Tag: family

Categories
Family

The Beauty of Happiness

By Julie Murugen
Lakehill Preparatory School, English Department Chair, K-7

We bought our tickets in June, dreaming for the rest of the year. We would visit Durban, South Africa, my husband’s birthplace and home for forty years. To my surprise, this trip of a lifetime was so much more than sightseeing–it changed the way I see myself.

Durban is a hilly coastal town, where December means summer. The undulant Indian Ocean impresses by day or night, as does the breathtaking Valley of 1,000 Hills on the road to Pietermaritzburg. I especially love the lush tropical vegetation at the Botanic Gardens and elsewhere, especially the red-flowered poinciana, nicknamed the “flamboyant” tree.

But our main purpose was a family visit. We would meet most of them at a big gathering of fifty people or more, aged infant to 84. I expected cordiality, but they opened their arms, hearts, and homes to us with unrestrained enthusiasm and generosity, and I loved them just as instantly and completely. My husband is “marma,” “thatha,” and “nana” while I am “auntie,” “aya,” or “nani” to adult nieces and nephews as well as great and great-great darlings.

In the past, I have avoided having my picture taken, always finding something about my appearance to criticize, but in the many photos the family have shared with us, what I first notice are the big smiles on our faces, especially mine. Where before I saw flaws, now I see only the beauty of happiness.

I can hardly wait to go back again.

Categories
Back-to-School

Welcome from the Headmaster

Dear Parents, Grandparents, and Guardians,

Welcome to the 2018-19 school year at Lakehill Preparatory School. We are grateful that you have chosen our school for your children’s education, and we are committed to having a positive impact on their lives. Education is a life-long endeavor, and we are honored to work with you and your children during this stage of their development.

As I walked through the halls this week, I have been energized by the enthusiasm of our teachers, the excitement of our students, and the opportunities available to all of us at Lakehill. This is a particularly special year for me, as my granddaughter Kennedy joined us for kindergarten.

Lakehill Preparatory School has an impressive history that spans 47 years of creating opportunities for our students. While we are small by design, our close-knit community provides many possibilities for involvement. Lakehill students can find themselves immersed in the arts, athletics, academics, leadership responsibilities, and community service. Our students are fortunate that our size strongly dictates involvement over exclusivity so that everyone has their moment to shine.

These moments teach our students the life skills necessary to be successful in school, in their family lives, and in their future careers. They are able to attend the colleges of their choice while simultaneously being athletes, performers, writers, scientists, artists, and community leaders.

Each of us wants to be part of a strong, secure, and caring community, one in which we are valued and supported. Our goal is that every student and adult in the Lakehill family will have a safe, small place to accomplish big things.

Our faculty members continue to set the standard with their experience and innovative teaching. We are joined by seven new faculty and staff members, and I look forward to introducing them to you. We have 48 new students, from around the city and around the globe, and we welcome them each to our school.

Our dedicated faculty has been busy this summer, taking advantage of a variety of professional development opportunities to better serve our students. The Lower School faculty attended “Capturing Kids Hearts” training. This program will enable them to have a consistent vocabulary and methodology across grade levels to guide our younger students in appropriately handling their daily social interactions. We will benefit from new classes and curriculum in all divisions, including Engineering and Design for Upper School, LEGO Robotics for Middle School, and Wonders Language Arts curriculum for Lower School, while maintaining our strong, long-standing academic, fine arts, and athletic offerings.

We are grateful for the generous gifts from the Parent Faculty Club (PFC). These gifts range from furniture in the Student Commons and GaGa Ball Pits for the Lower and Middle Schools to new and improved technology and a generous contribution to the endowment fund. Thank you to the many parents who give so generously of their time, energy, and financial resources. All gifts, regardless of size, impact the lives of our students.

Thank you to all of you who weathered the storm with us at the Back-to-school Picnic. Despite the wild weather, it was wonderful to have our Lakehill family back together. I hope you will make plans to join us on September 6, for Parents Open House and on September 14, for the annual Tailgate Party and football game.

As a school community, we have much to celebrate. It is going to be an exceptional year in many ways, and I can hardly wait to join you for the exciting journey we are about to embark on together.

Lakehill is a small place to do big things.

Sincerely,
See more pictures from the first day of school.
Categories
Retirement

A Fond Farewell

By Kaye Hauschild
Lakehill Preparatory School
Head of Middle School

For a whole lot of years, I have been privileged to work with our Assistant Headmaster, Lara Gajkowski. She is retiring at the end of this month.  

