Paws for ThoughtMAY 2011 • VoluMe IV • Issue IX

LPCA exists to cultivate parental involvement in the educational process of their children, to instill students with a biblical worldview and the passion to stand firm and articulate boldly in defense of their faith, to prepare them for the rigors of college to guide them into independent learning, and to train our students to always give themselves fully to the work of the Lord, because their labor will not be in vain.

Truth is revealed by God through Christ “in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3

The official student Newspaper of

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.orgAnd the lord said, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for me?” And Isaiah replied, “Here am I. send me!” Isaiah 68

I want to share with you a piece of my heart. Over the last several months, I have really been working to seek the Lord and hear him more clearly. Since opening the rented doors

of Legacy Prep, I have longed to have doors of our own. As we’ve moved from church to church, the need for a “real” home has grown so strongly inside of me that at times, I can be completely restless.

Along the way, I have shared our victories with you, but there have also been defeats that have shaken me to the core – Memorial Baptist comes to mind! As the second semester began, I confessed to my staff and my family that I had grown weary. With four moves under our belt, a failed attempt at a ninth grade last year, and a failed attempt to move to a place of our own, I began to question whether this was a vision from God or an attempt by the Devil to make me crazy!

My husband, Brandon, put it best: The May family needed an infusion of Hope. I almost become breathless as I think about how God has come to my rescue in this area.

Not long ago, I shared with some of you the dream I have of a Legacy high school. While I’ve always believed we were capable of drawing the students, I’ve also been guilty of putting limitations on God as it relates to a place of our own... until a few weeks ago when God began to break down barriers that had taken years for me to build.

The girls in my office threw me into their car (literally) and drove me out to a piece of property. It was like the clouds parted and I could physically see buildings, landscaping, students, etc. I believe that this was my precious Savior giving me a glimpse of what is to come.

It was MY infusion of HOPE.As I went home to consider what I had seen

and have had subsequent days of considering nothing else, I believe I truly have a clear picture of what God has in mind... right down to the colors of our school.

I am sure that many of you are attached to the green and gold, but for the life of me, I can’t tell you who picked it, or better yet, why it was chosen! For those of you that know me, you must remember that everything I do, I do with a purpose. There must be meaning in order for something to be meaningful.

I brought up the issue at a staff meeting recently and was encouraged to find that almost everyone agreed that a color change would be a good idea. Of course, I considered fightin’ Texas Aggie maroon and white! (Can I get a whoop!!) But, that seemed self-serving. I also considered Navy and Gray (Cowboys fan, anyone?)

We discussed a few options, but agreed that we’d let it lie and continue to think and pray about what all this change could entail. On the way to a baseball game, I posed the question to my boys. “Guys, what would you think about changing the Legacy colors?”

Silence. And then, Ryan said, “Mom, we can’t change the green. Green is the spirit of Legacy!” I couldn’t agree more. And then, I went running...

As I prayed to the Lord to continue to give me hope and a clear vision of what he wants from me, I told him that I wanted him in the details, right down to the colors! I wanted every part of every piece of our school to have meaning and purpose and to represent what we are all about! Please keep read-ing to see what I feel He communicated to me.

Green: Green IS the spirit of Legacy. Green represents growth. The growth we desire in Christ. The growth of our student body. Our financial growth as we embark on our first capital campaign. A campaign that will build a building and grow our family. Green also represents warmth. It’s the feel-ing we tried to convey on our new website. We are more than a school, we are a family! Green says, Come Join our Family and Grow with US! You are welcome here!

Black: While I know some of you will see the negative connotation to this color, read on! Black represents power. God’s power. His power is our

strength when we are weak. His power is what has brought us here and what will sustain us in the future. I feel that the lion is a perfect example of strength and power and will look incredible with touches of black throughout its design. While we may still be small, we are a mighty force, thanks to God’s power! Black also gives other colors sharp-ness, clarity and definition. Through the power of the Lord we are shaped and defined!

Silver: Scripture says that upon Jesus’ return he will be riding a horse and a “sword” will come from his mouth. I believe that this sword is the Word of God. We are also told that the Word of God is mightier than a double edged sword. Consider that our motto is, “Here am I! Send me!” What is it we are asking our students to do? We are asking them to boldly proclaim the WORD of God which the Bible tells us is mightier than the sword! Silver Represents God’s WORD!

My staff and I have talked and we will initiate the changes gradually. This next school year, 2011-2012, the football team will introduce our new colors with new football uniforms. Since the football uniforms needed to be replaced anyway, we felt that this was a good time to do so.

The cheer squad is also considering purchasing new uniforms, but that will be a decision the families will make. The basketball uniforms will stay the same for this coming year.

The following year, 2012-2013, we will purchase new away uniforms for the basketball team, since those are green and gold. We will also make some minor changes to the school uniforms, but they will be gradual and incremental. The complete roll-out will not be made until the school year 2012-2013. (Think about the letter jackets for our high school-ers!)

I hope that these changes excite you. I wish I could say that I am sad to lose the gold, but what I really am is inspired for the fresh start! It’s like put-ting a fresh coat of paint onto a worn out yellowish wall! I hope we feel the same way as those folks who have had their entire house re-done on the show, “Extreme Makeover.” The only thing missing will be Ty saying, “Welcome Home, Lion Family. Welcome Home!” I look forward to our new school makeover, both inside and out! PFT

By Audra May

ExtremeSchool Makeover!

As we approach the end of this school year, I know that many of us are anxious about the next one. Over the last few

weeks, the board, many parents, my staff and I have spent a great deal of time trying to determine how we could grow our student body.

We have some great ideas and opportunities for the future. We mailed out 10,000 brochures on the 25th of April, the Villager has agreed to do a story about us, I have contacted other small local papers to see if they are interested, informational meetings have brought in some of our largest crowds, I was invited to speak at Leadership Montgomery to talk about our community and new high school offerings, AND we have a snazzy new website where high school is highlighted... whew!

I also want to be sure that we do not get caught up in the “numbers” lie – i.e, bigger is bet-ter. I want to share with you a message that God gave me recently. He is so good to comfort us if we’ll just truly seek his counsel!

I am very guilty of being totally realistic. As I often do, I was lamenting to the Lord that we needed more people, more programs, more oppor-tunities. While I believe that these wants are valid, I want you to hear what the Lord spoke to me.

The first thing I was reminded of was the story of Gideon. Gideon was from one of the weakest tribes of Israel. His people were being oppressed by the Midianites and the Lord wanted Gideon to lead the charge in fighting them.

After testing the Lord several times, Gideon finally relented and agreed to take his men into battle. Initially, Gideon had about 30,000 men. But by this time, the Midianites has joined forces with the Amelikites and other eastern people, so their armies were too large to number.

Surprisingly, the Lord told Gideon that he had too many soldiers. God gave Gideon many differ-ent ways to reduce the number of soldiers until finally, Gideon was left with 300 men.

The next morning, the Lord handed Gideon and the Israelites their enemies, 300 men verses 300,000.

Why did God do this? Judges 7:2 says: The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’

God knew that if the battle were held on equal ground He would get none of the glory and the people would boast that they had accomplished the victory on their own.

The story of Gideon was the most poignant

one for me but there are so many other examples. Johnathan, son of King Saul, and his armor bearer went into battle against several hundred soldiers and the Lord gave them a victory for their obedi-ence.

As the Israelites approached Canaan, Moses sent in 10 spies. Only two believed the people of Israel could take the “giants of the land.” And, because of their obedience, they did!

Don’t forget Nehemiah. The heart of one man saved the people of Israel, because of his obedi-ence to the Lord. Esther was a Jew during a period of time when the King had decreed that all Jews must die. Because of one woman’s bravery, her people were spared. David, one child, defeated the giant, Goliath as the entire Israelite army stood by

and watched. King David fought in many battles for the Lord and was often outnumbered, but the Lord gave him victory. Surely the Lord could have chosen hundreds of men to be his disciples, but he only chose twelve. He tells us that “where two or three are gathered,” He will be there.

Oh, there are so many other examples, but I want God’s message to me to be clear to you, too: Small does not equal weak! Large does not equal strong! Like the armies of the Lord, we can be a small but powerful force for the Lord in Montgom-ery County and beyond.

While God’s plans and ways are big, I think history shows us that he prefers not use big num-bers to produce a big outcome. Why? Because just as he says in Judges, if it appears that we have accomplished something in our own strength, God will never get the glory and we’ll become stiff necked and arrogant.

Yes, it’s hard to trust what we cannot see and believe what we cannot fathom. But, I KNOW that we are the cusp of something big and wonderful and purposeful. You, my friends, are blessed to be a part of it and I am honored to run this race with you!

So, the message? Stay focused on the Lord. Trust in him to do a mighty work, beyond anything we could do on our own. And don’t succumb to a spirit of fear and trepidation that a small group of dedicated, united folks equals weakness. The proof is in God’s word and I believe He wanted us to know it!

