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August 29, 2007

A Letter From Headmaster Ken Kush

Welcome To Horizon Prep

Dear Parents and Friends of Horizon Prep,

In Mark 12:30 Jesus provides what is Biblically described as The Greatest Commandment. Citing Deuteronomy 6:5 Jesus declares we are to: “…love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and all your strength.” In Deuteronomy 6:7 Moses commands the people to “repeat” this teaching “again and again to” their “children”. Clearly we are directed to instruct our children in the context of knowing this The Greatest Commandment.

Here at Horizon Prep we committed to providing our children with an educational environment that declares the reality of this decree. Our commitment is to strive to provide our students with an education that is intellectually stimulating, academically sound, socially maturing, physically strengthening, and spiritually invigorating. We do this in a context that declares we are all called to love the Lord our God with our whole being. Horizon is dedicated to ensuring that your children will receive a Christ-centered education second to none.

Academic excellence and intellectual growth are of utmost importance to your child’s teacher and the staff of the school. However, simply providing an academically sound education is akin to getting to first base in a game. Getting to first base is important but it’s not the game. We believe it is as your sons and daughters come to know and become knowledgeable about the world around them in the context of the knowing that the Lord our God, the Creator of all things, can be known and calls us to love and know Him will best position them to play and ultimately succeed at the game of life.

The staff and I feel blessed to be apart of the ministry of Horizon Christian Fellowship. Serving at Horizon Prep is an honor. Being apart of your children’s lives is a high calling. We are excited about the new school year and look forward to all we will do together.

To God be the Glory

Kenneth P. Kush Ed.D.
Headmaster

August 27, 2007

Welcome back everyone!

June 8, 2007

Graduation

Thank God for our Grads! Congratulations Class of 2007!

"If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well." -III John 6b

June 7, 2007

Our New Headmaster

Please be praying for our new Headmaster, Dr. Ken Kush, as he waits for the approval of his visa and moves from Canada to North County San Diego this summer with his family.  As fall approaches, be checking your mail and email for news of events to welcome the Kush family, and the many families of our new students and staff to Horizon Prep.  To God be the glory, great things He has done.

June 7, 2007

Horizon Prep Welcomes the Middle School Team!

Horizon Prep, join us in welcoming the 2007-2008 middle school team.  After many interviews, capable candidates and much prayer, God has blessed us with a great team for next year.  We couldn't be more excited!

First, we are happy to announce that Heather Henning will be expanding her focus from the elementary program to be the administrator over Prep's full academic program.  Ms. Henning is so very excited about the opportunity to continue to grow the middle school program.

Veteran Horizon Prep staff member, Catherine Jones, will be joining the middle school team to teach the 6th grade!  With her credential and Master's of Education in hand, extensive ministry experience, a wonderful week with the 6th graders at camp under her belt, and a proven track record of being an effective teacher, Ms. Jones was our first and perfect choice.  While 6th grade remains an integral part of the middle school, much, but not all of the coursework will be self-contained in the capable hands of Ms. Jones.

New to Horizon Prep, Jay Vontz will be joining our team after an adventuresome time of teaching middle and high school in the Nebraska public school system.  Welcoming the opportunity to move back to California and join his aunt, Cindy Sutherland, as part of the Prep staff, Mr. Vontz will be teaching Omnibus/English and Science to the 7th and 8th grades.    During the interview and observation process, we saw that Mr. Vontz was an amazingly resourceful and creative teacher with a strong work ethic.  With his creative ways of integrating technology into his work, a huge heart for the Lord, athletics and the middle school students, and a great sense of humor, we are confident that your students will love him and he will be a valued addition to the team.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the tried and true men of the middle school returning for another year.  This coming year, Mr. Sykes will be teaching Advanced Math and Bible again while adding Logic to his exciting list of responsibilities.  In addition, we are very blessed to have Mr. Davis teaching History and Math for yet another year.  Both Mr. Sykes and Mr. Davis will be pursuing their Master's of Education degrees this year as well.  We are proud to have team members that are so committed to pursuing higher education for themselves as they foster a love for learning in our students.

