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Jacqui Nickell
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The new, brightly painted Buddy Bench on Lakehill's Lower School playground offers students a haven when feeling in need of a friend. The bench is aligned with Lakehill's Triangle Rules, which promote safety, respect, and a welcoming attitude. 
 
The bench is a comfortable spot where students can take a seat and other students can go to the bench and ask them if they would like to play or talk. 
 
"During playground time, there are sometimes moments when children feel left out, and that is what the Buddy Bench is designed to address," said Head of Lower School Patti Brooks. "Not only do the kids who need some comfort feel better after using the bench, but the students who respond feel better, too, knowing they have made someone feel welcome."
 
Buddy Benches are used at schools around the world and the idea has been well received with Lower School. "I was feeling lonely and did't have anyone to play with," explained one first grade student. "I sat on the bench and someone came to sit with me right away. It really worked!"
 
"I love seeing the new Buddy Bench when I arrive at school in the morning," said Brooks. "It makes me realize that our playground is a safe and welcoming space for all of our students."
 

Lakehill Preparatory School
Are you still searching for a school for your son or daughter entering kindergarten?

Would your child benefit from a low student-to-teacher ratio and small class size?

We have the answer - Lakehill Preparatory School. Interested families are in luck -  a few openings have been made available in Lakehill's kindergarten program for the 2016-17 school year. Studies show that the first seven years of life are the most important for academic development and Lakehill can prepare your child for success. Lakehill's solid academics and nurturing environment will build your child’s confidence and set the foundation for a lifetime of learning.

Contact Lisa Bracken, Director of Admission, to schedule a time to visit our school and to answer any questions you may have. Please call 214-826-2931, or e-mail lbracken@lakehillprep.org, and visit our website at lakehillprep.org for more information.

Jacqui Nickell
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Twenty-five members of Lakehill's Upper School participated in a Warrior Outreach Organization (WOO) event at the North Texas Food Bank on Saturday, April 2. Volunteers prepared snack bags, resulting in 6,250 meals for hungry children. "I enjoy working at the food bank because we find out what we have accomplished at the end of the day," said senior Adam Muncaster. Sophomore Jonathan Kelley agreed. "When you work at the food bank, you know you are doing something positive for the community," he said. "It goes beyond just donating money. You see the immediate results." Lakehill will return to the North Texas Food Bank on May 8, when seventh and eighth grade students will volunteer.

Jacqui Nickell
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Sophia Liu, Allison Riemer, Chambliss Pierson, Ben Gillman
 
Five Lakehill Upper School students attended the 2016 Dallas Model UN Assembly, a two-day conference held at the Hilton Garden Inn and Texas Woman's University. The statewide event is sponsored by the Dallas YMCA. The event kicked off with a welcome banquet that included performers from Expressions School of Dance and the Parastoo Cultural and Artistic Organization. The keynote speaker was Christopher Cambises, Youth Program Supervisor at Refugee Services of Texas.  

 

Lakehill participants Ben Gillman, Sophia Liu, Chambliss Pierson, Justin Reed, and Allison Riemer, represented an assigned country and helped sponsor resolutions ranging from global security to world health concerns. Liu and Gillmansponsored resolutions that were debated in General Assembly and were ultimately passed and signed by the Secretary General. In addition, Gillman was awarded Commendable Delegate for his work and debate in the World Health Organization.
Jacqui Nickell
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Mu Alpha Theta (Mathematics), Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (Spanish), Société Honoraire de Français (French), Rho Kappa (Social Studies), Science National Honor Society, and International Thespian Society, six of Lakehill's student honor societies, held their induction ceremonies on April 5 at Lakehill's Environmental Science Center. These groups welcomed 68 inductees into their illustrious ranks. The ceremony was led by faculty sponsors Susie Brigham, Joan Mayo, Tamra Badgett, Jamie Thorne, Jeremy Holman, and Mark Guerra.

Membership in Mu Alpha Theta at Lakehill is reserved for juniors and seniors who have maintained a "B" average or better in all math classes. French and Spanish honorees must complete at least three years of the language and maintain an average of 3.5 or higher. Rho Kappa honorees must have completed four semesters of Social Studies, and maintain a 3.0 overall and a 3.5 in all high school Social Studies classes. 

