May 2014 - Port Neches Groves ISD

PORT NECHES–GROVES ISD
YOUR SCHOOLS
May 2014
The Science Games
Our panel of tributes
from the 8 districts,
science classes, was
selected based on
activities they did in the
weeks leading up to the
games. Each homeroom
had participated in a
variety of stations and
activities preparing them
for the Science STAAR
test. After a grueling
session of question and
answer, each tribute was
allowed to pick a
volunteer from their
class to help them with
bonus questions.
Lisa LeTulle and
Ashley Lofton , 5th
grade science teachers,
creators of the Science
Games.
Our victors, Thomas Ryan and Tanner Sims, of
the 2014 Science Games.
Our STAAR Game celebrities, Amy “Effie” Gil
and Meredith “Caesar” Brawner.
Port Neches Elementary Happenings
Rock Solid Character Students celebrated their “Rock Solid Character Education” with a Rock
Wall Climb. They learned to get a “grip on good character.” Wow! Look at them except the
challenge
for the climb.
.
Garth House Winners
Congratulations to Mrs. Walters' and Mr. Champagne's
classes. For the last 12 years, Port Neches Elementary has
raised more money per student than any other school in
our area for the Garth House. The top fund-raising classes
in each grade had lunch with Jack and Taffee, the Garth
House dogs. An added reward for the school will be an
amazing performance by Acrodunk on May 28.
.
Nurse Staci
Guarnere takes great
care of all of us at
PNE. She was
honored with a
luncheon and cards
on Nurse’s Day.
4th and 5th grade PE classes enjoyed flying
kites. Many students had never flown a kite
before. They had a great time.
Perfect Attendance Pizza Party Winners
Congratulations to Mrs. Walter’s and Mrs. Richard’s classes
for perfect attendance for the 6 weeks.
Science Club Science Fair
Mrs. LeTulle, Science Club sponsor, held the first PNE
Science Club on May 2nd. Students not only shared their
presentations but also explained the scientific processes
with the judges. All participants had excellent
presentations. 1st place went to Addison Steltz and
Paxton Shultz. Blake Makelki won 2nd and Tanner
Sims received 3rd place. Congratulations to all who
participated. The future scientists and their parents
celebrated with a reception in their honor.
“Walk the Dog, Roger”
Mrs.Smith and the fourth grade entertained the community with the
musical, “Walk the Dog, Roger!” Their performance showcased our
talented 4th graders.
4th Grade End-of-Year Field Trip
Fourth graders enjoyed riding bumper cars, playing
putt putt golf, jumping, and many other fun
activities. They were complimented on their
excellent behavior.
n
Groves Elementary Happenings
Treble Tribe & Rockin’ Recorders Enjoy
Concerts
On Monday, February 3rd, Groves Elementary Treble Tribe and
Rockin’ Recorders groups traveled to the Nederland
Performing Arts Center to hear Home Free. Home Free
performed some of their songs and taught the students to make
instrument sounds with their mouths. Students especially liked
the fact that Nederland’s own Tim Foust was in the group and
demonstrated his amazing talent. The students were star struck
to see the a capella vocal group and were amazed at their talent.
Thank you to Mrs. Julie Tentrup from Groves Middle School
for spearheading the effort to bring Home Free to Nederland to
perform and educate our students and to Home Free for a
wonderful experience.
On Tuesday, February 4th, Groves Elementary Treble Tribe.
Rockin’ Recorders, and Mrs. Howard’s 4th grade class attended
the Symphony of Southeast Texas Youth Education Concert.
The theme for the concert was Myths, Journeys, and Heroic
Traditions. Students heard a variety of orchestral music and
were introduced to the instruments of the orchestra. Some of
the favorite pieces that were played were “Olympic Fanfare and
Theme” by John Williams, “Harry’s Wondrous World” also by
John Williams, and “Entry of the Gladiators” by Julius Fucik.
The students especially liked the fact that Maestro Tipton came
out and conducted the orchestra dressed as a gladiator. Thank
you to the Symphony of Southeast Texas for provided a
wonderful experience for our students.
