AUGUST 28, 2025

ALL SCHOOL

A LETTER FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOL

August 28, 2025

Dear Valor Families and Faculty,

As we round the bend from the fresh start of a new school year into the early rhythms of daily learning, I want to pause and thank you—deeply and sincerely—for the sacred work you are doing.

At the bookends of the academic year—both the beginning and the end—the days can feel especially full, the learning curve especially steep, and the to-do list especially long. And yet, this is the work. These are the days when foundations are laid, when muscles of virtue and habit are strengthened, and when the partnerships between school and home are forged with grace, grit, and prayer.

To our returning families and seasoned mentors, thank you for digging in again with faithfulness and joy. Your stability, encouragement, and investment are a quiet but powerful force in our community.

To our new families and mentors—now is the time to lean in. The first weeks in the University-Model can feel disorienting, and for our Upper School students, even simple transitions—switching classrooms, learning new teachers, and adjusting to a new math curriculum—can feel overwhelming. But hear this: it gets better. The hard becomes a habit, and the unfamiliar becomes routine. And those rhythms will be established sooner than you think.

Stay the course. Offer grace to yourselves, to your students, and to one another. Ask questions. Reach out. Engage.

We are far from perfect or refined—we are under construction in every way. But I remain convinced that the heart, soul, and intent of this community is second to none. It is a joy to walk with people who believe that raising passionate disciples of Jesus is worth every hour of labor and every dollar invested. And in the midst of the labor, there is so much to celebrate.

Students are already engaging in meaningful learning, building relationships with their peers, and enjoying a growing array of extracurricular experiences. A new Grammar School student recently shared, “This is the best school experience I’ve ever had.” A new Upper School student quietly remarked, “This already feels like home.” Cross country is well underway, volleyball is off to a great start, and our first Pep Rally and football game are coming up this Friday. To top it off, Bosque Square is coming along beautifully as we look ahead with hopeful expectation.

The best news of all? The Lord is active and working. He is the faithful one who began this good work, and He will be the one to complete it.

Let’s continue to labor—joyfully, prayerfully, and courageously—from a place of deep, abiding rest.

In His Grace,

Wes Kanawyer

Swipe or click the arrows to see this week’s highlights and announcements!

IMPORTANT DATES + UPCOMING EVENTS:

8/29: All School Spirit Day!
9/1: Labor Day - No School
9/3: New Parent Breakfast Connect, 9:00-10:00 am @ La Madeleine Waco
9/3: Parent University Academic Trainings @ Valor Campus (Grammar School & Upper School)
9/6: Bosque Square Blessing & Prayer Walk @ Valor’s New Campus

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Calling all Parent Photographers/Volunteers for the Yearbook!

Do you like to take pictures and go to Valor events? If so, we’d love to recruit you to help take photos for our yearbook! If you’d like to volunteer as a designated person to photograph events for us or want to help in some other way with the yearbook, please fill out this form!

New Parent Breakfast Connect

Calling all new parents to Valor! Please join us on Wednesday, September 3, from 9:00-10:00am at La Madeleine Waco for coffee, light refreshments, and fellowship! Please RSVP here to let us know you’re coming!

Bosque Square Blessing & Prayer Walk

Join us on Saturday, September 6, from 8:00–9:30 a.m. at Bosque Square for a special come-and-go time of blessing and prayer over our new campus at Bosque Square. Families and staff are invited to walk through, pray over the space, and write scripture, prayers, and words of blessing on the beams, marking the campus with God’s promises for generations to come. We hope you’ll join us in covering our new home with prayer!

All Parents, Faculty & Staff! Please upload photos you take to the appropriate Yearbook folders! You can find a full list of folders by school here.
Faculty & Staff Birthdays for September:
- Angel Castanon, 1st Grade Aide: 9/4
- Ashley Minaise, 1st Grade Aide: 9/9
- Demi Stone, 2nd Grade Teacher: 9/11
- Megan Monnich, 4th Grade Teacher: 9/13
- Sarah Nazarian, Mentorship & Family Care Coordinator: 9/14
- Brooke Ramsey, Head of the Grammar School: 9/17
- Kristina Akin, Kindergarten Aide: 9/19
- Carolyn Harper, 3rd Grade Teacher: 9/29
- Lindsay Nixon, 2nd Grade Teacher: 9/29

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

IMPORTANT DATES + UPCOMING EVENTS:

9/3: GS Parent University Academic Training, 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. @ Valor

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Parent University is coming up on Wednesday, 9/3! Mark your calendars to come and receive training from our wonderful teachers on Shurley Grammar, Narration, Early Childhood & Early Grammar writing, Report Cards, Math & You, and More! Find more details HERE. The training will be held at St. Matthew’s, please enter through the door closest to New Road on the Valor side of the building.
Did you find something neat while doing your Nature Study, but don’t know what it is? Try out the iSeek App to identify plants and animals.
Please remember to pack eating utensils and napkins in your children’s lunch.

