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The Pegasus Gazette LOUISVILLE CLASSICAL ACADEMY NEWS SCHOOL EDITION DECEMBER 2012 |
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A Message from Marcia Cassady, Head of School
 | Marcia Cassady,
Head of School |
The waning days of December offer a time to reflect on the fall term. This one, by any measure, was transformational.
- The work of Shelly Ward, LCA's first Director of Development, unfolded with monthly editions of the Pegasus Gazette and the Keep Louisville Classical initiative that brought our city into the life of our school through the Iliad reading and our first TV coverage.
- We inaugurated a Fall Retreat for our Upper Grades and added a Halloween Dance to the social calendar, as well as a parent-sponsored hot lunches on Tuesday of each week.
- We attended the KY Jr Classical League Fall Forum in Lexington to watch our own Jillian Cramer in action as state Parliamentarian.
- The Middle School Governor's Cup Quick Recall team handily won the local Trinity Tournament, just weeks after their startling wins at a Johnson County match over seasoned teams that included last year's statewide 2nd place team. The team also placed 3rd in KY and 66th out of 508 teams around the globe in their first ever try at Knowledge Master competition.
- LCA saw its first high school Governor's Cup competition when Nan Elpers and Emma Proietti participated in the Composition segment of the JV Challenge, placing 2nd and 4th against 16 of Louisville's strongest high schools.
- Our Core Program saw the addition of an advanced computer programming class, and we added offerings in basic computer science to our Elective Program - along with an on-site basketball program in cooperation with Hoops!
Such program expansion was only possible through the generosity and commitment of a phenomenal faculty and parent volunteers too numerous to name here.
ANNUAL GIVING UPDATE
With growth increasing demands on our administration to a level that must be staffed and funded properly - and at a time we wished to avoid tuition increases - our board instituted an Annual Giving program this year, finally coming to terms with the reasons they are a fact of private school life: these gifts are tax-deductible while tuition is not.
We established a goal of $50,000, representing giving of about $750 per student. Parents and grandparents of 28 of our 70 students immediately made gifts totaling $19,375; with matching gifts from employers of two parents, that total is now $20,775. We were able to offer health and disability insurance to our faculty in September, as well as to meet every request of our science teachers for classroom equipment and materials. Both were monumental steps for our school and profoundly appreciated by our faculty!
Annual Giving is also a measure of our school's financial health and a significant focus of the accreditation review coming in March. The percentage of participating families will be viewed with even more scrutiny than the amount of our gifts, so I would renew my plea for 100% participation by all families at whatever giving level is manageable.
Annual Giving gifts are delivered to Mrs. Cassady in sealed envelopes in keeping with the confidentiality of our program. Families who prefer to have gifts accounted for in the current year are reminded of the need to relay gifts by December 31, 2012.
With best wishes for happy holidays,
Marcia Cassady
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Dec. 20, 6 p.m.
Academic Team
Quick Recall at Danville High School
Jan. 5
Governor's Cup District Event Jan. 19 LCA Spelling Bee Jan. 26, 10 a.m.
Kentucky Jr. Classical League (KJCL) State Convention Feb. 1-3
Upper School Trip to Italy Feb. 21-March 4
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PENNY WAR
 | In December, LCA students raised more than $900 for Heifer International through the annual Penny War contest.
Great job!
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The Singh Family Revitalizes the LCA Spelling Bee
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Anand and Tara Singh
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Thanks to Anand Singh, father of third grader Tara, Louisville Classical Academy will host a school spelling bee on the morning of January 26. A sign up roster, along with a list of spelling words supplied by the Scripps National Spelling Bee, is located in the front entry hall of the school. All students in grades 3 through 8, age 14 and younger, may participate in the competition. To register, simply add your name to the list prior to January 18.
The school champion and runner-up will both recevie a free, one year subscription to Encyclopedia Brittanica Online. Additionally, the school champion will receive a free online foreign language course compliments of Power Speak 12.
The overall champion will automatically qualify for the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee in March for the chance to advance to the National Spelling Bee. The highest finisher in grades 4-8 will also qualify for the Louisville Private School County Bee in February, with the chance to advance to the Kentucky Derby Festival State Bee in March.
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LCA to Host Greek Mythology Festival
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 The 2013 series of Keep Louisville Classical community outreach programs will feature a one day Greek Mythology Festival on the front lawn at Louisville Classical Academy on Saturday, April 13. Intended to reach an audience much larger than our current community of school families, the festival will bring together diverse groups for a fun day of activities, games, and food.
All LCA parents, students, grandparents, and friends are invited to join in the planning of the event. This is great opportunity for us to show the archons and faculty just how much they are appreciated. It also provides a great way for parents to get to know one another.
Several parents have adopted components of the planning already, including many who are new to the school this year. Please consider this your formal invitation to join the planning committee! Reach LCA Director of Outreach and Development, Shelly Ward, at keeplouisvilleclassical@gmail.com or (347) 871-7470.
Through Keep Louisville Classical programs and events, Louisville Classical Academy provides tangible, modern connections to the art, literature, and culture of classical antiquity to children and adults throughout the community. KLC and LCA are intended to be perfectly synergistic, with the success of one promoting the success of the other. The festival will support Louisville Classical Academy students and faculty through increase visibility and by raising funds necessary for additional community outreach efforts.
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First Place for Academic Team
By Eric Baugher
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 | | Congratulations to Gus, Megan, Ruthie, Zach, Daniel, Ellen, Lauren, and Miles! |
Middle schools from across Louisville competed in the Trinity High School Quick Recall Tournament on Saturday, December 1, 2012. Eight students from Louisville Classical Academy walked away with a perfect record for the day and the first place trophy.
This year's tournament was done in a round-robin format. All teams were guaranteed at least three matches. Teams drew for position by blind draw the morning of the tournament. The four teams with the best record after morning play advanced to the afternoon semifinal matches.
Louisville Classical Academy had no trouble dispensing with its morning competition, winning each of its first three matches by at least twenty points. Tournament director and Trinity High School Academic Team Coordinator Mark Amick commented that "LCA's performance in the first three rounds was impressive."
The matches consisted of two halves of 40 questions each, ranging from such topics as literature and social studies to math and science and even some pop culture. Toss-up questions were asked to both teams, and the person who buzzed in first answered. Correct answers to a toss-up would earn that team a bonus.
For its semi-final match, Louisville Classical Academy met the St. Albert 'A' team in the afternoon and faced its fiercest competitor of the day. At the end of a tough first half the score was tied at 12 all. LCA's starting four students maintained their resolve during the second half, however, and came out ahead with a final score of 28-24. Louisville Classical Academy team captain Ruthie Dworin's spelling prowess, while dazzling throughout the daylong competition, was instrumental in helping to secure this victory.
After four rounds of play, two undefeated teams met in the finals. Louisville Classical Academy faced defending champion and perennial powerhouse Sacred Heart Model School. Out of a total of 40 questions asked in the first half, these two outstanding teams combined to answer 37 of them correctly for a score of 20-17 with LCA taking just a slight edge into the second half. As the match progressed, LCA maintained its lead and went on to win 37-26 for a perfect 5-0 record on the day and first place overall.
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Louisville Classical Academy is a full curriculum Grammar, Middle, and High School
with unusually rigorous and engaging classes that are rich in dialogue and collaboration. |
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