We look forward to sharing more with you as the summer progresses concerning scheduling or any exciting news that may come our way.

God Bless,

Bob Botsford, Josh Grant, Heather Henning, Mardel Backes and Allison Tedesco

June 7, 2007

In The Spirit of  Love...

As we began the events of this last semester there were some noticeable areas in need of shoring up. A school, like a beach, can constantly be re-defined by its surrounding environment. Any school priding itself on a certain level of academic rigor can begin to undetectably drift towards atrophy unless a sustaining direction, vision and markers are seen to be clearly visible. With certain unexpected changes imposed on us, it was imperative to provide some clear definitions to the vision God had entrusted, and directives on how to get there.

We began by re-defining the SOAR program, adjusting classroom instruction time, and curriculum components were increased in our Latin, Grammar, Math, and Science departments. Also, a more articulated educational philosophy was applied to the overall direction of the school. These necessary changes helped navigate us back towards the charted course and resulted in providing some tangible rewards as we received our candidacy for accreditation from ACSI.

Next, it was time to hoist the sails of communication. Our response was threefold; Provide a weekly communication piece each Monday (The Weekly Roar), second, a monthly newsletter (The Lion’s Den) providing a larger scope of details and direction, and thirdly was the addition of regular Q&A sessions and a PTF speaker series hosted by my wife, Bonnie. All of these provided a needed increase in communication, interaction and feedback, making the relationships trusted and strong.

We then discovered there was no determined Biblical framework and course study for the upper grades to build upon in subsequent years. It was a delight to fashion with our teachers a Bible prospectus and strategy that was implemented this semester along with a component of practical apologetics to the middle school. This has provided our graduates a solid review of their faith and an equipping that affords them the ability to stand for the Lord in light of the antagonism that awaits.

Lastly, was the recent addition of our morning news show, HP/A.M. This has sparked great interest in journalism, political science, editing and technology amongst many of our students. The tools being taught will aid them well as they venture forth into the Information Age of the 21st century. 

Everyone on staff has rallied with great effort to make these changes possible. It has been one of the most difficult, yet most rewarding experiences, to roll up our sleeves together and polish this diamond as we seek to become all that God has fashioned us to be. The Academics at Horizon Prep Private School reflect our mission to inspire a lifelong love of learning in every student.

With our class size, qualification requirements and academic excellence, we are offering something without equal. As new families are attracted to what HP alone can offer, one of the first things noticed is our Christ-like Spirit of Love.  It cannot go without saying; this campus is a refuge from a mean and cruel world. Our teachers are extremely exceptional, and their love for God and this school is truly remarkable. We are blessed with an atmosphere that is both interactive and inclusive. We possess a true spark for learning, but at its core, Horizon Prep is ignited with a special kind of love that is only found when God is at the center.

What will our students achieve with a Horizon Prep Christian education? Our 8th graders are graduating with top test scores and have received acceptance to the institutions of their choice including: Bishops, LJCD, SFC, Cathedral and Torrey Pines. As our alumnus continues to grow, I have no doubt they will make extraordinary contributions to a wide range of career fields. More importantly, they will become world changers of tomorrow as they devote themselves to following Christ.  Yes, we have come a long way … but we’ve only just begun and the best is yet to be!

May 7, 2007

A Horizon Prep Athletic Department Overview

The objectives of the Athletic Department are:

• To Glorify God though the responsible use of His athletic gifts to the students.
• To cultivate good sportsmanship by learning to act and react in a Christ-like manner.
• To show respect for the rules of the game, the officials, and to our opponents.
• To reflect the excellence of Christ by developing an excellent athletic program.
• To develop athletes who have the heart of a champion.

Students must maintain a 2.5 GPA and a citizen mark of at least “satisfactory” in order to be eligible to participate in the athletic program.

Below is a list of sports currently offered at Horizon Prep. We have been blessed with consistent participation and performance over the past few years in our sports programs. We are excited to be able to expand the teams and participating grade levels in the future as God blesses the growth of our school.

