Safety a Focus at MacArthur

In addition to preparing for graduation and year-end activities, student groups at MacArthur High School have made vehicle safety a top priority during the month of May.

On May 15, the MacArthur Student Council partnered with IISD Partner in Education Allstate to produce Roadwatch. Student council members posted a lifeguard-style chair at the exit to a student parking lot and tallied the number of distractions students allowed themselves as they drove away from school. Distractions tallied while driving include: 97 incidents of talking on cell phones, 31 incidents of adjusting the car radio, 17 incidents of eating or drinking, 16 incidents of passengers distracting the driver, four incidents of text-messaging, and three incidents of a driver putting on make-up or brushing hair. Results will be presented to the student body during broadcasts of the school's television news program May 19−23.

MacArthur's chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) presented Shattered Dreams to members of the junior and senior classes May 19. During the simulation, a car wreck was staged demonstrating the effects of drunken driving. The simulation was produced through cooperative efforts between the SADD chapter, city emergency response personnel, and county medical personnel.

During an assembly about preventing drunken driving, school officials received a radio call notifying them that an "accident" had occurred on campus and students, who were unaware of the simulation, were escorted to the scene to view the demonstration. Student SADD members portrayed the roles of drunk driver, injured passengers, and a deceased car passenger, and emergency response and law enforcement officials processed the scene as they would an actual event. Fire department and medical services personnel used jaws-of-life to remove injured students from vehicles and administer first aid, and law enforcement officials conducted field sobriety tests for the drunk driver and placed her under arrest. A Care Flight helicopter was dispatched to the scene to take an injured passenger for medical treatment, and for the remainder of the school day a student was removed from a class every 15 minutes to illustrate to the student body how often someone is killed in a drunken-driving accident in America. The presentation was concluded May 20 with a follow-up assembly attended by juniors and seniors, which also included a mock memorial service for the deceased student.

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Murillo Adds to Texas Success

Soloman Murillo, senior at Irving High School, competed in the Senior Select National Gymnastics Championship competition in Memphis, Tennessee, May 16-17, helping the Texas team bring home the silver medal.

Murillo was invited to compete with the Texas state gymnastics team following his performance at the state gymnastics championship April 24-25. At national competition, Murillo earned a score of 9.1 out of ten in the vault, contributing to the Texas team's overall second place win.

In 2006-2008, he qualified for regional competition in vault and floor events and in 2007 he won third in vault and sixth place in floor at district competition. In 2007 and 2008, Murillo qualified for state competition in the vault, and the invitation to national competition in 2008 tops his successful high school gymnastics career.

According to Irving High gymnastics coach Mark Ragar, Murillo follows Irving High's Wendy Cannon in becoming only the second Irving High gymnast to advance to national competition.

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Elementary Career Exploration

Though elementary school may seem a bit early for learning about careers, teachers at John Haley Elementary School, Gilbert Elementary School, Johnston Elementary School – and many others across IISD – believe it is a chance to help children see the light at the end of the educational tunnel.

Gilbert Elementary School held their 11^th annual career day May 14. Students were given presentations from more than 50 professionals in various careers. According to Yvette Brown, counselor at Gilbert, the career day has the potential of giving students more academic focus as they enter middle and high school. Likewise, fourth and fifth grade students at John Haley attended a career fair during the school day May 16. Students visited exhibits including emergency and law enforcement agencies, The Dallas Morning News, and MJB Wood Group, Inc. – the school's newest partner in education. John Haley's fair coordinators said the event provided a great opportunity for kids to see the skills they learn in school being actively used in the work force.

In addition to their career fair scheduled for May 22, Johnston is one of many IISD elementary schools that participate in Junior Achievement Day. “JA Day” is a one-day, age-appropriate intensive study of business-related lessons. Community volunteers teach according to the Junior Achievement program and students learn how the roles of individuals, families and communities affect the national economy.

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Navy Program Retains Honor

For the eighth consecutive year, the Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps unit at Nimitz High School has been named Distinguished Unit with Academic Excellence.

The recognition comes as a result of the students' collective grade point average, community service participation, and military skills presentations. By earning the designation, the Nimitz JROTC program is placed in the top 15 percent of all high school Navy programs in the nation.

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Literacy Program Graduation

The Irving.Net Fifth Annual Adult Literacy Graduation Ceremony took place May 8, marking the completion of the program's year-long adult literacy class.

Among the 193 adult students receiving certificates, the enrollment included two parents of IISD students who are learning the English language and two who passed the United States citizenship exam this year.

Juan Carlos Martinez, IISD parent involvement coordinator, served as keynote speaker. Delia Watley, Irving.Net program manager, and Jaime Garcia, representative of Primerica and five-year volunteer for Irving.Net, served as co-masters of ceremony.  Participants having consistent attendance throughout the year received $100.00 stipends sponsored by the IME Fellowship Program/University of California and the US-Mexico Binational Education Initiative.

Irving.Net was created seven years ago through a collaboration of Irving ISD, City of Irving, North Lake College, and Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce.

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Mike Rock presents Judyann Robinson, IISD risk manager, a loss-prevention grant award from the Texas Association of School Boards' Risk Management Fund. The grant will help implement loss prevention and safety initiatives,  reducing the potential for property losses and on-the-job injuries.

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