H-E-B Healthy Campus Award

Edgewood Elementary School was named as one of 12 schools in Texas to earn the title of “Healthy Campus” during the recently held
H-E-B Excellence in Education awards ceremony. The campus award was announced May 3 in Austin.

Edgewood Elementary earned recognition for its efforts to fight childhood obesity by promoting healthy food and wellness choices.

The award includes a $15,000, three-year school grant. Atkinson Elementary in Pasadena ISD and 10 other schools across Texas also won the “Healthy Campus” award and grants this year. Health Fitness Specialist Art Nevarez and Coach Todd Walstead worked on school programs that led to the state-level award.

For the past three years, Edgewood Elementary has had a Healthy Living Initiative as a school-wide goal, Nevarez said. The campus had applied for the H-E-B award due to concerns over childhood obesity rates, especially among Hispanic youth, he said. Edgewood Elementary then developed an action plan that involved students, staff, parents and community members.

“We feel that our focus on the entire community is what makes our plan special,” Nevarez said. “To date, we have used these grant funds to pay for healthy media resources and events for our students, healthy cooking classes from Chef Tim for our parents, weekly exercise classes for both staff and community members, and much more.”

Chef Tim is Tim Saddler, the founder and owner of Tim & Co. Catering. He is a former U.S. Navy cook. In his business, he focuses on “healthy foods,” and he is active with the local Oliver Foundation, which advocates on behalf of good food choices and the prevention of childhood obesity.

At Edgewood Elementary, Chef Tim presented a healthy cooking demonstration, and actually made dinner for all campus families that attended his presentation. “We are excited about the opportunities that the grant provides us to educate our students, parents and community members and to get them on a healthy living track,” Nevarez adds.

Coach Walstead noted that the grant award allows the campus to add experiences like Chef Tim’s presentation that are conducted outside the classroom.

The grant also supports Spring Branch ISD’s student-focused health fitness initiative known as K-SHAC. K-SHAC stands for Kids School Health Advisory Club, a student-led organization on many SBISD campuses that educates and promotes active healthy lifestyle and wellness choices to other students and family and community members. Edgewood Elementary School is located at 8757 Kempwood.

The school principal is Suzanne Mercado.

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Employee Campaign Scholarships

A record 41 graduating seniors were rewarded with Employee Campaign scholarships at the annual Spring Branch Education Foundation Awards Night celebrated May 9 at the Westin Memorial City Hotel.

This year’s group of seniors each received a $1,250 scholarship. Spring Branch ISD employees contribute annually to the Foundation’s Employee Campaign, which funds scholarships for all SBISD graduates who are the children of district employees and apply.

“Every single donated dollar is set aside to fund scholarships for the children of our employees that are graduating from high school,” said Scholarship Awards Chair and Foundation member Warren Matthews.

“Due to the generosity of all the team members across SBISD, we have once again been able to award a sizeable scholarship to every student that applied. In SBISD, we’re proud to once again say ‘We take care of our own!’,” he said.

By 2017, SBISD has set a district goal to double the number of students completing a technical certificate, two-year degree or four-year degree.

In addition to the Employee Campaign honorees, dozens of students received other awards and scholarships. In all, 71 graduating seniors were honored during the evening program.

Employee Campaign Scholarships were presented to district seniors by SBISD Board of Trustees President Pam Goodson, SBEF Chair Mike Rome and SBEF Executive Director Cece Thompson.
SBEF’s Warren Matthews read individual student profiles, which were compiled by the Awards Committee team.

Employee Campaign Scholarship honorees:

Click here to read more information on our 2013 honorees.