Congratulations to 5th grade student,
Julia Barrett, for reading all 20
Texas Bluebonnet nominated books.
She was the only student who
accomplished this task. Her reading
teacher, Mrs. Burnett, and Librarian,
Mrs. Suiter, are very proud of her.
Way to go Julia!!!
Groves Elementary
honored, Mrs. Jo Ann
Dockens, for
Secretary’s Day on
April 16th with a
luncheon. She is the
newest member of the
GE family and is doing
a splendid job. Thank
you for all you do,
Mrs. Dockens!
Groves Elementary Enjoys Jump Rope Day
th
On Friday, February 28 , Coach Sturdivant and Mrs. Gloede hosted a Jump Rope Day. They
invited the faculty and staff to join in the fun with their classes while they were in P.E. class. Mrs.
Meyer, Mrs. Hebert, Mrs. Desmond, Mrs. Washburn, Mrs. VanHouten, Mrs. Wommack, Ms.
Permenter, Ms. Robison, Ms. Broussard, Mrs. Champagne, Mrs. Gloede & Coach Sturdivant
joined the fun. We even had a Watch D.O.G., Mr. Robin, jump with the students. GE’s very own
principal, Mrs. Hammersmith, also joined the students in jumping rope.
Mrs. Hammersmith
challenged all the students
at Groves Elementary to
have perfect attendance
for the month of February.
A drawing was held for a
5 pound bar of chocolate.
The winner was 5th grader
Saide Aguilar.
Congratulations!!!
Port Neches Middle Happenings
Art Winner
Robert Clark, a PNMS 8th
grader, won Student of the
Week on artSonia.com for his artwork.
Congratulations to Robert. Robert
received a plaque with his drawing on
it and a $50 gift certificate to
artSonia. Check out this website!
Patriot’s Pen
Jacob Elia, an 8th
grader at PNMS,
came in 3rd
place for this
year’s Patriot Pen Essay
contest. This year’s theme
was “What Patriotism Means
to Me.” Congratulations to Jacob!
The 8th grade Lady Warrior Track team
dominated all four track meets and set a
new school record at District Meet. The
girls set a record with 219 total points at
District.
The following individuals broke records:
Discus – Kaitlyn Boudreaux – 92’11”
200 Meter Hurdles – Callie Jourdan –
31.38
Triple Jump – Brooke Smith – 31’5”
District Track Winners 2014
Groves Middle Happenings
GMS Says Goodbye
Groves Middle School welcomed several teachers this year to the GMS
Family. Even though we have gained these new members of our family,
we sometimes have to say goodbye to others. We are sending our wellwishes to two of our staff. We will miss these two, but hope they enjoy
the time they have earned!
(Left) Vickie
Crochet - 23 years
of service
(Right) Diana Lege
- 31 years of service
GMS Band
The Groves Middle School Symphonic Band won UIL Sweepstakes
with Superior Ratings in Concert and Sightreading. Our Concert Band
won the Space City Music Showcase Superior Rating and Outstanding
in Class.
Congratulations to these two bands! Thank you Mr. Trammel and Mrs.
Creel for your hard work and dedication with these students.
GMS Choir Receives Top Honors
At the UIL Concert and Sightreading Competition, April 9th 10th, both Treble and Tenor/Bass Choirs received the
Sweepstakes Award. These choirs won 1st Division in both
Concert and Sightreading competitions.
Thank you Mrs. Hollier for your devotion to our choir program.
Drama Students
Our Drama students won 1st place at the Educational Drama State
Contest (Left Picture). Congratulations Ms. LeBlanc and Drama
students!
(Right Picture) Special award at EDA State for qualifying with superior
in all 8 Drama events throughout the year.
Van Buren Elementary Happenings
Thank you to everyone who helped to
make our Spring LifeShare blood drive
very successful! We had 44 Van Buren
students who recruited one or more
adults to donate a total of 41 units of
blood! The top recruiter was Payton
Bryan in Mrs. Brent’s class who
brought in 3 adults to donate blood.
