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RECOGNITIONS

In honor of Texas School Board Recognition Month, the superintendent recognized the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Board of Trustees for their dedication, leadership and continuing service to students in the district.

The Board of Trustees recognized the following students, staff and community members for their achievements:

• Marilyn Miller, Cypress Creek High School theatre director, for being named to the Texas State Thespians Hall of Fame. Miller is one of only 20 theater educators and professionals statewide to receive this honor from the Texas State Thespians, a chapter of the International Thespian Society; and
• Students from Cypress Ridge, Cypress Woods, Cypress Creek and Cypress Ranch high schools who won first or second place at the Texas State Thespian Festival. The following 47 students qualified for nationals during the December festival held in Houston:
• Cypress Ridge
• Michelle Nguyen, second place, monologue; Lauren Coldwell and Ginelie Franco, second place, duet acting; Rachel Marczak, second place, solo musical; Josue Vasquez, second place, costume construction; and Elizabeth Sanders, second place, marketing design;
• Cypress Woods
• Bethany Eggleston, second place, solo musical; Peter Hoeft and Trevor Strahan, second place, duet acting; Adayre Bevill, second place, marketing design; Meghan Whitfield, second place, stage management; Ashley Sargent, second place, sound design; and Lauren McCullar, second place, costume design;
• Cypress Creek
• Nathan Crooks and Andi Dinehart, second place, duet musical; Lindsey Vrana, second place, solo musical; Allan Lawrence, Ben Granger and Alex Martinez, second place, group musical; Brice Phillips and Josh Nitzberg, second place, duet mime; Hayley Morlock, second place, monologue; and Morgyn Utzman, second place, theatrical design;
• Cypress Ranch
• Jeremiah James, second place, duet acting; Liz Finnerty, second place, duet acting; Mason Diaz, Joe Moore, Logan Ayers, Kendall Davis, Joe Pedoto, Tyler Larson, Alec Quintero, Richard Evan Brighi and Stephen Bartholomew, first place, group musical; Logan Harper, second place, solo musical; Tyler Loville, Bianca Galindo, Aly Dees, Courtney Golloday, Mary Kate Baker, Carrina Arreola and Rachel Epstein, second place, group acting; Corrie Andrews and Cason Day, second place, duet pantomime; Meredith Ball, second place, theatre marketing; and Dylan Marlow, second place, sound design.

The superintendent recognized students and staff members for honors and achievements earned in recent weeks. Congratulations were extended to the following:

• Three students who won Martin Luther King Jr. essay contests at their campuses. Tipps fourth-grade student Sofia Castro, Metcalf third-grade student Angelina Guzman and first-grade student Zahin Rahman participated in a program on Jan. 16 at The Church Without Walls, reading their inspiring essays about how Dr. King influenced their lives;
• Winners in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) School Art Program. Eleven students’ artwork was selected by a panel of judges from the HLSR and have been taken to Reliant Arena for the next level of the contest. The exhibit will remain on display in the ISC hallways through Jan. 30. The winners’ artwork will be displayed in the Hayloft Gallery at Reliant Center during the HLSR, Feb. 28-March 18.

  In the high school division:

  • Cypress Lakes High School senior Rafael Diaz won Best of Show for his drawing titled “Rejoicing the Forgotten;”
  • Cypress Ranch High School senior Madeline Weaver won a gold medal for her drawing “Old Paint;”
  • Cypress Falls High School senior Katelyn Miller won a gold medal for her drawing “Looking Back;”
  • Cypress Ranch senior Alyssa Brönstad received a Special Merit award for “Through the Eyes of the Dreamer;”
  • Cypress Falls sophomore Jaydi Segura received a Special Merit award for “Emma Lou;”
  • Cypress Lakes senior Edgar Garcia received a Special Merit award for “My Uniform;” and
  • Cypress Woods High School sophomore Christian Doyle received a Special Merit award for “Wagon Wheel;”

  In the middle school division:

  • Spillane Middle School eighth-grade student Kaitlyn Skinner won Best of Show for her drawing “Up Close and Personal;” and
  • Hamilton Middle School eighth-grade student Jessica Meadath won a gold medal for her drawing titled “Bovine Brothers;”

  In the Elementary division:

  • Lamkin Elementary School third-grade student Jacob Martone won Best of Show for his drawing titled “Broke ‘n’ Busted;” and
• Moore Elementary School fifth-grade student Tessa De La Fuente won a gold medal for her drawing titled “Wanted;”

