P a r a go n P re pa r a to ry M i dd l e S c h oo l V o l ume 1 1, Issue 6 | A pr il 2008
T HE K NI G HT LY N E W S
MY FIRST YEAR AT PARAGON
by Joseph Colletti
“When you travel towards your objective, be sure to
pay attention to the path. The path teaches us the best
way to arrive and enriches us while we are traveling
along it.” - Paulo Coelho
It is interesting to think about my path to teaching. I
never considered myself a teacher or mentor. I spent
most of my life exploring the world through art and
literature, music and travel, education and experience,
and most importantly, with the love of my family. It
was one day that I discovered that my true calling was
to give back what I was given: a passion for life, and
excitement for learning, and a gift for communication.
Joseph Colletti is It was this day that teaching found me.
Paragon’s first, full-time It is hard to believe that my first year at Paragon is
6th grade teacher quickly coming to an end. It seems like only yesterday
providing a home room we were preparing for the new school year and I was
and three hours a day of preparing to meet the Paragon family of faculty,
parents, and of course, students. This year has proven
instruction to all of our
to be a true blessing.
6th graders.
Paragon has the environment in which I can teach the
way I know best- inspiring students to find their own relationship with education and
traveling towards their personal path, paying attention on the way. The students here have the passion and drive it
takes to be successful in whatever they do. As I challenge them to move from the concrete to abstract; students start
to build confidence in their identity. My students are developing the skills to make connections from history to
modern day, art and humanities, and their personal expression through writing. If every one of my students has found
themselves passionate in one of these areas, which they did not know before, I have done my job.
Italian Day……………………………….. 2 Charlie Labrador McGrath
MidKnight Madness XI……………….… 2 June 13 1995- March 28, 2008
The Feast………………...………………. 3
Fifth Grade Trip to GSD&M Idea City…. 3 Over the years, many Paragon
AM Announces Home Connect…………. 4 students got to know Charlie,
Certificate of Commendation Recipients.. 4 Mr. McGrath’s faithful hound
Lady Knights Basketball………………... 4 and Paragon’s unofficial vice
Paragon Reaccredited…………………… 5 principal. Charlie passed away
My Trip to Reynosa…………………….. 6 recently at the ripe old age of
Paragon Primary………………………… 7 14 (98 in human years). His
Cloudy Day……………………………… 8 many visits to the school over
Getting Fit……………………………….. 8 the years brought him great
Latin State Competition…………………. 9 joy, many friends, and lots of
Knights in the News……………………... 10 treats. He will be missed.
Official 2008-09 Calendar………………. 11
Page 2 V o l ume 1 1, Issue 6 | A pr il 2008
Italian Day ‘08
by Mark Hathaway
On the last Friday of March, we celebrated Italian Day here at Paragon. As
Paragon tradition stipulates, on my birthday, I whip up a bunch of spaghetti
and salad for Paragon Nation.
This year, I ended up
cooking 35 lbs of spaghetti,
and that's what it weighed
before I boiled it! It is truly a
wonderful birthday present
for me to do this, as I LOVE any opportunity to cook
"big." This year we had a special treat. Parents of 6th
grader Milan Felicello, Angelo Felicello and Tosca
Radigonda, served treats to the kids and they were a
big hit. They brought and made a typical Italian after-
school treat: bread with Nutella spread on it. The kids
wiped them out! Thank you Angelo and Tosca!
In my past, pre-Paragon life, I managed an Italian
restaurant in Louisiana. Lots of "fond" memories from
those days, like the time I dumped a plate of ravioli
into a nun's lap. Mama mia! I've got a million stories.
The restaurant was called "Monjunis", which is an
Americanized Italian word meaning "little eaters." So
thank you to all my "monjunis" for a wonderful Italian
Day! And to clear up a viscious rumor, this past
birthday was the first of many 39th birthdays! Or as I
told the kids, I just turned 13 for the third time!