God always honors obedience with blessing and I trust that he will do the same with us. Hang in there. Keep praying. God is faithful and he will not fail! PFT

Serving Him and You, Audra Mayamay@legacypca.org • 936-337-2000

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org2

To Our Future Freshmen...Mrs. May’s Message

Paws for Thought

MAY 2011VoluMe IV • Issue IX

LPCA exists to cultivate parental involvement in the educational process of their children, to instill students

with a biblical worldview and the passion to stand firm and articulate boldly in defense of their faith, to prepare them for the rigors of college to guide them into independent learning, and to train our

students to always give themselves fully to the work of the Lord, because their labor will not be in vain. Truth is revealed by God through Christ “in Whom

are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3

The official student Newspaper of

Audra MayExecutive Editor

amay@legacypca.org

Daron JonesManaging Editor

djones@legacypca.org

8th Grade

editors & PhotoGraPhers

Sarah CruthirdsKeegan Ellis

Darby GoodwinKyle Maiz

Adele Mouna James Pirkle

Rebecca Schardt

7th Grade

editors & PhotoGraPhers

Amber CondleyGabby HoganKasen Jones

Jake KoppelmanJessica LawrenceChandlyr Mickan

Ben PortillaCaroline Shook Jenna Williams

Tray Wright

I want God’s message to me to be clear to you, too:Small does not equal weak! Large does not equal strong!

www.legacypca.org MAY 20113

Salazar & Students Visit the Stars

By Gabby Hogan

In my opinion, student life would be much more pleasant if we at least got a school spirit day on Fridays. I’m not asking that we completely change the

rules and let the upper schoolers wear whatever they want to school. I’m only asking that we get one day of the week to wear Legacy spirit clothing.

This would not only bring up the happiness rate, it would also support our school. And from personal experience, I know that we would all feel much more comfortable on Fridays if we got to wear jeans and a spirit shirt.

But the thing that makes this more important is that all of us seventh grad-ers had been looking forward to getting the small gift of untucking our shirts when we reached junior high. But that privilege was recently taken away, along with the casualty of spirit day itself.

Friday spirit days would also be a way to make us feel trusted.This has been a hot topic in school lately, which struck up some ideas in my

head. I thought that maybe if we had spirit day on Friday that it would draw more people to our school. I know one thing that would draw children, and maybe even some parents, is the idea of being able to get creative with your outfit choice.

And if it’s not possible for us to get spirit day on Fridays, then I believe seventh grade and up should at least get to untuck our shirts.

We should be able to take on the responsibility of choosing our own clothes, at least on Fridays. And I know this request might not always sound feasible, but at our school students know the limits and boundaries of what is acceptable or not at school. PFT

Every Friday Should be Spirit DayAbout Those Uniforms...By Nicole Bender & Stephanie Koppelman

We certainly appreciate the upper schoolers’ deep concern for our wallets in the last issue of PFT (“Bag School

Uniforms Says Upper Schooler,” April 2011 edition) – although uniforms are actually much cheaper.

But did you consider the parents’ sanity? Let’s compare a free dress day morning with a uniform

morning. First, let’s look at a uniform morning: kid rolls out of bed, chooses between two or three identical shirts, grabs any pair of tan bottoms, and voilá! Ready in five minutes.

Now, let’s talk about a free dress day: the kid stands in the closet staring at all the choices. After a few minutes, they finally decide what to try on. After getting the outfit on, they stare in the mirror and decide to wear something else (girls, you know you do this). After several outfit changes and more than 20 minutes later, then they begin accessorizing!

The whole ordeal lasts 30 minutes, mom is frustrated, the room is a mess, the student is late for breakfast and everyone is now tardy for school.

Please don’t try to convince us that doing away with uniforms would help the parent out. No thanks! We will stick with our uniform days and you can shine your “spi-zazz” (or whatever you crazy kids call it) on non-uniform days!

Now let’s talk expense. You complained about how expensive Land’s End is, and how many uniform pieces you have to buy to make it through one week. Let’s compare apples to apples. Legacy students attend school two or three days per week. Assuming you already have socks and shoes that you can wear to school, and based on having one family laundry day per week, the maximum number of Land’s End articles you would need would be four (you could buy your pants elsewhere): three tops and a sweater or sweatshirt.

Any shrewd parent waits for a sale. Even now, as I write this, Land’s End has a 25% off sale, and as a bonus, all the chino pants are 40% off! They frequently have “Penny Logo” sales, and if you purchase uniforms at the Land’s End store inside Sears, you can usually find a $10 off coupon at the register AND you do not pay shipping if you order from the store. Three shirts and a sweater at 25% off, three pairs of uniform pants at 40% off, penny logos, $10 off coupon, and free shipping equals approximately $109.90 before tax – FOR ALL THE CLOTHES YOU NEED FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!!!

And to top that off, if you purchase a size that has room to grow into (you also complained that you grow out of your uniforms, causing you to have to buy new ones. Are you saying you are not going to grow out of your cutsie, expensive Aeropostale or Ameri-can Eagle outfits?), you might even be able to wear most, if not all, of that stuff FOR TWO YEARS!

Now let’s be honest, girls: can you really buy even ONE OUT-FIT for $110? I don’t think so! And would you really wear the same non-uniform outfits every week? Don’t even tell me you would.

Realistically, you would need a minimum of six outfits to have a two-week rotation. Let’s say you did have a $100 per outfit budget (remember, you just HAVE to get matching shoes and ac-cessories for non-uniform school clothes). I’m no math expert, but six outfits at $100 per outfit is getting pretty close to $600. And we all know that’s a very, VERY conservative budget!

Good try, but parents LOVE uniforms! PFT

Parental Rebuttal

Mrs. Salazar’s sixth grade science class recently took a trip to the stars. They explored a little bit about the history of NASA and its missions,

the planets, and the beautiful star formations of outer space, as photo-graphed by satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope.

The pictures below are just two of the more than 75 “stops” along the way. On the left is called the “Rose of Space,” which shows a spiral galaxy and an irregular galaxy seemingly forming a beautiful rose. It is the picture that NASA is using to celebrate Hubble’s 21st birthday.

The picture on the right, nicknamed “the Hand of God,” was explained by Samantha Furber as being like “God reaching into Hell to save someone.”

The sixth graders really enjoyed their journey to the stars! PFT

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org4

By Stephanie Koppelman,Dean of Family Ministry

Less than a week after celebrat-ing the greatest day in history (Easter), I was still reflecting on

the precious fact that Jesus bore the consequences of our sin, canceled our debt, and made us in right stand-ing with the Heavenly Father.

It’s amazing! Our family did a little Passover

Supper, and we focused on all the requirements for making the Passover Lamb a worthy sacrifice. It had to be spotless. It had to be a certain age. If one thing was wrong with it, the sacri-fice would not be acceptable.

The Old Testament Passover Lamb was, of course, the precursor to THE Passover Lamb–Jesus.

In the Old Testament, there was no canceling of debt. If you didn’t make the sacrifice, death was certain. Or at least the fear of death was certain. But on that day, the Friday we call Good, the final Lamb was sacri-ficed, rendering all the past, present, and future debts null and void. Never again would people who wrong God and others have to make such a blood sacrifice to atone for sins.

That truly is Good News!I recently learned that the Greek

word for forgiveness is the exact same word for grace. Scholars looked only at context when choosing which English word to use when translating the original text of the Bible. There-fore, we can say that to give others grace is to give others forgiveness. Either way, it is a decision not to make someone who has wronged you pay the penalty for their sin. That’s why some people define grace, or forgive-ness, as unmerited favor, or getting something you don’t deserve. You can think of it as a gift. And when we look at God’s example of forgiveness, it’s free for the asking, complete, immediate, and unconditional. No matter how many times the person has wronged you before. “Forgive the things you are holding against one another. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13, NIrV. It sounds impossible to forgive just as the Lord forgave us! That’s because

it is. That’s why it’s a character trait. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit, and only when we focus on how the Lord forgave us can we move beyond justice to mercy, and decide that the people who have wronged us don’t have to pay.

We tend to put things in buckets that are important to us. Things that we don’t want to let go of, burden-some things, like pain, hurt, disap-pointment, and disillusionment. And we tend to accumulate those things, adding them to the bucket until we need a bigger bucket or even mul-tiple buckets. We may dedicate our buckets, labeling them with people’s names, especially if they keep on doing us wrong. Eventually we are trapped, weighed down emotionally by buckets we can’t seem to let go of. We can’t move on, enjoying relation-ships to their fullest and participating with both hands in enjoyable and worthwhile activities, until we let go of the bucket--until we forgive. Forgive-ness is all about letting go of the bucket. It may have to be done on a gradual basis, even intentionally done every day. But when you let go of your bucket, you are then free to jump in with both hands and feet and live as God intended. The beautiful paradox of freeing others from the debt they owe us is that in so doing, we also are free of the burden of keeping track of other people’s wrongs.

So in May, we’ll be focusing on forgiveness, which is deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn’t have to pay. Here’s the line-up:

1. Since God forgives you, you should forgive others. (Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant, Matthew 18).

2. When people are forgiven, it can change them. (Jesus and Zac-chaeus, Luke 19).

As we go through this final month of the school year, look for opportuni-ties to find it in your heart to forgive someone. PFT

Written in part by Melanie Wil-liams. ©2011 The reThink Group. Used by permission. Visit them online at www.rethinkgroup.org.

Character Trait of the Month

f o r g i v e n e s sdeciding that someone who has wronged

you does NOT have to pay

Curriculum UpdatesBy Julie Hauser, Dean of Curriculum

I am excited to update you on all the comings and go-ings of curriculum for the past school year and for the

near future. It has been a busy year filled with prayer, review, prayer, surveys, prayer, charts, graphs and more prayer regarding all things curriculum at Legacy.

First and foremost, I would like to welcome Melissa Eickenhorst and Joann Manning to the curriculum team. Those who know me best, know that I am collaborative by nature and so thankful for fellow laborers with the gift and love for curriculum.