Fall Sports:

Football-
Horizon Prep currently offers flag football for boys and girls in grades 5/6. In the program’s three years of existence, The Lions have compiled an overall record of 25 wins, 14 losses, and one tie. Horizon Prep also annually hosts the Spirit Bowl to raise money for foster and abused children. The Spirit Bowl is the only flag football tournament of its kind in San Diego.

Girls Volleyball-
Horizon Prep currently offers girls volleyball for girls in grades 5-8. In the program’s three years of existence, the Lions have remained tenacious and compiled a proud 8 wins.

Winter Sports:

Boys Basketball-
Horizon Prep currently offers boys basketball for grades 5/6. This team has accumulated an overall record of 19 wins and 12 losses. The basketball program looks forward to the completion of the school’s permanent gym in order to expand our ministry efforts by running a Spirit Bowl style tournament for basketball.

Girls Soccer-
Horizon Prep offered girls soccer for grades 5-8 in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. We have great hopes for the program’s future as we watch numerous elementary soccer stars flourish. Plans for new facilities and an all weather-artificial turf field which are in the works, will make Horizon Prep the envy of many schools across the nation.

Spring Sports:

Girls Basketball-
Horizon Prep currently offers girls basketball for grades 5-8. Often battling much taller and older squads, they have an impressive overall record of 8 wins and 12 losses.

Boys Soccer-
Horizon Prep offered boys soccer for the first time last season and took 5th place in The Nativity School’s Boys Soccer Tournament with a 2-2-1 record. Much like the girls’ program, the boys look forward to the new facilities, and an influx of new students as the school continues to grow.

Club Sports:

Cheerleading-
Horizon Prep currently offers girls cheerleading to grades 4-8. The program is in its third year of existence, and attends events for both flag football and boys basketball. In the future, the program will have both a JV (5/6th) and a Varsity (7/8th) cheer squad and will take part in county/state wide competitions.

Speed Stacks-
Horizon Prep currently offers the sport of Speed Stacking to boys and girls grades 1-6. For two years running, the team has competed in the “Good News Speed Stacking Competition” which was hosted and won by Horizon Prep last year. We would like to continue to grow the program and eventually compete at the state and national level.

Surf Club-
Horizon Prep offered Co-ed Surf Club during the ‘05/’06 school year and will offer it again in ‘07/’08. In addition to teaching students how to surf in beautiful North County San Diego, the club’s goals include teaching them about the environment and how to take care of the beautiful blessing we have in the Pacific Ocean. Surf club will be offered in the fall and the spring. 

As facilities and student enrollment increase, the athletic program has plans to offer Golf, Tennis, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Cross Country, Track & Field, Baseball, and Softball.

Athletic summer camps for sports at Horizon Prep, which will include specialized skill development, advanced team concepts, and most importantly Christian outreach, are in the planning stages and will be in full effect upon the completion of the permanent facilities.

We look forward to many of you joining us in these endeavors...TO GOD THE GLORY!

March 5, 2007

Classical Education  - Music at Horizon Prep and Preschool

With so much music being played, learned, sung and listened to, where do I begin? The logical place is at the Preschool.  Preschool students have learned quarter notes, rests, half notes and whole note rhythms and have been playing these rhythms on bells, sticks, triangles, sand-blocks and egg shakers. Students dance with scares to high and low sounds and fast and slow tempos. They have had two symphonies focusing on Percussion and Brass with Strings and Woodwinds still to come. We are studying one of my favorite stories, Peter and the Wolf, a classic story told by the sounds of the orchestra! Ask your student who is the sound of the boy Peter and then who is the sound of the Wolf.

First to Third grades at Prep have learned how to read music! We have been using the glockenspiel to play songs like Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me, and the theme from the cartoon show, Rugrats. The students learn new praise and worship songs for chapel and then help to lead chapel, teaching other students the songs. We have learned about the Baroque period and a famous, God loving, father of 17, never traveled outside of Leipzig, Germany, a composer named... Oh, ask your child!

