Roar and Rejoice March 2026

R RROAR& ROAR& eejoice joice

GOOD NEWS & GOOD NEWS & GRATITUDE GRATITUDE FROM FROM GRAPEVINE FAITH GRAPEVINE FAITH

There is so much to celebrate at Grapevine Faith! This edition of Roar and Rejoice shines a spotlight on the achievements, creativity, and dedication of our students and staff. From our newly named Lebeaux Court to our recent college commitments, these highlights remind us of the joy found in community and the blessings that come from walking faithfully together.

Congratulations to COLTON EDWARDS on his recent baptism at Keystone Church.

DALLAS ROAD HOME COURT

DEDICATED AS “LEBEAUX COURT”

Grapevine Faith officially dedicated the Dallas Road gym, naming it “LeBeaux Court” on January 13, honoring longtime educator and leader Nolan LeBeaux for a lifetime of faithful service to the school.

“Paul wrote in Romans 12:10, challenging us to be devoted to one another in love by honoring one another above ourselves. If there's ever been a man who quietly lived out that verse day after day, decade after decade, I think you would agree it's Nolan LeBeaux,” Dr. Ed Smith, president of the school, said at the dedication.

Nolan started his career in Christian education in Louisiana, coaching basektball before moving to Texas in 1978, later becoming headmaster of Grapevine Faith Christian School. He hired staff, onboarded teachers, and became the school’s first junior high principal.

“Over the years, Mr. LeBeaux has been known as a mentor, prayer warrior, handwritten note writer, Bible teacher, gardener, and devoted family man, as well as a passionate LSU fan,” Smith said.

The dedication was attended by LeBeaux’s family and many friends of Nolan and his wife, Laura.

Click here to view the photo gallery.

Campus Campus

ALI CICCONE EARNS EAGLE SCOUT WITH ARMED SERVICES

MEMORIAL PROJECT AT SOLTICE SENIOR LIVING IN GRAPEVINE

Junior Ali Ciccone joins a small group of scouts to earn the rank of Eagle Scout with the completion of her service project.

In December, Ali and her family celebrated her project, an Armed Services Memorial, with friends and supporters, including Mr. Keith Hall, high school principal.

With her Eagle Scout status, Ali joins her brothers, Jonathan and Christoper, and sister, Anacapri, who have all earned Eagle Scout badges. Anacapri graduated from GFCS in 2024.

The memorial includes six pillars representing the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force. In the center of the memorial is a flagpole with the American flag.

“I was inspired to build a Veterans Memorial Park as I believe our veterans and Armed Forces deserve significantly more recognition and appreciation,” Ali told a Southlake magazine.

As part of the project, Ali planned, budgeted, fielded donations, and led a team to construct the memorial. She worked with Mr Milan Georgia, a retired Army veteran, to ensure she complied with military requirements for memorials.

“The site is already serving as a gathering location for scout troops, residents, and community members, bridging multiple generations together. It was inspirational to watch over 50 volunteers work on the Eagle project while gaining a greater understanding and appreciation for the dedication of so many veterans.” The memorial will be formally dedicated at a later date.

RICK JACKSON NAMED FINALIST IN OUTSTANDING TEACHER OF AMERICAN HISTORY CONTESTS

Rick Jackson was recognized as a third place finalist in the Outstanding Teacher of American History Contest for the state of Texas by the Daughters of the American Revolution, selected from more than 200 DAR chapters across the state.

The contest annually recognizes a notable, full-time teacher of American History and related fields in grades 5-12.

Mr. Jackson and his wife will attend an awards banquet in March.

Spotlight Spotlight

LIONETTES MAKE SCHOOL HISTORY, EARNING PODIUM SPOT AT TAPPS DANCE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

ARTS ARTS on the... on the...

