Danielle and Nicolette did an excellent job on their speeches! Keep moving and improving students! The world is watching you now! Tune in for our next Toastmaster meeting!
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"SLP is a school that provides a warm and encouraging environment to students who love learning while also giving the students real world skills to help them achieve their goals. SLP starts the day off with an affirmation to get the students ready to accomplish their daily work. SLP empowers students with skills such as planning, test taking, goal setting, speeches and many more. SLP cares about each student like they are their own and this sets the students up for success. SLP also teaches students and their parents how to leverage for the college of their choice and strategically attract funding. I truly like the whole package at SLP as they provide the students with skills that I find important to their success and that I have been looking for." -SLP Parent
Check a look at how wonderful the students did on their first meeting of Toastmasters!
"We are so fortunate to have found such a gem of a school for our daughter." -Carleen Pham "We enrolled our daughter in Sugar Land Prep to better her high school education and experience as we felt her public school was lacking in that respect. We liked the online self-paced curriculum that allows each individual student to complete and master objectives in each subject. The atmosphere for learning at SLP is ideal because it is quiet, professional and all the students are goal-oriented and focused. We wanted our daughter to be surrounded by ambitious and motivated children and to be taught by caring teachers who had a genuine interest in our child's success. Mrs. Applebaum has a wonderful learning institution and we knew instantly upon meeting her, that SLP was a perfect fit for our high school junior. Mrs. A's dedication to her students are so evident. Even entering the Academy at a later age, the students here welcomed our daughter and she feels part of a family. Since starting at this prep academy just this year, we have noticed that our daughter looks forward to attending school and prefers the self-paced curriculum. She is motivated to complete more than just the required assignments and speaks highly of all her teachers. She is no longer stressed as soon as she gets home, trying to juggle after school activities and mounds of homework as she did before. She says she feels this school is preparing her for the "college life" that is soon approaching. Since starting here, she has excelled at Math. She likes that she can self-teach any subject but her teachers are still readily available as resources and guides. She is accountable for her work and she takes responsibility for daily task completion. We are so fortunate to have found such a gem of a school for our daughter. The teachers here are extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and kind. Thank you Sugar Land Prep Academy! Thank you and have a blessed day! Warm regards, Carleen Pham" The SLP 2013-14 school year is coming to a close. At this time of the year we like to take time to both recognize and celebrate the achievements of our hard working students. Last Thursday, many of our students began the festivities by attending the HCYA Home School Gala (see super cute pictures below). The (legendary) Boys Lock-in will be held on May 23rd at SLP while the (epic) Girls Lock-in will also be on May 23rd at Mrs. Mirza’s home. The SLP faculty has been finalizing details for our End of the Year SLP Field Trip. Stay tuned for details. Our student clubs have been busy as well as they are working on the Yearbook, End of the Year Video, Toastmaster speeches, and End of the Year Awards Ceremony presentations. Earlier this year SLP was very excited to announce our Entrepreneurial Forum. In addition to recruiting some fantastic speakers, our students have worked hard to investigate the process of creating a business. So what have we learned so far? Well…. The Soap business didn’t pan out, but was an awesome learning opportunity! Although our students created some wonderfully scented soap (bubble gum), they discovered that selling soap comes with a liability...AND with liability comes the necessity of one expensive insurance policy. Though disheartened at first, the students gained a valuable life experience of trial and error. As many of our speakers told us, success usually comes after failure and so we are on to the next opportunity. As of now we are discussing a T-Shirt business! Let us know if you have any valuable experience in the retail business that you may want to contribute to our cause. We have some great t-shirt ideas and are working on a business model that we will present in an upcoming blog post. Ruth, Kinley, Matisen and Danielle researched copyright laws and created a T-shirt for Mr. Appelbaum to sell to preschool teachers at his seminars. The t-shirt reads “Preschool Teacher… What’s Your Super Power?” We are in the process of filing a copyright to the phrase and shirt. Big congratulations to Danielle and Matisen for earning Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do. These girls can really kick butt! Danielle, Matisen, Hannah and Karis have enrolled in a volleyball clinic to prepare for the 2014-15 HCYA Volleyball season. One of our best artists, Ruth, has created an amazing work of pencil art at the Artist Alliance. We are hoping she will unveil it to all soon. *cough*endoftheyearceremony*cough*, ahem. Excuse me. Lauren auditioned for the Disney on Ice Company with aspirations to someday be hired to travel and skate. Wouldn’t she make a great Olaf on ice? Keep working hard Lauren! Ryan was outstanding as Mr. Collins in the play, Pride and Prejudice, for the Fort Bend Theatre. What’s next superstar? We can’t