Couple in SBISD Teaches Through Teach for America

Back in Nashville, Ryan and Christina Beeler had totally different lives. He worked as a cop. She tutored students while pursuing a singing career. They ditched those jobs and moved to Houston two years ago.

Now they both teach in the Spring Branch Independent School District through Teach for America, which recruits recent college graduates to work in schools for two years. Ryan Beeler, 29, currently teaches environmental science while his wife Christina, 26, teaches English.

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Spring Branch ISD Spelling Bee

Try, try again. That’s what Cornerstone Academy seventh-grader McKenna Tanner did after finishing No. 2 last year in Spring Branch ISD’s Annual Spelling Bee. On Friday, she was crowned district Spelling Bee winner after 18 rounds of words and competition.

“It felt really cool, because last year I was so close, and this year I made it,” gushed the Cornerstone teen who reads widely and hopes to be a writer one day. “I did it!”

McKenna, a Gifted & Talent student who taught herself to read as a child, skipped the fourth grade and loves to ride horses, prepared for the Spelling Bee by working through practice word lists with her mother and campus volunteer Tamara Gordon.

Her mom, Jean, says that McKenna dropped the school Geography Bee to focus on spelling this year. Her preschool teachers called her “hyperlexic” when she quickly mastered reading. Today, her favorite authors are J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan.

Her own writing is a state PTA Reflections Contest submission.

The Spelling Bee was conducted Feb. 20 in the mini-auditorium at Spring Woods High School. More than 40 elementary and middle school students competed, and twice as many parents, counselors and principals observed. The official pronouncer was Mary Grace Landrum, a former Board of Trustees member.

All students had been named either winner or runner-up in school spelling contests.

Finishing second this year was sixth-grader Hannah Krenz, who was the runner-up winner at Spring Branch Middle School earlier this year. 

As Spelling Bee winner, McKenna received a special trophy, Barnes & Noble gift certificate, and large Webster’s International Dictionary. She will now compete in the HoustonPBS Spelling Bee scheduled for March 28.

That regional winner and runner-up go on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., later this year. Both regional and national Bees are televised.

Joining Mary Grace Landrum as the event judges were Mike Thomas of Program Evaluation and Research, Barbara Cofer with Advanced Academic Studies and Becky Wuerth with SBISD Community Relations.

The Spelling Bee sponsor was Amy Ellingson with Advanced Academic Studies.

Campus Winners and Runers-Up:

Elementary Schools

Buffalo Creek – David Palacios, Winner; Katherine Pimentel, Runner-Up

Bunker Hill – Megan Moore, Winner; Nara Yoo, Runner-Up
Cedar Brook – Isabella Luu, Winner; David Santillán, Runner-Up
Edgewood – Hoang Mai, Winner; William Moore, Runner-Up
Frostwood – Megan Xie, Winner; Catherine Lu, Runner-Up
Housman – Hoan-My Le, Winner; Evelyn Osorio, Runner-Up
Hunters Creek – Sang Yen Chung, Winner; Srijan Velamuri, Runner-Up

Meadow Wood – Harrison Brooks, Winner; Alex Skoutelakis, Runner-Up

Memorial Drive – Sydney Krenz, Winner; Cole Hartung, Runner-Up

Ridgecrest – Arlette Camacho, Winner; Binh Tran, Runner-Up
Shadow Oaks – Brenna Payne, Winner; Kevin Lara, Runner-Up
Spring Branch – Olivia Koepke, Winner; Jorge Salayes Quinonez, Runner-Up
Terrace – Kiera Yetiv, Winner; Mahad Khan, Runner-Up
Valley Oaks – Ben Brink, Winner; Daniel Rampersaud, Runner-Up
Westwood – Alijah Hall, Winner; Kyle Doan, Runner-Up

Middle Schools

Cornerstone Academy - McKenna Tanner, Winner; Macy Hempe, Runner-Up
Landrum Middle - Felicity Fernandez, Winner; Brandon Baltazar, Runner-Up
Memorial Middle - Stephen Kim, Winner; Aidan Berkman, Runner-Up
Spring Branch Middle - Drew Schachel, Winner; Hannah Krenz, Runner-Up
Spring Forest Middle - Sagan Bui, Winner; Daniela Perez, Runner-Up
Westchester Academy - Ali Fazal, Winner; Shahir Ali, Runner-Up

