"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" - (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Dear HCLA parents,

Every day is a day to give thanks and show gratitude but most especially during this time of thanksgiving.  What a fun few weeks of gatherings and celebration of gratitude -  from our Veterans Day Chapel and grade level Thanksgiving celebrations at our Lower Campus, our beautiful and generous PALS teacher breakfasts and lunch feasts to our senior class (homemade Thanksgiving Feast) gratitude and love was abundant!  Mr. Blake Wright, our Spiritual Life Director shared the very important message of gratitude at chapel this week.  He asked our students to think about how they can be grateful.  May we all take time to think about all we have to be grateful for today, this week, and for eternity.
  

At HCLA,  we are thankful for the opportunity to serve your precious children. We have deep gratitude to our outstanding teachers who are passionate about teaching and who inspire each child to new heights in their academic and spiritual journey.    We thank God for our devoted parents who are such an integral part of our school community.  We are blessed to partner with you in raising up strong, confident disciples of Christ who love God, love others and love learning!  

I wish everyone a blessed Thanksgiving

Cindy Moon

A special VETERANS DAY thanks to Mr. Armando Gutierrez who was our guest speaker at both the Lower and Upper Campus chapels last week.  He is the father of Andrew and Alexander and husband of Mrs. Gutierrez, our administrative assistant at the Lower School.  He is a United States veteran and served as a Combat Medic in an infantry unit for the United States Army.  Mr. Gutierrez shared his experiences as well as provided a wonderful history of Veterans Day, lessons on the different military branches and the virtues and core values of each. 

We are proud of our Girl Scout Troop #2022 for the outstanding job they did presenting the colors and showing the proper way to fold an American flag.  To add to the spirit, our HCLA  Jazz Band performed a patriotic medley.  Mr. Goupil also shared about what it's like to share your faith while in the reserves.

When you donate to either Lower Campus or Upper Campus PALS, it helps them with expenses for events like today's Thanksgiving luncheon and last week's breakfast our teachers.  You also contribute greatly to improvements that impact your children.  We are more than grateful for our parents at HCLA.  The willing hands, countless hours, and supportive relationships make such a difference on our campuses. 

We are thankful for all of you!

WONDERFUL UPDATE:  MR. TEEL HAD HIS SURGERY ON THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14 - JUST A FEW DAYS AFTER BEING PLACED ON THE WAITING LIST.  GOD IS GOOD!  PLEASE KEEP HIM IN YOUR PRAYERS AS HE IS ON THIS ROAD TO RECOVERY UP IN JACKSONVILLE.

We are so thankful for our HCLA community of parents, students and teachers!  Many have come together to ask for your support for Mr. Doug Teel, our Director of Music at HCLA and our Middle and High School Band and choral instructor.  ....and wow, the response is amazing and shows what a great place HCLA is!! 

Our order form will be closing this weekend.  Feel free to order as long as the form is still up.  Please use this online order form to order t-shirts, ornaments, or to make a monetary donation.  The t-shirts and ornaments have been donated, so all money will be going to Mr. Teel directly.  Praise God!! We will have music ornaments and some extra t-shirts at various events during the Christmas season if you missed this opportunity.

Mr. Teel’s incredible talent, love for his students and deep passion for teaching makes a huge impact at our school and we are so very blessed to have him at the helm of our music program.  He shared with us his complete trust in God in this process and has even shared with his staff and students how he no longer worries after many years of seeing God's hand in all things.

Our prayers and blessings go to Mr. Teel for his loving care, strength and healing throughout this process. Please join us in prayer as we walk alongside him on this journey.  

Thank you for your ongoing support and prayers

Your HCLA community!

athletics updates

 📣 We are looking for an additional experienced cheer coach to help at the Upper Campus.  Flexibility and availability right after school is required.  If you know anyone interested, please reach out to Mrs. Bonnie Kelly at bkelly@thehcla.org  📣

YOU ARE NEEDED!  Volunteers are needed to make our home games run smoothly.  

Please sign up to work concessions using the Sign-Up Genius link sent out by Mrs. Kelly, Athletic Director.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Kelly at bkelly@thehcla.org

See calendar for additional dates and details.  