wait to see you in action again. Alec has also progressed with his acting career by auditioning for some very impressive parts including roles for Disney and Nickelodeon! Alec has introduced a strategic card game called Vanguard that has become popular with the boys during break time. SLP would like to thank Mrs. Petty and Lauren for bringing an excellent guest speaker to SLP’s Entrepreneur’s Forum. Patty Larkin is the owner of Houston Skate and Dance. Mrs. Larkin was an ice skater in her youth. In college she was educated in Medical Prosthetics and Orthotics. It was interesting to hear her story about how she found her way back to skating after college by utilizing her knowledge of Prosthetics and Orthotics when assisting skaters in purchasing the proper skate boots for their specific needs. Mrs. Larkin shared that it is important to find your passion and make it your life long journey. One of the best lines that stood out to us was, “Work like you own the business”. She shared that when she was young she worked at skate shops in the winter months and in swim shops in the summer months. There were in-between months that she needed to work while she waited for the next season to begin. She realized at an early age that stores started laying off employees when the season was coming to a close. Mrs. Larkin would begin to do extra work. She would clean shelves, file, organize, sweep or whatever she could. She would look at the shop as if she owned it and decide what needed to be done. She would do it without being asked and the owners took notice to the point where employees who worked there longer than her would get laid off. Mrs. Larkin was asked to stay because she did the unexpected. She figured out the difference between good and great by making the extra effort. It's always wonderful hearing about success that "grown ups" have experienced and learning from the paths they have taken is invaluable. However, the sense of inspiration reaches a whole other level when it comes from a peer. SLP would like to thank the Stoke’s family for inviting Kinley’s 14 year old cousin, Trace, to be a guest speaker for the SLP Entrepreneurial Forum. Trace Howard is a successful entrepreneur, and he delivered a great presentation to show us that you don’t have to be "old" to be successful. Trace is a self-proclaimed snow cone fanatic and decided he wanted to open his own snow cone stand in Fort Worth, Tx. He began researching to find the answers to these questions:
Trace was serious, and his parents decided to help him. He used his research to raise funds from investors (mostly his family and grandparents). Trace and his father purchased a flatbed trailer. They built the snow cone stand according to the specs that would pass health code inspections. They designed the stand for both walking and drive through customers. We were surprised to learn that it took Trace and his family 362 days to start the business. He shared with SLP that the electrician and inspections for the permanent electrical pole slowed the process down the most. Trace has learned a lot in his past two years of being an entrepreneur:
If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and craving a refreshing treat, check out Snow Exciting! Also be sure to visit their Facebook page and “LIKE” Snow Exciting !!!! Our first speaker for the Entrepreneurial Forum was Mrs. Tonia Whitaker. Mrs. Whitaker is the mother of SLP students, Ryan and Evan. Her and her husband are very successful business-minded people and have a lot of experience with starting up a successful business and coming up with innovative ideas and making them tangible. She was gracious enough to take time out of her schedule to speak with our students about the process of brainstorming business ideas, establishing a business plan and converting the plan into reality. She went through her own experiences and also experiences of others. Mrs. Whitaker was able to give SLP a real idea of what obstacles could come up and how to handle them and consider alternatives. After Mrs. Whitaker's visit, Mrs. Carol Appelbaum and a few of our students began to brainstorm ideas and have actually come up with a promising business venture. Four of our students have been working hard to create their own business. Danielle Turk, Matisen Turk, Kinley Stokes, and Ruth Abramczyk are planning to sell soaps online and at Mr. Appelbaum’s teaching seminars. They have spent many hours after school researching, buying, and experimenting with different kinds of soaps and scents for their business. Their target market is young children, such as elementary school students. They will make washing hands fun for children by making nursery rhyme themed soaps. Different nursery rhymes will be printed on each bottle and the children can sing along to the song while they wash their hands. The CDC recommends that people wash their hands for at least 20 seconds; the singing of songs while washing helps keep track of time. The girls have come up with many creative ideas for the soaps, and are eager to continue working and learning about running a business. Mrs. Whitaker's talk was an inspiration to them. We are sincerely thankful that she shared her time and experiences with the SLP family. Thanks to her advice, SLP is learning how to become successful entrepreneurs! Last week was Spirit Week at SLP. Each day had it's own hashtag. Wednesday was #WishyouwerethatWednesday and all the students dressed up as the career they wish to pursue in the future. We had doctors, football players, a business man, a veterinarian, and an artist...just to name a few! SLP was lucky enough to have guest speaker Charles Ward come and chat with us! Charles Ward, along with being Caleb's dad, is an outstanding all-around athlete! He won the Heisman Trophy in 1993 for Florida State University. After graduation, he had a successful career playing professional basketball. He went to play for New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and later our very own Houston Rockets! He is currently coaching football at Westbury Christian School. Not only is Charles Ward's athletic abilities awe-inspiring, but he is also an incredible role-model. He believes in helping his community and being a good influence on his peers as well as those who look up to him. "It’s a blessing to have an opportunity to impact young kids like this and I am cherishing the opportunity, " he says of helping young minds. He is a man of faith and has extensive knowledge in success principles. He discussed the Pyramid of Success in which he details the principles that lead one on the path to a promising future. The Pyramid of Success is as follows:
