Mentor in the Spotlight: Allyn Dukes

Connecting on Many Levels

Allyn Dukes , the SpringBoard partner mentor coordinator at Meadow Wood Elementary, is enjoying her second year of mentoring Emma, now a fourth grader at the school. When she first met Mrs. Dukes, Emma wondered, “ What is she going to be like?” But it only took “about one day” to figure out that they were going to be a good match!

Emma has noticed what they have most in common is they “both care about each other and other people.” Emma also admires Mrs. Dukes because she is “really nice, really listens, she’s fun and generous.”

This mentor/mentee pair have connected on many levels, including some that are not so easy to define! Mrs. Dukes and Emma were both pretty amazed at the probably-not-so-coincidental incident when Emma lost her lunch money (temporarily), and Mrs. Dukes responded to a subconscious nudge to come to the school to visit Emma on a day she doesn’t normally go to mentor.

Upon arrival, she found Emma looking in her backpack for her lunch money and not able to find it. Mrs. Dukes was able to help out that day and buy her lunch, much to Emma’s relief. After lunch, they went out to the play ground and actually found the lunch money in an envelope, as well as someone else’s lost library book. Emma was able to pay the good turn forward by returning the book to the person who lost it just before a downpour of rain.

Since having a mentor, Emma feels she has grown to be more outgoing, and is more willing tell people how she is feeling instead of holding it inside. Mrs. Dukes notes, “It takes time to learn to trust someone with your feelings,” but that Emma is very willing to do this with her mentor now.

Having raised boys, Mrs. Dukes is enjoying receiving fashion advice from Emma, and learning the importance of being patient when waiting for Emma to trust her and share her thoughts. Mrs. Dukes knew Emma found her to be a reliable and consistent adult in her life when one time she emailed Emma’s teacher about not being able to come that day to see her mentee, but the email did not reach the teacher, so the message didn’t get to Emma. When Mrs. Dukes came the next day to see Emma, and apologized for not being there the day before, Emma told her, “I knew you would come.”

Emma’s dreams for the future include becoming a lawyer (because she “is good at arguing”—according to her mother!), a policewoman or a doctor. She said she does not dream of having a Corvette or Mustang “like most people,” but looks forward to having a gray Equinox for a car! Wherever the road takes her, Mrs. Dukes is certain Emma has the “gifts and talents” to go far.

This dedicated mentor will be there to help her mentee with the skills of time management, goal setting, interpersonal communication, and to help Emma remember that no obstacle is too big if she digs a little to find the solution without getting frustrated.

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Sports News from Around SBISD

Basketball Play-offs The Memorial HS and Stratford HS girl’s basketball teams advanced to the playoffs and competed in bi-district competition this past Tuesday at Don Coleman Coliseum. Memorial was defeated by perennial powerhouse, Bellaire, but stayed with the Cardinals throughout the game, and played one of their best games of the season according to MHS Varsity girl’s basketball coach, Jyusef Larry.

The Stratford HS girl’s basketball team defeated Reagan handily and will advance to the area round of play. They will match up against Lamar Consolidated at Don Coleman Coliseum on Friday, February 15th, at 7:00pm as the second game of a double-header at the facility. The Tomball girls will face Foster at 5:30pm in the first game. The Spartans are coached by first year head coach, Buffie Matthews.

If the Stratford girl’s basketball team beats Lamar Consolidated, they will play the winner of the N. Forest/Friendswood area round on Tuesday, February 19th, at a neutral site TBD, most likely.
The plans for this round of play are still being finalized at this time.

The Stratford HS boys have finished in a tie for fourth place with Tomball, and will play a 22-4A play-off game on Friday, February 15th, at Cy-Ranch HS, at 7:00pm, to see who will advance to the playoffs. Should the Spartans win, they will play their bi-district contest on Tuesday, February 19th, against Wheatley, at Don Coleman Coliseum, at 7:00pm. The Spartans are coached by head coach, Mitch Hornsby.

Spring Branch ISD Swimming and Diving Teams Finish Strong at Regionals Memorial and Stratford HS Teams to Advance to the UIL State Swim Meet

At the 5A-IV Regional Swimming and Diving Meet, which was held at the University of Houston, the Memorial girls placed 4th as a team while bringing home 3 gold and 2 silver medals. Sophomore, Alex Buscher, won the "Swimmer of the Meet" Award, by establishing 2 All-American times which were school records, too. Overall, the girls have qualified 3 girls in 5 events along with 2 relays. The Memorial boy’s team turned in season-best times throughout the meet. The Mustangs are coached by head coach, Jason Mauss.