MidKnight Madness XI
by Mark Hathaway
On March 3rd Paragon celebrated our 11th
installment if Mid Knight Madness! Mid-Knight
Madness is our annual basketball event/celebration
which pits this year's teams against their parents. It
is a very relaxed time for families and friends to visit with each other and check out
our basketball Knights and Lady Knights. This year our 9 basketball teams played
mini-games against their parents and our alumni. It was a lot of fun!
We also had a dribbling competition for up and coming Knights ranging
in age from three to ten years old. I've already got an idea on who will
be our players in 2015! Thanks to all who made it a fun time! Hope to
see you next year! Go Knights!
The Knightly News Page 3
The Feast
by Christine Schulz, Class of 2009
After completion of The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, the 7th grade
celebrated by creating their own tribes. Each tribe worked together to form their
society and survival plan. Each group created elaborate costumes and headdresses
along with designing flags, shelters and a tribal anthem. But this assignment was not
all fun and play, the tribes also had the mission of writing a constitution, plan an
education program, create an economy and assign jobs to tribe members. The 7th
graders presented their tribes during a feast of meat, drink and fruit bought by the
tribes.
Fifth Grade Trip to GSD&M Idea City
by Thomas Magnuson, Class of 2011
Before our visit to GSD&M Idea City, I producer is the guy/girl who travels the
thought that it would be awesome and I was most and he/she is like a director of a
right. I also thought that the whole building movie.
would be filled with art work and weird stuff
like the Southwest Airline chairs all around Another thing I learned is that the schedule
Idea City and, again, I was right. at Idea City is really laid back. There’s no
time that you have to arrive or leave at
Some of the valuable stuff I learned at GSD&M, just that you’re responsible for
GSD&M was what people did. At the you job! I enjoyed the trip A LOT!!!
beginning of the tour we (the class) got jobs
assigned to us, mine was the executive Thanks to Duff and Liz Stewart, parents of
producer. Along the tour our guide, Lindsey, Grace Stewart, for coordinating this trip for
would stop and explain a job. The executive our class. We had a blast!
Page 4 V o l u m e 1 1, I s s u e 6 | A p r il 2 0 0 8
Accelerated Math Announces
Home Connect
Certificate of Commendation
Our Accelerated Math program is being upgraded so Recipients
that in the next several weeks we will be incorporat-
ing Home Connect. This will allow students and Way to go Knights! The following students
their parents to log on from their home computers were awarded a certificate of commendation
and do the following: for obtaining six positive citations this winter
trimester. Their certificates hang in the lobby
• View progress on previous assignments and as inspiration to others!
objectives mastered
• See the objectives they are ready to test on
• Reprint and/or score a Practice and get
Nakisa Derakhshani
their next Practice Milan Feliciello
• Reprint or score an Exercise
Micah Forman
Using the optional e-mail set-up, parents have the Haley Forrest
option to receive an e-mail notification of their stu-
dent’s progress (scores on tests, etc, as students
Sara Kane
scan). All continuing (2008-2009) Paragon students Brendan Heitz
will be set up on a summer AM program so that they
may stay current with their math skills. We will get
Grant Jones
the information to you as soon as we can.
Lady Knights Basketball
quarter, the Lady
by Helena Nouzovsky, Class of 2009 Knights had a scoring
run that gave us a 10
point lead. The score
This season, the Paragon Lady Knights that while was now 25-15. The
Silver team faced some tough competi- continuing fourth quarter was the
tors. Our first game against St. Louis, with our prac- same as the first half,
with their aggressive manner, was a tices twice a with Paragon holding on
hard fought battle, but the Lady week with our to our lead and winning
Knights defeated the Cougars. Next, coaches, Mr. the championship 31-
we traveled out to Waldorf, one of our Cash and Mr. Bowling. We played St. 20. This was a season that I will
best games of the season. Our defense Theresa’s again, coming into the game always remember, it was a season
and offense was on and didn’t let Wal- ready to beat them and we did, win- that changed for lots of people with
dorf score even a point. St. Stephen’s ning the game by 2 points. Tourna- our moving up from junior varsity to
was next. This was our 3rd game of the ment time came and we settled into varsity. The Lady Knights couldn’t
season and we began to pick up the our number one position, getting a bye have done it without each of our
pace, beating St. Stephen’s 36-3. St. in the first round. Mr. Cash and Mr. seven players and our two amazing
Theresa’s was our toughest competitor Bowling prepared us for our first game coaches, Mr. Cash and Mr. Bowl-
this season. The game was intense and of the tournament against St. Louis. ing.
