Nimitz Decathlon Team
Second at State
Last weekend, the Nimitz
High School Academic Decathlon Team finished second out of 40 teams at
the Texas Academic Decathlon meet, hosted by Cinco Ranch High School in
the Katy ISD. Nimitz earned 45,513 points, falling just 668 points short
of the large schools state champion, Plano Senior High School, which
earned 46,181 points. Katy Taylor High School finished third, followed
by Rockwall and San Antonio Holmes.
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Nimitz
Academic Decathlon Team |
This marks the eighth
time in the past 10 years that Nimitz has finished among the top five in
the state. It is also the team’s best performance since winning the
state title in 2004. And, for the first time, the team won first place
in the state Super Quiz competition, tying with Plano. Head coach Greg
Jackson gave special credit to Julia Friedl, economics teacher at
Nimitz, for her role in helping coach the Super Quiz victory.
Jeremiah Glenn led
Nimitz as the top “B” student in the state, becoming just the sixth
student in Nimitz history to be crowned an individual state champion. He
won a $3,500 scholarship.
Other top individual
performances were posted by Shehznan Baqui, Number 4 “B” student in the
state, and Jared Hindman, Number 4 “C” student in the state. Each earned
a $1,000 scholarship for their performances.
As a result of placing
second at the meet, each Nimitz team member will receive an $800
scholarship. Superintendent Jack Singley, along with several IISD
administrators and trustees, accompanied the team to the state meet.
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Jackson Named Coach
of the Year
Greg
Jackson, head coach of the Nimitz High School Academic Decathlon Team,
was voted Coach of the Year during the state decathlon meet held last
weekend. The award is presented by the Board of Directors for Texas
Academic Decathlon. Jackson received a $1,000 award and a crystal bowl.
Under Jackson, who has
coached for 21 years, the Nimitz team has built a tradition of
excellence. In addition to winning the state title in 2004, Nimitz
finished second in 1998 and 2007, third in 2001, fourth in 2002 and
2006, fifth in 2003, and sixth in 2005.
On
the regional level, the team has won first in the regional competition
for 17 of the past 20 years and placed second twice.
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Public Schools Week
is March 5-9
Students and teachers
will celebrate Texas Public Schools Week March 5-9. Irving ISD schools
have scheduled open houses for parents and neighbors to get a first-hand
look at the teaching and learning that happens every day in IISD. The
theme this year is “One Texas. One Vision. All Children.”
High
schools will hold open houses Monday evening, March 5. Middle schools
open houses will be Tuesday, March 6. Elementary and early childhood
schools will open their doors to visitors Thursday, March 8. Times vary
by campus.
In a related note,
Barton Elementary School will host a special celebration at 6 p.m. March
8 in celebration of its 50th birthday. The event is scheduled early
enough so that visitors have the opportunity to attend open houses at
other schools.
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ICE Awards Set for
Thursday
The seventh annual ICE
Awards, hosted by Catherine Whiteman, will be held Thursday night at
MacArthur High School. A reception in the cafeteria begins at 6:15 p.m.,
followed by the awards show at 7 p.m.
The
ICE (Irving Celebration of Excellence) Awards recognize outstanding
achievements by Irving ISD students and staff.
Irving Community Television (ICTN) will videotape and replay the show on
Time Warner Cable Channel 16 and Verizon FiOS Channel 30 at 9:30 p.m.
Sunday. Future airings are planned for ICTN and Irving Schools
Television (ISTV).
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15 Students Advance
to State VASE Contest
Fifteen students who
participated recently in the Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) were
chosen to advance to state-level competition. They will show their work
at the state contest April 13 in Houston. Students who advanced are
listed below.
