january, 2016 8th graders get ‘inspired’ inside this issue ... · inside this issue of the...
TRANSCRIPT
January, 2016
The Slate
Anahuac
Independent School
District
Inside this issue
of The Slate: Board Honorees
Pgs. 2,3,4
Ugly Sweaters
Pg. 5
Bully Prevention
Pg. 7
Anahuac ISD eighth graders recently joined about 3,000 other local eighth-graders at Lee
College for Junior Achievement Inspire, an interactive experience and career awareness fair.
This is the second year that Lee College has partnered with Junior Achievement of South-
east Texas to host JA Inspire for students from the Anahuac, Goose Creek, Barbers Hill, Cros-
by, Hardin, Liberty, Dayton, Hull-Daisetta and East Chambers independent school districts.
The event displayed the growing demand for local jobs in interest areas that align with high
school endorsement tracks in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM),
Business & Industry, Public Services and Arts and Humanities.
The students began their JA Inspire Day at Lee College December 16 with an opening
ceremony, then rotated sessions to interact with businesses through industry presentations,
career stations and exhibits and displays from regional companies.
They will also participated in a play that explores the qualities employers look for in pro-
spective hires, such as leadership and communication.
The day at Lee concluded with students recapping their experiences and hearing from
event spon-
sors.
Some of the
students are
shown at left
with Superin-
tendent James
hopper and
AMS teacher
Jennifer Bar-
ber.
8th Graders Get ‘Inspired’
AFFA Students Compete
Members of the Ana-huac FFA Chapter trav-eled to Huntsville Decem-ber 4 to compete in Texas FFA’s Leadership Career Development Events. Anahuac’s Greenhand Farm Skills Team qualified for the state competition by finishing first or second in one of the state’s 57 district competitions and first or second in one of ten area competitions. A total of 5,973 entries began the statewide-tournament in 13 different events which reflect class-room instruction in basic leadership skills. Anahuac FFA placed 7
th in
the Greenhand Farm Skills Contest. Team members included Cole Edwards, Mitchell Hargraves and Kate Hankamer.
Mugs & Hugs Abound Community members and Anahuac ISD
staff members stopped by AISD Admin-
istration Building December 11 for the
Anahuac Mug and a Hug.
Those stopping by were treated to holiday
refreshments, a mug and, of course, a hug
by Superintendent James Hopper.
Supt. Hopper is shown at left with Coach
Ryan Roecker, Laci Johnson and her
daughter, Lorelai.
Page 2 The SlateThe Slate
Anahuac ISD school board mem-bers voted December 15 to estab-lish a UIL Soccer program. The program that will feature Boys and Girls Varsity teams will begin next school year. Several Anahuac High School students had asked that a soccer program be considered.
During the November board meeting, Superintendent James Hopper told the students in attend-ance that a 3A UIL Soccer program does not currently exist in Texas, adding that the athletes would be playing larger schools. The stu-dents responded in November that they were ready for the challenge.
Students/Staff Recognized In other matters, students and
coaches in fall sports programs were recognized December 15. The Anahuac High School Band and FFA and Ag programs were also spotlighted.
From Anahuac Elementary, the fifth grade flaggers were recog-nized. AES Principal Mitzi Hig-ginbotham commended the stu-
dents on their faithfulness on rais-ing and lowering the flag each school day.
Also recognized was AES Music teacher Meredith Johnson.
“We are very fortunate to have Mrs. Johnson,” said AES Principal Mitzi Higginbotham.
“She has been doing an incredi-ble job with our students.”
(More photos on Pages 3 & 4) The board held a Public Hearing
for its annual Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas. Anahuac ISD received a 100 percent rating.
AISD Education Foundation The board approved a Memoran-
dum of Understanding between Anahuac ISD and the AISD Educa-tion Foundation. Currently, Supt Hopper and AISD board member Lane Bertrand serve on the founda-tion board.
Foundation Board President Da-vid Harmon reported that the Foun-dation gave away $11,500 last year to AISD educational programs. The foundation sponsored its First An-
nual Black and Gold Academic Banquet last spring and plans to begin a scholarship program soon.
Mr. Harmon reminded that board that all funds given and spent at Anahuac ISD are through dona-tions given to the non-profit organi-zation.
Supt. Hopper reported that the architects hired to assess AISD’s facilities will present their findings during the January meeting.
Child Nutrition Director Teonna Flowers present findings of a re-cent cafeteria audit. She reported that the district-wide audit went well and that auditors were pleased to see how little food was thrown away by students.
Disciplinary Alternative Educa-tion Program Principal Patti Nau-man gave a presentation on the use of Blended Learning within the program. She spoke on the person-alized learning conducted with DAEP that includes video feeds from classrooms to keep the stu-dent connected to school while in the program.
