Edition 2 December 18, 2015

BASKETBALL OFF TO GREAT START

THE PALADIN �1

WHAT'S INSIDE?

GALLERY

SPELLING BEE winners p. 2ALUMNI FOCUS Sarah Wong p. 2

KNIGHTLIGHTS

MEET THE FOLKS IN THE NCA/COVENANT COMMUNITY p. 3

WHO IS: TERRI SIMPSON? LAUREN STAFFORD? JARED McCORMICK? CALI BROOKSHIRE?

AT A GLANCECAMPUS & SPORTS SCHEDULES p. 4LAST LAUGH / CONTEST p. 4

THE PALADIN THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE COVENANT PREPARATORY SCHOOL

The Paladin is the official monthly Covenant Newsletter, and strives to keep faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni up to date on current goings-on in the school. Please

report errors and omissions to jtimpanaro@nca-kingwood.org

Warriors Tote 16-3 Record Into the Break

Junior Josh Vinal drains a three as the Warriors win the Fall Tournament

Beginning this year, every NCA / Covenant Junior will receive a Covenant Ring in a very special dedication ceremony. As you can see, we are honoring the NCA Legacy by including the very first NCA logo on one side of the ring. The graduation ring will stay

exactly the same for every Covenant graduating class.

Loyal fans Sarah Rothenberger, Greg Wong, and Logan Lane cheer on the Warriors

COVENANT RING ANNOUNCEMENT!

Edition 2 December 18, 2015

THE PALADIN �2

ALUMNI FOCUS:

Where are they now?

Sarah Wong (’14) Ms. Wong is a sophomore Elementary Education major with a Special Education minor at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, in Belton, TX.

Always an active member of the NCA community while she was here, Sarah has stayed productive on the campus of UMHB.

“Mary Hardin-Baylor has its own chapter of the national United Way organization, and I have had the amazing opportunity to work with them as the Director of Education. One of the programs I run is a literacy program each week in which we go to the local government housing and read with kids. It has been such a blessing and a great opportunity to watch them grow as well as being able to serve the community in this way.”

Sarah is also part of Search Cru, a student-ambassador type organization in which they give tours to prospective students and their families. She also represented Search Cru in the Miss Mary Hardin-Baylor Pageant this year, which is focused on inner beauty. “We all pick a platform that consists of something we would like to do to help improve the community and there is a talent portion and an evening gown portion. This was a lot of fun, and was a great experience!”

Sarah remembers her days at NCA fondly. “I definitely miss the community NCA brought me. I attended NCA for 13 years, so the other students, their families, and the faculty were like my family.” Read more about other alumni in our quarterly newsletter, The Nexus, “Connecting The Post with the Present for our Future.”

G A L L E R Y

Grade level spelling bees have been held in grades 3-8 using only grade level words from the 2015-2016 list. The winners are busy studying together twice a week in preparation for the District Spelling Bee in

Huntsville where words from all grade levels will be used. This event will take place on January 15th, 2016, at Alpha Omega Academy.

Let’s see how far they go!

CONGRATS to our SPELLING BEE WINNERS!!

3RD GRADEKENADEE GRAY & ANAIAH SMITH

4TH GRADEATTICUS BAGGETT & DANIEL ZOU

5TH GRADECALEB STEMMANS & SHIVALI CHAVA

6TH GRADEGUTHRIE TIMPANARO & ZACH WILSON

7TH GRADEISAIAH SAMUELS8TH GRADELEE DICKENS

Edition 2 December 18, 2015

THE PALADIN �3

Who is . . Lauren Stafford? Teaches Lower School Latin and Language ArtsB.A. Christianity and Classics (Latin), Houston Baptist University, ‘15

When not teaching, Mrs. Stafford says she loves to act! She has over 9 years of Theater experience in acting, writing, and directing. She served as the president of HBU's only Theater organization, the Rex Fleming Players. While there, she was cast as Jadis, Queen of Narnia, or as she is more commonly known, "The White Witch", for the Fall 2014 production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Mrs. Stafford says her most treasured childhood memories are riding her horse Piper through the California San Bernardino mountains, and lounging about reading as she lay up against her 220 lb. Saint Bernard/Malamute, "Mikey Dude”. She says her worst childhood memory would be when her sister decided to chop off locks of her hair while she was sleeping. But the joke was on her sister. The next day, mom took her to the salon and gave her the exact same mangled haircut that she had so generously given the day before. Finally, Mrs. Stafford says she loves teaching at NCA, and is also looking forward to moving into a house (with husband and NCA teacher Ray Stafford) so she can finally get a puppy.

