Coram Deo aCaDemy Winter 2015, Vol. 3, issue 2

“The process of getting to know something or someoneCognitio

Welcome Coram Deo academy

Welcome to the third year of Cognitio. Cognitio is Latin for “the process of getting to know someone or something”. Each seasonal edition over the next few years will feature members of our faculty and student leaders for the purpose of acquainting the reader with the many excellent people at CDA. The student leaders represented in Cognitio are elected by their peers and are either House Presidents or Senior Class Officers.

A classical Christian education utilizes the Trivium of Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric to provide students with the tools of lifelong learning and instill in them a love of wisdom. The reason this type of education is so effective is that these three tools also cooperate with the God-authored design of the mind and are suited to support each level of a child’s formative academic years. The first tool, Grammar, is the learning of people, places and things. This naturally appeals to young children who eagerly look for these in their Bible, phonics, math, history and language lessons. The second tool, Logic, is the understanding of the rules that govern those things previously learned. Middle-school students are typi-cally attracted to this style as they learn to associate things and connect ideas in their classes. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. High school students easily learn to apply sophisticated reasoning and strive for excellence in their studies and in the totality of their lives.

Bill Rector Headmaster

Diana WallGrammar School Director

Angela Bell FM Admissions Coordinator

Polly Dwyer Campus Administrator

Ellen Perry Administrative Assistant for Logic and High School,Registrar

Laura NeibertAdministrative Assistant for Logic and High School, Communication Assistant

Kathy SchaeferDirector of College Guidance and Testing

Beth BrakeAdministrative Assistant for Logic and High School, Record Keeping

page 3-4 Letters from the Directors

page 5 Grammar School Instructor- Coral Toleman

page 6 Logic School Instructor- DeAnn Pitts

page 7 Logic & High School Instructor- Jon Jordan

page 8 Grammar School Instructor- Tonia McGee

page 9 Student Leader- Katie Rector

page 10 Student Leader- Taylor Niznik

page 11 Mission Statement

Table of Contents

Grammar school Directorby Diana Wall

My name is Diana Wall and I am the Grammar School Director at CDA Flower Mound. I am mar-ried to David Wall who swept me off of my feet 24 years ago. We are both from Central Ohio and are Buckeyes through and through. We moved to Texas in 1997 because of a job transfer for David. Texas is our home. Our children are our five awesome animals. We have two Bichon Frise, Lola and Cozmo, as well as a lab mix, Lucy. We also have two tabby cats, George and Holly, who are always tied at the hip to one and another.

I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. My primary and secondary education was through Chris-tian schools. From there, I went to The Ohio State University, where I received my Bachelor of Science in Education and my Masters in Special Education. My first job out of college was at a school that specialized in Special Education. This was extremely rewarding and helped develop me into the teacher I am today. I have always looked for schools that stressed academics but also had a Christian-based curriculum and included manners and ethics. It is extremely important to me that each child receive a well-rounded education so that when they continue to the next level, they are not only prepared aca-demically but they are also prepared socially. With 30 years of teaching experience in Christian schools, I am looking forward to all the fun adventures of the years to come. I LOVE Coram Deo Academy students!

I look forward each year to the collaboration with our students, parents, faculty and staff which ul-timately bring glory to our Lord and Savior through this educational mission with which He has so richly blessed us.

In my spare time, I love to read, walk my dogs, and swim in our pool. Also, as of Labor Day weekend this year, I have dedicated my early mornings and my evenings to helping take care of my mother. I feel so blessed to have her living near us and am thankful every day that I have the ability to hug and kiss her every morning and every night. I feel so humbled and honored to be able to lead our Flower Mound Grammar School. Each and every teacher, parent, child, and visitor makes a difference in my life and the future success of our amazing school.

Letters from the Directors

3

My name is Polly Dwyer and I have been the Campus Administrator for the Flower Mound cam-pus for seven years. Prior to that time, I was the Logic School Director and a classroom teacher. I love teaching!

I was born in Houston and raised in east and south Texas. I moved to the North Texas area in my middle school years. My parents are from Oklahoma. When it came time for college, I traveled north to the University of Oklahoma where I received a scholarship as a music major. I studied French Horn formally but then switched to education. I remained within the music department as a performer for the rest of my college years. I have my Education degree with four minors from the University of Oklahoma. After college, I taught in rural Oklahoma, having up to 36 in my class each year. I loved it! I returned to the University of Oklahoma to teach teachers and earn the first of my two master degrees, School Administration. I started on my PhD in Curriculum Development and Teacher Supervision, but soon I married my husband, Paul, who moved me home to Texas! I worked for Highland Park ISD. In order to keep my job, HPISD required a second master in the area in which I taught, science. My second master’s degree is from UTD. Afterwards, I enrolled in UNT (it might have been NTSU at the time) to again work on my PhD. Then came my lovely children. I have three children, Aubrey (sophomore, OU/4th generation, Boomer!), Jack (Junior, CDA), and Emma (Freshman, CDA). I have one dog who claims me, a standard poodle, Molly. My kids have another dog, Bear, who is so sweet and is the same age as Jack. They also have three cats, Remi, Sam and Nat. Paul would prefer a life without pets but he married into a family who loves pets. Paul is the love of my life! We attend Denton Bible Church.