Along with the LifeShare T-shirts that
all the participants will get, Payton will
also receive 10 ice cream coupons.
Madalyn Abshire in Mrs. Jones’ class
was the big winner in the Toys R Us
$50 gift card drawing! Congratulations
Madalyn, Payton and to all of our
students who participated in helping to
save lives!!
Van Buren’s
Fall Blood
Drive
The second grade classes hatched butterflies as part of their animal unit in science. All
the second grade students went outside on Monday, April 29th to release the
butterflies. The children were very excited when the butterflies flew off to freedom.
PTA had a fundraiser where students sold
candy. The top sellers were rewarded
“Lunch with the Principal.”
Rave Reviews on Van Buren’s First Character Night
Best wishes to retirees Mary
Simon (left) and Jolene King (right).
We will miss you!
Van Buren Elementary students who met their AR goal for the year went
to Sports Connection as a reward. TOTAL and Huntsman partially
funded this field trip, and we are grateful for their support.
Ridgewood Elementary Happenings
Spotlight on Excellence Award
The following Ridgewood employees were
nominated for the Spotlight on Excellence
Award: LaRae Bost, Andrea Bryan, Danna
Fournet, Melissa Wright, Traci Cates, Karen
Raborn, Linda Stansbury, Phyllis Ellis, Gail
Jones, and Dianne Stukey.
First Grade Rodeo
During the First Grade Texas Unit, students
participated in several neat Texas activities.
They had a Live Stock Show where each child
got to bring in their favorite stuffed animal and
show it off to the class…then everyone won
ribbons! The children made trail mix. They
decorated their “saddle bags”…brown lunch bags…then went to the table to pick and choose what
they would like to put in their bags for our “cowboy picnic.” To end the unit, the students
decorated stars with tin foil and hung them from the ceiling. They then sat around a make believe
campfire, listened to music and made smores. Yee-haw, what a fun learning experience!
First Graders Visit Fire Museum
Ridgewood students visited the Fire Museum in
Beaumont. There, they learned about the
history of fire engines and the fire station in
Beaumont, were able to sit in a real fire truck,
and practiced fire safety by seeing how fast they
could get out of a house when the smoke alarm
goes off. They finished off the day by eating
pizza and bouncing at the Jump Zone!
1st Grade Martian Day
First graders studied phases of
the moon and used Oreos to
model the different phases,
studied planets and the sun,
and ended it with an out of the
world martian mania day!!
They read Aliens Love
Underpants, and discussed the
story. The kids had a blast!
Shangri-La Visits Ridgewood
Third graders at Ridgewood
Elementary enjoyed a visit from
Maxine the Owl. The students learned
many things about owls from the
Shangri La Staff Members.
All for Books Day!
Ridgewood Elementary PTA hosted All for
Books Day today in preparation for our
upcoming book fair. Students donated to our
All for Books fund by paying $1 to wear
pajamas and read today. Each grade donated
to their grade level and the money will be
divided up among the grade level teachers
for them to purchase books for their
classroom libraries at out book fair.
The 2nd annual Ridgewood track meet was a huge success! Students in second
and third grade competed in the mile, 800 meter, 400 meter and 100 meter races
and relays. The first graders came to watch and get to see what it will be like for
them next year. Thanks Mrs. Stukey for organizing this great event for us!
Ridgewood partnered with
HEB in a campaign to “Be
Kind to the Earth.” Students
had a contest between grade
levels to see who could bring
the most plastic bags. The
students brought in a total of
6,703 plastic bags that will
go to HEB to be recycled
instead of ending up in the
land fill. Kindergarten was
the winning grade level with
2,133 bags!
Taft Elementary Happenings
Taft has always been very involved in Relay For Life. Over the last 10 years we have raised over
$153,794.94. We have won the trophy for the school that raises the most money many times. We
added a Relay Recess day that went along with Coach Gil’s health lessons. Many families are not
able to make it out to the stadium for the night of Relay so we decided to invite families to come to
school and walk with their students as the culminating activity to Coach’s health lessons. The
students were asked to collect money for Relay For Life and were given gift cards for the most money
collected in each grade level. The total raised just for that day was $4,700.00. The kids and their
families had a wonderful time. Taft has the BEST Families Ever!