Here are a few of my favorite things about Lara:

  1. She is a true educator, ready to support forward thinking in all disciplines.
  2. She is a problem solver who uses her creativity to address a challenge, whether it is creating a workable schedule or finding staffing for an event.
  3. She is dedicated to working however long it takes to get things right.
  4. She has the ability to envision positive change and then make it into reality.
  5. She opens up her home to all of our middle schoolers so they can experience a day in the country with their friends and teachers.
  6. She is willing to have the difficult conversations when necessary and model and support others as they face difficult conversations of their own.
  7. She listens to opinions that are different than our norm and is amenable to change when it is right and good.
  8. She is a family person at heart, bringing us our tribes and our Grandparents Day celebration.
  9. She cares deeply for the well being of our students, families, teachers and staff.
  10. She loves our school as much as I do.
  11. She is my mentor, cheerleader, and friend, and I will miss her.

Categories
Back-to-School

Opening Doors…Transforming Lives

Dear Parents, Grandparents, and Guardians,

Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year at Lakehill Preparatory School. This has really been an exciting summer. So much has happened to our campus in such a short period of time, and it has been fun to watch the daily developments and transformations. We are so excited to have you here on our newly enriched campus. The addition of 16,000 square feet and the renovation of an additional 8,000 square feet of existing space are already transforming the way we teach, learn, and live at Lakehill.

With the construction of our new facility now completed, there is a palpable revitalization of energy, excitement, and creativity. Members of the faculty have been attending professional development opportunities throughout the summer and are eagerly exploring new ideas and teaching strategies. They have also been busy planning a variety of ways that our new resources will augment their teaching strategies and are eager to share their new ideas.

After more than a year of building new spaces to help re-envision education at Lakehill and redefine opportunities for our students, we are ready to open new doors. This year is about new learning spaces, new ways of thinking about teaching, and new ways of interacting with each other. The completion of our new facilities, coupled with this revitalization of energy, could not be timelier. This year, in anticipation of our ISAS Accreditation, we will be concluding a year-long Self-Study where we will reflect on where we have been, where we are, and what future direction we want to take. This process will secure the vision for our school and enable us to continue serving our students and transforming lives. We thank you for your patience over the past 15 months. We can’t wait to see where the future takes us.

Warm regards,
Roger L. Perry
Headmaster

Categories
Family and Community Uncategorized

Finding the School that is the Right Fit

By Lisa Bracken
Director of Admission, Lakehill Preparatory School

As a mother of twin girls, I think the thought of where we would educate our children entered our minds from the moment they were born. My husband and I debated public or private, big or small. Lengthy conversations ensued over the next two years until I got the magical advice to visit schools from another mom. So that’s exactly what we did.

I was working in the field of education, specifically early childhood, and was looking for obviously outstanding curriculum, but also a place where my children would feel loved, cherished, and appreciated for how different they are from one another. A place where they are celebrated for their uniqueness. No easy feat, we thought.

We read, poured over websites, and then started visiting many schools that were recommended to us. We decided we wanted a school that had a community-school feel with smaller class sizes. Finally, we started narrowing down our choices.

We walked into Lakehill Preparatory School, a place we had driven by a few times on scouting missions and had even pulled into the parking lot on one occasion. After attending an admission preview, my husband and I looked at each other on our way out, knowing we had found our right fit. He said to me, “I wish I had gone to school there.” At that moment, my non-educator husband knew our girls would thrive,  continue to grow into happy, emotionally healthy children, and have the academics to match. We started the admission process and held our breath.

Those twins are now in fifth grade at Lakehill, and the school has more than lived up to our expectations. I joined the Lakehill team as Director of Admission two and a half years ago because I believed in the passion of the teachers, the warm families, the diversity of the student body, and, without question, the top-notch education. I can’t wait to watch them continue to grow and mature under faculty and administrative leadership that cherish my girls, and strive to help all children reach their full potential.

I look back at that advice from a mom, and I am so thankful we made visits to schools. It helped confirm our “right fit” and will hopefully yours as well.

The Bracken Family

 

 

Categories
Back-to-School

Finding the Joy

Becca and RJ Yttredahl, with mother Renee, greet Roger Perry at the front door.
Becca and RJ Yttredahl, with mother Renee, greet Roger Perry at the front door.

By Bob Yttredahl, Parent of RJ (4th grade) and Becca (kindergarten)

We, as a society, take things for granted. We are selfish and refuse to take the time to look around and be thankful for the things/people in our lives. Instead, we focus on a bigger house…the next trip…a newer car….a bigger paycheck…..signing our kids up for multiple activities. We are caught up in this whirlwind called life.

 

All of this finally surfaced for me this morning – on our first day of school. With all of the anxiety, excitement and trepidation that comes with the first day of school – I found my calm – my joy.

