Spring 2012 issue of The Knights' Realm

Spring 2012

The Knights’ Realm All-School Newsletter

The mission of Hill Country Christian School of Austin is to provide a Christ-centered, Classical, college-preparatory education that inspires students to become life-long learners and effective communicators who impact the world with the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ.

Table of Contents

Upper School News Pg. 2

Student Services Update Pg. 5

Lower School News Pg. 7

Preschool News Pg. 10

Advancement Office Update Pg. 12

Athletics Update Pg. 14

Library News Pg. 17

The Learning Center News Pg. 18

PTF Update Pg. 21

Upcoming Events Pg. 25

Preparing for College. Preparing for Life.

Greetings, Knights!

Spring has been busy and joyful at Hill Country Christian School of Austin. From community service projects to college tours, field studies to track and field meets, life in our hallways is never dull. As we move through May, with its welcomes and good-byes, the faculty and staff wish you and your family a blessed end to another wonderful school year. Thank you for entrusting us with the care and education of our child. It is our joy and privilege to partner with you. We take seriously our promise to you:

• We will know your child.

• We will love your child.

• We will prepare your child.

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Hill Country Christian School of Austin Spring 2012

Upper School News Introducing Joy Young, Incoming Upper School Principal

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A “Joy”ful Welcome

After a long search and interviews with numerous qualified applicants, we are thrilled to announce that Hill Country has a new Upper School Principal, Joy Young.

Professional Experience

Mrs. Young comes to us from Greater Atlanta Christian School, a thriving PK-12th grade school with 1850 students in Atlanta, Georgia, where she most recently held the position of Assistant Principal. Mrs. Young brings a wide variety of experience as a teacher and administrator in public and private, secular and Christian, schools. As a teacher, she has served at many grade levels, including preschool, elementary, and high school, as well as the university level. As an administrator, Joy has been an assistant principal and the principal of a special education school. Joy is passionate about learning and states that she “truly loves learning at all ages and stages of life.” She has enjoyed working in schools in Georgia and Oklahoma, as well as schools in five different countries around the world. In addition to her work in the classroom, Joy served on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) External Review Team. Mrs. Young also has in-depth experience in education for learning differences and autism. We believe that through these experiences, God has uniquely prepared Joy for the position of Upper School Principal at our growing school.

Personal Life Born in rural Illinois, Joy spent her 5th-12th grade years in Sacramento, California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and her Master of Education from the University of Georgia. She completed post-graduate coursework at the

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University of Georgia, earning her Certificate in Administration, Curriculum, Instruction, and Supervision. She is married to Dr. Ron Young, a psychologist, and has two children whom they adopted from South Korea. Her daughter, Christine, is 19 and is a freshman film student at the University of Texas at Austin. Their oldest, Sean, is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a computer programmer here in Austin. Sean was diagnosed with high functioning autism/Asperger’s Syndrome, and Sean’s journey has provided many opportunities for their family to minister to and educate others about autism and how those with autism function in a neuro-typical world. Joy and her husband are avid music fans and are looking forward to experiencing life in the “Live Music Capitol of the World.”

A Heart for Service

One of Joy’s passions is service for Christ. She has a heart for missions, and for the past four years has led service teams of high school students, teachers, and parents to the remote village of Ngaamba, Kenya. There the teams worked alongside villagers to bring clean water to the local community. Putting her education gifts to work, she collaborated with Kenyan school principals and led instructional training and planning sessions for teachers. Mrs. Young has also served in schools in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Australia. Supporting a cause close to her heart, Joy is also an autism speaker, coach and mentor.

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One of her goals for her tenure is to grow our school in the area of “continuing to provide students with choices to match their giftedness.”

Though she doesn’t officially join our staff until July, Joy has already enthusiastically jumped into her new role, sitting in on committee meetings, observing Upper School classes, judging Junior Thesis presentations, and speaking to students at Upper School chapel. She is looking forward to meeting the rest of the Hill Country family. When asked, “How would you like to be known a year from now?” Joy said, “I’d like to be known as approachable, and as a principal whose door is always open, not only when a student is in trouble!” To assist Joy in her goal of connecting with our students, staff and parents, we’d like to extend an invitation to everyone in the Hill Country community to attend a Welcome Reception for Joy and Ron Young on Wednesday, May 2nd, from 4:00-6:00 p.m., in the Café. The event will be come and go, so stop by on your way home from school or work!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help him up.

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Discovering Hill Country

When asked what drew her to our school, Joy answered, “God did!” She believes the Lord orchestrated many events to bring her here and is looking forward to sharing that story in the coming months. The Young family has been obedient to the Lord’s prompting, and she believes these steps have confirmed that the Lord indeed has orchestrated her move to this position. “Why would I want to be anywhere than where God would have me?”

Joy said that during her research and the interview process, she was struck by Hill Country’s emphasis on relationships. She perceives the tight-knit community, deep relationships, and Bill McGee’s effective and passionate leadership to be true strengths of our school. Joy’s personal passion for relationships was evident with her response to the question, “What do you enjoy most about being a school principal?” Joy replied, “Getting to know and love the students and collaborating with all of the staff!” Nicknamed “Mama Joy” at GACS, Joy hopes to earn that nickname here as well and says she can’t wait to get to know each of our students personally. In discussing her collaboration with staff, Mrs. Young cites Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 as one of her favorite verses.

Principal Joy Young introduces herself to Upper School students at Chapel.

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Prom 2012!

Our high school students enjoyed this year’s prom, held on Saturday, April 28th, at the Oasis. The event was the culmination of several years of fundraising and service hours by the students, as well as many hours of volunteer work by the parents. This year’s theme was “Denim and Diamonds.” The students got creative with their formal wear, donning gowns with cowboy boots, top hats and tails, and “Texas Tuxedos” for the night.

