This Friday, 6th grade students and parents visited the campus for a glance into secondary school days. After a connection assembly aimed towards connecting the visiting 6th graders to older students, administers and teachers met with 6th grade parents and students to discuss what they can expect in the transition from being on campus two days a week to being on campus three days a week.

To round off their experience, 6th grade students were able to participate in a secondary class and a Friday after school event.

Before heading into Thanksgiving break, elementary and secondary students came together to pack Christmas bags for children in Guatemala. Lake Pointe students packed 110 bags full of necessities, like tooth paste and soap, and small toys to be delivered to villages in Guatemala by Clubhouse Ministries. Including bags and donations from local churches, over 150 bags were shipped with funds for over 80 pairs of shoes to be provided.

A big thank you to all who donated and showed up to help pack bags!

For the first time ever, rain sent LPA's Fall Festival indoors. Secondary students, who hosted the elementary families for the afternoon event, showed amazing flexibility to change the set-up for the games  booths, and treats.  Later in the evening, the secondary students enjoyed their own time of socializing, pumpkin carving, and dancing.

Being blessed with fall weather, secondary students and staff participated in the annual LPA Dodgeball tournament. Teams of three competed in a double elimination tournament and a team costume contest. This year, the tournament's first place title fell from the Justice League, the traditional teacher's team, and was claimed by the Men of Steel (pictured above in the back row).  For the costume contest, first place went to the Pink Ladies and second place went to the Geeks (pictured above in the front row).

Satan can seek to amplify the awkwardness felt by teens when around senior citizens. It is a product of modern separation into same age peer groups and the deterioration of the close extended family. So, it was heartwarming to have LPA's largest group ever to bless and serve the residents of Morningside Assisted Living. Students led and sang hymns and resident requests and some students played piano.

Chile, Australia, and several other countries faced off during the annual LPA elementary field day. Elementary grade level teams, led by secondary students, adopted country names and competed in Olympic-inspired games. After the games and a potluck dinner, parents and their students competed in the first Lake Pointe All-Sport Golf battle; congratulations to the Burchfields who came in first place!

With classic table settings at a beautiful venue, high school students enjoyed the yearly LPA formal. This year's dance was themed after New York City.

All five students in eighth grade Latin earned honors on their National Latin Tests. wo students received maxima cum laude honors, one student received a magna cum laude honors, and two students received cum laude honors. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Catherine Judd and Mikayla Hawley whose art work has been selected by SCACS to be entered into a national competition! Also, congratulations to Avery Denton whose artwork won runner-up in the SCACS state art competition. All three art pieces receieved quality recoginition at the state competition.

Secondary students and staff welcomed rising 7th graders and new 8th graders with their parents to campus for a look at what LPA's secondary days are like. During the day, students had the opportunity to hear testimonies and ask questions of administrators, parents, and a current 7th grader about what to expect in their the transition to Lake Pointe's secondary program. Additionally, students sat in on either a 7th and 8th grade class for the last period of the day. After lunch, students were invited to stay for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament to complete their "taste" of being secondary students.

Secondary students invited elementary students to campus after their Friday classes for a Gaga ball tournament and playground games. The Gaga ball "pit" was donate to the school through an eagle scout project; since then, gaga ball has been a favored sport for recess and lunch across the grades. The tournament began with the kindergarten through second grade game, which was followed by a multi-round tournament for third through sixth graders. Secondary students officiated the tournament and cheered the elementary students on. While the older students competed, K5-2 students played tag and other games on the playground, and parents enjoyed a time of fellowship.

The semester’s first academic event started the annual research paper season for secondary students. Starting in 5th grade and continuing throughout the rest of their middle and high school experience, Lake Pointe students develop the art of researching a topic and then crafting that information into a quality paper. Each year, a student is guided to select a paper topic that aligns with their studies within their histort class's time period. With each progressive year, students' papers are expected to be longer, more articulate, narrower in topic, and contain more specific citations. The researching and writing process stretches over six weeks,and students are able to utilize some of their history and english at-home time to complete their work. This process aids students as they build their academic stamina and prepare for college-level writing in the future.