I arrived at Coram Deo Academy when I enrolled my oldest child in CDA. I taught History, Physical Geography, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1A, Algebra 1, Physical Science, and Geometry before I entered into administration.

I have taught or been an administrator for 29 years. I do not have my PhD yet but I have enjoyed each and every day of my family, my job, and my life.

logic & High school Directorby Polly Dwyer

4

List the colleges you attended.Kilgore College, UT Austin, Dallas Theological Seminary. I hold an Associate Degree from Kilgore, a Bachelors from UT, and a Certificate of Graduate Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Share with us some of your accomplishments.I was a Kilgore Rangerette! I lived and worked in Ab-erdeen, Scotland. I have been married 21 years and proud Momma of three Tolekids.

Are there committees on which you serve?I have been actively involved in the Kids Praise minis-try of our church since its inception. I have done cho-reography, shepherding and scriptwriting. This year we will revisit Route 66 – a Walk Thru God’s Word – which was an original script and back by popular demand.

Is there something special for which you are known?Singing! – I believe that if you sing it you’ll remember it! I rewrite songs for my students.

Do you have nickname? My husband always answers my phone calls “Hello Gorgeous!” – the joys of caller ID. Although I can tell you he does that, it still makes my day.

Besides the Bible, what was the last book you read?In my ever trying to improve my ministry to the par-ents I serve, I have been revisiting the topic of parent-ing. Recently I read a new book by one of my favorite authors. Parenting Your Powerful Child by Dr. Kevin Leman

If you were to give one piece of advice to CDA stu-dents, what would it be?Seek first the Kingdom of God and run your own Race! Heb 12:1-2. Our Creator God does not have the same plan for your life that he does for anyone else. Your job is to seek His face and allow Him to transform you into who He created you to be.

What is your favorite attribute of God? His Sovereignty – because it is comforting to know that “He’s got this!”

Coral tolemanGrammar SchoolCoral is the proud parent of Neeya, Ayden and Karis. Her husband is Fred Toleman. They attend Denton Bible Church. Her life’s motto is: Never, never, never, never, never, never, never quit which she has likely put to song as she is our “singing” kindergarten teacher!

5

Introduce us to your familyMy daughter, Madison, began as a CDA student in 1st grade at the Dallas campus. She has been at the Flower Mound campus since 4th grade and even sur-vived her mom’s 6th grade Geography class last year. Madison enjoys school, especially Band and Theater. Part of our home includes a cat that is committed to shedding as profusely as possible and a guinea pig who seems convinced every meal is his last. Extend-ed family gives us reason to travel to east Texas or New England but neither the cat nor guinea pig are invited.

List the colleges you attendedI began my college education at Texas A&M Univer-sity with a major in Biomedical Science but placed this path on hold to transition to Christ for the Na-tions Bible College. After graduating with a degree in Practical Theology, I changed my original course and completed my studies with honors at Dallas Bap-tist University.

Share with us some of your accomplishments I love to hear about the competitions our students are involved in as they remind me of some of my favorite memories in high school. I finished first nationally my junior and senior years in the field of veterinary and ranked nationally both years as part of a medical quiz team. Other successes followed but truthfully the ones that matter most are the less visible achieve-ments accomplished through teaching. Some of my most treasured moments involve meeting with a stu-dent to help them discover they are exceptional. I am grateful that I am in a position where my own success can only be accomplished through someone else’s.

Are there committees you serve on at school, church and in the community?I teach a bible study at MBBC for young women and am involved in mentorship on an individual basis.

What interest do you have outside of school?Honestly, my favorite moments of the week are typi-cally in teaching the bible study. No greater joy I know than to watch God’s Word unlock closed doors or bring healing in someone else’s life. It is in these moments that there really is no other place that I would rather be. If you were to give one piece of advice to CDA stu-dents, what would it be?Be willing to make commitments and then do ev-erything it takes to hold your course and walk them out. We live in a culture where character and integrity are in short supply and the abil-ity to honor your commitments will distinguish you in ways that your giftings alone can not. It will promote you in both responsibility and influ-ence as people recognize you are not like others.