the Lady Knights ended up losing the We didn’t fool around; we were pre-
game by one point. Our next game was pared to win and we did. But, it was
against St. Francis, with their fast pace the next day that really counted, the
and unique ball handling. They gave us finals. We were playing our always
a challenge, but after half time we were fun top rival, St. Theresa’s. The first
on a run. Then, it was that time in the half was slow, with the half time score
season when you play again teams that of 11-9, going our way. In the third
you’ve already played. We happily did
The Knightly News Page 5
Paragon Reaccredited!
by David McGrath
2007-08 was a reaccredidation year for Paragon. Like all good schools, Paragon Prep is overseen by a larger
group of school officials to ensure that we are following the rules and doing a good job with our students. The
Teas Association of Accredited Private Schools (TAAPS) is the group we belong to and they in turn are a part
of the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Thus Paragon must maintain all the standards set by the State of Texas
for all of its schools, as well as the special standards of TAAPS. Each year we are required to write an annual
report about our school and its progress. Every few years, we schedule an inspection of the school and create a
much more detailed (150 page) report about Paragon. Our inspection by the accreditation team came this past
January and we hosted four school administrators from Houston and El Paso for two days. As a result of that
visit Paragon was reaccredited and will not need to schedule another inspection until 2013! Below are some
highlights from the inspection report from the visiting team.
The students seem enthusiastic and engaged in learning.
The teaching staff are pleasant and enjoy teaching at Paragon.
Timely communication via an electronic program that facilitates daily progress reports in both behavior
and academics is a very powerful tool.
The key decision makers manifest strong understanding of good management and administration.
Teachers are well prepared academically.
The faculty stresses the importance of good moral as well as academic goals.
The electronic program currently used is a state of the art aid for communication between teachers, par-
ents and students.
Fifth grade students experience many hands-on activities to enhance their academics and promote real
world knowledge.
Mr. Cash exhibits a sense of excitement and enthusiasm about the curriculum he is providing his students.
Excellent behavior was witnessed in all classes.
The students were courteous and attentive in classes.
The team spirit found in the teachers is especially good.
Paragon implements coordinated research and writing instruction across the curriculum.
The challenging Latin course offering gives students an edge as they move on to high school.
The instruction is made relevant to the students by many of the animated and dedicated teachers.
Way to go Knights!
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My Trip To Reynosa
by Robert Mitchell, Class of 2010
During Spring Break, many people go to the mountains and others go to the
beach. My family decided this year to take a five day mission trip to Rey-
nosa, Mexico – our third trip to Reynosa. This trip requires a lot of careful
planning. This planning includes raising money for building houses, obtain-
ing sports equipment, preparing a vacation Bible school lesson, and develop-
ing women’s ministry materials. We also have to purchase and prepare food
for a barbeque dinner for several hundred people.
Once the money is raised, we can figure out how
many houses we can build. On this trip, we built two houses. Right now you
are probably thinking this is not a lot of houses, however, with 14 men and
boys, and at a cost of $3,000 per house, this is what we were able to accom-
plish in a four day span.
We left on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. on our six-hour drive to Rey-
nosa, Mexico. Three hours later we stopped at the Staghorn Inn in Three
Rivers for dinner where we met the other members of our group. After din-
ner, we caravanned across the border heading to the Big Heart Orphanage, our place to stay for the
week. Isac (Isaac, in English), four years old, and the son of one of our staff members, was our con-
stant companion at the orphanage when we were not working.
We worked at a colonia along the United States/Mexico border. It consisted of houses made of card-
board, tarps, posters, pallets and wooden crates. These were nailed together as best they could. They
do not have electricity and must obtain their water from a well our mission team dug on an earlier visit.
