A glimpse inside Hillsdale College's network of classical schools across the country.
Under the guidance of Mrs. Panzica and Ms. Hamm, our theater department is really taking off this year. The fall play, Shakespeare's The Tempest, is one of my favorites, and I stopped by rehearsals after school today to take a look at the opening scene in its very early stages. It's a really impressive scene--a shipwreck… Continue reading Rehearsals for Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Dear Founders Families, We are nearing the end of the first quarter, and the school is thriving. Thank you, devoted parents, for your support at home and above all for entrusting us with your students. Being with them each day is a real joy. As we finish up this first quarter of our fifth year… Continue reading Parental Involvement at Founders Classical Academy
Our grammar school students have been learning about the animal kingdom lately, and I thought you'd like to meet a special guest who visited the third graders last week: Sir Pigglesworth, or Piggles for short. One of our Founders moms brought in her family's mini pig to help our third graders learn the characteristics of… Continue reading Grammar School Science Lessons Explore the Animal Kingdom
How we spent the first two days of school. The first days of school have been so smooth, and it’s wonderful to see our students back on campus. Working in a school without any students in it is a strange thing, and after a productive summer I have loved welcoming our new Kindergarteners and seeing… Continue reading Welcome back, Archers!
Each year a member of the faculty who is particularly special to the senior class is invited to give an address at graduation and introduce the Salutatorian and Valedictorian. The Class of 2017's faculty speaker was Mr. Berndt, and this year Mr. Peterson was invited to speak to the Class of 2018.
While I was visiting classrooms a couple of weeks ago, I got to see our second graders learning cursive handwriting with Mrs. Horton and Ms. Sowell. They were working on capital letters and sentences from their literature and history studies. Handwriting practice is an essential part of our students' elementary education in K-2, and after… Continue reading Learning Cursive in 2nd Grade
The Seminar Discussion by Mr. Peterson, Literature and Philosophy Teacher This is an abridged version of a lecture given at Hillsdale College on June 29, 2017 as part of the Barney Charter School Initiative's summer teacher training. The original (available upon request) includes details about seminar setup procedures, grading, how the other components of a literature class… Continue reading Seminar Discussion in 9th-12th Grade, by Mr. Peterson
Since the first days of our school, the Barney Charter School Initiative has played an instrumental role in the formation of our students and teachers. An outreach program of Hillsdale College, the BCSI helps schools like ours educate young men and women for lives of citizenship and independence. Every summer our teachers attend training in… Continue reading Introduction to the Barney Charter School Initiative
At Founders Classical Academy, students begin studying Latin and Greek root words in 3rd grade, and when they get to 6th grade they begin Wheelock's Latin. Over the course of 6th and 7th grade, students complete Latin I and are ready to go on to more advanced Latin in 8th grade and high school. Learning… Continue reading Introduction to Latin in 6th Grade
At the end of our third year, Founders Classical Academy of Leander was honored with the Salvatori Prize for Excellence in Teaching. The award came with a $25,000 prize, and earlier this year some of those funds went toward the purchase of a telescope and an air track for the science department. Several weeks ago… Continue reading Testing our New Air Track in 11th Grade Physics
The Classical Classroom 