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Volume 8, Issue 17 January 21, 2016
Standing Up for Shakespeare
Students Perform the Bard's Monologues
Members of Lakehill's Shakespeare and Friends Club competed in the school's first foray in the English-Speaking Union (ESU) National Shakespeare Competition on January 19, 2016. Juniors
Allison Riemer and
Chambliss Pierson, and freshman
Liam Reece each performed a 20-line monologue from a Shakespeare play to a judges Mark Guerra, Michael Jones, and Nancy Dent. 

Pierson took first place, impressing the judges with her performance of Othello from Othello. Second place went to Reece who performed Prince Henry from Henry IV, part 1 and will serve as the alternate. Riemer finished third, performing Katherine from Taming of the Shrew.

The ESU National Shakespeare Competition is a performance-based education program in which high school students nationwide read, analyze, perform, and recite Shakespearean monologues and sonnets. Approximately 2,500 teachers and 20,000 students in nearly 60 ESU Branch communities participate each year.

Lakehill's competitors worked throughout the first semester during Shakespeare and Friends, an Upper School club sponsored by Elizabeth Schmitt. "It has been exciting to work with these students and share my passion for Shakespeare's language with them. Watching them bring Shakespeare's characters to life has been extremely gratifying."

"I am so glad to have friends who share my love of Shakespeare," said Pierson. "This club has been a blast." Pierson will represent Lakehill at the local ESU Dallas Branch Competition on February 20 at Highland Park High School. In addition to her Othello monologue, she will also memorize and recite one of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets.

The local winner will be awarded an all-expense-paid trip to New York City for the National Competition, regularly held at Lincoln Center. National Competition prizes include a scholarship to study acting in England, Shakespeare's homeland. 
Building Community
Tribes Bring Students, Faculty Together
Community. This word is often used to describe Lakehill, whether it's referring to the teachers, students, or the school as a whole. Lakehill takes a special pride in its community sense and makes it a priority to maintain this characteristic among both faculty and the student body. How do they do it? That's simple: Tribes.
 
Established three years ago, Tribes were put in place to help students connect with each other beyond age and grade boundaries, allowing opportunities for younger students to find role models and older students to mentor their peers. Several times a year, the entire school divides into their separate tribes, made up of a mixture of students from all grades and led by two teacher sponsors, to take part in fun activities, games, and service-oriented projects. 

So far this year, Tribes have made heartfelt notes and decorated ornaments for guests at this year's Holiday Luncheon, and enjoyed a game day. Tribes are now collecting items to make care packages for the victims of the recent floods and tornadoes. 

"The best thing about Tribes is getting to know people from all around the school," says fifth grader Dasha Ramey. "I get to meet people who I can look up to and ask questions when I need help. It's also fun to see my Tribe members in the halls and give them hugs."
 
Tribes allow students to grow closer to one another, and to make connections that will last for years. "I like connecting with the younger students," says senior Audrey Castaigne. "It allows me to reminisce about all of my Lakehill memories when I was their age, and to offer advice when they have questions."

 
By Afton Guedea
Marketing Intern, Class of 2016
Back to the 80's
Lakehill Benefit Auction Website Now Live
There is no doubt that this year's Auction is going to be, like, totally awesome. Now you can get all the details on the new Auction Website

Sponsors and auction items are needed at all levels. Find out how to be an Auction Sponsor  here . Get more information on donating an item to the Auction here

The Spring Auction Benefit and Gala,  Back to the 80's , will be held on  Saturday, March 5  at the Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park. The event will feature a buffet dinner by Two Sisters Catering, live and silent auctions, a performance by the Dan Quinn Band, and an 80's "rave" party with DJ Dan Quinn spinning your favorite 80's tunes following the live auction. 
 
If you have questions or are interested in helping with this year's Auction, please contact the Auction Chair, Hilaree Casada.