• Duryea Elementary School fourth-grade student Jordi Diaz, whose artwork was selected to be featured in the 2012 PBK Architects calendar;

• Thirteen CFISD elementary schools, which are among an elite group of schools receiving the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s HealthierUS School Challenge Bronze Award. The award recognizes food service programs for reinforcing the 3 Es for healthy living – Education, Exercise and Eating Right. The schools are: Ault, Birkes, Black, Copeland, Farney, Hamilton, Keith, Moore, A. Robison, Sampson, Swenke, Warner and Yeager;

• Cypress Falls High School Latin and English teacher Janice Reed, who has been honored by the University of Texas Alumni Association and College of Education with a 2012 “Texas Exes Outstanding Teacher” award. Only 12 teachers in the state received the award;

• The Cypress Falls High School boys’ basketball team, for placing second out of 24 teams in the Cypress Hoops Invitational hosted by the Cy-Fair Educational Foundation, held in December at the Berry Center. Proceeds from this event benefits CFEF’s “Donate to Educate” program;

• Cy-Fair High School senior football player Zach Stevens, who was selected as one of 10 finalists for the Touchdown Club of Houston’s Offensive Player of the Year. For the second year, Cy-Fair head coach Ed Pustejovsky was a finalist for Coach of the Year, among 10 coaches from the greater Houston area;

• Cypress Creek High School senior Matthew Dunn, who recently won the Texas Junior Golf Tour “Q-School Challenge” tournament, including making seven birdies in a row. Dunn will attend the U.S. Air Force Academy next year on a golf scholarship;

• Forty-eight senior volleyball players, who were named to the Academic All-District Volleyball Team. The following students maintained an academic average of 90 or better throughout the year:
• Cypress Woods: Camille Williams, Sydni Schulz, Sarah Nielsen, Rachel Moran, Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood, Ashleigh Gallagher and Korbyn Breckon;
• Langham Creek: Bridgette Bennett, Laura Harville and Regan Jenkins;
• Cypress Lakes: Farrah Oxley, Hanna Bobst, Morgan Drewyer, Tyesha Edge, Davina Fatunbi and Laurie James;
• Cy-Fair: Emily Wright, Kylee Mann, Kylie Schott, Katherine Stuart, Kaitlin Anderson and Jules Garrett;
• Cypress Ridge: Haley Fuson;
• Cypress Springs: Shevell Currie and Catherine Hayes;
• Cypress Ranch: Laura Paonessa, Taylor McClelland, Meredith Pruitt, Kirsten Mamaux, Kristen Kirk, Chelsea Spurlock and Shannon Wilson;
• Cypress Creek: Morgan Chenoweth, Danielle Daniels, Shelby Edmiston, Sarah Price and Evan St. Laurent;
• Jersey Village: Sarah Church, Miranda Munchrath and Caitlyn Cooney; and
• Cypress Falls: Britnee Dawley, Morgan Walsh, Alex Matthews, Shannon Courtney, Jenna Rutan, Kim Brooks, Chanell Clark-Bibbs and Kayley Jones; and

• Wrestlers who competed in the 10th annual Cy-Fair Wrestling Tournament on Jan. 6-7 at the Berry Center. More than 100 teams competed from the top programs in Texas and Louisiana. This tournament is the largest in the state. The Cypress Woods High School boys’ team finished fourth overall. Several individuals placed in the event:
• Kevin Bonilla from Cypress Woods, Gabby Long from Cypress Creek, Diaysha Moore from Cypress Ridge, Anna McAleavey from Cypress Creek and Joly Velasquez from Cypress Lakes placed first in their divisions;
• Brad Klewitz from Cypress Woods, Brandon Criddell and Kimberly Rodriguez from Langham Creek and Anel Cantu from Cypress Falls placed second in their divisions; and
• José Gonzalez and Ashrell Batiste from Cypress Ridge and Taylor Alva from Cypress Woods placed third in their divisions. 

NEW PRINCIPALS
Bob Hull, the principal at Truitt Middle School, was named the principal at Cypress Ranch High School on Dec. 20. Hull began his new leadership assignment on Jan. 3, replacing Darlene Medford, who announced her retirement last month.

Gary Kinninger, the principal at Spillane Middle School, was named the principal at Cypress Woods High School on Dec. 19. Kinninger replaces Sue McGown, who accepted an educational leadership position in Missouri in November.
2012-2013 CALENDAR
The CFISD Board of Trustees approved the Calendar Committee’s recommendation for the 2012-2013 instructional calendar during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

House Bill 1 mandates that instruction for the school year may not begin before the fourth Monday in August. For the 2012-2013 instructional year, the earliest start date is Aug. 27—which will serve as the first day of school.

