Word on the Hill

Wilson Hill Academy Blog

Chickens in Church

9 Jun 2016

The following is an open letter from Scott Baker, WHA Rhetoric Instructor, to his students in the Rhetoric 2/Senior Thesis class this year. Dear Seniors: Congratulations on a great year completing the Senior Thesis process!  Now that you have survived the Defense and have completed your Final Draft, it’s time to celebrate.  Everyone in the WHA community is suitably proud of your achievement, especially since writing and defending a thesis is such a rare accomplishment

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Your State – A Student & Parent Review

From a Parent: Kim Willems My son Jackson and I enjoyed the "Your State" class so much! We spent time visiting as many places as we could. The class was organized in such a way that we were able to explore every aspect of Montana history. My own love for the state and interest in its history was reignited as we studied and traveled around Montana. We turned every weekend basketball trip into an opportunity

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Is History Boring?

"You teach history? How do you make that interesting?" Every history or social science teacher hears that question at least once, and likely many times. But even a quick look at a typical "social studies" textbook, leaving aside the endless monotony of charts, diagrams, textboxes and the like, is enough to make one wonder the very apt question: How do you make that interesting? Perhaps the most direct answer to the question is that "making

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Latin for Life

Gwynne’s Latin is a fairly new Latin textbook, written by British grammarian N. M. Gwynne. A little book with a cheerful yellow cover, it is small enough to fit inside my purse, which is a good thing since it is a real page-turner and I don’t like to leave home without it. I hope you do not think I am strange for reading a Latin textbook for fun – I am, after all, a Latin

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Alumna Spotlight

Abby Holland was the first valedictorian of Wilson Hill Academy and is currently pursuing a Classics major and Spanish minor at the University of Alabama. Here I was at a state university of 37,000 people in a junior level Latin class as a freshman. Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed and definitely unsure of my ability to thrive in a Latin class composed primarily of juniors and seniors. But, after a couple classes, I

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A Whole Class on the War for Independence?

Why would we spend an entire year on the War for Independence (or what many call the "American Revolution")? Wouldn't that simply be overkill? Good question. I suspect the line of thought implied in this question results from habit — a certain kind of academic habit in which we are used to thinking that the goal of a history (or, more commonly today, "social science") class is coverage. A very quick look at any typical

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LINK 2016

All current students and their families are invited to join us in New Braunfels, Texas for Link 2016 featuring the second Wilson Hill Academy graduation ceremony. There will also be plenty of typically Texan activities and time to “link up” with your virtual classmates. #Link2016 Tuesday, May 31, 2016 Please join us for an optional pre-event at Schlitterbahn Waterpark New Braunfels.  Nestled along the beautiful banks of the Comal River and featuring world-famous attractions, epic river adventures,

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Harvard & Homeschooling

Harvard, Homeschooling, and Educational Autonomy Not long ago, I came across an article announcing that "there's a new path to Harvard and it's not in the classroom." Chris Weller's article spotlights not only the growing trend of homeschooling as an educational alternative in America — he cites a statistic showing that the population of homeschooled students grew by 61.8% between 2003-2012 — but also that leading colleges and universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

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A Christmas Homily

The following is one of the earliest and one of the most famous Christmas sermons in Christian history. John Chrysostom - or John the "Golden Mouthed" - lived during the latter half of the fourth century A.D. and has been regarded by Christians ever since as one of the greatest preachers that Christ has given to his Church. In Chrysostom's sermon, we find nothing of the commercialism and bland "thankfulness for the holiday season" that

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Entering Into Advent

As I write this we are approaching the second Sunday of Advent according to the church calendar. I have not always thought of the yearly cycle in these terms. I grew up in a secular household that relegated religion to holidays characterized mostly by Santa and the Easter Bunny. Even after responding consciously to God's call on my life as an adult, I continued for some time to order my life around the secular calendar.

By Bob Donaldson | | In Word on the Hill | Read more