Mitchel Barry – Westchester Academy for International Studies
Parker Blome – Spring Woods High School
Martha Caballero – Spring Woods High School
Jasmine Alexa Cano – Stratford High School
Taylor William Cash – Stratford High School
Patrick Christie – Memorial High School
Jacob Cribbs – Stratford High School
Emily Davis – Stratford High School
Elisha Cristopher Diaz – Westchester Academy for International Studies
Kathryn Dickinson – Stratford High School
Adrian Garcia – Northbrook High School
Devan Green – Memorial High School
Mara Justine Heitkamp – Memorial High School
Patrick Janacek – Stratford High School
David Kassir – Westchester Academy for International Studies
Aileen (Allie) Lail – Spring Woods High School
Ryan Lay – Memorial High School
Stacy Lopez – Northbrook High School
Jared Lowrie – Stratford High School
Mackenzie Mayo – Stratford High School
Dua Mazhar – Stratford High School
Brittany McCune – Westchester Academy for International Studies
Robert (Ty) McGowen – Memorial High School
Marvin Mendoza – Westchester Academy for International Studies
Leslie Olivares – Memorial High School
Anna Pendergrass – Memorial High School
Veronica Santos – Spring Woods High School
Ian Sharp – Stratford High School
Daniel Shelton – Spring Woods High School
Kathleen M. Slattery – Memorial High School
Bonnie Slattery – Stratford High School
Soumya Srivastava – Westchester Academy for International Studies
David Tod Stewart II – Memorial High School
Evan Stone – Stratford High School
Jeremy Suarez – Spring Woods High School
Daniel David Tabor – Memorial High School
Kimberly Taylor – Stratford High School
Kaitlin Trahan – Memorial High School
Jessica Watts – Memorial High School
Bradley Whitten – Spring Woods High School

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PTA Council Awards Night

More than 100 Spring Branch ISD students were honored May 7 at Stratford High School during the annual SBISD Council of PTAs Awards Night.

District students and graduating seniors were honored for their participation in the Odyssey of the Mind, PTA Reflections and Environmental Contest programs, and as 2013 scholarship winners selected by the PTA Council and Spring Branch Education Foundation (SBEF).

In addition, eight SBISD campuses were awarded Council of PTAs Awards for their outstanding work during the evening program at Stratford High. Presenting these awards was Carrie Goolsby, Council of PTAs Awards Committee chairperson.

SBISD Council of PTAs Awards:

Outstanding PTA Award – Secondary

Memorial High School PTA

Outstanding PTA Award -- Elementary

Frostwood Elementary School PTA

Outstanding PTA Communication Award

Memorial Middle School PTA

Outstanding Membership Campaign Award

Frostwood Elementary School PTA

Helen Huey Outstanding Newsletter Award – Elementary

Valley Oaks Elementary PTA

Helen Huey Outstanding Newsletter Award – Secondary

Memorial High School PTA

Outstanding Sister School Solution Award

Memorial Middle School PTA

Outstanding Parent Education Program Award

Memorial Middle School PTA

Mary Kay Coleman Highest Percentage Increase in Membership Award

Zebra Zone Early Learning Center PTA

Scholarship Awards:

SBISD Council of PTAs Scholarships
Three students received SBISD Council of PTAs Scholarships funded by the Houston Chronicle Share Program, PTA Founder’s Day Dinner and individual donations from Friends of the SBISD Council of PTAs. Students were each awarded $1,000.

Presenting these awards was Carrie Goolsby, Council of PTAs Awards Committee chairperson.

Scholarship recipients are:

• Connor McCampbell, Memorial High School
• Katrina Benwell, Westchester Academy
• Isaiah Ramos, Spring Woods High School

Spring Branch Education Foundation Scholarships

Six students received scholarships funded by the Spring Branch Education Foundation.
Warren Matthews with the SBISD Council of PTAs Scholarship Awards Committee presented students with this scholarship award. Students were each awarded $1,000.

The honorees are:

• Michael Walker, Memorial High School
• Kaitlin Kargar, Westchester Academy
• Parker Lund, Stratford High School
• Brittany Trevino, Spring Woods High School
• Aaron Sunstrum, Memorial High School
• Marie Evans, Memorial High School

Wells Fargo Scholarship

One student was awarded this scholarship, which is funded through a donation from Wells Fargo through the Spring Branch Education Foundation. Warren Matthews with the SBISD Council of PTAs Scholarship Awards Committee presented this $1,000 individual scholarship award.

Katie Redd, Spring Woods High School

Odyssey of the Mind Student Recognitions:

Odyssey of the Mind is an international education program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Students apply their creativity to solve problems that may range from creating mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretations of literary classics.

The following SBISD Odyssey of the Mind teams were named as State Finalists. Teams are scored on their creativity, risk taking, talent and problem-solving skills.

