Alief ISD After School Program (ASP) students participated in Kids’ Day at Frost Bank, a holiday marketplace that provides entrepreneurship opportunities to elementary students. Cummings, Hearne, Heflin, Landis, Outley and Youens participated.

Alief Early College High School student Michelle Garcia was named an Outstanding Volunteer for the Fall 2014 semester by the Partnership for the Advancement & Immersion of Refugees (PAIR).

Landis Elementary raised $1,325 in change during their Change for a Cure drive. The money will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and to St. Jude’s Hospital.

The Killough Middle School Student Council and staff donated $800 to the Angel Tree Salvation Army Foundation. Through the donation, Killough bought several presents for underprivileged youth.

Elsik High School and Elsik Ninth Grade Center students and staff participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and ENGC Hall Monitor Justin Copley reached the goal of 50,000 words. The combined count for both schools exceeded 187,000 words. NaNoWriMo participants will have an opportunity to publish excerpts from their books this spring.

Kennedy Elementary teacher Georgia Nemeth received a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification in the area of early and middle childhood literacy. This certification, performancebased and peer-reviewed, is the highest mark of professional accomplishment.

O’Donnell Middle School teacher Dr. Richard Spitz performed at the Texas State Thespian Festival in the pit orchestra for the musical Memphis. The show will be reprised this summer at the international convention in Nebraska.

Fine Arts News

  • Kerr High School journalism students placed in the Texas Association of Journalism Educators (TAJE) / Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC) Central Texas Journalism Invitational UIL Meet. Amy Haokip placed second in headline writing, and Diana Vu placed third in news writing.
  • Alief ISD middle school students Jeremy Palafox (Killough), Erika Vasquez (Olle) and Raul Aldape (O’Donnell) participated in the prestigious junior high school region band
  • Six Hastings High School band students made the Region 23 Honor Band. Cristian Gutierrez was named overall 1st chair in the region and advanced to area. Gutierrez, who plays the tuba, will audition for the All-State Band in January.
  • The Albright Middle School Drama and Debate Team earned a third place sweepstakes trophy at the Killough Middle School Speech Festival.
  • The Olle Middle School Speech and Debate Team finished third in the Oak Ridge High School Speech Tournament.

Scholar Athletes for December

  • Taylor High School student Khasia Moore is the female scholar athlete of the month. She is a two-year varsity letterman in basketball and is a part of the Superintendent’s Academically Talented (SAT) Scholars Program, National Honor Society, Student Council, National Art Honor Society, Red Cross Committee and National Achievement Scholarship Program.
  • Taylor High School student Deprey Lane is the male scholar athlete of the month. He is a two-year varsity basketball player and will serve as a captain for the Lions this year. This will be his fourth year in Taylor’s basketball program. Lane started all three playoff games for their team last year.