HLA Blog
Explore the latest news and updates from Hillcrest below.
Exciting things are happening here, and we’d love for you to join the movement by becoming a supporter of Hillcrest Academy, too!
Hillcrest Students Dial In At Prayer Day
On Wednesday, October 28, Hillcrest's ninth through twelfth graders stepped away from their regular academic schedules for Fall Prayer Day, dedicating time to something increasingly countercultural: slowing down, looking beyond themselves, and bringing their concerns before the Lord.
Pre-K Students Discover the Wonder of God’s Creation With A Little Bug And A Big Lesson
It started with a bug. During Pre-K this morning, one curious student spotted a small insect and Mrs. Heidi Narvesen caught it. What could have been a momentary distraction became a 30-minute adventure in discovery, observation, paying attention, and wonder.
Wonder Takes Root at Prairie Wetlands Where Students Discover God's Creation
Students learn by touching, measuring, classifying, sketching, creating poetry and sharing insights in what they’re experiencing.
Artificial Salvation or Eternal Life? Hillcrest Students Discover the Difference
MIT professor Sherry Turkle observed, "In a complicated world, robots seem a simple salvation." AI makes promises to solve problems, but Mr. Jahr shared how Jesus changes lives.
Seventh Graders Share Stories of God’s Faithfulness
One by one, seventh-grade students stepped out of their seats and walked toward the front of chapel.
Fourth Graders Discover God’s Design on the Prairie
On this particular day, the prairie became their textbook, insects became their lesson, and curiosity led them toward worship. Sometimes seeing more of God’s creation simply begins by looking a little closer, and realizing that God made us for this.
Growing Deep: The Eternal Friendships Being Forged Under the Castle Steeple
Chairs turned inward. Bibles open. A group of students huddled close, not for a casual study break, but because something is happening in the pages in front of them. Their heads are bowed over Scripture, but their hearts are reaching upward and inward simultaneously.
When the Purpose Changes, Everything Changes
Week after week, Hillcrest gathers around something larger than the school itself. Teachers and students stand together under the same Word. Christ is proclaimed. Faith is strengthened. Community is formed. Students are prepared not merely to succeed, but to serve.
Before Students Arrive, Hillcrest Staff Begin With Prayer
Before the first bell rings, before students settle into desks, before assignments are given or lessons begin, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy begins the school year in a different place. In prayer.
The Lights in the Chapel: Remembering Hillcrest Alumni This Memorial Day
As World War II unfolded, lights began glowing in the Hillcrest chapel for alumni serving across the world. Each bulb represented someone who had once walked the halls of Hillcrest and now stood in places marked by uncertainty, sacrifice, and war.
Every Piece Matters: Lower School Chapel Teaches Students the Power of Specific Gratitude
In a culture where gratitude is often reduced to quick responses and shallow politeness, the students were being taught something far more meaningful. They were learning how to observe goodness carefully enough to name it. They were learning that healthy communities are built by people whose service often goes unnoticed. And they were learning that saying “thank you” carries more power when gratitude becomes personal and precise.
Before Fractions, There Was Formation: Inside Mrs. Moline’s Classroom
In Mrs. Moline’s classroom, learning is never just about the lesson. It is about forming the kind of student who trusts the environment, understands their place in it, connects with others, sees meaning in their work, and develops the skill to carry it forward.
From Laughter to Truth: How Hillcrest Seniors Carried the Gospel to the Mountains
Cold mountain air rushed through the field alive with movement. Feet were striking the ground in rhythm, voices rising in unfamiliar songs, laughter breaking through every barrier that language could have built as young people from Tirana joined Hillcrest seniors in the mountains for a retreat. Circles tightened, hands locked, and under a bright Albanian sky, a group of students who had never met hours earlier moved like lifelong friends. No hesitation. No distance. Just loud, unfiltered, and contagious laughter. This is where the Hillcrest students will lead a weekend getaway focused on identity, reality, and the good news of the Gospel.
Seniors Land Across the Ocean and Face-to-Face with the Hardest Questions of Faith on Day 2 In Tirana
It would be easy to measure this trip by what it costs. A week away from the final stretch of senior year. The financial weight of international travel. The disruption of routine. In a culture that values efficiency above almost everything, this kind of decision can feel impractical. But day two makes something unmistakably clear: this is not a break from education. This is its fulfillment.
Across Tables and Oceans: How Day One in Tirana Revealed a Living Church
If the first day is any indication, what lies ahead will not simply be a series of planned moments, but a continuation of something God has already been orchestrating. Because the Gospel does not wait for perfect conditions, it moves through willing people. People who will go. People who will sit. People who will listen. People who will love.
Sent Out to the Nations: Why Hillcrest Students Go to Tirana, Albania
Backpacks shuffled, laughter echoed, and then Mr. Peterson’s voice cut clean through the noise:
“Pick up a Bible. We have one for each of you to bring with you to share with a person you meet in Albania.”
And just like that… everything shifted.
This isn’t just a trip. It’s a sending.
The Sacred March of Song: Why Singing Carries Us Into Easter
Jesus sang before the cross. The early church sang through persecution. Hillcrest students sing on the road and bring those songs home. And now, it’s our turn. Because the story of Easter has always been sung.
A Cup, a Calling, and a Campus Stirred to Life
In a culture that often tells students their worth is tied to how “full” their lives appear, Hunter Pinke offered a countercultural truth: your hope is not in the level of your cup, but in the God who fills it.
Students Share Lunch and Join Tradition Mission Focus From The Hallways of Hillcrest
The call to missions has been forming in the hallways of Hillcrest for generations of students. And as students gather for conversations like the recent lunch with Dave Narvesen, it is clear that the tradition continues.