On Saturday, August 22, the Lutheran High School family gathered to celebrate a milestone,  the official groundbreaking of our Community Impact Center.

More than 100 members of our Mustang family joined us for the occasion. We had current and former parents and students, pastors from our association congregations, future Mustangs, alumni, and friends of the school. It was a true homecoming of the community this project is built to serve.

At Lutheran High School of San Antonio, we are building a firm foundation of faith, character, and knowledge with our students. And before we can hit the books, we know we need to build relationships. Connecting with friends and teachers makes the learning process smooth and the school year enjoyable. That's why we spend time purposefully getting to know one another during the first week of school — and this year's Day One was our best proof yet of why that investment matters.

We kicked things off with Mustang Bingo — students crossed the gym floor collecting names for every square on their board, and teachers jumped in right alongside them. It's a small thing, but it sets the tone for the whole year: nobody in this building is a stranger for long.

From there, Student Council took the mic to introduce themselves, and our Admin Team got the full Mustang treatment — four students led the crowd through a "Which teacher is most likely to..." guessing game, with STUCO members lining up behind whichever admin they thought fit the bill. It was silly, it was loud, and it was exactly the kind of moment that turns a title on a staff directory into a person kids feel like they already know.

Before the games really got going, we paused for our Opening Devotion, grounded in this year's theme verse: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." It's a verse our students will hear again and again this year — in chapel, in classrooms, in the way we ask them to treat each other on the days that are hard as well as the days that are easy. Kindness isn't a slogan here; it's the whole architecture of how we want this school to feel.

The morning's Activities Rotation split students up by grade and sent them everywhere — learning a class cheer in the gym, battling it out in a cafeteria game of Minute to Win It, signing up for co-curriculars in the Make Lab, and squaring off in yard games. 

Late morning brought one of the most meaningful parts of the day: the introduction of our school pillars and this year's Chapel Families. Four members of our admin team each spoke about a pillar or two — Servant Heart and Love, Involved and Perseverance, Integrity and Respect — and explained not just what they mean, but why they matter, and how every single one of them centers on Jesus. Chapel Families are where our students will live out those pillars all year long, mixed across grade levels, meeting together, growing together.

After lunch, our student council leads us in a game of head-shoulders-knees-cone followed by a scavenger hunt built around getting to know our teachers and navigating campus. 

We closed the day with a cheer competition, with each class learning a chant from our cheer team and performing it as creatively and passionately as they could muster. It was loud, it was long, and it was exactly what a first day should be — not a rush into routines, but a deliberate investment in the relationships that will carry our students through everything the year has in store.
​
Welcome back, Mustangs. Be kind and compassionate — living lives of impact!