GO CRUSADERS!!

Holiday Uniform sale 50-75% off selected items while supplies last -  holycross-skoolstyle.com 

As you know, we had tremendous growth in enrollment for this school year.  It's already time to start thinking about re-enrollment and new applications for next year.  Applications for new students opened November 1 and we already have over 50 applications for new students next year!  If you have friends, family, siblings that are looking to enroll next year - it will be very important that they apply right away to start the process of being considered for HCLA.  Our re-enrollment for current families will begin January 13 and end January 24.  If you are wanting to apply for your students not currently at HCLA,  please login to your FACTS Family portal and go to APPLY/ENROLL drop down and choose the 2025-2026 application.  If you have difficulty logging in to FACTS, reach out to us for assistance.  Please do not start a new FACTS account.   We will be giving priority to applications received between November 1 and December 18.  All grades are currently at capacity with the exception of a few spots in our growing high school.  Your financial obligation at that time is $100.  As a reminder: start planning/saving for registration fees that are drafted in January when you secure your child's spot during our re-enrollment process in January.  We will send out information (tuition rates, fees, and instructions) as we get closer.  IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO OUR DEADLINES.  OUR ADMISSIONS HAS BECOME VERY COMPETITIVE AND SOUGHT AFTER SO YOU WILL WANT TO BE SURE TO MEET THE DEADLINES.  WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING REFERRALS AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUR FAMILY.

HOT OFF THE PRESS - our 12th graders average Fall SAT score is 1105.  Our highest individual score this year is 1300.  Quality teachers, SAT Prep classes offered and quality teachers is contributing to rising scores amongst our students.  Our students are well above average!  Congratulations to our students and staff!

Some of our high schoolers also joined Mrs. Moon and Dr. Lunardi this week at a meeting held at Harvest Time International.  They learned lessons on Leadership - Workforce Training and the Future of Jobs.  The panel talked about how to prepare your business for shifts in the labor market through skills training, upskilling and lifelong learning opportunities.   Exposing our students to these meetings helps instill confidence, promotes social engagement and leadership skills.

Holy Cross Lake Mary looks forward to hosting the Messiah Sing-Along at 7:30PM on November 19.  It's a great night of music for you to enjoy and even sign-along if you'd like.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD THANKSGIVING BASKETS! 

We made our largest donation to date to the Sharing Center due to your overwhelming response on both campuses.  They were very pleased this week when they came to pick up the donations.
It is wonderful to be a part of blessing others for Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 8 is Founder's Day in honor of our founding Pastor.  Happy heavenly birthday Pastor Paul Hoyer!  At Wednesday's Upper School chapel, we honored our student's service in the community to carry on the legacy that he provided.  5th graders came over to Upper Campus chapel to be part of our remembrance and observance of the service we do at HCLA.  Our students shared the lengthly list of service that they have been involved in.  It's awesome to see our students bless the community.  Also, a special thank you to Lara Jackson for sharing with our students about the importance of Rescue Outreach Mission.

PASTOR PAUL HOYER, HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN ACADEMY'S FOUNDING PASTOR

November 1, 2025

He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children so that a future generation— children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children” - Psalm 78:5–6

Dear HCLA parents,

At Holy Cross, we are a community of teachers, pastors, students and parents working together to support perpetual growth of each other and ourselves as we live a transformed life through Christ. We are truly blessed to have so many parents, teachers and students  take on leadership roles in volunteering to create engaging school activities and events! Just these past few weeks, we had a devoted group of parents, teachers and student leaders help set up fun festivities for our preschool fall parties, conjure up and lead inspirational and fun “homecoming week” events, create a beautiful “Fall Ball” theme for our High School homecoming dance, initiate our exciting powder puff game and eventful middle school bonfire.  They also took part and supported our church and school Trunk or Treat outreach event, participated in Gala planning meetings, celebrated the PALS Loyalty Card Fundraiser event and initiated meetings to begin planning more school events to come! Never underestimate the power of community in raising children. It takes a village and we are blessed to have so many  play a special part!

