In the Schools

DENTON ISD

Hilgenbrinck receives national recognition

Linda Hilgenbrinck, adaptive physical education teacher for the Denton school district, has been named Adapted Physical Educator of the Year by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

A graduate of MacMurray College in Illinois, she received her master's degree from the U.S. Sports Academy in Alabama and her doctorate from Texas Woman's University.

She is in her seventh year in Denton as an adaptive physical education specialist and works with students of various ages in promoting healthy lifestyles while encouraging them to interact with their community.

Hilgenbrinck is a member of the AAHPERD; International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity; American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; and Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She is an active volunteer with the Special Olympics.

In addition to the national honor, the association in December honored Hilgenbrinck as the state Educator of the Year.

Guyer High School

Students, teacher of the month named

Guyer High School recently named its Wildcats, students and teacher of the month for January. The students and teacher were recognized by the Guyer student body and staff for their outstanding display of school pride and character.

The students of the month were Eric Sandoval, freshman; Natalie Windle, sophomore; Shaedon Rigdon, junior; and Matt Eckenrod, senior.

The Wildcats of the month were Ashton Prince, freshman; Savannah Bradley, sophomore; Kourtney Logan, junior; and Apryl Weber, senior.

The teacher of the month was Mandy Jenkins. She teaches physics, including Advanced Placement and pre-AP physics.

Silverado breakfast fundraiser scheduled

Guyer High School's Silverados will be hosting a breakfast fundraiser from 7 to 11 a.m. Feb. 18 at Applebee's, located at 707 S. Interstate 35E.

The cost is $8 and includes an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet featuring pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee and juice.

Tickets can be purchased at Guyer or from a member of the Silverados drill team.

All proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the Silverados and the Guyer dance program, helping offset the cost of travel and other expenses.

For more information, contact Rachel Simpson, drill team sponsor, at 940-369-1000 or rsimpson@dentonisd.org .

Ryan High School

Senior named Youth Leader of the Year

Laurel Ashley Burkett, a senior at Ryan High School, recently was named the North Texas Council on Youth Leadership's Youth Leader of the Year and the recipient of a $500 scholarship.

She was selected for showing outstanding leadership in the face of adversity as well as consistency in the classroom and community. She was one of 139 nominees from high schools across Denton and Collin counties. Ryan senior Ana Gonzalez also was one of the finalists.

"Laurel joins a long tradition of demonstrated leadership, accomplishments and scholastic excellence recognized and celebrated by NTCYL. In spite of being forced to deal with a major illness during her high school years, she continued to inspire her peers and maintained her duties as class president. She is simply amazing," said Peter Horn, NTCYL chairman.

Burkett is the senior class president, a member of the Ryan band and is ranked in the top 10 percent of her graduating class. She plans on attending either the University of Texas or Texas A&M University with the goal of becoming an occupational therapist.

 

LIBERTY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Liberty hosting state wrestling tournament

For the first time in school history, Liberty Christian School will host a state athletic event for the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. The TAPPS state wrestling tournament will be held at the school Saturday.

More than 10 schools will compete. Weigh-in begins at 7 a.m., with the opening ceremony to follow at 8:30 a.m. At 9 a.m., wrestling matches will commence on three mats.

The medals for the top three finishers in each weight class will be presented at the conclusion of their finals. The top three teams will be recognized at the end of the day.

Students take first, third in competition

Liberty Christian School seniors Rachel Gilliland and Connor Devlin placed first and third, respectively, in the Texas Air Force Association Earle North Parker Essay Contest. Gilliland's essay will go on to the national level and be in contention for a $10,000 scholarship.

This year's topic was: "One of the Air Force Core Values is 'Integrity First' - What does this mean to you?"

Gilliland plans to attend Baylor University in the fall and pursue a degree in business, with a minor in psychology. Devlin plans on attending either Baylor or Biola University in California to pursue a career in screenwriting.

Liberty seniors have participated in the competition for more than 10 years.

Liberty eighth-grader wins spelling bee

Liberty Christian middle and lower school students participated in the Association of Christian Schools International district spelling bee held at St. Paul's Preparatory Academy in Arlington last month.

Liberty eighth-grader Madeleine McMillan finished first overall, while seventh-grader Kylie Trost came in fifth.

From the lower school, fourth-grader Aubrie Baker won at the fourth-grade level and fifth-grader Jaci Price placed sixth at the fifth-grade level.

The following are the Liberty students who competed:

Eighth grade - McMillan, Kennedy Collins, Brandon Harrison, Ashton Hutcherson, Kirie Psaromatis and Mary Jane Stidham.

Seventh grade - Trost, Sydney Duininck, Reagan Liddell, Kailey Maclin, Rylie Stephenson and Kaylee Tompkins.

Sixth grade - Cole Collins, Hannah Johnson, Josiah Liszewski, Kalli Psaromatis, Madison Sanford and Tanner Seidler.

Fifth grade - Price, Ashley Howard, Bella Lovalvo and Grant Widyn.

Fourth grade - Baker, Gage McCallum, Libbie Michael and Rachel Ramsey.

Third grade - Zander Brogan, Alyssa Earle, Alex Hollenshead and Gracie Rowland.

IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Del Mundo wins geographic bee

Marga Del Mundo, an Immaculate Conception Catholic School seventh-grader, is the 2012 school-level champion of the National Geographic Bee.

A written test sent to Washington, D.C., will determine whether she will advance to the state level in April. State winners advance to Washington, where they have a chance to win a $25,000 scholarship.

William Gibbons was runner-up and Ford Feigle was second runner-up at Immaculate Conception. Other finalists included Kate McDonald, Mary Iliffe-Weston, Hannah Dickson, Alex Villa, Daniel McDonald, Matthew Anderle, Katherine Dunlop, Hannah Payne, Sharon Tajandramulia and Alexis Wood.

Students in the fourth through eighth grades participated.

IN THE AREA

Chamber seeking scholarship applicants

The Lake Cities Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for its 2012 scholarships.

Any graduating public, private or home school high school student living in Lake Dallas, Hickory Creek, Corinth or Shady Shores is eligible to apply.

Final applicant eligibility is the determination of the chamber's Scholarship Selection Committee and Board of Directors. Each applicant's name will be withheld from the committee to insure impartial judging. Evaluation criteria may include community involvement, grade-point average, class rank, extracurricular activities, honors, achievements, current and past employment, and career goals.

Application forms are available by visiting www.lakecitieschamber.com, calling the chamber at 940-497-3097, speaking with any chamber member, or contacting Tim May, scholarship committee chairman.

The application deadline is Feb. 20.Applications may be hand-delivered to the chamber office, located at 104 Swisher Road, No. 105 in Lake Dallas, the counselor's offices at Lake Dallas High School, Ryan High School, or Guyer High School, or mailed with a postmark on or before Feb. 20 to P.O. Box 1028, Lake Dallas, TX 75065.

Two scholarship winners will be recognized at the annual chamber banquet Feb. 24.

Questions regarding the application may be directed to May at 469-585-2255, lcccscholarship@gmail.com  or tmay@tnp-online.com .