THE WOODLANDS THE WOODLANDS
C H R I S T I AACADEMY N CHRISTIAN A C A D E M Y FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Head Of School Notes - by Julie Ambler I am thrilled to report that 93% of our existing students have returned contracts for next year! This is impressive retention for any school, but it is especially noteworthy because we have an increasingly large enrollment base. At this time, we also have 127 well-qualified potential candidates who have completed applications and hope to join us next year. There are many more students still in the application process. With such limited openings for 2015-2016, it appears that we will close with a wait pool for almost every grade. We have already begun an intentional effort to enroll those few students who will best contribute to our school community. With re-enrollment complete, we have begun planning for next year. Highlights include the integration of our 5th graders into middle school, the introduction of a distinguished scholars program in our high school, and a refining of our school-wide academic vision to better prepare our students for success in the 21st century. We look forward to sharing more details with you in the near future. A new year often brings with it some changes. After more than thirty years in Christian education, including six years at Woodlands Christian, Dr. Bruce Hunter and his wife are moving to Richmond, Virginia to be closer to their grandchildren. Dr. Hunter has blessed us with his selfless dedication, humility and wisdom. We will miss our colleague and friend, and we wish him all of God’s abundant blessings on this new season in his life. Last Saturday, the Booster Club, chaired by CeCe Ray, hosted its first annual Sporting Clay Tournament at Creekwood Shooting Sports. Robin and Mark Bennett organized and chaired the tournament. Approximately 120 participants and 40 volunteers, including students, families and
community friends, enjoyed beautiful sunny weather, friendly competition and fellowship while raising nearly $33,000 after expenses. I am grateful to everyone who contributed toward such a successful new tradition for Woodlands Christian. Thanks to a $1,000,000 anonymous gift, overage from the Annual Fund, proceeds from the Sporting Clay Tournament, and auction sponsorships to-date, we are within $100,000 of funding an eight-lane, 400-meter track for our students! In hopeful anticipation of raising the final dollars at our Warrior Derby on April 25 and completing installation before next fall, we have begun clearing trees and fine tuning the drainage for the track. We have also engaged Hellas Construction, one of the largest sports surface design, manufacturing, construction, and installation companies in the United States. The cost of the track (including drainage, etc.) is $1,350,000. If we exceed our fundraising goal, we will add turf to our football field for $575,000, approximately half the cost of installing it at a later date. Stadium seating for 1,500 would cost an additional $475,000. To learn more about the Warrior Derby and how you can help us add these facilities, please click here. This is an exciting season in the life of our school. Thank you for choosing Woodlands Christian for the education of your children. We are humbled by your trust and partnership as we jointly strive to equip and inspire the next generation of Christian leaders.
In observance of Presidents’ Day The Woodlands Christian Academy will be closed Monday, February 16
5800 ACADEMY WAY . THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS 77384 . 936-273-2555 . WWW.TWCA.NET
Lower School News Lower School Speech Meet On Thursday, February 5, 106 students performed in the Woodlands Christian Lower School Speech Meet, reciting Bible verses and stories, poetry, fables, and patriotic pieces. It takes courage and determination to stand before a group and make an oral presentation! Way to go to all of the participants! Forty-two students will move on to represent our school at the ACSI District Speech Meet on March 6 at Alpha Omega Christian Academy in Huntsville, Texas. Those students representing Woodlands Christian are as follows:
1st Grade Bible Memory Rhett Highley Oscar Muniz Christian Yearwood
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1st Grade Poetry Will Brown Teagan Johnson Cade Schindewolf
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2nd Grade Bible Memory Tamilore Aldesiyan Taylor Alarid Carlos Palau
3rd Grade Bible Memory Sarah Chappelle Paris Pavlas
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3rd Grade Poetry Arden Blake Hannah Landgraf
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3rd Grade Fable/Folklore Madeleine Phan Vanessa Yakunovich
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4th Grade Bible Memory Sarah Cassidy Seth Culberson Jack VanTil
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4th Grade Poetry Davis Johnson Madeleine McGlaun Katie Wise
2nd Grade Poetry Jaedyn How Ivana Otto Brooke Welsh 2nd Grade Fable/Folklore Kirby Page Sarah Powell
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4th Grade Fable/Folklore Sam Cornell Halle Howard Hope Howard
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5th Grade Bible Memory Ben Butcher Emily Dunn Ezekiel Jurado
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5th Grade Poetry Connor Barham Sydnei Miles Maria Otto
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5th Grade Patriotic Oration Sean Kane Lily Taylor Chaney Welsh
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5th Grade Dramatic Bible Prose Sarah Williams 5th Grade Original Speech Jake Melber 6th Grade Patriotic Oration Danny Volpi 6th Grade Bible Memory Meredith Wyrick
FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Lower School News Colorful Science
Pre-Kindergarten students experimented with milk, dishwashing detergent and food coloring to create interesting color combinations. Food coloring was dropped into the milk, then dishwashing liquid was added causing the fat molecules in the milk to disperse taking the color molecules with them. This action allowed for a quick and dramatic mixing of colors.