All of this showed that traditions are strong and that passion and love for God and for our school is boiling hot!  Traditions Matter! They remind us that we are part of a history that defines our past, shapes who we are today and who we are likely to become. Tradition contributes a sense of comfort and belonging. Tradition  brings our school  together and enables students and families  to reconnect with friends.. Tradition serves as an avenue for creating beautiful  memories at school that will last a lifetime. We are thrilled to continue past traditions and begin new traditions/rituals at HCLA!

We ARE Holy Cross and we ARE community!

Please help support our annual tradition of serving our community at Thanksgiving!  Our food collection for the Sharing Center ends November 6th.  Together with Resurrection Church and Holy Cross Lake Mary we plan to provide meals for 300 families this year.

Be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping your passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him. Romans 12:11

Peace and Blessings to all!

Cindy Moon

MRS. BINKLEY, LOWER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, UPDATE: 

Thank you all for partnering with us as we clarify our dress code policy and work through ensuring a consistent dress code throughout our lower campus. 

When in doubt check out our vendor’s website: https://www.holycross-skoolstyle.com/.  Our 3rd graders recently went to the Orlando Science Center and participated in activities focused on hurricane preparedness. They had to build a wall to protect a beach house from storm surge. Another neat center was using circuits together to power a fan in case of a power outage. Lots of learning happening in and out of the classroom.

We are also very excited about our Family STEAM Night coming up next week. Mrs. Dupuis works with all our grade levels and some of the highlights lately include Kindergarten working on fine motor skills, spatial awareness, following instructions and using tools. First grade has been focusing on chain reactions and modifying builds and 4th graders working through an Engineering Design process.

There is lots happening at lower school. The best way to stay up to date is join PALS (Parents Actively Lending Support) each month and keep up with class dojo and/or class newsletters.

Blessings,

Mrs. Binkley

DR LUNARDI, UPPER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, UPDATE: 

As we get back to normal routines after a fun-filled Spirit & Homecoming Week at Upper Campus, it's been impressive to see the effort that our students and teachers are putting in every day in the classroom. As our 6th graders continue to make the adjustment to having 7 different classes, 5 core classes and multiple electives, our seniors are taking multiple Advanced Placement (AP) classes and navigating the college application process all at the same time.

We have been blessed at HCLA with talented teacher-leaders in our core, AP-track courses and our fine arts and academic elective areas, and our students are taking full advantage of those courses by scheduling the most rigorous course loads that they can. This hard work is clearly paying off, as we now have seniors applying to some of the most competitive universities in the state (University of Florida, University of Central Florida, and the University of Miami, just to name a few). As we walk alongside them on this journey, we pray that the Lord will guide their steps and show them His plan for their future after HCLA. Thank you for your continued support of everything that's going on at Upper Campus. Go Crusaders!

HIGH SCHOOL EVENTS:  Please take some time to read through our College and Career Programs info with your student (click here).   

2025 National Youth Gathering registration is approaching.

Adult chaperones can express their interest as well.

Donations to support our youth are gladly appreciated and can be done by using the same link.

To secure your spot or get more information visit https://hclm.org/nyg2025/

Save when you register by October 31.  There is still an opportunity to register after October 31.  If you have questions, please contact Josh Blankenship, Director of Family and Youth Ministries at HCLM.

LCMS Youth Gathering provides thousands of youth and adults the opportunity to come together as a community of God’s people to be encouraged in their walk with Jesus Christ and learn about the Christian faith.  The event only takes place every 3 years so don't miss your chance this summer.

October 31 - Reformation Day - celebrated in the Lutheran Church and many protestant churches.  

More than 500 years ago, the Protestant Reformation brought the church’s focus back to God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.

On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses — the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” — to the church door in a small city called Wittenberg, Germany. This event ignited the Protestant Reformation, and thus the Lutheran church officially commemorates this important anniversary on Oct. 31.

November 1 - All Saints Day

Over the centuries, the Christian Church has set aside specific days to remember people and events that were significant in the proclamation of the Gospel.   These special dates are noted as commemorations, opportunities to remember special people of God from centuries past. Our churches teach that the remembrance of saints is so that we may imitate their faith and good works according to our calling.  The role of the saints is never to distract or detract from the work of Christ, but to give examples where we can see Him at work through countless saints just like us who have served Him throughout the history of His church.