One of the special traditions of Hill Country’s proms is the annual senior parent-child dance to kick off the evening. There wasn’t a dry parent eye in the place while mothers danced with their sons and fathers with their daughters to the Trace Adkins song, “You’re Gonna Miss This.” After students and their parents posed for photos together, the parents left and the students enjoyed a

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great night of dancing, food, and fun with friends.

The students wish to extend a big “Thank You!” to all of the parents who volunteered to make Prom 2012 a wonderful event they will remember for a lifetime.

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The Class of 2012 Debby Krohmer, Director of Student Services

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College Admissions 2012 – Working on a Great Fit!

May 1st is National Decision Day in the world of college admissions, and the 17 seniors who comprise the Hill Country Christian School Class of 2012 are making their final college decisions. The seniors have submitted their application packets early, toured college campuses, diligently filled out financial aid forms, taken any needed last minute SAT or ACT tests, and sought guidance and direction from God, their parents, their counselor and their teachers. Some acceptance letters came back in October and November from the schools that do “rolling admissions,” while other students have had to wait until April to hear of their statuses at some of the more selective universities. Equally as important as the acceptance letter, and, in most cases more important, have been the awards letters that arrive after the financial aid packets have been reviewed by the universities. The awards letters lay out the cost of attendance, scholarships awarded, suggested loans, etc. The result, at times, is that a student’s “reach school” that offered a much-desired acceptance may end up too far out of reach financially.

As the season progresses, I’ve been very impressed with the mature, informed decisions being made by our seniors.

For some, financial aid is not an issue and their choices come more easily. Does a college offer the right academic programs, is the social and spiritual life a fit, can they see themselves on a given campus for at least 4 years, etc.? For others, and this year more than ever, affordability is a key part of a college fit. Students are weighing their

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options, literally counting the costs, and prioritizing the many aspects of a specific college. Not only can they and their parents afford it but, should they afford it? Is the enticing scholarship offer worth the long-range investment?

Take for example, the sought-after acceptances to TCU (with a current acceptance rate of 36%) or Baylor University. Seven of our 17 seniors applied and were accepted to one of these quality and very expensive private schools. Once the excitement of having been accepted died down, the excitement took a backseat to the actual cost of attendance. We have only three seniors

actually heading to TCU or Baylor next fall - Brandon Pappas to TCU, and Paul Klein and Reid Aldridge to Baylor University. The other five have studied their other options and are making decisions to attend some of the quality state schools that Texas has to offer. Brandon Simpson, originally TCU-bound, will be attending Texas Tech and its prestigious College of Business. Britton Smith is also going to Tech, instead of his original plan to attend Baylor, and his brother, Austen Smith, is weighing various state school offers. Cole Bland is forgoing his acceptance to TCU to attend Blinn College in Bryan.

The University of Texas at Austin is a coveted school for some of our seniors every year. As the university’s acceptance rate remains at a low 13%, except for the top 8% in a class, Hill Country continues to have students who gain acceptance either through regular admissions or the CAP program. (Freshman are offered the opportunity to attend a University of Texas campus other than Austin

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The Class of 2012 Debby Krohmer, Director of Student Services

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and then transfer to Austin their sophomore year.) Mitchel Janssen will enroll in the College of Business (having turned down an acceptance to NYU), and Cody McCourt has been accepted to the College of Engineering. Patrick Sullivan will be attending U.T. San Antonio with plans to transfer to Austin next year. Also within the U.T. system, but in a smaller environment, Rachel Shanks will be attending U.T. Tyler.

Only two students plan to head out-of-state this year, and many universities are reporting a decline in out-of-state students due to the costs of travel and non-resident tuition. Sam Hawks will be attending the University of Alabama, and Cash Barker is going to Oklahoma State University.

Private, Christian universities offering smaller classes, a Christian worldview, and quality academic programs are traditionally a great fit for many of our seniors. Elizabeth Johnston will be attending Dallas Baptist University and Megan Thurman and Dustin Turner will be heading west to attend Abilene Christian University. Nicole Ledesma is taking final campus tours before making her decision.

There are a few additional college admissions items to note: this is the first year that we have no one heading to Texas A & M University or the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. This is the first year since 2007 that no one will be attending a community college and the first year since 2009 that no one is traveling farther north than Oklahoma! The members of the Class of 2012 have received and reviewed their options and most have made their decisions. Please join me in praying for their safety and success!

Hill Country Trivia:

The Class of 2012 is the first class at Hill Country Christian School to have attended school on this property from Kindergarten through 12thgrade.

Then and Now…

Eight of our 17 seniors have been in the Hill Country family since Kindergarten!

Can you identify the members of our Class of 2012 in the following photos?

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Dear Parents,

With the arrival of spring, a flurry of competition always comes in the Lower School. In the past few weeks, our students have competed in a wide variety of areas, all gaining valuable experience, and many enjoying great success. It’s always thrilling when our students do well. After all, we have high academic expectations at Hill Country as we are preparing them for college, and we also spend a lot of time training our students to be effective communicators-both key aspects of our mission. What is far more thrilling, in my opinion, is to see the way our students handle themselves during competitions. The stories continue to come in about how our students demonstrated Christ-like behavior by being humble winners, giving God the glory for their success, encouraging others around them, and by graciously accepting any losses. This makes a principal’s heart very proud! I hope you enjoy this issue that highlights these competitions.