Elementary School

Problem 1: “Pet Project”
Ridgecrest Elementary School – Nicholas Garcia, Sally Hernandez, Jose Herrera, Mayreli Rodriguez, Flavia Tepozotian, Jessica Rosella
Bunker Hill Elementary School – Connor Cook, Chad Ellaham, Russell Creighton, Gabriel Mercio, Bradley Creighton, Nicholas Ojeda
Terrace Elementary School – Kaiden Guillemette, Michelle Young, Emily Gomez, Alexis Castillo, Hannah Kmiecik, Christopher Hogue, Kiera Yetiv

Problem 2: “The Email Must Go Through”
Valley Oaks Elementary School – Anna Sucec, Abigail Mohun, Ava Speros, Rachel Sedita, Valerie Lucio, Elena Sucec, Claire Fournier

Problem 3: “ARTchitecture: ‘The Musical’”
Terrace Elementary School – Caroline Sparks, Haven Harlow, Edin Garibovic, Lauren Kmiecik, Summer Strohbehn, Brandon Le
Ridgecrest Elementary School – Kenya Cruz, Leah Holewyne, Colby Nguyen, Bryan Menchaca, Bryanna Salinas, Maritza Hernandez, Kaitlyn Menchaca

Problem 4: “Tumble-wood”

Rummel Creek Elementary – Tetsuki Morita, Jessica Bucek, Rachel Whipple, Ethan Kwon, Paul Choi, Emily Whipple, Nicholas Pao

Problem 5: “It’s How You Look at It”

Nottingham Elementary – Branham Banks, Ashlyn Whitefield, Kinsey Jeansonne, Dylan Schick, Samantha Banks, Alexander Thurow, Sara Duvall

Middle and High School

Problem 1: “Pet Project”
Cornerstone Academy – Division 2: Geoffrey Baring, Adair Fulweber, Michael Stewart, Bryan Dumesnil, Riley Shelby
Spring Woods High School – Division 3: Jeremy Jackson, Emily Mitchell, Lillian Monteiro, Miguel Angel, Paul Harman, Charles Bellow, Kyle Modlin. This team advanced to World Finals.

Problem 2: “The Email Must Go Through”
Memorial Middle School – Division 2: Raymond Zrike, Jacob Lewis, Andrew Teske, Sam Curry, Gavin Young
Cornerstone Academy School – Division 2: Natalie Lee, Jacinda Isbell, Wesley Jones, Madeleine Wylie, Addison Barrett, Elizabeth Glover, Krista Drysdale
Westchester Academy – Division 3: Sam Farrokhi, Gustavo Rocha, Diana Villarreal, Sara Farrokhi, Lilian Velez, Adrian Villalobos. This team advanced to World Finals.

Problem 3: “ARTchitecture: ‘The Musical’”

Spring Oaks Middle School – Division 2: Katie Dickerson, Hannah Morphey, Jay Moyle, Meg Schomburg, Amy Dickerson, Karly Anderson, Joshua Castillo

Cornerstone Academy – Division 2: Rachel Williamson, Mary Mouton, Eleanore Green, Grace Barrett, Kati Stubits-Gallagher, Channing Green, Kara Hildebrand

Memorial Middle School – Division 2: Kieran Cremins, Kendrick Foster, Nickzad Rafieha, Demetri Zacharakis, Varun Dixit, Jun-Yong Kim, Carl Wolff

Problem 4: “Tumble-wood”

Spring Forest Middle School – Division 2: Madeline Harms, Taran Morford, Marissa Hormell, Rebekah LeMaire, Alexis Hyde, James Martinson, Alex Parizot
Memorial Middle School – Division 2 Max Wolff, Josephine Lim, Jerry Han, Connie Lee, Nia Choi, Zachary Lay, Trey Gregory
Spring Woods High School – Division 3: Richard Young, Parker Blome, Odalis Garcia, Nathan Lerner, Adam Tutt, Brenda Rivera. This team advanced to World Finals.
Westchester Academy – Division 3: Mia Alfonso, Mitchell Benson, Josh Diaz, Ted Bauer, Caroline Bik, Paige Williams, Cassandra Ung. This team advanced to World Finals.

Problem 5: “It’s How You Look At It”

Westchester Academy – Division 2: Katelyn Coolidge, Laura Rincon-Bianchi, Michelle Diaz, Darius Dixon, Isabella Boone, Nazlee Khadjeheian, Jordan Meza
Spring Woods High School – Division 3: Parker Blome, Richard Young, Adam Tutt, Emily Mitchell, Odalis Garcia, Jeremy Jackson. This team advanced to World Finals, and won 1st Place at Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Eurofest.First Place.

