Bridgeland Campus Groundbreaking
We were blessed to hold the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, February 23 for the new Cypress Christian School campus in Bridgeland, opening in August 2025. Dr. Jeff Potts and the Board of Directors prayed over the campus before the ceremony.
Mike Slabic, Dr. Potts and Scott Mestayer spoke, fifth-grader Berkleigh Elsner led the pledges and junior Ryan Fisk said a prayer over the ceremony. The ground was broken by the Board and Dr. Potts and Board Member Stacy Fransen closed the ceremony in prayer. “We are not only here today to celebrate groundbreaking, we are also here to recognize that there has never been a greater need in our nation for what will be happening under the roof of this building and out on the fields of this campus. Increasing the scope and impact of Christian leadership in our community and our country through an academically rigorous and Christ-focused education experience is what we believe this new campus will do.” – Mike Slabic, Chairman of the CCS Board of Directors
Chapel Speaker Al Jowdy
This week in chapel, middle and high school students had the unique opportunity to hear the amazing story of Mr. Al Jowdy. Mr. Jowdy was born in San Antonio in 1927. He was the sixth of nine children, growing up in a two-bedroom, one-bath home. At the age of 15, he altered his baptismal certificate to say he was 17 and enlisted in the Navy. In his first six months of duty, he recovered bodies from the Pearl Harbor bombing and two different ships he was stationed on were torpedoed, resulting in him twice having to survive on life rafts in the South Pacific.
Our students were mesmerized by his stories and storytelling. It is a rare gift to have a 96-year-old be so clear in thought with the ability to clearly describe some of America’s most important stories. The students walked away with an even greater appreciation for the “Greatest Generation”. A seventh-grader was quoted to say, “I could listen to him forever.”
We are grateful to the Granato family for making the introduction of Mr. Jowdy to Mr. Williamson and CCS.
Learn more about Mr Jowdy – https://www.jowdy.com/_Cart/al-jowdy/home/.
TAPPS Solo & Ensemble Competition
CCS singers wowed judges at this year’s TAPPS Solo and Ensemble competition! The CCS middle school ensemble came home with a I-Superior Rating (highest possible) for their performance of the French chanson, “Je le vous dirait”.
Cypress Christian School took a total of 41 soloists to competition, middle school and high school combined, 30 of which were first-time soloists at TAPPS Solo and Ensemble. Of these singers, the following students received a I-Superior Rating (highest possible) from the TAPPS judge for their solo performances:
- Middle School – Molly Ahrendt, Amanda Atkins, Ethan Bryon, Kira Farrington, Owen Layton, Chelsea Scott, Elliana Sproule and Sydney Swan
- High School – Dyllen Baptiste, Jaeda Dumas, Erica Davenport, Pepper Eichelberger, Evan Ellington, Daniel Hamm, Rayne Harris, Melody Janz, Maddie McCown, Emily Muse, Madison Mynes, Jeykei Ortiguero, Caleb Poirrier, Aidan Salazar, Bella Thomas, Ashleigh Townsend, Noah Utley, Jadie Weatherly and Camille Zemke.
The following students received the TAPPS All-State Honor Award, given to students who received a I-Superior Rating when singing a solo at the most challenging level:
- Pepper Eichelberger, Rayne Harris, Emily Muse, Madison Mynes, Caleb Poirrier, Ashleigh Townsend and Camille Zemke.
Congratulations, students! CCS Chamber Choir will travel to Waco for TAPPS State Large Ensemble contest in April.
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Winners 2024
Mrs. Eichelberger is so proud of the secondary art students and their participation in the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Art Contest.
High School Winners:
- First place – Cailea Chalton
- Second place – Anya Hull, Rayne Harris, Connie Quaglia, Brooke Intrau
- Third place – Corinne Keim, Reagan Lubs, Sasha Farrington, Bria Lloyd, Caden Clinton
Middle School WInners:
- Second place – Aemilia Crawford, Audrey Petru, Katie Krueckeberg, Lucas Wolfswinkel
- Third place – Emma Oliverson, Max Bernhart, Mason Bickle, Allie Kate Stovall, Camille Allain, Bailey Hickey
Great job, Warrior artists!
Spiritual Emphasis Days 2024
Monday and Tuesday, January 22-23, CCS held Spiritual Emphasis Days to provide students with a pause from their ordinary academic schedules in order to hear from God’s Word, participate in worship through song and think through what it looks like to follow the Lord with their everyday lives. Champion Forest Baptist Church graciously hosted both days, providing hospitality, a worship team and a myriad of activities for students to participate in.