These are keys to success. Mr. Ward helped us understand how these things will help represent our brand! What is your brand, you ask? Your brand is YOU, your name, your family, and everyone who has helped you achieve all that you have achieved....and of course, God. One must always represent their brand in a bright light! Sugar Land Prep started the 2013/2014 school year off running! SLP students excelled academically, socially, and athletically! Academically, all students went above their coursework goals and achieved work beyond grade level. We have 8th graders doing Sophomore level work and Sophomores in Junior level coursework. Even more exciting news; we now have students who will begin dual credit College Coursework starting January 2014! SLP showed true holiday spirit! Our students understand and believe that they should care for themselves, but should also help and care for others and the community. We held a food drive for the Houston Food Bank. We held a very successfully blanket drive led by Kinley Stokes for Texas Children’s Hospital. Our students purchased and also made wonderful fleece blankets to gift to children who were hospitalized over the winter holidays. Kinley was awarded the "Humanitarian of the Year" award for her continuing efforts towards helping her community and helping get her peers involved as well! Another project to send out some much needed Christmas cheer was “Operation Christmas.” This gift drive was led by Caleb Ward’s mother. Students donated a box (for a girl or boy) filled with fun goodies/toys. These boxes were sent to children in impoverished villages, including those affected by the horrific typhoon that hit the Philippines. All were definitely great ways for the students to take active roles in helping communities in great need! The semester concluded with a momentous ceremony to celebrate Ciara Appelbaum’s graduation. Ciara, 17, graduated with Honors and did so 1.5 years early. She participated in a rigorous volleyball and workout schedule. She was the honored recipient of the Army Reserve Scholar Athlete Award, the Dean's Award for Scholastic Excellence, the Most Advanced Student Award, and the USMC Scholastic Achievement Award. Ciara’s efforts paid off ten-fold as she accepted a full athletic scholarship offer from Wake Forest University. Ciara will play volleyball for Wake forest. Ciara begins her college education in January 2014. 2013 at SLP ended in an amazing fashion! We can’t wait to see what the 2014 Spring semester has in store for us! SLP has started its year off with a bang! We have had new teachers, new friends and new courses. We have been busy doing many activities such as meeting motivational speakers, doing science experiments, taking PSATs, making art projects and going on our first field trip! Miss Cindy, a motivational speaker, visited SLP on September 21st and 28th. She taught us how to visualize ourselves as we achieve the goals we set by having a positive and successful mindset. We had a lot of fun and learned a great deal by making our wishes soar through the air, having future conversations with friends, popping complimentary balloons and watching inspirational movie clips. We are happy to introduce our new teacher, “Dr. H.” He has unleashed the world of science through fascinating experiments. We first learned about bacteria and how it affects our lives. To see this in reality, we swabbed various things around the school, such as computers, Wii remotes, and people’s mouths. Then we wiped them on Petri dishes, stored them in a dark place. A week later, we checked the bacteria’s progression. The Wii remotes had grown the greatest variety of bacteria. Our second experiment dealt with chemistry and how substances change when they are combined. This was demonstrated by mixing Borax and Polyvinyl Alcohol to make slime. For our most recent experiment, we discovered how a solid turns to gas, also called sublimation, by using dry ice. The fun doesn’t end there! On Tuesday, November 6th, SLP went on their first field trip. Mrs. Stokes, Mrs. Ward, and Mrs. Harris joined SLP as we spent the day at the Renaissance Festival. Everyone had a blast! We spent the day getting our faces painted, going on mechanical rides powered by pulleys and ropes, meeting medieval characters, and learning how life was lived during the Renaissance Era. Along with these activities, we watched many exiting shows such as The Birds of Prey, Cast in Bronze (musical bells), and jousting matches. As we head into the holiday season, SLP has many fun activities planned. We will be working on a variety of arts and crafts, sharing family traditions, and cooking/baking some of our holiday favorites! |
Our PromiseSugar Land Prep is dedicated to providing our students with learning foundation skills required for success in college and in life. Our students leave with an impressive advantage in learning. We are a school like no other; here, success is the norm. Categories
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