 

My kids are in a safe environment where the adults treat them like their own. I didn’t walk away concerned or nervous. I walked away feeling “lucky” to have them in such a great place. They are going to be challenged and loved and disciplined and guided….and successful.

 

So shame on me if I don’t step out of the whirlwind for a minute and be thankful. Thankful for Lakehill and Headmaster Roger Perry and the school he has created. It’s not about brick and mortar he tells us. Its about the people inside it.

 

Stop – reflect – be thankful – don’t take it for granted. We are more than lucky to have our kids at Lakehill.

Categories
Family and Community

Room 110 for Rent

By John Trout
Fourth Grade Teacher, Lakehill Preparatory School

This is my fourteenth year teaching fourth grade at Lakehill. Same hall for fourteen years.  Same room for fourteen years. Same desk for fourteen years. It’s been my home away from home. In fact, I’ve “lived” in room 110 longer than any of my actual homes over the years! It has been a familiar, comfortable place for me even when other parts of my life have been in transition.

Of course, the room itself has changed. New windows, new desks, new tiles, and every year, a new crop of eager learners to share this home away from home with me for a year. Together, we’ve created memories of adventure, realization, and triumph. Together, we’ve enjoyed days of excitement, accomplishment, and determination. And, peppered in amongst them, there have been days with frustration, setbacks, and uncertainty. But, like a family, we’ve been there for each other through thick and thin, making the best days even better and even the lowest days less intimidating. That’s what families do, and Lakehill has, since day one, felt like my extended family.

Fourteen years of memories, home, and family. That’s going to be hard to beat! Part of me yearns for a fifteenth year (and a sixteenth, and a seventeenth) in room 110. But, a bigger part of me is excited at the notion of new adventures, new challenges, and a hike down the road less traveled. And, that’s exactly what I’ll get next year as I take on my new role as Head of Lower School. And, I’m not losing my home-and-family-away-from-home. Instead, it’s growing! It’s always a little scary leaving behind the comfortable and familiar. But, I’ve got a huge and loving family to help me along the way.

John Trout
Categories
Family

Long and Short

 

By Ray Dent
Lakehill Preparatory School, Director of Development and Alumni Relations

This morning, as I stood at the north door welcoming the Lower School students, I looked through the glass and saw a tall Middle School student transiting the stairwell behind me. I was struck by how mature he looked. Not so long ago he was one of the Lower School “itty-bittys” so excited to be at school giving Mr. Perry a high-five at the door, saying “Good Morning!” then speaking with the lisp that comes from having lost a baby tooth, or two.

It reminded me how quickly our time here at Lakehill passes. Of course, I understand it may not seem that way for the parents and grandparents so involved in the daily whirlwind of activity around here.

For you, the mornings start progressively earlier as your child takes on ever increasing activities and more demanding studies. You multiply the days of multiple trips back-and-forth to study groups, practice sessions, pep rallies, sporting events, and birthday parties. Your late nights seem endless as term projects must be finished, first-dances need to be attended, homework increases exponentially, and you always make sure everyone gets home safely.

However, try to appreciate your passage through this exhausting, all-consuming window of time, because you’ll find it does close quickly. You are at that special season in a parent’s life when you have long days and short years.

Categories
Building Relationships Service Learning Uncategorized

Africa is NOT a Country

By Patty Pippen
Social Studies Teacher

Since 2010 we have been connected to a rural school in Namibia and now I’m sharing Africa with a new generation.

Africa is NOT a Country

It all started innocently enough. We planned to travel with extended family to a destination that we let our children choose. The choice? Namibia.  It turned out to be more than a vacation but a place we would return to and support through the years.  The first trip included aunts and nephews and cousins all intent on discovering a new place in the world. We went with the purpose to learn about animal conservation, rural school life, and of course, we wanted to see the wildlife. We did see lions, elephants, cheetahs, and zebras, but we also returned with a commitment to make a continued difference in a small way to the school we visited.

With enthusiasm, my son’s 6th grade class held a bracelet and rooibos tea sale in February 2011 to raise money for orphans and the poorer students’ school fees. Everyone at Lakehill, from teachers to senior students to kindergarteners, lined up in the cold mornings to drink free samples of rooibos tea (a Fair Trade, completely pure, caffeine-free, organic tea grown in Namibia) and buy a Himba bracelet (made from recycled PVC pipe).  Boxes of shirts and jackets were sent, along with the $1100 raised in the fundraiser, to the students in Namibia.

The following year, the 7th grade class sold handmade beaded bracelets and African art, including animal woodcarvings and soapstone sculptures. Packets of the popular tea were sold once again. That year, we were able to send even more money to support the orphans and any children who could not afford school fees and school supplies. Many letters of thanks were posted to the class and read during class meetings. Lakehill students got to see first hand the beauty of their kindness and caring for someone less fortunate.

