Nine students represented Vanguard at the Region XII Mock Trial Tournament at Baylor University School of Law on Jan. 26-28.

Alex Krzywonski, Conner Swanton, Jantzen Slaughter, Moshe Dolejsi, Dylan Losey, Ian Lovett, Isaiah Ellis, Abbey White, and Tamura Dunbar comprised the mock trial team for the 2008-2009 academic year. Vanguard government, economics and history teacher, Marcus Johnson, served as team coach. Johnson holds a JD from Baylor University School of Law.

The Vanguard team competed against teams from Waco, Midway, Reicher, West, and University High Schools. All teams worked on presenting a hypothetical case authored by the Dallas Bar Association.

The Vanguard team and its sponsor put in many hours after school perfecting their individual roles as lawyers, witnesses, and timekeepers. The lawyers who judged the competition named Moshe Dolejsi as the best student lawyer out of all the participants. We are proud of Moshe and all the previously mentioned students for their efforts and are looking forward to even better results next year.

Vanguard’s campus will be abuzz with visitors for three days … February, 17, 18 and 19th … as students interested in knowing more about classes and activities come for a visit. Spring Preview is open to students who are currently in grades 5-11. We will pair each visitor with a Vanguard student for a whole day to ensure a personalized Vanguard experience. Appointments are necessary and can be made by calling the Office of Admissions at 254.772.8111.

• The Class of 2008 received over $4.1 million in college scholarship offers!
• About 1/3 of Vanguard students receive financial assistance.
• Find out why we think Vanguard is the best school in Central Texas!

Biology classes have been learning about the wonders of biotechnology, DNA structure and function, and fascinating facts about human genetics. Under the guidance of science teacher, Aline Leslie, the whole class cooperated in making a model of  DNA, which is shown in the picture being held by several students.

Patty Flowers recently taught her science students a concept from the sidelines of a makeshift skateboard track. Flowers, who has a reputation for conducting fascinating experiments, guided her tenth grade Conceptual Physics students as they investigated the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration.

While a sophisticated theory, the experiment resembled child’s play more than a science lab as students engaged in organized chaos in the commons area of the Jaworski Center. Sam Ashley stepped onto a skateboard and allowed Caleb Treadwell to pull him across the floor with a constant force. Samantha Ward and Chloe St. Romain were the “spotters” while other members of the class did the timing, made observations, and recorded the data. Caleb quickly realized that he had to accelerate in order to pull Sam using a constant force. The experiment was repeated using a different force and then, again, using another student so the mass could be varied.

“Our goal is to make learning fun at Vanguard,” Flowers said. “The more you can engage students in hands-on experiments the better they comprehend the concept.”

Students, faculty and staff flooded the Jaworski Center on Vanguard’s campus to buy a $3.00 plate pilled high with syrup-laden pancakes. Student Council members served as chefs, and some even mastered the art of flipping the cakes high in the air for their audience.

The whole affair was a fund raiser to buy additional canned foods for Caritas. Proceeds from the pancake sale will be used by the Student Council to buy canned goods to supplement those brought in by Vanguard students. So far, the student council has raised $850 to spend on food for the needy. Pancake sales came to well over $200.

“The pancake sale was a fun way to raise money for a good cause,” said senior Bricker Bruner, Student Council president. At noon Friday, Nov. 21, Vanguard students will form a human chain to transport canned food from the collection area in a classroom to the Caritas trucks waiting outside.