More than 160 Lake Highlands Junior High School students were honored recently at the school’s “A” Team Breakfast, which recognizes students who maintained an A average in all subjects during the fall semester.
According to student council sponsor Jane McGurdy, this is the highest number of students honored in the history of the school, which has a total enrollment of 1,000.
Steve Beuerlein, second-string quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, was the guest speaker. In his speech, Beuerlein emphasized to students the importance of becoming involved in their school, maintaining a positive attitude, learning from failures and always having a dream.
More than 500 people attended the “A” Team Breakfast, including students, parents and guests from the Lake Highlands community and the Richardson Independent School District.
Hamilton Park Implements African Culture Studies
Hamilton Park Pacesetter Elementary Spanish teacher Tamara Sax was one of 16 U.S. teachers selected to participate in a summer-abroad program in Tanzania and Zambia, Africa.
After returning to Hamilton Park, Sax began implementing what she learned through a curriculum-based program called “Teaching Africa Through the Arts.”
“Even though the program contains the word ‘arts,’ it actually crosses all curriculums, such as language, social studies, literature, math and science,” Sax says.
“I chose Tanzania and Zambia because that isn’t something that is offered in our textbooks,” she says.
During the February PTA meeting, some of the children wore batik designs and Masai jewelry they had made. They also narrated a program about Tanzania and Zambia and sang African folk songs.
“Our goal is to help the children learn an appreciation for other cultures while looking at themselves,” Sax says.
“This has been a whole school effort since we are a multi-cultural school.”
Hamilton Park Student Wins Readers’ Choice Award
Tiffany Bright, a fourth-grade student at Hamilton Park Pacesetter Elementary has won the Texas Register Readers’ Choice Award for artwork submitted to Texas Register Magazine during the ’91-’92 school year.
Bright was one of 12 Texas students selected for the award. Bright’s artwork was submitted last year by her art teacher, Dee Ann McNeil.
“I am so excited and proud of Tiffany,” McNeil says. “I had forgotten about the contest since we didn’t hear anything after submitting her drawing,” McNeil says.
Bright’s drawing was judged on originality, composition and craftsmanship.
Hotchkiss Student Wins Music Competition
Dylan Charbeneau, a fifth-grade student at Hotchkiss Montessori Academy, recently won first place in the Dallas City Council of PTA’s Cultural Arts Reflection competition in music.
Charbeneau was honored for his original piano composition, entitled “The Dream.” He will advance to district competition.
LHJH Student Wins District Spelling Bee
Elizabeth Beach, a seventh-grader at Lake Highlands Junior High, won the recent Richardson Independent School District Spelling Bee. Beach will represent RISD at the Dallas County Spelling Bee March 9 at Skyline High School.
LHHS Decathlon Team Advances to State Meet
Lake Highlands High School’s Decathlon team recently competed in the statewide Academic Decathlon in Plano. The LHHS team was one of 13 northeast Texas teams advancing to state competition.
Participants include Luke Edmonson, Matt Brunt, Melissa Edward, Adrienne Hight, Amanda Lopez, Jordan Waldrip, Fouad Bashour, Preston Evans and Jim Harmon.
The decathletes compete in 10 events, including tests in science, social studies, economics, language and literature, mathematics, fine arts and demonstrations in interview, speech and essay. The decathlon’s highlight is the Super Quiz, a team event held before a live audience.
According to Leonard Molotsky, deputy superintendent at Richardson Independent School District, the decathlon is unique among competitions.
“The nine-member student teams are comprised of A, B and C students who are selected not because of their grades, but of their discipline, intelligence and their ability to focus and to work with other team members,” Molotsky says.
“These criteria allow a broader range of student participation.”
Odyssey of the Mind Winners Announced
More than 900 students from throughout the Richardson Independent School District recently competed in the district’s Odyssey of the Mind (OM) competition.
The competition involves creative problem-solving where students in grades K-12 address challenging scenarios and work as a team to come up with solutions.
Each team selects a problem and then goes about solving it through a skit. The team also must solve a 10-minute, spontaneous problem submitted to them during the competition.
This year’s OM problems include Pit Stop, Dinosaurs, The Old Man and the Sea, Which End is Up and Folk Tales. District winners will compete in the regional competition, to be held at Mountainview Junior College March 6.
The Lake Highlands area winners include:
Pit Stop: Division II, Merriman Park Elementary, 3rd; Division III, Forest Meadow Junior High, 2nd; Lake Highlands High School, 3rd.