Middle school welcomed Mr. Taylor Stricklin, middle school pastor at Champion Forest, as the keynote speaker. He passionately unpacked lessons from the Bible that all dealt with individuals who fell asleep and the consequences that came to them and others. Whether exploring the story of Eli from the Old Testament or Eutychus, who fell asleep as Paul preached and then fell to the ground from the third story window, Taylor’s impassioned plea was for students to encounter the Lord Jesus and not spiritually sleep. After each of his talks, students gathered into discussion groups to dig in to the teaching. Forty juniors and seniors served as small-group leaders. Ten middle schoolers publicly committed their lives to following Jesus during the last large group session on Tuesday.
An important idea for elementary students was that we need to confess (spit out) our sin. If we confess, Jesus promises to forgive us and Satan can’t make us feel guilty. We can also struggle with the idea of turning the other cheek, being slow to anger and being loving to others.
Takeaways from elementary students/classes:
- TKA: We learned about God and being a real Christian.
- KD: Being an authentic Christian means you’re the real deal. Christians feel bad when they don’t obey God. They always say sorry. They walk away when people are rude.
- 1A: Being an authentic Christian means to be a real Christian. A real Christian loves God, loves others, prays, reads the Bible and follows God’s commands.
- 1B: Being an authentic Christian means you are the real deal. You can ask God for forgiveness when you sin. You love and forgive others.
- 2C: God is the Lord and Savior. Authentic Christians share the gospel, feel bad when they sin and are doers of the Word.
- 4B: To be an authentic Christian, you have to love others, believe Jesus is Lord, be a real deal Christian, be a “doer” for Christ.
- 5B: Being an authentic Christian, aka the real deal, means being doers of the Word. You can see from one of their journal entries what it means to be a doer of His Word.
- Kendall’s friends in their own words: Being an authentic Christian is to be the real deal, to lay your life down for God, to love one another. If you want to be an authentic Christian, God has to be the King of your life. Authentic means you are the real deal. I learned how to know God and come closer to Him. We are to love one another and be kind.
CCS would like to thank the entire Champion Forest Baptist staff and volunteers who contributed to welcoming us and caring for our students for these two days. Our prayer is that each student who participated will find their walk with God deepened as they take the next step toward Christlikeness.
Super “SONIC” Reading Incentive
Since school began in August 2023, Mrs. Baldwin’s seventh-grade English Language Arts students have had the opportunity to participate in a reading incentive program. To encourage a lifelong love of reading, each quarter students are required to select one book to read for independent reading. Assignments associated with independent reading are designed to “advertise” and promote the books to other students in the hopes that other students will also want to read the same book – “peer advertising.”
In addition to the required reading, students are challenged to read more books. Students earn a Sonic drink for each extra book they read. Books must be of a challenging reading Lexile and meet CCS guidelines. Students earn a small size drink for the first book, and each additional book read bumps the size of the drink with the ultimate goal of earning a “Route 44” drink.
At the end of the first quarter, 29 students participated in the Super “SONIC” reading incentive, and seven of these students earned a Route 44 drink. Drinks were delivered to the students during lunch, and they were allowed to take their drinks to class in the afternoon. A total of 82 books were read by these 29 students!! As part of the incentive program, students also attend a “lunch bunch” small reading discussion with Mrs. Baldwin where various topics are discussed such as favorite childhood books, favorite genres, favorite novels and favorite characters. The goal is to promote a fun and safe place to talk about BOOKS! During the second quarter, 14 students participated in in the Super “SONIC” Reading Incentive program, and a total of 53 books were read by these 14 students! Mrs. Baldwin applauds and congratulates each student for their dedication to reading.
“Houston Welcomes Refugees” Guest Speakers Visit CCS
In mid-December, seventh-grade ELA classes began reading Alan Gratz’s best-selling historical fiction novel, “Refugee”. The novel follows the lives of three characters, on three continents during three different time periods, but all three of the characters have left their homes in search of a better life. Although the novel is historical fiction, many of the circumstances and references throughout the book are historically accurate. Reading about the harrowing challenges faced by the characters has raised the students’ awareness of the lengths to which others will endure to pursue a life of freedom and safety.
To help make current day connections, guest speakers from the non-profit organization, Houston Welcomes Refugees, visited seventh-grade ELA classes. Students learned many sobering facts: ½ of all refugees are children, less than 1% of the refugees are permanently “resettled”, refugees usually spend years in refugee camps in squalor conditions. Guest speakers, Allison Clayton and Becca Lehde, also led the students in a “loss” simulation exercise to drive home what it is like to lose loved ones, valued possessions, roles and one’s home.