In 2008, when I first started at Legacy in this role, I was the whole of the academics: grading, placement, curriculum and everything in between. Since then, I have seen my job multiply into two more current staff members and two more in the near future. I am so grateful for the partnership of the academic team and welcome the addition of Melissa and Joann.

Secondly, I would like to share our heart on setting a firm foundation for biblical integration within the scope and sequence of each subject as we prepare for the upcoming school year. As the great CS Lewis states, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” We believe that the next step and most important step in the academics at Legacy, is full, purposeful biblical integration in every subject. This is not to say that we don’t have much of this now, but we would like to grow further in this area.

I have met several times over the course of this semester with Debbie Pirkle, who has a gift and passion for Biblical Integration and has taught courses over this subject at the NAUMS conference and teacher inservice at Legacy. We also met with Stephanie Koppelman, who helped us pray and clarify our objectives with her passion and heart for the scripture. We will be working diligently over the summer and upcoming school year as we seek to place pragmatic emphasis on our focal point, the scripture.

Regarding the textbook list for next year, we will still be utilizing the services of Classbook.com next year, but with one major change. We have negotiated with Class-book to also provide the ISBN numbers to all books to allow you to shop other book vendors for the best price. As always, Classbook will be open by June 15.

Lastly, you will see on the book list that we are removing the novels in grade levels 5th and up and adding a novel fee to the registration process. Based on our history and language arts review, our goal is to fully integrate the two, especially in 5th grade and up.

This means that as often as possible, whatever we are studying in history will help drive our literature selec-tions and writing topics. In order to do this thoroughly, we are allowing teachers more flexibility in the novel choices. Since many of our teachers are not hired by the time the book list is due, this will help us allow them some freedom of choice according to the direction of these two subjects and the course of progress in their individual classes over the duration of the year.

The fee will also include a new addition to Language Arts, Springboard, published by CollegeBoard. We will use this workbook in conjunction with Shurley English and our novels to provide a rich Language Arts experi-ence in 5th grade and up.

Feel free to email me (jhauser@legacypca.org) if you have questions regarding curriculum. I covet your prayers as we enter this time of planning for the upcom-ing year. Blessings for a safe and restful summer! PFT

www.legacypca.org MAY 20115

By Caroline Shook

Again and again we are threatening animals, often for no reason. This

time it is the wolf. We hu-mans seem to have something against wolves. From Little Red Riding Hood to were-wolves, they are often seen as bloodthirsty killers.

But is that true?Wolves were once wide-

spread throughout the Earth, ranging from Canada to Asia and even some parts of Africa, But now that territory has been cut nearly in half.

Gray wolves are an endan-gered species in America and hunting them is illegal, but in Canada they are still being hunted constantly

One popular form of wolf hunting in Canada is by shoot-ing them from aircraft, but many dislike it because it gives them little “sport.”

Poisoning was once popular but now is usually only used to

kill pups because they have yet to learn what can and cannot kill them.

Hunting dogs are also used at times. And in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, even eagles and hawks are used in wolf hunt-ing. Wolves are only used for their furs, not their meat.

Although wolves are much more aggressive than domestic dogs, they are dedicated par-ents and very social. Keeping wolves as pets has grown in popularity, but it has its risks. Wolves can be very unpredict-able. That is why wolf-dog hybrids are more common, and safer.

Wolves are actually more intelligent than dogs, but more independent. They will usually learn things from watching their handler, such as how to undo the latch to their cage, rather than learning by com-mand.

They respond better to hand signals than voice com-mands and will often lose in-

terest in what they are learning much faster than a dog.

Wolves are usually not ag-gressive toward humans and pretty much only attack it they are rabid or starving. Wolf at-tacks often happen in sudden breakouts where there will be absolutely no attack and then frequent killings, sometimes leaving thousands dead in the span of around 40 years.

Many people have different ideas on if wolves are good or bad, but what they have to real-ize is that, like humans, every wolf is different. Just because one wolf killed a person doesn’t mean that every wolf will, and

just because that wolf was shy but friendly doesn’t mean that you can go around playing with all of them.

They are like us in that sense. Just because Hitler tried to wipe out an entire race doesn’t mean that all word leaders will try to do the same thing. Every human has different standards, different limits, and different beliefs, like wolves.

We are all how God made us and every one of us is an individual. That is the beauty of it. But we have to choose our company carefully, for not everything is as it seems. PFT

Dancing with WolvesMisunderstood Animals

Future PFT Reporters GrillParents & Teachers to Get the REAL StoryBy Ben Portilla

On April 4, 2011, Mrs. Kel-ley’s and Mrs. Pirkle’s Kin-

dergarten classes interviewed a few parents and teachers. The future Paws for Thought staff-ers were acting as reporters as part of a unit on community and jobs.

Isaac Davis, Aubrey Davis, and David May all agreed that it was super fun. All the kids said that when they are old enough they will take Publica-tions class because they liked asking people questions and that it was the most fun ever.

I will be looking forward to these junior reporters being on the Paws for Thought staff in the future. PFT

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org6

Danna Pohler and Kristan Williams Begin New Chapters

By Audra May

It is with great sadness that I have to say goodbye to two of my dearest friends in the whole world. Both Danna Pohler and Kristan Williams have been with

me since Legacy opened its doors. I can’t even imagine life without them, but I know that they are walking in obedience to the Lord and moving to be where He wants them.

Almost seven years ago, Danna entered an old run-down portable on the property of what used to be WoodsEdge. She was the most positive person I had met since telling people about Legacy. She was not concerned at all that there were only 40 students enrolled, and she continued to tell us that we were meeting a need in the community and that families would be interested. She enrolled her daughter, Kendall, without ever looking back.

Later that year, I had to fire my Business Director because she had embezzled $21,000 from our little school that worked so hard just to stay in the black. I didn’t tell people what happened, nor did I post any positions. I really was just suffering in silence because I just didn’t feel that I could trust anyone else to take on this role.

Out of nowhere, Danna approached me to tell me that she wanted to help out at the school. And, oh by the way, did she mention she was a CPA?

I hired her on the spot! I can’t even begin to tell you how large the whole was that she dug us out of.

For the next two years, her head barely came up out of the water. She worked tirelessly. I know this to be true because we would often communicate via email at two in the morning! When it came time for our audit last year, Danna was ready and we passed with flying colors. I have NO idea what I would’ve done without her. But, what makes Danna so hard to replace is that she is willing to do ANYTHING! Take out trash, clean up vomit, fix a toilet, sweep the lunchroom, open the doors at 7 am, serve meals to the folks at the Sports Banquet... She is a dedicated servant of the Lord and I am privileged and honored to say that I call her “friend.”

Danna is leaving so that she can spend more time with her aging parents. She will also be free to travel to visit her oldest son, Evan, who will begin his first year in the Armed Services next August. Her daughter, Kendall, will be in the 10th grade at The Woodlands High School, and Danna feels that she needs to be available to her when needed. She has graciously offered to continue on until her replacement, Jennie Moyer, feels comfortable with the role. Please be sure to give Danna a huge hug and let her know how much she is appreciated.

Kristan Williams and I have known one another since we were fat and preg-nant with our last children. To my knowledge, I can’t recall laughing harder with anyone else. Kristan is a truth-teller and she is partly responsible for keeping me honest, grounded, and humbled! I love her dearly for that.

Kristan was one of the first people I told about Legacy. I remember it so clearly because as we were sitting in a MOPS meeting with our babies, she looked me square in the eyes and said, “You’re crazy!”

A few weeks later, she called to ask me if I needed a third or fourth grade teacher. With lots of questions still in her head, she agreed to teach at Legacy. Two years later, she brought her children, and has never looked back.

Kristan has been invaluable and, honestly, is irreplaceable. I have relied on her experience, passion, intuition, and knowledge of many subjects as we’ve moved ahead over these last few years. She has been one of the key components of the success of our school and our Language Arts program and is almost solely responsible for the establishment of our sweet library. I will miss her more than words can say. Please be sure to give her a hug as well and let her know how grateful you are for her service.

Again, I am amazed at the quality of the people that continue to shape this wonderful school. God is good! I look forward, even with a little bit of sadness and a sense of bittersweet joy, to the incredible people God will continue to bring our way. PFT

How did you first come to Legacy? Mrs. Pirkle told me about the school just months before it was to open for the very first time. I attended an information meeting and loved the NAUMS model and the fact that every subject integrated Christian values into the teaching. My daughter Kendall attended fourth grade that first year and I joined the staff as the Business Director the second year.

In what areas are you involved with the school? Currently I handle all the day-to-day business operations of the school, such as accounts payable, accounts receiveable, payroll, billing, purchasing, and anything to do with the finan-cials. I primarily deal with the parents, but LOVE being with the students. Watching the students grow in Christ through their studies is the best perk of my job.

Do you have a job outside of the school? Not another paying job. I am first, of course, a wife and mother. I am on the Board of my daughter’s swim team. I also volunteer at my church and with the parent’s association at my son’s college.

If you were to win the lottery, what are the first three things you would do? The first thing I would do is biblically tithe. The second thing I would do is build a facility for LPCA. The third thing I would do is divide the rest and give it to my parents and sisters.

What is your favorite snack? I LOVE the Cinammon Kettle Popcorn. It’s addicting so I have to stay away from it. YUMMMMMM!

What are your hobbies? I love photography and scrapbooking. I hope to take a pho-tography class this next year. I also enjoy working out and am gearing up to start training for the MS 150 next year.

How did you come to Christ? I was raised going to church but did not have a personal re-lationship with Christ until seventh grade. I was at a summer church camp and dedicated my life to Christ there.