Reflections Contest Awards Student Recognitions

The goal of the National PTA’s Reflections program is to promote the arts in education and to create opportunities for every child to see himself or herself as a creative success. The theme of this year’s contest was “Magic of a Moment.”

These students’ works received an Award of Excellence at PTA Council level and received the awards listed below at the State level. Presenting these awards to honorees was Rebecca Zeigenhorn, who is SBISD Council of PTAs Reflections chairperson.

Frostwood Elementary

• Kate Weir as Special Artist – District Award of Excellence

Nottingham Elementary

• Maura Hoffman in Music Composition – District Award of Excellence, State Honorable Mention
• Sara Duvall in Visual Arts – District Award of Excellence, State Award of Merit
• Tristan Smith in Literature – District Award of Excellence, State Award of Merit

Hunters Creek Elementary

• Rob Espey in Musical Composition – District Award of Excellence
• Samantha Talbot in Film Production – District Award of Excellence

Wilchester Elementary

• Emma Dunwoody in Visual Arts – District Award of Excellence, Overall State Award of Excellence. Emma’s work is currently in National competition.
• Kenneth Owen in Photography – District Award of Excellence, State Award of Merit
• Alex Lasater in Photography – District Award of Excellence, State Honorable Mention
• Ceri Roberts in Film Production – District Award of Excellence
• Hailey Bates in Literature – District Award of Excellence

Valley Oaks Elementary

• Skylar Rauen in Dance Choreography – District Award of Excellence

Memorial Middle School

• Lauren Dodds in Photography – District Award of Excellence
• Allison Delgado in Music Composition – District Award of Excellence
• Joshua Chan in Film Production – District Award of Excellence
• Blakeley Kress as a Special Artist – District Award of Excellence

Spring Forest Middle School

• Taran Morford in Literature – District Award of Excellence

Memorial High School

• Anna Lai in Visual Arts – District Award of Excellence, State Award of Merit
• Sami Palermo in Photography – District Award of Excellence, State Award of Merit

Stratford High School

• Christopher Ramey in Musical Composition – District Award of Excellence, State Award of Merit
• Evan Moore in Film Production – District Award of Excellence, State Award of Excellence, Outstanding Interpretation State Award. He is currently in National competition.
• Emily Lindsey in Literature – District Award of Excellence, State Honorable Mention
• Josh Goldsberry as a Special Artist – District Award of Excellence, Overall Award of Excellence. He is currently in National Competition.

Westchester Academy

• Rachel Chan inVisual Arts – District Award of Excellence

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2012-13 WAIS Valedictorians & Salutatorians

Westchester Academy names valedictorians and salutatorians

Westchester Academy for International Studies has named five co-valedictorians and one salutatorian as its Class of 2013 representatives.

Graduating seniors at this district public charter campus will receive their diplomas at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 3, during a planned Graduation ceremony at Don Coleman Coliseum.

The Class of 2013 co-valedictorians:

Angela Nicole Dodd
Jennifer Lynn Hoang
Kaitlin Paricheher Kargar
Brittany Nicole McCune
Jay Ching-En Wang

Salutatorian at the high school this year is Destiny Moriah Lewis.

Principal at Westchester Academy is Nancy Bertin.

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2012-13 SHS Valedictorians & Salutatorians

Stratford High announces valedictorians and salutatorians

Stratford High has named 19 valedictorians and four salutatorians as Class of 2013 representatives.

Graduating seniors at this Spring Branch ISD campus will receive their diplomas at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, during a planned Graduation ceremony at Don Coleman Coliseum.

The Class of 2013 co-valedictorians:

Jordan Alexander Bernstein
Anna Christine Chong
Steven Noel Cisneros
Isabel Hamlin Deakins
Kathryn Elizabeth Dickinson
Timothée Marie Nicolas Flichy
Amy Elizabeth Fox
Katherine Elizabeth Goss
Hyo-Won Jeon
Kurt Hamilton Kaiser
Nahyeon Kim
Matthew James Lastrapes
Elaine Lui
John Hall Lynch
Andrew Joseph Palughi
Olivia Elaine Pope
Kyle Thomas Rathgeb
Paige Louise Tormey
Ruoxi Wu

The Class of 2013 co-salutatorians:

Nicholas Preston Jones
William Stephen Strong
Allison Waller Sunderhaft
Tian Yao

Principal at Stratford High School is Christopher Juntti.

