March 17, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PLEASE DIRECT ALL PHOTO REQUESTS TO 817-251-5503

What's Happening this Week

GCISD students, staff enjoy spring break
GCISD schools and administrative offices are closed March 17-21 for spring break. Students and teachers will get an additional day off on Monday, March 24, since this day was not used as a Bad Weather Makeup Day. Administrative offices will be open March 24.

Upcoming Events

GCISD vs. Grapevine Police in charity basketball game
The community is invited to watch GCISD employees take on members of the Grapevine Police Department in a charity basketball game benefiting GRACE and Foundation56. The game begins at 7 p.m. March 27 in the Grapevine High School Gym 1 and is hosted by GCISD's Classes After Classes program. Adult admission is $2, and students are asked to bring a canned food item. Canned goods will be donated to GRACE. All money raised will benefit Foundation56, the personal foundation of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bradie James that promotes breast cancer awareness and youth-centered initiatives that encourage positive youth development. Information: 817-251-5503.

Memorial tree planting planned
Students, employees, families and community members of Glenhope Elementary are invited to a tree planting ceremony in memory of the son of GHES teacher Becky Kruse. Kruse's son, Dayton, was killed in a car accident approximately one year ago. This is a parent-organized effort to honor his memory and show support for Ms. Kruse. The ceremony will be 4 p.m. March 29 in the Outdoor Education Center behind the school. Information: Ramona O'Hanlon, 817-421-8640.

GCISD gears up for annual bus safety road-eo
The 21st-annual GCISD School Bus Safety Road-eo will be 8:45-11:30 a.m. April 1 outside the GCISD Transportation Department offices. The purpose of the event is to promote school bus safety and reinforce the special knowledge and skills required to drive a school bus. Drivers will compete in 10 different driving events and two written tests. The top drivers will advance to the regional competition April 19 at Plano East High School. Information: 817-251-5503.

Students prepare for GCISD Science Showcase
The annual Science Showcase for GCISD middle school students will be April 1 at the Colleyville Center, 5301 Riverwalk Drive. The event features student science projects in the categories of Life Science, Earth Science and Physical Science, and awards will be given for each grade level in each of the three categories. Public viewing of the projects is scheduled from 3:30-6 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony at 6 p.m. Information: Tony Zahn, 817-251-5519.

Grapevine Middle to host UIL meet
GCISD middle school students, along with students from 12 schools in five area school districts, will compete in the 2007-2008 Academic UIL meet on April 5 at GMS. Information: Sharon Flanagan, 817-251-5671.

Foundation gearing up for annual golf tournament
The seventh-annual Grapevine-Colleyville Education Foundation Golf Tournament fund-raiser will be April 7 at Timarron Country Club in Southlake. A pre-tournament appreciation dinner and auction will begin at 5 p.m. April 6, also at Timarron. The lead sponsor of the tournament is Classic Chevrolet/Hummer, with Mike Davis State Farm Insurance sponsoring the appreciation event and Wachovia Securities serving as the marketing and promotional sponsor. Information: Janice Kane, 817-251-5480 or janice.kane@gcisd.net.

CHHS Project Graduation planning underway
The next meeting of the Colleyville Heritage High School Project Graduation Committee will be 7 p.m. April 7 in the CHHS Library. Final meeting date is April 21. Parents of seniors are needed on April 26 to work as carhops during a fund-raiser at SONIC on Hall-Johnson Road in Colleyville. Volunteers can choose between a morning or afternoon shift. Information: Mary Alice Rippe, 817-571-4986.

GHS Project Graduation planning underway
The next meeting of the Grapevine High School Project Graduation Committee will be 7 p.m. April 14 in the Colleyville Elementary School Library. Final meeting date is May 12. Several fund-raising activities are also underway for Project Graduation including a Golf Tournament on March 31 and donations of used cell phones, ink jet cartridges, digital cameras and MP3 players. Information: Kay Bradshaw, 817-656-1923.

Council of PTAs to host Trustee candidates forum
The GCISD Council of PTAs will host a forum for the five candidates vying for seats on the GCISD Board of Trustees. The forum will be 6:30-9 p.m. April 29 in the Grapevine High School Library. A general PTA meeting will also be held and will include the election of the 2008-2009 Council officers. Information: Toni Oyler, 817-475-5995.

PTA/PTSA meetings and activities
Timberline Elementary - General meeting, 7 p.m. March 27 in the TES cafeteria. Program includes officer elections and recognition of PTA Reflections participants.
Colleyville Heritage High School - General meeting, 6:30 p.m. March 31 in the CHHS library. Program includes officer elections and a presentation for parents and students about managing personal finances in preparation for college. Guest presenter is a representative from Wells Fargo Bank.

