For 47 Years, Vanguard has been committed to
Excellence in Education.
During these unprecedented times, Vanguard began its Virtual School.
We have developed a virtual platform where students are being educated and engaged by our amazing faculty from home.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of
our Alumni and Alumni families.
We are grateful to so many of our Alumni in the
medical field who are on the front lines helping!
Community Matters!
and ways we can support one another.
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Challenging. Tough. Kind. Generous. Passionate. Those are just a few words used by Vanguard alumni and faculty members to describe the legendary Vanguard English teacher, Carol Spain, who passed away on April 9, 2020.
Spain served the Vanguard community first as a school counselor and then as a seventh and ninth grade English teacher. Mrs. Spain taught at Vanguard for twenty-seven years, and retired in May 2012.
Click below for a touching tribute from
Mrs. Carol Davis, Mr. Livingstone, Mrs. Johns, Mrs. Leslie, Mrs. Flowers, Hillary Rector, Audrey Lowder, Jed Cole, Nate Taylor, Mary Morrison Bennett, and Claire Campbell
.
Save the Date for Vanguard Homecoming 2020.
We will have a special event to Honor Carol Spain - September 25, 2020
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Alum,
Pat Green
did a fun Cameo message for students, parents, alumni and Faculty!
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Vanguard Alumni in the medical field and on the front line.
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Sarah Ali ('11
), 1st year Resident at Memorial Hermann in Houston. "Never could I have imagined that something like this was coming as I started my first year of residency. The number of patients infected with COVID-19 is increasing at an alarming rate. Every week, we are warned to be ready for a greater influx in the number of these patients and are requested to have all hands on deck. Throughout this stressful time, I have been blessed to be working alongside incredible faculty and co-residents who are fearlessly fighting this fight while ensuring our safety as well. These are trying and humbling times. We are still here and we will keep fighting. As difficult as it may be, stay home and give us a fighting chance to beat this."
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Dr. Browning Wayman
('04)
Emergency Medicine physician at University Hospital in San Antonio, TX. "In San Antonio, things have been manageable to this point since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the most part, people are avoiding coming to the hospital if they are not extremely sick, thus the number of patients we are seeing is significantly fewer than normal. This has allowed us to focus our efforts on the critically ill patients that truly need our attention. The Emergency Medicine community across the country is known for being tight-knit. We have had the advantage of talking to our colleagues in New York and New Orleans to learn from their experiences, which has given us an opportunity to make plans for an expected surge of COVID patients in the near future. This has been a unifying time for all of us in the medical community as we remind each other that this is what we train for. It's also a time when your worldview is exposed. People will continue to see this pandemic and respond in one of two ways- with paralyzing anxiety or with unshakeable peace. I'm grateful to have a faith that cannot be conquered by a virus."
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Brad Uptmore's
('99)
video's have been viewed 1.3 million times on Facebook alone in the last month. Uptmore is the Public Relations Officer for the City of Southlake.
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Bill Carrigan ('89),
who lives about 15 miles from Philadelphia in New Jersey is grateful that his wife and daughter were able to return from Bolivia after an uncertain ten days when that country (and soon all countries in South America) shut their borders.
Read two stories about them from WHYY:
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Nate Taylor ('97)
just released his album Palace EP. You can order it on
iTunes
!
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Stay at Home Reading Time?
Here are some recommendations from our Vanguard Alumni Council.
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Catch-22
. "It’s a hilarious satire about war full of unforgettable characters and absurdist dialog that still makes me laugh today. I remember reading it in Mr. Barber’s class and would recommend it to anyone looking for a funny book to hopefully take their concerns off the news for a bit and just enjoy a good laugh."
Jacob Pleitz ('02)
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"A favorite of mine as an adult is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Winter Garden and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah are also up there."
Julie Covington ('82 )
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To Kill a Mockingbird
. "Love that book."
Ryan Squires ('95)
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"One book that stuck with me (and that I occasionally reread) is
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
. It's the tragic love story of a hard working and well-meaning man who looks to escape a miserable marriage only to find himself in a worse situation. You find yourself cheering for him to escape only to be heartbroken when he can't."
Eloisa Esparza ('98)
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"Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond
- helped me understand why and how civilization developed the way it did. Why did Europe discover America and not the other way around? From Zero to One - Peter Theil - best book for anyone interested in being an entrepreneur and starting their own company."
Nate Taylor ('97)
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"Americanah
by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
and
Underground Railroad
by Colson Whitehead. Some more recent reads include T
he Girl with the Louding Voice
by Abi Dare,
Little Fires Everywhere
by Celeste Ng. Lastly, for those wanting a bit of a social challenge,
Hood Feminism
by Mikki Kendall."
