Academy Dedication Set for Sunday
The Academy of Irving
ISD will be officially dedicated this Sunday, March 24 at 2 p.m. The
dedication ceremony will be a who’s who among Irving education leaders,
from IISD board members to administrators of North Lake College.
Representatives from the architectural and construction firms that
designed the building will also be present among an expected crowd of
750.
Click on image for larger picture.
The event will
include addresses from Superintendent Jack Singley, and Milton Powell of
Powell PSP Architects, and Academy Principal John Brown. Guests will
also watch a video presentation prepared by Powell PSP along with
Academy students and staff.
The Academy opened its doors to students on August 23,
2001. The facility consists of 192,000 square feet and was built at a
cost of approximately $26 million. The building uses state-of-the-art
technology such as a career center, courtroom, conference center, cyber
zone, distance learning center, language lab, library media center,
medical/dental clinics, radio/television production studios, various
computer and science labs, and wellness center that support six career
specializations.
The event will be held in the Academy conference
center with a reception in the food court. The Academy is located at
4601 N. MacArthur Blvd.
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Soloists/Ensembles Qualify for State
Twenty-one IISD students will compete in the state
solo & ensemble music contest this year after a superb showing at
regionals, especially for Nimitz High School.
Nimitz qualified 17 students for state. MacArthur High
School has six state qualifiers, and Irving High School has five. Nimitz
also had 47 students receive a first division rating and nine students
receive first divisions in both solo and ensemble at the regional meet.
From MacArthur, 35 students achieved first divisions, with four others
doubling the honor. And from Irving High, 13 students reached the
division one mark and one did so in both solo and ensemble.
The state qualifiers from Nimitz are: Lennon Arnold,
Chris Carlyle, Ivan Castillo, Josh Cook, Chelsea Ellis, Ryan Estes, Kyle
French, Scooter Haug, Kim Hawkins, Ben Kendall, Lorraine Manhard,
Darlene Paraguya, Cory Peterson, Jenny Smith, David Solis, Molly Weaver,
and Devin Whorton. The state qualifiers from MacArthur are: Lacey
Lanier, Bethany Lewis, Junia Valente, Vanessa Perez, Starr West, and
Sara Murry. The state qualifiers from Irving High are: Josh Armstrong,
Trey Connolly, Jesse Luna, Jon Paynter, and Ryan Williams.
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Achievement Scholar Finalists Named
Irving High School student Antonio Lee and Nimitz High
School student Benjamin Kendall have been named finalists for the
National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s National Achievement
Scholarship for African-American students.
Lee and Kendall were chosen from 1,500 semifinalists
named last fall, and they both hope to be among 700 National Achievement
Scholars who receive $2,500 scholarships. Those winners will be
announced later this month.
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Companies Seek Employees at Irving High Job Fair
Some of the largest companies in North Texas will
visit Irving High School March 27 in search of quality employees.
Businesses like Wal-Mart, Six Flags Over Texas, Spring Creek BBQ, and
the U.S. Postal Service will be part of a job fair sponsored by
Communities In Schools.
The fair is open to adults and working age students.
It will feature dozens of quality employers. The event will be held from
5 to 7 p.m. in the gymnasium of Irving High. For more information,
contact the Curriculum & Instruction Department at 972-273-8523.
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Austin Awarded $1,500
Austin Middle School’s Saturday Scholar Program was
awarded $1,500 by the Verizon Foundation Volunteer Program recently. The
grant will pay for food, field trips, and activities for the Saturday
Scholars.
The Saturday Scholars Program offers students fun
activities that reinforce material that they learn during the week in
the classroom. Students are coached and mentored by members of the
Hispanic Support Organization, a Verizon employee research group that
has partnered with Austin for the past six years.
The Saturday Scholar Program was founded by Verizon
employee James V. Coleman. For more information about the program or the
grant, contact Rosie Lannen at 972-718-3606.
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Migrant Program Offers Nutrition Class
Parents of IISD students can get tips on how to cook
healthy, economical meals for their families at a free class offered by
the District’s Migrant Education Program in collaboration with the Texas
Cooperative Extension Program.
The class will be held at the First United Methodist
Church in Irving at 211 West Third Street. The class will meet from 9 to
11 a.m. every Tuesday. Graduates from the class will receive a
certificate of completion.
For more information, call Tonie Garza at
972-273-6630.
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Sorority Honors Principals
The local chapters of a teachers’ sorority honored
IISD principals and assistant principals with a Bosses’ Reception on
Tuesday, March 19. The Beta Beta and Beta Omicron Chapters of Alpha
Delta Kappa treated the bosses to refreshments and small tokens of
appreciation at the Senter East Building. Alpha Delta Kappa is an
international sorority for educators whose members contribute to
projects and causes such as scholarships for future teachers and
donations to New Tomorrows, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and school
libraries.
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Space Campers Chosen
Two IISD students will get to attend Space Camp at the
U.S. Space & Rocket Center thanks to their scientific prowess and
sponsorship from Baylor Medical Center at Irving.
Joshua Poulin, a sixth grader at Austin Middle School,
and Matt Marchant, a freshman at Irving High School, will attend the
camp for six days this summer in Huntsville, Alabama. Poulin and
Marchant were chosen from 103 IISD science fair and science olympiad
winners who either underwent an interview or submitted an essay on “Why
I Want to Attend the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.”
The students will be honored with a plaque at the May
6 meeting of the Board of Trustees.
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Magazine Features Good
PC Teach It, a magazine
for integrating technology into the classroom, featured Good Elementary
in a short story in its latest issue. The article praises the usefulness
of Good’s web site which won Education World’s Cool School of the Week
Award in 2000. The Good website can be found at
www.irvingisd.net/good.
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Math Wiz Reaches State
Austin Middle School student David Simmons will
represent the district at the state MathCounts competition this weekend
in Austin. Simmons earned a trip to state with a first place finish at
the regional competition in Arlington.
MathCounts is a nationwide competitive program
designed to stimulate interest and achievement in mathematics among
middle school students. On the local and state levels, it is sponsored
by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers.
David Simmons’ brother Joseph Simmons also placed well
at regionals, taking eleventh place. David is in seventh grade, and
Joseph is in sixth.
