Denton ISD

Technology complex to host job fair on May 13

A special job fair for high school students and adults will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tues­day, May 13, at the LaGrone Ad­vanced Technology Complex, 1504 Long Road.

Students and adults attending the job fair will have the opportunity to visit with corporations, area enterprises and local businesses to learn about trends in the industry and employment opportunities.

The ATC is partnering with the North Central Texas Workforce for the event. Participants include Mayday MFG, DATCU, Point­Bank, Poco Graphite, Fastenal, Safety Kleen and others. Students and others from neighboring districts also may attend.

For more information, call 940-369-4850. Any companies who want to participate should call 940-369-4887 or e-mail rkeith@dentonisd.org.

Elementary science fair winners announced

Winners of the Denton school district Elementary School Sci­ence Fair have been an­noun­ced.

To be selected for district-level competition, the young scientists first competed with hundreds of students at the campus level.

More than 300 elementary students who won at their local school science fairs competed at the districtwide event. Students who placed at the district-level competition include:

* Borman Elementary:  Mi­chaela Moores, Aidan Worl­ton, Cristian Molinar and Luis Torres;

* E.P. Rayzor Elementary: Kimberly Flack, Matthew Rieder, Annie Talley, Isaac Rowe, Palmer Douglas and Ashley Meza;

* Evers Park Elementary: Noe DeLeon, Garrett Turner, Hannah Winn, Rowan Rushin, Savannah Amaya, Armando DeLeon, Kate Fielder, Patrick Delaney and Kim­berlin Hopson;

* Ginnings Elementary: Katie Munoz, Elise Clements, Grayson Lovett and Brayden James;

* Hawk Elementary: Kendall Lent, Andy Ye, Nicole DeLucca, Colton Phillips, Aidan Wiedemer, Kyle Johnson, Julianna Mair, Jacob Crabtree, Kendall Hydock and Andrew Winn;

* Hodge Elementary: Juli­anna Robertson, Blake Ells­worth, Caitlyn Mignini, Sarah Borda,, Luke Hillard, Jacob Thompson, Zane Acord and Kennedy Ryan;

* Lee Elementary: Hannah Herd, Grace Fullhart, Catherine Carter, Andrew Hobon, Breanna Bruce, Daniel Brockington, Chase Zemanek, Samantha Puen­­te and Faith Houston;

* McNair Elementary: Tom­my Brooks, Meghan Schmidt, Gia Lee, David Norton, Mac­kenzie Staller and Christian Rod­riguez;

* L.A. Nelson Elementary: Eli Kimberly;

* Newton Rayzor Elementary: Isaac Boodt, Anjana Arunkumar, Jessica Duryea, Jessica DeLa­Sierra and Saeed Aamer;

* Paloma Creek Elementary: Abby Weston and Luke Warren;

* Pecan Creek Elementary: Kyle Varma, Emma Guilstorf, Matthew Bailey, Grant Hull, Annie Bobo,  Katharyn Eiman­doust, Gabriella Webster, Varada Salimath, Ryan Caudill and Jon­athan Yamashita;

* Providence Elementary: Derek Frendo, Eric Morrison, Kaitlyn McCauley and Shelby Isbell;

* Rivera Elementary: Pedro Barraaza, Jared Smith, Douglas Newcomer, Estrella Lopez and Grady Frazee;

* Houston Elementary: Maria Martin, Justin Garcia, Hudson Powell, Landon Kildal, Gracie Hundley, Haley Sanders, Braxton Cullum, Kristiaan Stolt, Kristin Williams, Noah Gerdes, Natalie Cygan, Alexander Souris, Naomi Kildal, Maja Stolt and Jordan Espinoza;

* Wilson Elementary: Robert Berg, Audrey Howell, Rebekah Cheek, Allison Kajihara, Parker Last, Zoe Hutton, Brad Hilton and Ethan Ligon;

* Ryan Elementary: Holly Higgs, Tiffany Mazur, Collin Ren­fro, Jake Reib and Allison Renfro.

End-of-year activities on tap for middle schools

Students at Calhoun, Navo and McMath middle schools are planning several end-of-the year activities.

The Communities in Schools program and the Bilingual and ESL department of the Denton school district are co-hosting a girls’ conference from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the Calhoun Middle School cafeteria, and again from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 16, at Navo Middle School cafeteria.

At both events, food, games, music, gift giveaways and a fashion show will be featured. Special sessions on “Hygiene Tips Every Girl Should Know,” “Inner Beauty” and “What Are They Saying About You?” also will be offered.

On Friday, May 30, an English language learner session is set from 6 to 8 p.m. at McMath Middle School cafeteria. The main session will be “Get Out of the Box,” presented by Tim San­chez, an educator. Food, games, music and more will be offered at the event.

All the activities are open to members of the “For Girls Only” club and to the “Guys Operating as Leaders” club.

For information, call Calhoun at 940-369-2400; McMath at 940-369-3300; Navo at 972-347-7500; or the ESL/bilingual department at 940-369-0150. 

School district honored for music education

For the second year in a row, the Denton school district has been named as a “Best Com­munity for Music Education in America.” 

The school district, which also achieved the honor in 2004 and 2007, is one of only 610 in Texas to make the list.

The local district was selected for its commitment to school-based music programs, according to a news release. The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation and its American Music Conference division sponsor a survey to designate the recipients of the title.

Pecan Creek Elementary

School slates Interactive Japanese Festival

The EXPO staff and students at Pecan Creek Elementary School are hosting an Interactive Japanese Festival from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 12, in the school’s cafeteria, 4400 Lakeview Blvd.

The activities include interactive stations, such as calligraphy, Origami, Japanese games and Origami bookmarks. There will be learning center displays that will include Japanese culture, Samurai warriors and information about the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fun study tour.