- Irving High School:
Tiffany Burts, Kelsey Kontact, Jesus Macias, Irene Sosa and Dayanne
Verbena
- MacArthur High
School:
Ivan Alonso, Mariah Davis and Ann Stone
- Nimitz High School:
Jesus Castillo and Ricardo Gonzalez
- The Academy of
IISD:
Chris Cardona, Robert Cunningham, Sawson Hajmamoud, Gina Martinez and
Alex Revier
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Irving High Choral
Students Advance to State Contest
In addition to 15 from
Nimitz High School, 13 choral students at Irving High School qualified
for state following the solo and ensemble contest held February 10 in
Midlothian.
The
following students qualified for the state UIL contest scheduled for May
in Austin: Devon Albert, Tanisha Archie, Stephanie Bunt, Ashley
Chandler, Tiffany Conant, Jonathan Flores, J.P. Goski, Karem Guajardo,
Meagan Mariscal, Eli Orellana, Jolie Palmer, Christina Scrivner and
Katrina Vincent.
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Public
Information Wins State Awards
The Irving ISD Public
Information Department won several state awards for excellence in school
communications at the annual Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA)
Conference.
The
IISD Information Packet received Best in Category as well as a Gold Star
award. Five other entries also received Gold Star awards: Annual Report,
A Passion for Success Advertisement, Inside IISD Newspaper,
Teacher Recruiting CD/Brochure, and IISD Website.
More than 1,150 entries
in 44 categories were received in this year’s contest. Based in Austin,
TSPRA is a professional organization with more than 900 members
dedicated to improving public education in Texas by promoting effective
communication.
In
addition, Tony Thetford, director of public information, led a session
entitled “Communication Models & Applications” during a workshop for
public relations professionals seeking accreditation at the conference.
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Hammond Golf Tourney
Scheduled for March 17
The Judy Hammond
Memorial Golf Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, March 17 at
Riverchase Golf Club in Coppell. The tournament’s title sponsor is
Sonic.
The tournament will
benefit the Judy Hammond Memorial Athletic Scholarship, which will be
awarded to an Irving ISD student athlete. Contributions toward the
scholarship can be made through the Irving Schools Foundation (ISF).
Entry fee for the
tournament is $100, which includes lunch, green fees, cart, practice
balls, gift bag, dinner and door prizes. The format is a four-golfer
scramble. Participants may sign up in singles, twosomes, threesomes and
foursomes.
Registration forms can
be picked at the Athletic Department and ISF offices. For more
information, contact Joe Barnett at 972.215.5215 or Mike Sartor at
972.721.3091.
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Redesigned myCIGNA
Website Launched
The IISD Benefits Office
announces that effective February 19, the myCIGNA.com website has been
redesigned. The new site has features to make it easier than ever to
manage your health benefits and get answers to your healthcare
questions.
Changes include improved
medical and dental claim searching and tracking features, centralized
locations to access information, and enhancements to the provider
directory.
Visit
www.mycigna.com for more
information.
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Do Well, Be Well with
Diabetes
A series of sessions on
Type 2 diabetes, titled Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes, will take place
Thursdays from 10-11:30 a.m. during the month of March at Senter Park
Recreation
Center
in Irving.
The
program, co-sponsored by the Texas Cooperative Extension and City of
Irving, is designed to educate participants about managing diabetes. To
register, call 972.721.2641.
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Science Night at
Davis
During
the annual Science Night held at Davis Elementary School, students and
their families participated in a variety of hands-on learning activities
that taught science skills and concepts in an integrated curricular
fashion. Davis staffers were at hand guiding excited guests through
stations requiring inquiry and manipulation as they explored the world
of science.
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Captain Zero at
Johnston
Frank
Ramirez, assistant principal at Johnston Elementary School, performed as
Captain Zero for kindergarteners. His character helps students with
counting and stressing the importance of numbers.
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Bowie Collects Items
for Troops
Sixth graders at Bowie Middle School collected more than 1,300 items to
send in care packages for shipping in support of the Support the Troops
collection drive.
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Reading Day at
Schulze
Students at Schulze Elementary School used technology during their
recent Reading Day. Students visited sites that read aloud or were
interactive. Each grade level had a different site to visit.
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