Fourth graders have continued learning to read music. They started off the year learning the recorder, but we have moved on to play the Hand Bells. Keep the recorders handy as we will pick them up again next year! Look for another amazing Hand Bell performance at a chapel coming soon.

Fifth grade continues playing the recorder and has been introduced to other wind instruments such as flute, clarinet, oboe, and saxophones. I would encourage you to talk to your child about the rental of such instruments and bringing them to class to try out. I have found rentals to be as little as $25.00 per month. If anyone is interested, give me a call and I can forward on the information.

Sixth grade has taken over planning Middle School Chapels! They have Mondays devoted to a music history lesson, most recently looking at all the era’s of music like Baroque, Classical, Modern and Medieval then listening to Handel’s famous Messiah chorus which is one of the first fundraising songs ever written! Wednesdays we walk to Chapel and get set up for Thursdays. They pick and sing worship songs, and are learning how to use the sound board and the power point presentations. Look for all the different “Welcome to Chapel” pictures they design! Fridays are skits and catch-up!

All of Horizon Prep students, church kids and even Horizon friends, have been invited to sing in the first ever Children’s Choir performing at Easter in the Ranch on the backfield. We practice on Sundays and are having a great time!

Oh, wow! If you have not heard music and worship coming from the classrooms at Horizon Prep . . . you too must be singing His praises out loud!

Camille Hastings
Music Director Horizon Prep

March 5, 2007

Classical Education - Why Latin?

This seems to be a common question amongst parents and students. As our school desires to increase the amount of Latin instruction and activities in the classroom from 45 minutes a week to 100 minutes a week, I thought it best to take this opportunity to share with you some of the research and most common reasons for teaching Latin in classical schools. The fact is that until recent years, most considered Latin a necessary staple of a good education! Although there are numerous reasons to support teaching Latin, I will share with you a few of the highlights. The most commonly regarded benefit is the great improvement in the understanding of the English language.

We derive approximately 60% of our English words, 90% of those words consisting of more than two syllables, from Latin.  Not only is Latin essential to the English language, but five modern languages also call Latin their “parent language;”  Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, and Portuguese all derive more than 80% of their words from Latin. Their grammatical structure is also more similar to Latin than English. Our students will be better prepared to learn other foreign languages, if they so choose, as a result of their Latin background. Latin has also significantly increased verbal scores on tests such as the SAT and even GRE exams, which we all know are scrutinized carefully by prestigious colleges and universities everywhere.

Another truly wonderful feature of Latin is that we learn so much about the world of ancient Rome and Greece; a world which has greatly affected our own. Students have been passionate and excited to learn about these cultures, as you would surely observe if you were to walk into any elementary classroom! As a result of this research, we are excited to incorporate more Latin into elementary classroom instruction. Our teachers will be partnering with our wonderful Latin instructor, Mr. Sykes, as they incorporate weekly Latin spelling and vocabulary, Latin activities during small group instruction, and even some extra activities for the students to practice at home! Mr. Sykes will continue to instruct each class weekly as he focuses on the pronunciation and conversational components of Latin. The teachers are excited to take on this challenging task in the classroom and we couldn’t be more excited about your support as we continue to partner with you in the education of your precious children.

We love your kids!
Miss Henning

March 5, 2007

Dear Horizon Family,

Relatively new to the education scene, Horizon Prep is already renowned as being an institution containing both the favor and faithfulness of the Lord. Not only is this true within the core values of our school, but also within each class, teacher, faculty member, playground activity, project and homework assignment. The presence of God as our Head and Master is what we value most in this place.

To remain faithful to God’s call will require a Head of School who sees their role as one of supreme service and calling to Jesus Christ, a leader who sees Christ as the Head, a team player that personifies the Heart of God, a follower who will remain faithful to the never changing and ever enduring sense of identity, purpose and function flowing out of relationship as a member of Christ’s Body, and a Visionary who will remain bound by the oneness of certain core values that Horizon Prep shares with that of Horizon Christian Fellowship North County of which it exists as an educational ministry extension.
Thus the primary responsibility of a Head of School is to lead the academic side of the ministry while remaining in step with the overall purposes and goals of the Horizon community as a whole.

