HCHS Students Teach 4th and 5th Grade

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:49:23 +0000

Click to view slideshow.On Tuesday, the Houston Christian High School (HCHS) AP government and economics class were teaching our 4^th and 5^th grade students. As part of their curriculum, the HCHS students were ask to come up with a creative way to teach our Grace students about the three branches of government. Led by their teacher Susan Phenicie (Grace School mom), the class taught the following concepts in five groups: overview of the branches and U.S. Constitution, judicial branch, executive branch, legislative branch and voting.

I’m proud to say that a number of our HCHS visitors had close Grace School ties including Michael McColloch (Grace School alum and son of Debbie McColloch), Meredith Richter (Grace School alum) and Madeline Sneed (Diantha Sneed’s daughter)! This was a great opportunity to show our students that learning can be fun and government can be interesting.

Congratulations Bandies!!!

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:31:28 +0000

I love every opportunity I have to reflect on the past and look toward the future. As many of you know, our band program was started in 2008 with only a handful of student. Due to the exceptional leadership of Andrew Redmon, our program has grown into two separate bands with more than 50 students participating. I’m so proud to hear that for the second year in a row, our students competed brilliantly in the Village School President’s Day Solo and Ensemble Contest. Click here to see the scores. Way to go!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:36:49 +0000

Click to view slideshow.I hope you enjoy some of our Valentine’s Day photos!

We Helped Tackle Hunger!

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:18:35 +0000

Click to view slideshow.Excitement was high on Friday as our Lower School Student Council counted food items collected for the Souper Bowl of Caring. The Souper Bowl of Caring is a national movement created by young people working to fight hunger and poverty in their own communities. In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, Lower School students began taking up collections, asking for one dollar or one food donation for people in need.

I’m proud to announce that they raised $106 (each dollar provides 3 meals) and a total of 785 non-perishable food items! Our students donated all the food items directly to the Houston Food Bank. Way to go Lower School!

Our First Snow Day!

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:13:29 +0000

Click to view slideshow.Although no snow has fallen in Houston this winter, Grace Primary School students had the opportunity to explore snow during their First Annual Snow Day on Wednesday! As you know, I’m originally from Iowa (snow is nothing new to me and my friends from up North:) so it’s exciting to see some of our PS students experience snow for the first time.

Our Kids Say it Best

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:18:30 +0000

If you haven’t seen it, here’s the video we created for yesterday’s Spring Open House. This video features our students (from all three divisions), Mrs. McColloch and Mrs. Dye talking about what they like most about Grace School. The message was so powerful that we decided to use it as a promotional tool! I hope you enjoy!

Winter Wonderland Event

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:15:59 +0000

Click to view slideshow.As part of their science unit, fourth grade students invited the Grace community to join them for our annual Winter Wonderland Event. Students were asked to construct a light-weight electric building containing at least one series of circuits consisting of Christmas lights, a switch powered by a nine-volt battery, floor plan rendering and circuit drawings, and of course, snow! Each team comprised of two students was assigned a building type (house, bank, school, etc.) and put their new knowledge to the test by creating a city. The intention of the project was to teach the students how to build a functioning series of parallel and combined circuits and build a basic understanding of electricity. I’m so proud of our fourth graders!

Primary School receives NAEYC Accreditation

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:33:21 +0000

As you may have heard, the Primary School just received notification of their accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)! To earn NAEYC Accreditation is no simple task.

Our Primary School faculty and staff went through an extensive self-study process, measuring the program, teachers, processes and services against the 10 NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and more than 400 related Accreditation criteria. Along with all the paperwork, NAEYC also sent a visiting committee to inspect every nook and cranny of our Primary School’s program. The 10 standards our program was measured against were: relationships, curriculum, teaching, assessment of child progress, health, teachers, families, community relationships, physical environment, leadership and management.

I’m proud to say that Primary School achieved 90 percent or better in all ten of the Program Standards and scored 100 percent or better in eight of the ten program standards! One of the commendations regarded our program for “employing and supporting a teaching staff that has the educational qualifications, knowledge, and professional commitment necessary to promote children’s learning and development” and “supporting families’ diverse needs and interests.”

I’m sure you’re as thrilled as I am to hear the committee’s warm praises for our Primary School. Go Gators!

More Than $255.00 Raised for the Gateway School!!!

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:17:58 +0000

I’m absolutely speechless! So far, we’ve raised more than $255.00! Thanks to your generous gifts, we have enough money to help three child at the Gateway Day School in Kenya! Once we purchase our gift, we’ll receive more information about the recipients. I’ll continue to post updates on the blog…so stay tuned! I would like to personally thank every student, teacher, staff and parent for your contributions:

Mrs. Linda Addison
Paige & Kate Bortner
Mrs. Jean Bosch
Blaze Layton & Mr. Preston Bridgewater
Ella & Jill Drury
Griffin Fitzgerald
Kristi Gallo
Mr. Ron Graves
Mrs. Debbie & Cody Hanlen
Mrs. Rebecca Hemley
Anthony Hovsepian
Caroline Jennings
Ashley & Allyson Joyce
Mrs. Diana Knowlton
Cole Kubala
Mrs. Michelle Larson
Timothy Lee
Mrs. Mindy Livingston
Ms. Brandice Lockett
Grace & Lily McClanahan
Mrs. McColloch’s Second Grade Class
Mrs. Martha McKinstry
Mrs. K.C. McMordie
Aaron & Lucas Mendiola
Claire Moon
Mrs. Janet Mueller
Dylan & Hudson Muse
Caroline Noyola
Mrs. Martha Jane Osbeck
Mrs. Linka Pace
Mrs. Dana Pagel
Abbey Pittenger
Tate Porchey
Mrs. Becky Sebastian
Erin Sullivan
Mrs. Sheila Townsend
Mallory & Samantha Wagner
Dr. Liz Walgamuth
Mrs. Sheri Walters
Parker Weiss

Christmas at Grace School!

Dr. Liz Walgamuth — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:08:59 +0000

Click to view slideshow.This is the most wonderful time of the year!!! You can feel the excitement of Christmas vacation drawing near from students and faculty. We’ve had a wonderful celebration of Christmas at Grace this year. A successful Madrigal Feaste, a beautiful Christmas Chapel, and a wonderful showcase of talent at last night’s PreK 4-5th Grade Christmas Program. Grace School is a great place to be during the holidays and all year long!

I would like to wish you and your family a Christmas filled with the special warmth of friendship, the precious joy of sharing and the enduring love of Jesus!