Stacie Ripkowski earned a B.S. in Education from Texas A&M University in 2002, and she began teaching in Tomball ISD shortly after. After teaching all subject matter in the public schools for five years and one year in a private school, the Lord called Stacie to home education. She has been educating her four children at home since 2010. It continues to be one of the most unexpected joys and privileges in her life.
Stacie’s passion for education goes beyond math, science, social studies, and language arts. As a fitness instructor, personal trainer, nutrition coach, and physical education teacher, Stacie has been teaching people how to care for their physical bodies since 1995. She has instructed people of all ages, from 5 to 80.
Education of the mind and body are of upmost importance to Stacie, but she believes that nothing is more important than our relationship with God and sharing our faith with others. She has had the privilege of leading mission trips to Mexico and South Africa for 6 years. In addition to leading the trips, she leads workshops for preschool teachers, with the goal of improving education for the youngest South Africans.
Stacie has been married for 23 years to Kenny Ripkowski, an avid pickleball enthusiast. Kenny and Stacie have four children, ages 19, 16, 12, and 8. All four of them have attended PREP Classes at some point over the last 6 years. Kenny and Stacie have been members of Cypress Bible Church since 2010. Stacie has taught every age level from preschool to high school, in addition to coordinating Vacation Bible School and other programs.
Stacie is excited to join the prestigious list of wonderful teachers at PREP Classes and begin a new adventure in education! She enjoys teaching high school students and watching them learn and grow through a challenging, but exciting time in life. Her goals for the students in the Classic Literature class and World Literature class are to learn how to ask good questions, think critically, analyze information carefully, formulate informed opinions, and express those opinions competently. Stacie would love for your student to join her on this adventure!
My goals for this class are for the students to learn how to ask good questions, think critically, analyze information carefully, formulate informed opinions, and express those opinions competently and creatively.
This class offers high school students a chance to dig deeper into writing and literature. We will begin to analyze the literature we read through class discussions, guided learning, and response writing. We will have opportunities to write persuasively, analytically, and creatively. This class is a great steppingstone towards the challenge of upper-level high school and college writing and literature. Each student will gain skills they will use for life!
We will learn elements of literary analysis by studying a selection of short stories, poems, plays, and full-length novels. Harper Lee, Shakespeare, and Poe are among the classic authors we will read throughout the year.
Expect weekly quizzes as well as unit tests over the work as a whole. After applying the skills of careful reading, students will be challenged to participate in class discussions.
I want the students to be excited about seeing literature come to life, sharing their words through writing, and broadening their world view. I set high standards but work to provide students with the tools necessary to succeed. This course is intended as a pre-requisite to World and American Literature. Classic Lit is foundational for students who do not have a background in high-school level reading or writing. Although all high schoolers are welcome, this course is geared toward ninth grade students.
As I am always tweaking curriculum to bring the best possible learning experience to class, a complete list of novels and texts are TBD and will be communicated during the summer. Students can expect to read novels such as To Kill A Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, Animal Farm, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, A Christmas Carol, and various short stories. Our writing curriculum goes back to the basics to ensure students end the year with the ability to craft fully developed, multi-paragraphed essays that demonstrate analytical, persuasive, and creative writing skills.
**Upon successful completion of this course, parents may choose to award 1 High School Honors English credit.
How this class fits into the sequence of PREP High School Literature:
9th grade (& up)– Classic Literature. This course covers the basics of writing, including how to gather information, outline thoughts, and write with style. Students will begin learning analysis in their reading through various works of short stories, full length novels, plays, and poetry.
10th grade (& up)– World Literature. This course continues to build on the writing skills and expand the depth at which we look at literature. Students will dig deeper into literary analysis through short stories, novels, plays, and poetry from around the world. Students will write a research paper in this class.
Tuition: $650/year OR $65/month for 10 months (August – May). I accept cash, checks, Venmo, and Zelle. When using Venmo, it will be $66/month and $659/year. I prefer automated checks via your bank each month. A late fee of $10 per week will be due if tuition is not paid on the first day of class each month.
One Time Supply Fee: $65 (Note: Your supply fee holds your spot in the class. No supply fee refunds after August 1.) Parents supply all novels and supplemental texts (must purchase specific edition and it must be unmarked).
Withdrawal Fee: Three months’ tuition after 9/30/2024
Prerequisite: This class assumes that students, 10th grade and up, can write a basic short essay and handle the challenge of weekly reading assignments. If not, I recommend beginning with Classic Lit (see course sequence below).
My goals for this class are for the students to learn how to ask good questions, think critically, analyze information carefully, formulate informed opinions, and express those opinions competently and creatively.
World Literature will challenge your students as they read broadly and write carefully. We will span the globe as we read works from around the world. Our texts will be comprised of poetry, short stories, essays as well as full-length novels. Shakespeare, Eli Wiesel, and Sandra Cisneros are among the authors we read. Students will be doing response writing, formal essays, creative writing, and university-ready writing. Students should expect weekly quizzes as well as unit tests.
We will learn elements of literary analysis by studying a selection of short stories, poems, plays, and full-length novels from around the world.
Expect weekly quizzes as well as unit tests over the work as a whole. After applying the skills of careful reading, students will be challenged to participate in class discussions.
I want the students to be excited about seeing literature come to life, sharing their words through writing, and broadening their world view. I set high standards but work to provide students with the tools necessary to succeed. This course is intended to build on skills learned in Classic Literature and serve as a pre-requisite to American Literature. Although all high schoolers are welcome, this course is geared toward tenth grade students.
As I am always tweaking curriculum to bring the best possible learning experience to class, a complete list of novels and texts are TBD and will be communicated during the summer.
Students can expect to read novels such as The Night Divided (East Germany, WW 2), The House on Mango Street (Mexican American), The Book Thief (World War 2), Night (WW 2), I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, Thembe’s Cloth (South Africa), short stories, and the Bible.
Our writing curriculum builds on the previous year’s curriculum with the goals of proficiency in writing literary analysis, multi-paragraph essays, persuasive writing, and university-ready writing.
**Upon successful completion of this course, parents may choose to award 1 High School Honors English credit.
**Students wishing to enroll in this course without having completed Classic Literature MUST have teacher approval.
A complete list of novels and texts TBD
How this class fits into the sequence of PREP High School Literature:
9th grade (& up)– Classic Literature. This course covers the basics of writing, including how to gather information, outline thoughts, and write with style. Students will begin learning analysis in their reading through various works of short stories, full length novel, plays and poetry.
10th grade (& up)– World Literature. This course continues to build on the writing skills and expand the depth at which we look at literature. Students will dig deeper into literary analysis through short stories, novels, plays, and poetry from around the world. Students will write a research paper in this class.
11th grade – American Literature. This course will cover a large scope of American literature from Colonial times to now. This course is faster paced. Students will become proficient in analyzing the works that are read which will include a mixture of novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. The writing focus is on literary analysis.
Tuition: $650/year OR $65/month for 10 months (August – May). I accept cash, checks, Venmo, and Zelle. When using Venmo, it will be $66/month and $659/year. I prefer automated checks via your bank each month. A late fee of $10 per week will be due if tuition is not paid on the first day of class each month.
One Time Supply Fee: $65 (Note: Your supply fee holds your spot in the class. No supply fee refunds after August 1.) Parents supply all novels and supplemental texts (must purchase specific edition and it must be unmarked).
Withdrawal Fee: Two months’ tuition after 10/1/2024