High schools place in business competition

Students from all three high schools in Denton recently placed at the state level for the Business Professionals of America competition in Austin.

Denton High School: Jasmine Johnson, entrepreneurship; Samantha Cogley, graphic design promotion; and Ruth Mokua, medical office procedures. Brian Redding is the Denton High sponsor.

Guyer High School: Tariq Adediran, CISCO networking;Jack Cavaluzzi, banking and finance; Machale Clark, computerized accounting; Jessica Cook, administrative support; Kimberly Hyde, presentation management; Blake Smith, payroll accounting; Garrett Talburt, advanced office systems and procedures; and Jenny Young, advanced office systems and procedures. Young is Guyer’s first national qualifier, and Clark is the national alternate. Donna Lowe and Brandon Bush are the Guyer sponsors.

Ryan High School: Miriam Rojas, legal office procedures; and Mariana Alfaro, Laura Gilbert, Rishi Paswan, Kyle Palmer, Morgan Ray and Melissa Robbins, parliamentary procedures team. Donato Gonzales and Lakeisha Melvin are the Ryan sponsors.

Elementary schools play the stock market

EXPO students at Denton elementary schools recently participated in the Stock Market Game, a Web-based simulation program in which students manage an online portfolio.

The game teaches the costs and benefits involved in investing, decision making and related economic concepts.

The Nelson Elementary School team was awarded first place, and Ginnings Elementary School took third place out of 212 teams in the Denton schools’ region.

Nelson Elementary School fifth-grade winners were Gage Simmons, Matthew Pewterbaugh, Delainee Jernigan and Sofia Chavez. Melissa Matthews is the Nelson Elementary EXPO teacher.

The third-place team members from Ginnings Elementary were Kane Roberson, Logan Altes and Chris Velazco. Kelli Whisenhunt is the Ginnings Elementary EXPO teacher.

Music therapy team plans celebration week

The Denton school district special education music therapy team will have its Music Therapy Celebration Week beginning Monday.

“This is not a concert or musical performance, but rather an opportunity to join us, sit in our group and participate if you wish, as we take you on a short journey via musical play,” said Eric Gumm, a district music therapist.

The schedule for Monday is:

• 10:30 to 11 a.m. at McMath Middle School

• 11 to 11:30 a.m. at Savannah Elementary School

• 12:20 to 12:50 p.m. at Navo Middle School

• 1 to 1:30 p.m. at Ryan High School

• 2:30 to 3 p.m. at Calhoun Middle School

The schedule for Tuesday is:

• 9:30 to 10 a.m. at Crownover Middle School

• 1:15 to 1:50 p.m. and 2:30 to 3 p.m. at Strickland Middle School

• 2:30 to 3 p.m. at Guyer High School

The schedule for Wednesday is:

• 1:30 to 2 p.m. and 2:20 to 2:50 p.m. at McNair Elementary School

• 2 to 2:30 p.m. at Hodge Elementary School

The schedule for Thursday is:

• 9 to 9:30 a.m. at Pecan Creek Elementary School

Students in the music therapy program are involved in weekly music therapy, which targets community building, listening, following directions and social skills.

Denton High School

Language students earn national recognition

Denton High School world language students recently received national recognition for excellent performance on the 2009 National Spanish Examinations.

Silver medals were awarded to Sylvia Li, junior; and Paulina San Miguel, sophomore.

Stephen Place, junior, received a bronze medal.

Junior Devaki Dave, sophomore Jessica Leyva and senior Rachel Parris received honorable mention.

This is the first year students from Denton High participated. The students were instructed by Spanish teachers Don Place and Kala Hall.

Student selected for Best of Texas award

Denton High School senior Stephen Donaldson was selected as the Communities in Schools Best of Texas Student of the Year recently.

Darrell Muncy, Denton High principal, said Stephen has a remarkable story.

“He is the young man that worked on his exit-level English language arts TAKS [Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills] test until 8 p.m.,” Muncy said. “We are very happy for him, and it could not have happened to a nicer kid,” Muncy said.

Stephanie Sutton, Communities in Schools representative at Denton High, said she and Stephen frequently talk about what it will be like without him next year and if he will come back and visit.

“He is excited about college and has recently asked about being a mentor next year if he stays in the area,” Sutton said. “I know that Stephen will continue to be a part of the CISNT family for many years to come.”

Guyer High School

Clinic, garage sale set for this weekend

The Guyer High School Silverado dance team will host a junior clinic from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Clinic participants will have the opportunity to perform in the Silverado Showcase, “Silvos Get Down in TV Town,” which is scheduled for May 29 and 30. Registration for the clinic costs $30 and includes a T-shirt.

In addition to the clinic, the dance team will host a garage sale from 8 a.m. to noon at the high school. All proceeds benefit the Silverado team.

For more information, contact Rachel Simpson, dance team instructor, at rsimpson@ dentonisd.org.

Wilson Elementary School

Wilson all-star choir plans spring concert

The Wilson Elementary School all-star choir will have its annual spring concert at 7 p.m. Thursday in the school’s cafeteria, 1306 E. Windsor Drive.

The concert is the world premiere of the commissioned work “Pass It On!” by Alan Kinningham. The composer wrote the song specifically for the school’s spring concert.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 940-369-4500.

Seniors earn National Merit Scholarships

Eight area high school seniors earned $2,500 National Merit Scholarships recently.

Announced last Wednesday, scholarships went to one Denton student, six students from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas and one student who lives in Argyle.

The recipients are: Daniel Pickett of Guyer High School; Rachel Synan, an Argyle student who attends Flower Mound’s Coram Deo Academy; and TAMSstudents Yasmin Noor of Allen, Katelyn Seloff of Carrollton, Eric Ajiren of Houston, Reginald Wilcox of Lucas, Dianne Srinilta of Plano and Cooper Dawson of Sugar Land.

The students were among 2,500 merit scholars nationwide.

Grants awarded to maintain safety

Grants totaling $550,000 were awarded to 200 Texas school districts and educational entities by the Texas Association of School Boards Risk Management Fund recently.

“During these difficult financial times, it is important for schools to keep focused on ways to maintain safety and well-being of all employees, and prevention of losses in the workplace,” said Edwin Thompson, director of loss prevention services for the board. “The fund is behind our members’ efforts to save valuable resources by providing funding to help educate staff, secure facilities and create a safer work environment.”