Month: November 2012

Categories
Service Learning

Service with a Smile

By Kaye Hauschild
Middle School Coordinator, Lakehill Preparatory School 

It all began with a broken leg.  One of my sixth grade students broke her leg right before the beginning of the school year and, after surgery, found out that she could not participate in PE for many weeks to come.  Faced with the prospect of sitting idly on the bleachers, her parents asked me if I could give her the alternative of community service during her PE time each day.  I readily agreed because there are always projects that need an extra hand.

And so it began. During the first few weeks of school, there were more injured students who came to our alternative activity.  Because of broken and badly sprained wrists, knees, and ankles, our group’s number changed, but the purpose did not.  Over the next ten weeks, these students met together at the end of each school day to give an hour of their time to someone else who needed them.

They provided service to our school by creating bulletin boards, posters advertising upcoming events, and locker decorations, as well as helping our teachers and librarian with special projects and routine tasks.  They worked together on service projects for those outside of our school by organizing the materials needed for a “pet rock” project that the entire middle school participated in, making ornaments to send to families living in Interfaith Housing facilities, making samples for various Community Connections projects, encouraging coat collection for Coats for Kids, and conceptualizing and putting the pieces together for the Middle School wreaths for Children’s Medical Center.

Every day was filled with cheerful effort dedicated to our school and to our community.  I am happy to say that all of my wounded Warriors are back on their feet, so our afternoons together have come to an end.  To all of these wonderful volunteers, thank you!  I hope you know that you made a difference.

Categories
Family and Community

November in Texas

By Roger L. Perry
Headmaster, Lakehill Preparatory School 

The month of November is a very special time. The weather seems to change ever so slightly in October, but in November there is usually a hint that summer is almost complete. Yes, I know that it seems outrageous to people in most of the United States to say that summer is just now ending, but remember last week almost every day topped out in the eighty degree category.

There is something special about the seasons changing, the leaves falling, and the temperatures becoming more comfortable. At a recent meeting held at Lakehill’s Alice and Erle Nye Family Environmental Science Center, one could hardly miss the yellow and orange leaves slowly falling as if it were snowing. The experience lightens the heavy feeling of those hot temperatures.

This time of year also begins a season of people being nicer to each other and taking time to pause and thank each other for even the smallest things. The exhibition of kindness and civility gives me hope that human nature really is about doing the right things and sharing our planet with others in the most positive way. I think we often forget that our interactions with others have an impact on their lives and on our own.

Traditionally, Thanksgiving signals the start of many opportunities to share our lives with our family. I am so thankful that this time of year exists for me to remember family members who are present and those who are no longer here but have helped shape me into the person I am. All of us have a remarkable opportunity to impact the lives of others and during this time of Thanksgiving and celebrations we can make this world a better place for all of us! I thank you for your role in making this a better world for me.

Categories
Learning and Leading

Dramatic Moments

By Julie Riggs
English Chair K-7, Lakehill Preparatory School 

The first time I ever directed a play with eleven and twelve year-old stars, I was sure it would be my last. The children seemed so unruly and unprepared that I was envisioning total humiliation when the audience arrived. An hour before show-time in a last minute rehearsal, I was losing my voice and my patience as the actors broke character, missed cues, and horsed around. Then something magical happened. The parents took their seats, and the cast became a unified machine, staying in character, responding to cues, and making the audience love them.

On my next attempt, one of my actors was so severely dyslexic that he could not read the script, which was a cutting from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but he burned with passion to perform. I recorded the whole scene on a cassette and gave him a part with few lines. He became that elven spirit, putting every cell of his body into the role, and his joy was palpable.

I long ago shifted my idea of success from a flawless performance to a fun one, and I have often modified or created a part to suit an actor rather than saying ‘no’ to an eager child. My scripts are unwieldy, my plots improbable, and rehearsals often chaotic. What we do is definitely not theater with a capital T. But the excitement and happiness of a drama club performance, could it be contained, could power the lights on Broadway.

I can’t think of a better reason for doing anything.