Senior Capstone Trip Fundraiser Open through Tomorrow, Sept. 5

Orders are open through tomorrow, September 5, for this year’s senior trip fundraiser t-shirt for $18. All proceeds will benefit this year’s senior capstone field trip to Italy.

Place your order here or click on ‘Providence Merch” on the Resources page of Blackbaud to place an order for the fundraiser shirt, or any other Providence shirt. Orders placed after tomorrow will not be guaranteed. Note that dri-fit shirts are on backorder from the manufacturer.

Master Calendar 2023-24

Here is a link to a dynamic Master Calendar of events for this school year (including a firm date for Lessons and Carols, December 7!). We work hard to make sure our parents and students know about events as early as possible, but, inevitably, at least a few changes must be made, so it’s important that you refer to the link for the most up-to-date changes. These calendars are automatically updated in Blackbaud and the website. Want to add our Master Calendar to yours? Here are some tutorials.

Yearbooks

If you pre-ordered a yearbook last year, and have not yet received your copy of the 2022-23 edition of The Bighorn, please stop by the North Desk or email us. We may order some additional copies if there is demand, so let us know if you’d like a copy.

Uniform Guidelines

We are so happy to report that most of our students were well within the uniform guidelines for our first weeks. We did see some issues that we hope to see resolved this week:

• High top shoes
• Gray, white, multicolored, and colored shoes
• No belt (belts not required in PreK, Kdg, and 1st grades)
• Untucked shirts

If you are still waiting for a Lands’ End order, we can wait with you. Otherwise, we will begin to give reminders and send Uniform Violation notices next week per the policy. Thank you for your help with this!

Preschool Playdate, Sept. 14 

Parents are invited to a Preschool Playdate after chapel on Thursday, September 14. Bring your littles (preschoolers and younger siblings) to the playground outside of the North entrance, and we will enjoy some fellowship in the cool of the morning.

Home Day Tech Tip

While phones can be handy in a pinch, please be aware that Google Docs and math teaching slides are much more user friendly when accessed with a laptop. If this is an option for you, it will make it easier to follow links, toggle multiple tabs, and view the teaching instructions for math lessons.

Second graders, Bella Barnett, Gideon Elliott, Zeke Bingham, and Hank Kiniry, examine and compare soil samples. 

Co-Teacher Meetings

We are looking forward to meeting with you in grade level groups. There will be time to meet other parents, interact with teachers, and receive additional training.  

September 7: First Grade Co-Teacher Meeting 8:20 in the small sanctuary. We’ll talk about guided reading and algebraic problem solving. 

September 7: Pre-K Co-Teacher Meeting 2:15 in the small sanctuary.  You can meet there, or we’ll meet you at the north desk and walk there together.  

September 12: Fifth Grade Co-Teacher Meeting 8:20 in the small sanctuary. Our focus will be Shurley Grammar Sentence Flow with Mrs. Fothergill.

Coming soon 

• September 19: 6th Grade at 8:20 in the small sanctuary. 
• September 19: Kindergarten at 2:15 in the Pearl Street Foyer.
• September 28: 4th grade Long Division Workshop after school in Mrs. Porterfield’s room. 

Wilberforce and Augustine's House Socials both went swimmingly these last couple of weeks! Many thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Clardy and the family of Bella, Gunnar, and Callie Smith for hosting!

Bonhoeffer Social, Sept. 5

Tomorrow from 4-6pm at the First Baptist Belton gym, Bonhoeffer will be having its first house social of the year! There will be games such as dodgeball, basketball, and gaga ball.

Fastest Providence Time: Math Facts on Sep. 8; Rubik’s Cube on Sept. 22

FPT is back in 2023-24! Students in 5th-12th grades are welcome to participate in brief speed contests in House Chapel on Fridays. This Friday, September 8, we’ll do basic math facts--fastest students will earn house points. On September 22, we’ll have the Rubik’s Cube challenge. Any student who wishes to compete must bring a standard 3x3x3 cube. No need to register in advance. 

Elliot Social, Sept. 8

This upcoming Friday Elliot House is having its first social event of the fall semester. Gather over by the College House/Gaga ball pit area at 3:45pm for games and fellowship. Check your emails for details. We hope to see you all there!

Rhetoric Retreat Registration

Registration can be found in the parent portal of Blackbaud. Registration is due Friday, Sept. 8th.

Rhetoric Retreat Talent Show

Please sign-up here if you would like to participate at the Rhetoric retreat talent show.

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). 

RamFam Friday Feast

Rhetoric School students (9th-12th) and Faculty/Staff are invited to place your order for Chick-Fil-A (with a little spice) by Thursday, September 7 at 4pm. 

Last Week in Review

Logic School-White fell to Valor Prep in 3 (21-25, 25-21, 5-15)

Logic School-Green won vs Valor Prep (25-18, 25-15)

Logic School-White won vs Texas Wind (25-19, 25-14)

Logic School-Green won in 3 vs Texas Wind (22-25, 25-20, 15-9)

Great excitement and encouragement amongst the Logic School teams!

JV win vs Holy Trinity (25-12, 25-18)

Varsity lost vs Holy Trinity (25-29, 17-25, 12-25)

JV won vs St. Joseph (25-11, 25-10)

Upcoming Volleyball Games

Tuesday, September 5

Rams v. Centex Chargers at Temple Nazarene

Logic School-White, 4:30pm

Logic School-Green, 5:30pm

JV, 6:30pm

Varsity, 7:30pm

Thursday, September 7

Logic School at CTCS

White, 5pm

Green, 6pm

*gate fee is typically $5/adult

Monday, September 11

Rams vs Sterling at Temple Nazarene

*Logic School-Green, 5pm

*Varsity, 6pm

*Logic School-White, 7pm

*denoted district games

Upcoming Flag Football Games

Tuesday, September 5

Rams at Killeen Memorial, 5pm

Beginning this week, we will regularly feature some of our wonderful faculty at Providence. Our hope is that our families can get a glimpse of the heart and amazing work of our Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric teachers for our students and school. 

Noelle Ruzicka: Kindergarten

Mrs. Ruzicka has been teaching at Providence since 2020 and is helping to spearhead the Ready Bodies program in our Kindergarten classes. She received her master’s degree in theology with a concentration in Missions from George W. Truett Seminary at Baylor University and her bachelor's degree in education from the University of Mary Hardin Baylor. “[What I love about classical education is] how as a teacher and a mother I get to see children learning how to problem solve beyond a specific problem. It carries into their everyday life. [I enjoy collaborating with parents because they] have a beautiful opportunity to specifically know their child's strengths and weaknesses, and we all get to work together to encourage their child not just academically, but also to build their character unto the Lord.” 

Brian Johnson: Economics, Personal Finance, Pre-Algebra

Mr. Johnson has been teaching at Providence since 2021. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Accountancy from Baylor University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of Texas.

“What excites me about classical education at Providence is our overarching use of classical literature. In economics, we will reference Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations (published in 1776) several times this semester. This is not a modern economics textbook and is not written as such, but the economic principles we learn from it are equally as important. [As for what it means to be a Christian teacher,] the Bible gives clear guidelines and perspective. My students are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and my purpose is to train them up in the way of the Lord, so that when they leave, they will not part from it (Prov 22:6).”