In addition to visiting ELA classes, Allison Clayton and Becca Lehde led the middle school chapel and educated students about the life of refugees in Houston and how their organization helps refugee families during the difficult transition period by providing welcome kits to outfit their living quarters, move-in teams and partnering welcome teams to befriend refugees over longer periods of time. Leviticus 19:34 reminds us all, “The foreigners residing among you must be treated as native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
All middle school students will be participating in the coming weeks in a service project led by Bible teachers to gather and assemble welcome kits for refugees right here in hometown Houston! To learn more about the organization, visit HoustonWelcomesRefugees.com.
New Swim Records Set
The Warrior high school swim team competed on Saturday in the Houston Area Private & Parochial Invitational Swimming City Championship (HAPPI) at the University of Houston. The meet had 359 competitors and was a good test for our swimmers as they prepare for the TAPPS East Regional meet on January 25.
Although the Warriors did not have any top five finishers, a few school records were set. For the boys, the 200 Free Relay team of Brody Johnson (12), Will Simcik (12), Reagan Lubs (12) and Noah Utley (11) set a new school record with at time of 1:47.56 beating a record set in 2018. For the girls, the 400 Free Relay team of Jadie Weatherly (11), Katie Schmitt (11), Kayla Geyer (10) and Alexa Stamos (9) set a new school record with a time of 4:36.30 beating the record set in 2020 by almost 30 seconds. Another individual school record was set last week at the Bay Area Invitational by Zoe Brashier in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:27.57 beating the previous record of 1:28.98 set in 2017.
All seniors in the Houston area were recognized at the APPI meet on Saturday. Ayden Farrell, Brody Johnson, Reagan Lubs, and Will Simcik were recognized for CCS.
The Warriors are preparing for state competition with the Regional TAPPS meet taking place on Thursday, January 25, at the University of Houston with many swimmers expected to advance to the State meet in San Antonio on February 14.
Swim Teams Compete at St. John 23 Holiday Classic
Last Saturday, the Warrior swim teams, both high school and middle school, competed in the St. John 23 Holiday Classic at Katy High School. The Warriors were competitive as they work toward Regionals and State competitions next month. Two school records were broken at the meet, both in the 200 Free. For the girls, junior Jadie Weatherly broke her own record with a time of 2:18.60 and placed first in the event. For the boys, junior Noah Utley broke the record set in 2016 (2:31.59) with a time of 2:22.34, placing third. There were many top five finishers, particularly in the middle school division where the Warriors had 15 finishes in the top five, including first place finishes by Aiden Leyrer in two events, Brooks Johnson, Sophie Boctor and two relays.
Top five finishers in high school:
- Girls 200 Free – Jadie Weatherly – first place
- Girls 100 Free – Jadie Weatherly – first place
- Boys 200 Free – Noah Utley – first place
- Girls 200 IM – Ali Richard – third place
- Girls 500 Free – Katie Schmitt – fourth place
- Boys 200 Free Relay – Noah Utley, Ayden Farrell, Will Simcik, Brody Johnson – fourth place
Top five finishers in middle school:
- Boys 100 Free – Aiden Leyrer – first place
- Boys 100 IM – Aiden Leyrer – first place
- Girls 100 IM – Remi Brashier – second place
- Girls 50 Free – Sophie Boctor – first place, Mary Ellen Southall – fifth place
- Boys 50 Free – Landon Hamm – third place, Henry Southall – fourth place, Tate Lubs – fifth place
- Girls 50 Back – Ava Rogers – fifth place
- Boys 50 Back – Brooks Johnson – first place, Jackson Connelly – third place
- Girls 50 Breast – Remi Brashier – third place, Sophie Boctor – fifth place
- Boys 50 Breast – Landon Hamm – fourth place
- Boys 50 Fly – Tate Lubs – second place
- Girls 200 Medley Relay – Ava Rogers, Remi Brashier, Sophie Boctor, Karis Hamm – second place
- Boys 200 Medley Relay – Brooks Johnson, Landon Hamm, Aiden Leyrer, Tate Lubs – first place
- Girls 200 Free Relay – Sophie Boctor, Remi Brashier, Mary Ellen Southall, Karis Hamm – first place
- Boys 200 Free Relay – Brooks Johnson, Landon Hamm, Aiden Leyrer, Tate Lubs – second place
The Warrior swim team next competes on Saturday, January 6, at the Bay Area New Year Exhibition at the Clear Springs High School Natatorium at 12 p.m. The meet will again be a combined high school and middle school meet.
2023 Christmas Program
On Thursday, December 7, the sanctuary of The MET Church was filled with the sounds of Christmas. Our youngest TK Warriors opened the evening with a song, followed by amazing performances from the secondary choirs. With the help of high school drama students and members of the drumline, our K-5 students honored the Lord Jesus while performing “The Little Drummer Dude.” Thanks to the CCS fine arts directors, faculty, staff, students, volunteers and the staff at The MET Church for making this event a joyful and God-honoring occasion. Merry Christmas!
