DENTON ISD

Calhoun Middle School

Volunteers working to help refurbish school

More than 200 volunteers, including parents, staff, students and members of a neighborhood church, will help “transform” Calhoun Middle School from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The school is located at 709 W. Congress St.

For the third consecutive year, The Village Church will lead the volunteer-driven event, Transform Denton, with a goal of renovating the school, building relationships in the community and recruiting mentors for the Denton school district and Communities In Schools of North Texas.

Saturday’s main task will be landscaping the school’s grounds, building a retaining wall on the northwest corner of the campus, creating a seating area by a pear tree and trimming trees.

Other activities on subsequent dates will include touch-up painting in the building and along the rails of the building’s exterior. Volunteers also will assist with moving supplies, materials and furniture from portable buildings to the main campus.

Saturday’s event is the first of three Transform Denton work days. The others are scheduled for July 11 and Aug. 8.

Last year, several hundred volunteers participated by painting the interior of Calhoun’s east building, refurbishing an outdoor learning area, landscaping the grounds and moving furniture. A tiled mosaic wall also was created during the event.

The Village Church has been recognized for its past Transform efforts by being named Community Partner of the Year by CISNT. The church also was named the school district’s Top Adopter for the Adopt-a-School program.

Parents, students and school officials are invited to get involved in the project. For more information, call Calhoun at 940-369-2400.

Denton High School

Student places in sign language competition

Alexandra “Allie” Tanner, a recent Denton High School graduate and Level 4 sign language student, recently won second place in the nation in the American Sign Language Honor Society Storytelling Competition.

Several hundred students from across the U.S. entered the contest by submitting video entries retelling a traditional American Sign Language story.

Jamie Covey, sign language teacher at Denton High, cited “Allie’s effective use of facial expressions and infusion of high-school flair in her story” as setting her entry apart from others.

Denton High submitted 18 entries to the competition.

Tanner also was active as a cheerleader and student council member at Denton High.

Guyer High School

Students place at state band competition

The Guyer High School band recently announced that several students placed in the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest in Austin.

The following students earned medals in eight of 16 competition events: Hector Alonso, flute solo — superior rating, gold medal; Sara Mendez, flute solo — excellent rating, silver medal; Matthew Morton, baritone sax solo — excellent rating, silver medal; Jay Patel, keyboard percussion solo — superior rating, gold medal; Jack Finney, flute solo — superior rating, gold medal; Taylor Willard, keyboard percussion solo — superior rating, gold medal; and Rachel Hoiby, flute solo — excellent rating, silver medal.

The flute choir of Hector Alonso, Lucero Alonso, Jack Finney, Sarah Fredrickson, Rachel Hoiby, Christin Leem, Sara Mendez and Crystal Sutton received a superior rating and a gold medal.

The symphonic band flute choir also recently earned the Outstanding High School Flute Ensemble award at the Texas Flute Society’s Annual Flute Festival at the University of North Texas.

Chris Cansler is the Guyer High band director.

Athletic booster club scholarships awarded

Guyer High School recently announced the school’s 2008-09 Athletic Booster Club scholarship recipients.

The club awarded $12,750 in scholarships to 28 Guyer student athletes who represented 13 varsity sports at the school.

Scholarships were presented to the following students: Greg Kennon and Blaine Rivas, baseball; Ryan Woodard, Curtis Kinatt, Chace Wilson and Derrick Johnson, boys basketball; Olivia Roberts, girls basketball; Ashley Ann Boosa and Tiffany Rose Sitton, cross country; Eric Beal and Sam Alspach, football; Kelly Watson, Simone Date, Megan Corbell and Griffin Brown, golf; Sam Alspach, Joe McClesky and Drew Chenault, boys soccer; Shellie Herr and Elyse Diamond, girls soccer; Kelly Rench, softball; Kelly Sessions and Camila Pena, tennis; Garrett Montgomery, boys track; Iesha McLaughlin, girls track; and Lauren Thomas, Emily Arledge, Kristi Hager and Brooke Walford, volleyball.

The Guyer High Athletics Booster Club focuses on supporting student athletes who strive to continue their educational journey.

“Our concession stand operation has been our key in building financial success and is the primary means of providing scholarships to Guyer graduating seniors,” said Michael Leavitt, booster club president.

Teacher attends history institute in Austin

A Denton teacher has been selected to participate in “The U.S. Constitution and American History,” a summer institute sponsored by Humanities Texas, the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, and the LBJ Library and Museum.