Where did you grow up? Where do you live now?My family moved about every three years with my dad’s job. I spent my middle school and high school years in Odessa and Abilene, Texas. I guess that would make me a West Texas girl. Currently, I live in The Woodlands.

What is your favorite Bible verse? Wow, this is probably the hardest question because I have so many favorites. The one that I have to say to myself a lot is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (KJV) Without Christ in my life, I could not do the things that I do. I am so thankful to have a God who loves me. PFT

NEHEMIAH OF THE MONTH

Danna Pohler

Legacy Losing Two Key Staffers

www.legacypca.org MAY 20117

Ryan MayHawaii

Bobby CruthirdsSan Marcos River

Makalia Bender

China

Samantha FurberFiji

Jason LaycockDisney World

Maddy LockeMaui, Hawaii

Becca AshleyParis, France

Landon Davis

Blue Mountain Beach, FL

Madison StavinohaCalifornia

T. Scott Hart

Los Angeles, CA

By Kristan WilliamsLegacy Reading Specialist, Librarian,6th Grade Language Arts

As we wrap up the last few weeks of school, I felt the need to say a long goodbye - don’t worry, it won’t be too long!

The Williams’ family is indeed saying goodbye after six years at Legacy, and it is a hard, hard goodbye to say. As most of you know, our family has made the choice to move to the Fort Worth area. It is finally happening and we will be moving the weekend after school is out.

I have been reflecting a lot lately on this school and it is one of the hardest parts about moving. I will NEVER forget the scene of a very pregnant me talking with a very pregnant

Mrs. May after dropping our oldest children off at their Kindergarten rooms. We were discussing how sad we were that the private school we were attending only went up to Kindergarten at that time and what we were going to do after that.

That was when Mrs. May piped up and stated that she had an idea for a school that she was moving forward with. I think I thought

something like, “Yeah right, this non-teacher is going to open a real school (insert internal eye roll).”

I never gave it a second thought. Until I took my oldest to public school. Then I gave Mrs. May

a rather panicked call: “Audra? Hi, this is Kristan Williams, remember me? Yes, about that school of yours...”

The rest is history! I came out of retirement and embarked on teaching at Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy and have never left! All three of my kids are here and we love, love, love it.

The meager beginnings this school started with are funny to think about, but easily forgotten when I look at us now. Legacy is in full bloom and offers academic excellence all wrapped up in the love of Christ!

My favorite part about Legacy is the way they love my kids. Learning is important, but my kids are loved and cared for spiritually every day they walk in those doors. I’m proud of this school and what it has become and what it will become.

I love the UMS way and know in five years when our oldest goes off to college, I will have no regrets. I got to spend tons of quality time with these three precious kids God blessed me with. I got to lead them down the path – first holding them in my arms, then holding their hands, then walking in front, be-side, and now beginning to walk behind (but not too far behind).

Thank you, thank you, thank you Legacy teachers, admin-istration, and sweet families. Thank you for your instruction, patience, leadership, and eternal friendship. Thank you Mrs. Audra May for hiring me that day even when I was a doubter – you made me into a wholehearted believer in this model. What a precious experience these six years have been for our family. I’ll be praying for you always and love you very, very much! PFT

Williams Says Goodbye

By Gabby Hogan

Legacy Prep 7th graders recently took a field trip to the George Ranch Historical Museum in Richmond, Texas. Our

class had learned about cattle drives and the process of moving herds from one place to another to earn a profit.

When we got to George Ranch, which is in fact still a run-ning cattle ranch today, we went on our very own cattle drive. We learned all the troubles and hardships of a cowboy.

The first thing we had to do was elect a few leaders to guide us through the treacherous adventures of a team of cattle driv-ers. Then, after a long trek of herding cattle, keeping them all together, and dealing with trespassing problems, we finally made it to our destination and received our “profits.”

Even though the kids played the role of cattle and our feet had to replace the ponies that would usually be beneath us, we still had an amazing learning experience. I am so thankful we got to have this hands-on experience to help us better under-stand what happens on a cattle drive. PFT

Howdy Pardner! Time for a Cattle Drive!

sixthgradesixthgradesixthgradesixthgradesixthgradesixthgrade

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org8

By Tray Wright

Who had fun at this year’s Race for Education? I did! RFE was a blast this year. Everybody there looked like they were having the time of their life. As this article was written, the school had collected $30,914 from its main

annual fundraiser, with money still coming in! Congratulations to Caden Citso for being the overall winner of the whole race. He ran 32 laps – great job Caden!

The winners for each grade are listed on this page.Mrs. May completed 24 laps. The ones that beat her – including Caden, Brennan Cone, Taylor Davies, Jeremy

Heckt, Kyle Maiz, Malik Manning, Jared May, Travis May, Gracie Wiley, and Seth Wiley – all got to silly string her.Your probably wondering what all this money is for, so let me tell you. The funds that we raise each year with this

event will go towards the quality education and the affordable tuition price that Legacy has. Also, when you see these people at school, say hi and thanks for making RFE possible this year: Nicole Bender, Trish Maiz, and Paige Jones. PFT

2011 GRADE CHAMPIONSPre-K Genin Levang 17 lapsKind. Georgia Freeman 20 laps1st Caden Citso 32 laps2nd Gracie Wiley 27 laps3rd Jeremy Heckt 28 laps4th Taylor Davies 26 laps5th Malik Manning 27 laps6th Makaila Bender 19 laps7th Travis May 25 laps8th Kyle Maiz 25 laps

Students String Up Principal

Race for Education 2011

For parents, the words “high school” are pretty scary. You’re thinking, “Oh my

gosh, my child is growing up so fast!” It’s understandable how that can be scary for you parents.

For us kids, how-ever, it’s a time to be excited and dream about the future and make memories. You should be excited too, that your child is getting the opportu-nity of a lifetime to be themselves, to dream big, and to just have fun.

However, I can understand the fear of uncertainty of sending your child to a high school that was just started that year.

Legacy Prep wants to make information about high school as clear as possible. We don’t want any one to be nervous about sending their child here or be uncertain about what they’re getting into.

So here is some information that could help you in forming your decision about whether or not to attend Legacy Prep high school next year.

I know one of the main questions people are asking about high school is: Will our students have Mac laptops? Angie Condley, who sits on the board of directors at Legacy, says, “We are looking into any eBooks that we may be able to use in place of textbooks. There are added expenses for the school (such as projectors that each of the teachers would need in order to properly facilitate a class with online cur-riculum) that we need to evaluate before we can purchase the computers.”

Mrs. Condley says that, most likely, the computers would be leased to each student

family at the beginning of the fall semes-ter and then returned to Legacy upon the completion of the spring semester. Every-thing that the students would need would

be pre-loaded on the computer and the students’ internet access would be strictly monitored.

Another question asked commonly by students and parents is about the possibil-ity of lockers. Unfortunately, Mrs. Condley had some bad news about this. “We would love to be able to give lockers to the high schoolers. However, until we have our own building, it is just not something we can do.”

Okay, so now that we have the aca-demic questions cleared up, let’s move on to the fun, more interesting part most all students are interested in: sports!

The biggest interest has been in base-ball for upper school. Mrs. Condley says they are looking into what can be done to get a team together. She says they have also had a lot of interest in a track team

and they are working hard to get that started.

“Golf, tennis, and swim team are also sports that are easier to get started, since

you do not need a large number of students to make a team. We, as a school, do need to know that there are students and parents will-ing to commit to these sports and the practices that would be re-quired before we can implement them,” she says.

Starting next year, there will be more service projects that are implemented by the students in ninth and tenth grades. These two grades will pilot the service

project program and will provide a wide variety of project ideas throughout the year.

“They will then give feedback as to which projects most interested them and the ones they believe will be most benefi-cial to upcoming grades,” Mrs. Condley says. “Commitment will depend greatly on the grade level.”

Okay, parents, are we mostly cleared up now? I know that it can still be scary sending your child into high school. Just trust that Legacy Prep has your child in good hands and knows what they are do-ing. Legacy wants the best for your child in every way. Trust me, I know.

And what about you, students? Are you any more excited to be a high school student now than before? Just be patient. Trust me, it’ll come fast, really fast. PFT

www.legacypca.org MAY 20119

High School!!!!!Darby Goodwin Clears Up Some Questions You May Have About High School at Legacy Prep

Legacy Prep’s Board of Directors and Significant Others: (Back L-R) Daron Jones and Board member Paige, Board member Angie and husband Dan Condley, Beth and Board president Mike Schardt, and Trustee Brandon May. (Front L-R) Board member Matt Koppelman and wife Stephanie, Board member Mark Furber and wife Barbie, and Head Administrator Audra May.

(dunn da dun dun… )

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org10

Hot and Cold for Family Force 5By Jake Koppelman

The upper schoolers should use the school library more often.

A good reason for this is that we have so many projects that involve research, we could just go over to our library during or after class instead of going to the public library. That way we would be able to just simply return the books to Legacy instead of hav-ing to go to the public library to return them.

Another reason that we should take advantage of our library is to just read a good book. I recently read a book that Mrs. Williams suggested to me and I absolutely loved it. There are books about almost everything in there and you can definitely find a good book to read.

One last reason to use the Legacy library is the computer lab, where you can do research on any projects we might have in our classes. If the book you choose doesn’t provide the information you need, you can just look up what the project is online and find information from there.

