Student council to run for cure
The Student Council will participate in the Relay-For-Life at Texas A&M-Commerce on April 16 and 17 to help raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society.
Student Council will accept donations of cash, check or money order for this charitable event through the event. You may also purchase a luminary for $5 in memory of anyone lost to cancer.
If you would like to make a donation or be a member of the Student Council team, please contact either Ms. McDermott or Ms. Miller. For more information, visit relayforlife.org.
Culinary arts classes kick off 'cook-off'
Students in the Culinary Arts classes held their first "cook-off", a cooking competition judged by teachers and staff members.
The students were given instructions to make an ordinary dish, macaroni and cheese, into something extraordinary. Students creatively used spinach, corn, Rotel tomatoes, bacon, ham, Italian sausage, broccoli, onions, and many other ingredients, herbs, and spices.
Judges expressed their surprise and how impressed they were with the dishes the students created. The classes will host a “cook-off” each week with minimal instructions.
Firebots 'Extreme' champions
The Phoenix Charter School Robotics Team, the Firebots, placed first out of 31 teams in the Extreme Engineering Robotics Competition at Lovejoy High School in Lucas.
“I thought it was great to see this small school was able to compete against these larger schools with years of experience," said Engineer/Mentor Lee Potter. "It left me speechless when we left the competition as the number one team."
This year's game, “Clean Sweep”, is played on a 12' x 12' square field with more than 80 balls of varying sizes. Two-team alliances – one “red”, one “blue” – use their robots to move as many balls as possible onto the opponents side of the field. The field is divided in half by a wall with slots and goals through which the robots move the balls.
The Firebots finished third in qualifying matches with a record of 5-0 and formed an alliance with Galena Park High School in Houston and Grand Prairie High School that only lost one match. The Firebots' overall record in the competition was 11-1.
“Every member of our team did an excellent job," said assistant coach Matthew Wineinger. "The drivers performed flawlessly, the student coach was poised, the pit crew kept the robot in tip-top shape and our scouting team provided us with valuable information that we needed for selecting our alliance. It was a perfect example of teamwork in action.”
“Considering that we are a VEX rookie team, with all of our drivers having driven in only one prior competition, I am very proud of what the students accomplished Saturday," said Coach Johnny Tharp. "They have exceeded all expectations and have come a long way this year."
Team members are Joe Adams, Bryniya Anderson, Ashley Burkett, Monica Carillo, Michael Eason, Jonathan Ehlers, Nathan Gay, Evan Henry, Ben Jones, Desiree Lee, Logan Potter, Matthew Potter, Isaiah Pierce, Juan Reyes, T. J. Smith, Zachary Sparkman, Adriana Tucker and Michael Welch.
Engineer/Mentors are Potter and Mike McCaslin. Parent Committee Chairpersons are Cynthia Wineinger and Susan Davidson.
Educator speaks at Black History program
The Phoenix Charter School Parent Teacher Organization was honored to have had Ila Gilstrap speak at the 4th Annual Black History Program in February.
A compassionate and gifted teacher for 46 years, Gilstrap was the first African American teacher at Bowie Elementary in Greenville.
She currently works for Greenville Independent School District as the Coordinator for the Greenville Parent Center. She also serves on the boards of several organizations, including The Boys and Girls Club and The Hope Center.
DATES TO REMEMBER
- May 8 - Spring Festival
- May 15 - Prom at Landmark on Lee Street
- May 28 - Bad weather make-up day
- June 3 - Graduation
NOTES
HS UIL team advances to regionals
The Liteary Criticism team advances to regionals. Results from the UIL district competition:
• Bryniya Anderson - 1st, Literary Criticism
• Ashley Burkett - 3rd, Literary Criticism
• Vika Movchan - 7th, Literary Criticism
• Jacklin Robles - 12th, Literary Criticism
• Michael Lowry - 6th, Persuasive Speaking
Talented 7th graders honored
Congratulations to middle school student Thomas Smith, one of five Phoenix students who qualified to participate in the Duke University 7th Grade Talent Identification Program. These candidates were invited to take the SAT or the ACT as 7th graders, allowing them greater insight into their academic abilities. Thomas has qualified for State Recognition by scoring on at least one part of the ACT, at or above the national average of high school juniors and seniors who tested. He will attend a special recognition ceremony in June at the University of North Texas.
Dream Team grabs Mavs win
The Dream Team won the Gussie Nell Davis Award for Excellence and the Sweepstakes Award at the Dallas Mavericks Competition. Teams receiving a 90 or above in each of their three routines received the prestigious Gussie Nell Davis Award in addition to their Sweepstakes trophy.
Track finishes season strong
The varsity and junior high track teams finished the season strong.
Senior Kasey Hardin placed 2nd in discus at the district meet in Hawkins and will advance to area competition.
Other notable performances included a successful run at the junior high meet in Bells: Dkaira Otis placed 1st in long jump, Marcus Thomas won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, and Davaughn Simmons finished 2nd in the 200-meter dash and 1st in the 110-meter hurdles.
VARSITY MEET - HAWKINS
• Kasey Hardin - 2nd in discus
JR HIGH MEET - TYLER
• Dkaira Otis - 5th place in long jump
• Marcus Thomas - 5th place, 100m dash
• Davaughn Simmons - 4th place, 110m hurdles
JR HIGH - BELLS
• Dkaira Otis - 1st place, long jump
• Davaughn Simmons - 1st place, 110 hurdles
• Marcus Thomas - 3rd place, 110 hurdles
• Marcus Thomas - 1st place, 100 dash
• Davaughn Simmons - 2nd place, 100 dash
• Marcus Thomas - 1st place, 200 dash
• Cody Toole - 4th place, shot put
• Emmanuel Cruz - 6th place, shot put
• Cody Toole - 4th place, discus
• 1st place in 400 relay girls
• 2nd place in 800 relay girls
• 4th place boys as a team
• 5th place girls as a team
Senior graduates early
Senior Sarah Ware graduated in December and entered the University of Houston as a sophomore thanks to enrolling in dual-credit courses through Paris Junior College.
Sarah earned more than 30 college credit hours, including most of her basic required courses. She will major in Hotel and Restaurant Management, a decision inspired by travel abroad and an internship at the Hilton Bella Harbor in Rockwall.
DATE award for 2009-2010
Phoenix Charter School has initially been awarded $30,513 for the 2009-2010 District Award for Teacher Excellence by the Texas Education Agency. The cycle 2 grant application was submitted to the TEA in August. A copy of the grant and its details is available for teachers and staff to review on the PCS Sharepoint site and from the Compliance Coordinator’s Office.
TEA awards math grant to PCS
The Texas Education Agency awarded $46,800 to Phoenix under the Algebra Readiness Grant.
The award enables the school to supplement the current math program with an additional 10 hours of math tutoring weekly for students in grades 6-8 using Algebra Readiness Software from the MIND Institute. The school will also purchase two laptops for the program.
Part of the grant money will be used to provide support to our math teachers through coaching and additional professional development. An extra duty stipend will be provided to Robert Long (5th & 6th grade math teacher) to act as our in-house coach and the award will also pay for an external coach to work with our math teachers.
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SCHOOL BOARD NEEDS YOU
Contact the Epsilon office at 903 454-7153 for additional information about the Board.