Two HISD students win top honors in regional Scholastic contest

Anna White (HSPVA) and  Jaelynn Walls (Carnegie Vanguard High School) were recently announced as two of more than 150 regional winners from HISD of the Scholastic Art & Writing contests. White was named an American Visions finalist for her painting entitled “Afternoon Nap,” while Walls was named an American Voices finalist for her personal essay/memoir entitled “Prime.” Read the complete story here.

Congratulations also go out this week to:

• Three teams from Pilgrim Academy swept the Advanced Arena Division for middle- and high-school students in the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) Area 4 Robotics Competition. Read about their win here.
• Bellaire HS advanced to the “Sweet 16” round of the 2015–16 International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) global debate competition. Learn more about the competition here.
• Lanier MS mastered 30,013 words to earn top honors in National Vocabulary Bowl for the month of December, beating more than 16,000 schools across the nation. Read more here.
• Seven HISD juniors from Bellaire HS, Lamar HS, and Waltrip HS were recognized recently by professional baseball team The Sugar Land Skeeters for their skill on the field. See the honorees here.
• Dr. Jorge L. Arredondo who has been named “Educator of the Year” for 2016 by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 402. Read his story here.
• Students from Debakey HS, Pershing MS, Stevens ES, Scarborough HS, Reagan HS, Johnston MS, and Sherman ES were award receipients of honors at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo School Art Contest. See some of the artwork here.
• Austin, Kashmere, Lee, North Forest, Waltrip, and Westbury high schools were all honored recently for their athletes’consistent demonstration of good sportsmanship at the Touchdown Club Houston’s annual Sportsmanship Awards.  Get the full story here.
• Rebecca Ryan, contemporary world cultures teacher at  Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men, is among 12 recipients from across the state to receive the 2015 Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award.  The award is among several bestowed annually by Humanities Texas to encourage excellence in teaching and recognize Texas classroom teachers who have made exemplary contributions in teaching, curriculum development and extracurricular programming. Read the story here.
• Two dozen HISD students – from Lamar HS, Waltrip HS, Bellaire HS, and High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA)-  have earned a spot on a Texas Music Educators Association All-State Ensemble this year. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. Find out more about the honor here.