December 2010 - Dripping Springs Independent School District

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Campus Happenings Dripping Springs High School: • Junior Liana Solis was invited to and attended the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. in early November. The experience allowed her to develop leadership skills and participate in a program that included students from across the country studying governmental processes and current issues, as well as seeing some well-known D.C. sights. • Latin teacher Ginny Lindzey had a hand in Southwest Airlines’ recent “Bags Fly Free” ad campaign. A student whose father works in advertising for GSD&M asked her if she could translate the campaign catch phrase. She obliged, providing the phrase “Sarcinae Volant Gratis” that appears in print and television ads. • DSHS is holding its fifth annual Poetry Out Loud Contest, a National Recitation Contest created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Students have been reciting poetry in their English classes, and advancing students from each class will compete in the school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition Dec. 7 beginning at 5 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. The winner of the DSHS school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition will represent Dripping Springs at the State Level Poetry Out Loud competition. • Again this year the high school participated in the Coats for Kids Community Project that collects and distributes warm winter coats to eligible children and teenagers in Central Texas. Dripping Springs Middle School: • Student Sydney Duleba qualified for and competed in the USTPA (United States Team Penning Association) World Championships that were held last month in West Monroe, La. • Dripping Springs Middle School PTA will sponsor its Holiday Appreciation Luncheon and Holiday Cookies for staff on Dec. 8. Volunteers will provide a holiday meal and cookies for approximately 100 staff divided up into three lunch periods. Dripping Springs Elementary: • The fifth grade held a Colonial Fair on Nov. 22 that included merriment, robust presentations, and enchanted learning. • Dripping Spring Elementary families are collecting donations to support Angels in Cowboy Boots, a non-profit organization created by the Twining family, local Dripping Springs residents. This year’s campus-wide service project will benefit toddlers in Haiti (or toddlers in the U.S. if a disaster strikes locally). Baby Buckets fill a need for the youngest victims of disasters. Designed to feed toddlers, each AICB Baby Bucket contains 20 days worth of food for a young child not yet able to eat adult foods. Rooster Springs Elementary: • All second-grade classes from Rooster Springs will perform at Barnes and Noble Book Fair on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9, singing holiday songs at 6:30 p.m. each night. In addition, some RSE students’ art will be displayed beginning Dec. 8. • The First Knight Assembly of Champions on Dec. 16 will honor students who have displayed the Knight of the Guild Character Trait of the month. Each class recognizes one student for each of two traits. Walnut Springs Elementary: • Walnut Spring students recently held a UIL awards presentation and participated in the annual Literacy Parade. • WSES is participating in many holiday charitable drives, including Coats for Kids, Helping Hands, Toys for Tots, and the Giving Tree. PAGE 4
SceneS from VeteranS Day 2010 At left, Dripping Springs Elementary students Natalie and Nathan Thompson stand with grandfather Steve Thompson, a former Marine. at right, Rooster Springs honors veterans who were in attendance at the outdoor ceremony. Below, DSHS student Lindsay Greenman reads her award-winning essay at the Texas State Capitol Veterans Day program. District Demographic Report Presented An updated demographic report on Dripping Springs ISD was presented at the November Board meeting by Steve Stewart, president of DeskMap Systems, Inc. The report included information on demographic trends in the community, a breakdown of where students reside, a historical look at enrollment and a forecast for future enrollment. The community demographic information examined trends for total population, households and families. The projection showed a steady growth in all areas over the next five years. Mr. Stewart presented a history of enrollment dating back to 2000. The percentage of growth was 3.7 percent this year following a jump of 4.6 percent in 2009. He broke down location of students by elementary, middle and high school age and showed specifically which neighborhoods have increased at the greatest rate. This information was presented with the district broken down into 63 planning zones. The forecast for future student enrollment considered many factors such as: number of students in kindergarten, birth rates, impact of new residential development, housing market, and private school enrollment. Two projections were presented through 2015: a conservative one that reached 6,165 students over the five-year window and a moderate projection that extended that number to 6,440. Both the conservative and moderate projections then were broken down by elementary campus, showing that Rooster Springs Elementary would increase at the quickest rate, followed by Walnut Springs. With current attendance zones, Dripping Springs Elementary is anticipated to have very little growth over that time period. According to these projections, current attendance zones would lead to 2011-12 enrollments of 901 students at RSE, 741 at WSE and 606 at DSE. The report was concluded with several observations. As the economy has struggled, home building has been slower but steady. In fact, several inactive developments exist that may see building if the economy improves; these are being monitored. As projections clearly show that Rooster Springs is nearing its capacity, the Board asked that Mr. Stewart examine the planning zones and develop some options to alleviate this imbalance while effectively using elementary school space. Some options will be presented at the December Board meeting. This report also will be used by the District Long-Range Facility Planning Team, which has been meeting this fall to update planning and priorities for the future of district facilities. PAGE 5
Page 1 and 2: Inside DSISD DRIPPING SPRINGS INDEP
Page 3: Student-Athletes Make College Commi
Page 7: Elementary Students Excel in UIL Ac

December 2010 - Dripping Springs Independent School District

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