Membership in the Science National Honor Society is awarded to juniors and seniors who have maintained a 3.0 in all coursework, have taken or are enrolled in at least one Honors or AP Science class (juniors) or one Honors course and one AP course, or two AP courses (seniors), and maintain a 3.5 average in all science courses. Members inducted into the International Thespian Society have completed at least 100 hours of theater experience, either on stage or behind the scenes. Members of these highly regarded organizations wear honor cords at graduation.

Mu Alpha Theta honorees were senior Afton Guedea, and juniors Noah Bernstein, Ming (George) Cheng, Reid Chickering, Claire Crow, Salma El-Feky, Giulia Ferguson,Zain Imam, Varun Iyer, Matthew Levine, Jiachen (Sophia) Liu, Tillie McCoskey, Chambliss Pierson, Charles Pippen,Abi Price, Will Skipworth, Lily Turner, McKinney Waggoner, Dylan Welch, and Zhenzhong (Johnny) Zhang.

This year's Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica inductees were seniors John Crutchfield, Sofia De La Cruz, Reed Henry, and Carlos Lopez III.

Seniors Charlotte Abate, Emily Boles, Brandon Douglas, and Kevin Lantz were inducted into the Société Honoraire de Français. 

Rho Kappa inductees were juniors Claire Crow, Salma El-Feky, Varun Iyer, Chambliss Pierson, Abi Price, Will Skipworth, and Lily Turner.

The charter members of the Science National Honor Society are seniors Charlotte Abate, John Crutchfield, Zeren (Kevin) Dai, Zheng (Sunny) Fang, Kevin Lantz, Carlos Lopez III, and Camryn Thompson, and juniors Noah Bernstein, Kelly Carlson, Ming (George) Cheng, Zain Imam, Jiachen (Sophia) Liu, Tillie McCoskey, Chambliss Pierson, Charlie Pippen, Abi Price, Lily Turner, McKinney Waggoner, and Zhenzhong (Johnny) Zhang.

Inductees to the International Thespian Society were freshmenBraden Burt, Macy Ellis, Yuan (Alice) Feng, Heather Hines, Kumail Imam, Kate Langley, Elizabeth Motes, Liam Reece, Vanya Suchan, and Zenuo (Leandro) Yang, sophomoreKatie McKnight, and juniors Varun Iyer, Abi Price, and Lily Turner. 

Jacqui Nickell
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Thirty-seven lucky Lakehill Upper School students embarked on the trip of a lifetime this spring break, taking off to the Big Apple. On March 19, the students began their festivities as soon as they arrived, being picked up in limos and taken to the "W" hotel in the heart of Times Square.
 
The group attended three Broadway shows: Phantom of the Opera, An American in Paris, and Something Rotten. The students participated in a Broadway workshop, getting the chance to work with performers from Something Rotten, learning a musical number and a dance from the show.
 
Students were also treated to a tour of Carnegie Hall and a performance of Madame Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera, dressing up and getting to watch the show among New York elite. A practically vertical tour of St. John the Divine Cathedral and two musical masses at cathedrals around New York completed yet another day of adventure.
 
In their down time, students had the option to spend their time shopping in Soho, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or touring and shopping in the landmark eleven-floor Macy's. The group concluded their time in New York by eating at the popular Ellen's Stardust Diner on Broadway, enjoying a live performance from the waiters as they ate.
 
"The best part of the trip was getting to know more of the students, especially the graduating seniors," said drama and musical theater teacher Mark Guerra. "It was really amazing to share New York with them. I'm very familiar with the city and to watch the students experience it, some for the first time, was truly amazing." 
 
 
By Afton Guedea
Marketing Intern, Class of 2016
Jacqui Nickell
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Lakehill's seniors are actively preparing for their internship experiences in May.  As a requirement for graduation, seniors must work 80 hours during a two-week time period following their Advanced Placement and final exams.  
 
Students keep a log of their work and present a summary of their experience to a panel of faculty and administrators. Through the experience, students gain valuable insight into the careers they are interested in pursuing.  