First grade has a Science Program called “Scientist” of the Day. Each child
gets to teach a science experiment to the class. This program has generated
many “Future Scientist”. From Blowing Snake Bubbles to Erupting
Volcanoes, these are just some of the lessons taught by the students. The
children take home a science bag the night before their lesson is to be taught.
The bag is equipped with a binder full of lessons, a lab coat, goggles, and a
scientist wig. The children are so excited to be the “Scientist!”
Easter Bonnet Contest
Taft held it’s annual Easter Bonnet Contest. Once again
we were amazed at all the creativity.
Cinco de Mayo
Taft celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a
Piñata. The children each got a turn at
hitting the piñata to try to bust it open.
Kindergarten Stick Horse
Parade
The Kindergarten classes had
their yearly Stick Horse Parade.
They worked very hard on their
Texas Unit and celebrated by
riding their Stick Horses in a
parade around the school.
Woodcrest Elementary Happenings
New School Records Set!
Ready, Set, Run! Woodcrest 1st
– 3rd grade students are getting
ready to run the mile. Students
love trying to beat the school
records, as well as their own
records from last year. Students
ran the mile May 9th at the high
school just like a real track
meet while parents and
teachers cheered them on. This
year, we had a record broken in
the mile race. A third grader,
Ian Eberhardt, broke the
record for running a mile in 6
minutes and 44 seconds!
Peyton Jones has set a new AR record
for points earned during a school year at
Woodcrest. This year the third grader
has earned 700.6 points. We are all
very proud of her!
This year Woodcrest competed in a race to be the first school
to skype all 50 states. Students and teachers began skype-ing
park rangers, a reconstructed pilgrim/Indian village in
Jamestown, marine biologist, a Rockette, a ski resort, among
many others on October 21. On December 17 Woodcrest
skyped the last state to win the contest. The students had a
great time learning through skype! The teachers love this new
way of enriching learning and are excited to continue to use it.
We are so proud of how everyone worked together to reach
this goal and win this contest.
No contest is complete without a prize though, right?
Woodcrest’s reward for being the first campus to complete the
skype to 50 states was a visit from NASA! Students were so
excited to meet different people who work for NASA. Students
were able to go to two presentations given by NASA
employees. The first presentation was about the special
equipment needed in space. They showed the students the
space suit and how each part worked. In the second
presentations students learned about the changes that happen to
your body in space and the way astronauts have to adapt to
eating, working out, and sleeping. Students loved getting to
see and try out the way the astronauts live!
Woodcrest students held a short pep
rally for the Indian Soccer boys before
their playoff game! The boys stopped by
on their way out of town to for a little
pumping up! Students performed a cute
skit and did a fun little dance for good
luck! Woodcrest wanted to remind the
boys that they are the reason we are
HAPPY to be Indians!
Woodcrest Elementary’s 2nd grade classes visited Central Mall on Thursday, April 17th. They
performed by singing songs to a crowd of proud parents, grandparents and shoppers. Students
also paraded through the mall showing off the Easter hats they each hand- made.
1st grades annual TEXAS DAY! 1st grade
spent time in March studying all about
Texas. To end this fun, interactive unit
students ate beans from a can, roped a
cow, and showed off their hand-made
“horses” on obstacle course. They were
real Texans!
Woodcrest students collected 44,010 bags for recycling! HEB sponsored this project so that
students could really see how much trash we make. Students learned that a lot of our trash comes
from plastic and that it remains trash for hundreds of years. Student were able to see just how
much plastic trash we add to the problem and the difference we can make by recycling the plastic
bags.
