News Archive

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2024

  • March

    CC Student, Aiden Bazzell, commits to High Point University for Soccer

    Michelle Bazzell
    Aiden Bazzell began playing soccer at the age of 4. When he was 8, he set himself a goal to be part of the Development Academy team when he was older. For the next 4 years, he remained dedicated to that goal, pushing himself to improve and grow and overcoming each obstacle as it was presented to him. When he was 12, he was selected as part of the U13 FC Dallas Development Academy team. Over the next few years, he won numerous accolades with the team; twice wining Liga MX Tournament (2019, 2020), Dallas Cup Champions (2021), MLS Next Texas Cup Champions (2022).
     
    The fall of his junior year (2023), he was being pursued by numerous top D1 programs in the country. While completing visits and finalizing discussions, he landed poorly during training, breaking his right foot. Within days, he had surgery to repair the break and began his recovery. Blessed with access to some of the best technology and physical therapists he worked diligently and, to the amazement of his doctors and therapists, returned to the field 11 weeks later. Unfortunately, this had a serious impact on his college recruiting, stalling discussions and missing major recruiting events.
     
    While this injury had a massive impact on his college recruiting, he returned stronger than ever. In addition, the experience gave him a passion for Physical Therapy and created a foundation for his desire to major in Exercise Science. As he revitalized his college pursuits, we were anxious about his opportunities to play college soccer given the timing of his injury.
     
    In December Aiden reached out to college coaches and invited them to come watch him play in the MLS Next Fest showcase.  Many were able to see him play in that showcase, and we would later find out a few were misinformed that he had already committed to a school.  Mid-February he was asked to come for official visits to two D1 schools of interest. While visiting one of the schools in Charolette, the High Point University coach reached out via social media to clarify Aiden’s committed status.  Realizing that Aiden was in Charlotte, he immediately asked if we could reschedule our flights and visit that Tuesday.  
     
    That evening, Aiden provided additional film and info for the coaching staff to analyze and, early Tuesday morning, Adien was on the HPU campus, visiting with the coaches, team, and touring the campus. He was impressed with the amount effort the coaches had dedicated in a very short amount of time to evaluating his film, preparing the visit, and even reaching out to FC Dallas coaches to learn about him as a player and person.  After the visit, Aiden could see himself at High Point knowing it was a place he could continue to grow and develop not only as a player but as a person.
     
    While visiting, the High Point Head Coach noted Aiden’s unique perspective regarding his college evaluation criteria: a desirable location, a place to get an excellent education in his field of study, coaches that see him as a person and not just a player, and players with character and drive.  High Point exceeded his expectations on all four. 
     
    Aiden had offers from all three schools he visited the previous week. As a family, we discussed and prayed about the right next step for Aiden. They were all good programs, and the offers were mostly comparable. Due to the difference in tuition, HPU would still cost significantly more.  Feeling God leading us to HPU, we were still uncertain until we were informed the school wanted to interview Aiden for both an advanced Presidential scholarship as well as recommend him for a fellowship opportunity in his field of study.
     
    We believe God’s hand moved in this moment in Aiden’s life. Looking back, the series of “coincidences” and timing that led to the moment he committed to HPU are too unreal to be anything else but His hand. After an enormous setback, Aiden will attend a top university next fall and play for a D1 team that consistently wins their conference and has appeared at the NCAA D1 Tournament 3 times in the last 4 years.
     
    Aiden’s work ethic and athletic ability provided him this unique opportunity; but it was his education and academic performance that enabled him to seize the opportunity at HPU to continue his education and soccer journey. Unlike football and basketball where students are granted full scholarships based on headcount statistics, soccer is a scholarship allocation sport dominated by partial scholarships. It is extremely rare for a student to receive a full athletic scholarship in allocation sports. Through Aiden’s academic credentials, he received the financial support that allowed him to commit to HPU.
     
    CDA not only provided him an exceptional education, but the football program at CDA also provided Aiden with an unforgettable experience. This was a unique opportunity, having missed out on the high school sports experience due to the commitments of the FC Dallas MLS Next team. Going into his Senior year, he wanted the experience of being part of a team with his classmates. The boys had begged him to play since junior high. After talking with the coaches, the initial plan was for him to just be a kicker, maybe having the rare opportunity to play the field occasionally. Aiden eventually solidified a spot on the defensive line, creating a powerful and dynamic defensive pair with Cameron Kirk. Except in pre-season games, Aiden never kicked a football.
     
    Aiden has repeatedly mentioned his coaches and teammates at CDA for making this short season of his life something to always remember. They lifted him up and encouraged him on and off the field. The coaches were amazing leaders and examples of how to be a man of God to those around you.  Men he could respect and look up to as examples. He will forever be grateful for the brief time and experiences he had with the CDA football team, and the true sense of camaraderie and fellowship created by the coaches and team.
     
