Art Adventure Fest
Since 2000, the Irving Arts Center
has hosted Art Adventure Fest, a two-day arts- and family-focused
festival. Events include performances, children’s art projects, and
visual arts demonstrations. Since visiting the Irving ISD Technology
Media Fair, Art Adventure organizers have invited IISD students to
participate.
Art Adventure Weekend, March 28-29,
will be held at the Irving Arts Center and will begin at 10 a.m. on
Saturday and noon on Sunday. Last year the festival attracted
approximately 5,000 children, families and art enthusiasts.
Usually the festival is targeted to
families with children ages 5-14, however for 2009, many projects and
activities will be geared toward high school students. In addition to
partnering with the Big Thought organization for spoken word artists,
Irving ISD middle and high school students are invited to work with a
professional graffiti artist to create their own artwork.
Irving Arts Center is located at
3333 N. MacArthur Blvd. For more information about Arts Adventure
Weekend, access
http://irvingartscenter.com.
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Destination Imagination!
Seventeen teams from Irving ISD
schools competed in the Destination ImagiNation! Mid-Cities Regional
Tournament February 28. Destination ImagiNation!, commonly referred to
as “DI”, is a problem solving contest in which two- to seven-member
teams focus on finding solutions to two separate types of challenges:
team challenges and instant challenges.
Many IISD schools sponsored more
than one team, and schools competing in the regional tournament
included: Davis, Lee, and Brandenburg, elementary division; Crockett,
Bowie, Lamar, Austin, and Travis, middle school division; and Irving
High School, Nimitz High School, and The Academy of Irving ISD, high
school division.
Team members selected one of five
challenges to solve during the course of several months, requiring
creative problem solving and teamwork. Among schools competing in the
mid-cities DI tournament, Irving ISD teams won several awards in the
elementary, middle and high school grade level divisions. The Mid-Cities
region includes Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Grand Prairie, Arlington,
Birdville, Grapevine-Colleyville, and Keller independent school
districts.
Many Irving students were recognized
with the Spirit of DI award, given to members of the DI community
who exemplify outstanding levels of sportsmanship, volunteerism, and
spirit throughout the tournament. Recognized IISD students with spirit
awards are Pablo Gomez from Lamar and Waseq Bhuiyan, Fahim Choudhury,
Christian Guerrero, Saqlain Jagani, Farhan Sahawneh, Parth Shah, and
Ezemdi Anosike from the Academy.
The high school teams from Irving
High and the Academy will advance to the state tournament, held April 4
in Houston. For a complete list of team members from IISD schools, and
for more information about Destination ImagiNation!, access
www.irvingisd.net/articles/DI-2009.htm.
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Solo & Ensemble Success
Irving ISD high school band students
competed at the Texas Music Educators Association Region 20 Solo &
Ensemble competition at Coppell High School February 28.
IISD students earned a total of 56
first division ratings – 54 for solos and two for ensembles. The two
ensembles and 35 of the soloists qualified to advance to state solo &
ensemble competition in Austin in May.
For a complete list of students
earning superior ratings at Region 20 solo & ensemble, access
www.irvingisd.net/articles/SoloEnsembleResults.htm.
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Cardettes are Regional Champions
The
MacArthur High School Cardettes drill team attended regional drill team
competition at DeSoto High School February 28.
The Cardettes won several top awards
during the competition. Officers received two First Division awards in
their jazz and lyrical performance and received Best in Category for
lyrical performance. The team received Sweepstakes and Judges’ Awards
for receiving scores of 92 and above from all judges on all routines,
and the team also received Best in Category for Team Modern, Team Pom,
and Team Novelty events. As a result of the Cardettes’ total scores, the
team was named Grand Champion of the regional meet.
MacArthur Cardettes team officers
are Sabrina Warner, Captain; Kaitlin Walters, First Lieutenant; and
Stephanie Fernandez, Lieutenant. Cardettes team members are Gaby Trulu,
Mayra De La Cruz, Erica Garza, Kaylee Parker, Josie Cannon, Karissa
Allen, Ivette Gonzalez, Nikki Freshour, Jignasha Patel, Juliuse
Williams, Jessica Hilliard, Dalaney Davenport, Kaytie Bass, Shanna
Thomas
Jasmin Hernandez,
Alexxa Rivas, Maria Reyes, Veronica Rodriguez, Tracey Gilbert, and
Trisha McAnallen.
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Athletes of the Month
Ivette Aguilar, senior at Nimitz
High School, and Brett Wilburn, senior at MacArthur High School, have
been named female and male Athletes of the Month for March.
Ivette Aguilar
Nimitz High School |
Brett Wilburn,
MacArthur High School |
Female Athlete of the Month Ivette
Aguilar is currently ranked 17th in her class of 425 seniors,
is a member of National Honor society and has won school awards for
academic performance in English and social studies. She was named
All-District Defender for the 2007-2008 season and was team MVP for
2007-2008.
Male
Athlete of the Month Brett Wilburn plans to attend University of
Arkansas in the fall, to major in business. He is currently ranked
seventh in a class of 655, is a member of National Honor Society and
PALS. He has held a class officer position his junior and senior years
and participates in Link Crew. Wilburn has earned honors such as First
Team All-District 7-5A Outfielder, High School Most-Valuable Player, and
plays summer select baseball.
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Spring Break Closing Schedule
All Irving ISD schools and offices
will be closed for student/teacher holidays March 16-20, 2009. The Tax
Office, however, will be open Monday, March 16, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and
will be closed Tuesday-Friday. Classes will resume and offices will
reopen on Monday, March 23.
Please visit
www.irvingisd.net/Calendars/highlights.htm to view the
complete IISD calendar.
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