We are pleased to announce that The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Score A Goal In The Classroom have named Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD’s Mark Chandler as the new 2012 Fine Arts Director Bayard H. Friedman HERO Award winner in North Texas!  Mark will be honored Saturday night, May 5, during the 8 p.m. performance at Bass Hall!

Congratulations, Mark!  Thank you for all you do for our community’s students!!

MANY THANKS to the Moritz car dealerships in North Texas for offering 2012 new cars as awards to school districts this year for attendance incentives!!!  Data shows that the daily attendance in the high schools has remarkably/almost unbelievably risen!!  Here is the schedule for May, 2012 -

• May 17, 2012 – A 2012 BMW will go to the winning Arlington ISD winner (Jerry McCullough, contact person)!
• May 21, 2012 – A 2012 Chevrolet Camaro will be awarded the winning high schooler in the Northwest ISD (Phil Beckman, contact person)!
• May 22, 2012 – A 2012 Dodge Challenger will be driven away by the winning Fort Worth ISD student (Stephanie Jackson, contact person)!  
• May 23, 2012 – Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD’s winner will be announced and given a 2012 KIA (Judy Ramos, contact person)!

Tarrant County District’s NW campus hosted a circus themed READING FESTIVAL on April 28 from 9 to 11 a.m.  Miss Texas, Kendall Morris, was there, as well as Shriner Circus representatives to greet the students and encourage them to enjoy reading!  TCC student mentors read with and to the elementary students, who represented the Eagle Mt.-Saginaw ISD, Fort Worth ISD, and Lake Worth ISD.  Toro the Bull mascot, the Mosaic Dancers and the Shrine Circus Clown Unit were on hand to help the attendees have a very memorable, inspiring Saturday morning!

THANKS to Shale Exploration for their sponsorship of this and other “Keep the Reading Lamp Lit” initiatives!!!

 

Choral director and teacher, Pat Banks, was chosen as the 2012 “Choral Music Teacher of the Year” and presented the Bayard H. Friedman HERO Award on Saturday night, April 14 at the Fort Worth Symphony’s classical concert in Bass Hall.  Mr. Banks has a very innovative, disciplined approach to choral conducting.  He comes to Paschal High School from Weatherford ISD, and has heightened the level of Paschal’s high school performing groups to the “Sweepstake” state level.  He truly is committed to bringing out the best in each of his students, and one can be sure to experience an addictive electricity in the choral rehearsals there.

Congratulations, Pat!  Let the music go on. . .

FWISD Arlington Heights teacher, Cody Davenport, received the Bayard H. Friedman HERO Award on February 3 at the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo!  Mr. Davenport has been chosen for his superb commitment to his Agricultural Science students and program, and his contributions to the North Texas community.  Chesapeake Energy presented Cody with $1,000.00 honorarium for all his proven excellence in teaching.  Congratulations, Cody!!!

The Western Heritage Trail Drive Celebration - Saturday, January 14 - featuring lots of (free) fun for the whole family – country-western singing and dancing, FWISD high school bands, Native American dancin’, chuckwagon chili cookin’ and much more!!  Every year we get to see Aurellio Castillo chiseling something special out of a big red cedar tree trunk on the street corner with his chainsaw; this year it was a 5′ Indian brave!   Special tribute was made and awards presented to Ben Tahmahkera (great, great grandson of the legendary Comanche chief Quanah Parker), and Jim Lane!! 

This is like a Januaryfest for cowboys and cowgirls, folks – except it has the bonus of teaching our younger generation to better understand and appreciate our rich western heritage and its values!!!  There are interesting, hands-on displays – making butter at the 4-H booth, learning about the art of blacksmithing, and even fishing for big catfish and bass!WH-ad 2011    - THANKS TO CORNERSTONE SPONSORSHIP BY NORTH TEXAS CHEVY DEALERS!!! -

The Texas Ballet Theater and Score A Goal In The Classroom School Incentive Program have selected Mrs. Dolores Chapa as the recipient of the Bayard H. Friedman HERO Award and winner of the Chesapeake Energy $1000.00 honorarium!  Dolores is the executive assistant to the superintendent at the FWISD, and has been serving the district’s administration and children in an amazing, very professional manner for over 33 years!  She was honored at the matinee performances of “The Nutcracker” in Dallas on December 4 and at Fort Worth’s Bass Hall on December 10! 

Congratulations, Dolores!!  Anyone may call 817/429-4024 for further information.

Since September 1 of this year, thousands of second graders have prepared and competed to be their school or district’s Reading Bee Champion!  Twenty-eight finalists convened at TCU Saturday morning, November 12, to determine who this year’s grand champion will be!  Diana Schwartz, Everman ISD’s reading czar, co-directed the event again this year along with Ernie Horn, Executive Director of Score A Goal In The Classroom.

This year’s grand champion is Mary Grace McGann, a second grade student at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic School!  Congratulations, Mary Grace.  You deserve the new 2011 Go-Kart and many other prizes that you won, and it was seemingly so much better than Christmas at TCU’s Meyer-Martin Athletic Complex for all the area champs that they got to take home so many prizes that they needed a wagon to haul everything to their car!

First Runner up was Zahra Stevick of St. Andrews Catholic School!  Others are as follows:  2nd Runner up – Jordan Hicks - Calvary Christian Academy / 3rd Runner up – Sawyer Todd with Pantego Christian Academy / 4th Runner up – Bryce Ballew – Joshua ISD.  Please see attachment for full list of these excellent reading winners who represented their school/districts so magnificently!   RB 2011 CHAMPS

Thanks to all who have prepared very diligently to compete and to all who worked so hard to be a judge!

North Texas residents and leaders of all stratas are adopting the slogan “The Best Is Yet to Come in My Schools!!”  Please see attached for strategic information -    FW Mayor’s Ltr 2011     and     Best Is Yet to Come Info

Half Price Bks RF Nov 2011 Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 was a fabulous, fun time for the kids to get to receive fun, free books and read with and to the famous TCU Reading Frogs, FWISD high school athletes, etc.!!  This is a great way to encourage them to set their sites on college!  They got to have their pictures made with Clifford the Dog, and the big green Half-Price book worm!  Many schools brought student on the bus, and others enjoyed the event with their whole family!   – Ninos, Vengan a leer 2011     (Map) RF 2011 Map