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  • Cheer Wraps Up Season in Showcase

    The Collin County Cheerleading team wrapped up the end of their season in a memorable showcase to family, friends and peers. 
    Coaches, Brittany Evans and Eryn Hall, both coordinated the Grammar School's elective Friday cheer class to start the show. These cheerleaders in training showed off their learned skills in a lively routine. 
    For both Varsity and Junior High teams, there were routines with popular music and incredible stunts from the cheerleaders. 
    For CDA, we know that God has given us as His children the abilities to jump and shout for joy, and these girls exemplify this well. 
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  • Collin County Symphonic & Intermediate Band competes at TPSMEA Solo & Ensemble concert

    This past weekend, members of the CDA Collin County Symphonic and Intermediate Bands competed at TPSMEA Solo & Ensemble competition. We had 13 soloists participating, and EACH performer made a superior rating, which is the highest rating possible.  In addition, we had several soloists who performed class 1 (difficult level) literature advance to the State Solo and Ensemble Competition, which takes place May 25!  
     
    Students advance to state when they make a superior rating on a class 1 solo that is on the (UIL) Prescribed Music List. 
    * denotes students advancing to state 
     
    The following students received the highest score, Superior (1 rating):
    Brayden Axford
    Seth Bell*
    Joseph Bell*
    MuAnna Chien*
    Henry Colby
    Ray Kim
    Avery Meazell*
    Thomas Myslak*
    Giada Pangborn*
    Benjamin Pruski
    Abraham Watkinson
    Jasmine Yeh*
    Jedidiah Yeh*
     
    Congrats to ALL of our amazing soloists on their excellent work! Mrs. Clements is so proud of everyone who participated!
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  • Collin County Choir Solo & Ensemble Contest

    This past Saturday, February 24, the following students participated in TPSMEA Solo & Ensemble Contest:
    Emma Jones, Julia Naizer, Sarah Mehta, Georgia Kiser, Patrick Teson, Tate Colby & Evan Meyer.
     
    All our CDA students made “excellent” (2) or “superior” (1) ratings on class 1 repertoire which is the most difficult level of music. All of these students sang in an ensemble that qualified to go to State Solo & Ensemble and soloists, Georgia Kiser & Julia Naizer, also qualified for State.
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  • February

    CDA Band Performs at the North TPSMEA All Region Honor Band Clinic

    The CDA band participated in the north TPSMEA All Region Honor Band clinic and concert this past weekend. Our CDA students performed well, were a blessing and a light to those at the event, and they rose to the top of the region band competition!
    At the TPSMEA All Region Honor Band clinic and concert, there were over 20 private schools, some of whom meet several times a week for band class. The CDA Collin County Band Program had 5 rhetoric students and 8 logic students audition and make the All Region Honor Bands. Among the highlights of the weekend, CDA band had 2 students make 1st chair in their section! Congratulations, CDA band students!!!
    Middle School All Region students: Joshua Chua (flute), Thomas Myslak (bassoon- 1st chair), Taylor Smith and Jessica Mullins (clarinet), MuAnna Chien (alto saxophone- 1st chair), Zachary Goh (trumpet), Brian Berggren (trombone) and Ray Kim (percussion)
    High School All Region students: Giada Pangborn and Jasmine Yeh (clarinet), Seth Bell (bass clarinet), Avery Meazell (trumpet) and Caleb Hsiao (euphonium)
     
    Mrs. Clements would like to extend special recognition to Brian Berggren of our Dallas Campus for being a part of the CDA CC Band and representing CDA Dallas so well!
     
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  • CDA Collin County Swim Team Runner Up in State Meet

    Collin County students came in second place at the TAPPS State Girls Division III Championship. 
     
    Order of events:
    Meet opened with the 2024 Regional Swimmer of the Meet being awarded to Ava (And Jacob from CDA Dallas)
     
    The girls won and set a new State record in the 200 Medley relay! Dropping the old record set in 2020 from a 1:50.77 to a 1:48.61.
     
    Ava won the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.43 setting a new state record! The old record of 2:03.26 was set in 2016! 
     
    Eloise is State Champion back to back events: 50 Free and 100 Fly.
     
    Ava is State Champion in the 500 Free.
     
    The girls drop the State record in the 200 Medley set in 2019 from a 1:44.17 to a 1:40.67.
     
    Rebekah swims back to back with no break and is State Champion in the 100 Back and 100 Breaststroke. 
     
    Kena finishes 7th in the State and goes a best time in the 100 breaststroke.
     
