Head of school Joan Hill and students assembled hygiene kits last week for Community Partners of Dallas.

Lamplighter students helped provide comfort to abused and neglected children by assembling hygiene kits and donating them to Community Partners of Dallas.

“It’s fun helping other people,” said Azal, a first-grader at Lamplighter.

Azal captured the feeling of students who donated, assembled, and delivered hygiene kits for children that are removed from their homes. The kits included shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

Joan Hill, Lamplighter’s head of school, explained why the school is interested in being so involved in the community.

“Through our efforts with Community Partners, we are hoping to ease a difficult situation for a young child,” she said. “Lamplighter is committed to working to improve the lives of children in small ways each day.” Read More…

On Monday, Lamplighter students were delighted to meet famed illustrator Jerry Pinkney, who has worked on more than 100 children’s books. His illustrations grace the pages of Little Red Riding Hood, the Ugly Duckling, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

Pinkney read with students and even put on a workshop in giraffe drawing. For more information on the visit, check out the school’s release after the jump. Read More…

Dr. Bruce Beutler, a father of three Lamplighter School graduates, was one of three scientists chosen on Monday to receive the Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries about the immune system.

But Beutler’s children, Danny ‘93, Elliot ‘94 and Jonathan ‘97, aren’t the first Lamplighter grads who can say “My dad won a Nobel prize.”

In 1985, Michael S. Brown was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for describing the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. His children, Elizabeth and Sara, graduated in ‘83 and ‘87 respectively.

Frank Wilczek speaking with fourth-graders about his love of science.

If you ask your 10-year-old what she did in school, and she says “chat with a Nobel Laureate,” you might want to put a check on her imagination. Unless of course, she goes to Lamplighter, where that statement is totally legit.

Frank Wilczek, the Herman Feshbach professor of physics at MIT was in Dallas to present at the Lightner-Sams Lecture at SMU in late April and made a pit stop at Lamplighter to answer student’s questions, chat about the universe, and admire the school’s “formidable” roosters. For the press release on the momentous occasion, go to the jump. Read More…

Lamplighter alumnae and staff with students at Warren Easton Charter School in New Orleans.

Lamplighter alumnae Coco Freling, Katie Kerrigan, Chandler Tucker and Lauren Chilton donated 170 dresses to students at Warren Easter Charter School in New Orleans earlier this month. This is the second year Lamplighter grads have partnered with the school, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“The most rewarding feeling was the look on the girls’ faces after they slipped the dresses on for the first time,” alumna Chandler Tucker said. “They lit up, and ran over and hugged us with much gratitude. This experience has taught me to not take things for granted, and I’m blessed I was a part of it.” Read More…

Third graders Cameron Peters and Emery Stobaugh

As a kid, I remember expressing my appreciation for our servicemen and women the old fashioned way — with pen and paper. But today’s technology allows classrooms to chat in real time with troops serving overseas through Skype.

Pretty cool stuff.

Last week, third graders at the Lamplighter School video chatted with soldiers stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan. The students asked the soldiers about their favorite foods, ability to play video games, and where they slept before serenading the troops with “Deep in The Heart of Texas” and the Lamplighter school song.

“The children participated in an event that has increased their awareness, curiosity, gratitude and empathy,” said teacher Jody Stout.

Second-grader Lindsey Nokolai took a sled ride on the playground at Lamplighter as part of a school fundraiser.

If this photo could describe your weekend, you were one of two places: Somewhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line, or on the campus of Lamplighter. The grounds were covered in 20,000 pounds of snow to raise money for the school’s upcoming Forever in Blue Jeans Auction. Go to the jump for more pictures of the winter wonderland. Read More…

Lamplighter School is hosting a private screening of “Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture” tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Studio Movie Grill. After the documentary, local film critic Gary Cogil will facilitate a discussion with the filmmaker, Vicki Abeles. There are 19 seats remaining. Click here to reserve yours.

If you can’t make it tomorrow, there will be a public screening of the film on Wednesday, same time, same place. Following the show, three child psychologists will hold a Q&A.

Although Halloween festivities had died down by Monday, Day of the Dead activities were just getting started. Lamplighter celebrated the Mexican holiday on Nov. 1 and 2 by making a special altar of remembrance with photos and memorabilia from loved ones who have passed away. The holiday is quite a joyous occasion, despite a seemingly morbid theme. From the looks of it, Lamplighter students were in the right spirits.

As of yesterday, Lamplighter is no longer a Hockaday tenant. The outlandish $1-per-year lease that ran through 2027 was cut short when the school decided to purchase the land out-right.

Communications director Melisa Dorrill said acquiring the land from Hockaday has been a 10-year process, with the main negotiations occurring during the past year. The details have been kept hush-hush by both parties as per terms of the agreement.

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, Lamplighter celebrated with a dirt cupcake party for all of the school’s pre-kindergarten through fourth grade classes. Trustee David Miller was on hand for the festivities and expressed his support.

“Now we’ll have this land forever,” Miller said.