Yantes Shields, a 32-year employee of the district, was honored by fellow workers last week when he was named the Service Center Employee of the Year for 2004. Shields has served in custodial services for several campuses over his tenure with the district. Currently, he works at Irving Schools Stadium, Secondary Reassignment Center, and the Service Center.

"Today our Service Center honored an employee possessive of a quiet and gentle spirit," Shields’ supervisor Pat Lamb said. "Yantes humbly received this recognition, and while fighting back tears, thanked his peers for their vote of confidence and their friendship. Then he went his way and tonight we’ll find him working hard to provide a clean, safe and functional environment for IISD students and staff."

The Service Center Employee of the Year is chosen each spring by employees. Shields’ name and photo will be displayed on a plaque in the Service Center lobby next to other Employee of the Year winners.

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MacArthur High School Resource Officers Robin Howman and Curtis Kaloi were named Officers of the Quarter by the Irving Police Department recently. The two have "truly bridged the gap between police and young people," MacArthur Principal Tracey Fraley said. "They have both worked diligently to solve crimes and to create a safe learning environment for this school."

Howman and Kaloi have served as MacArthur’s SROs for 10 years.

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The newly-formed Friends of Irving School Libraries (FISL) begins an ambitious campaign this month to provide at least one book for every student in Irving ISD schools. The group, formed by IISD librarians, parents and literacy advocates, is the product of IISD Director of Library & Media Services Caroline Kienzle’s vision of starting every IISD student on the road toward building their personal library.

This month, FISL will hold a city-wide, month-long book campaign collecting new books from local businesses and the general public. Slated for February to coincide with National Booklovers’ Month, the campaign asks Irving businesses and residents to donate one of five titles to ensure that every student in selected grades owns a new copy of a quality children’s literary work of their own.

FISL is targeting the following grades and titles for the campaign:

• Kindergarten: Cat In the Hat, Seuss
• Third Grade: A Dog Called Kitty, Wallace
• Sixth Grade: A Light In the Attic, Silverstein
• Eighth Grade: Hatchet, Paulsen
• Twelfth Grade: Oh, The Places You’ll Go, Seuss

The selected titles are available for purchase and drop-off at the Barnes & Noble locations in Irving (Irving Mall and MacArthur at 635) as well as any Irving school library. Donors can also drop off books with any IISD librarian.

For an updated list of collection points and more information, visit the FISL website.

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The Irving Council of PTAs has several events happening in the near future.

Art work from four IISD students has been chosen to compete in the statewide Reflections art show sponsored by the Texas PTA. The four students, chosen from hundreds who competed on city and district levels, are Davis Elementary School second-grader Logan Austin, Davis fifth-grader Trevor Austin, Lamar Middle School sixth-grader Kristina Velasquez, and Travis Middle School seventh-grader Deborah Kim. These students and dozens more who took part in the event were honored at an Arts In Education Night January 26 at the IISD Administration Building.

The Irving Council of PTAs will celebrate its 50th year February 9 at Austin Middle School. The meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m., will feature remarks from past council presidents.

The council’s annual Jam the Gym Donkey Basketball fundraiser is slated for February 11 at Irving High School. Tickets are $5 in advance or $7 at the door.

Finally, the council’s Life Membership Banquet will be held at the D/FW Marriott on April 1.

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Textbooks being considered for adoption by district textbook committees are available for public review in the professional library at the Irving ISD Administration Building. The books, being considered for 115 courses in the subjects listed below, can be reviewed on site during business hours.

The subjects are High School Spanish, High School German, High School French, High School Latin, Elementary Art, Middle School Art, High School Art, K-12 Music, K-12 Orchestra, K-12 Band, K-12 Choir, K-12 Theater Arts, K-12 Health, K-12 Physical Education, and 1-8 Spanish.

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Nimitz High School and Irving High School students have partnered with the IRS to help local taxpayers file tax returns this year and retrieve Earned Income Credits (EITC) through the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program of the IRS.

The service will be available for free at Nimitz each Saturday in February from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to serve those taxpayers who may be eligible for the credit. The student tax preparers have each received training from an IRS agent or trained instructor. The school can e-file (transmit electronically) directly to the IRS, have a refund deposited directly to a client’s account, have a refund check mailed, or request a specific date for a payment to be taken from a bank account.

The EITC is a refundable federal tax credit for eligible individuals and families who work and have earned income under:

• $11,490 ($12,490 if married filing jointly) if there is no qualifying child,
• $30,338 ($31,338 if married filing jointly) if there is one qualifying child, or
• $34,458 ($35,458 if married filing jointly) if there is more than one qualifying child.

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Mary Arriaga, an IISD employee who spearheaded a fundraising effort to help purchase a computer aided detection unit for the Women’s Imaging Center at Baylor Medical Center at Irving, is being recognized for her work. Arriaga, the secretary to IISD Director of Personnel Dr. Neil Dugger, has been invited to the annual Citizens Who Care Banquet February 17 at the Four Seasons Resort to be honored for her volunteer service.

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Representatives from the Pearson Foundation, in cooperation with The Academy of Irving ISD corporate partner Nokia, tutored students in a pilot program called Capturing a Career at the Academy last week. During the four-day program, Pearson personnel interviewed 20 students who have taken part in the Academy Student Intern Training Experience (SITE) and then conducted a workshop on creating a digital portfolio about their internships.

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Three Irving High School juniors won the Irving Rotary Club 4 Way Test Speech Contest January 20 at the Las Colinas Country Club. The first place winner, Amy Bellows, collected $250 and a chance to compete in the district-level competition February 26 in Plano. Second place Jessica Stringer’s award was $150, and third place Kaitlyn Smith won $100.