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SouthLake Christian Academy Update – June 2023

Dear SouthLake Christian Families,

I hope you are enjoying summer break. I interrupt your leisure briefly to give you a few updates.

Last month we celebrated SouthLake’s 31st graduating class. Here are some facts about the class of 2023. Of our 51 graduates, 29% are lifers having attended SouthLake continuously since JK or Kindergarten. 92% of our graduates participated in student organizations, sports, or fine arts. 40% reported earning scholarships totaling nearly $3.5 million dollars for academic achievement, leadership, athletics, fine arts, and service to the community. 8% of the class will compete as student athletes at the collegiate level. 4% of our graduates received scholarships to study in an arts-related field. Our graduates were accepted to 75 different colleges and universities across the country. They will attend 25 different schools in 7 states. 60% will matriculate in state and 40% will leave North Carolina to attend schools in the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest. 25% will attend Christian colleges or universities. We celebrate these remarkable accomplishments. We love each and every graduate and we will miss them.

The end of our academic year also gives us pause to celebrate success in our athletic and fine arts programs. Our 35 sports teams won a combined 7 conference championships this past year and one state championship. Sophomore Nolan Boovy took gold in the high jump at the state meet. Many of our athletes set school records, and many more set personal records. Of note, all of our student athletes must show strong academic performance to remain eligible for competition.

Our fine arts programs also have much to report. 15 elementary, middle, and high school students were selected to state honors choruses. 6 lower school students were chosen to have their artwork displayed at Charlotte’s Mint Museum of Art. 12 students in K-6thgrade were chosen to represent SouthLake in the ACSI Visual Arts Fair, where 7 received the highest marks for their artwork. These curricular and co-curricular programs represent valuable opportunities for our students to learn, grow, and work together.

As we celebrate our students, I am reminded that we are more than the sum of our accomplishments. God loves us no more when we succeed, and no less when we fail. We do well to remind ourselves and our students that our worth rests not in our performance, but in our status as people created in the image of God and redeemed by Christ. This knowledge frees us to do our best without the crippling pressure to reach societal standards of success. In that spirit, I am thankful to our faculty and staff for guiding our students to noteworthy achievement while keeping it all in perspective.

Onward,

Matthew S. Kerlin, Ph.D.
Head of School
SouthLake Christian Academy

Education Fine Arts Sports
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SouthLake Christian Academy – Update March 2023

Dear SouthLake Christian Families,

Regardless of the groundhog, it sure feels like spring has arrived, at least for now. Flowers are blooming, temperatures are warming, and several important things are happening this month at SouthLake.

Spring Musical
As I type this email, several volunteers are putting final coats of paint on the sets for our musical production of Peter Pan which opens tomorrow night on campus. The production runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. with a matinee performance Saturday at noon. Tickets cost only $10 and can be purchased online here. You can also buy access to view the livestream of Friday night’s performance. The story will entertain you and the talent on display will inspire you. I am incredibly proud of the cast, crew, faculty, and volunteers working tirelessly to put on a show you do not want to miss.

Summer Camps
The registration link for our summer enrichment and athletic camps is now live. You can access the link on our website under the Campus Life tab, or simply click here. Once again, you will see a stellar lineup of opportunities for students to stay mentally and physically sharp this summer.

Academic Calendar
Attached to this email you will find a PDF of the linear calendar for both the 23-24 and 24-25 academic years. In an effort to help everyone with advanced planning, our administrative team is working ahead to put all the important dates in place for the next two school years. While some minor dates are still TBD or could change, the most important dates are now set, and soon we will begin work on the 25-26 academic year.

SouthLake Media
Episode two of the SouthLake Podcast is now out. In this episode, our three school deans discuss campus culture, parent partnerships, and school values. You can find our podcast wherever you get your podcasts, now including Spotify. And later this month we will launch our newly redesigned website. Finally, a quick reminder that Daylight Savings Time begins March 12, in spite of legislative attempts last year to end the practice. The time change does help our sports teams, all of which are off to a strong start this season.

Welcome to those of you who are new to SouthLake and receiving my monthly email for the first time. We are glad to have you.

Onward,

Matthew S. Kerlin, Ph.D.
Head of School
SouthLake Christian Academy

13820 Hagers Ferry Road
Huntersville, NC 28078
704-949-2200

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SouthLake Christian Academy Update – April 2022

Dear SouthLake Christian Families,

I greet you on day one of Missions Week as we begin our celebration of 20 years of missions at SouthLake. For two decades, SouthLake has partnered with 32 missions organizations, provided financial contributions of $436,290.07, and given untold hours of labor in support of mission efforts around the world. This week we will host special chapels on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, students may wear their Missions Week tee shirts each day, and on Friday we will cap off the week with our Spring Festival. I want to thank Kristin Ledford for her stellar efforts to plan and execute our spiritual life activities this year. And thanks to the efforts of the Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF), this year’s Spring Festival will be free for all who attend, with the notable exception of the food trucks on campus. Please plan to drop by after school Friday to enjoy the festivities.