Many people bathe in the nearby polluted ca-
nal. There is a lot of trash everywhere as they
must either burn their trash or pay the don-
key-pulled cart to pick up the trash. These Knight of the Round Table
people are very poor and cannot afford to pay Congratulations to these students for achieving the status of
for the trash to be hauled off. Knight of the Round Table (K.O.R.T.) for Trimester 1I. To
At one of the building sites, there was a small become a member of this elite group, these students each
river that flowed by. Here we were able to fish achieved a second trimester grade point average of 95 or bet-
and have races with small boats we made with ter across all of their classes -a most daunting task here at
small blocks of wood, paper found on the Paragon! Each of these students has been awarded a special,
ground and sticks. The fishing and races were dress-code-bending K.O.R.T. t-shirt that can be worn any day
fun times when we were not needed at the of the week here at Paragon without penalty!
construction site.
There are many dogs with mange and other 5th Grade:
diseases in the colonia. The people in the David Farr, Sara Kane, Gillian Mellor, Brandon Novy, Lulu
colonia cannot afford medical care for them- Schulz, Ganesh Vasu, Vignesh Vasu, Nicholas Yeager
selves and certainly not for their animals. I
met of local kids in Reynosa. Some of their 6th Grade
names were Juanaton, Fernando and Carlos. Alison Chang, Aliyah Conley, William Deadrick, Claire Dol-
We played tag and rock throwing contests. len, Cameron Duck, Haley Forrest, Jak Holbrook, Alex
They were content with the little that they had. Lewis, Jake Lewis, Grant McHorse, Jackie Mosier,
They were happy that we were there. It re- Aaron Penick, Jonathan Tobin
minded me to
be grateful for 7th Grade
what I have. I Abby Bowling, Elliott Gordon, Max Zern
encourage you
8th Grade
to on a mission
Phillip Farr, Brendan Heitz, Holly Jones, Grant Jones,
trip. Trust
Caleb Kress, Kush Patel
me – it is fun!
The Knightly News Page 7
by Raven L. Hill
AUSTIN AMERICAN- Kindergartners in Susy Smith's
class at Wooldridge Elementary
STATESMAN STAFF
School elected Sen. Barack
Obama, D-Ill., over Sen. Hillary
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Clinton, D-N.Y., in their mock
In a performance that would
primary. Pillow Elementary
have made presidential candi-
School fifth-graders have spent
date Sen. John McCain proud,
the past few weeks researching
Paragon Prep eighth-grader
the candidates. Paragon Headmaster Dave McGrath
Caleb Kress rattled off the Ari-
zona Republican's positions said the halls have been brimming with
Akins High School seniors will election talk in recent weeks.
with ease during a mock debate be poll workers Tuesday. After
Friday. "The kids are remarkably knowledge-
holding a primary that was open able about it," McGrath said. "It's been
Things were running smoothly only to juniors and seniors, Aus- fun to tap into that. To get them all
until Caleb, 13, made a most tin High School is gearing up for fired up about an election they can't
unfortunate slip of the tongue a schoolwide election in Novem- vote in. When they are 18, I have no
when he began discussing the ber. doubt they're going to be active politi-
Kurds in the Middle East. And cally."
Fulmore Middle School students
the class giggled.
have been tracking primary re-
Eighth-grader Ted Warhoe, 13, had no
Although too young to vote in sults state by state. Dobie Middle
problem stepping into Clinton's shoes,
most cases, Central Texas School eighth-graders had to
figuratively speaking, when he pre-
students are involved in Tues- write a one-page report on why
sented her stances during Paragon's de-
day's primaries through mock they supported their candidate to
bate Friday.
elections and debates such as "register" to vote in the campus's
the one at Paragon Prep, a private mock election.
"She's a very smart woman, and I think
middle school in North Austin. she would be great to represent this
In Hays County, the San Marcos
High School Junior State of country," Ted said.
America club will host a primary
party where students will discuss School officials said Paragon students
universal health care and their in- have correctly predicted the winners in
terest and participation in poli- the past two general elections. In 2000,
tics. They'll also debate which one student's vote put George W. Bush
San Marcos teacher should be in the White House.
president.