TIMBER

CREEK CROWD PLEASERS REGIONAL SHOWCASE

CLASSIC SMALL TEAM, 1ST

CAPTAIN RUBY CLARK, 1 (SOLO) ST

OFFICER ROUTINE, 1ST

JAZZ ROUTINE, SPECIALTY HIGH POINT AND CROWD PLEASER AWARD

LEBANON

TRAIL

CROWD

PLEASERS REGIONAL SHOWCASE

GRAND CHAMPION, 1 PLACE ST FOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASSIC SMALL TEAM

TAPPS FALL PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

HONORABLE MENTION

Creative Creative

ATPI FALL PHOTO CONTEST

CARSON THOMAS, 2 (ADVERTISING) ND

MICHAELA HAMILTON, HONORABLE MENTION

KADEN FRASIER, HONORABLE MENTION

CANON HUNTER, HONORABLE MENTION

NATE ELLIOT, HONORABLE MENTION

DECLAN STECKEL, HONORABLE MENTION

WHITNEY PHILLIPS, HONORABLE MENTION

13 ART PIECES HEADED TO VASE STATE COMPETITION

All GFCS pieces entered at VASE Regional competition received Regional Gold Medals ,with 13 Faith pieces advancing to the State VASE Meet in April

Both Studio Art and Photography pieces were entered.

Studio Art students earned 39 perfect or nearly perfect scores

The State VASE Art competition is April 24-26 in San Marcos, Texas.

ARTS ARTSCreative Creative

TWO STUDENTS QUALIFY FOR NSDA NATIONALS

Congratulations to Zane Duffy and Owen Little and the rest of the Speech and Debate Team after competing at the district level in College Station, Texas

Zane and Owen qualified for the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Duo Interpretation Qualification for Nationals is extremely competitive and requires students to place at the very top of their district

Across the country, only 4% of the roughly 140,000 NSDA student members ultimately compete at the National Tournament each year

Zane and Owen will represent Grapevine Faith this summer in Richmond, Virginia

The team also had winners in other district events:

4th Place – Carson Thomas and Evan Norman, Public Forum Debate

5th Place – Sophia Belcher, Lincoln-Douglas Debate

EDUCATIONAL THEATRE ASSOCIATION’S THESPY AWARD FINALISTS

Gabriella Adair | Owen Akin | Harper

Bushnell | Ellery Church | Gabby Fischer | Faith Floyd | Adeleigh Khan | Tatum

Landry | Owen Little | Clara Nester | Noah Staats | RJ Weaver | Kate Wilcox

TAPPS SOLO & ENSEMBLE COMPETITION “SUPERIOR” RATING

Avery Branch | Sutton Born | Bree Born |

Riley Berlin | Nora Croft | Ben Demarest |

Jacqueline Drummond | Zenee Erb | Joey

Francetic | Rachel Grabow | Ian Harriger | June Jeffrey| Jenna Khoury | Aspen

Ondrey | Addie O’Rear | Lola Simpson |

Kami Stares | Travis Williams | Blake Williams

LUKE PUEPPKE, 1 DIVISION, SUPERIOR RATING ST (CELLO SOLO)

UPDATES UPDATESAthletics Athletics

Baseball | East Texas Baptist University

Football | University of North Texas

COLLEGE COMMITMENTS

| Wheaton College

SWIM TEAM PERFORMS STRONG AT REGIONALS, HEADING TO STATE IN 12 EVENTS

Faith Varsity Swim Team competed in the Division II Regional Meet recently, earning slots to the State meet. The team competed February 10 in San Antonio in 12 events.

Individual State Qualifiers:

Stella Anderson - 100 Back, 200 IM

Abigail Allen - 500 Free

Sienna Skelly - 100 Fly

Presley Kirchhoff - 100 Breast

Lucca Lovera - 200 IM

State Qualifier Relay Teams:

200 Medley Relay Girls

200 Medley Relay Boys

200 Free Relay Girls

200 Free Relay Boys

400 Free Relay Girls

400 Free Relay Boys

Girls Relay Team: Presley Kirchhoff, Abigail Allen, Sienna Skelly, Stella Anderson, Annabelle Horak

Boys Relay Team: Kaden Frasier, Carson Thomas, Colton Edwards, Lucca Lovera, alternate - Sam Elliott

JUNIOR LION RBI CLUB MEETS VARSITY PLAYERS

Some 4th-6th graders recently spent time with Varsity baseball players as part of '"Meet My Lion" event for the Junior Lion RBI members.

The students were able to share baseball backgrounds, swap baseball stories, and enjoy a breakfast snack together.