Awards and Announcements

Grapevine High coach selected to coach All-State Dual
Albert Lujan, GHS teacher and wrestling coach, has been selected to coach the north wrestling team in the North vs. South All-State Dual. In the dual, All-State seniors are selected to compete on teams representing either the northern or southern communities of Texas to determine which part of Texas is top in the state in high school wrestling. In addition to Coach Lujan, GHS will be represented in the dual by senior wrestler Harrison Graff. Congratulations to these on their selections and good luck in the dual!

Colleyville Middle students earn yearbook award
CMS students on the yearbook staff have earned an Honorable Mention Award of Excellence from Taylor Publishing for their dedication, effort and accomplishments on the 2007 yearbook. CMS is among the top 10 percent of yearbook staffs to earn recognition. For their accomplishment, the CMS yearbook will be included in Taylor Publishing's 2008 Yearbook, which highlights award-winning yearbooks from the 2007 school year. The CMS yearbook advisor is Jill Humphreys.

Timberline Elementary receives grant for garden club
Keep Grapevine Beautiful presented a $522 grant to TES to continue the Junior Master Gardener Program. Students participating in Timberlinel's after-school garden club are currently working through the certification process to become Junior Master Gardeners. This grant will be used to purchase leader guides and student workbooks. Information: Beth Harwell, 817-329-4575.

GCISD high school students advance to state VASE
Twenty-two GCISD art students have been chosen to participate in the state Visual Art Scholastic Event in April at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Colleyville Heritage High School students participating are: Allie Romo, Brina Luce, Chrissie Knox, Elyse Wooster, Hannah Lander, Julia Sladden, Mckenna Castillo, Kittie Peters, Lindsay Carter, Margaret Cardell, Mina Vilaiphone, Ryan Filipski, Shawn Akberali, Tia Meeker, Tara Alavi and Bridget Cooley. Grapevine High School students participating are: Meghan Leddy, Lance Trachier, Emily Smith, Hayley Butler, Sarah Robbins and Irene Li. The visual arts teachers are Martha Gibson at CHHS and Mary Williams at GHS.

GCISD debate, oral interp earn top spots in state meet
Students from Colleyville Heritage and Grapevine high schools earned top recognitions during the 35th-annual Texas Forensic Association state tournament recently at Coppell High School. This was the most successful state tournament for GHS in 10 years, with special recognition earned for placing third overall in school sweepstakes out of 188 participating schools and for ranking fourth overall for having the most individual student qualifications in the state. GHS also received the Lanny Naeglin Award for the most accumulated qualifications over several years. Individual top-10 student recognitions include:

• Dramatic Interpretation - Ben Hicks, GHS, second; Casey Williams, GHS, fifth; and Melissa Lamb, GHS, sixth.
• Duo Interpretation - Kaitlin Hoag and Sarah Baston, GHS, second.
• Humorous Interpretation - Casey Williams, GHS, third.
• Original Oratory - Jay Lights, CHHS, fifth.
• Student Congress - Leslie Berntsen, GHS, finals in Student Congress House.

Other recognition for individual and team accomplishments goes to the following GHS students: Jordan Hughes, Lauren Hughes, Elliot Kramer, Caroline Brenner, Tonia Beglari, Shelby Pryor, Mike Gajewsky, Emily Hall, Jacob Quinn, Amy Schade, Emily Allen and Pritam Shah.

Other students participating in the state tournament from GHS were: Monte Halprin, Chey Mashburn, Julian Melendez, Eric Frazier, David Jagneaux, Farhaud Mirzadeh, Mark Schmitz, Eric Wey, Gena Charette, Landry Ayres, Sean Przano and Scott Morgan. The GHS debate team is coached by Jane Boyd, Jason Sykes, Julian Gagnon and Lyndsey Simmons. The oral interp team is coached by Grant Hahn.

Other students participating in the state tournament from CHHS were: Cassie Koepf, Hannah Lander, Emily Meier, Steven Monacelli, Aubrey Reynolds, Parker Searfoss, Michael Siemek and Caitlin Taylor. They are coached by Pam Koepf.

Scholarship opportunities available to graduating seniors

• Bransford Elementary PTA - Applications due by noon March 21, available in the counseling offices at GHS and CHHS or from the BES front office.
• Colleyville Elementary PTA - Applications due by March 28, available in the counseling offices at GHS and CHHS or from the CES front office.
• NEW! Cross Timbers Middle PTA - Applications due by April 14, available in the GHS counseling office.
• GCISD Council of PTAs - Applications due to the GHS or CHHS counseling office by Noon on March 31, www.gcisdcouncilofptas.org.
• NEW! Grapevine-Colleyville Association of Paraprofessionals (GCAP) - Applications due by April 11, available in the counseling offices at GHS and CHHS.
• O.C. Taylor Elementary PTA - Applications postmarked by March 31, www.OCTaylorpta.org.