In the fall of 2011, a district calendar committee was organized with broad-based representation, including teachers, parents, campus administrators, paraprofessionals, ancillary personnel and district-level administrators.

The committee held meetings before arriving at a consensus for the following calendar recommendation to be presented to the Board of Trustees:

• students begin school on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012;
• Labor Day, Sept. 3, is a student/staff holiday;
• the calendar has a three-day Thanksgiving holiday (Nov. 21-23);
• a 12-day winter break is scheduled for students (Dec. 24-Jan. 8);
• a one-week spring break is scheduled for March 11-15, 2013;
• Friday, March 29, is a student/staff holiday;
• the school year will end on June 5, 2013; and
• Feb. 18 and June 6, 2013 are designated as inclement weather makeup days.

BOND UPDATE
The Board approved construction proposals and contracts paid from bond funds to the recommended contractor and authorized the superintendent or designee to execute all necessary documents related to such contracts as follows:

• Package B-2011 Renovations and Additions at Dean Middle School; and
• Package C-2011 Renovations and Additions at Hamilton Middle School.

The Board approved an order authorizing the issuance of Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Unlimited Tax Refunding Bonds, Series 2012 and setting the parameters for the issuance of the bonds.

SUPERINTENDENT’S BRIEFING

January is designated as National Mentoring Month. The monthlong outreach campaign focuses attention on the need for mentors—individuals, businesses, faith-based organizations, nonprofits and schools—working together to mentor our young people. National Mentoring Month 2012 spotlights the needs of young people, and how mentors make a difference in their lives. CFISD presently has more than 500 mentors committed to meet with students once a week for the entire school year. Those interested in mentoring can contact Pam Scott in the Partners in Education office. 

Cypress Lakes High School will host the fourth annual Catch the Dream event on Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This community event is for both parents and students, and will focus on college or career readiness. College representatives will be on hand and information sessions will include college requirements, financial aid, military options, career exploration and many other related topics.  Whether a Cy-Fair student plans to attend a community college, a university or enter the workforce, this event will be very informative.

The Board of Trustees will honor 152 students who have been recognized by the National Merit and National Hispanic Scholars Programs during a Special-called Board meeting on Monday, Jan. 23 at the Berry Center. The program will be broadcast live on the CFISD website, www.cfisd.net, and replayed throughout January and February.

The third annual CFISD Technology Festival will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Berry Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The districtwide event is open to the community and will showcase student’s projects using 21st-century tools in graphic arts, robotics, programming, multimedia and web design.

The 18th annual CFISD Livestock Show and Sale will be held Feb. 2-4 at the Exhibit Center located at 11206 Telge Road. Approximately 500 student exhibitors and 770 student projects will be exhibited and judged. A flyer is available on the district website showing the times and designated animals for the livestock judging on Feb. 2-3. The buyers’ luncheon will be held on Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. at Arnold Middle School and the premium auction will be held at the Exhibit Center at 1 p.m.

The Cy-Fair Educational Foundation will present Salute to Our Heroes on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Omni Hotel Westside. Salute to our Heroes honors the brave men and women who are serving or have served to preserve our freedom and liberty. Proceeds from this event will create an endowment in the memory of fallen soldiers, which will be used for college scholarships for CFISD students. For more information or to purchase tickets for this great event, please contact Marie Holmes at the CFEF at 281-807-3591 or www.thecfef.org.

AGENDA ITEMS
In other action, the Board approved:

• bids and contracts to the recommended vendors;
• tax refunds of $500 or greater for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD;
• the Agreement for Financial Advisory Services between Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and BOSC, Inc.;
• on first reading additions, deletions or revisions to district policies:
• CDA (LOCAL) Other revenues: Investments (REVISE)
• CV (LOCAL) Facilities Construction (REVISE)
• DFBB (LOCAL) Term Contracts: Nonrenewal (REVISE)
• EFAA (LOCAL) Instructional Materials: Selection and Adoption (REVISE)
• FFH (LOCAL) Student Welfare: Freedom from Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation (REVISE)
• FO (LOCAL) Student Discipline (REVISE)
• authorizing the superintendent or designee to negotiate and execute Interlocal Governmental Agreements between Harris County Municipal Utility District Nos. 136 and 183 and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD for the providing of funds for the installation of playground equipment at Wilson Elementary School.