Though temperatures mostly hovered below freezing, secondary students reveled in reconnecting with their classmates during LPA's 11th annual secondary winter retreat at Bethelwoods campgrounds and conference center. The theme of this year's retreat was Reveal; students spent small group time discussing what it meant to reveal matters of the heart. Throughout the rest of the two day retreat, students participated in group activities such as capture the flag, basketball, lip singing, and gathering around the fireplace.

The first Friday Student Life event created the time and space for teachers and students to connect with intentional conversations. Gathered around tables with pizza and treats, teachers and students asked and answered prepared questions that ranged from fun and wishful questions such as "What is your ideal job?" to more personal questions such as "What was the most memorable moment in your Christian walk?" Tables then turned into teams as during a teacher- focused trivia game.This game taught the students which of their teachers would want to be a sloth and which favored Foghorn Leghorn as their cartoon of choice. As a conclusion, Ms. Bishop led the students in the sitting down Cha-Cha slide (picture to the right).

Summer was tossed off with the chicken at the secondary first day picnic. After a day of meeting teachers, starting classes, and learning or relearning the ins and outs of a LPA school day, the secondary students, staff, and family members gathered at Westminster Park for a time to socialize and play games. 

Student Life Director Mr. Miller started the picnic off with an ice breaker game of Chuck the Chicken where teams worked together to chuck Chuck the chicken and run laps. Teams strategized and took council from on-looking staff and alumni for a tough competition.

Parents and staff joined for a picnic feast of fried chicken and joined in reconnecting with one another. The evening was concluded as student leaders led those congregated in worship songs and prayer.

This fall will be the first time Lake Pointe has offered AP Calculus on campus. Mr. Spratley, who teaches Trigonometry, will lead the course. In preparation for this new course, Mr. Spratley attended a week long calculus seminar organized by the College Board at Davidson College in NC.This new course will give students an opportunity to earn college credit by taking an AP test at the end of the year. Through the seminary, Mr. Spratley was able to refresh calculus content, review sample questions from the AP Calculus test, and begin to create teaching materials for the class.

The 2017 graduating class was ushered into their next chapter of life Saturday, May 20^th through the traditional Lake Pointe Academy ceremony.

Because Lake Pointe places high value on integral parent involvement in a young adult’s education, commencement focused highly on honoring parents and teachers as well as the graduating class. As tradition, class speakers remembered their time at LPA, took time to reflect on the moment of graduation, and looked forward to the future. As Mickey Vensk reflected on the graduate’s history at LPA, she referenced student retreats, classes that stretched and challenged, and countless other opportunities and experiences that they will remember for their life time. The present was presented through Kate Stranathan who captured the tension in the transition from high school to the rest of life. As a challenged, Kate reminded her class and their families to be in the moment even though there may be many unknowns before them. To end the time of graduate speakers, Lauryn Linn looked to the future where the lessons they learned through their time at Lake Pointe would help them succeed in their endeavors.

Following this time of reflection, graduate-selected teachers addressed the graduates. Ms. Connie Bishop, who taught senior-level government, reminded the students that though they will be moving into a time of life where they will take on new responsibilities that they should never forget what they learned in kindergarten—be kind, share abundantly, give hugs, and take naps. As the concluding speaker, Mr. Bill Spratley encouraged the graduates to face fears and take on challenges as they move out into the world.

During the last section of the ceremony, Head of the Board, Melody Miller, and principle, Louis Lemmon, presented the class of 2017 with their diplomas and certificates. Parents were invited on stage as their child’s name was called as a reminder that they were a necessary part to the achievement of their student. Totaling in nineteen students, the class of 2017 is Lake Pointe's largest graduating class to date. Eleven of the nineteen received LPA diplomas, and eight received certificates of completion

Honors biology students executed an activity to test and identify their blood types.

Mrs. Smith led students through the exercise to understand the simple typing of blood, and the varieties and characteristics of human blood.

Parents were invited to attend the special class session and to join in, and several did, making the lab an enjoyable time for all involved.

Beyond the scientific explanations and exciting information, the type-O category suggests a higher "universal donor" in Christ.

Middle school and high school students launched their annual spring research unit in January.