Follow the Lakehill Back to the 80's Auction on Facebook!
Recognizing Service
President's Service
Presidential  Volunteer Service Award Open to All Students
All Lower, Middle, and Upper School students are invited to apply for the  President's Volunteer Service Award. The program honors those who inspire others to engage in volunteer service through their own positive example.   

Individual Honors are awarded based on hours of service and have been revised this year, allowing even more students to participate. For students 5-10 years of age, award levels are bronze (26 hours), silver (50 hours), and gold (75 hours). 

For students between the ages of 11 and 15 years, award levels are bronze (50 hours), silver (75 hours), and gold (100 hours). 

For teens 16 and older, awards levels are bronze (100 hours), silver (175 hours), and gold (250 hours). Students may tally hours from April 1, 2015 through April 1, 2016.

Recipients will receive an official President's Volunteer Service Award lapel pin, a personalized certificate of achievement, and a congratulatory letter from the President of the United States. Awards will be presented at the Spring Awards programs.

All Lakehill students are encouraged to participate. Students are responsible for tracking their own hours and getting the required signatures. Learn more about the awards, download the tracking form  and start volunteering! Contact Ms. Ekstrom with any questions.  
Senior Spotlight
National Junior Honor Society Highlights Lakehill's Soon-to-be Graduates
In an effort to reveal the hidden talents, personalities, and accomplishments of Lakehill's most experienced students, the National Junior Honor Society presents:

NJHS Spotlight on Seniors
This week's senior: Sofia De La Cruz
Sofia De La Cruz is a senior at Lakehill, and has attended for three years. Her favorite classes are biology and English, and it is not surprising that her favorite teachers are Mr. Jones and Mr. Holman. She enjoyed helping Mr. Holman in the prep room, being able to setting up labs and fish tanks.

Sofia's goal for 2016 is to get into college and figure out what she is doing in the future. She is hoping to attend either UC Berkeley, NYU, Pitzer, Harvey Mudd, or Emory. She wants to major in biological science or literature. After she finishes college, she plans to go to medical school and work for Doctors without Borders, or a similar organization.

Sofia was named a National Hispanic Scholar this year. Sh participates in many extracurricular activities at Lakehill, including Math Club, Science Club, National Honor Society (NHS), Debate Team, PASF, Student Ambassadors, and the Varsity Softball team. She also volunteers for The Bridge, a soup kitchen in downtown Dallas. 

Her hobbies include playing softball, photography, reading, and playing video games. Sofia says her father and her Uncle Jim inspire her the most and have had the greatest impact on her life. 

Sofia says, "I learned a lot and grew a lot as a person at Lakehill." Her overall learning experience has been amazing, and she has been able to push herself as much as possible. She will miss the teachers most and believes they are Lakehill's strongest asset.

By Kira Willis, eighth grade
Sports Snippets
Varsity Girls Basketball
The Lady Warriors Varsity Basketball team is on a roll with a 3-0 district record. On January 15, the team traveled  to East Texas Christian Academy in Tyler. While the Panthers stayed within 10 points for most of the game, the Lady Warriors had a 27-point outburst in the fourth quarter to pull away to a 65-42 victory.

Jakayla Silas and  Charity Abengowe continue to lead the team in scoring, with 31 and 25 points, respectively. The name of this game, however, rebounding. Abengowe,  McKinney Waggoner , and  Ashley Peacock had double digits in rebounding, while
Kaeli Bunger chipped in six rebounds of her own. 


Lakehill hosted Longview Christian Heritage o n January 19. The Lady Warriors jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Silas finished with 31 points to keep her district scoring average at 32 points per game, while Abengowe scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Her district scoring average is 24 points per game. Peacock grabbed eight rebounds, while Waggoner had her best game of the year, with 10 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

The Lady Warriors are off on Friday, and will play next Tuesday at home when Longview Trinity comes to town.