The Legacy library is a valu-able resource and I believe we, as upper-schoolers, should take more advantage of it. PFT

By Caroline Shook

On Friday, April 22, my family and I drove downtown for a Family Force 5 concert. Three other bands played

before Family Force 5, including Swimming with Dolphins. Between set changes, I actually got to meet Joshua “Fatty” Olds, the bass player for Family Force 5. He signed a drawing I had made of the guys. It was really cool.

Later in the night we saw other famous faces, Bruce and Kent Mathews from NGEN radio, as well as Drew. When

FF5 started playing, everyone was jumping up and down and singing the lyrics to their songs. It was really cool to listen to “Radiator” and “Supersonic,” two of my personal favorites.

They also played three songs off of their new album that has not

even been released yet. Although the songs don’t sound as great as the older ones, it did get me excited. They unfortu-nately didn’t play my two favorite songs, “Replace Me” and “D-I-E 4 Y-O-U,” songs with really good Christian messages. But I still had a great time.

The only downside was that they never even mentioned Jesus, although it was Good Friday. For that I was disap-pointed. I know that Family Force 5 is made up of five good Christian guys, but still, they could have said something.

I also didn’t get the rest of my sketch signed. But Zanadu, the man that sets up the stage and fixes pretty much every-thing the band members could possibly break, signed it. So that almost made up for my picture’s lacking in signature awesomeness.

All in all, I had a good time. I do really wish that Fam-ily Force 5 had expressed their faith a little more or could have at lease said something about Good Friday. I wish that I could have seen them at a Christian concert. Now that would have been awesome! And if Skillet could be there, and Toby-mac, and Anberlin, and Switchfoot, and Red, and TFK, and… Well, it could happen! PFT

By Amber Condley

Legacy third grader, Brayden Hill, won first place in his diving competition in The Woodlands in

early April.Brayden took first with three front jumps, three

front line-ups, three four-step hurdles, and three on-step hurdles.

His favorite dive is the “back line-up” where you lean backwards and fall straight in.

When asked why he started diving competitions, Brayden said, “I started diving because I like to be in the pool and I wanted to do a sport that I could do in college.”

Good luck Brayden! We hope your dream of div-ing in college comes true. PFT

firstgradefirstgradefirstgrade

What Do You Want To Be When You

Grow Up?

Brayden Hill Dives InMRS. MCCALL’S CLASS

Adelyn PolkGymnastic Coach &

Cheerleader

Kylee CurlGymnastic Coach &

Cheerleader

Layla FaysalVeterinarian or Teacher

Macey RainesMom and Farmer

Caden CitsoScientist

Kaden LevangPilot

Ryan RobinsonFarmer

MRS. FORD’S CLASS

Lanah BurkhardtDancer or Ballerina

Emilie CarlsonPiano Teacher

Hassyn CaircoPastry Chief

Maddox CrenshawFireman

Brandon DaviesSpy

Reid HauserPolice Officer

Jacob HecktAirplane Pilot

Anna KruppstadtBasketball Player

Richard LewisCandy Factory Worker

Tucker MingCowboy

Samantha PalmerBabysitter

Upper Schoolers Should Use Library More Often

www.legacypca.org MAY 201111

San Antonio Jaunt Will Be Legacy’s First Out-of-Town Field TripBy Amber Condley

Land O’ Goshen! The Battle is on! And Mrs. Manning’s seventh grade class is going to the Alamo. The students will arrive in San Antonio on May 19 and eat dinner at

Mexican Manhattan on the Riverwalk. They will be staying at the Crockett Hotel. The next day everyone will go visit the Alamo for some authentic Texas history.

The students learned about the Texas Revolution earlier this year, but the Alamo was too far away to take a trip there in the middle of the school year. So the class saved the trip until school let out for summer.

“We covered Texas history all year using their textbooks, historical novels and biog-raphies, and also by taking field trips to see historical monuments like the Sam Houston Museum,” said Mrs. Manning. “This trip to the Alamo will be the perfect way to end the year!” PFT

By Jake Koppelman

On April 2, some of the Legacy Lion sev-enth graders held a car wash to raise

money for their upcoming field trip to San Antonio to see the Alamo. Each student got an equal share of the money that was raised

to help fund the trip, which will be the day after school lets out for the summer.

Led by Mrs. Manning, the students got up early that Saturday morning and made their way over to the Legacy campus to wash some dirty cars.

And wash dirty cars they did! Because

of all the pollen in the air, all of the cars had a coat of yellow. The Lions even had to wash a horse trailer!

When it was all done, each student had made 28 dollars for the field trip. Plus, they all had a great time washing cars and spraying each other with water. PFT

Car Wash Raises Money for Alamo Field Trip

By James Pirkle

Mrs. Ford’s first grade class recently completed a project on the diges-

tive system. Her students built human figurines out of clay, complete with a digestive system! The figures were creative, and the students had fun. The figurines were on display for the other first grade class. Mrs. Ford said, “The kids had a lot of fun with this and did really well.” PFT

By Jake Koppelman

On Friday, May 13, from 3-8 pm, you will find Leg-acy seventh graders at the College Park Walmart

having a bake sale! The money will go to the Alamo trip, like the earlier car wash (see above). Students will bring various baked goods to sell to customers coming in and out of Walmart. Please come out and buy some yummy baked goods to help sup-port our Legacy Lion seventh graders! PFT

Walmart Bake Sale Coming May 13 First Graders Star in Clays Anatomy

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org12

The Spanish BOMB - Part 2 Random Animated ComicsBy Jason Laycock

By Melissa Eickenhorst

A new Social Studies/History curriculum is coming to Legacy Prep in Fall of 2011 for our 3rd-8th graders. TCI will bring HISTORY ALIVE in our classrooms! Our new cur-

riculum includes many features that will help your child experience key history concepts in the classroom and at home.

TCI has dynamic lessons that integrate hands-on learning and content reading mastery in both social studies and language arts. The six multiple intelligence teaching strategies will encourage learning to take place in a student-centered, activity-based classroom where our students will participate in experiential exercises. One of the most exciting features is LearnTCI, which will allow students to read text in hand and online, and apply what they’ve learned by completing Reading Challenges. The challenges include visuals, primary sources, and maps. Teachers will have the ability to “send” assignments to students and instantly see scores online. Technology, primary sources, dramatizations, poems, music, and maps, are just a few of the dynamic features that your child will experience in their new and improved History classrooms at Legacy!

Our 1st and 2nd graders will be immersed in God’s truth with a fresh and newly writ-ten History curriculum. We will use our scope and sequence and the NAUMS Essential Knowledge and Skills to rewrite these two grade levels. It is our conviction and desire to teach our children the History concepts from a strong Biblical worldview, equipping them with the Word of God and with the understanding of God’s role in our history, our nation and the world.

History is not the only subject that will see new and exciting changes. In addition to our current book list in Language Arts, our 5th-10th graders will be introduced to Spring-Board, the College Board’s Pre-AP program. Partnered with Shurley English, Spring-Board will prepare our students for college success by emphasizing higher-order critical thinking skills, deeper conceptual understanding, and strong processing skills. Our new Pre-AP program will help the Legacy’s Language Arts teachers fulfill our school’s mission statement to, “Partner with parents to inspire their children to be college-worthy, character witnesses for Christ.” PFT

Dynamic Curriculum Changes Coming Next Year

By Chandlyr Mickan

Have you ever wanted to be a firefighter? Have you ever been on a fire truck? Legacy’s Kindergarteners

have! Mrs. Kelley’s and Mrs. Pirkle’s classes got to meet real firefighters and see a very big fire truck.

They were studying a unit on communities, which is a group of people who live together and share things, like food and responsibilities. The fire department is a big part of responsibility in a community.

“They also learned a little bit about fire safety. Fires need air, heat, and fuel to burn, and how to stop, drop, and roll,” said Mrs. Pirkle.

Overall, the classes had fun learning about real-life solutions. PFT

Students Become Firefighters

www.legacypca.org MAY 201113

By Julie Hauser, Dean of Curriculum

I am excited to announce the culmination of the Language Arts Review Committee for the 2010-2011 school year. The Language Arts

Review Committee worked diligently to review and assess all areas of the Language Arts Program at Legacy. The purpose of the Language Arts review committee is to meet the requirements of AdvancedEd/SACS accreditation, meet the goals of the scope and sequence developed by Legacy, un-derstand the strengths and areas for improvement according to the departmental goals, and determine the effectiveness of the curriculum in regards to the scope and sequence as assessed by Stanford achievement testing.

A Scope and Sequence has been written spe-cifically for the Language Arts Program at Legacy. The curriculum addresses reading, writing, gram-mar, spelling, handwriting, speaking, and listening. Curriculum/Resources are chosen based on the philosophy of curriculum and scope and sequence.

During the curriculum review process, informa-tion about the academic programs was compiled. In addition, survey instruments were developed and administered in 2009-2011. Target groups included teachers, co-teachers and student achievement data. The purpose of the surveys was to iden-tify program strengths and limitations. Separate surveys were designed for the teachers and parents based on the goals of Legacy’s Language Arts Pro-gram. Stanford Achievement Data over the course of the existence of Legacy was also considered for all Language Arts categories.

Grammar/Language was considered one of the strongest categories surveyed according to teach-ers and parents. Parents overwhelmingly report that they are satisfied with Shurley English. According to SAT scores, the use of the language arts curriculum choices at Legacy, has improved the Language/Grammar ability of students according to achieve-ment test scores by as much as 17% in one grade level. A large percentage of parents believe that their students learn and utilize the rules that govern the English language (93.2%) and incorporate this into their writing (84.8%). Stanford Achievement scores prove this as well. Legacy will continue to focus attention and detail on learning and applying the rules that govern the English Language and apply this to student’s writing.