The April 1 deadline to withdraw from SouthLake without incurring tuition costs has passed, and I am pleased to report a retention rate of nearly 95%. School wide we have fewer than 20 spots left for the coming academic year. All grades are full except JK, 1, 6, and 11 and we have more than 40 students now in a waiting pool. We continue to tour and test students daily with the busiest months of our admissions cycle still to come. There is a very real possibility we could operate at maximum capacity for the 2022-2023 academic year. The only way this happens is when satisfied parents tell their neighbors. We spend almost no money on marketing because word of mouth remains the most common way our new families learn about SouthLake. Thank you for your continued trust in us and for helping to spread the good news about our school in the community.

In December I told you about Autumn Solesbee, a SouthLake third grader who won the regional round of the national Drive, Chip, and Putt competition. This qualified her to compete in the finals at Augusta National this past weekend. Well, we are proud to report that Autumn won the competition, placing first in her age group. The competition was aired on the Golf Channel and in a post-competition interview she was congratulated by Bubba Watson. Congratulations Autumn! You are a champion at Augusta National.

This month we will say goodbye to Harrella Wedington, our Chief Financial Officer. I cannot overstate the impact she has made on our school, providing stellar leadership of our financial operations for more than four years. During her tenure, SouthLake has gained remarkable financial strength, even while navigating economic fallout from the pandemic. As a CPA with an MBA and vast experience in educational settings, Harrella possesses a rare skill set that will be difficult to replace. I will miss her integrity, business acumen, and good humor, but she will remain on the job until she trains her replacement. We wish Harrella the best as she takes on a new challenge.

To conclude, I would like to highlight the outstanding instruction of our Choral Director Mary Ann Foltz. In addition to teaching music and choir to every age group at SouthLake,

Mary Ann directs our annual spring musical. This year’s performance was Once Upon a Mattress, a humorous adaptation of the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.” Mary Ann is a master at casting, placing each student in an ideal role for their abilities. She can tell a brilliant story with a minimalistic set that can easily be transported and assembled for the off-site performance. She helps build a genuine sense of camaraderie so students feel supported and comfortable around each other and in front of an audience. She works tirelessly to construct sets, sew costumes, and rehearse music after hours, all while teaching a full load of music classes during the day. She is a program builder who has seen voluntary participation in choir more than double during her tenure. SouthLake is a better school because of the dedication and hard work of teachers like Mary Ann.

As I proofread, I see a lot of superlatives in this email. Maybe that is because we have much to celebrate. Certainly my job is to fix problems, but my job is also to highlight what is good about this place. As we near the conclusion of a tough academic year, I am thankful for all of those who quietly roll up their sleeves and put in the hard work to help make this place great. Hang in there. Spring is here; summer is coming.

Onward,

Matthew S. Kerlin, Ph.D.
Head of School
SouthLake Christian Academy

Education Fine Arts Sports
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SouthLake Christian Academy – Update October 2021

As you head into your week off from school, let me be a cheerleader for SouthLake and give you a few bits of good news.

First, you should soon receive by mail a copy of SouthLake’s Strategic Plan. I hope you will take a few moments to read the document, or at the very least look at the great pictures. This publication reflects hours of collaborative work by many in our community and outlines our school’s strategic priorities for the future. The goals we’ve set are lofty, but I believe you would rather us aim high. A mentor once told me that most organizations overestimate what they can accomplish short term, and underestimate what they can accomplish long term. I am excited to see what God can accomplish as we work together in the years to come.

Second, this week I received a remarkable compliment from the Principal of Hibriten High School, our varsity football rival from one week ago. She called to tell me how impressed she was with our students, staff, and parents this past Friday night. She received many compliments from her staff about how polite and respectful our folks were, and how much they enjoyed having us on their campus. She mentioned specifically that our players were careful to say, “thank you” and “yes sir” or “yes ma’am” when speaking with the Hibriten staff. Whether we win or lose in competition, how we conduct ourselves among our rivals speaks volumes about ourselves, our school, and our Creator.

Third, I would like to recognize SouthLake junior John Levantino for being selected to the North Carolina Honors Chorus. John auditioned with over 700 students from across the state. Only 176 students were selected from 78 participating schools. To put this achievement into context, there are nearly 1000 high schools in the state enrolling over 1.1 million students. This makes John’s accomplishment even more impressive. And let me add that John also plays cello and runs cross country.

Fourth, I continue to observe our teachers in the classroom, and this month’s report comes from our Upper School orchestra. Students are learning an arrangement of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Procession of the Nobles” from the opera Mlada. How do you take an orchestral piece with 50 different parts and make it work for an ensemble of 5 strings, 2 trumpets, one flute, and an electric piano? Well, our Fine Arts Director Jose Bas is a master at solving problems like this and making music with the resources available. In an orchestra of 9 members, every musician is exposed. Mr. Bas knows all the parts, and can sing them when needed, and he knows theory and technique for strings, brass, and woodwind instruments alike. A virtuoso string player himself, Mr. Bas balances his high demands with frequent words of encouragement. Sometimes during class everything falls into place and genuinely beautiful music results. Heaven knows we have our problems, but in moments like these, I am reminded how much God has blessed SouthLake.

I hope you have a restful and relaxing week. We will return from Fall Break as scheduled, fully in person for all grades. See you on October 11.

Matthew S. Kerlin, Ph.D.
Head of School
SouthLake Christian Academy

Fine Arts Leadership Sports