This is one of my favorite times of the year. In October, Life School staff and students had the opportunity to volunteer across our communi-ties in the South Dallas and Ellis County areas. Giving our time and resources in our neighbor-hoods positively impacts our community.

On October 31st, Life School hosted its first Harvest 5K and Fun Run with over 300 partici-pants. What an enjoyable way to get to know one another better, meet constituents, and support the Life School Education Foundation!

In early November Life School Red Oak was one of a select few campuses chosen to participate in the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program. Our students were given an exceptional opportunity to participate in innovative hands-on technology.

There are so many exciting things happening across our Life School system. We are able to accomplish great things because of the students, staff, and families we have. I am grateful for the way you exhibit Life School’s core values each day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Life School Superintendent

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

Life SchoolL I F E L I N K

L E A D E R S H I P • C H A R A C T E R • S C H O L A R S H I P

A Message from the Superintendent

L I F E L I N K

Life School LANCASTER staff volunteered their time and effort at the Lancaster Outreach Center in October. What a wonderful group willing to give up a Saturday morning to assist an organization in our community!

Life School Students and Staff Help the CommunityOn October 16th, twenty-five Central Office staff members participated in Life School Volunteer Month by volunteering with VNA’s Meals on Wheels program. VNA serves hot, nutritious meals to over 4,000 people in need each week. Most of the recipients are Dallas county’s homebound elderly, unable to access food banks or grocery stores.

Participants Susan Boggs and Kay Bateman were both personally impacted by the opportunity to serve. Mrs. Boggs said, “Kay and I received blessings from so many Meals on Wheels recipients; and, we had the opportunity to

thank a wounded veteran for his service. My heart was touched in a profound way!”

Mrs. Bateman was particularly struck by the fact that they were able to give back to the same community served by Life School. “It is such an amazing opportunity to serve those in our community. Susan and I had the opportunity to meet with many individuals who completely blessed us. We forget how fortunate we are and how important it is to be kind to others,” Mrs. Bateman said.

Jessica Pruneda, another Central Office volunteer, noted the direct impact of a program like Meals on Wheels. She noted, “It’s heartwarming to know that there is a solution to a need -- and, at the same time, you are visit-ing someone who may not have had a visitor that day or week.”

The volunteers were grateful to Brent Wilson and the rest of the executive team for encouraging this oppor-tunity. If your campus or department is interested in volunteering with Meals on Wheels, please contact Kim Peters at PetersK@vnatexas.org.

Red Oak Lancaster

Cedar Hill

RED OAK ELEMENTARY students participated in a canned food drive to help stock the shelves at North Ellis County Outreach (NECO). Each grade level brought various types of canned food and collected approximately 1,300 items. Many Life School Red Oak parents, staff, and students helped load up the canned food that will help families that are in need now and during the holiday season. The campus also partnered with The Avenue Church in Waxahachie by filling emergency preparedness bags for each classroom.

CEDAR HILL staff and students want to make a difference so for Volunteer Month they made Sun-shine Bags. Each grade level collected items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, granola bars, soap, deodorant, and water. After collecting the items, parents, students and staff gathered to assemble the bags. On Saturday, October 10th, Life School Cedar Hill families and staff members filled more than 250 Sunshine Bags to pass out to the homeless.

L I F E L I N K

Life School P.E.A.K. Now Implemented District-Wide

Life School was recently selected to take part in the Google Expedi-tions Pioneer Program. The event took place on November 3rd at the Red Oak Elementary campus. Google staff were on site, working with students and incorporating Google Expeditions into lesson plans. The focus was on science curriculum, however, Google Expeditions covered a variety of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs throughout the day’s lessons.

Google Expeditions is a virtual reality platform built for the classroom that provides an immense learning environment for students. It has not been released to the general public yet. It is being showcased at a few select locations across the world in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

Before the training, Superintendent Brent Wilson commented, “It is an honor to be selected by Google as one of the host sites for the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program. We strive to provide our students with an enriched learning environment and this program does just that. We look forward to seeing what our stu-dents learn during these sessions and how our teachers can incorporate these lessons into the classroom.”

Life School was selected for the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program by a team at Google after submitting a request about how Life School would use Google Expedition to support learning. Once the proposal was accepted, Life School created a detailed plan for what the day would look like for students and teachers.

To learn more about Google Expeditions, visit: https://www.google.com/edu/expeditions/

Red Oak Elementary Selected for Google Expeditions Pioneer Program

P.E.A.K., Life School’s Performance Measurement System, is officially implemented district-wide! P.E.A.K., now in its third year, was first introduced as a pilot at the Oak Cliff campus. Last year, it was rolled-out to each campus. This year P.E.A.K. was introduced to the remaining district-level staff, including all Central Office staff.