In His and your service,

Kristine

Science Awards

Each February the winners of our in-house 5th and 6th grade Science Fair compete at the Austin Energy Regional Science festival at the Palmer Events Center. This year’s theme was Exploring Genius. With over 2,000 students participating from 3rd through 12th grade, the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival is one of Texas’ largest regional science fairs. The purpose of the festival is to encourage and reward innovative student research. Our students did extremely well this year. They all received 1st place blue ribbons! Congratulations to the following students: Amber Carroll, Aren Davis, Andrew Pendleton, George Lubrano, Liam Ferreira, Abbey Glace, Austin Grendel, Bryce Jones, Dustin Mitcham, Thomas Nelson, and Mikayla Vacek. Abbey Glace received an additional 2nd place award from the Society of Women Engineers.

ACSI Regional Spelling Bee

On Saturday, March 10, Brant Conway (5th grade) and Liam Ferreira (6th grade) participated in the ACSI Regional Spelling Bee in Dallas. There were 68 competitors in 5th – 8th grade and the competition was very tough! Brant made it all the way to the fifth round. Liam placed 9th in one of the final rounds drawing from the unpublished list that contained very difficult words. We are very proud of both boys. Well done, Brant and Liam!

Lower School News Kristine Kruse, Lower School Principal

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ACSI District Speech Meet

Each year, Hill Country has the privilege of hosting the ACSI District Speech Meet. Almost 130 students who placed the highest during the in-house speech meets at five Central Texas area schools came to compete on March 31. Hill Country had a strong showing, and all of our students did very well, regardless of whether or not they placed in the top three of their category. Please congratulate the following students if you have an opportunity.

• 1st Grade Poetry: Ellie Dooley, 2nd • 2nd Grade Poetry: Cailyn Kieper, 1st and Emilie Budjaja, 2nd • 2nd Grade Bible: Sophie Sayles, 1st and Colt Lychner, 2nd • 3rd Grade Poetry: Heather Power, 3rd • 3rd Grade Bible: Caeden Kieper, 2nd and Benjamin Azachi, 3rd • 3rd Grade Fables: Lacey Hurley, 2nd • 4th Grade Poetry: Nicole Prado, 1st and Tanner James, 3rd. • 4th Grade Bible: Emma Hatley, 1st • 4th Grade Fables: Sarah Whorton, 3rd • 5th Grade Poetry: Kelsey Logan, 3rd • 5th Grade Bible: Claire Kelly, 2nd • 5th Grade Dramatic Bible Prose: Natalie Hamilton, 1st • 5th Grade Patriotic Oration: Abbey Glace, 3rd • 5th Grade Original Speech: Mikayla Vacek and Peyton Horne, 1st (tie) • 6th Grade Poetry: Evan Dickinson, 2nd and Isabella West, 3rd • 6th Grade Bible: Jack Farrell, 1st and Rachel Lychner, 2nd • 6th Grade Dramatic Bible Prose: Emily Myers and Braeli Payne, 1st (tie) • 6th Grade Patriotic Oration: Liam Ferreira, 1st, Meghan Yoyette, 2nd and Alex Folwarski, 3rd • 6th Grade Original Speech: George Lubrano, 3rd

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Destination Imagination

Hill Country just wrapped up another successful year of Destination Imagination competition. The following two teams of students spent many hours developing creativity, teamwork, and problem solving skills in preparation for the regional tournament.

Austin Knights (4th & 5th Grade) Team Manager – David Nelson

• Brant Conway • Garren Ferreira • Austin Grendel • Hayden Jackson • Noah Juline • Mason Nelson • Ella Shipper

Electric Knights (6th Grade) Team Manager – Craig Conway

• Mason Brooks • Reid Conway • Liam Ferreira • Alex Folwarski • Zane Jackson • Andrew Pendleton • Luke Policke

At the regional tournament on Saturday, February 18, the Austin Knights took first place and the Electric Knights took second place! Saturday, April 15, the Austin Knights competed in the state tournament and placed 9th! Well done, students!

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Little Knights Preschool News Margaret Jackson, Director of Preschool

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Howdy, Partner! The spring has been full of so many wonderful things at Little Knights Preschool: praying, learning, playing… there’s never a dull moment in our classrooms! One of our favorite events this spring was celebrating Texas Independence Day on March 2nd. The stars were out bright...deep in the heart of Texas!

All the little cowpokes at Little Knights Preschool helped celebrate Texas Independence Day by having a Texas “Round-up.”

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We looked pretty dandy with our cowboy hats and cowboy boots.

The rabbits rushed around the brush.

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Little Knights Preschool News Margaret Jackson, Director of Preschool

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The coyotes wail along the trail. (Really it was just little goats!)

Happy trails to you, until we meet again!

God Bless Texas!!

The chicks peeped.

We all cried, "Ki-yip-pie-yi," deep in the heart of Texas’ Little Knights Preschool!

The pigs wiggled.

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New Playground on the Way!

Thanks to those who generously donated to the Annual Fund, our new playground is on its way! Playground equipment has been ordered, and it will be ready for your children in the fall. The new playground will be located near the new recreation field and will include slides, monkey bars, a climbing wall, and more. Later phases, including a sport court, will be added as funds become available.

The Legacy Scholarship Fund

In a previous newsletter, we announced The Hill Country Christian School Legacy Scholarship Fund, which was created in September 2011 and will provide higher education scholarships to worthy graduates. We are pleased to report that the first two scholarships from this fund will be awarded to our current senior class. Two graduates from the Class of 2012 will receive $4000 each towards their college education. One scholarship will be awarded to the Court of Honor recipient, and another scholarship to a student who personifies Christ-like character, exhibits academic potential, and demonstrates financial need. These scholarship winners will be announced at the School of Rhetoric Honors Convocation on May 24th.

