MPISD – News

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS art students earn medals at the VASE competition

Fifteen Mount Pleasant High School Art students entered 18 pieces at the virtual Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) on February 6. Two MPHS students will move on to the state competition, which will also be virtual in April. Judges scored art pieces a 4 (Excellent), a 3 (Strong), a 2 (Developing), or a 1 (Emerging). All 18 of the MPHS entries earned the max score of 4. For a student to advance to state, the piece must first make a rating of a 4. Judged for a second time, consider all of the 4’s in a particular division, and state advancements are awarded based on an allotment, roughly 10% in each division.

Earning 4 (Excellent) scores and moving on to state are senior Mya Clark and junior Rosario Bello.  

Also earning scores of 4 (Excellent) are Christopher Bello, Parker Colley, Rafael Garcia, Mariana Gonzalez, ZZ Lee, Jose Lopez, Alison Majors, Anaeli Navarro, Luiz Olvera, Daniela Robles, Silvia Sustaita, Kurion Walker, and De’Asia Woodson.

 “I would like to congratulate the MPHS Art students for their efforts and rewards in receiving 20 medals at the Regional VASE competition,” said MPHS Art teacher Laura Kirkland. “I am happy to say MP will be taking 2 of these hard-working students to state! I am very proud of how our students did and how well they represented MPHS.”

VASE state advancing artists: Mya Clark and Rosario Bello 

L to R: Garrett Evans, Pearl Murrillo, Lexie Humber

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS Theatre members named to All-Star Cast

The Mount Pleasant High School Theatre department competed in the UIL One-Act Play competition on Thursday, March 4. Three members of the production earned individual awards for their performances.

They named sophomore Pearl Murrillo to the All-Star Cast for her portrayal of Woman in Queenly Spanish Garb. Senior Lexie Humber earned Honorable Mention All-Star Cast for her portrayal of Woman Who Plays Records, and sophomore Garrett Evans was named to the All-Star Technical Crew for his work as the Light Operator.

This year’s production, Chamber Music, is a 1962 one-act play by absurdist playwright Arthur Kopit. The story is from 1938 and concerns eight famous women from different historical periods who all are interned in the same insane asylum. The women have assembled to discuss grievances and other important issues concerning the women’s ward’s inmates. The most pressing subject they have is planning for an attack they believe will soon come from the men’s ward. The women are, or at least believe they are, author Gertrude Stein, martyr Joan of Arc, activist Susan B. Anthony, politician Queen Isabella I of Spain, Constanze Mozart (wife of the famed composer), pilot Amelia Earhart, silent-film actress Pearl White, and explorer Osa Johnson.

The cast featured Lexie Humber as Woman Who Plays Records, Silvia Sustaita as Woman in Safari Outfit, Summer Murillo as Woman with Notebook, Saray DeLaRosa as Girl in Gossamer Dress, Reese Loving as Woman in Aviatrix Outfit, Pearl Murillo as Woman in Queenly Spanish Garb, Percy Buendia as Woman in Armor, Rosario Bello as Woman with Gavel, Madison McNeil as Attendant in White, and Isai Ramirez as Assistant.                               

The Crew included Stage Manager Rian Richie, Light Operator Garrett Evans, Sound Operator Sha’Alice Tyson, and Backstage Crew members Ashanti Presley, Daniel Polomo, Nayeli Rivera, and Saray DeLaRosa,

Dr. Edward Lee directs the MPHS Theatre department.  

 

Lesly Rojas, Mariana Hernandez, and Colby Porter, 1st place from Mount Pleasant Junior High

Audrey Garrett, Aylin Hernandez, and Kylee Strickland, 6th place from Mount Pleasant Junior High

Nicolas Gonzalez, 6th place from Annie Sims Elementary

MPISD teach Jamie King with Sage Jordan from Brice Elementary

Nathan Martinez from Corprew Elementary

Heymar Rivera from Fowler Elementary

Rubi Gutierrez, Lady Pimentel, and Melany Morales from Wallace Middle School

Alberto Avila and Judson Colley from Mount Pleasant Junior High

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPISD students bring home medals from Region 8 Science Fair

On February 11, eleven students from six Mount Pleasant ISD campuses competed in the virtual Region VIII ESC Science and Invention Fair. Three MPISD students were awarded medals for their projects.

Mariana Hernandez, a 7th-grade student at Mount Pleasant Junior High, took 1st place with her project, “Which Food Best Reduces Spiciness?” She and classmates Colby Porter, Lesly Rojas, and Andres Jaimes tested different foods after eating a habanero pepper to see which best reduced the spicy sensation.

Aylin Hernandez, also a 7th-grade student at Mount Pleasant Junior High, came in 6th place with her project, “What Makes the Stretchiest Slime?” She and classmates Kylee Strickland and Audrey Garrett made three versions of slime with different active ingredients and measured them to see which one stretched the longest. 

Nicolas Gonzalez, a 4th-grade student at Annie Sims Elementary, placed 6th with his project “Light It Up.” He used fruits (kiwi and limes) to light up a strand of small Christmas-type lights.

Additional MPISD participants included Sage Jordan from Brice with her project “Ice is Nice…Unless It’s Not” that tested the rate of thawing ice using baking soda, salt, and sugar; Nathan Martinez from Corprew with his project “Balloon Blast Off” that tested the chemical reaction that occurs when baking soda and vinegar are mixed together; Heymar Rivera from Fowler with his project “Blowing up Balloons” using vinegar and baking soda to blow up a balloon; Rubi Gutierrez from Wallace with her project “The 5 Second Rule” that tested food items that had been dropped on the floor to determine if they were truly safe to consume; Lady Pimentel from Wallace Middle School with “Calculating Percents” testing the effectiveness of acetone to determine the percent at which it no longer dissolved Styrofoam; Melany Morales from Wallace Middle School with “Salt and Ice” testing various liquids to determine if salt and ice would solidify them at the same rate; Judson Colley and partner Jared Santiago from Mount Pleasant Junior High with their project testing 3 different dish soap cleaning abilities and comparing the price per ounce of all three soaps; and Alberto Avila with partner Arnoldo Amador from Mount Pleasant Junior High testing multiple types of masks by blowing out a candle from a set distance.