ICE Awards Thursday
The Ninth Annual
ICE Awards will be held Thursday, February 26 in the Nimitz High School
auditorium. A reception at 6:15 p.m. will kick-off the event with the
formal ceremony beginning at 7 p.m.
Hosted this year by
Dallas Morning News Columnist Steve Blow, the Irving Celebration of
Excellence Awards recognizes outstanding achievements by IISD staff,
faculty and students in the areas of humanities, fine arts,
math/science, athletics & physical education, community
service/citizenship, and special campus/district. The Board of Trustees
will also present the annual Golden Apple Awards, and students who have
garnered prestigious state and national accomplishments during the past
12 months will be recognized. An ensemble from the Nimitz orchestra will
entertain during the reception and the Irving All-City Stage Band will
perform during the ceremony.
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Sophomore Recognized for Giving Spirit
Hailey Hodgkiss,
sophomore at Irving High School, received The Spirit of Tom Landry
Character Award February 13 during The 25th Anniversary Saint
Valentine’s Day Luncheon & Fashion Show benefiting The Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society.
|
Hailey Hodgkiss (left), sophomore at Irving High School,
received The Spirit of Tom Landry Character Award from
Alicia Landry February 13. |
Hodgkiss was diagnosed
with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) following her 14th birthday.
With her treatments coming to an end in September 2008, Hodgkiss began
assembling and delivering gift bags to other teens being treated for ALL
at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. In recognition for her
philanthropy, Hodgkiss was nominated for the award. The Spirit of Tom
Landry Character Award is given annually by Alicia Landry, who lost her
husband – legendary Dallas Cowboys Football Coach Tom Landry – to a type
of blood cancer.
To learn more about Hodgkiss, her efforts,
and her recognition, access the video below:
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Art Students Win at Regional Event
Students from all
four Irving ISD high schools competed at the regional Visual Arts
Scholastic Event (VASE) competition February 7 in Mesquite.
IISD students’
entries were among more than 1300 projects from northern Texas students
in categories such as Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media, Photography,
Ceramics, Sculpture, Jewelry, and Electronic Media. Students were judged
on criteria including the presentation of their completed artwork, and
an interview in which they discussed their intent, execution and
technical skills, use of the elements and principles of art, aesthetics
and critical judgment, and personal expression. Scores were awarded on a
scale of 1-4. A percentage of the works receiving a 4 advance to state
competition held in April.
For a complete list
of IISD students who earned top scores at regional VASE, and a list of
students advancing to state competition, access
www.irvingisd.net/articles/vase2009.htm.
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Schools Plan TAKS Rallies
Taking the Texas
Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test can be a daunting task
for many public school students. Teachers and school administrators in
Irving ISD have scheduled several programs to help students relieve
stress and get motivated for TAKS taking.
Barton Elementary
School, Britain Elementary School, Brown Elementary School, Lively
Elementary School, Schulze Elementary School, Crockett Middle School,
and Lamar Middle School are among schools planning motivational
programs.
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Barton Elementary
School
Barton will host Science Saturdays February 28, March 28 and
April 4 and will host a visit from The Power Team February 27.
Barton also sponsors after-school tutoring every school day except
Wednesday.
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Britain Elementary School
In addition to Saturday
Science Camp for fifth grade, Britain has been offering third and fifth
graders tutoring in reading, tutoring for fourth graders in writing, and
math tutoring for fifth grade. Following March 3 TAKS testing, math
tutoring will be extended to third and fourth graders and reading
tutoring to fourth grade.
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Brown Elementary School
Brown conducts after-school tutoring twice a
week, hosts Saturday programs and will have a school-wide breakfast on
test days.
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Lively
Elementary School
Lively students will receive a motivational visit from “Nana Puddin’” February 27.
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Schulze Elementary School
Schulze students will host a “Stomp Out TAKS” visit from the
Arlington-Martin High School Steppers.
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Crockett Middle School
At Crockett many
teachers will run in the Fort Worth Cow Town Marathon to show support
for students taking TAKS; teachers will conduct one-on-one tutoring with
students during the day; Crockett hosts science & math enrichment
after school activities; and teachers conduct lunch time tutoring
for students.
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Lamar Middle School
Lamar students will have the opportunity to attend Saturday
learning activities for four Saturdays prior to testing.
On March 3, the
TAKS reading test is administered for third, fifth, eighth and ninth
grade; the writing test is administered for fourth and seventh grade,
and the English Language Arts test is administered for 10th
and 11th grade.
|
A teacher at Crockett Middle School displays the T-shirt
Crockett teachers will wear during the Fort Worth Cow Town
marathon that many will run in support of students taking
TAKS tests. |
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Academy Specialty Students Compete
Regionally
Students from The
Academy of Irving ISD involved in organizations related to medical and
legal specializations competed at regional competitions January 31 and
February 13-14.
Law students
participating in Mock Trial traveled to Dallas UIL regional competition
January 31 at Frank Crowley Criminal Courts Building. Through the course
of three “trials” against teams from other local schools, students
demonstrated knowledge in litigation, court procedures and rules of
evidence. Re-enacting the case of Texoma versus Bo Tyde, a case
currently on appeal in Texas courts, Academy senior Jason Douglass
earned Outstanding Witness honors for the third consecutive year. Senior
Marc Alcorn won the Outstanding Lawyer award for the second consecutive
year. In total, the Academy Mock Trial team won eight team awards.
Health Occupations
Students of America (HOSA) members traveled to Allen for Area V Spring
Leadership Conference February 13-14. During the conference, students
demonstrated their knowledge and skills gained through the health
occupations program.
For the second consecutive year, the
Senior HOSA Chapter was recognized as Area Five Outstanding Chapter.
Academy HOSA members earned 33 awards in events such as public speaking,
medical spelling, extemporaneous speaking, and certified emergency
response. For a complete list of students and the awards they earned,
access
www.irvingisd.net/articles/HOSAawards2009.htm.
All HOSA competitors that received gold,
silver or bronze medals will advance to state competition in McAllen
April 2-6.
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Public Information Wins State Awards
The IISD Public Information Department
was recognized by Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) with
20 awards for excellence in school communications.
Awards were presented February 19 during
the TSPRA annual conference. Twelve IISD entries received Gold Star
Awards and seven received Silver Stars. The department’s entry in the
Published Print Advertisement category was named Best of Category among
school districts larger than 30,000 students. In addition, Tony
Thetford, director of public information, served as a member of the
national accreditation faculty during the conference.
TSPRA is a professional organization
with more than 900 members dedicated to improving public education in
Texas by promoting effective communication.
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