Although the 2010 year showed drastic im-provement in Spelling subtest, the area of Spelling is considered high average and the lowest total average percentage in the Language Arts depart-ment, according to Stanford scores. In order to improve Spelling scores, we will continue to keep the attention to spelling detail in the forefront of importance in all subjects. Secondly, we will reas-sess the necessity of teachers to teach the weekly spelling principle in order to learn the rules of spell-

ing as opposed to strictly memorization. In order to properly teach the principles of spelling, parents must also help students understand the spelling principle being taught in the lesson each week. Time will be allocated in Co-Teacher training to ad-

dress this and help parents see the importance of teaching the principle as well as mastering the list and completing the practice activities.

According to surveys, teachers and parents overwhelmingly agree that students are learn-ing logical writing processes, mastering editing and revision strategies, and understanding well structured writing. Classroom time and curricu-lum focus will continue to cultivate these skills. Teachers/Parents report that students struggle with gathering research material in writing process and inventing with ease. Research will be conducted on best practices regarding these two areas and how to implement teaching strategies to address these areas of limitation. Time will be spent with more focus on creative writing in all grade levels.

Teachers also request for time in class for writing, particularly in grades 7th and 8th and future Upper School grades. The administrative staff will work diligently to devise a way to add more time to the schedule for Language Arts in order to help students through the writing process while in class.

Secondly in regards to writing, 1st and 2nd grade will be a primary focus during the summer of 2011. The scope and sequence will be reviewed regarding writing in these grade levels and adjusted to correct the perceived deficit in writing time/skills in these grade levels. In first grade, writing assignments will be strategically and purposefully added to homework reflect the subject content and skills to be mastered in language arts. Students will continue to keep a writing journal, but also create a writing portfolio including more formal writing assignments as appropriate age levels allow as students progress throughout the year. This will be considered when reviewing the writing components of 2nd grade to assure a smooth transition and a continued grade level appropriate increase in writing skills.

Many areas of reading were considered for the purposes of review. Regarding SAT scores, all areas of total reading considered above average in total reading, no areas of weakness noted.

According to parents, areas of weakness in lower school are considered challenging the strong reader, supporting the struggling reader. Reading Specialist will revisit this goal and determine ways to help come alongside parents and teachers to meet the needs of both groups.

In regards to the Developmental Reading As-sessment, administered this year to Kindergarten through 2nd graders at the beginning of the year, parents also reported lack of understanding in how the DRA works, and the need for continuous feedback on progress using this test. Reading Specialist will help educate parents on the purpose of the Developmental Reading Assessment and its importance and function. Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, all students in grade levels K-3rd will have a beginning, mid-year and end of the year DRA. Special attention was paid to those students who have been at Legacy for 2 or more years. Re-turning Legacy students were above average in all areas of reading according to the DRA assessment. DRA data showed that the majority of returning Legacy students showed already above the mid-year mark for their grade level at the beginning of the year assessment.

Parents and teachers report a high level of satisfaction overall with many facets of the reading program at Legacy. According to the percentage of parents who agreed/strongly agreed regarding reading include the library, which was seen as an overall strength (77.2%), cultivating the habit of daily reading (93.2%) and reading literature in light of the scripture were considered (83.1%), all areas of strength. Both groups also report the extremely positive impact of both the book fairs offered and the addition of the library over the course of the past few years.

In conclusion, all action steps will be noted and developed in the coming school year with the help of the parents, teaching faculty and administra-tive staff. Upon completion of the report, teaching staff and administrators are expected to follow the recommendations for program improvement. The involvement and cooperation of several groups, including the instructional staff, administration, parents, and the Board of Directors, is a vital component of the model. The Board and Adminis-tration are prepared to make financial commitments allowing for staff and curriculum development, and time to satisfactorily complete a program evalu-ation. This model indicates the board’s pledge to support the goals and purposes of the Language Arts Department at Legacy. Please feel free to email me at jhauser@legacypca.org if you have more questions. PFT

Language Arts Review Complete

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org14

By Keegan Ellis

Math Mania has come and gone, and what an experience it was. The school was all abuzz in anticipation of this event,

thanks to Mrs. Hulbert, who planned the whole thing! Math Mania was challenging, but a lot of fun too. The day

started with a pizza party for all the con-testants. Who doesn’t love pizza?

Next the competi-tors were divided up and put into rooms, according to grade. The competition was divided up into four

rounds. Each round was 11 minutes long and things got harder

as the rounds went on.

As the con-testants were finishing up the competi-tion, friends and family were gathering in the gym to show their support. Just like a sporting event at Legacy, loved ones came out to root on their math favorites. Parents and friends alike were fellowship-ping as they awaited the finish of this math “race.”

In the logic category, Abbie Powell took first place, Hayley Ming took second place, and Jason Laycock finished in third place.

In the computation category, Anna Peterson took first place, Allison Byrd second, and Brayden Hill third.

Congratulations to all the winners, and all the contestants. PFT

By Nicole Bender, Legacy Parent

Recently we took Makaila, Ethan, and Brooke down to Star of Hope’s homeless shelter and fed cookies to the women and

children before bedtime. This was a great ministry opportunity for us as a family and I thought it may be something to highlight for families to do this summer.

They are always looking for more volunteers so I wanted to pass on the information. It was a great eye opener for my kids and a easy way for them to serve our community. Here is some info about the program, in case anyone else wants to join in:

Cookies and Goodnight Remember the last time you had one of those late night crav-

ings and raided the kitchen for cookies and milk? This opportu-nity allows children to volunteer onsite with their parents. What a wonderful treat it would be for the families at our Transitional Living Center to have an evening snack! The volunteer family is asked to provide and serve 1 - 2 cookies per person with napkins. Depending on our census, one cookie per client is about 200 to 300 cookies. Hopefully, the volunteer children will assist with either the baking or selection of the cookies. The cookies don’t have to be expensive bakery cookies – they can be “bargain” cookies. The bakery might even be willing to donate day-old cookies that otherwise would be thrown out. The volunteer family arrives about 7:15 pm. and sets up in the dining room. Clients are invited to come by for a snack beginning at 7:30 pm. Snack time is over at 8 pm and volunteers are asked to sweep up. This project can be scheduled for available evenings, except Mondays and Fridays. No more than two children per adult. Contact Star of Hope www.sohmission.org for more details and to schedule your family to volunteer. PFT

Math Maniacs Wreak Numerical Havoc!

Wow! That’s a LOT of Cookies!

www.legacypca.org MAY 201115

A Word from Mrs. MayI am so pleased and excited to announce that we have hired Leah Ford, Legacy first grade teacher, Lady Lions Coach, and art instructor, to take on the important role of Athletic Director. As the need for additional sports became obvious, it was clear that Leah would be a perfect fit for this position. While Leah will continue to teach first grade next year, she will dedicate her Tuesdays and Thursdays to the development of at least two additional sports in the 2011-2012 school year. Mrs. Ford will also work closely with our Booster Club to provide cohesiveness and continuity between our sports program and our fans! Why are sports so impor-tant? Did you know that almost 80% of all CEOs in our country were once a part of an athletic team? I know that Leah will do a spectacular job and am so pleased that we will finally have someone with their eyes on this huge task. Please keep reading to see what Mrs. Ford has to say about her new position.

A Word from Mrs. FordI admire athletes. I admire the spirit of a good athlete, and most of all, the spirit of a Christian athlete. They understand exactly what Paul wrote when he said, “Endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” The correlation between what the Bible teaches about being strong and courageous can be translated into what it takes to have the spirit of an athlete.

In early March, when Mrs. May and Mrs. Hauser approached me with this job opportunity, my mouth wanted to say “YES! Where do I sign? When can I start?” But, I knew in my heart that I wanted this job to be immersed in prayer because, if I took on this role, I wanted God to be glorified through the student athletes Legacy produces. We want our athletes to become great character witnesses of Christ in their communities.

Within a few days, a legal pad full of ideas, and a better understanding of God’s will for this piece of the Legacy Prep future, I proudly accepted the position. I’ve continued to pray for this position. I certainly can’t do it alone, but with the great partnership of parents and the ambassadors of Legacy Prep, I’m ready to inspire Isaiah 40:29 spirits in our student athletes.

Why are athletics so important to Legacy? I can only give you the answer in the context of how sports has helped define and shape me. I played basketball for a coach that inspired me in ways that had nothing to do with the game of basketball. A great coach is someone who always makes you do what you don’t want to do, so you can be who you’ve always wanted to be. She knew the value of building character through hot summer days on the track. Often she said, “Run just one more, it’ll make you better than them.” I learned sincere sportsmanship and humility, even after winning 74 district games in a row. I admired her and still keep a great relationship with her, one that I will be able to use as we build our Legacy basketball teams. This experience, as well as others, will be helpful as I reach our student athletes.

I recently trained and completed my first marathon – not in record time, but I learned more about my faith in the six months of training and searched my heart than I ever have in my entire Christian life. I met several people in the running community that have a love for student athletes, and I will look to those people as we form our first Legacy track team. My family and I have been in The Woodlands area for 19 years, and we’ve built many great relationships with local businesses and other families, connections that will help us grow our Legacy Athletics.

I am so excited to see what God has planned for Legacy athletics. I look forward to this opportunity and serving our families.

By Sarah Cruthirds

Since our school’s move this past summer, Legacy Prep administra-

tors have been forced to make their offices in the portables across the parking lot from the school. This was different, because in past years admin has always been in the building with the kids. Because they’re not in the main build-ing, some of you may be wondering, “What is admin up to?”