In addition to raising money for the eleven orphans we committed to fund, we identified a need for classroom sets of books so that teachers could advance the reading comprehension skills of the students.  The school teaches all classes in English beginning in the primary school years so most students speak and read English.

Each year during the last week of school, Lakehill students donated their used paperback books that had been studied through the school year. My older son obtained and sent corresponding teacher guides and student study guide tools to the Namibian teachers for each collected book title. These could be used for student self-study or for the teachers to guide the students as they used the donated books.

Lakehill students learned that the children in Namibia led lives very similar to theirs, striving every day to be good citizens in their schools, homes, and community. Very positively, our students learned about the world in which we live.

Fast forward to 2014: My older son and I travelled to Rundu, Namibia to deliver books, clothing, and school supplies. We also donated funds for the orphans that had been supported for the past five years. The library was expanded and organized. Lakehill’s Parent Faculty Club (PFC) spirit shop, bookstore, generous families, and our school contributed a large amount of clothing and books. By the end of our stay, we were able to sort and distribute over 800 pieces of clothing, which was enough to give one or two items to every student in the entire school, 1st through 10th grades.

The Lakehill students who started all that giving years ago are now juniors in Upper School. I now teach full-time at Lakehill, and offer an Upper School elective: Africa is Not a Country, which guides students through current issues in Africa, from wildlife poaching to civil conflict, to the HIV epidemic, to expanding deserts. The years of our family’s and Lakehill’s commitment most tellingly paid off when we met with the eleven orphans who have been supported for these last years: all are still in school and are motivated to continue to perform well. They have lost their parents to war and AIDS and disease; yet, through the support that continued through the years, they kept coming to school and pursuing their academic journey.  One of the orphans was not present, not for a sad reason, but for a jubilant one: she had so excelled academically that she was chosen to go to a government upper school for the most gifted students in the country where she is receiving an all-expense-paid higher education.  The principal and administration are proud to have such a distinguished student and told us it could not have happened without our funds that supported her.

Categories
International Student Program

Honeymoon, Homework, and Holidays – So Far, So Good!

An International Student Host Family Update
By Bruce McCoskey, Host Parent

So the literature from the homestay company talks about the “Honeymoon Phase” – that’s supposedly the first few weeks or so with your International Student. Everything is “NewFunCool!” and you show off your student to your envious friends so they can see how hip, progressive, and downright philanthropic you are.  And you go out to dinner way too much.  Excuse me, better make those “I” statements.

Logically then it would seem to follow that the “Après Honeymoon” is when the shiny starts to wear off and it’s not quite as much fun for the host family or the student.  Maybe the host parent considers the student a burden and/or the student starts secretly plotting an escape because these people aren’t the American Fairy Godparents he or she had been hoping for? Hmmmm, we’re five months in and that hasn’t happened; so what’s wrong with us?

Sure, everybody’s going to settle into a comfortable routine. In the past few months we’ve learned that Xinyi (Amy) might sometimes prefer a little routine to our somewhat haphazard wacky spur-of-the-moment American lives.  This means set routines for waking up, breakfast, getting to school, cooking dinner at home, homework and studying, bed time – nothing wrong with that – a little routine happens to be good for us as well.

Amy’s residential coordinator once asked if we would be “offended” if she sometimes chose to study quietly in her room instead of hanging out with the family. Amy is pretty serious about studying and getting good grades; after all – that’s the main reason she’s here and her parents pay a considerable amount of money for her to attend school in America.  Her intent is to earn enough in academic scholarships to pay her own way through college so her parents can afford to send her little sister to America in a few years. That’s quite a burden for a 15-year-old kid in a foreign land – a lot of the things we take for granted here just don’t happen in China. We’ve talked about all these things with Amy and the importance of work/play balance (another somewhat foreign concept). She gets it. We get it. Nobody’s feelings are hurt.

Oh, we still have plenty of fun – among Amy’s “firsts” are: Homecoming (there are no mums in China), The Great State Fair of Texas (yay Corny Dogs!), her 15th birthday party at Medieval Times (Ye Olde Land of Merriment and Overpricing), Halloween (SO glad she chose the “modest” witch costume), Thanksgiving (fried turkey – enough said) and Christmas (helping with our family’s over the top decorations and lighting).  She’s bonded heavily with “her” pup and is not shy to pick up the karaoke mic.  We all laugh and play on a regular basis and it’s just as rewarding to see Amy doubled over in laughter as it is to see her getting good grades.

So far, so good. In fact, very good.

Homecoming

Helping with Dinner

At the State Fair

Halloween

Christmas