December 2010 - Dripping Springs Independent School District

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Tiger Teacher Spotlight Nicole Mariani DSE, Kindergarten Bilingual Nicole Mariani is in her second year teaching bilingual kindergarten at DSE after spending four years in Austin ISD. She enjoys the small-town feel in Dripping, and knowing many of the families. Her background positioned her well for a teaching role that embraces multiple cultures. She lived in Puerto Rico until moving to Louisiana at age 8. She also lived in Miami and San Antonio before coming to college in Austin and staying. She loves to travel and enjoyed a trip this summer to Australia and New Zealand, which she notes is the best place she’s ever been. Ms. Mariani says her favorite part of teaching is seeing the fruits of her labor in a few short months: “Children learn so much in one school year, and you see it happen right before your eyes.” If she wasn’t teaching, she says she would have been a ballet dancer. This April she will marry her fiance Michael Lencioni. The following are impressions shared by DSHS senior Erin Lulfs who, along with fellow student Molly Wilson, traveled to Haiti in October to help less fortunate children and families. My name is Erin Lulfs. I am 17 years old and a senior at Dripping Springs High School. I recently went Cazale, Haiti, to work with the Real Hope for Haiti relief program for six days in October. I aspire to be a nurse one day and plan on attending nursing school next fall. Being given the opportunity to work in the clinic there allowed me to get my feet wet and experience first-hand what it would be like to work in the field. While there, I worked with people of all ages with many types of sicknesses, everyone from the smallest infant to the senior citizens. People there Amber Taylor DSMS, English Language Arts Eighth-grade English teacher Amber Taylor is in her first year in Dripping Springs. She began teaching 8th grade ELA in Fort Bend ISD and also taught 10th grade English in Alief ISD, following a brief experience in a small, rural school in Louisiana teaching 6th and 8th grade ELA. A native of Winnfield, La., she received her bachelor’s degree in English Education from Louisiana Tech University. She cites the incredible kids and wonderful colleagues as her favorite things about DSMS. Ms. Taylor has two four-legged children, Charlie and Coco, who love to go on road trips with her to visit her “human family” in Houston and Louisiana. They also love to walk in the parks and trails of Austin. Her hobbies include reading (appropriate for an English teacher) and cooking. She is also a fan of professional drag racing, and has traveled to many races on the professional circuit. Student Corner By Erin Lulfs, DSHS, 12th Grade do not take anything for granted, which made me realize how God has truly blessed me with the life I live. Initially, I kept visualizing what I was hoping would happen ... I was going into it with expectations. That was the worst thing I could have done. Before leaving, I realized I couldn’t try and envision what I wanted to happen because I wouldn’t want to be distraught when something didn’t go the way I thought it would. After coming to my senses, this helped me have a much more enjoyable trip. Those were my thoughts, now for my fears. Right now there is a huge cholera outbreak. Cholera is a major sickness that is killing thousands rapidly. It is spread by the water there. I was very nervous because I was afraid of getting cholera while I Spreading Cheer The Dripping Springs Middle School Choir provided musical entertainment at the annual Community Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 4. The choir is under the direction of Ms. Rachel Frimel. was there. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was the filth. Living in Austin, everyone is pretty eco-friendly, so I don’t ever see trash on the sides of the roads. In Haiti though, there is no “Recon” trash company to come gather your trash for you. There would be trash lining the streets, piling up to five feet tall. Wild pigs would rummage through it. Also the little streams of water would be filled with sewage. And that water was not only used for a sewage deposit place, it was also used for drinking, bathing and for washing clothes. Being there made me feel humbled. These people are just like me. There is nothing different between us. We are all equal, and everyone there treated each other that way. I am no more important than the malnourished, abandoned children yearning for food and affection. Erin hopes to return to Haiti to help people there again some day. PAGE 6
