There is a saying “Life is what you make of it.” There is some truth in that, but something sweet to help give you a boost on rough days sure doesn’t hurt. If there’s chocolate involved, then that’s even better! In this course, we will be baking delicious homemade desserts from tried and true recipes. Of course, we will play with icing too! We will even do some experimentation like trying the same cookie recipe with several different types of chocolate morsels. We will also experiment to see what different affects baking soda versus baking powder will have on those cookies. Our menu will include everything from cookies, pies, cakes and cupcakes. You will leave each day with your own personal Baker’s Dozen Box to share with friends and family.

This course teaches some of the basic field and laboratory techniques used in criminal investigations. Some of the techniques taught are approaching a crime scene, and how to locate, tag and bag evidence. Additionally student will receive training in fingerprinting, development of latent prints and casting impression. The week will culminate in solving a virtual crime.

Students will learn basic cooking skills, such as knife handling, baking, sautéing, and roasting, along with kitchen safety and recipe development. Participants will finish the course with recipes covering breakfast, lunch, and dinner favorites

The course will consist of projects intended to introduce students to a variety of fabrication tools, technologies, and materials in order to spark creativity and foster confidence in their gifts, talents and abilities. The projects will require students to think critically and work collaboratively in order to solve problems and reach goals. Some of the technologies available include 3D printers, a laser cutter/engraver, and a vinyl cutter. The tools will include standard hand tools as well as power tools like a drill press, band saw, and miter saw. The materials we will work with include wood, plastic, and sheet metal. The overarching purpose of the course is to encourage students to explore their creativity and ability to design and build.

Far from being a passive, mindless activity, watching film allows us to see reality from different perspectives. There’s more to glean besides the “moral of the story.” We can learn how to appreciate the artistry that goes into storytelling as well as its ability to not only entertain but also expand our understanding of reality and the human experience.

This SPARC course is designed as a reflective and interactive seminar to hone the ability of thoughtful film critique by learning to recognize assumptions and assess ideas presented in film and media. This course will help guide us in establishing a personal biblical worldview as the standard for evaluating ideas.

The course combines film screenings (with lots of movie snacks!) and discussion.

Parents should see the attached list of film media that we will view to discuss and approve these screenings for their student prior to signing up.

Film Screenings

The purpose of this SPARC course is for girls to discover and celebrate how the Lord has uniquely created each of them through small group devotionals, service learning at different ministries throughout the Tyler and Dallas area, and fun activities.

We will start each day with a Bible study that focuses on finding identity in Christ instead of worldly things. We will visit different Tyler ministries including Pine Cove, Promise Academy, and the Boys and Girls Club to learn about their purposes and processes, as well as serve in different capacities. Throughout the trip, the girls will seek to find what “breaks their hearts,” and how they might best serve the Lord based on their unique gifts, abilities, and passions.

On Tuesday, we will road trip to Dallas in order to visit ministries there, as well as enjoy some fun “girl time.” We will attend Watermark Community Church’s young adult worship service and will meet with Watermark staff. After spending the night in Dallas, we will road trip back and will end our week with more service learning in Tyler.

Students will have their minds and problem solving skills tested as they try and discover and decipher different challenges and clues to help them out of different scenarios in themed rooms. They will use creativity and teamwork to not only escape the rooms, but to create one of their own escape rooms. We will conclude the week by trying to escape each other’s homemade rooms!

The purpose of this SPARC course is to experience several different Christian traditions and to explore how and why they worship in the spaces and ways that they do. The goal is to become familiar with Christian traditions that may be different from our own in order to better understand them, but also to better understand our own tradition through seeing how it is similar to and different from others.

We will be visiting four to five churches in the Tyler area encompassing the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant traditions of Christianity. We will visit their places of worship in the mornings where church leaders will talk to us about their church tradition and why the church worships in the way they do. In some cases we may even be able to observe a prayer and/or worship service.

We will come back to Brook Hill for lunch followed by an afternoon discussion about what we experienced in the morning.

Join Dr. Lee at the Strategy Gaming SPARC week to learn about revolution in board gaming that has taken place over the last 15 to 20 years. This course will focus on different sorts of board games which require significant deliberation and strategic choices in order to address the decisions of opponents and mitigate the impact of randomness in the game space. Dr. Lee will bring over 200 games to the SPARC classroom.

This is a week-long service project fulfilling the needs of those right here in our own community. We will use SPARC week as an opportunity to learn through service and to carry out the command Jesus gave, “And He sat down and called the twelve. And He said to them, ‘If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’” Mark 9:35

In this course, we will explore what God expects of every young man. We will read the book “God’s Gift to Women” by Eric Ludy and will discuss the central themes to be a God-honoring man. In addition, we will spend time learning skills that every man should know, such as: basic car maintenance, basic power tools/construction/home maintenance, building a campfire, operating a grill, etc. For inspiration during the week, we will watch and discuss several episodes of “Man vs. Wild” with Bear Grylls.

Join Mrs. Tucker, Mrs. Bouwer, and Mrs. O’Brien, as we explore the college application process. This course will focus on completing the various applications, writing an essay, writing a resume, SAT Prep, and choosing a major. Along the way, we will visit UT Austin, Rice, Southwestern, and UT Tyler. The course is designed to take the pressure and stress out of applying to college and enjoying enriching experiences (I-Fly!!) outside of the classroom setting.

To understand the nature of the creation versus evolution debate

To learn the difference between evidence and ideology

To enjoy the atmosphere of the Institute for Creation Research and the Perot Museum, with their numerous highly informative displays

To debate the creation versus evolution issue