Technology Director Kenny Dean presented findings from a technolo-gy audit recently conducted. He spoke of the many equipment needs and updates necessary to keep the system, that continues to expand, running efficiently.
UIL Soccer Coming to Anahuac High School
AMS athletes who attended the AISD board
meeting are Kaylen Rivas, Gracie Berry, Liz-
beth Acosta and James Henry.
Also pictured are AMS Principal Tammy Duhon
and AISD board member Chris Jircik.
The Cross Country teams were spotlighted. Pictured are Coach Vic-
ki Vardell, Ana Gonzalez, Maricela Hernandez, Addison Hemphill
and Samantha Lopez with board member Cris Stephenson.
Anne-Marie Henry and Haegan Ullrich
were named to the volleyball All-District
Academic Team. They are shown with
Coach Brandee Elliott and Board Presi-
dent Ken McGraw.
Page 3 The SlateThe Slate
Many members of the AHS Band attended the December 15, filling the stage. They are shown with Band Director Mi-
chael Brodowski and board member Chris Jircik.
Members of the Anahuac FFA and Ag welding classes were honored by the AISD board in the Auditorium.
They are shown with Ag Science teachers Hilary Otto and Rainge Armentor and board member Cris Stephenson.
Shown with Supt. James Hopper
are UIL Varsity hopefuls Jorge
Hernandez, Juan Pescador, Jose
Cabrera and Jesus Pescador.
More AISD Board Honorees
Page 4 The SlateThe Slate
Pictured are football players who made All-District teams. Left to right are Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Ja-
son Speights; Darren Lugo, Senior, 1st Team Offense - Offensive Tackle; Deon Mayes, Junior, 2nd Team Offense - Run-
ning Back, 1stTeam Defense – Cornerback; Dylan Lugo, Senior, 2nd Team Offense – Center; Cesar Molina, Senior,
1st Team Defense – Inside Linebacker; Melvin Spencer, Senior, 1st Team Defense – Safety; Brandon Hoskins, Sopho-
more, 2nd Team Defense – Defensive Tackle; Taylor Hankamer, Junior, 2ndTeam Defense – Defensive End; Savio Fon-
tenot, Senior, 2ndTeam Defense – Inside Linebacker; Christopher Moulton, Sophomore, 2nd Team Defense – Safety;
Denton Fugere, Junior, Honorable Mention – Running Back; and board member Kate Hampton.
The Anahuac Elementary fifth grade flaggers were recognized Decem-
ber 15. Those attending the board meeting are shown above with Prin-
cipal Mitzi Higginbotham, Asst. Principal Lynna Stephenson and board
member Cris Stephenson.
At right is AES Music teacher Meredith Johnson with Mrs. Hig-
ginbotham and board member Kate Hampton.
Page 5 The SlateThe Slate
Board Training The following Anahuac ISD Board of Trustees members have completed the required Tier One Update to the Education Code – Ken
McGraw, Chris Jircik, Kate Hampton, Calvin Hill, Lane Bertrand and John Redman. Cris Stephenson’s new job prevented him from attending
an Update to the TEC but he is expected to receive the update very soon.
Superintendent James Hopper, Ken McGraw, Chris Jircik, Kate Hampton, Calvin Hill, Cris Stephenson, Lane Bertrand and John Redman
completed the required Tier Two Team Building session.
Ken McGraw, Chris Jircik, Kate Hampton, Calvin Hill, Cris Stephenson, Lane Bertrand and John Redman exceeded the required Tier Three
Continuing Education Hours. Completing the annual; required continuing education is a basic obligation and expectation of any sitting board
member under State Board of Education rule.
Sock It to Me! Roots and Shoots members celebrated the holidays with a Crazy Christ-mas Sock party. The gathering was held December 12 at member Blane Daugherty’s home.
Ugly Sweater
Contest Winners
AES Winner
Katherine Wilkins
AMS Winner
Michael
Andrade
AMS Student Winner
Diego Mares
AMS Contestants are shown below
Winning Christmas Cards Winners of the AES Christmas Card Contest are
pictured above — Jada Lewis, Zoey Magana
and Braden Lanferman. Also shown are AES
Principal Mitzi Higginbotham and AISD Superin-
tendent James Hopper.
Page 6 The SlateThe Slate Anahuac Elementary
UIL Results Listed This year, nearly 70 elementary
students participated in one or more
of 23 UIL academic events. Students
and coaches traveled to East Cham-
bers for the district meet on Decem-
ber 8 and December 10. An award
ceremony was held Friday, January 8,
in the elementary school gym. Par-
ents were invited to attend the cere-
mony, and medals and ribbons were
handed out. The coaches and stu-
dents for each event and the results
from the meet are listed below.
2nd Grade Creative Writing
Coach: Deanna Henicke
Members: Tucker Anderson, Leah
Borne, Kendall Hutchins, and Taylor
Neumann.
