Friends March 2023
Dear Friends,
As the end of the 2022-2023 school year quickly approaches, we have several exciting updates and invitations to share with you. Since the last newsletter, our winter athletes have won state championships and earned many a playoff spot, we have gathered together as a community to serve across Austin, our students have shown off their fine arts skills, and more. We hope you will be able to join us for the Class of 2023 Senior Thesis Presentations (Week of Apr 17) and Graduation Ceremony (Fri, May 26), among the many other spring traditions and events. Don't forget to mark them on your calendars, and enjoy a peek into our semester thus far!
- The Veritas Family
State of the School Address
Our entire community enjoyed being together at the State of the School which took place in January at Austin Oaks Church. It was a very special time as we heard updates from administration and honored the Fowlers (one of Veritas's founding families) and all they have done over the past 18 years to benefit our school and community. We also looked ahead to future opportunities and campus projects, which are included in this conceptual campus map and thank you letter to the Fowlers. The event even became a mini Pie-deia, as we all concluded the event with some fellowship and pie bites. In addition to the State of the School, we also met with our rising 5th and School of Rhetoric students to prepare for their next step along the Path of a Defender and the Triple C Journey (Classical, Christian, Collaborative Education) here at Veritas.
WATCH THE STATE OF THE SCHOOL ADDRESS
MLK Service Day
This year over 530 members of our Veritas community committed to serve on campus and throughout the Austin area on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Veritas volunteer teams were on-site at Buda’s Brightside with Building Compassion, the Burke Center, Foster Village, Young’s Prairie Cemetery, and many other locations. We did construction projects, landscaping work, and gardening. We played with children and fellowshipped with the elderly. We even cleaned some headstones! On campus, we hosted several projects including jump ropes for Operation Christmas Child, paracord bracelets for Operation Gratitude, vases and tissue flowers for The Crossing, water safety packets for Colin’s Hope, no-sew blankets and foster care duffels for Foster Village, just to name a few. It was a blessing and a joy to see Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of love and service carried on by our students and families.
We Survived the Winter Storm!
We had an intense ice storm strike our area in early February which caused almost a week-long campus closure, community power outages, and lots of damage to our trees. In true Veritas spirit, we had several Veritas dads, faculty, and students mobilize with their servant hearts (and chainsaws!) to help clear fallen trees both on campus and around the community. Our Head of Campus Safety Ryan Herring captured some breathtaking footage of our ice-laden campus, which you can watch in the video below.
Go Texan Day!
Our students and faculty donned their best western wear in honor of Texas Independence for Go Texan Day! Our littlest Defenders participated in some fun Texas-themed crafts and play opportunities, while our upper Grammar School students rotated through stations to learn about Texas heritage and way of life. They learned about roping, the Legend of the Bluebonnet, and made their own strawberry jam. There were even live horse and longhorn demonstrations!
Heidi Celebration
We concluded our Grammar School Read Aloud, Heidi, with a celebration in our Upper Village Courtyard. Whether making a birdhouse, tasting goat cheese, or snuggling real live goats, a fun time was had by all! We have just started our next Read Aloud, The House at Pooh Corner, so if you’d like to join us, ask your student to catch you up on where we are in the book.
SEE THE CELEBRATION HIGHLIGHTS
SL Castle Building Contest
Our 6th graders got a firsthand experience of life in the Middle Ages–their houses, foods, clothing, roles, responsibilities, etc. Viking invasions led to the need for protection and banding together, so the students learned about the structural designs of castles and their defenses. They spent several days constructing their own castles, and were assigned roles within the feudal system to live out in class. This is just one example of how our amazing teachers bring learning to life for their students.
WATCH THEIR CASTLES COME TOGETHER
Visitors from Mozambique
God has tremendously blessed Veritas Academy, and in return, it is our desire to freely give and to support other like-minded schools across the globe. As a Resource School—one of the Five Pillars of Veritas Academy—we often connect with or hosts representatives from classical, university-model schools and start-ups from various states and countries.
In January, we had the opportunity to share more about Veritas with a pastor and his wife from a school in Mozambique!
Bless Our School
Veritas is so blessed by those who feel called to donate to our school, and you can give anytime using the link below! All donations are tax-deductible. Should you have any questions, please reach out to our Development Manager Dawn Bodon at Dawn.Bodon@VeritasAcademy.net.
Spring Dance Showcase
The BlueBelles and SL Dance celebrated their Spring Dance Showcase in February! The BlueBelles performed routines from the year as well as routines created by the dance officers and a beautiful lyrical routine set to the school hymn, Be Thou My Vision. SL Dance performed routines learned in class and members of both the BlueBelles and SL Dance performed solos or duets showcasing their talents beautifully.
Into the Woods
The Citizens Theatre Company invites you to their production of Into the Woods. Into the Woods draws plot lines and characters from a variety of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk. Written by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim, the musical explores the virtues behind each of the characters and how the consequences of their actions and desires affect those around them. It is sure to spark many great conversations as we are focusing as a school on the virtue development of our students. There will be four musical performances held between Apr 13-15.
DeFINders Are State Champs!
Our athletes put up incredible performances at the state swim meet earlier this year culminating in a Veritas personal best time in the Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay set by the team of Austin Aitchison, Tate Lemmer, Nathan Lansing, and Owen Furley.
We are very proud of our entire boys swim team for defending their STATE CHAMPIONSHIP title for the third year running! While we have a handful of individually talented athletes, what sets us apart is our ability to compete as a unified team. We took the top 6 finishes in all 3 relays, including first in both the 400 and 200 freestyle relays. In addition to the 4 listed above, the following athletes took top-10 finishes in one or more events at the state meet: Warren Furley, Kian Tomasoski, Caleb Eilers, and Aidan Marenco.
