Archive for November, 2008

General: Private, K-12, Coed, Episcopal preparatory school. Mascot is the Saint. Colors are Blue and White.

Enrollment: About 800 

Founded: 1951

Tuition:  $$$ (explanation)

Financial Aid Program: for qualified students

Philosophy: “Academic excellence in a nurturing, Christian environment,” upholding the traditions of Anglican worship and Episcopal schools in Texas.

Local Reputation: In the top tier for college prep education in Fort Worth.

Accreditation: Independent Schools Association of the Southwest, Southwest Association of Episcopal Schools.

Location: West Fort Worth, south of White Settlement, northeast of the I3-0/Loop 820 juncture.

Academics: Religion is taught through all grades.

The Lower School has a comprehensive approach including Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Computer Science, Music, Art, PE, and Ballet. Grades 5-8 have the advantage of “Great Lives,” a set of biographies written especially for All Saints, engaging the students in Western Civilization. The Middle School continues the broad education of the lower school, and incorporates Theater and Latin into the curriculum.

In the Upper School, Western Civilization and Religion maintain a place in the curriculum. For a relatively small school, there is a wide variety of courses for each subject matter. The upper school has a fine complement of AP classes, including Art, Government, US History, Calculus, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, English Literature, English Language, Latin, and Spanish.

All Saints graduates have 100% college acceptance. Two college advisers help the students through the college admissions process.

Extracurricular Activities: Students through all grades have the opportunity to engage in studio arts, music, and theater. Many Upper will compete in these mediums at the Independent Schools Assn. of the South (ISAS) Fine Arts Festival. Lower School students are given the opportunity to experience and learn about many instruments. In the Middle School, percussion is introduced with the Drum Line. School students

From the seventh grade on, many students will compete in the many sports offered at All Saints, including Football, Field Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Track, Swimming, and Wrestling. Ballet and Chess are a few of the interesting options for academic classes; Ballet is offered from Kindergarten, Chess from seventh grade.

Reflecting pool at the bottom of the rose garden cascade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What: The oldest public garden in Texas, Fort Worth Botanic Garden is 109 acres of beautifully cultivated plants and trees, with abundant fountains, creeks and ponds. Picnickers are welcome. 

When: Eight a.m. until dusk.

Where:  On west side of University Blvd. just north of the I-30. Take University offramp, and go north one block, or drive up from TCU by traveling north on University. Alternatively, drive south from “Six Points” (intersection of Camp Bowie, University, Bailey and 7^th Streets) in the Museum District.

Getting there by bike:  Take the Trinity Trails to just northeast of the University Boulevard Bridge, then cut through Trinity Park to the main entrance on University. You’ll have to wait for a few cars to pass to get across the street, but the crossing is not impossible. It is requested that cyclists walk bikes on garden pathways. 

Getting there by bus: Take Route 7 from downtown Fort Worth Transit Center (ITC) or up from Bluebonnet Circle and TCU. This bus runs every half hour on weekdays and Saturdays and also serves the museum district.  The “T” Route 7

History: The garden was constructed during the Depression, by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The original layout and extensive terraces, stairways and stonework was based on designs from the Villa Lante near Viterbo, north of Rome, Italy. Of particular note is the cascading fountain that forms the centerpiece of the original garden, which travels down a gentle hill covered with rose bushes. 

In the years since the 1930′s, the garden has been a site of many improvements and much development. Of these special attractions, the Japanese Garden and the Conservatory are the most well-known. 

Japanese Garden:  A mystical feeling seems to emanate from the sculpted bushes and carefully chosen rocks and boulders of the Japanese garden.  Winding paths take the visitor down a hill into a quiet valley where ponds are home to Japanese Koi. These fish are the stars of this garden, spotted and mottled in all colors of yellow, gold, black and grey. Children are enchanted to feed them, so bring quarters to put in the fish food dispensers. Also visit the large Zen meditation garden. Small children must be well watched;  deep water and many bridges are here. Additional entry fees, $3 adults, discount for children and seniors.

Conservatory:  Visit a jungle in the 10,000-square-foot conservatory. Open year round, the conservatory offers the feel of the tropics – warm air, moist ground, the sound of water – to the dessert-weary Texan. Nominal charge for entry.  

General Garden Restrictions: No team sports, please. Fee for formal photographers.

Web: Fort Worth Botanic Garden

The head scoutmaster, Mr. C, spent a lot of time this morning making biscuits. I have never seen anyone make biscuits on a campout, so I am very interested in the cleverness that makes this possible. I am not asked to help with the cooking; since I am a guest.  

The biscuits are mixed very meticulously, with a pastry blender. Then they are baked in a box oven which is heated with coals. The box oven used to be a carton for carrying reams of paper, but it has been lined with tin foil and wall insulation to make it fireproof. Carefully placed air vents allow the oven to “draw” and a meat thermoses in the lid tells the cooks when the oven is ready.

This is very clever, I think, and the biscuits are first-rate. When he is complemented, Mr. C says his secret is White Lily flour. He cites the flour’s appearance in the movie “Driving Miss Daisy,” suggesting that the flour’s cinematic appearance is a case of product placement in a movie, but I happen to think it was local color. You can’t buy “White Lily” flour in grocery stores outside the South, and that’s the point. But you know, if you’ve never lived outside of the South, you might not realize that.

For breakfast we have the ubiquitous Boy Scout “taco-dillas” which is eggs with onion and sausage in a tortilla. The taco-dilla eggs are cooked well, for half an hour. I sigh and eat breakfast.  

When I tell the other adults about why Vincent is not with us, I worry they don’t believe me about the homework overload. And they do not laugh when I tell them he is besieged by girls. I think about this. Perhaps they never had this experience. The thought yanks me back to my own teenage years. I remember turning 15 and suddenly getting the attention I’d longed for all through grade school. My parents did not try to advise me with my new-found opportunities. They were completely enmeshed in their own adult struggles, which I didn’t understand because from the outside they appeared to have it together, and I didn’t believe people who were 40 could really have problems. I mean, they were already married, and had jobs, so what were they so worried about?

Thinking back to being 15, I want to admit I could have done a better job in some relationships with kids my own age and I wish I had. Unfortunately I never speak to any of those people I knew back then, except my parents.  And I think they understand. 

We’re getting pretty far away from boy scouting trips here, except for the fact that spiritual realizations about your own shortcomings may be one reason to travel — you get away from the daily routine and you begin to see yourself differently. But I don’t want to see myself this differently. I came out here to camp, not to get all metaphysically minded, right?

What: Spend some times with author William Young, who wrote New York Times Bestseller “The Shack.”

When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, November 2, at Ridglea Presbyterian Church

Where:  Ridglea Presbyterian, 6201 Camp Bowie, southeast of the 30 freeway, on the south side of the street.

Donation: A “love offering” for Westaid, a local organization which provides food and other assistance to families in crisis, will be collected. 

The book:  Perhaps most memorably described as “the book where God the Father appears as an African American woman,” The Shack has earned rave reviews, particularly from believers who have questioned the fallen nature of this world, who say the book has re-invigorated their faith.

Originally self-published and now a million seller, the book studies the problem of evil. When Mack, whose young daughter has been murdered by a serial killer, receives a letter from God telling him to report to the shack where she was killed, the stage is set for a series of dialogues about the nature of God, the human spiritual condition, and life in a world where evil is rampant. Controversial with some theologians, the book has nevertheless been the source of numerous testimonies of spiritual renewal.

More info on this event: http://www.westaid.org/13.html

Ridglea Presbyterian Church: www.RidgleaPres.org