JV and Varsity Boys Basketball
The Varsity Boys Basketball team is struggling with a deficit due to injuries.
"We have two key injuries right now, so we are only playing seven guys," said Head Coach Bob Yttredahl. "However, those seven guys are staying positive, working hard to get better, and take great pride in representing this program and their school." The team takes on DeSoto Canterbury on Friday night at home at 7:00 p.m.


Middle School Girls Basketball
The Middle School Girls IAA team traveled to DeSoto on January 15 to take on the also undefeated Canterbury team. After a hard-fought, back-and-forth match-up, Canterbury tipped the scales in their favor, and the Warriors fell 27-25. The team was back on track against Zion on January 19, with spot-on shooting and tremendous hustle contributing to their 36-15 victory. 

Middle School Boys Basketball
The Middle School IAA Boys Basketball team traveled to DeSoto Canterbury on January 15 for a first-place showdown against the Cougars, suffering a disappointing 45-25 loss. 

The team rebounded on Tuesday with a 58-23 win over Zion Lutheran. Eighth-graders Cole Johnson and Jackson Elliott led the scoring with 17 and nine points, respectively. Lakehill is now 8-1 and faces DeSoto Canterbury in a rematch on Friday, January 22, with a chance to retake first-place in the IAA South Division. Game time is 5:00 p.m. in the Lakehill Gym.

Middle School Soccer
The Middle School Co-ed Soccer team is looking for another big win over Greenhill on Thursday, January 21. The Warriors play at home at 5:00 p.m. On Friday, the team plays at home again against Irving Highlands at 5:00 p.m. Come out and watch some great soccer from this dynamic team!
This Week at the ESC
Held on Saturday, the second Campus Clean-Up at Lakehill's Environmental Science Center (ESC), attracted 27 eager students from across all grade levels and their families. 

In just two hours, volunteers removed 11 car tires, several mattress springs, and hundreds of pounds of scrap metal and trash from the wood surrounding the ESC.

Daniel Bracken, Lakehill's Director of Environmental Education  says the Campus Clean-Ups will continue throughout the school year. The next Clean-Up is scheduled for Saturday, February 27.

This week, the seventh grade created QR codes to be hung on the trees they identified on their last visit. They also hiked to a tree that fell to study the structures of a fully grown tree and discuss what might have caused its fall. After visiting the freshly fallen tree, the students looked at a decomposed tree to see what will happen in the future and to discuss what caused the tree to break down.

Fifth  grade learned about composting to create soil. They added their soil sample, water, and green and brown compost to the newly built compost bin. The students gathered dead leaves, rotten wood, and fresh leaves from invasive plants in the forest for the green and brown compost. They also started the process of growing mushrooms that they will observe on their next trip.

See more photos from the ESC.
What's Happening?
finger with string
January 21
Middle School Fly Up

January 21
Geo Bee (grades 4-8)
Auditorium, 3:45 - 5:00 p.m.

January 22
Freshman Visit Day, 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
 
January 22
Upper School Day of Service, 8:00 a.m. - noon 

January 22
All-School Pep Rally, 1:40 - 2:05 p.m. 

January 25
College Night for Sophomores
Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.
Mrs. Dondis will discuss PSAT scores as well as introduce topics related to the college process itself. All sophomores and their parents are encouraged to attend.

January 28-31
Upper School Debate State Tournament

January 29
Early Release Day/Faculty Development 
Lower School students will be released at 11:30 a.m. Middle and Upper School students will be released at noon. After-care is available with a reservation.

January 30
Admission Testing for 2016-17 Applicants

Save The Date!
Lakehill Benefit Auction: We're Going Back to the Eighties
Lakehill is going Back to the 80's on Saturday, March 5, 2016
Join us for an awesome evening at Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park and enjoy a buffet dinner by Two Sisters Catering, a live and silent auction, a performance by the Dan Quinn Band, and an 80's "rave" party with DJ Dan Quinn spinning your favorite 80's tunes following the live auction.