Our girls team took THIRD PLACE AT STATE this year with only 6 competitors. Led by junior captain, Gertie Kate Adair (who medaled in the 500 Freestyle), all 6 girls (Allison Prater, Avery Hawken, Kate MacPherson, Grace Eilers, and Julia Rhodes) contributed to 7 top-10 finishes to earn them this podium spot. To top it off, both Gertie Kate Adair and Grace Eilers earned the exceptional honor of Academic All-State. Congratulations to our girls swim team on a phenomenal season!
SLR Wrestling
We are so proud of our SLR Wrestlers for all their hard work this season! They finished off their long season in February with two state competitions: TAPPS and TX-USAW. Quinn Ulman (4th place at TAPPS State) and Eli Badger provided Senior leadership to the team, setting an expectation of hard work and dedication. Sophomores (Jacob Govea, Finnley Smitheal, and Oakley Wilson) followed in their footsteps and Freshman Sawyer Marrs showed promise with a 4th place finish in the TX-USAW Rookie division. The SL athletes had a strong showing at the TX-USAW Championships led by 8th Graders Joseph Wallace (1st place Rookie division and 6th place Open division) and Jackson Ford (2nd place Rookie division and 6th place Open division). 5th Grader Levi McLamb rounds out our state medals with a 4th place in the Novice division.
Girls Basketball
Sacrifice is the word that best summarized our close-knit girls basketball team this season. They made steady improvement though they were plagued with injury and were playing in a competitive district with two of the top 4 teams in the state! The highlight of the season was when Senior Eve Pickering (Academic All-State and All-District 2nd Team) and Junior Ella Shaw (All-District Honorable Mention) led the team to a season-high 50 points in a hard-fought game against Brentwood. Five freshmen stepped up and made sacrifices to play this season: Esther Bryan, Celeste Craw, Rose Moore (All-District Honorable Mention), Mabel Windham, and Izzy Zamarripa. We are looking forward to continuing to build this team in the 2023-24 season!
Boys Basketball
Our boys basketball program had a stellar season, coming back after a tough district tournament to make their first state final four appearance in Veritas history! Captains Sam Hagood (All-State 2nd Team, Academic All-State, All-District 1st Team), Hayden Peckman (All-District Honorable Mention), and Philip Cannata (All-State 2nd Team, All-Tournament Team, All-District 1st Team) were a rock for the team throughout the season, remaining unshakeable leaders as they entered the postseason. Senior point guards Elijah Zimel (Academic All-State, All-Tournament Team, All-District 2nd Team) and Jacob Frazier (Academic All-State, All-District 2nd Team) were crucial to this team’s playoff success as they set the speed of the game, took care of the ball, and finished strong at the rim. Four more seniors - Nick Deters, Drew Bremer, Ben Clark, and Aidan Marenco - served the team as clutch teammates through defense, rebounding and encouragement. What a finish after many seasons of hard work for this team!
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team had an excellent season finishing district in second place and nearly pulling out a win in the area round of state playoffs! This young team was characterized by fun and laughter whether they were jamming out on bus rides or fighting for goals on the field. This team believed that they would win and exceeded expectations to do so! The offense was led by Junior Elizabeth Lensing (Academic All-State, All-District 1st Team) and Sophomore Ellie Dodson (All-District 2nd Team); midfield by Junior Kate Brawley (All-State Honorable Mention, Academic All-State, All-District 1st Team), Freshman Julia Rhodes (All-District 2nd Team), and Freshman Grace Ard (All-District Honorable Mention); and defense by Senior Eve Pickering (Academic All State, All-District 1st Team), Sophomore Anna Badger (All-District 1st Team), and Sophomore Mary McLatcher (All-District Honorable Mention). Last, but not least, Junior Ella Shaw (All-District 1st Team) was consistent and steadfast in the goal throughout the entire season.
Boys Soccer
Our boys soccer team ended the season as undisputed district tournament champs and bi-district playoff champs! Drew Bremer (All-State 1st Team, Academic All-State, All-District 1st Team) and Brayden Smith (All-State 2nd Team, Academic All-State, All-District 1st Team) provided senior leadership from opposite ends of the field. Two more senior athletes stepped up in the final hour to play for the team and were key pieces to the defense: Josiah Merryman (All-State 2nd Team, All-District 1st Team) and Stephen Cuellar (All-District 2nd Team). The leadership, enthusiasm, athleticism, and talent of these seniors will be deeply missed next year but we are looking forward to the return of Junior Joey MacPherson (All-State 2nd Team, Academic All-State, All-District 1st Team), Junior Brighton Bresemann (Academic All-State, All-District 1st Team), Junior Matthew Ard (Academic All-State, All-District 2nd Team) and Sophomore Ryan Barefield (All-District Honorable Mention).
Defender Alumni, we want to hear from you!
If you are a member of the Veritas Alumni Community, we would love to hear about what’s new in your life as well as how we can continue to pray for, encourage, and celebrate with you.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see pictures and keep up with events!
You're Invited!
Senior Thesis Presentations
Week of April 17th
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Year-End Assembly & Cookout
Wednesday, May 24th @ 11:00am
Upper Village Courtyard
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Class of 2023 Graduation
Friday, May 26th
As each event approaches, please check with your Defender family and friends for specific event details, including parking information and updated times and locations. We’d encourage you to bring a picnic blanket (or a lawn chair) to each outdoor event!