The multiple-week composition project builds college-necessary research writing skills each year for eight years. The spring semester effort starts with simple reports in grade 5, and continues in increasing expectations through grade 12.

The goal of the continual and incremental exercise is that the student will have strong research composition skills by building that “muscle” a little bit each year.

The academy held a contest to encourage students to design a custom yearbook cover for this year’s memory book. Mrs. Bolin, who serves as yearbook advisor, set up the contest parameters, and a panel of judges reviewed almost twenty entries.

Natalie Salmon earned 1^st place with an image that prominently features a compass. Second place was awarded to Abigail Luke, and Connor Moseley placed third. Students were honored at a Connection assembly and received Visa gift cards of $100, $50 and $25 for their efforts. Congratulations to all who participated.

Yearbooks are now on sale and online

To order a copy of the 2016-17 yearbook click here.
Then use Yearbook ID Code: 10135917 for Lake Pointe.

Pasta...Secondary students enjoyed a spaghetti fellowship lunch.

Praise... the LPA worship band led a time of worship.

And prayer...  then students broke into smaller groups for prayer.

The afternoon event saw students rotate around various campus rooms that students decorated for the theme and topic being prayed for -- such as academy teachers/staff, international missions, students, governement leaders, etc

The Christmas Fine Arts Festival featured a blended program this year. With Mr. Gibbons directing, the actors shared the stage with a variety of student musicians and singers, whose talents and numbers were interspersed throughout the drama, "Christmas in Genesis." 

Performing in different positions during the play, all three levels of the strings classes played, as did the primary music classes and the secondary student orchestra.

Photography and art classes displayed their work in a temporary gallery set up by art teachers, Mrs. Bolin and Mrs. Knight. Highlighted were samples of sculpture, imitations of famous artists' paintings and prints, and other forms. A popular exhibit was a collection of photography that challenged students to recreate settings, mood, and lighting of famous paintings.

Two semester-end shows per year showcase the talents of elementary and secondary students.

Series of 8 debates shows students' skills

Secondary students recently showed a lot of mettle in facing each other in a series of grade level Lincoln-Douglas styled debates.

Throughout the fall semester,  students in grades 7-12 participated in practice and planning sessions for the annual debates. Focusing on historical and moral issues, organized through the history courses, students were placed in groups according to class and assigned either affirmative or negative positions to varying issues.

Groups worked together to build supports and defenses for their stance and Friday they gave their argument presentations in front of a large audience of parents and fellow students. Though winners were awarded, everyone participating did an excellent job.

Future debates will focus upon fine-tuning the training for students and coaches alike. "We were very pleased with the students' work and execution," said head of school Louis Lemmon. "The students were prepared and represented themselves well. With continued training in how to sharpen their skills, we see the debate component as an important part of equipping students."

History instructors agree that the debates teach students two vital skills: to be prepared and to think on their feet under pressure.

To Guatema with love. For Christmas.

On November 4th, secondary and elementary students partnered with Clubhouse Guatemala by packing gallon-sized zip-lock bags with toys and basic necessities to send to children in Guatemala.

In one of the several joint elementary- secondary events held during the year, each elementary student had a secondary student as partner in assembling the bags. Afterward, all the students enjoyed a time of refreshments and recreation outside.

Through generous donation from LPA families and the Bridge Church, the students were able to send over one hundred packed bags. Tim and Lori Sunday, the worship directors and team coordinators with Clubhouse Guatemala, visited campus on Monday, November 7th to collect the packed bags and share their heart for ministry with the secondary students. Parent organizers, Mrs. Vensk and Mrs. McCarter were on hand to help the Sundays pack the outgoing truck.

According to the ministry's web site, Clubhouse Guatemala is "sharing, serving, and growing the harvest of Jesus Christ." CG is currently serving Guatemalan families in 13 different communities, with Student Development Centers working with over 1000 kids and their families on a weekly basis. The organization impacts thousands of lives with ministries such as VBS, Block Parties, Medical Clinics, Home Construction, Water Filter Systems, Chicken Coops, and many other ways. Two church plants are in process and a seminary is now open. For more info, click here.