The girls and boys basketball teams have entered district play. After each suffering losses in their first district match of the season, both programs were focused on the path that was in front of them. That path started with a road district game against Katy St. John XXIII on Wednesday, and finished with a home district game against Cypress Christian on Friday.

The girls had a great week of preparation, so it was no surprise to see such great focus and execution. The girls knew that winning on the road would not be easy, and that they needed to play a complete 4 quarter basketball game to come out with the victory. The Lady Vikings did just that, jumping out to a 21-8 halftime lead. In the second half, Katy St. John made a run, but that run was quickly put to an end as the Lady Vikings played great defense and ran the court and finished on the offensive end. The girls ended up winning, 43-30, and were led by Junior Forward, Elisa F, who had 25 points and 20 rebounds. After a focused practice on Thursday to prepare for Cypress Christian, the Lady Vikings kept their momentum going and played their best game of the season, beating Cypress Christian 71-35. The girls are now gearing up for another away district match on Tuesday as they prepare for Second Baptist at 6pm. Come support your Lady Vikings!

The boys team also came out with a purpose for their away district game against Katy St. Johns. After a back and forth game and multiple lead changes, the boys were able to rally in the 4th quarter and outscore Katy St. John’s by 17 in the 4th to go on to win the game, 61-47. The Vikings were led by Junior Forward, Antonio M, who had 27 points! With a short turnaround, the boys were back in action on Friday, this time taking on Cypress Christian. The boys came out with great energy and opened up a double digit halftime lead, en route to a 75-42 victory. The boy’s next game is Tuesday as they travel to take on Second Baptist at 7:30pm. Good luck boys!

It was a dark and chilly morning with temperatures hovering right at 39 degrees. We loaded the Village School bus and began the journey to the George R. Brown Convention Center. The air was heavy with anticipation as we chatted excitedly about the morning ahead of us. We, a group of twelve students and six staff members, were about to participate in the Houston Half Marathon. Together, we represented a cross section of seasoned race participants, half marathon novices and record-holding Cross Country runners. While our experiences and ages were vastly different, our goal was the same. We were all running for a reason. The reason, a special place for Autistic children and adults called Avondale House, stayed close in our minds and hearts with each passing mile.

We had the privilege of witnessing first-hand the amazing students and staff of Avondale when we visited the school for a pre-marathon pep rally on January 15th. With our mascot and drum line leading the festivities, we laughed, cheered and danced alongside the Avondale students. An emotional experience for us all, it definitely made what we were about to do all the more important.

For our students, it was powerful to see a group of their peers face a unique set of challenges with bravery and grace. For our staff, it was equally powerful to see the caring staff of Avondale House give so much of themselves to the young people in their charge. And for those of us who are also parents, we could only imagine the small sense of peace the Avondale parents have each day knowing that they can leave what is most precious to them in the care of these kind professionals.

With the Avondale experience fresh in our minds, we hit the starting line last Sunday morning with steadfast determination to run for a reason. Though some miles were tough, it was the faces of Avondale that kept us going.

The Village School Run for a Reason Team

Gabriella Rowe, Head of School
Dustin Embrey, Director of Athletics and Ancillary Programs
Paige Harris, Senior Director of Marketing, PR and Communications
Kim Healy, Senior Director of Campus Coordination and Events
Jen McMahon, Director of Admissions
Amy DeBakey, Assistant Director of Admissions
Alison – Senior
Alvaro – Senior
Alexandre – Sophomore
Philip – Senior
Fernanda – Junior
Charlotte – Junior
Sabrina – Senior
Ji – Junior
Javier – Sophomore
Federico – Sophomore
Marco – Sophomore

Runners in the 13 for 13 for 13
Ben – Sophomore
Nikita – Senior

Outstanding Performances

Junior cross country runner and defending TAPPS 4A State Champion, Charlotte S, ran a time of 1:35.04, which placed her 4th overall for her age group. Sophomore cross country runner, Alexandre A-J, ran a time of 1:32.41, which placed him 9th overall for his age group. Great job by both of these runners on their outstanding finishes. On behalf of the Village School Athletic Department, we could not be more proud of the entire team of runners for their remarkable achievement and inspiring determination.

The 8th grade girl’s soccer team took home a 5-2 victory Thursday against The John Cooper School. The girls played a solid game as a team. Malena L. and Doris M. controlled the middle of the field and utilized Jules B. and Aniek V. in the wing positions. The entire defense played as a unit, but Margaret G. and Elena R. had multiple goal-saving plays. At the end of regulation time, the teams were tied 1-1. Caroline M. was in the goal for the penalty kicks, which she stopped two great shots and only let one slide through. Aniek V., Margaret G., and Ainara R. scored goals during the shoot out. Overall the girls played a strong game and represented The Village School well.

Over the weekend, the 7th grade boys soccer team competed in the River Oaks Baptist soccer tournament. In the first round of the tournament, the boys played against Western Academy, beating them 4-2. That victory would set up a semi-final match against Kinkaid. In a closely contested, high quality match, the Vikings were victorious, winning 1-0! This victory secured the Vikings a spot in the finals where they would take on the host team, River Oaks Baptist. With the championship on the line, the Vikings played their cleanest game of the tournament, beating ROB 3-0! The Vikings were able to keep a clean sheet, and displayed wonderful teamwork and skill. The boys were led by outstanding play from Dave O, offensive standouts, Gerardo and Julien, defensive standout, Cornelius, and the hard working contributions from Samy and Alfredo! Congratulations to our boys!

Monday, January 4th, 2016

Village Swimming started off 2016 with a SPLASH as they competed in the St John’s XXIII New Years Classic. Both the HS and MS teams participated in this meet and put up some impressive results. The MS boys team finished first in the MS meet ahead of some very strong teams. The HS girls team was able to garner a 6th place finish in the HS portion of the meet.

All of the swimmers swam great and there were quite a few best times in the meet. Congratulations to everyone who participated in the meet.

On the HS side points were scored by Katya H, Kiera C, Hazel S, Nicole K, Nikita Z and Sam W. There is one more meet the High School team will use as a warm-up for Regionals. Regionals are taking place on January 26th at the U of H main Campus.

On the MS side, Olivia G set two MS meet records in the 50 Fly and the 50 Back, and Andrew A set one MS meet record in the 50 Free. Mac B put in a great effort with two silver medals adding valuable points to the boys MS point total. Alex C, Rashal G and Arysad G all contributed to the MS boys team victory. For the MS girls Caitlin W was able to score points for the team. MS has two more meets this season, SE TX Private School Champs on the 28th and HAPP MS Champs on February 3rd.

Coach Doug