In addition to adding high school, building a capital fund, meeting with the board, and running the school every day, they have been adding new members to the staff. The new positions include a new Athletic Director (AD), Language Arts/History Department head, Science Department head, Lower School as-sistant, and Upper School assistant.

Mrs. May says, “Each of these new positions will provide much needed support and focus to staff, teachers, and opportu-nities for our students.”

Our new AD will be Legacy veteran, Leah Ford, who cur-rently teaches first grade. She will continue to teach, along with her new responsibilities. Mrs. May commented, “Obviously, as someone who is athletic and has competed at the college level, Leah has an understanding of what excellence in a sports pro-gram can do for our school.” Mrs. Ford has taught lower school art on Fridays. However, with her new positions she will not be able to continue this.

Currently teaching five classes (that has to be a record, right!?), Melissa Eickenhorst will be dropping down to two or less and become Legacy Prep’s Language Arts/History de-partment head. She will also be commandeering the Reading Specialist position, as our own Mrs. Williams will be departing for her new home.

Mrs. May has high opinions of Mrs. Eickenhorst. “Reading is Melissa’s specialty and she has proven her love and passion for the fine arts in the classroom. Her desire is to see our curricu-lum be more well-rounded and in turn, see our students be even more successful.”

Another veteran, Joann Manning, is taking over the science department. Mrs. Manning is also highly regarded by Mrs. May. “Joann is one of the most thorough people I know, and she will do a fantastic job in this capacity.”

Previously, Mrs. May explained that Legacy students needed to have an understanding of secular curriculums and views so that they can defend their faith when the time comes. She then commented, “Joann has a passion for Apologetics and believes strongly that our students must be informed.”

The Academic Assistant positions have yet to be filled, but at the rate admin is going, it won’t take long.

Have they been busy or what? Admin believes that they have to hold themselves accountable to the goals they set after accreditation. “Carrying out our promises to our families is of utmost importance to us,” Mrs. May said. “We are thankful for God’s direction and especially for his provision of such talented people in our wonderful school!”

Admin has been working from sunrise till sunset (and some-times after) to help complete the Legacy family and to reach the goals they set for our school after accreditation. PFT

Old Faces in New Places for Legacy Prep Admin

MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org16

academic advisorHow did you come to Christ?I don’t ever remember a time when I did not attend church with my mom and 2 sisters. However, everything became real to me when I was about 7 years old, while we were living on Guam. Our neighbor watched my younger sister and me after school until my mom came home from work. One day, we made “color books” together. One page was made from black construc-tion paper to symbolize the color of my heart due to sin. The next was red to represent Jesus’ blood when He died on the cross. White came after red, representing the cleansing of my heart if I placed my trust in Jesus to pay the penalty for my sin. Yellow stood for the streets of gold in heaven, the place I would get to be with God someday if Jesus was my Savior. Green showed growth as a Christian as time was spent reading the Bible, praying, and getting to know Him. These simple terms made me realize my need for a Savior. I knelt down, confessed my sin and inability to earn my way to God, asked Jesus to forgive me, and placed my trust in Him to save me. It’s the best and most important decision I have ever made.

How did you find out about Legacy?I was a children’s pastor at WoodsEdge Community Church when Legacy met at that location. I didn’t know a lot about the school, then. I remember hearing stories about students who had excelled in the school and how happy their families were. In 2009, I decided that I was ready to step back into education. I looked into Legacy and was blessed to be hired as a teacher. Legacy is now my home. : )

What are your duties at Legacy?My most important privilege at Legacy is to pray for the students, their families, and the teachers. As Academic Advisor, I oversee placement testing, grading, Stanford Achievement Testing, teacher hiring, and teacher supervision. I love my job and the balance it provides in working with information and people.

What is your favorite part of your job? Least favorite?My favorite part of my job is that I get to work with other Christians who share my pas-sion for Christ, teaching, and children. My least favorite part is when I am so busy that I don’t get to spend time with my family.

If you were to win the lottery, what are the first 3 things you would do with the money?I don’t play the lottery, so I am certain that I am not going to win!... However, if I came into a lot of money, I would give the first 10% to God. Secondly, I would plan a family vacation to France during the Tour de France. My best friend and her family are moving there for 3 years this July; and, my husband would LOVE to see the Tour live. Lastly, I would place some of the money into savings for my kids’ college and for retirement.

What is your favorite snack?Pretzels dipped in Nutella. Yum!

What hobbies do you do?I like to walk long distances and run half marathons with my friends, play games with my family, and hike in Colorado. Before the busyness of life set in, I used to decorate cakes (I now only do them for my kids’ birthdays), scrapbook, and sew.

What is your favorite Bible verse?There are so many that I cling to. Right now, I’d say my favorite is Isaiah 41: 31. It says, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” PFT

NEHEMIAH OF THE MONTH

Dawnette Laycock

By Audra May, Head Administrator

Just next door to us, at the corner of 1488 and Old Conroe Road, is a piece of property containing

almost 50 acres. Members of our board and my staff believe that this could be the land God has prepared for us. We are interested in pur-chasing as much as 30 of the 50 acres listed for sale. We currently know that for 24 acres, the owner is asking just over $1 million dollars. He has told us that he would love to sell us the land and that he could be “creative.”

However, there are other parties interested in the land. As we have done our due diligence on this piece of property, we’ve found that the next closest compara-ble piece of land is six times the cost of this one. Hence the urgency we feel in trying to move forward.

As part of May 5th’s National Day of Prayer, the entire Legacy Prep family walked over to the land and

prayed to the Lord to guide us in our land search.

As we walked this piece of land, we joined the nation to declare “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” We focused on

dwelling in the shelter of the Most High, knowing that He is our refuge and our fortress, and trusting in Him to protect and provide for us.

We boldly approached the throne of grace. We asked Him to miraculously provide this (or His best) piece of land for our school building, believing that it will be given to us. We sought this location as the place to build our physical shelter, believing that if this is not the place, we will find His best for us. We knocked on Heaven’s door, fully anticipating that it will be opened to us, believing that our Father in heaven gives good gifts to those who ask Him! PFT

Legacy Prep FamilyPrays Over the Land

www.legacypca.org MAY 201117

DreSS cODe FOr laST Week OF ScHOOlStudents will not need to wear uniforms the last week of school. Monday, May 16th will be College Day. Students may wear the shirt of their favorite college. Jeans are permitted. Stay tuned for information on theme for Wednesday, May 18th. Used uniforms will be collected this week for the Uni-form Swap Shop. More information will be coming shortly.

YearBOOk OrDerSBoth the Lower School and Upper School Yearbooks are $25 each. See Jodi at the front desk about payment and ordering.

cOnrOe cOUrier arTicle aBOUT leGacY:Check out this link to read the article recently printed in the Conroe Courier about Legacy. www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/article_9b500c26-c237-56e6-8f79-24346886e84d.html

TUrn in liBrarY BOOkSThis was our first full year that the Legacy Library was open to students and it was nothing short of wonderful. What a blessing to be able to see all of the kids and help them check out books that they will enjoy reading. Please send back any library book you may have by May 11th. We will start sending Late Notices out on that day. If a book is lost, I will ask that you purchase the same book and give it back to the library. Please return all books to your teacher, front desk or to the li-brary directly. Thanks so much for all of your help and thanks to so many that donated books throughout the year! PFT

What’s Goin’ On?newsandnotesnewsandnotesnewsandnotBy Sarah Cruthirds

Watch out, there’s a shark on the loose! Actually a 13.5-foot tiger shark was loose off the coast of Hawaii in 2003. The new tear-

jerking movie, Soul Surfer, stars Anna-Sophia Robb as 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton. Bethany was, at the time, one of Hawaii’s best amateur surfers and competed regularly. She, along with her friend and fellow surfer, Alana Blanchard, were homeschooled so they could practice during prime surf hours.

Blanchard and Hamilton both made it into the regional amateur surfing contest, and were extremely excited and dreaming of taking home the first place trophy. One day Alana’s father and brother took Bethany and her friend to a beach. They waded out into deep water and caught some good waves. While Bethany and Alana were resting on their boards, a tiger shark came up from the deep and attempted to pull Bethany into the water.

She lost her entire left arm to the shark, which was later caught by a local fisherman and killed upon examination of the bite mark on her board. The youngster was determined to return to her board after surgery.

After many trials and errors, including taking sixth place at regionals, Bethany Hamilton catches the perfect wave that would have received a top score of ten, had she not stood up after the buzzer went off.

The movie was a great representation of how God puts challenges in our life to test our faith, and how with Him we can overcome these. Bethany’s story is one of determination, sadness, and great victory. Soul Surfer is a great family movie that will leave you crying and trusting in God more than you ever have!

It is family friendly, but a young child could be scared when the shark bites Bethany’s arm. The scene is clean and quick, not much of the shark is shown, and only screaming is heard. The movie is good about not showing too much blood, but there is some. I would recommend this movie for a girl’s night out, children above 10 years old, and even teenage boys and girls.

The aspect of Bethany’s faith in Jesus is well preserved in the movie. I was worried that Hollywood would mess this one up, but I was wrong.