PN-G High School Happenings
UIL Academic Sweepstakes Trophy Recaptured
The Port Neches-Groves High School UIL Academic Team recaptured the District 20-4A Sweepstakes
trophy after scoring 416 points, beating out second-place Little Cypress-Mauriceville, which scored 357
points at the district meet held April 4-5 at Livingston High School. PN-G has won the UIL academic
district championship for 14 of the last 15 years.
“Recapturing the sweepstakes trophy was huge for us,” said senior Victoria White, who won gold
medals in both Ready Writing and Feature Writing. “It was one of our main goals entering the UIL
academic season. We were so happy to get it back.”
In all, PN-G will be taking 20 contestants to the Regional Academic Meet to compete in 24 events.
That meet will be held at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville on May 2-3.In order to advance
to the regional round of competition as a UIL academic competitor, a student must place first, second,
or third in his or her contest, or be the member of a first-place team.
PN-G’s Journalism, Speech and Literary Criticism teams all placed first at the district meet. The firstplace award capped off a season in which the journalism team won first-place team at every meet in
which they competed. “My journalism students have seven opportunities to advance to the State
Meet,” journalism adviser Janis Ryan said. “I am so proud of their accomplishments, both at the
practice meets and at district. I have high hopes that one or more of them will qualify for state.”
In addition, PN-G’s One Act Play, “The History of Tom Jones,” was one of two plays from the district
that will be advancing to the Area Round of competition. The group is scheduled to perform at
Atascocita High School on April 12 at 8:10 p.m., but times may vary due to the nature of the contest
schedule. It is suggested that those wishing to attend the event arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled
show time.
P
N
G
All Five PN-G Bands Earn Sweepstakes Trophies
Five PN-G bands competed at the UIL Concert and Sight Reading Contest this spring, and all five earned a
Sweepstakes, designated by the UIL for being awarded a first division rating in both concert and sight reading
contests. Additionally, the high school band had to earn a first division rating in marching contest back in the fall
in order to qualify for sweepstakes eligibility.
The symphonic (varsity) bands from Groves and Port Neches Middle Schools competed on March 5-6 at Groves
Middle School, and the Wind Ensemble (varsity), Symphonic (non-varsity) and Concert (sub non-varsity) bands
from PN-G High School competed April 23-24 at Nederland High School. High school band director Alex Wells
said he was extremely pleased that this year’s bands accomplished such a rare feat. “We are sure that this hasn’t
happened at PN-G in the past 15 or so years, and may have only happened once in the past 25 years,” Wells
said. “I could not be any more excited for the PN-G Band Program than I am at the end of this school year.”
The PN-G band directors include Wells, Phillip Maldonado, Matt LeBlanc, Martin Trammel, and Rebecca
Creel. Also helping with contest preparation were student teachers Clerisa Morris and Sarah Sauceda. Percussion
instructor was Crystal Wells. “I believe that we have an excellent team of band directors who are willing to help
students,” Wells said. “But, more importantly, we have great student musicians who diligently put in the hard
work necessary for success. Our students exhibit high-quality standards both in and out of the band room.” Wells
added that the “sweepstakes sweep” is an accomplishment that he would like to see repeated in the near future.
“We try to instill in our students that they should do their best every day, and success will follow,” he said. “The
block of wood with the shiny face (trophy) isn’t the most important thing – doing your best every day is. I’m so
proud of our students’ accomplishments and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the PN-G Band
Program.”
Photo caption: Members of the PN-GISD middle and high school bands display the five Sweepstakes trophies
that they earned after earning first division ratings in marching, concert and sight reading contests.
Junior Laurel Brittain tied for seventh place in News
Writing at the UIL State Academic Meet at the University
of Texas in Austin on Tuesday, May 20. Laurel qualified
for the state meet after winning the gold medal and the title
of regional champion in News Writing at the UIL
Regional meet held at Sam Houston State University the
first weekend in May. She also placed sixth in Feature
Writing at the regional meet.
Senior Victoria White traveled to the state meet after
placing fourth in Feature Writing at the Regional meet.
Victoria was also placed fifth in Headline Writing at
regionals, making her first alternate to State in Feature
Writing and second alternate in Headline Writing.