What is a valuable life lesson you have learned?Using the words of Elisabeth Elliot: “Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling - feelings don’t help much when you’re in the lions’ den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things work. It is an act of will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed us what love and obedience and sacrifice mean, in the person of Jesus Christ.”

Deann Pitts 6th grade Physical Geography 8th Grade Physical Science and Friday Science Ex-plorations. When asked which class is best, she says, “Studying the needs of different people groups and the struggles they face compared to throwing things or catching them on fire…the choice is impossible!” She is a committed member of MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church.

6

List the colleges you attended.B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies (History and Educa-tion), University of Texas at Dallas and a M.A. Re-ligion (New Testament and Early Christianity), Re-formed Theological Seminary

Share with us some of your accomplishments. I have presented at two academic conferences in the area of New Testament studies (St. Andrews Univer-sity Conference on Galatians and the Houston Bap-tist University Conference on Paul and Judaism).

Are there committees you serve on at school, church and in the community?I teach High School Sunday School for our church and am chairman of the Theology Live: Ale and the Almighty committee, which invites Christian schol-ars to give open lectures in area pubs during the month of June. I am also an aspirant to Holy Orders within the Anglican Communion.

What interest do you have outside of school?I love reading, swimming, and spending time with Vivien and Zoë. I am also on a quest to ensure my car goes 250,000 miles through my own repairs.

What is a valuable life lesson you have learned?Growing out of the “grass is always greener” mental-ity. We can love God and love neighbor regardless of our life stage or career choices.

What Bible verse(s) is foundational in your life?“So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Describe a favorite moment in life?The birth of our daughter. We did not find out her gender until she was born, and I was the first to an-nounce that she was “our Zoë Ly!”

Besides the Bible, what was the last book you read?The Spirit of Early Christian Thought, Robert Lou-is Wilken. I recently finished Watership Down at the recommendation of one of our students, Aaron Southerland.

What would be one piece of advice that you would give to CDA students?Take advantage of the Theology elective offerings while you are here. You don’t know how blessed you are to explore your faith at this level while still in High School.

Jon is the editor of The Journal of Theology, published three times a year. Teachers, students and parents submit articles. The Journal of Theology can be found at Issuu. com and the iBook store.

Jon Jordan Jon is the Dean of Students who also teaches Ancient History and Old Testa-ment (8th), Theology II (12th), Ancient Christian Theology (elective with Mr. Guthrie), Applied Theology (elective with Mr. Guthrie) and Greek (elective). His wife, Vivien, works from home as a paper, chalk, and hand-lettering de-signer. They have a one year-old daughter, Zoë, and a dog, Hoosier. They attend the Church of the Incarnation, Dallas.

7

http://issuu.com/coramdeoacademy

List the colleges you attended.I attended the University of North Texas. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, with a Texas Teaching Certificate for PK-12 Art.

Share a fun fact.I was among the top 20 students of my graduating class of 900 from Lewisville High School. Mine was the last class in LISD that all graduated as Fighting Farmers. I was also a foreign exchange student to Barranquilla, Colombia.

What do you teach at CDA?I have the best job at CDA! I get to teach Art to almost 40 precious Grammar School Students.

What interests do you have?I love to play games, watch movies, go to musicals and museums, and help at a food pantry with my husband and daughters. We also enjoy spending time with our extended family.

What is a valuable life lesson you have learned?One day, one of my friends was frustrated and I heard her say, “Jesus loves them, so do I!” I thought, “Wow! That’s so simple! Why haven’t I thought about it like that before?” So, now whenever I find it difficult to love someone, I pray for Jesus to help me love that person, (and pray that other people will do the same for me.) It has made a tremendous differ-ence in my patience and empathy with people.

What Bible verse(s) is foundational in your life?I have several! One is Isaiah 64:8, “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Is there something special for which you are known for?When the kids were younger, I loved baking and decorating cakes and cookies for friends and fam-ily! I felt honored to make my husband’s Grandma’s 90th birthday cake. My family still asks me to make Boston Cream Cake. I love edible art!

Do you have or did you ever have a nickname? I worked at Yellowstone National Park as a waitress at The Old Faithful Inn. Since I was from Texas, my name tag had “Tonia Texas” on it. I also had the opportunity to wait on a few celebrities, so I was dubbed “Tonia Texas, waitress of the stars.”

