National qualifiers: TAFE national qualifiers Gabriella Garza (left) and April Ruiz (right)

Landaverde: Jasmine Landaverde prepares to compete in a Job Interview

Landaverde Beles: Araceli Landaverde (left) and Sidney Beles (right) with their state-qualifying Children’s Book

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS Future Educators advance to National competition

The Mount Pleasant High School chapter of the Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE) attended the 40th annual Teach Tomorrow Summit at the Kalahari Resort in Round Rock on February 27-March 1. Five members participated in the state competition after qualifying in the area in December. Over 300 schools represented the three-day event with more than 2400 competitors.

The junior team, Gabriella Garza and April Ruiz advanced to Nationals in Teacher-Created Materials with their project “A Needle in a Haystack.” They designed their project to help teachers extend learning through hands-on activities and matching. They presented their concept to judges, and Garza and Ruiz demonstrated how it would work in the classroom.

Also competing at state for MPHS TAFE were the team of seniors, Araceli Landaverde and Sidney Beles, with their original children’s book, Dear Mom and Dad, about the sacrifices parents make for their kids and the realization of those sacrifices from a child’s point of view. A junior, Jasmine Landaverde, competed in a Job Interview, where she submitted a cover letter and a resume and participated in an on-site live interview.

“I am so incredibly proud of all these students and thrilled to be headed to our nation’s capitol for another National competition!” said MPHS TAFE Advisor Aimee Sweeden.

The 2024 Educators Rising National Conference takes place June 28-July 01 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.

 

Photos by NHS member Gopi Amin

Rhute Haven (L to R) Sophie Greco, Kiara Rundles, Mea Banda, Christina Sinclair, Stephen Sinclair, Angelina Hernandez, Jose Fuentes

Titus County Cares (L to R) Sophie Greco, Mea Banda, Kiara Rundles, Kim Hedges, Angelina Hernandez, Jose Fuentes 

MPHS National Honor Society donates to local groups

At their monthly meeting on Thursday, March 7, the Mount Pleasant High School chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) chose to donate $2000 to two local groups, Rhute Haven and Titus County Cares.

Rhute Haven’s mission is to help people overcome homelessness, trauma, addiction, and hunger. They achieve this through several programs and have assisted nearly 4000 clients. “The Mt. Pleasant Chapter of the National Honor Society thanks you for your continued efforts to help our community, and we appreciate the opportunity to work alongside you with this donation,” said Sophie Greco, MPHS NHS Vice President, at the presentation. Rhute Haven Directors Stephen and Christina Sinclair and their two-year-old daughter, Anna, received the $1,000 donation.

“Titus County Cares is a non-profit that provides food, clothing, housing, and financial assistance,” said Angelina Hernandez, MPHS NHS President, during the presentation. Overall, they meet the needs of our community, and we value them highly. It is an honor to donate to them.” Kim Hedges, Titus County Cares Executive Director, received the $1000 donation.

In November, the members held an online fundraiser for community service and scholarships. The chapter plans to donate more money to other local groups next month.

Photos by MPHS Photography students Joseline Almazan and Sofia Estrada-Ayala

 

Varsity: Varsity concludes their performance in finals

 

Varsity team: The MPHS Varsity Winter Guard

JVA: MPHS JVA Winter Guard hits their ending

Mount Pleasant High School Winter Guards compete in Leander.

The MPHS Varsity and JVA Winter Guards accepted a challenge to compete at the Winter Guard International (WGI) Austin Regional at Glenn High School in Leader on March 4-5. The competition featured 40 teams in the Scholastic A division, with most coming from large 6A programs in the Austin, Houston, and San Antonio areas. Both the Varsity and JVA competed in the same classification.

In prelims, they divided the Scholastic A Division into four groups called rounds. The 20 highest-scoring teams would advance to finals. Varsity placed 1st in their round and would advance to finals as the 8th seed. After their finals performance, MPHS Varsity placed 9th overall putting them ahead of six 6A programs.

JVA placed seventh in their round and 25th overall. They were the top-scoring JV team in the competition, outscoring 12 varsity teams and three other JV squads from Hebron, Cedar Ridge, and Round Rock.

The MPISD Winter Guards will compete again at the North Texas Colorguard Association contest in Mansfield on Saturday, March 9. Darryl Pemberton directs the Mount Pleasant High School Colorguard program.

MPHS Engineering students (L to R) Javier Garcia, Nicholas Cates, Clinton Debord, John David Freeman, Estven Perez, Antonio Hernandez, Angel Munoz, Nathaniel Martinez, and Ana Ceballos

Mount Pleasant High School attends the NTCC engineering round table event.

Mount Pleasant High School Engineering program seniors participated in an Engineering Roundtable on February 23 at Northeast Texas Community College. NTCC invited engineers currently working in the industry to rotate among the students and discuss education, careers, and engineering opportunities in Northeast Texas. Students had the chance to hear the perspectives of those currently working in software engineering, civil engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and environmental engineering, to name a few of the areas represented.

Presenters included Bell Flight Principal Software Engineer Javier Paredes, Priefert Civil Engineer Susan Anderson, Priefert Industrial Engineer Laney Jordan, Priefert Engineering Manager Clint Collier, Priefert Mechanical Engineer Lee Jordan, Red River Army Depot Chief Environmental Engineer Kenny Irizarry, and Professor of Industrial Technology at Northeast Texas Community College, Kevin Frost.

MPHS offers a four-year program in Engineering, including Principles of Applied Engineering, Engineering Design, Presentation I & II, and a Practicum in STEM. The MPHS Engineering program instructor is Jack Jones.

MPHS Math and Science teams compete in the East Texas Showdown

The Mount Pleasant High School UIL Math and Science teams competed in the East Texas Showdown at Sabine High School on Saturday, March 2, earning a 2nd place team award in one event and several individual medals.

The full results are as follows:

• Calculator Applications (2nd place team)
• 9th grade: Karen Sandate 3rd
• 10th grade: Julian Chancellor 2nd, Jamie Garrett 4th, Alessandro Greco 6th
• 11th grade: Luke Thurman 1st, Yahaira Piña 2nd, Amir Martinez 2nd, Tanner Marshall 4th, Samuel Chappell 6th
• 12th grade: Nathaniel Martinez 1st, Clinton DeBord 2nd
• Overall: Nathaniel Martinez 2nd, Luke Thurman 3rd, Clinton DeBord 4th

Mathematics

• 10th grade: Julian Chancellor 5th
• 11th grade: Luke Thurman 2nd, Yahaira Piña 2nd
• 12th grade: Nathaniel Martinez 4th, Clinton DeBord 5th
• Overall: Nathaniel Martinez 4th

Number Sense

• 10th grade: Julian Chancellor 5th
• 11th grade: Luke Thurman 4th, Samuel Chappell 5th, Gopi Amin 6th
• 12th grade: Nathaniel Martinez 5th, Andrew Guerette 6th

Science

• 9th grade: Karen Sandate 5th
• 11th grade: Yahaira Piña 4th, Luke Thurman 5th
• 12th grade: Clinton DeBord 3rd, Nathaniel Martinez 5th
• Top Biology: Clinton DeBord

In their final meet before the district, the MPHS Math and Science teams will compete at the Texas Math and Science Coaches Association State Meet in San Antonio on March 22-23 after spring break. Osias Hernandez, Randy Ballard, and Larry Russell are the math and science teachers.