The event is open to all EXPO students, who are in the third, fourth and fifth grades, and their parents.

Lou Aguilar, Pecan Creek’s EXPO teacher, and recent recipient of the Japan Fulbright Me­morial Fund Teacher Pro­gram, is the event founder. Through the program, teachers in American primary and secondary schools have the opportunity for short-term study tours of Japan. The program is designed to increase understanding between the people of Japan and the United States by inviting U.S. educators to visit Japan and share their experiences within their community upon their return.

The event is free. For more information, call 940-369-4400.

Wilson Elementary School

School plans choir program for May 15

The Woodrow Wilson All Star Choir, under the direction of choir director Cecile Johnson, will present a spring concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 15, in the school cafetorium, 1306 E. Wind­sor Drive.

The group will sing a special feature — the 2008 commissioned work by Joe Pinson  titled “Life is What You Make It.” 

For more information, call 940-369-4500.

Guyer High School

Choir students win top singing awards

The three combined Guyer High Treble Choirs recently competed at the Gulf Coast Classic in South Padre Island. After six rehearsals, the combined group competed against varsity treble choirs from all areas of Texas. 

Choir members from Meister­singers, A Cappella Women and Belle Chanson earned superior ratings from all three judges. In addition to the trophy for earning all superior ratings, the group placed second in the competition. 

The Guyer choir members who competed included: Christy Ade­remi, Tove Anderson, Shelby Barboza, Fatima Candia, My­kea­la Chowritmootoo,  Hannah Connell, Brenna Dougherty,  Ka­tie Hager, Lindsie  Hager, Skyanne Hamilton, Rachael Hardy, Anna Ketelsen, Erica Laney and Kate Linton. Others were Brittani Mendez, Naidia Rodriguez, Brittney Ross, Sydney Sitters, Alex Smerdon, Jaclyn Sparks, Lauren Truesdell, Kelby Wenger, Georgia White, Jessica Williams and Jordon Williams.

Guyer choir director is Law­rence Johnson.

Guyer fundraiser for Grad Night on May 12

A self-defense class for women is being offered from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday in the gym of Guyer High School at 7501 Teasley Lane.

Cost of the two-hour program is $10 for students and $15 for adults and is being presented by the University of North Texas Police Department.

Proceeds of the event will go to Grad Night, which is a special event hosted by senior parents to encourage graduates to have a safe graduation night.

The group will continue seeking donations until May 22.

For more information, call 940-369-1000.

Wildcat Walk, honor graduate breakfast set

Guyer High School honor graduates will be honored at a special breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Friday at the school.

All graduating seniors from Guyer High will be honored in the second annual Wildcat Walk at 10 a.m. Friday, May 23, which starts in the high school gymnasium and meanders throughout the school.

Graduation will be at 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 6, at the University of North Texas Coli­seum. For more information, call 940-369-1017.

Liberty Christian School

Liberty students compete in meet

Liberty Christian School students recently competed in the State Private Schools Interscholastic Association meet held at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. The meet included 1,600 contestants from 94 schools.

Liberty winners included Tiffany Lu, state champion in fifth grade dictionary skills and sixth place in fifth-grade music memory; Emily Volk, third place in fifth-grade listening skills; Jacob Elliott, sixth place in sixth-grade science; and Steven Murphy, fourth place in eighth-grade vocabulary.

Krum High School

Krum student from Ukraine learns about citizenry

Maryna Kravtsova, a Krum High School student visiting from the Ukraine, met with federal leaders the week of March 31 through April 5 to learn how to be an active and engaged citizen.

She was part of a select group who participated in the Future Leaders Exchange Civic Education Workshop sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. She is residing in Krum for the academic school year while living with Christy Neagle and her children, Justin and Britney. The workshop, conducted by American Councils for International Education and American Civics Center, encouraged a greater understanding and appreciation of democratic principles such as civic responsibility, citizen empowerment, grassroots community action and the role of free press. Highlights of the week included meetings with state department officials, a special program on global press freedoms, current event seminars and visits to monuments and other historical sites.

Argyle High School

Junior heading to NASA’s space center this summer

Argyle High School student Thomas Quintana will travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this summer to participate in a one-week summer internship.

Nominated by state Sen. Jane Nelson, he has been selected as one of 350 high school juniors from across Texas to be part of High School Aerospace Scholars. They have been working to complete 10 online assignments during the school year.

They will apply what they have learned during the year, which will challenge them to work as part of a team to design a mission to Mars.

The weeklong experience at the center includes a tour of its facilities and briefings by NASA employees, including astronauts. 

Regional school districts

Congressional art competition winners revealed

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess recently announced the winner of the sixth annual 26th congressional district art competition, “An Artistic Discovery.” 

Megan Minns, a senior at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, won first prize with her colored pencil drawing titled “Fall Leaves.” 

All participating student artists were honored by Burgess at a recent reception held in the Center for the Visual Arts. The event was hosted by the art competition’s co-sponsor, the Greater Denton Arts Council, and was judged by artist and educator Jo Williams. The art competition was open to public, private and home-schooled high school students residing in or attending schools in the district. 

Second-place winner was Adilene Ruiz of Highland Village, representing Marcus High School; the artwork will be displayed in Burgess’ Lewisville district office for the next year. Third-place winner was Paige Donahoo of North Richland Hills, representing Richland High School; the artwork will hang in Burgess’ Fort Worth district office. The “Texas Choice” winner was Morgan Everhart of Denton, representing Guyer High School; this winner is selected by popular vote of the reception attendees. 

Minns’ work will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol complex for the coming year. A ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the national 2008 “An Artistic Discovery” exhibition and honoring the winning artists from congressional districts all over the country will take place in Washington, D.C. on June 25.