Spell Binding

Perhaps Cameron Gavinski and Kendall Smaby had a shared feeling of deja vu as they shared the stage as finalists in Lakehill's Spelling Bee on Wednesday. It seems that last year's final round came down to the same two students. But this time, the outcome was different.

This year, Gavinski's winning combination of words, hyperbole and asterix, earned him the title of Lakehill's Spelling Bee champion. After many rounds of competition, Gavinski, an eighth grade student and last year's runner up, edged out Smaby, a seventh grade student and two-time spelling bee champion. Eighth grader Connor Cumpton took third place while John Spencer Mustin earned praise from his peers as the last fourth grader in the competition.

Lakehill's fifth annual Spelling Bee attracted 75 interested students in fourth through eighth grades. Each year students from all over the country compete for the chance to represent their school and community in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Cameron will compete on February 9 at the University of Texas at Dallas against winners from other Dallas County private schools.

Student Council Serves Up Successful Hamburger Luncheon
Members of Lakehill's Student Council fired up the grill on Friday, January 22 for their annual Hamburger Luncheon. For more than 25 years, students and faculty at Lakehill have willingly chowed down for a good cause.

For the price of $3.50 for Lower School and $5.00 for Upper School, students received a flame-broiled hamburger with the works, chips, lemonade, and an ice cream sundae.

Student Council President Kiley Trent was pleased with the outcome of the event. This year's Council dished out nearly 400 burgers and raised over $800 from their efforts, a 30% increase over last year. The money raised helps fund Student Council events and activities such as Prom.

Common Ground

Cowboy Meets Culture in Original Play
After nine years of writing original plays for students, Julie Riggs is still providing fifth and sixth grade students the opportunity to perform. On Tuesday, her Drama Club performed Ye Ole Haw, one of more than 20 original plays Riggs has penned.
 
The play involved a Renaissance Faire  and a Wild West Show sharing the same venue against their will. While all parties are initially offended, the group eventually comes up with a way to make it all work.

The fifth and sixth grade cast included Lily Bines, Griffin Burt, Audrey Castaigne, Declan Devine, Matt Evans, Abigail Gilliland, Helena Granstrom, Vincent Greene, Julia Howerton, Elliott Jacobsen, Mitchell Levinson, Dailyn McAdoo, Tillie McCoskey, Olivia Wagner, Tessa Schrieber, who also handled the curtain, and Kas Tebbets, who also served as Assistant Director.
Eighth grade student Cameron Gavinski served as Backstage Manager while extras Noah Bernstein, Claire Crow, Giulia Ferguson, Abby Price, and Rebecca Curry offered their assistance.

Written in 2005, the first performance of Ye Olde Haw introduced many of Lakehill's current Upper School students. Initially, Riggs thought more of the wonderfully silly marriage between "Shakespearean" and "cowboy," but students and parents loved the message of imagination, cooperation, and working together. During Tuesday's performance, that message still rang true.

Classroom Connections

Fourth grade students were recently invited to "fly up" to Middle School, where they enjoyed a variety of activities and learned about "all things Middle School."

Students enjoyed breakfast in the Upper Library with Middle School Coordinator Kaye Hauschild, while learning more about Middle School academics, athletics, clubs, activities, and events. From lockers and changing classes to socials, Adventure Week, and Fall Day Out, fourth graders clearly have many exciting opportunities ahead.

After the orientation, each fourth grade student was paired with a fifth grade buddy. Buddy pairs played Bingo-type games, led by fifth grade teachers Julie Riggs and Chris Peacock. In Math Bingo -  affectionately known by the students as "Mango" - students solved math equations and found the corresponding answer on their board. In "Lingo," students had to choose where to put the marker based on their knowledge of words.  The L column, for example, offered literary categories like character, author, and title. After receiving a clue, such as Mark Twain, students decided which space to cover - perhaps author, pseudonym, or five letter word.
 
Fourth graders learned that while they won't play games every day in class, they will have the opportunity to experience learning in a variety of fun ways.

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