Advancement Department News Suzanne Farrell, Director of Marketing and Communications

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Annual Fund Update To date we have received just over $173,000 toward our Annual Fund goal of $300,000. The household participation rate is currently 47%. High levels of participation in annual giving helps Hill Country procure grants from charitable foundations and corporations which require evidence of strong support from a school’s constituency. Please join us in our goal of “Pursuing Excellence” by giving to this year’s Annual Fund before July 31, 2012.

The newly-formed Development Committee recently conducted a grade-level competition for Annual Fund participation. The prize for the winning class was a date night for the parents, including free childcare. Congratulations to third grade for winning a fun evening out for the parents! Although no grade reached 100% participation in the Annual Fund by the April 16th deadline, third grade led the pack with 81% participation! Third grade parents will enjoy an evening of food and fellowship at Mighty Fine on May 12th.

Total Raised Participation

Admissions Sees Record Traffic This spring the Admissions Office has seen the greatest volume of inquiries in our school’s history. We are pleased to report that already 88% of current students have re-enrolled for the upcoming school year, and that number continues to

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increase. The administration is confident that we will soon reach our goal of 90% re-enrollment. As you probably know, enrollment priority is given to current families and staff, and then any available spots are opened to the local community. Since open enrollment began this spring, we have already received applications from 109 new students, and we receive more applications every week. Last year at this time, we had received 378 inquiries for the next school year, and this year we have had 500 for 2012-2013. Based on current traffic and historical trends, we expect to have an enrollment of at least 540 students for the 2012-2013 school year, compared to 512 currently and 465 the year before that. Many private schools both locally and nationally have suffered downturns in this difficult economy, so we are especially thankful to God for blessing us with growth. Please join us in prayer that God will continue to bring new families to our school to receive the blessing of a Christ-centered, Classical, college-preparatory education. If you have not yet re-enrolled for the 2012-2013 school year and wish to do so, please contact the Admissions Office immediately. We have filled at least two sections at every grade level Kindergarten- 6th, and we have waiting pools in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades. Several of our grades have had sufficient numbers of students in the waiting pool to open 3rd sections. The Admissions Office can help answer your questions about any available openings in your child’s grade. If you need information about Tuition Assistance you may contact Shannon Ficklin, Admissions Director, at [email protected] or Sondra Janssen, Controller, at [email protected]. Invite your friends, co-workers, and neighbors to join you at Hill Country. Word of mouth referrals are the most effective form of advertising for the school. If you would like marketing materials like school or preschool brochures, viewbooks, or Classical education pamphlets to share with friends, feel free to stop by the Admissions or Marketing Offices to pick up a few to pass along. Copies are available in the school offices, lobbies, and at the church’s information centers. “Favorite Private School” Award

Last June we were honored to be voted “Favorite Private School” in Austin in the annual Austin Family magazine readers’ poll. We’d love to keep our title. Voting ends May 16th, so please go to www.austinfamily.com to vote today!

Hill Country in the News

We are proud to announce that in April we were featured in Austin Monthly magazine’s cover story, “Austin’s Top Private Schools.” You may read the article online at austinmonthly.com, or we will soon have copies of the magazine in the school offices and lobbies. Our press coverage does not end there. We will also

be included in an upcoming feature article about private schools in the Austin Business Journal and the Austin Kid Directory’s annual Private School Guide.

Connect with Us through Social Media

Did you know that Hill Country is on Facebook and Google +1, or that we recently launched a Twitter account? As the school moves to a new student information management system this summer, we also plan to develop a new news page for our website, complete with RSS feeds to which you can subscribe. We invite you to connect with us through any or all of these social media channels to keep up with the latest news. Social media is more fun when it’s interactive, so we encourage you to “post,” “tweet,” “like,” and “share” our content. Here are the links, which can also be found on the homepage of our school website:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Hill-Country-Christian-School-of-Austin

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HillCountryChristian@HillCountryChr

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Unprecedented Achievement

It has been a spring of unprecedented high achievement for several of Hill Country’s high school athletic teams.

Golf

The boys’ varsity golf team won the district championship at Hidden Falls Golf Club in Marble Falls on March 26. Girls finished fourth. Justin Meredith won first place with the lowest individual score. Boys finished third at Regionals, just nine strokes off the lead. Girls finished fifth, missing the State cut by one place.

“The second through seventh seeded teams at state are all within a few strokes of each other, so it ought to be very tight,” Coach Philip Hudgens said, as they prepared for State. Senior Brandon Pappas is consistently scoring in the 80s and junior Matt Pantoja

Athletics Department Update Pete Craycroft, Director of Athletics

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has brought his scores down into the 90s. “We basically have two golfers in the 80s and two (sophomore Preston Glace being the other) in the 90s,” Hudgens said, “and hopefully Justin will be able to get into the 70s.”

The State Tournament was played over two days on April 23-24 at Stonetree Golf Club in Killeen. The Knights’ hard work paid off as the boys finished in 4th place in the state for TAPPS 2A, the highest finish in school history. Justin Meredith individually earned 3rd place in State.

Track & Field

It was a banner district track meet at Vandegrift High School on April 12th, as the varsity boys finished second overall out of 13 teams, and the girls’ varsity finished third of ten teams.

Combined, the Knights qualified for Regionals in 23 events. The Regional meet was held in Hallettsville on April 21.

