This year, we celebrate Rocky Mount Academy’s 50th Anniversary! For 50 years, RMA has demonstrated excellence. Spirit week was a fan favorite for students during the week of Homecoming. Another popular event that students loved was the annual Homecoming Pep Rally held in the gym at 2:00pm on the Friday of the Homecoming game. This year, the cheerleaders were in charge of running the pep rally, and they had a lot of exciting things going on for the students’ entertainment! They announced all of the fall sports including each Varsity, Junior Varsity, and middle school team (if applicable) for the following: Girls’ Tennis, Football, Boys’ Soccer, Volleyball, Cross Country, and Cheerleading. The lower school cheerleaders made an outstanding performance at the Pep Rally! They later helped the Varsity cheerleaders judge the homeroom spirit posters, awarding 3 winners from lower school, middle school, and high school each with a spirit stick. The cheerleaders also had a surprise “relay” with the seniors and some faculty that gave everyone a good laugh. The Homecoming Court was presented. This year’s court included:

9th: Reynolds Cobb, Mary Whitaker Jones, Christian Sawyer, Chandler Lamm

10th: Leo Wang, Elizabeth Winstead, Timon Thompson, Lisa Dudley

11th: Finley Bissett, Abigail Newcomb, Caleb Chesis, Megan Seale

12th: Chandler Gazaway, Tiffany Chandler, Charlie Miller, Isabel Smith, Will Stewart, Haven Ross

The Homecoming King was also announced at the pep rally. The 2018 Homecoming King was Chandler Gazaway! After the court was presented, members of Fellowship of Christian Athletes grabbed party hats and hopped down on the gym floor to sing Happy Birthday to RMA.

This year’s Fall Festival was a huge success! On Friday, October 19th, fun games and activities were held in the courtyard from 5:00 to 7:00pm. Lower schoolers go crazy over this exciting event every year. They especially liked the cake walk, the bounce house and slide, and karaoke! However, all ages were welcome to the activities during Fall Festival. A big event that many parents got involved with was the Cow Chip Bingo. Each cow chip bingo deed was sold for $50. Everyone had a chance to win up to $2,000! Jennie Barnhill was this year’s lucky winner! Other things at the Fall Festival included the bean bag toss, wheel of fortune, ping pong toss, photo booth, 20ft rock climbing wall, pony rides, and the miniature petting zoo (from TLC’s tv show, Our Wild Life) with a guest appearance by Naa Naa! Fans of the show went crazy over Naa Naa’s appearance and decided to take many pictures with her!

After the Fall Festival, everyone headed over to the football field to support our Eagles as they played Cary Christian Academy for our Homecoming game. At the end of the first quarter, an alumni dinner was held as a chance for the RMA alumni to catch up and visit with each other! Everyone enjoyed it! At halftime, the Homecoming Court ladies were presented with their fathers on the field. Last year’s Queen, Lauren Seale, came to crown this year’s Queen: Tiffany Chandler! The RMA Eagles had a successful win over Cary Christian Academy on Friday, ending the game 63-0.

The Homecoming activities did not end here! On Saturday, October 20th, the annual Homecoming Dance was held at RMA from 8:00pm-11:00pm. Student Government members set up the morning of the dance, bringing in props that had a classy golden theme in honor of RMA’s 50 years. The upper school students had an outstanding time getting down on the dancefloor!

On Sunday, October 21st, the annual Tennis for Tyler Tournament was held at RMA from 2:00pm – 4:00pm in hopes of raising money for Tyler Strandberg’s cause. Tyler Strandberg graduated from RMA in 2005 as a diligent student and a dedicated athlete. After earning her degree in Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tyler moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to work with troubled youth. In August of 2015, Tyler passed away doing what she loved most, climbing the Grand Tetons. In honor of Tyler, the class of 2005, with the dedicated leadership of Will Kornegay, started an initiative to dedicate a playground called Tyler’s Peak. The laughter of the children can be heard all the way from the tennis courts Tyler used to play on! Funds for the playground were raised during the Tennis for Tyler Tournament. This year’s tournament was once again a huge success. Tyler’s mother came to watch all of the fun tennis. That day was filled with sunshine, smiles, and good tennis!

Overall, RMA’s 2018 Homecoming week was anything but boring! From the Pep Rally to the Fall Festival to the Homecoming dance and more, everyone enjoyed celebrating RMA’s 50th anniversary. RMA has being going strong for 50 years and will continue to grow stronger.