Passport to School Lunch: A Global View from the Lunch Table
This year, our students are taking their taste buds on a world tour! We launched a new lunchtime challenge designed to help them try new foods and explore global flavors right from the cafeteria. Beginning in late September, students in our Kindergarten–Specifics levels received their very own lunch passports. Each time they sample every menu item from a featured country, they earn a stamp for their passport.
The goal isn’t to eat everything on the plate — it’s simply to try something new. For younger students, taking even one or two bites can be a big step. This challenge helps them build courage and curiosity when it comes to food. So far, students have traveled (via their trays) through the USA, China, Mexico, Jamaica, and Kenya — and they’re discovering some unexpected favorites along the way!
At the “passport table,” Mrs. Chigumira engages each student in a quick conversation about their experience — what they liked, what they didn’t, and what they learned from trying something new. These chats not only give valuable feedback for the lunch program but also celebrate each student’s willingness to explore and grow. Many have been pleasantly surprised to find a new dish they enjoy — and have even started adding it to their trays on regular lunch days.
The passport challenge has become a fun and meaningful way for students to gain a global understanding of food and an appreciation for cultural diversity. Even when a dish isn’t their favorite, they’re learning that stepping out of their comfort zone can be rewarding (and sometimes delicious!).
In a fun twist of timing, the School Nutrition Association announced its national school lunch week theme this year: “Taste the World: Your School Lunch Passport.” It’s the exact same theme we chose to kick off our new menu! It’s exciting to see that our students’ global lunch adventure aligns with national trends and reflects how today’s generation is more connected — and open to new experiences — than ever before.
Summer Learning at Camp Skillz: Education Edition
This summer, The Academy for GOD hosted Camp Skillz: Education Edition, a dynamic day camp designed to bridge the gap between school years with purpose and play. We recognize that the summer months can be a time to maintain momentum, deepen understanding, and prepare students for the next school year. That’s why we created Camp Skillz: Education Edition, a summer program designed to carry children forward in both academic content and personal development through an engaging, project-based approach.
Each week featured a unique theme and academic focus, inviting campers into hands-on learning experiences that sharpened skills, built character, and made summer memories!
Week 1: Born to Be Bold
Academic Focus: Language Arts
Inspired by The Descendants, Week One focused on identity, character, and the power of good choices. Through storytelling, journaling, dramatic play, and debate, campers explored what it means to be persons of integrity while strengthening essential language arts skills like reading comprehension, descriptive writing, and public speaking. The week culminated in song, skits, and debates performed in front of the entire camp!
Week 2: Builders of the Blockverse
Academic Focus: Science
The second week took inspiration from the creativity of Minecraft and launched campers into a world of design, engineering, and exploration. With a strong emphasis on the scientific method, students tested hypotheses, built models, and designed imaginative "block worlds" using real-world science principles.
From learning about force and motion to exploring simple machines, campers engaged in age-appropriate STEM activities that taught them to observe, question, test, and revise. Group collaboration was essential, with each team creating either catapults or creepers for the end of the week challenge. Don’t miss the photos below!
Week 3: Game On! Level Up!
Academic Focus: Math
Our final week of camp brought the energy of a MrBeast-style challenge arena to life! Campers dove into high-paced contests and games that required logic, pattern recognition, probability, and strategy. Week 3 ended with an epic obstacle course math challenge for all campers!
Learning with Purpose and Play
Across all three weeks, Camp Skillz was designed to develop not only academic skills but also confidence, creativity, collaboration, and character. Our Academy teaching staff created a fun and structured environment that allowed students to embrace summer learning with positivity.
Thank You for an Incredible Summer
Thank you to the families who entrusted us with their children’s summer camp experience. We believe our campers developed friendships, academic skillz, and memories to hold!
To all our campers: thank you for showing up, trying hard, being kind, and having fun. We can’t wait to see what next summer holds.
Until then—stay bold, keep building, and never stop leveling up!
Check out the photos below highlighting some of our favorite camp moments!
A Lesson in Service: River’s Reflection on the Cox Family
River, a senior intern from the Academy for GOD, is working with the Community Services program at Global Outreach Developments Int'l. During his time with Community Services, River has been involved in local initiatives that support Nashville’s youth and elderly, gaining valuable experience in community service. In his reflection, River shares a memorable experience with the Cox family, where he learned from their wisdom and kindness. We invite you to read his reflection, where he highlights the impact of service and the deep connections that make this work so meaningful.
River, a senior intern from the Academy for GOD, is working with the Community Services program at Global Outreach Developments Int'l. During his time with Community Services, River has been involved in local initiatives that support Nashville’s youth and elderly, gaining valuable experience in community service. In his reflection, River shares a memorable experience with the Cox family, where he learned from their wisdom and kindness. We invite you to read his reflection, where he highlights the impact of service and the deep connections that make this work so meaningful.
”Last Thursday, I had the wonderful opportunity to serve the Cox family and help Mr. Cox prepare his famous biscuits for the Academy staff. Mr. and Mrs. Cox are people of strong faith who have lived extraordinary lives devoted to the Lord, and it was truly special to serve them and hear some of their inspiring stories. They were so generous in sharing their wisdom, and I am deeply grateful for that.
Before we even started making the biscuits, Mrs. Nsubuga and I spent time asking questions, listening to Mr. Cox’s stories, and getting to know him better. His life is full of remarkable experiences, and I loved hearing about them. He shared how he had opened his home to teenagers who had been kicked out of their own, how he stepped in as a principal when the need arose, and how he served his church by becoming a pastor. Hearing these stories was powerful, and it became clear that Mr. Cox is the type of person who always says "yes" to the Lord. He often mentioned that even when he wasn't sure about something, he trusted in the Lord, and that struck me deeply.
