October 9th, 2020 Thomas Sumter Academy (803) 499-3378
Dear TSA Generals,
Tenacity. Supports. Achievement. Can you believe we have completed the first quarter already?
What a testament to everyone’s compliance with our rules and protocols! I want to thank each and
every one of you in helping make this happen in order to minimize and mitigate the spread of the
virus. If you have not already received a flu shot, I would highly recommend it, especially with
today’s situation. When we return from our 3-day Columbus Day weekend, we will be in the final
home stretch for our fall sports, and soon our winter season of sports will begin. I am very excited,
and I hope you are too! Our next football game will be at home against Calhoun on October 23rd . Senior Night for
Volleyball is October 14th. As we get closer to basketball season, the AD will be coming out with our COVID-19
protocols and procedures for our home basketball games.
Our Character Trait for the month of October is LEARNING. Biblically, the importance of learning can be found in
Philippians 4:9 ESV: “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and
the God of peace will be with you.”
No matter where you read or look, there is a lot of negativity in society today. Whether it be the debates, the
upcoming election, climate change, the devastation of the wildfires on the West Coast, Supreme Court nominees, or
the COVID-19 virus. But what if we took the negative and turned it into a positive. Kind of like taking the “absolute
value? Take a look at these positive news articles - https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/are-wildfires-good-for-the-
environment/ or https://www.instagram.com/p/CF8OWNRD-RW/ or https://www.instagram.com/p/CF5tUWqo08k/
. I believe we, the TSA Family, do a great job of this. As Ms. Eddy says, “please do not tell us what we cannot do,
let us show you what we can do!” We are doing great things here at TSA. Some of our “traditions” will look a little
different but then we are making new traditions. Have you seen our new banners? These are from the Headmaster
Advisory Council (HAC).
“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question, what fault of mine most
nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize.” Marcus Aurelius
Be safe over the extended weekend. As I pray you know, my door is always open so please stop by. I
appreciate your feedback. You may write a review on Google as well as upload pictures. You may also go to
“Niche.com,” Yelp, or “Greatschools.org” to write other reviews about TSA. Like us on Facebook and follow us on
Twitter, and Instagram. You can follow me on Twitter at @TSA_DrM. #Generalpride.
PROUD TO BE A GENERAL Dr. F.L. Martin III
Volume 4, Issue 8
Upcoming Events
October 9th End of First Quarter
October 13th Softball interest Meeting (6th -12th Grade)
October 14th Varsity VB vs. Orangeburg Prep. (5:00)
PSAT (8th – 11th grades)
October 15th Varsity VB @ Northside Chr. (5:00)
October 19th Varsity VB @ Palmetto Chr. (5:00)
October 20th American Red Cross- Blood Drive
October 22nd B-Team FB @ Calhoun (6:00)
October 23rd HAC Meeting (7:30)
Grandfriends Day - Columbia Campus
Pep rally
Varsity FB vs. Calhoun (7:30)
October 24th Topsail Equestrian Show (Ravenel, Sc)
Denotes Sporting Event
Week 9
Homecoming! TSA wants to thank everyone that helped make this
Homecoming such a huge success!
A big THANK YOU to alumnus Drake McCormick
and 2019 Homecoming Queen Peyton Arrants for
coming back and speaking to our students about
their love for TSA!
Congratulations to our 2020 Homecoming Queen,
Ms. Kirsten Naylor!
Senior College Acceptances
Sam Lawing- North Greenville University
Logan Long- UNC-Pembroke
Logan Oxendine- Anderson University, University of Alabama
What an Awesome Season!
Congrats to Coach Matos, Coach Colegrove, Coach Sadie, and our B-team Volleyball team on an amazing season! They finished their
season with a record of 7-3 and earned a birth in the 2020 postseason. We are so proud of these girls and cannot wait to see
what the future holds for this program! Great job, ladies!
New Vending Machine!
Location: Gym Lobby
This machine is compatible with Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Debit Cards.
NJHS Inductions
On Tuesday, we had the privilege of inducting our newest members of the TSA National Junior Honor Society! What a great accomplishment!
Luke Richardson
Lucy Gore
Sadie Cox
Mikayla Razor
Teagan Villa
Sydnie Shaffer
Anna Bell
Abigail Rocheleau
US Character Trait Winners
August – Community
6th Grade – Ashley Dunavant and Emily Lindler
7th Grade – Omnaa Patel and Ronia Sanders
8th Grade – Amber Martin and Tanner Stiles
9th Grade – Keegan Distelzweig and Miriam Roberson
10th Grade – Zakary Dukette and Mary Lenior Hoge
11th Grade – Lindsay Daniel and Libby Gore
12th Grade – Jade Leviner and Logan Oxendine
September – Self-Discipline
6th Grade – Irelyn Baumgartner and Henry Sturkey
7th Grade – Anna Bell and Payton Sosbee
8th Grade – Reese Distelzweig and Layton Kennison
9th Grade – Augusta Bosone and Allison Culick
10th Grade – Abby Cox and Lillian Lindler
11th Grade – Lilly Matthews and Logan Scruggs
12th Grade – Caleb Burns and Zachary Evans
Chapel
Over the last week, we have had the pleasure of listening to
some incredible Chapel speakers! Jason Cappel from the
Sumter FD and Thomas Sumter legend BJ Reed spoke to our
Lower School students on the importance of our relationship
with God. 5th graders Emmy Hurley and Juli Tupper also gave
wonderful speeches for General Speaks!
Upper School had the pleasure of listening to former SHAW
A.F.B. School Liaison John Kennedy. His message of how even
in negatives, there can always be positives was phenomenal!
God is always on our side!
Memorial Garden Clean-Up
Ms. Mimms’ 4th period English II class did an incredible job
of cleaning our Susan Green Memorial Garden on
Thursday! What an incredible tribute to an incredible lady!
TSA Gaiter Scarves for Sale!
The Cross Country & Varsity Girls’ Basketball teams
are selling TSA gaiter scarves for $15. See Coach Rob
or Coach Brunson for purchasing and more details!
SAT / ACT Dates
SAT Date Registration Deadline Deadline for Changes
November 7th, 2020 October 7th, 2020 October 27th, 2020
December 5th, 2020 November 5th , 2020 November 24th, 2020
March 13th, 2021 February 12th, 2021 March 2nd, 2021
May 8th, 2021 April 8th, 2021 April 27th , 2021
June 5th , 2021 May 6th, 2021 May 26th , 2021
ACT Date Registration Deadline
October 10th, 17th, 24th, 25th September 17th
December 12th November 6th
February 6th January 8th
April 17th March 12th
June 12th May 7th
July 17th June 18th
Quote of the Week:
“Your mental strength will make or break
your race.”
~ Rob Davies
Tenacity. Supports. Achievement
Big Shout Out:
Our Maintenance and Custodial crew for
making this campus look great:
Coach Rob, Preston, Carolyn, and Dwayne
Well done!