This year's internship dates are May 9-20. Members of the community who are interested in hosting a senior intern at their place of employment, are encouraged to contact Heather Dondis, Director of College Counseling and Senior Class Co-Sponsor at hdondis@lakehillprep.org or 214-826-2931.  
 
Particular fields of interest this year include: communications, marketing, public relations, international business, mechanical engineering, physical therapy/athletic training, computer science, culinary arts,  entertainment business, game development, pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, arts management, geography, pre-dentistry, and diplomacy/international relations. Other opportunities are always welcome. Lakehill is grateful to the many members of the community who have already agreed to sponsor an intern this year.
Jacqui Nickell
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Lower School students consider signing a declaration.
After studying about government and how laws are made and passed, Lakehill fourth graders formed informal Declaration Committees during their recess time. This leadership inspired others in second  and third grade to form similar committees.  Over the past several weeks, children have been using their recess time to think about changes they would like to see in the Lower School. They have then written the suggestions on proposal sheets and gathered signatures from other Lower School students to show support for their ideas.
 
"We applaud this method of promoting change and are so proud of how the students have gone about securing changes in an organized, democratic way," said Head of Lower School Patti Brooks. "There were approximately 20 proposal sheets submitted, and over a third of the suggestions have been implemented." 
 
One proposal resulted in the formation of a new Lower School Garden Club sponsored by Jeremy Holman. A cheerleading clinic and a French class, both sponsored by Tamra Badget, have also been added as after-school activities. 
 
Other proposals focused on food and drink selections, such as adding Sprite to the drink machine for after-school care and increasing the lunch time food choices for Lower School students in the cafeteria. 

Students petitioned for the cancellation of the Ketchup Klub, where students use recess time to "catch-up" on their work, so that all children could enjoy necessary play time, including the new four square and hopscotch games added recently to the playground (also a result of a student declaration). 

Administrators responded to a request to encourage more kind behavior with a Kindness Warriors bulletin board in the Lower School hallway that displays messages focusing on random acts of kindness. Students and teachers write about the ways their peers and students have gone out of their way to be kind. 

Jacqui Nickell
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State qualifiers Dunny Bock (L), and Will Skipworth (R), with Coach Polo Cruz.
The Lakehill Varsity Tennis team will send three players to the State Tennis Tournament on April 12 and 13 after a strong showing at District. Dunny Bock claimed first in district in Men's Singles, while Will Skipworth took third. Heather Hines
will advance to State in Women's Singles, after finishing third at the District Tournament.
By Rishi Pant, Tennis Correspondent, Class of 2016
Jacqui Nickell
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Photo by Dayton Steinbach.
 
Lakehill's sophomore class raised over $800 for Crossroads Community Services through pizza and snack sales and a Half-Court Shot raffle. They were able to present a check to the organization on March 17 during their class meeting. 
 
Crossroads Executive Director Jay Cole and Development Associate Hannah Kennedy were at Lakehill to accept the donation and tell the students more about how their donation would be utilized. "Your gift will provide essential food and clothing assistance to men, women, and children in need in Dallas County," said Cole. "The $838.52 will provide approximately $8,385 worth of nutritious groceries for families in need." Cole explained that each dollar raised can be used to purchase $10 worth of food for the Crossroads store. 
 
"It feels really good to know that we could have an impact on so many lives," said Class President Lovely Lopez. Class Vice-President Ashley Peacock agreed. "It's amazing how many people we helped with the money we raised." 
 
By Lovely Lopez, Lakehill Sophomore Class President, Class of 2017
Jacqui Nickell
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Charlie Pippen was recognized by Prudential as one of the top ten percent in Texas for his volunteer work.
 
After receiving the Prudential Spirit of Community local award in November, Lakehill junior Charlie Pippen has been further honored for his exemplary volunteer service with a Certificate of Excellence from the organization. 

Presented annually by Prudential Financial in partnership with with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the Prudential Spirit of Community Award honors young people across America for outstanding volunteer service.
Certificates of Excellence are granted to the top 10 percent of all Prudential Community Awards applicants in each state. Pippen, whose volunteer service spans six years and centers on acquiring and donating much needed supplies for a rural school in Namibia, is the first Lakehill student to be recognized with this honor.