Highlights for the girls’ team at district included:

- Sara Jackson, Third Place, 200m dash - Andi Bandow, Fourth Place, 800m run - Karen Baker, First Place, 100m hurdles - Olivia Dahl, Second Place, 100m hurdles - Karen Baker, First Place, 300m hurdles - Olivia Dahl, Grace Neumann, Aimee Mora, Sarah

Herzer, Fourth Place, 4X100m relay - Aimee Mora, Megan Thurman, Olivia Dahl, Sara

Jackson, Fourth Place, 4X200m relay

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- Karen Baker, Andi Bandow, Megan Thurman, Sara Jackson, First Place, 4X400m relay

- Karen Baker, Third Place, High Jump - Olivia Dahl, First Place, Pole Vault - Andi Bandow, Second Place, Pole Vault - Karen Baker, Fourth Place, Long Jump - Chloe Policke, Fourth Place, Shot Put

In addition, the girls 4X400m relay team accomplished the impressive feat of qualifying for the Texas Relays this year, and represented Hill Country very well, finishing ahead of three other teams at the prestigious meet, which is hosted by The University of Texas.

Highlights at the district meet for the boys’ varsity track team included:

- Noah Monteiro, Third Place, 400m dash

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- Cody McCourt, Fourth Place, 800m run - Brian Baptiste, Steven Baker, Dustin Turner,

Austen Smith, Fourth Place, 4X100m Relay - Brian Baptiste, Steven Baker, Noah

Monteiro, Dustin Turner, First Place, 4X200m Relay

- Brian Baptiste, Cody McCourt, Dustin Turner, Noah Monteiro, Fourth Place, 4X400m Relay

- Cole Bland, Second Place, High Jump - Brian Baptiste, Third Place, High Jump - Kevin McCarthy, Fourth Place, Pole Vault - Cole Bland, First Place, Long Jump - Shane Jasek, Fourth Place, Shot Put

The top four places at Regionals qualified for the State Meet in Waco, to be held on May 4-5. This year, 10 of our track athletes won the right to compete at State. Coach Thurman has reported that our Lady Knights Track & Field team is ranked in a four-way neck and neck race for the top spot in the state in the TAPPS 2A division, and they could finish as state champs. Join us in praying for our athletes as they compete at State. Go, Knights!

Baseball

The Knights varsity baseball team is solidly in second place in district with a 3-1 record. The Knights beat Waco Vanguard 17-0 and 11-1, and defeated Summit 16-10. The lone loss is district play came to long-time nemesis Brazos Christian, 16-6.

The Knights also played their usual tough non-district schedule which included games against public schools Bartlett, Holland, and Austin Lanier, as well as private school powerhouses Pasadena First Baptist, Dominic Savio, and Regents.

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The Knights had a dynamic offense, hitting at a .302 team clip with seven starters batting over .300. Junior outfielder Matt Pantoja led all hitters with a .386 average. Team speed was an asset, with 79 stolen bases. The Knights’ undoing against the better teams was pitching (4.67 staff earned run average) and defense (.855 fielding percentage). Senior Paul Klein and sophomore Jack Horton led the pitching staff with three wins apiece.

The Knights advanced to the Bi-District Playoffs in Plano, Texas, on April 30th, but fell to Wichita Falls Notre Dame in the championship. Congratulations, Knights, for a tremendous season!

Middle School Athletics

At the middle school level, the track team finished third on the boys’ side and fifth on the girls’ side out of 14

teams at the Austin Inter-Parochial League meet. The team will conclude its season this week at the AIPL conference meet, which is scheduled for May 4-5th at St. Andrews Episcopal School.

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Middle School Officially Accepted into AIPL

Speaking of AIPL, Hill Country was confirmed last week as an official member for the 2012-2013 school year after the obligatory one-year probationary period for prospective members. Hill Country switched to AIPL at the beginning of the current school year after more than a decade of membership in the Austin Christian Athletic Association.

“Membership in AIPL is an important next step for us as we grow as a school,” Athletic Director Pete Craycroft said. “It’s important that we be competing against similar-sized schools as we continue to grow.”

AIPL includes larger Austin-area private schools such as St. Stephens, St. Andrews, Hyde Park, Regents, and Brentwood.

Swim Team

Now in its second year, our middle school club swim team has represented the school at two meets so far this season. On April 14th, they competed at Belton ISD. The boys relay team (Martin, Rawls, Toler, and Tyler) came in 1st in both of its relay events, 200 Medley and 400 Freestyle. All five swimmers finished in the top three of their individual events: Hannah Palacios, 1st in 50 Freestyle and 2nd in 50 Backstroke; John Martin, 1st in 50 Freestyle and 3rd in 50 Backstroke; Corban Rawls, 1st in 200 Freestyle and 50 Butterfly; Adam Toler, 1st in 100 IM and 500 Freestyle; Jace Tyler, 1st in 100 Freestyle and 2nd in Backstroke. Eight out of ten of our swimmers' individual events were personal best times at this meet! These athletes are looking forward to the State Meet in Burnet on May 12th. Please contact James Toler ([email protected]) for any info about the school’s swim team.

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The Power of Independent Reading Participants for Capture the Crown have until May 1st to read four more books than their grade and to pass quizzes on those books. Voting on the nominees is just around the corner.

One of the reasons students are encouraged to take part in programs such as CTC is that research shows that reading meaningful text results in improved reading achievement (Taylor, Frye & Maruyama, 1990). In an article written for Education World supporting independent reading at home, Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding (1988) found that the amount of time students spent in independent reading was the best predictor of reading achievement and improvement by students between second and fifth grade. Independent reading is also beneficial to: Build Fluency There is evidence that unless children read substantial amounts of print, their reading will remain laborious (Allington, 1984; Stanovich, 1991). Conversely when students read substantial amounts of text, their reading performance improves (Bridge, Winograd, & Haley, 1983; Dowhower, 1987; Herman, 1985).