What is your favorite attribute of God?I am thankful that God loves me because He is always here for me, always willing to listen, and always willing to challenge me. I also love that He is creative, because I enjoy observing all of the beauty in nature and people. As an art teacher, I love talk-ing to the students about God as THE Master Artist

tonia mcGeeGrammar School Art

As mother to the CDA Lion (Maggie), Tess, and Annabelle, and wife to Eric for 22 years, Tonia attends The Anglican Church of the Resurrection where she served the Children’s Ministry Coordinator for 4 years, and currently serves on their Children’s Ministry team. She teaches Art at the Grammar School where her creativity abounds!

8

Katie Rector started CDA as kindergartener and will graduate this year ready to begin her next big adventure! She attends Crossroads Bible Church

with her family.

Katie rectorSenior Class Vice President

enrolled since 2002

9

Introduce us to your family.My dad is the headmaster, Bill Rector, and teaches Advanced Algebra. My mom is great, just saying! If you have ever met her, you already know that! Kirby and Charlie are my brothers, and they’re also my homies.

List the colleges you are or want to apply to.I have been accepted to Washington State University and The University of Texas at Dallas.

What degree do you plan to work on when at col-lege?I plan to study accounting.

Share some of your accomplishments.I was Summa Cum Laude my sophomore and junior year. I run a 15:09 2-mile time, it isn’t the fastest, but I’m proud of it. I also serve as the Vice President of the Senior Class. I help run the lunch program for the high school students. I also have a job and work lots of hours.

What does “ethical servant leadership” mean to you?It means that you are a good example to others through your character and service.

What was your best class at CDA?If you have ever had Mrs. Powell, you might agree that any class with Mrs. Powell could be your best class at CDA!

What was the “secret” to success at CDA? Do your homework.

What kinds of pets do you have OR... IF you could have any pet in the world, what would you like to try and why? A squitten, it’s a squirrel/kitten hybrid. It would be a great idea to have, one because it would be adorable.

What is your favorite attribute of God? Why?Forgiveness, otherwise we don’t have hope.

Taylor believes the the “secret” to success at CDA is time management. She states that a major part of this is learning more about yourself and how you learn. For example, learning what subjects you need to spend

extra time in, the best time of day for studying, the best location for studying that is conducive to your needs.

Introduce us to your family.My mother’s name is Jodie Niznik and she works as the Women’s Pastor for Irving Bible Church. My fa-ther’s name is Tim Niznik and he works as the Di-rector of Operations Planning and Performing for American Airlines. I also have one sister named Billie Niznik who is a junior at CDA. My family attends Irving Bible Church.

List the colleges you are or want to apply.I am applying to UT at Austin, Baylor, Yale, OU, Columbia, SMU, Vanderbilt, and Rice. In college I plan to work on either a political science degree or some form of pre-med. Share some of your accomplishments.Some of my accomplishments include the Distin-guished Student Award, Summa Cum Laude, and National Merit Semifinalist. I also perform regularly in classical piano competitions, from which I have received numerous rewards.

What leadership roles do you have or on what teams do you participate?At CDA, I am the House of Wallace president. In my sophomore year at CDA, I ran cross-country. I also compete with CDA’s speech and debate team. I serve in children’s ministry as a small group leader, and serve as a worship leader for middle school and high school ministry at my church.

What does “ethical servant leadership” mean to you?“Ethical servant leadership” involves leading in a way that is not necessarily glorifying to the self. Instead as a leader, you must set example by serving. This also involves leading in a way that aligns with our Chris-tian faith and using that leadership as a platform on which to serve and love the way that Christ served and loved.

What was your best class at CDA?I’ve always enjoyed my English classes at CDA. This year I really enjoy Calculus and Physics.

What kinds of pets do you have OR... IF you could have any pet in the world, what would you like to try and why? My family has two dogs. We have a white fluffy Ha-vanese named Daisy and a yorkie poo named Ryder.

What is your favorite attribute of God? My favorite attribute of God is his unconditional love and the comfort he gives when I am hurting. I am often really hard on myself and struggle with negative thoughts and so I love the assurance I get from his comfort and viewing myself the way that he views me.

taylor niznikPresident of the House of Wallace

enrolled since 2010

10

Christian

Classical

Collaborative

CDA educates youth in a historic Christian worldview through a rigor-ous Trivium-based curriculum. Knowledge, understanding, and wis-dom of each subject are acquired with increasing sophistication as age, grade level and ability rise.

CDA seeks to nurture children in an atmosphere consistent with his-toric Christian belief through a faithful and committed faculty while restoring the biblical priority of the family.

Our mission is to train ethical servant leaders and wise thinkers who will shape culture for the glory of God.

CDA is a genuine school-home collaboration, where students receive professional instruction on campus two to three days per week and work at home under the tutelage of their parents for the balance of the week allowing the family to be the primary influence on the child’s life.

11