At the 4A-VII Regional Swimming and Diving Meet, Stratford swept the competition to finish as Regional champions in both the boys and girls divisions. The Stratford HS boys finished last season as the 4A State Champions, and may have a chance to repeat. The girl’s team is also expected to finish as one of the top teams in the state in 4A. The Spartans are coached by Mike Hoskovec. Spring Woods had boys and girls that qualified for the regional meet, which was held in San Antonio, with the Tigers finishing 7th out of 16th teams at Regionals, while the girls finished 14th as a team. The Tigers are coached by Lesley Rienstra.

Both the Spartans and Mustangs will send numerous swimmers to the UIL State Swim Meet, which will be held February 22nd-23rd, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center at the University of Texas in Austin. Fox Sports Southwest.com will do a live webcast of the meet starting at 9:30am on Saturday, February 23rd. The 5A swimming and diving finals will be held on Saturday at 9:30am, while the 4A swimming and diving finals will begin at 3:30pm.

Listed below are the student-athletes who will compete at the UIL State Swim Meet, along with their seeding among the sixteen qualifiers for each event, going into the meet.

4A UIL State Swim Meet Qualifiers from Stratford HS
Seed (1-16)	Event		Swimmer
5th	Girls 200 Yd. Medley Relay		Stratford
1st	Boys 200 Yd. Medley Relay		Stratford
12th	Girls 200 Yd. Freestyle		Erika Stephenson
14th	Boys 200 Yd. Freestyle		Samuel Cordova
14th	Girls 200 Yd. IM		Kaysey Weber
1st	Boys 200 Yd. IM		Michael Miller
13th	Girls 50 Yd. Freestyle		Leana Fautra
1st	Boys 50 Yd. Freestyle		Alec Willrodt
1st	Boys 100 Yd. Butterfly		Michael Miller
12th	Girls 100 Yd. Freestyle		Erika Stephenson
3rd	Boys 100 Yd. Freestyle		Alec Willrodt
12th	Boys 100 Yd. Freestyle		Kyle Rathgeb
6th	Girls 200 Yd. Freestyle Relay		Stratford
9th	Boys 200 Yd. Freestyle Relay		Stratford
6th	Boys 100 Yd. Backstroke		Kyle Rathgeb
7th	Girls 400 Yd. Freestyle Relay		Stratford
6th	Boys 400 Yd. Freestyle Relay		Stratford
5A UIL State Swim Meet Qualifiers from Memorial HS
Seed (1-16)		Event		Swimmer
3rd		Girls 200 Yd. Medley Relay		Memorial
1st		Girls 200 Yd. Freestyle		Alexandra Buscher
4th		Girls 200 Yd. IM		Danielle Yoon
2nd		Girls 500 Yd. Freestyle		Alexandra Buscher
10th		Girls 200 Yd. Freestyle Relay		Memorial
12th		Girls 100 Yd. Backstroke		Danielle Yoon
4th		Girls 100 Yd. Breaststroke		Briana Burns

Spring Sports Up and Running with Winter Sports Still Underway

Next week, while our high school basketball teams compete in the UIL playoffs and our swimmers head to Austin to compete at the state meet, numerous other sports get underway, or are currently in-season, during one of the busiest times of the year for the District Athletic Department.

High school soccer is in full swing and has begun district play. Our high school golf and spring tennis players are competing in tournaments throughout the area. High school softball teams opened their game schedules at their venues this week, while high school baseball teams begin their official schedules of play next week. Middle school track season begins next week, with invitational meets scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday at Memorial HS.

The department expects to host a basketball playoff double-header between Houston area teams at Don Coleman Coliseum on Friday, with plans to be back at Memorial HS on Saturday morning to assist our four high schools in hosting Spring Branch ISD’s varsity track invitational, The Will Taylor Relays. Though they are club sports, middle school and high school lacrosse begin their game schedules this week, with many of their games scheduled at Grob Stadium. Memorial and Stratford HS both are fielding rugby club teams and have played games at Tully the past several Saturdays.

For a complete listing of all high school and middle school sports activities, go to the Athletic Department website. There is sure to be an offering of something for everyone!

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