Increase Vocabulary Independent reading is very significant to vocabulary development. Students who read from a variety of subject areas acquire understanding of large numbers new words each year (Nagy, Anderson, & Herman, 1987; Nagy, Herman, & Anderson, 1985).

Builds Background Having a foundation of background information strongly increases students' reading ability (Anderson & Pearson, 1984; Ausubel & Robinson, 1969; Bartlett, 1932). Purposefully selecting from a wide range of material benefits students in all their reading.

Spending regular family time reading and hosting an All Family Read could be very beneficial. Try it out. One of our school families is planning a summer book club with the children in their neighborhood. Selections are made from books which are high interest and depict honor in characterization. This is another way to foster independent reading. A book club could also work just within a family.

Plan now to use summer months growing independent readers.

Update from the Library and Media Center Marcelle Simms, Director of Library Services

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Read the Most from Coast to Coast In March, on Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, K – 6th grade readers participated in an Accelerated Reader initiative to see how many quizzes could be taken on one day. Our goal of 350 was surpassed as over 200 students participated and had a mini-cupcake party. Nationally over 3 million quizzes were taken.

All School Read Field Day is anticipated with excitement each spring semester. Besides all the outside activities, students also enjoy All School Read inside. Each lower school grade has time to relax, refresh and read without interruption for 30-40 minutes during the day. ASR is another way to give students an opportunity to read independently and make connections with literature.

Book Fair Hosting a Scholastic Book Fair creates lots of excitement about books. Our proceeds will allow us to purchase books and new rugs for our large group area, as well as plan for upgraded shelving.

REMINDERS:

• May 1st is CTC voting day. • May 18th is the CTC competition. • Inventory begins May14th. All books and fines

are due. • Ministry Builder Stamps, available at Family

Christian Store, give us a discount on purchases.

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Student Spotlight Senior Mitchel Janssen recently attended an event for Learning Ally, a national nonprofit organization that produces an online audio library of textbooks and literature titles to benefit thousands of students who cannot utilize standard print.

Mitchel was diagnosed with severe dyslexia by The Learning Center at the beginning of his junior year. According to Mitchel, he did not begin reading until he was eight years old. Finishing a reading assignment would take “forever,” with Mitchel having to take breaks between paragraphs because reading was so tiring.

During the event with Learning Ally, Mitchel spent the day visiting with media (including Judy Maggio of KEYE-TV,

pictured above), authors, and representatives from Congress.

News from The Learning Center (TLC) Irma Plaza, TLC Director

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He shared with them how the Learning Ally Audio app has allowed him to listen to textbooks on his iPad, providing for a much more productive learning experience. Mitchel explained, “I used to spend a lot of time on just my reading assignments every week. After I finished, my eyes were fried, and I couldn’t do anything else I wanted to do because I didn’t have the energy. Learning Ally has cut the time I spend on reading in half.”

Mitchel is currently authoring a book through the GATE program at Hill Country and is set to graduate as valedictorian of his senior class. He plans to attend the University of Texas in the fall.

Lower School GATE & Kinder LEAP

The Lower School GATE and Kinder LEAP classes are currently learning pond ecology. Each class has visited various ponds in the area, where they have placed leaf packs into the water. In a couple of weeks they will retrieve their leaf packs and observe the macro invertebrates that are living in the pond. This will help them determine the water quality of the pond. During these field studies students have observed the various plant and animal life. Everyone was excited to see all the interesting creatures that God has placed on this earth!

Upper School GATE

This spring the Upper School GATE class has been studying building design. They began their study with a visit from Mr. Chuck Glace, president of CHASCO Constructors and Hill Country parent. Mr. Glace went over the steps to designing a building from the parking lot to the electrical and plumbing. He also showed students the blueprints from their very own school building! Students continued their lesson on building design by visiting Concordia University. They took a tour of the 389-acre campus to learn all of the planning that went into building such a large facility. Not only did the students learn about the building preparations, they also learned some of its history and saw the 250-acre nature preserve

Mitchel was able to meet author Louis Sachar, whose Newberry and National Book Award-winning novel, Holes, hooked Mitchel on reading.

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that is habitat for the endangered Golden-Cheeked Warbler. The Upper School GATE students have taken what they have learned about building design and used it to create their own innovative buildings.

What Our Parents Are Saying About TLC

“Thank you so much for sending the newsletter on what LEAP has been up to. I cannot express enough what a wonderful job you all are doing with this group. It never fails, the day Quaid goes to LEAP he runs out to carpool trying to talk a million miles a minute about what they learned and neat experiment they were able to do. I also wanted to express what a HUGE impact it is having on Quaid to be able to work with some of the older students. Yesterday he told me of a team he was on with 2 sixth graders. From a kindergartner’s eyes that is HUGE! On top of that, last night a little girl came up to Quaid in the HUGE crowd at the airport just to say, "Hi, Quaid, How's it going?" I am so impressed with the sense of family at this school. For her to step away from her little group of girlfriends to come say hi says so much about her and this school.

Just know you are ALL making Big, Big things happen in these little lives.

A very grateful mom,

Amy Jackson”

“Mrs. Shepard, I can’t tell you how excited Pam and I are about this school year. Nick’s attitude has been changing about school, and he is now doing his schoolwork without a major fuss and without the hopelessness. I think he is starting to see that good grades are within his reach. I plan on continuing tutoring throughout the school year focusing on math. If there are other topics, please let us know. Thank you, Mrs. Bartold and Mrs. Felty, for making such a difference.

Regards,

Greg”

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“Dear Mrs. Plaza, Mrs. McGee and Mrs. Dozier:

We wanted to send you a very overdue thank you for the quality programs that The Learning Center has offered our family! As we evaluate the success of our children Luke (1st grade) and Ellie (3rd grade), we greatly recognize the role that you had in helping them pursue excellence!