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2012-13 SWHS Valedictorians & Salutatorians

Spring Woods High announces valedictorians and salutatorians

Spring Woods High has named five graduating seniors as valedictorians for the Class of 2013.

They are:

• Wendolyne Catalina Castillo
• Candace Marie Edgley
• Kim Uyen Nguyen
• Jack William Rodgers
• Ruby Mayra Salazar

Co-salutatorians this year at Spring Woods High are:

• Michelle Adil Balsara
• Diane Tuyen Duong
• Shawna Kittipa Promsakanasakolnakorn

Seniors at Spring Woods High School will receive their diplomas at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, during Graduation at Don Coleman Coliseum.

Spring Woods High principal is Lance Stallworth.

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2012-13 NBHS Valedictorians & Salutatorians

Northbrook High announces valedictorian and salutatorian

Northbrook High School has named Fernando Nazario Bello as its Class of 2013 valedictorian and
Sandra Lara as its 2013 Salutatorian.

Seniors at Northbrook High will receive their diplomas at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 1, during Graduation ceremonies at Don Coleman Coliseum.

Principal at Northbrook High School is Randolph Adami.

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2012-13 MHS Valedictorians & Salutatorians

Memorial High names 16 co-valedictorians

Memorial High School has named 16 valedictorians and seven salutatorians as its Class of 2013 representatives.

Graduating seniors at this Spring Branch ISD campus will be receive their diplomas at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, during a planned Graduation ceremony at Don Coleman Coliseum.

Memorial High School 2013 co-valedictorians:

Emily Renee Ackerman
Casie Shea-Gia Chen
Timothy Michael Davis
Marie Catherine Evans
Andrew McIntosh Frewer
Alexander Paul Gerome
Jack Wright Henington
Dmitry Khripkov
Min Woo Kim
Rachel Elizabeth Moore
Caroline Helen Peck
Anna Lucia Peel
Mary Elizabeth Schatzman
Colleen Nicole Sitton
Aditya Srinivasan
Audrey Anna Vinall

Memorial High School 2013 salutatorians:

Yezhou Feng
Mitchell Mark Groesbeck
Leslie Lynn Lugrin
Kelsey Elizabeth Moreland
Marc-Antoine Pichon
Sunidhi Singh
Kaijia Tian

Memorial High Principal is William Lakin.

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Summer Community Education

Online registration is being conducted now for Spring Branch ISD’s Community Education summer classes ranging from pottery and ceramics to GED preparation and youth and adult dance instruction. Online, instructor-led classes are offered by this community-based program, too.

To register online, visit the Spring Branch ISD Community Education website at this address: http://communityed.springbranchisd.com. Summer semester begins on June 10 and classes will end Aug. 3. Some classes have separate first meeting dates. Residents should register now to reserve their class of particular interest.

In-person registration for Summer 2013 classes will be held these dates:

• May 29-30, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
• June 5, 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
• June 6, 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
• June 8, 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

In-person registration will be held at the Spring Branch Education Center, 9016 Westview, Room E-106. The Community Education entrance faces the building’s northwest side behind Westview.

Registration fees are nonrefundable and cost $15 for Spring Branch residents; $20 for out-of-district residents. For more information, call the main office at 713-251-1695.

The Summer 2013 Program will include Day, Night and Saturday class offerings. Classroom-based courses will meet at the Spring Branch Education Center, 9016 Westview.

Dance programs for youth and adults may meet at separate locations, including Spring Forest Middle School’s campus and Westchester Academy for International Studies.

Please review the course listings online, or visit the center and obtain a Summer 2013 brochure. Online, Instructor-led Classes Available 24-7 Online instructor facilitated courses are currently being offered on topics ranging from Start Your Own Business to Personal Finance.

A dedicated teacher supports each course, pacing students through the lessons and answering questions. Course work in this format runs for six weeks with a two-week grace period.

This format gives students the flexibility to study at their own pace, but with the structure and support to complete a course. Online instruction is project-oriented and may include quizzes, assignments, demonstrations, discussion, links to other supplementary material, and more.

To learn more about online instruction, please visit the Instruction Center at www.ed2go.com/sbisd.

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