Life School was the recipient of a Department of Education grant called the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), which is provided as a way for schools to build performance measurement systems and performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals.

However, Life School believes that all staff contribute to the overall success of students. As a result, the Department of Education agreed to allow all staff to participate in the grant. Life School is the only TIF recipient that allows all staff to participate. Because of this, Life School has been recognized as a thought leader in the area of human capital management in general and specifically performance measurement.

Life School is committed to continuous improvement and believes honest and open collaboration is the only way systems like P.E.A.K. can be successful. Please continue to provide feeback through WDYT? or by contacting any member of the P.E.A.K. team directly.

L I F E L I N K

Life School Run for the Harvest 5K and Fun Run

Life School held its inaugural Run for the Harvest 5K and Fun Run at Life High School Waxahachie on October 31, 2015. Over 300 participants, volunteers, cheerleaders, mascots, family members, and friends braved the gray skies and came out to support the fun-filled family event. The day started with a hard-hitting warm up provided by Camp Gladiator. The excitement and energy was inspiring as the runners, walkers and strollers lined up at the starting line to hear the National Anthem played by our own Life High School Waxahachie band. As children began their Fun Run journey, their excitement was unmistak-able as they looked over at Candyland, with its games, snow cone truck, and bounce house. It was a pure joy to see so many happy faces cross the Fun Run finish line.

The intensity level rose as the 5K runners and walkers lined up on the start. There were some serious runners and walkers out there, including Robyn Alexander, who was the first person to complete Life SchoolFit Couch to 5K program! The race started at the Life High School Waxahachie campus and looped its way around the Life Middle School Waxahachie campus.

The overall male and female winners were: William Horton – 20:04 and Kristen Nichols – 22:09. Both were awarded a first place medal, a free month of Camp Gladiator, a RoadID gift card, and a Skechers winner package which included a free shoe voucher, a package of SKX Performance socks, an SKX Performance water bottle, and a koozie. Additional awards were given to the top male and female winner in various age groups. Sponsors for the event included Schulman, Lopez and Hoffer, LLC; Syn-ergy; Texzon; Lancaster Music; Citizens National Bank of Texas; Strategic Janitorial; Total Building Maintenance; Dallas County Schools; UNUM; Sodexo; The Oaks Fellowship; Walgreens; Wortham; Skechers; Panera

Bread; HEB; Central Market; RoadID; Camp Gladiator; and Dick’s Sporting Goods. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces and equally exciting to see the many new ones. It was a great opportuni-ty to involve the community in the great things Life School is doing. Many have already inquired about participating in next year’s race, which will take place on October 29, 2016. Be on the lookout for details! All proceeds from the event support the Life School Education Foundation.

L I F E L I N K

Lancaster Campus has Beary Fall Festival

Both the Life High School Waxahachie and Life Oak Cliff Second-ary ladies volleyball teams visited college campuses recently to view the campuses, ex-perience college level athletics, and pick up some pointers!

Oak Cliff Secondary’s Lady Lions visited UT Arlington and Life High School Waxahachie Lady Mustangs went to a TCU vs. Kansas volleyball game. Thanks to LSOC Head Coach Kendra Miles and LHSW Coaches Nancy Moore and Natalie Freeman for giving these students this great opportunity!

Life School Lancaster held its first Beary Fall Festival on Tuesday, October 27th and Thursday, October 29th. It was great to see students and staff dressed in their costumes having a wonderful time at each event. Life School Lancaster appreciates everyone who donated items and a special shout out to the Life School Oak Cliff athletes and Life School Waxahachie cheerleaders who assist-ed with the event.

Life High School Waxahachie seniors recently visited a Career Fair hosted by Navar-ro College. A large number of reputable companies provided real life opportunities that allowed students to gather information about what criteria they would need in order to be considered for future positions. Employers shared the kind of degrees that would be required, the top qualities they were seeking in candidates, and what would set them apart from other applicants.

Students were also offered demonstrations and face time with great people in some really cool positions. LHSW students are preparing for the future!

Life High School Waxahachie Seniors Attend Career Fair

Lady Lions and Lady Mustangs Visit College Games

Life School Cedar Hill inducted twelve new members into the National Elementary Hon-or Society. Students were nominated by their teachers based off of academic excellence, leadership, and character. After the induction ceremony, the new NEHS students attended a reception with their parents.

Cedar Hill National Elementary Honor Society