Page 8 V o l u m e 1 1, I s s u e 6 | A p r il 2 0 0 8
Cloudy Day
by DeePak Swami
Paragon’s 6th graders took a quick field
trip recently to observe and record the
many sorts of clouds and to document the
weather conditions. Over the past three
weeks they have been discussing the role
of pressure, winds, and cloud formation. The visit to
Brentwood Park was to study the different cloud types and
to also study the relationship between pressure and tem-
perature. It turned out to be a really good day to study
cloud classification and formation of clouds. The mois-
ture-laden westerlies that were mov-
ing over Austin resulted in the forma-
tion of various cloud types. We ob-
served heavy cumulonimbus, cumu-
lostratus, and cumulus and as the sky
cleared a bit we also observed cirrus.
GETTING FIT
Paragon Prep has declared
April “Fitness Month” and
students and teachers have
been working hard to get and
stay in shape. In the hopes of
starting a new tradition,
Paragon teachers were joined
by parents and students at the
2008 Schlotzsky’s Bun Run
5K. Of the faculty members,
Miss Ziem finished first with
a time of 28 minutes and Mr.
McGrath brought up the rear
with his “speed walking”
time of 48 minutes. Make
plans to join us next year!
The Knightly News Page 9
2008 LATIN STATE COMPETITION
Pictured here are
several students and
the art projects they
Seventeen Paragon Knights entered into the vari-
traveled to Houston this month ous art competitions.
to attend the Annual Texas State
Latin Competition. Paragon
students entered a variety of
competitions including: Open
Certamen, Pentathalon, Cos-
tumes, Basketball, swimming,
sight reading, and art.
David Engleman got 4th for
Greek Life and Lit, Christine
Schulz, Bonnie Devany, and
Philip Farr got 5th for costume,
and Bonnie got 2nd for her
scrapbook.
Visit http://www.paragonprep.
com/latin.htm to see full compe-
tition results and to read more
about the competition.
NOVELS WE ARE READING
5th Grade 8th Grade
Roll of Thunder, 6th Grade 7th Grade The Autobiography of
Hear My Cry The Outsiders Cyrano De Bergerac Miss Jane Pittman
Page 10 V o l u m e 1 1, I s s u e 6 | A p r il 2 0 0 8
Knights in the News The Graduating Class of 2008
(Paragon Prep Class of 2004)
Amy Erickson (Class of 2004) Congratulations and Happy Graduation to this
Honored at Anderson High School year’s high school seniors across town. Spe-
cial commendations to the AISD students
Amy was recently honored at the annual LC Anderson listed below on their special accomplishments.
High School Who's Who Banquet where outstanding
Anderson seniors (nominated and elected by the faculty/ National Merit Finalists:
administration) are recognized for their contributions to James Cameron, Austin High School
Anderson. Each of the 14 honorees was asked to invite Eric Chen, Liberal Arts & Science Academy
a teacher (elem, middle or high school) who had signifi- Amy Erickson, Anderson High School
cantly impacted their life. That was an easy choice for
Amy---- hands down it was Mr. Cash. Amy's remarks
Reed Erickson, Anderson High School
about Bob capture his essence as a teacher/mentor/ Erin Park-Markert, Garza High School
coach.
- Nancy Erickson National Merit Semifinalists:
Peter Wills, Anderson High School
Amy’s Speech:
Abraham Lincoln once advised “Do not worry when you National Merit Commended Scholars:
are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recogni- Paul Bussard, Liberal Arts & Science Academy
tion.” Bob Cash is without a doubt a person worthy of
recognition. I had the privilege of having Mr. Cash as my
Max Davis, Anderson High School
5th grade teacher as well as my middle school basketball Angela Fletcher, Anderson High School
coach. Though I am no longer one of his students nor Samuel Woelke, Anderson High School
one of his basketball players he remains an important Jessica Warhoe, Liberal Arts & Science Academy
mentor to me and a good friend. Mr. Cash is one of the
most encouraging, thoughtful, humble and self sacrific-
ing people I know. It is impossible to speak with him and
not hear something uplifting and affirming and he is
never lacking in genuine concern and thoughtful ques- Allie Levitan (2006) and Haydn Forrest (2006) helped
tions. He is also an excellent teacher. Not only did Mr. Anderson High's Speech & Debate team take the
Cash patiently guide me through the confusing laby- lead in this year's Akins Tournament. Haydn finished
rinths of long division and linear graphs, motivate me to 2nd in Student Congress and 5th in Foreign Extemp.