2nd Grade Math
Coach: Billie Savoie
Members: Kayden Billiot, Jake Chris-
tensen, Ivan Salazar (4th Place), and
Eli Swonke (5th Place).
2nd Grade Storytelling
Coach: Lakesha Humphrey
Members: Natalie Garner, Madison
Willis (1st Place), Elizabeth McMinn
(2nd Place), and Joshua Moore (4th
Place).
3rd Grade Math
Coach: Kay Zieschang
Members: Ty Wilcox, Ryan Tu (1st
Place with a perfect paper), Tina Ly
(3rd Place), and Daniel Casillas (6th
Place).
3rd Grade Music Memory
Coach: Meredith Johnson
Members: Drake Price (2nd Place),
Shane Rakestraw (4th Place), and Ty-
ler Hart (6th Place)
*This event was also a team event.
The boys earned 2nd Place as a team.
3rd Grade Ready Writing
Coach: Deanna Henicke
Members: Tina Ly, Matthew Previte,
Joe Previte (3rd Place), and Renata
Ward (4th Place).
3rd Grade Spelling
Coach: Paula Pilant
Members: Saniya Pedraza, Ty Wil-
cox, Tina Ly (2nd Place), and Ryan Tu
(3rd Place).
3rd Grade Storytelling
Coach: Melissa DuBois
Members: Hannah Anderson, Jayden
Thrower, and Zanica Fortenberry (2nd
Place).
4th Grade Art Smart
Coach: Alma Moore
Members: Marcos Curiel, Savannah
Desormeaux, and Raeganne Wiggins
*This event was also a team event.
The students earned 4th Place as a
team.
4th Grade Music Memory
Coach: Meredith Johnson
Members: Valerie Castillo, Lexxy
Cooper, Laci Johnson, Baylor Lanfer-
man, and Perry Harris (4th Place)
*This event was also a team event.
The students earned 2nd Place as a
team.
4th Grade Number Sense
Coach: Deana Price
Members: Marcos Curiel, Brooks
Henicke, Brenda Hernandez, and
Christian Valencia (3rd Place).
4th Grade Oral Reading
Coach: Shae Bowman
Members: Kamryn Hampton, Perry
Harris (2nd Place), Sonjia Hankamer
(3rd Place), and Teagan Doucet (5th
Place).
4th Grade Ready Writing
Coach: Billie Savoie
Members: Matti Anderson, Karlie
Guzman (1st Place), Kiera Beecham
(2nd Place), and Laci Johnson (4th
Place).
4th Grade Spelling
Coach: RosaLinda Campbell
Members: Brielle Christensen, Bren-
da Hernandez, Alan Mares (4th Place),
and Artemio Banda (5th Place).
5th Grade Art Smart
Coach: Alma Moore
Members: Jaime Garza, Jamie
Granger, Heather DeLaCruz (4th
Place), and Payton Johnson (6th
Place)
*This event was also a team event.
The students earned 3rd Place as a
team.
5th Grade Dictionary Skills
Coach: Alma Moore
Members: Jathan Sherman, Richard
Tu (1st Place), Heather DeLaCruz (2nd
Place), and Landon Corbitt (6th Place).
5th Grade Listening
Coach: Mary Coward
Members: Cameron Edmonds, Ian
Martinez (1st Place), and Heather De-
LaCruz (5th Place).
5th Grade Maps, Graphs, & Charts
Coach: Mary Coward
Members: Juan Muniz, Jake Previte
(1st Place), and Jamie Granger (5th
Place).
5th Grade Music Memory
Coach: Meredith Johnson
Members: Bryson Campbell, Alissa
Lino, Cole Majors, and Ian Martinez
(4th Place)
*This event was also a team event.
The students earned 3rd Place as a
team.
5th Grade Number Sense
Coach: Deana Price
Members: Bryson Campbell, Paola
Chavez, Richard Tu (1st Place), and
Jathan Sherman (5th Place).
5th Grade Oral Reading
Coach: Allison Fiegel
Members: Ian Martinez (1st Place),
Maggie Stephenson (3rd Place), and
Hadlee Richard (5th Place).
5th Grade Ready Writing
Coach: Billie Savoie
Members: Mattie Bess, Ernesto Gon-
zalez, Rylee Hatfield (1st Place), and
Jake Previte (2nd Place.
5th Grade Spelling
Coach: RosaLinda Campbell
Members: Mattie Bess, Holden
Smith, Jake Previte (3rd Place), and
Bryson Campbell (5th Place).
Page 7 The SlateThe Slate
Anahuac Elementary students attended
a program December 15 on Bullying Pre-
vention presented by Gary Lee.
