Kindle Fires for 10 Spring Branch Students

Ten students from Spring Woods and Northbrook high schools were among 30 honored from across the area in May by CITGO Petroleum Corp. and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office as a part of a yearlong “Kindling Young Minds” program.

Receiving new Kindle Fire tablets as a part of the program were two Spring Woods High ninth-graders, Rebekah Lemaire and Lilliana Rodriguez, and three graduating seniors, Lorelei Shannon, Garrett Gardner and Nick Zander. A special ceremony with both CITGO and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office representatives was held May 22 at the high school on Tiger Trail.

Five Northbrook High students received Kindle Fires in a separate May 22 event as part of the same program. They are Ingrid Martinez, senior; Vanessa Ochoa Reyes, junior; Joseph Salinas, sophomore; and Michael Perez and Carlos Ayala, who are both in ninth grade.

The program was launched last fall to boost student attendance and achievement at six Houston-area high schools. Five students from Spring Woods and Northbrook high schools won Kindle Fire tablets last December to recognize first semester achievement and attendance. Improved student attendance is a key program goal.

“We launched the ‘Kindling Young Minds’ program to remind students that each day counts,” Sheriff Adrian Garcia said at Spring Woods High School. “We are excited to revisit the high schools to see how the initiative has improved school attendance in the Houston area. We’re so proud that our partnership with CITGO has helped empower the students in Harris County to do well in school.”
Other Houston high schools taking part in the program are Worthing and Madison high schools in Houston ISD and Hastings and Elsik high schools in Alief ISD.

CITGO is a Houston-based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office protects and serves the public in one of the nation’s most populous urban counties. Adrian Garcia is the county sheriff.