learn (and correctly spell) the capitals of all 50 states, Allie finished 7th in Prose.
and instruct me in the finer details of running a zone de-
fense and a press break, but he showed me the satisfac-
Farr brothers, David (2011) and Philip
tion brought by hard work and generosity as well as the
importance of character and the meaning of integrity. (2008) both qualified to swim at the SAGS
meet this year. David finaled in 5 events and
Mr. Cash – I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you and finished in the top 8 in the state.
for you. Thank you for being such a blessing in my life.
Remarks made by Amy Erickson
Rebecca Coffman (2007) and Caitlin Little
LC Anderson High School 2008 Who’s Who Banquet (2006) both made the Varsity cheer team at
April 13, 2008 Anderson High School.
ParAlumni – do let us know what is happening with you these days. Send your news to Mr. M. at
dave@paragonprep.com so we can share it with your Paragon Family.
The Knightly News Page 11
OFFICIAL PARAGON PREP 2008-2009 CALENDAR
August 2008
1 Administration reports
13-15 Teacher Work Days
18-22 Paragon Boot Camps for 5 days
24 Sunday - Back to School Swim Party 8-10 Westover Hills Club Pool
25 Monday - Teacher Work Day
26 Tuesday First Day of Regular classes
September 2008
1 Labor Day Holiday
2 Vision and Hearing Screening Day
8 Student Picture Day
8 Monday 6:30- 8:30 pm 5th and 6th Grades Parent Night
15 Monday 6:30- 8:30 pm 7th and 8th Grades Parent Night
19 Friday- 11:30 Dismissal for Student, Faculty Training Afternoon
October 2008
13 Teacher In-service / Student Holiday
17 Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences
29-31 6th Grade Trip to Camp Balcones
November 2008
21 Noon Dismissal / FALL TRIMESTER ends
24-28 FALL BREAK (No Homework)
December 2008
1 Classes Resume / Winter Trimester Begins
19 Noon Dismissal for WINTER BREAK
22-Jan 5 WINTER BREAK (No Homework)
January 2009
6 Classes Resume
8 Elvis Day
19 Holiday - MLK Day
30 11:30 Dismissal for Student, Faculty Training Afternoon
February 2009
13 Student Holiday / Teacher In-service
16 Parent & Student Conferences
March 2009
13 Noon Dismissal / WINTER TRIMESTER end
16-20 SPRING BREAK (No Homework)
23 Classes Resume / SPRING TRIMESTER begins
April 2009
9 Thursday- 11:30 Dismissal for Student, Faculty Training Afternoon
10 Holiday
May 2009
1 Friday- 11:30 Dismissal for Student, Faculty Training Afternoon
25 Memorial Day Holiday
29 Noon Dismissal / Last Day of School
Paragon Prep
2001 W Koenig Lane
Austin, TX 78756
Parent Cybertalk
IMPORTANT DATES Monday, May 19th
Paragon Campus
In May and April 7:00 - 8:30pm
ERB Week End of School Year Dance
Monday, April 21st - Friday, April 25th Friday, May 16th
Northwest Rec Center
3rd Annual Bob Cash Day! 7:30 - 10:30 pm
Friday, April 25th
Brentwood Park
5:00 - 8:00 pm 8th Grade Graduation!
Friday, May 23rd
8th Grade Trip to California Covenant Presbyterian Church
Monday, May 5th - Friday May 9th 6:30 pm
Paragon Awards Ceremony New Student Party
Monday, May 12 Tuesday, May 27th
Covenant Presbyterian Church St. David's Episcopal Church
6:30 - 8:30 pm 6:00 - 8:00 pm
The Spring Fling! Last Day of School and
Friday, May 16th Yearbook Signing Party!
Friday, May 30th
Noon dismissal (7:00 to 12:00)