Additionally, the PN-G Journalism team was the overall
Regional champion, beating the second-place team from
Tomball Memorial by one point. Congratulations to all!
Pictured are: Victoria White
(left) and Laurel Brittain (right)
P o r t
N e c h e s – G r o v e s
I S D
This newsletter is published by the Port Neches-Groves ISD.
Administration Building
620 Avenue C
Port Neches, TX 77651
409.722.4244
409.724.7864 (fax)
PNGISD Board of Trustees
Rusty Brittain, President
Rodney Balsamo, Vice President
Eric Sullivan, Secretary
Darren McCutcheon, Member
Melanie Miller, Member
Lana Parker, Member
Jim Walters, Member
PNGISD
A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
Dear Indians,
Summer is upon us again. We began school in August 2013 with extremely high expectations for our students and
of ourselves. It appears that the school year has flown by quickly again. Once again we have seen great success
and accomplishment and have continued the honor, pride, and tradition. The combination of hardworking
teachers, supportive parents and great students creates a tradition of excellence in the PNG district. We appreciate
what our teachers do for our students and it is important for our parents to know their children are safe when they
drop them off in the mornings. We began the school year with an intensive training that taught our entire staff
how to respond to active shooters and other safety concerns on our campuses. The training was a true “eye
opener,” and I’m proud to say that the staff did a tremendous job actively participating in the two-day training. I’m
even prouder that they have continued to revisit the training throughout the year. We will never live in fear in this district and continue to
sharpen our skills regarding safety. In addition, the staff began working diligently in August preparing to deliver the best possible instruction to
our students. This training begins in August and continues throughout the school year. I’m proud of our staff and students, and I’m also
pleased with the efforts our parents make to get students to school ready to learn.
Our students have competed well at the local, district, regional and state level. We continue to find ways for them to compete and win. Their
hard work will certainly equip them to excel in any and all endeavors once they graduate and move to the next chapter of their lives. Our
students love coming to school and it is clear on Friday nights during football season. Our tradition and spirit is unmatched in the Great State
of Texas. I can’t thank our parents and teachers enough for what they do for children, schools and communities. Our communities are strong
and growing. There is growth in Port Neches and Groves is preparing to build over 400 homes. This will certainly add to our student
population and we have plans in place to address such growth. We made it through a tough and long winter and haven’t seen temperatures like
this in a long while. I apologize for us having to have two make-up days, but the Texas Education Agency would not consider our
recommendation. We are working on the schedule to prevent this in the future.
Another Legislative Session will begin in January 2015 and it will be one of the most important sessions we’ve ever seen. There will be many
topics that can positively or negatively impact public education in Texas. I encourage our parents and staff to stay in tune with the session and
pay close attention to bills that can impact our district. A good source is www.texasisd.com as it is updated daily and maintained by people
who are play a part in the legislative process. I will be in touch with you prior to the start of the session, but I promise this session will be huge.
Last session, the “Mad Mom” groups got a great deal of things accomplished and we are going to utilize them again in January. Stay informed
and if you ever have questions regarding legislative issues, call me and I can explain the implications for our district.
Summer is just a few days away and everyone is looking forward to spending time with family and friends and traveling. Always take the time
to ensure our children and families are safe when traveling. Many of us will be around the water all summer and it is important to ensure safety
procedures are followed. Once again, I end the school year with outstanding memories and look forward to time with my wife, kids and
friends. My school year never ends and I am ready to work hard this summer to provide our students and staff with nothing but the best. Our
teachers, administrators, parents, board and staff will work diligently to make the 2014-2015 even better. We are all on the same team, and we
accomplish greatness when we work together and not against one another. I am thankful to be the Superintendent of the outstanding district
and look forward to working with everyone next year.
Again, our enrollment continues to grow, we are financially strong, the tradition remains the strongest in the state and life is good at PNG. We
can work together to make it even better. I am thankful to be here and appreciate your support and input. Have a safe and fun summer and
have some fun with family and friends.
God Bless You All,
Rodney D. Cavness, Ed.D.