The event was presented by Third Coast
Integrated Martial Arts of Anahuac. Pro-
fessor Gary Lee holds the
rank of Grandmaster in Ha-
waiian Kenpo Karate and
other Japanese and Okina-
wan styles. He is also a
sword master. Presenting
with Professor Lee was Dar-
lene McPherson-Pagels,
Shihan, 5th Dan. Shihan
McPherson owns and oper-
ates the Anahuac martial
arts school.
The presentation included
AES students Tyler Hart,
George Hisler III, Kyla Hart,
Anthony Adams and Cloey
Adams who are students at
Third Coast Martial Arts.
Assisting and demonstrating
were adults Rachal Hisler
and Lyndon Gilmore.
During the program, Pro-
fessor Lee and Shihan
McPherson talked to the
students about being in
"active shooter" situations in
public places and a few sim-
ple things to remember if that should ever
occur.
Professor Lee had the students stand
straight and tall, look straight ahead with
hands at their sides and say, "I can do
anything I think I can do” (pointing to their
temple).
Professor Lee presented the AES Li-
brary with two copies of his book, Memoirs
of An American Samurai.
Learning to Use Martial Arts to Prevent Bullying
Rally Crew Recruits
Wanted! Calling all baseball fans, the Anahuac Baseball Program is now recruiting new members for our Rally Crew. We are selling T shirts for $20 for the 2016 sea-son. These are approved spirit shirts that can be worn on Fridays at school. Also when you look at the flyer at left, there are a cou-ple of other incentives that come along with joining the Crew this year. We initially put Pre K to 5th grade but we will allow any age to join the Rally Crew and support the Pan-thers!!!! Please fill out the form and return it with payment to Coach Roecker. They can be returned to the Middle School, Elementary School or Administrative Offices. Thank you again for the support and see y'all all out at The Fort!
The Slate
Important AISD Dates To Remember:
Jan. 15: Teacher In-service — student holiday. Jan. 18: MLK Birthday — no school.
Jan. 19: Beginning of 4th six weeks. Feb. 9: AISD Board meeting 6 p.m., Administration Build-ing. Public welcome to attend.
Anahuac ISD Administration Office
804 Mikhael Ricks Drive
Anahuac High School
201 S. Kansas Street
Anahuac Middle School
706 Mikhael Ricks Drive
Anahuac Elementary
905 Ross Sterling
District Phone: 409-267-3600
The Slate Is published by
Anahuac Independent School District
P. O. Box 369 Anahuac, Tx. 77514
Superintendent
James Hopper
Board of Trustees
Ken McGraw …………...…....…. President
Kate Hampton ….……..…. Vice President
Chris Jircik ……………………...…. Secretary
Calvin Hill Dr. John Redman
Lane Bertrand Cris Stephenson
Sue Hawthorne Editor, The Slate
Anahuac ISD does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sex, or disability in providing education services, activities, and pro-grams, including vocational programs, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
The following district staff members have been designated to coordinate compliance with these legal requirements:
· Title IX Coordinator, for concerns regarding discrimination on the basis of sex: James Hopper 409-267-2001.
· Section 504 Coordinator, for con-
cerns regarding discrimination on the basis of disability: Cindy Ber-trand 409-267-2017.
Academic Team Goes Virtual The Anahuac High School Academic team has participated in two virtual chal-
lenge meets over the last two months. These meets are paper/pencil and comput-
er based competition against hundreds of students across the state of Texas. This
is the second year that the Anahuac Team has participated in this type of contest,
and it helps the students to progress for the actual meet competitions that begin in
January.
In the first virtual meet, Anahuac had 30 students participating from more than
5000 scores reported to the site. These individuals represent a variety of academ-
ic events and all school classifications. Senior Carlos Chavez finished the Current
Issues event in 3rd place for 3A classification and 7th place overall classification.
The Current Issues team consisting of Carlos Chavez, Luciano Palacios, and Tia
Cormier finished in 5th place for the 3A classification. Anahuac had students com-
peting in math, number sense, accounting, spelling, science, calculator, and liter-
ary criticism.
In the second virtual meet that was held on December 11, the Anahuac Team
had a few more students placing in the top 20. Senior Jacob Jackson finished in
17th place for 3A Number Sense, sophomore Ty Bergeron finished in 18th place for
3A Accounting, and senior Luciano Palacios finished in 14th place for 3A Current
Events. Senior Carlos Chavez finished in 2nd place for 3A Current Events and over-
all and the Current Events Team of Carlos Chavez, Luciano Palacios, and Armando
Netro finished in 2nd place.
Each of these students and all the others work very hard to do the best that they
can, and we are proud of the results, and the effort they put forth. The next virtual
meet will be January 30. The team will travel to Hamshire-Fannett on January 8
and 9 to start the UIL Academic Season.
Gingerbread
Construction
Fourth grade teacher
Melissa Boudreaux
works with students on
the construction of
gingerbread houses.
Students Kiera Bee-
cham and Marcos
Curiel concentrate on
their project.