Reflecting on my time with Mr. Cox, I thought about the parable of the wise and foolish men. In Matthew 7, it says, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." Mr. Cox has built his life on the solid foundation of God’s word, listening to the Lord and living out His calling, saying "yes" to whatever He brought his way.
Once we began making the biscuits, Mrs. Nsubuga left, and it was just Mr. Cox and I in the kitchen. It was such a special time learning his secret recipe and talking with him. He continued to share more stories from his life, answering my questions with humor and wisdom. He has a remarkable gift for telling stories that are both funny and meaningful.
Mr. and Mrs. Cox are truly a blessing to be around. Their hospitality was overwhelming, and they generously sent me home with a bag of the biscuits we made. I’m grateful for the time I spent with them, learning from their wisdom and experiencing their kindness.”
Celebrating Educational Excellence: Cognia Names 60 Schools & Systems of Distinction
At the Academy for GOD, we are passionate about promoting academic excellence and fostering environments that support growth for students, teachers, and leaders alike. This commitment aligns perfectly with the work of our accrediting association: Cognia, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to educational improvement, which recently recognized 60 institutions worldwide as “Schools and Systems of Distinction” for the 2023-2024 year. These schools exemplify top-tier education standards, having excelled through Cognia's rigorous Accreditation Engagement Review process.
At the Academy for GOD, we are passionate about promoting academic excellence and fostering environments that support growth for students, teachers, and leaders alike. This commitment aligns perfectly with the work of our accrediting association: Cognia, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to educational improvement, which recently recognized 60 institutions worldwide as “Schools and Systems of Distinction” for the 2023-2024 year. These schools exemplify top-tier education standards, having excelled through Cognia's rigorous Accreditation Engagement Review process.
Academy Administration is presented with The Cognia School of Distinction Award by Head of School, Gregg Garner, during a school assembly in October 2024.
The Academy for GOD applauds the selected institutions for achieving this distinction, highlighting their dedication to high-quality education, continuous improvement, and a positive learning environment. Cognia, whose reach extends across 90 countries and serves 40,000 institutions, provides accreditation and certification based on a globally respected framework. This year’s distinguished list of schools includes 41 individual schools and 11 systems across 23 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and eight international schools in five other countries. These 60 institutions were selected from among nearly 2,000 that participated in Cognia's Accreditation Engagement Review process during the 2023-2024 academic year placing the Academy among the top 3% of all 2,000 schools. Furthermore, the Academy is the only school in our state of Tennessee to be recognized.
Cognia’s review process is designed to maintain and elevate educational quality. This thorough evaluation includes a period of self-assessment by the school, an external review by trained evaluators, and an improvement plan based on evaluation outcomes. Schools meeting the Cognia Performance Standards show strong evidence of quality teaching, a supportive school culture, effective leadership, and engaging instructional environments. Achieving Cognia Accreditation means committing to this excellence over time, with reviews conducted every six years to ensure sustained quality.
"Congratulations to the 2024 Schools and Systems of Distinction for demonstrating excellence in education in meeting the Cognia Performance Standards,” remarked Dr. Mark A. Elgart, Cognia's president and CEO. “These institutions are benchmarks of school quality in their commitment to continuous improvement.” Institutions honored this year have shown exceptional educational practices and a commitment to fostering growth, learning, and success among students.
As an organization that values educational advancement, the Academy for GOD is inspired by these institutions’ achievements. The Cognia award reinforces the importance of quality standards, ongoing evaluation, and improvement to ensure students receive the best education possible.
Cognia’s role in educational improvement highlights the significance of institutional dedication to high standards, and these 2024 Schools of Distinction serve as models of what schools can achieve through continuous improvement efforts. They represent a global vision for education that resonates with our mission at the Academy for GOD. Together, we are moving toward a world where all learners are empowered to succeed, and where education is continuously evolving to meet the needs of tomorrow’s leaders.
For a closer look at this year’s Schools of Distinction and more information on Cognia’s impactful work, visit Cognia's website and explore how these exemplary schools are setting new standards for academic success.
Local Foods For School Grant Recipient
October is National Farm to School Month and our school nutrition program is pleased to announce the results of a recent farm to school grant that we have facilitated during both the 23/24 and through the first two months of the 24/25 school year.
The Local Food for Schools grant was part of the USDA’s program to bring local foods into schools and infuse funding into our local small farming economy. We are thankful that this grant did both! The school nutrition program purchased chicken, beef, turkey as well as some fresh vegetables over the course of the grant duration.
What was the impact of this grant on the menu? We were able to serve close to 3,000 lbs of chicken, almost 1,000 lbs of turkey and nearly 900 lbs of ground beef to our students. This amounts to about 100 meals in which our students had a local meat source on the menu. To put that into perspective the students have 180 days in a single school year. This accumulates to about 80% of their meals having a local protein that was served from August of 2023 through September of 2024.
What was the nutritional impact of this grant? The beef, turkey and chicken served through this time frame was mostly from Pure Pastures, a local small farm. They produce high quality meats that are: Non GMO, ethically raised, no vaccines, no chemicals, no medications, no antibiotics and no animal by-products. Their beef is 100% grass fed which creates a nutrient dense protein.
Grass fed beef tends to be higher in Omega-3 fatty acid, more antioxidants, more vitamin k2 giving more nutrient dense qualities to the beef and in turn the consumer. Pasture raised chicken “contains 50% more vitamin A compared to conventionally raised chicken.” Vitamin K is essential for immune function, vision and overall skin health.
Pasture raised chicken can also be found to have higher levels of iron, higher levels of omega 3 and higher levels of vitamin E. Overall the quality of the meat is greatly increased with pasture raised/grass fed animals. With this grant we were able to infuse our students' diets with high quality proteins and give them the nutrition they need to fuel a wonderful day of learning!
