ID Badges Required on Campus Starting Oct. 3

Thank you to everyone who has picked up ID badges in the past week! If you have not yet received your ID badge, please drop by the North Desk, and our staff will be happy to get yours to you. Please remember that all adults will be required to wear an ID badge while on campus beginning next Tuesday, October 3; you may read more details regarding those protocols here. If you missed having one made, please reach out to Mrs. Hamson and upload a photo to Blackbaud in order to have your badge printed with the next batch. If you have a grandparent or babysitter that will require regular building access, please contact Mrs. Stafford to create a Blackbaud account for them. Thank you for supporting our measures to improve the safety of our students, families, and staff while on campus!

Co-Teacher Connect, Thurs., Oct. 5

All co-teachers are invited to participate in a reading and discussion of an excerpt from a chapter of Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition by Karen Glass during our first Co-Teacher Connect Meeting next Thursday, October 5.  We’ll discuss the how and the why of cultivating humility as an intellectual virtue in ourselves and in our children. We’ll meet in the small sanctuary following chapel dismissal.

Adam Rowe and Cady Sanchez get to know some new friends during the Austin Reptile Show presentation to Mrs. Porterfield’s fourth grade class.

Grandparents' Day Registration Now Live

Grandparents will receive invitations this week to our Grandparents’ Day on Thursday, October 19. Grandparents can register here, whether they have received an invitation or not. If you’d like your child’s grandparents to receive communication like this from the school, add their contact information here. Parents interested in volunteering for this event can send an email to [email protected].

Grammar School faculty are reading Consider This by Karen Glass for professional development this year. This is a helpful reminder of the primary goal of education:

“It was [the desire of Plato and Aristotle] to teach children not only to know what was right, but to love what was good, true, and beautiful so that their conduct would reflect their wise understanding. These older writers considered knowledge not merely an accumulation of information, but a process of learning how to live rightly.” (Consider This, p. 18, emphasis mine)

To reflect:

• Do you agree that good character and conduct is a primary measure of a successful education? Why or why not?
• How can we use our home day work to help our children truly love what is good, true, and beautiful?
• What does “right living” look like for your child’s age and developmental level?
• How can you apply this truth to your own education and development, not only that of your children?

The Importance of Grammar School Conferences 

Parent-teacher conferences are especially important for co-teachers of young students as we forge strong partnerships for the good of each child.  We ask that all PreK-6th grade co-teachers/parents attend a conference with their child’s teachers to communicate about progress.  This important time helps us learn how to better serve your child and you. When times are posted, if you don’t see a time that works on the schedule, please contact your child’s teacher directly.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Fourth Grade Long Division Workshop, Sep. 28

Join Mrs. Porterfield and other 4th graders and co-teachers this Thursday, September 28, after school from 3:30-4:30 upstairs in Room 247 for this workshop designed for co-teachers and fourth grade students. Note this change from the original room. Parents who are attending, please gather your children from their afterschool pickup locations to bring them to the workshop with you. 

Siblings may join us down the hall in room 247. 

3rd and 4th Grade Reading Tutoring

Soon we will be starting our after school reading club to help students sharpen their reading skills. Please fill out this form if you would like your 3rd or 4th grade child to participate. An email will be sent to those who sign up with more information soon.

Fastest Providence Time: Rubik’s Cube on Sep. 29

The Rubik’s cube FPT is this Friday, September 29 in House Chapel. Any student who wishes to compete must bring a standard 3x3x3 cube. No need to register in advance.

Logic Retreat, Nov. 7

Logic School is returning to the Baylor Challenge Course for its annual retreat on Tuesday, November 7. We will depart in the morning after chapel and return just before pickup time, so it is an all-day event.  Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the date of the retreat.

Letters of Recommendation

Begin requesting letters of recommendation for college applications soon through Naviance. Here’s how!

PSAT, Oct. 25

Save the date! All students in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades will take the PSAT at school on Wednesday, October 25. This year’s test will be in a digital format for the first time which brings significant changes both to format and content. It’d be a good idea to take a practice test, found here. We have a few laptops to share, but we’ll need most students to bring a laptop (requirements here). Note that Chromebooks are not able to run the necessary software.