Dinosaurs: Division I. Hamilton Park, 4th; Division II, Hamilton Park, 3rd; Division III, Lake Highlands High School, 1st.
The Old Man and the Sea: Division I, Lake Highlands Elementary and Hamilton Park, 4th.
Which End is Up: Division III, Lake Highlands High School, 1st.
Folk Tales: Division II, Hamilton Park, 1st.
Sweepstakes Winner, Division III, Lake Highlands High School.
Hamilton Park Pacesetter Elementary School entered a record 19 teams in the OM competition. More than 100 Hamilton Park students participated in the event.
LHHS Takes Top Honors in Mock Trial Competition
Lake Highlands High School was one of the top two teams at the recent 14th annual Texas High School Mock Trial competition. Along with Richardson High School, the Lake Highlands team will advance to the state competition March 19-20 at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas.
Sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association, the mock trial competition is an academic program pitting student lawyers on opposite sides of a hypothetical case. The mock trial teams are supervised by teachers and attorneys, and practicing lawyers serve as judges. The students also play the role of witnesses.
The LHHS mock trial team includes sponsor Richard Bill and students Amy Godlewski, Brian Alverson, Andy Hug, Brandi Jones, Josh Rose, Kevin Frieke, Chris Martin and Courtney Harris.
Career Day Celebrated at White Rock Elementary
White Rock Elementary recently conducted its fourth annual Career Day. Approximately 45 parents participated by leading more than 60 career and job presentations.
Many of the parents brought displays, including an 18-wheeler truck, and equipment used for scuba diving, architectural drawings, and crude oil.
Skyview Announces Pace Winners
Skyview Elementary School’s PACE winners include:
For the week of Jan. 18: Antonio Brown, Matthew Majdalani, Nikki Crouch, D.J. Fuqua, Lupe Cruz, David Davis, Michael Darnell, Esteban Mondragon, Erika Goodwine, Justin Thomas, Sherrie Anguiano, Jeffrey Nelson, Barry Bujol, Chamequis Pickens.
For the week of Jan. 25: Zachary Brown, Joshua Busselman, Ivfan Khuwata, Ricky Laveyou, Brandon Bruck, Kayli LeBlanc, Brian Garbar, Danielle M., Asheli Goaden, Trivia Ward, Alexander Menedea, Lindsey Sebesta, Cory Castleberry and Boone Mooty.
For the week of Feb. 1: Brittany Adams, Shrone Patterson, Sean Griem, Melissa Roberius, Ashley Hannon, Ashleye Johnson, Corey Garland, Chris Stegall, Christine Lee, Kenisha Venabel, Nicholas Williams, Ronnie Lee, Bethany Luker, Antianne Robinson and Clifford Traylor.
Moss Haven Announces Good Citizens
Moss Haven Elementary Good Citizens of the Week include:
For the week of Jan. 19: Haley Caron, Coulter Cooksey, Mary Kyle Hendon, Jeff Hughes, Stephen Hulme, Karen Malouf, Megan Murray, Ross Powell, Jackson Reap and Michael Sanchez.
For the week of Jan. 26: Brent Anderson, Edward Chao, Brett Crockett, Allison McNearney, Kengo Sakamoto, Zachary Seal, Edwin Skipper, Emily Thurman, Brian Witt and Brooke Wagoner.
Also, Andrew Davis, Sam Fletcher, Kelly Harris, Shannon Hogan, Laura Jones, Kristin Kopf, Megan Malouf, Rachel Manny, Blake Skinner and Brock Wilson.
Also, Emily Bertrand, Sarah Brewer, Jason Carter, Stefan Dahl, Sam Douglas, Elizabeth Glantz, Holly Henderson, O.B. Johnson, LaVonda Peeples and Alex Rowland.
In other Moss Haven news, fourth-grade students Lindsay Gavos and Kevin Shultz received special recognition for artwork submitted to the Texas Register Magazine, published by the Secretary of State’s office of Texas.
Their drawings, along with 34 other pieces of art, were submitted by Moss Haven Art teacher Linda Baldor last year, and all were published.
White Rock Students Relive ‘Little House’
Jan Pendery’s fourth-grade class at White Rock Elementary recently completed studying a unit on “Little House on the Prairie” by celebrating with a prairie breakfast. The breakfast included corn griddle cakes, pancakes with molasses, and porridge.
The breakfast concluded three weeks of reading, writing and related activities developed by a collaborative group of teachers including Pendery, Betsy Wall and Marcy Waldrop.