Please visit our Grammar School Homepage to stay up-to-date on all things Grammar School and find answers to frequently asked questions.

LOGIC SCHOOL

IMPORTANT DATES + UPCOMING EVENTS:

9/3: US Parent University Academic Training, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. @ Valor

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

No new updates this week

RHETORIC SCHOOL

IMPORTANT DATES + UPCOMING EVENTS:

9/3: US Parent University Academic Training, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. @ Valor
9/16: Senior Sunrise Breakfast, 6:45 am, Year 12 students & their parents
Admissions Counselors will visit our campus on the following dates. They will meet with our RS students in Room 101 during their lunchtime:
September 9: Baylor University
September 16: Tarleton State University
September 24: Austin College
September 25: Hillsdale College
September 26: Texas A&M, College Station
October 3: Oklahoma Baptist University
October 7: University of Alabama
10/18: PSAT and PSAT-NMSQT — Year 10 and Year 11 students will take the PSAT (10th grade) or PSAT-NMSQT (11th grade) on Saturday, October 18th. Please mark this testing date on your calendar, which is after the RS Retreat and the conclusion of Quarter 1, as this positions students to be rested and ready for this important standardized test.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Teacher Office Hours are listed on the Course Quick Guides that you received during the RS Grade Level Launches in August; these office hours are also listed on your students’ syllabus for each Rhetoric School course. When RS students miss class (because of illness, a sports competition, or a doctor’s visit), their teachers’ office hours are the designated times for them to meet with their instructors to discuss their missed work. It is each student’s responsibility and obligation to meet with teachers during their posted office hours when he or she is absent from school.

Year 9 Composition Quick Reference: Students in Mrs. Engebretson’s Year 9 Composition & Literature course are required to have a Composition Quick Reference (CQR) for class, as noted on the Rhetoric School book list. Students who needed a copy of the CQR were given one in class, and their student accounts have been charged $5 to cover the printing costs for this learning tool.
A point of clarity about supplies for our math course in geometry: Students need a calculator for MTH 201: Honors Geometry. According to our 2025-2026 book list, students may use a TI-30XA (non-graphing scientific calculator) or a TI-84 Plus calculator, which they will need for Honors Algebra 2 and Honors or Advanced Precalculus in future years. MTH 201 students also need a compass, protractor, and graphing paper for this course.

FAMILY MINISTRIES + TRADITIONS

IMPORTANT DATES + UPCOMING EVENTS:

8/29: Traditions Quarter 1 Meeting, 10:00-10:30 am @ St. Matthew Chapel
9/3: New Parent Breakfast Connect, 9:00-10:00 am @ La Madeleine Waco
9/5: Monthly Prayer, 8:30-9:00 am @ Valor Cafeteria

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Q1 Traditions Meeting

Please join us on Friday, August 29th, from 10:00-10:30 am at St. Matthew Chapel (next door to Valor). We will be sharing upcoming events and how you can be involved in the FUN around campus, such as teacher appreciation, prayer, and more!

Parent University: Academic Trainings

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend Parent University: Academic Training, which will take place on Wednesday, September 3rd. Grammar School will be from 12:00-3:00 pm, and Upper School will be from 6:00-8:00 pm on Valor Campus. These trainings are for all co-teachers and parents, as they will give you practical training and vision for your partnership with Valor.

ATHLETICS

IMPORTANT DATES + UPCOMING EVENTS:

8/29: First Varsity Home Football Game is on Friday vs Prince of Peace, 7 pm @ Paul Tyson Field (Waco High School)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

If you can't make the Varsity football home game on Friday, tune into Youtube.com/@ValorPrepAthletics to catch a full audio broadcast of the game with Ben Brown, back for year two, and Jake McCormick.
Sign up for our Youth Knight Squad here!

Please visit our Valor Athletic Week at a Glance to stay up-to-date on what's going on this week in Athletics!

RESOURCES

Yearbook Information: https://sites.google.com/valorprep.com/valorparentportal/yearbook-photo-albums-25-26

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