Trunk or Treat and Halloween Party

Saturday, October 30th, the mummies were unleashed at ATA West Chester. ATA's Egyptian inspired theme was complimented by our Mummy Demo Team. Kids were treated to a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot and a hayride around the parking lot and then were admitted into the spooky mummies' tomb. Once inside the children participated in various games, activities, and a fantastic glow in the dark martial arts demonstration.

Special thanks goes out to Ms. Gladson, Ms. Curry, Mrs. Mastnjak, and Mr. Grosse for set up and clean up. Thanks also to Mr. Ashby, Mr. Grosse, Mr. Zavaleta, and Ms. Rickert for being our mummified demo team. Thanks to all of the parents that set up for trunk or treat. Also, a special thanks to Mr. Ciarlello for the hayrides. Everyone had a blast and we look forward all the craziness over again next year!

The Dawn Of A New Day

October 23, 2010 - ATA Martial Arts held it's belt promotions that featured our very first ever 1st Degree Black Belt Recommended belts. There were also many students receiving their new red/white/blue leadership collar stripe uniforms. In addition, all of the items collected for Faithful Friends, a no kill animal shelter, were presented to Jane and Shannon, representatives from Faithful Friends. Everyone had a great day and we were treated to cards for free appetizers and kids meals from our testing sponsor, TGI Fridays.

ATA West Chester at Chili Cookoff

A great job to everyone who represented ATA West Chester at the Chili Cookoff on Sunday!!! Our demo teams rocked thanks to Mr. Max Ashby and Miss Kelly Rickert. Mrs. Kelly Mastnjak did an awesome job handling the table. Mr. & Mrs. Jouan couldn't be prouder!

Red/Black Collars

Thursday, September 23, 2010, Ms. Gladson and Ms. Curry were introduced as the first red/black collars at ATA West Chester. This is a long road of specialized training for these two awesome ladies. Ms. Curry has been an junior instructor trainee for over 4 years and Ms. Gladson a trainee instructor for over 5 years. This is truly a great accomplishment that they worked hard for. It was a very emotional night and the students and other instructors are very proud of them.

Chester County Restaurant Festival

On Sunday, September 19, 2010, the ATA Martial Arts of West Chester demo team did performances at the West Chester Restaurant Festival. The weather made it a beautiful day to do martial arts outside. We had a chance to meet many from the community and share martial arts with a great crowd. Thank you to all the families that came to help out and show off. Everyone looked sharp. Thank you to Mrs. Mastnjak and crew for setting up, Mr. Ashby for coordinating all the demonstrations (and co-captain, Ms. Rickert), Mrs. Gladson for talking to everybody and anybody that would listen about the benefits of ATA, Mr. Nagel for providing all the photography, and all the other students, parents, and their families that came out.

ATA Martial Arts 2nd Annual School Picnic

On Saturday, September 11, 2010, ATA Martial Arts held its second annual school picnic! Over 50 families came to East Bradford Park and ate lots of great food at the pavilion. The spread was impressive - mac and cheese, ribs, pasta salad, plum cake, cookies, smores, baked beans, and of course, hot dogs and hamburgers. Thanks to Mr. Dow, Mr. Grosse, and Mr. Mitchell for cooking up the burgers and dogs. The kids had fun running around the park playing soccer, kickball, playing in the sand pits, and climbing on the jungle gym and swinging on the swings. The weather was gorgeous and everyone had a great time. We even got to have cake and sing for Drew's birthday!

BIG MONTH AT ATA WC

It's official! Mr. Jouan and Miss Boulden are finally MARRIED! Miss Boulden is now known as Mrs. Jouan. The outside ceremony happened in Newark, Delaware on Saturday, July 31st. It was beautiful. After the Wedding, the newlyweds went on a Mediterranean cruise. While they were absent, ATA West Chester had a special guest --Mr. Jason Morgan! Mr. Morgan trained with the students for 2 weeks and made sure everyone was having a great time training hard in class and getting their 3rd stripes. The students loved him! Mr. Morgan could not have done it without the help of Ms. Gladson, Mrs. Ciarlello and the other trainee instructors & junior leaders.

Belt Promotions was right around the corner when Mr. & (now) Mrs. Jouan returned. On August 28th, over 130 students advanced for new ranks. The highest rank at ATA West Chester is now a red belt decided. Also at Belt Promotion, Ms. Gladson & Ms. Curry successfully advanced in their instructor collar rank to a red/black collar. This means that they are now a step closer to being certified instructors. Mr. & Mrs. Jouan are super proud of everyone! Keep up the hard work!