May 1, seven cadets took a five hour course at Conflict Kinetics on firearms/marksmanship mechanics. Training consisted of Synthetic Marksmanship Training
(SMT) which is the process of training using customized non-real stimulus, in order to build real world skill. SMT by Conflict Kinetics consists of electronic dynamic targeting software systems that serve as a synthetic version of real targets. These targets have all the value of real targets, with added behaviors such as interactivity, immediate response, movement, timing, variable hit, drill down, etc. After the indoor training at CK, the cadets went to the Echo Valley training center (outdoor range in WV) where cadets set up camp (a rented area) and played paintball in the woods. The second day cadets received instruction from three instructors (former military / highly experienced) on marksmanship, close-quarters-combat techniques, shoot/move, and barricade navigation for six hours. A heartfelt thank you goes to Mr. Sebastian Van Bentem, father of Cadet Jonathan Van Bentem for organizing and funding this special trip. CPT Christopher Bechtel CHINA CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TRIP: Captain Hale is recruiting cadets for the 3rd Annual China Character Development Trip, June 11-26 (Team China 15). Please contact Captain Hale at GHale@vfmac.edu for details. MOTHER S DAY PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON: http://www.vfmac.edu/faculty-staff/photo-scrapbooks/ As photos from Graduation Ceremonies, Commissioning and more become available, they will also be posted. Just follow the prompts to purchase. Lini Stevens Director of Parent Relations Valley Forge Military Academy & College 1001 Eagle Road Wayne, PA 19087 Phone: 610-989-1328 Fax: 610-989-1332 LStevens@vfmac.edu www.vfmac.edu