"This helps us to begin developing a pipeline of future Varsity players, as well as help further develop some mentorship/leadership skills for our high school players," Coach Robert Vaughn said.

GFCS ALUM JACLYN ALBIN, M.D.

NAMED TO TEXAS NUTRITION

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

GFCS Alum Jaclyn Albin, M D has been named to Governor Abbott’s Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee.

“Through this committee, we will have an opportunity to influence strategy statewide for bringing science-informed nutrition education to all levels, beginning in kindergarten and advancing through the medical professional level,” she said, of the committee, which develops nutritional guidelines for Texas residents. “Education is just the beginning, but it allows for creative strategy that delivers a true farm-totable approach to health.”

Jaclyn is a 2001 graduate of Grapevine Faith She has served as an executive mock interviewer for leadership at the school and is a recurring interviewer for Grapevine Faith’s C-Suite Leadership Initiative Interview event, which connects students with high-level leaders. Most recently she collaborated with Food Services Director Chef Patrick Bergman to create a customized protein shake program for student-athletes at Faith

Alumni Alumni

Jaclyn and her husband, Matthew, have two children both currently attending junior high at Faith: Junia and Elijah

SERVING

UP SUCCESS SERVING UP SUCCESS

GFCS GRAD CHAD KEL

Chad Kelly, GFCS Class of 20 the Middle East as what he cal catalyst” with Novo, an internat organization.

“Our work focuses on fi leaders in simple discipl teaching them to hear G him in order to see a mu believers where they liv help coach these leaders see them and encourage

Chad has previously traveled with Novo in other countries, including in September 2024 to a ministry in South Asia and then most recently last year, to the Middle East.

“These trips have exposed me to the amazing work that God is doing around the globe,” Chad said.

To learn more about Novo or donate to Chad Kelly’s mission, visit: https://give novo org/novo/

CLASS OF 2017 GRADUATE HIRED AT UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

Casey Wasserman, GFCS Class of 2017, is the new University of Pittsburgh’s Director of Player Personnel.

“I’d like to thank Coach Locksley for giving me my first chance in the Player Personnel industry,” Wasserman wrote on X. “I will forever be grateful to him.”

ELI DUNN, CLASS OF 2024, PERFORMS WITH SINGING CADETS

ALUM SCOTT SANDERS JOINS WHEATON BASEBALL ON SPORTS MINISTRY TRIP TO CUBA

Scott Sanders, GFCS Class of 2024, joined his teammates at Wheaton College on a sports ministry trip to Cuba this month.

Pitt’s Director of Player Personnel is a scouting position that evaluates players that enter the portal from other programs Wasserman previously worked as the Coordinator of Scouting for head coach Mike Locksley’s staff at Maryland from 2024-25. Wasserman played Division I lacrosse at Towson University and has a master’s degree in finance.

Scott is in his sophomore year at Wheaton after committing to play baseball for the college in Illinois. He is a utility player for the team.

CELEBRATE LIFE GOES CAMPUS-WIDE IN ITS FIFTH YEAR!

CELEBRATING LIFE, FAITH, AND COMMUNITY

ON FEBRUARY 5TH, STUDENTS FROM GFCS AND LAKE COUNTRY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL CAME TOGETHER FOR A SPECIAL DAY DEVOTED TO CELEBRATING THE GIFT OF LIFE, FAITH, AND HOPE IN CHRIST.

WHAT BEGAN AS A HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE HAS GROWN INTO A CHERISHED TRADITION THAT NOW UNITES OUR ENTIRE CAMPUS IN SHARED PURPOSE AND JOY.

CELEBRATE LIFE WAS LAUNCHED IN 2023 WITH A FOCUS ON THOUGHTFUL ENGAGEMENT, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND PURPOSEFUL LIVING.

JUNIOR HIGH JOINED IN 2025, BLENDING MEANINGFUL REFLECTION WITH ENERGY, CREATIVITY, AND FUN.

ELEMENTARY STUDENTS JOINED THIS YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME, MAKING CELEBRATE LIFE A TRULY CAMPUS-WIDE CELEBRATION OF GOD’S GREATEST GIFT.

ONE CAMPUS. ONE CELEBRATION.

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