Katherine Gengo, who teaches world geography at Guyer High School, is attending the institute at the LBJ Library and Museum in Austin this week. U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess nominated Gengo for the opportunity.

The institute brings together 40 teachers from around Texas to participate in lectures and workshops that examine important constitutional topics in U.S. history.

The institute faculty includes leading scholars H.W. Brands, Albert S. Broussard, George Forgie, Sanford Levinson, Gretchen Ritter and Pulitzer-winning historians Jack Rakove and David Oshinsky.

“Humanities Texas is pleased to include this outstanding teacher from Denton in this educational initiative,” Executive Director Michael L. Gillette said in a news release. “Bringing teachers together to exchange ideas and learn from leading scholars is an effective way to ensure that Texas students continue to receive the best possible educational opportunities.”

The institute is made possible with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and additional support from the Houston Endowment.

More students receive merit scholarships

Eight area high school seniors recently earned National Merit Scholarships.

One Argyle High School graduate and seven recent graduates from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas won scholarship awards ranging from $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate studies.

The students were among 2,800 National Merit Scholars who received scholarship financed by colleges and universities. Sponsor colleges and universities include 120 private and 81 public institutions in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

Texas A&M University awarded merit scholarships to Lloyd S. Marshall, a graduate of Argyle High; and TAMS graduates Robert A. Schumacher of Houston, who plans to pursue a degree in engineering, and Andrew W. Jancaric of Trophy Club who will seek a degree in chemical engineering.

The University of Texas at Austin distributed scholarships to TAMS graduates Abhishek Mallela of Coppell, who will pursue a degree in electrical engineering, and Ajitha Kommalapati of Cypress, who will pursue studies in medicine.

TAMS graduate Andrew E. Sohn of Colleyville received a scholarship from the University of Texas at Dallas and plans to study medicine. The University of Oklahoma awarded a scholarship to TAMS graduate William J. Goldenberg of Keller, who plans to study math.

Komal Paladugy, a TAMS graduate from Houston, received a scholarship from the University of Miami, where he plans to study medicine.

Sam Houston Elementary School

Arbor Day contest winners recognized

Representatives from Keep Denton Beautiful and the Texas Forest Service recognized two students who recently completed fifth grade for their participation in an Arbor Day poster contest.

Emily Hu, a student at Sam Houston Elementary School, was recognized for earning the top award in the local poster contest and the region award through the Cross Timbers Urban Forestry Council. Her entry advanced to state, where she earned an honorable mention.

In the local contest, Emily earned a $50 gift card, a pizza party for her class and books about trees donated to the school in her name. As a regional winner, she earned a $100 check and had 200 red oak trees donated to students at Sam Houston Elementary.

Local contest organizers also recognized student Alex Souris, another student at Sam Houston, for receiving Most Colorful and Most Creative poster awards.

Organizers said more than 100 people attended an awards ceremony for the students. Mendie Schmidt, event and outreach coordinator for Keep Denton Beautiful, said the contest “promotes a greater awareness of Denton’s urban forest and community trees through our local DISD students.”

Posters were judged for the local awards during the annual Redbud Festival. The two students were recognized for their posters June 3.

ARGYLE ISD

Hilltop Elementary School

Board to recognize boy’s attendance record

Andrew Heine, a student who recently completed fourth grade at Argyle Hilltop Elementary School, will be recognized by school board members for receiving perfect attendance from 2001 to 2009.

The recognition will take place during the district’s regular board meeting Monday.

Heine, who was recognized by Principal Robin McWhorter and Assistant Principal Lisa Lyles, has attended Hilltop since he was 3 years old.

The Argyle school board will also recognize students who recently attended and placed in University Interscholastic League state academic and track and field competitions.

LIBERTY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Liberty names middle school princinpal

Dr. Martin Noto was recently selected as principal of middle school at Liberty Christian School in Argyle.

The middle school, now separate from the upper school, includes grades six through eight.

It is located in an area of the school called the “Middle School Village,” which is dedicated to middle school use.

Noto has been with Liberty since 1987. He began as a teacher of social studies, served as high school principal for six years and recently returned to the classroom, while also assisting in upper school administration.

He spent a brief period in retirement before returning to the campus.

Noto is also active in the Denton community as a member of the Denton Dickens Fellowship and the Denton Breakfast Kiwanis Club. He served two terms as president of his church, St. Paul Lutheran Church.