Soul Surfer is a heart-ripping movie that is sure to please, and require a lot of tissues, so buy some and then watch this movie! PFT

PFT Review: Soul Surfer

STUDENT ART BY GRACE RUTLEDGE

18MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org

SEVENTH GRADE

Garrett Chevalier – iPad

Amber Condley – iPad

Maddie Crowder – iPad

Gabby Hogan – iPad

Cole Howden – iPad

Kasen Jones – iPad

Jake Koppelman – Mac

Jessica Lawrence – iPad

Travis May – iPad

Chandlyr Mickan – iPad

Megan Murray – iPad

Stephanie Pierce – iPad

Ben Portilla – iPad

Hope Rutledge – iPad

Caroline Shook – Mac

Jenna Williams – iPad

Tray Wright – iPad

EIGHTH GRADE

Sarah Cruthirds – Mac

Keegan Ellis – Mac

Darby Goodwin – Mac

Ty Koumonduros – Mac

Gabe Locke – Mac

Kyle Maiz – Mac

Adele Mouna – Mac

James Pirkle – iPad

Rebecca Schardt - Mac

Would You Rather Have a Mac Laptop

or iPad forSchool Work?

By Audra May, Head Administrator

As Legacy continues to grow, our hope is to quickly become a school that is 500 strong. We have big dreams and big plans and we are not limiting God to small increases over the next few years. Because we are trusting God as we

see his hand working, we need to prepare now for the students we will have in the next few years. So, in an effort to be prepared when the time comes, and as always, to improve where we can, there will be some changes to the Administrative Leadership Team. I’d like to take the time to let you know of some those right now.

After accreditation last year, part of our improvement plan was to conduct a full, comprehensive review of our Lan-guage Arts and History curriculum. After reviewing the last five years of Stanford results, conducting surveys with you, our teachers, and students, and spending countless hours discussing our goals for the Language Arts program, we believe that we must direct our attention to the action items gleaned from the input we received. We have prayerfully considered the information at hand and feel that Language Arts and History need direct attention over the next few years.

Our prayers have led us to ask Melissa Eickenhorst to step out of the classroom and into a supervisory role. She will be responsible for the oversight of, not just the curriculum, but lesson planning, teacher training, and guided instruction and review of the Language Arts and History programs in grades PreK - 6th. I know that this will disappoint many of you who have both had Melissa as your child’s instructor, or who were looking forward to Melissa as your child’s English instructor. Please rest assured that Melissa will play an enormous role in helping to find her replacement, training that person, and seeking to ensure that the transition is seamless. We pray that you will be pleased with her efforts, and excited to know that someone with Melissa’s skill and passion will be looking over such and important aspect of your child’s education. Please be sure to welcome Mrs. Eickenhorst to the role of LA/History Supervisor.

In addition to the review of the above mentioned subjects, this next year, we will conduct a full study of our Math and Science programs. We have prayerfully tagged Mrs. Joann Manning to take on this task. Mrs. Manning will continue to be in the classroom, but only for two classes. When not teaching, she will be working with other teachers, parents and staff to review our current Science curriculum and make recommendations for new material, or new best practices for the classroom. Joann is a fabulous teacher who has an eye for detail, a passion for our students, and a heart for inspiring our children to ask the tough questions so that they will be confident in their faith. Science curriculum and can be very tricky, but this is one of the best avenues for our kids to see the glory of God through his creation. I trust that Joann will continue to do an outstanding job and am excited about the improvements that will result from her attention.

Please be sure to read the article regarding Leah Ford’s addition to our team. I am excited to be able to grow our ath-letic program with her at the helm. She has some exciting ideas and is fully charged! One last major addition to our team will be Jennie Moyer. Be sure to read more about her in the article regarding Danna’s departure in this edition of PFT.

I feel blessed to see the kind of talent that God has placed at Legacy. We talk often of how small we are, but I am reminded that we are not to despise small beginnings. God is doing a mighty work with this small army and I am excited to be able to tag along for the ride. I am looking forward to the next few years and am bursting with excitement in anticipation of what I believe are BIG things! Please be sure to congratulate our folks and as always, we covet your prayers. PFT

Nicole and Makaila Bender, Andrea and Maddie Locke, and Becca and Alicia Ashley recently enjoyed the You and Your Girl mother/daughter event as it toured through Texas. The event, led by noted author Vicki Courtney, offers spiritual encouragement and practical tools to navigate through this generation. Courtney encouraged moms and daughters to steer away from today’s ungodly culture toward a God-filled life with inspiring messages, music and worship, age-spe-cific breakouts, and more. Our Legacy Ladies all had a great time.

Changes, They are a-Comin’

www.legacypca.org MAY 201119

Abbie PowellLeft Behind Series & The Missing

Allison ByrdThe Gallagher series

Madeline JohnsonThe Indian in The Cupboard

Taite ZapalacChains

Grace RutledgeHank the Cowdog

Anna Rosa PetersonThe 34 Clues the Gallagher Girl

Taylor DaviesLeft Behind Series

Brooke ChevalierA Dogs Life

Noah LightfootThe Return of The King

Jack ReghThe Adventures of Ook and Glak

Caden UnnaschTron

Julia LewisThe Ark, the Reed, and the Firecloud

Dallas FurberWolves of Beyond: The Lone Wolf

Logan PointdexterWhere the Red Fern Grows

Neal HextWhere the Red Fern Grows

Cameron HoganThe Romeo and Juliet Club

Allyson WilliamsThe Magician’s Elephant

Hannah NealWild Girl

Olivia HolleyThe Lightning Thief

Lexi MaizThe Adventures of King Arthur

Lauren SandersThe Ark, The Reed, and

The Firecloud

What Is YourFavorite Book?

fourthgradefourthgradefourth

fourthgradefourthgradefourth

By Rebecca Schardt

Wednesday, May 4, Mrs. Eickenhorst’s fifth graders had a wax museum. The class had been re-searching a historical character of their choice for the past couple months. Each student dressed up like their historical character, and had a short speech with a tri-fold board filled with infor-mation on that person. The wax museum was set up in the gym and many of the other classes at Legacy came to see it, along with parents of the fifth grade students. There were characters such as George Washington, Davy Crocket, Harriet Tubman, Louisa May Alcott, and many more. PFT

Fifth Graders Host Wax Museum

20MAY 2011 www.legacypca.org

By Jenna Williams

On May 20-27 our very own Jessica Lawence will be playing the part of Mrs. Teevee in the CYT production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Another Legacy student, Samuel Irving, is

playing a Candy Store Kid and a Newspaper kid.The play is about Charlie, a young boy who is poor but “thinks positive” about his life. He helps his

mother with housework and with his bedridden grandparents. He and his grandfather, Grandpa Joe, both love Willy Wonka and his chocolates. They both would love to go and meet Mr. Wonka and look in-side his factory. One day they hear about a contest that Willy Wonka is holding. It is, if you find a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar then you are allowed to go to his factory and get a lifetime supply of chocolate. Willy Wonka sent five out into the world. The first Golden Ticket finder is Augustus Gloop, an overeater. The second ticket finder is Veruca Salt, a spoiled brat. The third and fourth Golden Ticker finders are Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teevee. “You should come to see who gets the fifth.” Jessica says.

Jessica has been acting ever since she was little. She loved participating in church plays and community plays. Her mom found CYT when she was eight, and Jessica was in their first production, Pocahontas.

“It actually doesn’t take me long at all to memorize my lines.,” said Jessica. “We had to have our lines memorized before rehearsal one time and I totally forgot about it the night before. I ended up hav-ing to memorize them that night and I had it all memorize for rehearsal that day! The challenge for me is really becoming the character I’m supposed to be.”

Jessica’s favorite things about acting are getting to participate in something, building friendships, and meeting so many nice people who she loves to hang out with. She also loves getting to be someone else, getting into a character and really becoming a different person.

Willy Wonka will take place at the Crighton Theater in Conroe, Texas. You can order tickets online at www.cythouston.org by clicking on Willy Wonka Jr., or you can also order tickets through Jessica or Samuel at school.

Jessica would love to keep up her acting career after this production. She would definitely love to keep it up when she gets older but probably just for fun.

I think the only thing left to say is, “Good luck Jessica and Samuel!” PFT

Our very own Sarah Cruthirds, PFT stapher and current eighth grader, recently took up the hobby of sailing. She is learing how to sail on a sun-fish, a type of boat that is small and can be sailed by one to three people. This is part of the Girl Scouts’ Mariner program. Here Sarah and her fellow scouts are shown with their winning effort in a boat rigging contest. (Inset) Sarah is shown in the water during a capsize scoop recovery test.

Shark Bait!

Legacy Students in CYT’s Willy WonkaBy Kasen Jones

Legacy’s Poindexter family are big fans of the Embera Wounaan Indian Village! They visited

this village last spring break. It is located in Panama, about one hour away form Panama City, where they stayed. While they were there Logan and Delaynie enjoyed the instruments the tribe makes themselves, shared dances of celebration with them, ate with them, and explored the village. They even did a lot of panning for gold in the rivers.

Typically the Indians only eat meat and fruit because these are the only things available to them in the jungle. They don’t rely on store-bought things so they must make almost everything they have. They make their clothes and must search for any medicine (from certain plants) they might need.

The men there carve animal figures out of nuts and wood, and the women weave baskets for money. Sadly, these Indians don’t celebrate any holiday or religion. Some of them probably believe in some false gods, but not the real God. The village they visited was even filmed for the movie, End of Spear!

Logan and Delaynie liked taking toys to the children there. They played with a ball they had given them and used a stick for a bat to play baseball.

“They’re such sweet, kind people,” says their mom, Teresa. The Poindexters hope to go back some day and spend the night with the tribe. PFT

Poindexters Visit Tribe in Panama