    Daniel finishes 4th in the 50 free and goes a best time. He finished 5th in the 100 Fly.

    We are so proud of our students who worked hard to compete. 
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  • CDA Robotics Team

    Congratulations to the CDA Lions robotics team for advancing to the FIRST Tech Challenge regional tournament for the 5th year in a row. In the process of advancing the team scored the 10th highest score in all of Texas and the highest among the North Texas teams. Regionals is on Feb 24 with the winners advancing to the World Championships.
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  • "It's All Greek To Me!" - 2nd Grade Greek History Festival

    Last week, our Collin County second grade classes participated in the annual Grammar School History Festival.
    Those second graders presented all about the Greek culture, art, sports, and philosophers. 
    The second graders work diligently all year to be ablet to make it to these fests that are put on as a showcase for parents and friends. They start by reciting a song they've been learning in class, but all of them have memorized the Nicene Creed by memory. This impressive feat for second graders accumulates the standard that CDA holds, as we also live by this Nicene Creed in and out of the classroom. 
    Next, these students recite their also memorized Greek alphabet! From A-Z or Alpha to Omega, these smart students showcased their studies in strides. 
    Each student also had a personal presentation on one of the forementioned categories, explaining the history, people, and giving examples behind all of them. For example, some female students did a presentation over Greek makeup and jewelry, describing where the Greek women would find and how they would make the ingredients for the makeup. 
    For some male students, they would give cunning and descriptive notes of the Olympic games or accounting the Greek Gods.
    To hear these very intuitive second graders stand up on their own and speak clearly, owning their education that is presented, it is a privilege to see just where the University Model of CDA can take them! 
    Our teachers, parents and families have been well-involved in their process the whole year, and we want to thank all of them for their hard work also.
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  • Brayden Axford in Eagle uniform

    CC Students Become Eagle Scouts

    CC Students, Brayden Axford, Luke & Patrick Teson, and Evan Meyer, have all recently become Eagle Scouts. 
    This is a major accomplishment, as they have a huge impact on the community by being good and productive members of society. This helps train the mental muscle of perseverance and working hard to achieve whatever they put their minds to. For these students, the journey to become an Eagle Scout can take anywhere from 2 to 6/7 years, which means a fortitude and dedication by all.
    For these students who not only have a rigorous school schedule and, for some, athletics included, the time and attention put into reaching their goal of becoming Eagle Scouts truly shows their desire to make CDA's mission come to life as they are training to become ethical servant leaders in and out of the classroom.
    We are so proud of Brayden, Luke, Patrick and Evan for their high achievements.
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  • CC & FM All State Band

    This past weekend, 14 members of the bands from both Flower Mound and CDA Collin County campuses participated in the TPSMEA All State Clinic and Concert weekend in Richardson. The concerts were held in McFarlin Performing Arts Center on the SMU campus.
     
    The students worked with guest clinician Amy Woody (University of North Texas Wind- Studies Department and Director of Athletic Bands). Our musicians spent dedicated hours in rehearsals benefiting from these world-class clinicians and learning music that they would then perform on the concert on Saturday. Outside the rehearsals and performance, students had fun fellowshipping with one another at Top Golf in Allen! 
     
    Mrs. Bowen, Mr. Thacker, and Mrs. Clements are proud of their students for their tireless musical efforts, and humbled by the time and energy they spent this weekend auditioning, preparing, and performing such amazing repertoire.
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  • January

    CC & FM All State Choir Clinic

    Last weekend, two choir students from Flower Mound and CDA Collin County campuses participated in the TPSMEA All-State Clinic and Concert weekend in Richardson. The All-State Choir Concert was performed at McFarlin Auditorium on the SMU campus on Saturday evening.
     
    The students worked with guest clinician and conductor Dr. José “Peppie” Calvar who is an associate professor and assistant director of choral activities at the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University. The choir had a marvelous time learning a varied repertoire of music and gleaning musical knowledge from this talented conductor. Outside of the rehearsals and performance, students had fun fellowshipping with one another over meals and bonding at Top Golf in Allen! 
     
    Mrs. Westgate and Mrs. Kiser are proud of their students for their many hours of rehearsal, preparation, focus, and endurance that are all part of this All-State process.
     
     
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  • Picture Gazing in Grammar School

    Stephanie Garland
    Picture gazing is a pedagogy that we use in the Classical grammar school. It involves showing children a beautiful work of art that is associated with something that the students have studied in Bible, history, or literature. The practice helps students become attentive to detail, light, and perspective, and how these aspects inform the picture-gazer. It also launches great conversations about the art piece and its subject. Having observed several picture gazing lessons, I'm always amazed at the attentiveness of our students and the creativity of their ideas.