Alexandra Jones ('06 )
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Art of War by Sun Tzu.
"Interesting Military strategy guide that is one of the oldest strategy guides in existence. I used this book to help write my senior thesis in college."
Jake Schwarz ('13)
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Vanguard Alumni Giving Back
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Eric Wren ('10) and Jackson Wren ('10)
decided to shift their focus from donuts to masks! "We’ve partnered with a local hospital to produce & donate N95 approved masks for our frontline healthcare workers fighting coronavirus. Even though we didn’t think we’d be learning how to use sewing machines in the donut business, Nightlight Donuts couldn’t be more ready to jump at the opportunity to support those on the frontline. We are obsessed with
#wacotown
& truly believe we are all in this together."
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Mills Chenot ('14)
Leadership Giving Officer
at United Way Metropolitan Dallas discusses different ways to give back to the community while staying safe.
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Thank you to
Mayor Kyle Deaver,
Vanguard Alum and Alumni Parent,
for leading the City of Waco during this difficult time!
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A message from Tim and Jo Welter on this 20th year of Emma's Day!
Emma Welter passed away Feb 9, 2000.
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From Tim and Jo Welter,
The photo with the funny hat was a class project she made for
Mrs. Spain’s class and was about the book “Lord of the Flies”.
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As you can see, Emma loved animals and was very patient and kind to them. One story that illustrates this is that one of our neighbors had a large iguana that they were going to release into the wild because it had become so wild and aggressive. They had to open the cage quickly and lunge into the cage with a towel to restrain the iguana and put food and water in the cage. Emma felt that the iguana would not survive in the wild in Texas so she asked if she could find a home for it. She was raising iguanas and had quite a network of contacts of people that raised them. I reluctantly agreed that she could bring the iguana home in the cage but she had to promise never to let her face get anywhere near it. This occurred while I was away from home for a few hours and when I returned, Jo told me to look in the living room. There was Emma, sitting on the floor with the iguana in her lap petting it. That iguana was as calm as could be. She did indeed find a home for it with someone that she knew would take good care of it. That was Emma.
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In 2020, Emma's Day is Emma's Week!!
Named in loving memory of Emma Welter, beloved Vanguard student, Viking Volunteer Day is an annual tradition that brings students, faculty, staff, and parents closer to the Waco community and remember Emma who passed away 20 years ago.
The Class of 2003 is working to put together a video in her memory of giving back!
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We would love for Alumni and Alumni Families to give back next week as well!
Sponsor a 2020 Senior or a Vanguard Faculty/Staff member, by mailing them an encouraging note !
If you would like to sponsor a senior or teacher -
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Vanguard Faculty and Students are creative!
Watch Mr. Seifert's Chemistry class making cupcakes - Click
HERE
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After the cancellation of the annual 8th Grade Trip, Vanguard made a food donation to Mission Waco!
There were lots of leftover non-perishable food items from both the 7th Grade Trip and the 8th Grade sponsored dance. Those donated items will provide a snack each day for homeless individuals.
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Vanguard FIRST Tech Challenge Teams wanted to support the community somehow, so they reached out to local hospitals to see if they were in need of anything.
Using an at-home Ender 3 3D-printer and 3D-printers at school, the teams printed face shields to help during the pandemic.
The Vanguard Robotics students met through Zoom to discuss collecting materials for the shields such as filament, clear plastic, and elastic and creating the masks.
At this point, they have donated 25 masks to Hillcrest, with plans to produce more if needed.
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We hope this letter finds you safe during these uncertain times. In regards to the upcoming Vanguard Golf Tournament that was rescheduled for May 11, 2020, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the tournament for this year.
We look forward to an even better event in 2021. Vanguard has always appreciated the incredible support of our local businesses and individuals playing in the tournament.
These dollars are critical to our Vanguard Parent Crew, and we are grateful for the continued support.
The tentative date for next year's tournament is
March 29, 2021.
SAVE THE DATE!
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Did you know that over 50% of Vanguard
students receive Tuition Assistance?
All gifts are tax-deductible!
The
CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act)
, which was recently signed into law, includes changes related to charitable contribution deductions. The Act will allow individuals, who do not itemize their deductions, to take an above-the line deduction of up to $300 for charitable contributions made during 2020. Additionally, the Act suspends the adjusted gross income limitation on the amount deductible as charitable contributions for an individual who itemizes and increases the limitation for corporations from 10% to 25% of taxable income.
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with questions or
to coordinate reunion plans.
Homecoming 2020 might be the perfect time!
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Next Alumni Council of Visitors
Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Friday, May 15, 2020
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