Elementary Students Excel in UIL Academic Competition In late November Rooster Springs Elementary hosted the UIL (University Interscholastic League) District Academic Meet. The meet included 140 second- through fifth-grade students. All three DSISD elementary schools were well-represented in the competition. The results were as follows: Creative Writing-2nd Grade: 1st-Coleman Chapman, DSE; 2nd-Presley Glass, DSE; 3rd-Helena Bjeletich, RSE; 4th-Austin De- Berry, RSE; 5th Place-Cassie Argento, WSE; 6th-Harris Coller, RSE Ready Writing-3rd Grade: 1st-Draven Stamper, RSE; 2nd-Mia Garino, RSE; 3rd- Katie Haberman, DSE; 4th-Ella Edwards, RSE; 5th-Maximilian Hodsden, WSE; 6th- Clarissa LaBarre, DSE Ready Writing-4th Grade: 1st-McKayla Cothern, DSE; 2nd-Madeline Fuchs, DSE; 3rd-Vasi Bjeletich, RSE; 4th-Molly Moynihan, WSE; 5th-Sasha Pickard, RSE; 6th- Stephanie Hartnett, DSE Ready Writing-5th Grade: 1st-Kristie Lynn, RSE; 2nd Place-Trey McBurney, DSE; 3rd-Amanda Meneses, RSE; 4th-Veronica Lopez, DSE; 5th-Emma Rodrigue, WSE; 6th-Dallas Hudson, RSE Oral Reading-4th Grade: 1st-Sterling Silliman, WSE; 2nd-Josie Murillo, RSE; 3rd- Madeline McCraw, RSE; 4th-Kaitlyn Baker, DSE; 5th-Will Aguilar, DSE; 6th-Grace Fowler, DSE Oral Reading-5th Grade: 1st-Rob Thomas, DSE; 2nd (tie): Lizzie Beggs, RSE and Olivia Ford, RSE; 4th-Riley Ruchti, RSE; 5th-Ryan Lopez, WSE Number Sense-4th Grade: 1st-Vasi Bjeletich, RSE; 2nd-Christian Pundt, DSE; 3rd-Calista Chervinskis, RSE; 4th-Nicholas Gullo, DSE; 5th-Charlotte LaPee, RSE Number Sense-5th Grade: 1st-Ryan Gahagan, RSE; 2nd-Salil Kanade, RSE; 3rd- Christopher Lee, DSE; 4th-Will Nix, DSE; 5th-Dallas Hudson, RSE; 6th-Matt Darsey, DSE Social Studies-5th Grade: 1st-Sean O’Connor, RSE Maps, Graphs, and Charts-5th Grade: 1st-Justin Malcom, RSE; 2nd-William Whitfield, RSE; 3rd-Cody Ellig, RSE Dictionary Skills-5th Grade: 1st-Matthew Kehm, RSE; 2nd-Trevor Bienvenu, DSE; 3rd-Nathan Gullo, DSE; 4th-Jake Sierra, RSE Spelling-3rd Grade: 1st-Joshua Malcom, RSE; 2nd(tie)-Mia Garino, RSE, Olivia Garino, RSE and Allie Haberman, DSE; 5th-Madelyn Pollack, DSE; 6th-Thomas Cowsar, DSE Spelling-4th Grade: 1st-Ken Gossett, DSE; 2nd-Aubrie Caldwell, DSE; 3rd (tie): Ria Kumar, RSE and Julia Graham, RSE; 5th-Jessica Carmichael, DSE; 6th-Ethan French, RSE Spelling-5th Grade: 1st-Dylan Far, DSE; GIVING THANKS Students in Mrs. O’Banan’s second-grade class at Dripping Springs Elementary shared the story of the pilgrims and told what they are thankful for during a classroom presentation. Pictured are Claire Martinucci (left) and Reed Niccum. 2nd-Mateo Martinez, RSE; 3rd-Madelyn Olivas, RSE; 4th-Emma Rodrigue, WSE; 5th (tie)-Emily Argento-Bird, WSE and Lauren Elliott, WSE Listening-5th Grade: 1st-Jacob Lawrence, DSE; 2nd-Abby Brandt, RSE; 3rd-Clare Dobson, RSE; 4th-Katie Burns, RSE; 5th- Kayla Kibodeaux, WSE Art-4th Grade: 1st-Ella Rosi, RSE; 2nd-Samantha Foster RSE; 3rd-Elizabeth Garza, DSE 4th-Lauryn Hess, RSE Art-5th Grade: 1st-Aish Chalak, RSE; 2nd- Amanda Meneses, RSE; 3rd-Henry Taylor, DSE; 4th-Lijana Young, RSE; 5th-Jordan Miller, WSE; 6th-Clara Whitworth, WSE Storytelling-2nd Grade: 1st Place-Jonah Frisby, RSE; 2nd-Aidan Isaac, RSE; 3rd- Marco Sifuentes, DSE; 4th-Jadon Putman, DSE; 5th-Hannah Cruz, RSE; 6th-Alex Goodson, WSE Storytelling-3rd Grade: 1st-Caroline Luttrull, DSE; 2nd-Ayla Koehler, DSE; 3rd-Jessica Byrnes, RSE; 4th-Jeffrey Walker DSE; 5th-Morgan Shepperd, RSE; 6th-Caden Murray, WSE Music Memory-3rd Grade: 1st-Jason Oliphant, RSE; 2nd-Carl Birchfield, RSE; 3rd- Celeste Douglas, DSE; 4th-Carson Darling RSE; 5th-Kasey Fuguay, DSE Music Memory-4th Grade: 1st Place (tie)-Erika Gossett, DSE, Alexis Haydt, RSE, Mackenzie Noell, RSE and Camilla Paciolla, RSE; 5th-Alyssa Caldwell, DSE; 6th- Nicholas Johnson, DSE Music Memory-5th Grade: 1st-Bela Perez, DSE; 2nd-Gracyn Tippen, RSE; 3rd- Geno Albini, WSE Inside DSISD is the Dripping Springs Independent School District newsletter for parents, friends and the entire Dripping Springs community. Those wishing to submit photos or story suggestions, please contact District Information Officer Dale Whitaker (dale.whitaker@dsisd.txed.net). Thanks to senior Erin Lulfs for contributing the “Student Corner” column. DRIPPING SPRINGS ISD Board of Trustees: Tim Kurpiewski, president Caroline Pekarek, vice pres. John Adams, secretary Alan Atwood Liz Ing Shelly Reeves Barbara Stroud Superintendent: Mard A. Herrick, Ph.D. PAGE 7
Page 1 and 2: Inside DSISD DRIPPING SPRINGS INDEP
Page 3 and 4: Student-Athletes Make College Commi
Page 5: SceneS from VeteranS Day 2010 At le

December 2010 - Dripping Springs Independent School District

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