    Recently, our 4th graders were learning about George Washington and the story of crossing the Delaware River. Since we have a copy of a beautiful, and famous, painting of this event in our hallway, several students recognized it and requested that they have an impromptu picture gazing lesson. The teacher led them to the hallway and took a quick picture of them looking at and discussing the artist's rendition of the event.

    Classical education is all about making connections, even at the grammar level. We ask students to approach their learning in a synthetic way. They were able to take something they see everyday and connect it to new knowledge.  Both the old and new knowledge were enhanced because of this synthetic approach... just by looking at and enjoying a painting.
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  • Collin County Basketball Senior Night

    On Tuesday night, January 23rd, the Collin County Basketball teams celebrated Senior Night by recognizing three Senior players. 
    During halftime, the families of our players came together to stand with their Senior, showing unity and support for all their accomplishments with the Basketball teams. 
    The ceremony began with honoring Senior Peyton Cheney, who played on the Girl's Varsity Basketball Team. Peyton walked out with her mother and father on each arm, along with her younger brother. 
    Next, came John Paul (JP) Dolle, a player for the Boy's Varsity Basketball Team. A point guard, JP walked out alongside his parents, giving mention to how he wanted to be "just like his own father" when he grows up. 
    And last but certainly not least, was Senior Christan Rogers. Christian also walked alongside his parents; his mom actually being a teacher here at the CC campus, recognized the powerful moment of her son being honored as a Senior. 
    The whole gym had a mood of celebration as the Seniors were honored for their dedication to the team as well as their hard work at CDA as a whole. 
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  • Friday Elective Highlight - Hands on Science

    With the new semester comes a new unit in our grammar Hands On Science classes. Both the kinder-1st and 2nd-4th classes are designed to offer new units each semester so that a child could take Hands On Science every year of grammar school and never repeat a unit!

    This spring our 2nd through 4th graders will study the physics of balance and motion. Their first task in the unit was to build card houses. Our students were up to the challenge and saw how difficult it can be to carefully hold the cards and find a way to make them stable.  One of our students didn't leave the lesson in the classroom, though. He continued the challenge at home and had success! It looks like it's going to be a fun unit to study!
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  • Collin County Alumni Chapel

    “When you’re at CDA, most things have a set schedule. You don’t necessarily get to have options on when you do things, but in college, you get to choose.”
     
    “Because you typically have more free time, you get to decide whether or not you fill that time with community, classwork, or even self-care.”
     
    Making sure students fill that time wisely was a near-unanimous piece of advice that the alumni wanted to present to CDA’s high schoolers.
     
    In addition to time management, leadership training, and using time in college to grow yourself, the biggest takeaway was to appreciate how CDA created a strong foundation for their faith.
     
    “My world exploded after leaving CDA,” expressed one Alumnus, “whatever you have planned, be excited that the Lord might take it and toss it out of the window.” Another shared, “Being a part of CDA reaffirmed my faith and who I am, which made it easier to step into college where people have lots of different beliefs than me.”
     
    Hearing these wise and ethical servant leaders speak, everyone seemed to be entranced at their humble knowledge that was shared with the current class. The Collin County Campus feels honored to have hosted the esteemed panel, welcoming these past students back with open arms, and are thankful for their willingness to share and continue to contribute to the CDA community as a whole.
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  • Drama Performs William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

    In December 2023, the Collin County Drama Department performed William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". A great feat for the department, this play brought with it incredible set design that transported one right into the scenery, as well as outstanding performances by the cast and crew. 
    Led by Dean of Students, Mr. Armstrong, the Drama department spent hours rehearsing and creating a magical Shakespearian world. These incredible photos were taken by Emily Faux, Senior '24. 

    For CDA, these are the moments where the Classical and Collaborative nature of the school comes into full illumination. We are grateful for the hard work of these students, leaders, and parents who all were invested in making this show a success. 
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  • All State Band

    Last month, students all over the state recorded auditions for the TPSMEA All State Band.  Our CDA Collin Students did an amazing job! Congratulations to the following students from our campus who auditioned for and made the ALL STATE BAND!
     
    Giada Pangborn, clarinet
    Caleb Hsiao, euphonium
     
    These students will take part in the TPSMEA All- State Clinic and Concert next month. Mrs. Clements is so very proud of these musicians for their dedication to excellence!
     
    (Students participating in the TPSMEA All State Clinic and Concert, pictured from left to right: Giada Pangborn (band-clarinet), Georgia Kiser (choir-soprano), Caleb Hsiao (band-euphonium)
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Administration

For additional information contact:
972.691.5648