Spelling Bee Words
Round 1 goatee average whirlpool ninja reckless errand cashew polka walrus mohair anvil canary magazine hustle barley alderman buffalo mermaid electoral beige totem necessary slaughter hibachi pragmatic discipline saxophone siesta mahi-mahi periscope admiral manicure bambino fidelity cocatoo behoove homonym	Round 2 ventilate typhoon finale begonia dungaree prosecute jackal cabana knavery transect biopsy albatross parfait gondola contiguous Flemish cafeteria persimmon confetti semantics haiku mootable expertise clementine jaguar agnostic inferno herbivore physique topography Frankenstein	Round 3 roughhewn benefactor palette wiseacre henna simile shogun portfolio dynamic kahuna filament artichoke democracy Gestapo postmortem tomatillo souvenir hydrology mahal kitsch origami consensus mattock succotash lethargy	Round 4 Kremlin desperado ominous influenza cryptic guilder paradox idiom macadamia alliteration foliate colloquial hacienda bolero paprika implement analysis prosaic	Round 5 megalopolis sayonara cruller mercurial doctrinaire maestro exuberant synergy malihini credenza Samaritan protagonist Amarillo Meticulous Subterfuge Intractable	Round 6 piccolo apostrophe pacifism saffron erudite mistletoe barabara spinet chagrin endemic ubiquitous tariff capitulation
Round 7 impetuous cravat gourami oregano hedonism samurai dressage palmetto isinglass	Round 8 barrio mystique hippopotamus odyssey bezoar glasnost verboten tachometer magnanimous	Round 9 tremendous companion bungle officer variance possessed remainder congeal discord	Round 10 frailty corpse salvage decisive baffling	Round 11 existential perturbed grotesque infallible	Round 12 evasion introspect
Round 13 plicated critique	Round 14 subjunctive culinarian	Round 15 pugnacious inconsequential	Round 16 longevity emissary	Round 17 alibi incessant	Round 18 disquietude

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Spring Forest Middle School’s Character Without Question Honoree Displays “True Grit”

Spring Forest Middle's Character Without Question Winner - Caroline Piskurich

This month, as students from SBISD gather to be honored at the annual Character Without Question Awards, Spring Forest Middle School’s student honoree Caroline Piskurich will be there, in part, due to her display of many positive character traits including GRIT.  

Inspired by the Ted Talk lecture series and ongoing collaboration within the SKY partnership in SBISD, her campus principal Kaye Williams kicked off this school year by asking her teachers and students what it meant to have grit and why it is an important character trait.

“If we are to produce a well-rounded child in SBISD and meet the T-2-4 goals, student character will play a major role in meeting this goal. Students are going to need to advocate for themselves and become independent, especially if they are to complete a 2 or 4 year degree or technical certification. Students will have to have 'grit' to achieve their goals. Our student who won the Character Without Question Award absolutely has grit. Several of the questions we asked her during the selection process were about qualities, examples of traits that she has that show her true grit. Our winner truly had to possess many different grit characteristics,” said Principal Williams.

This message is clearly and consistently delivered by campus staff to students and their families. Weekly articles, student lessons included in e-blasts and social media, sweatshirts and posters blanketing the school are part of a larger awareness campaign aimed at shaping the thinking of students, faculty and families within Spring Forest Middle. The reason behind it is simple for Principal Williams...the benefit students reap in the short and long term.

“We are focusing this year on teaching kids to be responsible for their own learning and pushing themselves to work above and beyond their comfort zone. In order for this to happen, we as a campus are encouraging students to work at being successful and that, if they fail, it’s ok and that they need have the confidence to move forward. This is why our motto is TRUE GRIT,” she said.

Go BOBCATS!

Looking around the campus cafeteria at a sea of blue and gold sweatshirts sporting the campus mascot and ‘True Grit’ slogans, it is obvious students are listening.
View the complete list of Character Without Question Award Recipients >>

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