Who is . . . Terri Simpson? Teaches Upper School MathBS Mathematics, Minor: Education, Southern Nazarene University

This Borger, TX native grew up on a farm, and learned how to drive by taking her family’s truck to get hay. But don’t let her humble beginnings fool you. Mrs. Simpson was valedictorian at her high school, as well as the top student in her college class. Mrs. Simpson, a pastor’s wife, has been happily married for 24 years. She has one son, Brennen, a college sophomore, and daughter in junior high, Kali. Mrs. Simpson says there’s much to look forward to in her life, including a new campus on which to teach, and of course her children getting married and having grandkids! She says her most treasured memory from her youth was meeting and dating her husband in high school, and also going to her family’s cabin in Eagles Nest, NM. Finally, Mrs. Simpson says her worst childhood memory is falling down the stairs at school. (Good thing the upper school campus is stair-free.)

Lauren Stafford

Terri Simpson

Who is . . . Cali Brookshire?

6th Grader, World Champion, AthleteYou were probably unaware there was a WORLD CHAMPION in our midst! That’s right, Cali has won a Class 7 World Championship for both the USTPA (United States Team Penning Association) and the RSNC (Ranch Sorting National Championships). It bears mentioning that these weren’t in age-specific divisions; Cali won these competing with and against riders of all ages. She has competed in South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Oklahoma, riding her favorite horses, Fancy, Ginger, and others. Claiming to have “no real special skills” (yeah, right), Cali also excels as an NCA athlete at basketball and volleyball. In the future, Cali wishes to attend Texas A & M’s veterinary school. Cali Brookshire

Who is . . . Jared McCormick?

Freshman, Scout, Crazy about Comics Jared is a Freshman in his first year at NCA. Huge congratulations are in order, as he has just received the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest attainable rank in Boy Scouts. To attain this goal, Jared built a new flight cage for recovering birds for Friends of Texas Wildlife, located in Magnolia. Jared has always had a sincere love for all kinds of animals and when deciding what project to choose as his Eagle Scout project, there was no doubt in his mind what organization he wanted to help. Jared also loves discussing philosophy with his dad, reading comics, attending ComicCon, and going on long road trips with his family. Jared McCormick

K N I G H T L I G H T S

Edition 2 December 18, 2015

CAMPUS LIFE AT A GLANCE (NEXT 30 DAYS):

FRI. 12/18 Last day of Fall Semester

MON. 1/4 Teacher in-service day / Student Holiday

TUES. 1/5 Spring Semester Begins

MON. 1/11 Annual School Meeting

TUES. 1/12 Teacher Appreciation Lunch at USC

FRI. 1/15 Spelling Bee Regionals

FRI. 1/15 PTF Meeting

SAT. 1/16 Athletic Complex Ground Breaking Ceremony

SPORTS AT A GLANCE (NEXT 30 DAYS):

THE PALADIN �4

LAST LAUGH

MS Girls White BB1/14 vs. Woodlands Chr1/18 vs. Aggieland HS

1/19 vs. St. Mary Magd.1/26 vs. CHSM

Varsity Boys BB12/18 at New Braunfels12/19 at New Braunfels

1/5 vs. Briarwood1/8 vs Humble Christian

1/15 @ Living Stones

JV Boys BB1/5 vs. Briarwood

1/8 vs Humble Christain1/15 @ Living Stones

1/18 @ Covenant Acad.1/22 vs. SW Christ.Acad

MS Girls Blue BB1/5 vs. Calvary Episc.

1/7 vs. Simonton1/12 @ SW Christ Acad1/15 @ Living Stones

MS Boys White BB1/14 vs. Woodlands Chr

1/15 @ Living Stones1/18 vs. Aggieland HS1/21 @ Katy Christian

MS Boys Blue BB1/5 vs. Calvary

1/8 NCA Tourney1/9 NCA Tourney

1/15 @ Living Stones1/19 @ Briarwood

CONTEST WINNER!Congrats to TYLER DEAN for his submission defining a paladin:

“A Paladin is: (1) any of the 12 legendary peers of Charlemagne's court and (2) a knight or heroic champion.

“The brave paladin rescued the beautiful princess from the tall tower guarded by a red, ferocious, talking dragon.”

Tyler wins a $10 Starbucks gift card! Bob, you fool! Don’t plug that thing in!

courtesy Gary Larson