Accordingly, there are certain qualities that we regard as enduring and essential:

1. A strong Christ-like commitment, character, personal faith and integrity.
2. A passion for teaching and instilling others to effectively teach at earliest elementary through high school age levels.
3. A strong desire to lead by example through an intense involvement within the community of students, faculty and staff on campus and belief in the purpose and core values of the School.
4. An ability to identify, attract, retain, develop and motivate an outstanding faculty.
5. An ability to communicate orally and in writing, both to the School community, as well as to the extended Horizon family, a compelling sense of the purpose and values of the School and the way it daily provides the church a greater impact opportunity for Christ through education, as it is interpreted through teaching and made relevant in today’s world.
6. An ability to lead and manage the Administration and faculty including, in particular, the ability to build and work with teams of faculty so as to make the overall result greater than the sum of the individual parts.
7. An ability to create a teaching and learning culture and environment in which the core sense of purpose and the core values of the School are uncompromisingly pursued with passion and integrity while also recognizing that there are a myriad of teaching and learning styles and methods for pursuing the School’s purposes and expressing its values.

Further, there are qualities that we regard as essential as the School community grows:

1. An ability to lead the School towards adding a secondary level (high school) education.
2. An ability to entertain the possibility of having a evening based collegiate experience provided as an extension of the design, purpose and vision of the church to further its role in shaping lives for the goals of the gospel of Christ.
3. An ability to serve as an Ambassador of the Master Vision in the specific area of participating directly in a 30 million dollar capital development campaign.
4. An ability to be a leading thinker in the field of education and to demonstrate that leadership both in action (on campus) and in word (communicating that leadership in a compelling way to the larger community as a whole). 

To this desired result we covet your prayers and may the Lord guide us through this process, to the glory of His name.

Dr. Robert N Botsford
President / CEO

March 5, 2007

Nurses Corner - Keeping Kids Healthy In School

A healthy child with a positive attitude toward school and learning becomes a successful learner and a successful adult. 

Here are some things that parents can do to keep their children healthy and in school learning:

1. Start your child’s day on a positive note: Give your child enough sleep
   Children from 4-7 years need 11-12 hours of sleep every day
   Children from 7-9 years need 10-11 hours of sleep every day
   Children from 9-12 years need 9-10 hours of sleep every day
2. Give your Child a healthy breakfast.
   Maintain a healthy diet and drink plenty of water.
3. Have your child wash their hands before eating. Hand washing rids the body of germs resting on the skin, thereby preventing the spread of disease and infection.
4. If your child becomes ill...With a fever, rash, or other illness, keep him/her home from school.
5. Maintain your child’s health through regularly scheduled medical and dental checkups.
6. Encourage your child to have a positive attitude.
   Suggestions: Have rules about completing homework and support them if they need help to reduce stress. Support your child’s interests by being a visible parent at school activities Let your child know what he/she is doing in school is important. Set a positive example.

February 21, 2007

Official Accreditation Candidacy From ACSI

As you are all waiting to receive your TOP SECRET email I had some very exciting news to share with you all.

On behalf of your entire Administration team, I wanted to give you the GREAT news that today we were given "Official Accreditation Candidacy" from ACSI (the Association of Christian Schools International).  Can you say, Praise the Lord!

This is an important recognition and quite remarkable, given the fact we are only in our third year of existence.  For the vast majority, this candidacy status is as good as the official seal of Accreditation, which as we stay focused on the goal, is only a short while away.  Our thanks especially go to our Vice Principal Allison Tedesco who did an incredible job spearheading the project, as well as our wonderful faculty of teachers and staff.  Thank you all!

Together as a school community, we should all be very proud of this wonderful accomplishment.

Great job Lions!!!

Established in 2003 and situated in North County San Diego’s very own Rancho Santa Fe, Horizon Prep is a Christian private school with a Christ-centered, classically based philosophy of education.