MPISD – News

Cast members (L to R) Dawson Hernandez, Jeffrey Bond, Sadera Lampard, and Summer Murillo rehearse a scene from Alice in Wonderland

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS Theatre presents One Act Play

The Mount Pleasant High School’s Theatre Department will compete in the District UIL One Act play competition with their newly imagined version of Alice in Wonderland. Set in a steampunk dream world, we meet most of the characters we remember from the original Alice in Wonderland – with a few changes.

Director of Theatre, Dr. Edward Lee, noted, “This isn’t the Alice you knew growing up. She is certainly vulnerable, but she is also tough and capable of caring for herself. The cast is working hard to make this a new twist on the old classic.”

The cast features Sadera Lampard as Alice, Dawson Hernandez as the Mad Hatter, Jeffrey Bond as Mouse, Dormouse, Rabbit, and King, Gracie Martinez as Lory, Summer Murillo as Crab and Hare, Kevin Mendoza as Duck and Mushroom, Silvia Sustaita as Tom and Caterpillar, Dani Palomo as Saskia and Red Queen, Luis Garcia as Gary, Humpty, and Mushroom, Jai Luke as Frog and Dodo, Saray Delarosa as Cheshire Cat and White Knight, Talyn Reeves as White Queen, Alice’s Sister, and Duchess, and Joey Dunn as a Soloist and in the Chorus.

The Crew includes Assistant Director and Sound Operator Nayeli Rivera, with Lighting provided by Isabella Castillo.

The District One Act Play competition will occur on Tuesday, March 7, at Hallsville High School. Dr. Edward Lee directs the MPHS Theatre department. 

MPHS band members advance to UIL State Solo and Ensemble competition

The Mount Pleasant High School Goin’ Gold Band set a new school record with 58 students earning 62 first-division medals at the UIL Region IV Solo and Ensemble Contest and advancing to the State Solo and Ensemble contest in Austin at the end of May. Students auditioned as soloists and as part of an ensemble on Friday, February 24, in New Boston.

Soloists qualifying for the state include Orion Senence (Trumpet) and Edward Moya (Snare Drum). Zoe Newman (Alto Saxophone) and Mauricio Farias (Tuba) also received division one ratings on their solo performances.

The following ensembles earned a division one rating and have advanced to state:

Gisselle Castillo, Suhey Lopez, Zoe Newman, and Shpat Zeqaj (Saxophone Quartet),

Bryan Garcia, Karli Hill, Ashley Pena, Bianca Quisitian, Alfredo Santillan, and Tawnny Swanson (Flute Choir),

Hannah Bowles, Jose Fuentes, Juanita Gutierrez, Jazzlyn Juarez, Andrew Perez, Viridiana Portillo, Kaylee Ramos, Araceli Solis, and Christopher Sorto (Clarinet Choir),

Julian Chancellor, Eli Hernandez, and Isaiah Sheppard (Miscellaneous Saxophone Ensemble),

Edgar Arias, Adriel Bagsic, Rachel Cato, Sebastian Contreras, Bruno Deleon, and Isaac Jetton (Brass Sextet),

Sebastian Campos, Sandy Farias, Luis Garcia, Nayeli Palacios, Orion Senence, and Juan Serna (Brass Sextet),

Madison Carpenter, Oscar Castellanos, Alex Castro, Angel Farias, Mauricio Farias, and Joel Palacios (Brass Sextet),

Jayden Adame, Dalia Balderas, Jose Romero, Alejandro Rosiles, Tawnny Swanson, and Krislynn Taylor (Percussion Ensemble),

Jamaree Armour, Grace Zittel, Ilse Ojendis, Armando Molina, Natalie Hines, and Luke Thurman (Percussion Ensemble),

Ethan Carillo, Pedro Castillo, Angel Fernandez, Giselle Perez, Alex Perez, and Francisco Zapata (Percussion Ensemble).

Junior Orion Senence qualified for state as a soloist and as part of an ensemble, and junior Tawnny Swanson qualified for state as a part of two different ensembles.

Additionally, ten students qualified for state solo and ensemble as eighth-graders, including Bryan Garcia, Alfredo Santillan, Isaiah Sheppard, Adriel Bagsic, Sebastian Contreras, Jayden Adame, Dalia Balderas, Jamaree Armour, Natalie Hines, Pedro Castillo.

The UIL State Solo and Ensemble contest is on May 27-29 in Austin. The MPISD band program is under the direction of Dr. Theodus Luckett, Karen Luckett, Jamey Sterrett, Brian Bass, Alicia Hargett, and Sheri Sullivan.

Jeremiah Campbell and “Living Off the Land”

Maddox Osornio, with his project “Get a Grip.”

Piper Hearron presents “Phenomenal Growth.”

Mahir Estrada explains his project “Bladder Control.”

Maria R. Castillo de la Torre illustrates her findings in “Burning Love.”

Ian Crockett describes his findings in “Freezing Brains.”

Titus Byrd demonstrates “The Incredible Floating Egg.”

Wallace Middle School students bring home medals from Region 8 Science Fair.

In early February, seven students from Wallace Middle School competed in the Region VIII ESC Science and Invention Fair. They moved the Fair to a virtual format due to the inclement weather. Students set up their displays and recorded them giving their presentations, and then submitted them for judging. As a result, five Wallace students were awarded medals for their projects.

In the 5th-grade Behavior/Biological category, Mahir Estrada earned a 1st-place medal for his project “Bladder Control,” which sought to find out what drink caused a person to visit the restroom more frequently. They found his hypothesis that drinks with a higher sodium content would cause a greater frequency was correct.

In the 5th-grade Chemical/Physical category, Piper Hearron placed 5th with her project “Phenomenal Growth,” which investigated the pH level best for plant growth. Her hypothesis that liquids with a pH level closer to 7, like water, were the best was correct, and she concluded that fancy, expensive plant solutions weren’t necessary.

In the 6th-grade Chemical/Physical category, Maria R. Castillo de la Torre placed 1st with her project “Burning Love,” which asked what material was best for an apron when cooking with heat. Her hypothesis that a natural material would be best was partially correct. She concluded that a raw material like denim was best as it had the most significant area left unburned. However, it ignited faster than the synthetic materials she used.

In the 6th-grade Behavior/Biological category, Ian Crockett earned a 3rd place medal for his project “Freezing Brains,” which explored which drinks would give a person “brain freeze” the fastest and if the temperature had any effect. His hypothesis that slushy drinks would cause the feeling faster was incorrect. He found that plain water caused the sensation more quickly because a person will consume it faster.

Also, in the 6th-grade Chemical/Physical division, Titus Byrd placed 6th with his project “The Incredible Floating Egg,” which questioned whether fresh or salt water caused items to float better. His hypothesis that five tablespoons of salt would cause an egg to float was partially correct, but he learned that flotation happens with minimal salt in the water.

Additional Wallace participants included fifth-graders Jeremiah Campbell and Maddox Osornio. Campbell’s project, “Living Off the Land,” asked what outdoor natural insulator would keep food warm when a person was camping. He discovered that gravel packed around an oatmeal container kept the food warm. Osornio, being left-handed, examined whether his left or right hand was the strongest in his project “Get a Grip .”He discovered that some people’s non-dominant hands are stronger at opening difficult jars.

Students conducted their research and created their displays on their own time. Their projects could be Behavior/Biological, which would include studying plants, molds, fungi, bacteria, and human or animal responses to the environment, or Chemical/Physical, which would review the physical and chemical changes in matter. Olga de la Torre Guzman advised Wallace Science Fair participants.