Director of Summer Programs, Lakehill Preparatory School
Director of Summer Programs, Lakehill Preparatory School
By Victoria John
Lakehill Preparatory School, Middle School Mathematics and Latin
Several years ago, I joined colleagues at a weekend educational retreat, hosted by the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was most exciting for me, as our facilitator, Parker Palmer, noted educator and author of several books, including his seminal work, The Courage to Teach, was someone I had respected for years. He is one of those rare individuals, who instantly puts individuals at ease, while empowering them to trust their intuition. Parker Palmer gave voice to my own intuition with his words, “If students get to know each other as people first, it is easier to share ideas.”
As a child entering school in the 1950s, I was always uncomfortable, afraid of sharing ideas, in a classroom setting. During my undergraduate work at Indiana University, I was drawn to John Holt’s groundbreaking book, How Children Fail. Its premise was that fear in the classroom is the biggest deterrent to learning. Inspired by his thinking, I wrote a paper suggesting a model for reducing fear in the classroom. Children would get to know each other by meeting in small groups and sharing stories about themselves. They would gradually rotate groups until students felt safer with one another in the classroom setting. My professor encouraged me to use this model when I started teaching. I successfully launched this project at Indiana University Middle School, and observed happily that my students gradually became more confident to participate in class discussions without fear of ridicule or judgment.
The original model has morphed into telling my own childhood stories related to learning, followed by my students sharing their experiences. Despite the difference in our ages, at times we all feel uncomfortable about our ability to learn. We spend more time comparing ourselves to others than focusing on our own growth. We realize how we are alike, and in the process of that acceptance, learn to respect differences. Through annual student-written feedback, I discover that students feel at ease in my classroom. This comfort level translates into a sense of community, builds teamwork and results in mutual respect that contributes to learning without fear.
My most memorable story reveals that I failed the seventh grade math final exam. I was shocked and ashamed to see a huge red “F” marked at the top of my paper. I felt terrified, not because of what my parents would say, but because of my own doubt in my ability to think. How could I, an “A” math student, fail a math test? My parents trusted me to handle the situation. I made an appointment with the teacher to discuss my performance and requested extra summer math assignments to ensure I understood the material.
I value that experience and the resulting empowerment I felt from focusing on the solution and not the problem. That choice gave me the ability not only to acknowledge my students’ disappointments, but also to guide them through the process of understanding why it happened and taking steps to move forward. They learn that resilience builds courage.
I love teaching middle school and believe in empowering students. I encourage them to trust their intuition and live within their own integrity. I believe in the inherent good in each and am inspired to guide them through the middle school experience. Through stories, my students embody the value of what Parker Palmer noted as “getting to know each other as people first.” They share amazing, humorous, and valuable stories that have a profound effect on their peers, as well as on me. In the process, they are able to focus on learning the subject matter in Latin or math, rather than hiding silently behind a wall of fear. It is a gift to have taught at Lakehill Preparatory School for 19 years. I dedicate this blog to my current eighth grade students who have influenced my life through their willingness to grow by choosing the path of courage.
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.
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:
By Kaye Hauschild
Head of Middle School, Lakehill Preparatory School
Having a family member who served in our nation’s armed forces pretty much guarantees that Veterans Day is noted on your calendar. This in not because your beloved veteran brings it up or requests that the family come together for recognition. Instead, they hold their memories and experiences close to the vest, sharing only with those whose experiences are the same.
In our school, we make sure that Veterans Day honors veterans through assemblies or music or study. Through this and our service clubs and activities, students have come to recognize both the contributions that have made our country safe and the challenges of our veteran population. They think of their great grandfathers who served in World War II, and consider uncles who fought in Desert Storm. They also remember former military men and women they have met during a Bingo game at Austin Street Shelter or while serving a meal at Dallas Life Foundation.
When asked what they planned for Veterans Day this year, the students’ answer was unanimous. Through an e-mail or a phone call or a personal visit, they are going to say thank you.
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.
By Ray Dent
Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Lakehill Preparatory School
I’ve served in a position of Director for educational Development, Advancement and Alumni Relations for just about two decades now. Three quarters of that time was spent in university undergraduate and post-graduate institutions. My experiences in those arenas have given me a unique perspective regarding the special place children, families and educators have in Lakehill Preparatory School.
It is refreshing to be in an environment where the faculty and administrators are not only talented, but also totally committed to the students. This is a place where children actually want to go to school and enjoy learning new things. I’ve never worked at a place where the families, and not just immediate parents, but grandparents and parents of former students, as well, will get involved on so many levels and support the school with their time and their money.
Their solid financial support of the Annual Fund Campaign each year is a major factor in the vitality of this special place. It is so important to Lakehill’s wellbeing that, for the sixth consecutive year, 100% of the Faculty and Staff have already made personal gifts to the Annual Fund.
Thursday, 9.22.16, Lakehill Prep will partner with The Communities Foundation of Texas for North Texas Giving Day to support Lakehill’s Annual Giving Fund. From 6:00 a.m. to Midnight that day, all gifts designated to Lakehill Preparatory School through North Texas Giving Day will go to the Annual Fund Campaign. These tax-deductible gifts will also be eligible for “Bonus Funds” through The Communities Foundation of Texas.
Be part of keeping Lakehill Prep a special place for children, families and educators by giving generously on 9.22.16 at NorthTexasGivingDay.org.
#NTxGivingDay #WEareALLin
By Lara Gajkowski, Assistant Headmaster
Lakehill Preparatory School
We are quickly nearing one of my favorite events of the year – Trek for Tech.
I love Trek for Tech for several reasons. It is our best avenue for ensuring that our school is equipped with the latest advances in technology. It is also a time that I more seriously train to run (following Coach Karen Owens’s Training Schedule), and I renew my yearly pledge to challenge myself physically, mentally, and creatively.
As I was running/walking my three miles last night, I thought about all of our students and a sudden rush of mental connectedness and empathy came over me. The first few weeks of a school year are challenging. The first few weeks of training are challenging. As I was struggling with my ¼ mile running lap, concentrating on my strides, breathing, and self-talking (“You can do this”), I thought, this is how the kids must feel. They are concentrating on getting to class, keeping up with their studies and activities, and self-talking (“I can do this”). I was humbled and encouraged by the daunting fortitude it takes to be a Lakehill student. I thought, if the kids can do it, I should give my best effort. Newly inspired, I wiped my brow and ran another lap.
I hope you will join me in my support of our students and our common journey of striving and working to be the best we can. I challenge you to challenge yourself. Coach Karen is only a walk/run away.
Save the date for Trek for Tech – Saturday, November 5, 2016.
Look for more information on Coach Karen’s Couch to 5K in the September 22 issue of The Warrior Weekly.
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.
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.