Luke struggled in kindergarten with a failed vision surgery and was behind in reading. With the individual help of Mrs. Dozier in Rocket Readers, he was able to complete kindergarten at the “end of year goal.” One year later, Luke has developed a love for reading and is excelling in reading and spelling because of the extra work and investment you gave him. There is no doubt in our minds that he would not be where he is today if it were not for this program. His self esteem has improved dramatically, too, with his new found confidence in reading!

This is Ellie’s second year in the GATE program. It is the favorite part of her week, and she thrives from the learning

environment that is provided! Recently she told us that it was her ‘favorite thing in the world’… better than her trip to Disney World and trips to Colorado. She continues to amaze us with her knowledge from the units covered in GATE and thrives from the nurturing and teaching she gets from Mrs. McGee!

Continued thanks for a program that addresses the needs of our families at Hill Country! Not having to find

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supplemental ways to support our children’s educational needs is invaluable. We look forward to many more stories about the successful students benefiting from The Learning Center.

Gratefully,

Meredith and James McSpadden”

“Sara and Grace absolutely love GATE. Both mildly complain about getting up for school, but not on GATE day. And they proudly tell us what they learned at dinner that evening. Thanks for providing this opportunity for our girls to get excited about learning.

Leita Hart-Fanta, CPA, CGFM, CGAP”

“We are very pleased with the GATE program and think it is a wonderful supplement to the already challenging and purposeful Classical style of education that Hill Country provides its students.

GATE takes education outside of the realm of academic likeness and puts it into a creative, involved, and active environment, where the skills they learn in the classroom translate to accomplishment and achievement. I am simply amazed at some of the stories my kids share about the different projects and

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experiments they are engaged in while in GATE. I can easily see how the program supports the goals of the school, as well as the needs of the kids to be challenged in an exciting way, while being encouraged to live out the knowledge they are gaining.

We currently have a child in the Lower School program as well as the Upper School program. Our Upper School child has chosen the full day option and has felt that the language arts portion of the day fully compliments the science portion.

When sign ups came around this year, our children were, without any hesitation, wanting to enroll for next year. We are so grateful for the talented teachers who know our children as individuals and, therefore, know how to challenge them.

We would highly recommend for parents to explore the possibility of their child entering into this wonderful environment where our future contributors are encouraged to grow to their full potential.

With gratitude,

Cliff and Hope Fritschle”

"Jack really enjoys LEAP and the variety it provides. He loves exploring new things and hands-on learning often coming home and teaching us what he learned from Mrs. Hudgens.

-Jennifer Krueger”

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Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) Update Paula Wright, PTF Communications Chairperson

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PTF Blesses Hill Country

For the past four years, the Parent-Teacher Fellowship (PTF) has had the privilege of partnering with school administrators and teachers to enhance the spirit of Hill Country Christian School of Austin. The PTF’s service and support takes many different forms.

In its short history, the PTF has completed four major fundraising events: an auction in 2009, “A Knight to Remember” in 2010, an auction in 2011, and the comedian/auction/golf classic events in 2012. In addition, the PTF has raised money via Family Knight Dinners, Box Tops for Education and reward programs at Randall’s, Office Depot, and Target. These activities combined have raised just over $150,000. This does not include revenue from the Athletic Booster Club. Some of the money raised went directly to the school as item-specific donations/bids at the auctions.

Monies raised have also been used for the PTF Academic Scholarship, teacher wish list items, club funding requests and budget funding for our committees, which in turn support grade-level activities, home room moms, volunteer support, etc.

The PTF assists by organizing countless volunteer hours via Volunteer Hub. Volunteer events create opportunities for families to fellowship, such as the Back to School Ice Cream Social, Train Ride to Bethlehem, Stars hockey game, Kona Ice celebration, and dads’ events. PTF volunteers also helped to make Speech Meet, Spelling Bee, Science Fair, and the Healthy Knights Day events successful. The PTF will also assist with the upcoming Knights of Celebration, Schools of Logic and Rhetoric Convocations, and end of year parties.

The PTF continues to support school events such as the “Boo Hoo Whoo Hoo” Breakfast, new parent orientations, Operation Christmas Child, and school previews.

As Hill Country parents, you enhance our school’s sense of community with your continued support of the annual

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auction, golf tournament and Alumni Baseball Game.

Just by being a parent and/or staff member of Hill Country you are a part of our PTF. You are invited to advance our school by participating in the PTF. Sharing your time and talents is a fantastic way to serve and provides an opportunity to get to know other wonderful families at our school.

In Gratitude for Your Service!

Of course, this extensive partnership with our school requires committed leadership. Several invaluable PTF leaders will be stepping down from their positions at the end of this school year. We wish to take a moment to thank them for their service.

Troy Winslow has served as the PTF President for three consecutive years. He has provided strength to the PTF and a clear sense of purpose and focus.

Other outgoing executive board members are Lori Dise, PTF Vice President, and Kari Kieper, PTF Secretary. Kari has also served on current and past event committees and has made a huge impact to the success of these events. Both of these women's leadership styles encourages others serving on the PTF to succeed. They are wonderful examples of

leading through service to others. Outgoing PTF Committee Chairs are Rachel Armbruster - serving both Event and Voluntary Gifts Chair; Lisa Pantoja - Athletic Booster Club Chair and Mary Christy Nelson - Homeroom Moms Committee Chair. These three women have shared their talents and contributed greatly to make Hill Country a special community.

Special thanks are extended to all who have supported the PTF over the years!