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Information & photos submitted by Robert Roach.
Art Meets Geometry
Lower school art students used their design skills along with a little bit of geometry to create colorful patterns. The students used a tangram, this ancient Chinese puzzle is made by cutting a square of thin material into five triangles, a square and a rhomboid, and then recombining the pieces into different figures. This exercise was creative and analytical, combining skills using color, shape and symmetry. Of course, to the students it was just fun!
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Information & photos submitted by Susan Peterson.
Lower School Track Meet
Ninety-one lower school students in third-fifth grades travelled to Northland Christian for a track meet on Tuesday, February 10. Two weeks of diligent preparation resulted in the Warriors bringing home 28 blue ribbons, 32 red ribbons, and 27 white ribbons. Well done lower school Warriors!
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Information & photos submitted by Nate Sanford. FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Upper School News Students Participate In BioTech Competition On Saturday, February 7, freshmen students Reina Awasum, Matthew Cheon, John Harkins, Kennedy Kesterson, Luke Ledbetter, and Mikaela Sweet represented The Woodlands Christian Academy in the SciTech 25 Biotechnology Competition held at Lone Star CollegeMontgomery. The competition featured students in 9th - 12th grades from schools in our area. Our students acted as molecular detectives tracking down the origin of a disease outbreak using the skills of gel electrophoresis and DNA fingerprinting. The team looks forward to competing again next year. Way to go Warrior scientists!
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Information and photos submitted by Shonda Majors.
AP Biology Gets Glowing! PHOTO
Students in Mrs. Shonda Majors AP Biology class recently gave their non-pathogenic strain of E. coli a new trait. The bacterial transformation was successful as indicated when the bacteria glowed fluorescent green! Information and photos submitted by Shonda Majors.
FEBRUARY13, 2015
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT NEWS Warrior Basketball Looks Towards District Playoffs In an important district contest on February 6, the boys’ varsity basketball team defeated St. Joseph by a score of 82-44. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams close out the regular season on the road against Katy Faith West on Friday, February 13. These are critical games for both teams with playoff implications at stake. The girls’ team is in a three-way tie for second place. The boys’ team is in second place with the outcome of Friday’s game determining whether or not the Warriors will host a first round playoff game or have to play on the road. Go Warrior Basketball!
Middle School Boys’ Basketball Team Wins Championship
Congratulations to the seventh grade middle school boys’ basketball team on winning the NHAL championship. Way to go Warrior middle school basketball! Cannon Brand Nicolas Bryngelson Caleb Chappelle Colten Glover Braden Harvey
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Davis Lohr Luke Mansfield Ethan Sanni-Thomas Matthew Trow Luke Yanochik
Jason Tocabens, Head Coach
FEBRUARY 13, 2015
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT NEWS Shooting Clay Tournament A Big Bang!
The first annual Woodlands Christian Booster Club Sporting Clay Tournament was a resounding success! One hundred and twenty shooters spent a wonderful day at Creekwood Springs Shooting Sports. The event raised $32,688.63. All of these proceeds will be applied towards the construction of the Warrior track. Thanks to all who supported this event!
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Information and photos courtesy Jennifer McKeon and Robin Bennett.
FEBRUARY 13, 2015
All School News Apple Training As part of The Woodlands Christian Academy being named an Apple Distinguished School, representatives from Apple visited campus on Wednesday, February 11 to further train our faculty on the resources and tools available on the MacBook. The representatives demonstrated how those tools can enhance class flow and content creation in order to keep our faculty’s instruction innovative and relevant for our students.
A Note From The Business Office The Business Office is responsible for billing parents for any charges that may occur during the school year. Examples of charges are as follows: lunch, athletic fees, trip fees, books, clubs, activity charges, etc. You may view and pay your invoices through RenWeb by following the steps as outlined below:
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Log in to your ParentsWeb account. (Our school code is TWCA-TX) a. Click on Family Information. b. Click on Family Billing. c. Click on Details to view all open invoices. 2. Click on Pay Now. a. Enter the amount of payment. b. Enter credit card information. Please note — You may need to use Mozilla Firefox to view RenWeb.
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A few reminders — • You will not receive an invoice or statement. Please view your charges via your RenWeb account and make every attempt to pay your account each month. • In order for your payment to be properly credited, please pay each category separately. • All athletic fees must be paid before students will be allowed to participate in games. • All trip fees must be paid before students will be allowed to go on trips. • You may view 60 days of invoices on RenWeb. If you have any questions please contact Jodi Gilmore (jgilmore@twca.net) or Kathy Montes (kmontes@twca.net). Thank you!
Important Note From The Technology Office
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The Woodlands Christian Academy email system will undergo maintenance over the Presidents’ Day weekend and will be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. FEBRUARY13, 2015