RamFam Friday Feast

Rhetoric School students (9th-12th) and Faculty/Staff are invited to place your order for Chick Fil A by Thursday, September 28 at 4pm.

Week in Review

Volleyball

Varsity lost to Chisholm Trail Academy in 4 sets but came away with a ‘W’ in their 2nd district game of the season against Memorial Christian. The JV team competed locally in the CTCS Tournament. They won two games and lost two.

Flag Football

The Rams won both of their games last week to move to 4-0 at the halfway point of the season.  Keep it going, fellas!

Basketball Registration

Registration for Logic School and Rhetoric School basketball for girls and boys is available on Blackbaud this week through Monday, October 2. 

Upcoming Games

Flag Football

Tuesday, September 26

Providence vs. Austin Royals

at Temple Crossroads Park, 5:30 PM

Soccer

Saturday, September 30

Providence vs. Black

at Heritage Park, 12:00 PM

Volleyball

Monday, Sept. 25th

Logic Rams v. Temple St. Mary’s at Temple Nazarene

Logic-Green, 5:30 PM

Logic-White, 6:45 PM

Tuesday, Sept. 26th

Varsity, Taylor St. Mary’s, 6 PM

Thursday, Sept. 28th

Rams v. Grace Academy at Georgetown Richarte HS 

Logic-White v. Grace-A, 6:15 PM

Logic-Green v. Grace-B, 7:30 PM

JV v. Grace, 6:15 PM

Varsity v. Grace, 7:30 PM

**$5 gate fee for HS games.

Friday, Sept. 29th

JV at Waco Valor, 6:00 PM

Monday, Oct. 2nd

Rams v. Austin Royals Purple at Temple Nazarene

Logic- Green, 5:00 PM

Logic- White,  6:15 PM

Jessica Skaggs,

Second Grade

Mrs. Skaggs has been teaching at Providence since 2018 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Baylor University. She has been a co-teacher to her own two children since 2012.

“ I get most excited about a great book. In Little Pear, we watch and learn as Little Pear grows a little older and a little wiser. In Heidi, we feel the sadness of Heidi's homesickness and listen in as Grandmamma teaches her to pray in those moments. In Charlotte's Web, we think about the meaning of true self-sacrifice in friendship between Charlotte and Wilbur. These stories help shape our ideas about a life filled with truth, goodness, and beauty. I recently had a discouraging Amazon search for quality books for a child's birthday. The suggested books from my search were really, really low quality, and if I didn't already have some in mind, it would have been hard for me to sort through the junk to find the treasures. It is such a joy to work in a community committed to equipping parents (like me) with treasures to feed our children's minds and souls. [Lastly, being] a Christian teacher looks like intentionally reminding students how each subject we study enlarges our understanding of God's character. It means asking how the predictability of addition shows us the character of God or tracing the theme of pride and power through the lives of ancient historical leaders and comparing that to the character of Christ.”

Nathan Wade,

Latin 2, 3 and AP-level 4; 9th Gr. Humanities (Ancient History); Music Appreciation

Mr. Wade has been teaching at Providence since 2022 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Education degree with teaching concentrations in Latin and History from Baylor University and a Master of Latin degree from the University of Florida. 

“Classical education excites me because it recognizes the importance of Latin instruction.  Translating Latin into English trains the brain to do skills that studying modern languages does not.  The benefits extend far beyond the roots of our English vocabulary into the crafting of grammatically correct sentences, focusing on small details, and logical conclusions.  I also appreciate the inclusion of primary source documents into the study of history, especially those written in Latin. [I appreciate] that Providence parents are very supportive of the teachers and very knowledgeable about how assignments benefit their children long term.I am grateful to teach in an environment where I can discuss the loving God and beautiful Savior we worship as Christians. I enjoy discipling students and making lasting bonds of care and concern for my little brothers and sisters in Christ that would be impossible in a restrictive secular environment.”