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Healthy Knights Day

In March the PTF hosted Healthy Knights Day, an afterschool event for Lower School students and their families. The event, held in conjunction with National

Nutrition Month, offered numerous fun hands-on learning experiences, such as taste-testing vegetables and smoothies, participating in a fitness challenge with Coach Odendahl and Coach Greer, learning how to read nutrition facts labels on food packages, and planting cucumber seeds with master gardeners. Students didn't mind getting their hands dirty as they painted with fruits and vegetables, and the trivia game was definitely a hit! Those attending also learned about the five food groups, tasted the sweet benefits of whole grains, and were shocked by the sugar content in popular foods. Local businesses that support healthy choices offered samples at the event. The PTF appreciates all of the volunteers and businesses who made the event a success!

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Event Volunteers:

• Lila Boles Amy Jackson • Meredith McSpadden Carol Smith • Melissa Vacek Steffany Glover • Scott Calvert Coach Greer • Coach Odendahl Amy Dillon • Candice Stephens Poppy Jones • Stacy Kelly Christina Taylor • Michelle James Robert Cabrera • Jennifer Whorton Jaime Ferguson • Angela Muller Katja Priester • Debbie Figueroa Erin Jupe • Feliza Conway Ingrid Green • Bob Malone Janet Holder

Business Supporters:

• The Cake Plate • Dream Dinners • Bee’s Knees Bakeshop • Peoples Rx • Greenling • Travis County Master Gardeners Association • Dr. Ben Spitzenberger • Mission Restaurant Supply • YMCA – Twin Lakes • Elevation Burger • sCULPture Nutrition and Fitness • Home Depot

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• Sprouts Farmers Market • Target • HEB • Ace Mart Restaurant

Supply • Randalls • Promise Pizza • Hoppin’ House • Noble Pig Sandwiches • Natural Grocers • Whole Foods • Johnson’s Backyard

Garden • AlphaGraphics • Juice Plus+ • Arcadian Health Plan

Comedy Night

"A Night with the Court Jester" was a great success. Thank you to everyone who participated! Over 400 people attended the evening, and approximately $25,000 was raised for Annual Fund and the Parent Teacher Fellowship. Our Headmaster, Bill McGee, welcomed all, and PTF President Troy Winslow

shared a special message. Amy Dillon, a Hill Country parent, voice of The Word 93.3 and 98.5, and founder of Souled Out Ministries, graciously hosted the evening. All joined in laughter as we watched the entertaining comedian, John Branyan. Our school’s marketing department created a Hill Country trivia slideshow that aired before the event. Auction items included an evening at the Round Rock Express, a Houston Astros game and a 2-night Houston hotel stay, a turkey hunt, a trip

to the Indy 500, and use of a Florida condo for 7 nights. The

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event committee prepared a fabulous event and worked hard to create a wonderful night of fellowship and fundraising. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our school community! We’d like to thank the following:

Auction Donors:

• Chasco Construction • Headmaster Bill McGee • The McPherson Family • The Monteiro

Family • The Mueller

Family • The Wright

Family • Event Committee:

• Rachel Armbruster

• Caroline Davis • Carol Smith • Elizabeth

Bliquez • Stacy Kelly • Kari Kieper • Annette Kjar • James McSpadden • Janet Snapp • Mondai Synstegard • Suzy Phillips

Special Thanks:

• Amy Dillon • Hill Country’s Advancement Department

Golf Tournament

On Monday, February 27th, the Parent Teacher Fellowship

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sponsored the Hill Country Knights Golf Classic. It was the kick off to a community-building week that would conclude with the Court Jester Comedy Knight on Friday. The tournament, held at Twin Creeks Country Club, was a great success in its first year, with 18 foursome teams. There were two hole-in-one contests to win a car, but no winners this year. John Boles won the

tournament and many others took home prizes. The ninth grade class worked at the event as a day of service and to raise money for their class. Their participation helped bring school spirit to the "Knightly" event. It was a day of fun and fellowship that will hopefully become an annual event. The tournament raised close to $5000 for the PTF. A special thanks goes to James McSpadden, the event’s Chairman, and the volunteers that helped make it a success!

Tournament Volunteers:

• Carmen Hamilton • Sherry Pendleton • 9th Grade Class • 9th Grade Class Parents Lynda Logan and Jill Houghton • Kari and Kevin Kieper • Holley Loveday

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Tournament Sponsors:

• Bridges International • Chasco • Cedar Park Regional Medical Center • Four Points Family Chiropractic • Gruene Qorks • Roger Beasley • Sport Court of Austin • B.J. Myers, D.D.S. & Associates • Techline Sports Lighting • Express Oil, Inc. • Treaty Oak Bank • The University of Texas Golf Club Tournament Donors:

• The Azachi Family • The Kieper Family • The B.J. Myers Family • The Cureington Family • The Krueger Family • The McPherson Family


Upcoming Events: • May 1-2: Senior Thesis Presentations

• May 2: Welcome Reception for Joy and Ron Young

• May 2: High School Orientation (incoming 9th grade parents)

• May 8: Middle School Sports Banquet

• May 11: Spring Drama Production

• May 15: High School Sports Banquet

• May 17: School of Logic Preview

• May 18: Knights of Celebration (Lower School)

• May 24: School of Rhetoric Honors Convocation

• May 25: High School Graduation

• May 27: Memorial Day Holiday

• May 29: Kindergarten Graduation

• May 31: Last Day of School, School of Logic Honors Convocation

Hill Country Christian School of Austin 12124 RR 620 North Austin, Texas 78750

Spring 2012 issue of The Knights' Realm

Documents

grade school

growing school

high school

lower school news

special education school

new upper school principal

joy young

wonderful school year