Wall of Distinction

Welcome to the "Shout-out" section that will bring some light to our awesome teachers, staff, and students and their many accomplishments both in and out of school.

If you have an exceptional Spartan you wish to include, please fill out THIS Google Form!

SACS Superstar Award

It’s time once again to celebrate all of the incredible people who make SACS such a special place—those who teach, clean, cook, organize, drive, and care for our students every single day!

Through the SACS Education Foundation, staff members from across all schools and departments are recognized each month with the SACS Superstar Award. We’d love your help in shining a spotlight on the amazing work being done at Homestead by sharing this with your students and nominating your colleagues.

Click here to nominate!

FCCLA: In Review
This summer, Homestead's chapter of Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) went to Orlando for Nationals with several of our students winning big. This is no small accomplishment! Read more below to learn about these amazing students and their project ideas!

Ciara Baker & Riah Heitkamp

These two lovely ladies won 1st place in their Virtual Business Challenge. Individually, Ciara won 2nd Overall in her Challenge test in Fashion Apparel, and Riah won a silver medal in Food Innovations level 3.

Gabi Campbell & Kaitlyn Brown

Featured above are Gabi and Kaitlyn who both won Gold in their divisions. Kaitlyn won 5th overall in Early Education Level 3, and 9th overall in her skills demonstration lesson plan. Finally, Gabi won 9th overall in level 2 Public Policy advocate.

Silver Award

Featured to the left are our FCCLA silver winners! John Weimer won silver in Interior Design. Sadie Updegraff won 9th overall in Skills Demonstration Lesson Plan and 12th overall with her Teach or Train lesson plan. Abby Will and Meleah Hatch won silver with their Repurpose and Redesign project. Alex Hennessy won silver with her Repurpose and Redesign project. Finally, Audrey Hennessey won silver with her Fashion Construction project that also won 13th overall.

Lilly Endowment Travel Experiences

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a foundation dedicated to "the promotion and support of religion, education, and charity." Through this Creativity Fellowship Program, the Endowment invites all eligible K-12 educators throughout Indiana to submit proposals that include activities that are intellectually enriching and personally renewing and that provide opportunities for exploration and fulfillment that would otherwise not be possible. One of our very own teachers was given the opportunity this summer. Here are his experiences!

Mr. Beer in the UK! (English Department)

This past summer I spent 18 days in the UK through a Lilly Foundation Teacher Creativity Grant. For my grant, I had several goals: spend quality, one-on-one time with my son Augie hiking the Highlands and Inner Hebrides of Scotland; visit and explore London with family; hike through the English countryside in the Cotswolds; connect with the land and landscapes that shaped English literature; and spend time writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Each of these goals was undoubtedly met. I am so grateful to have had this life-changing experience.

Back in my undergraduate days as a student of English Literature, I developed an interest in British Literature, an interest which has grown over the past twenty years. I also write outside of my teaching work, both fiction and nonfiction. And getting to be a dad and a husband have been two of the great gifts of my life. Having all of these come together over a magical three weeks this past July was beyond anything I could have hoped for.

A huge thanks to my family for helping to make this happen, and to the Lilly Foundation, of course, but also to my colleagues Justin Peeper and Sam Welch, who provided guidance while I was drafting my proposal, feedback on drafts, and the necessary letters of recommendation for my final submission. One of my favorite parts of working at Homestead is being a part of a staff that is continually learning and growing in their fields. Truly inspiring to be around such professionals, and such generous partners in our work.

Greece!

This June a group of students from Homestead traveled to Greece for 2 weeks. Not only was this trip an exhilarating adventure filled with laughter and good times, but also an invaluable opportunity for experiential learning outside the traditional classroom setting. The students were Myleigh Dubes, Kaitlyn Fry, Rylan Jenty, Em Organ, Viv Rupright and Cedryanna Williams, Hunter Lutton, Aiden Moses, Liam Reed, Patricio Quintanilla. The adults on the trip were Mrs. Bogdonanwicz, Ms. Lisak, Jamie Dubes, Tony Gibson, and Amber Gibson.

Our students embraced this trip with enthusiasm and curiosity at every turn, making the journey a life changing and memorable experience. Our journey took us through the history of Greece. We started at the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon, then ventured into one of the oldest neighborhoods in Athens, the Plaka district. We then went to Delphi, famous for its oracle and the Pythian Games and the sanctuary dedicated to Apollo. We went on to Meteora to visit the monasteries built on towering sandstone pillars, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We were then on to Thessaloniki and a cooking class where we made our lunch consisting of dolmadakia, Greek salad, traditional spinach pie and of course, tzatziki! We saw the Roman Agora, we followed the steps of Alexander the Great and saw the tomb of Philip II, Alexander’s father. We participated in a traditional Greek dinner and dancing. The last part of our trip was spent on the island of Crete where we went to the Minoan Palace of Knossos, the island of Spinalonga, an ancient leper colony, and swam in the beautiful Sea of Crete. We ended up in Chania at the Venetian harbor where we saw amazing sunsets and had some of the best seafood ever!!

This trip was a beautiful experience, blending education and enjoyment. The exposure to new environments and the chance to apply classroom knowledge in real-world contexts have significantly contributed to our academic and personal growth. We will forever remember this adventure.

Page updated

Report abuse