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MPISD – News

The second place Calculator Applications team (L to R) Luke Thurman, Isaac Hernandez, Param Poudel, and Nathaniel Martinez

MPHS participants at the TMSCA State Meet (L to R): Perla Guzman, Reese Ball, Natalie Crockett, Yahaira Pina, Merlin Cardona, Tanner Marshall, Isaac Hernandez, Param Poudel, Christopher Sorto, Nathaniel Martinez, Clinton Debord, Luke Thurman, Coach Osias Hernandez

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS Math team members place at TMSCA State

The Mount Pleasant High School UIL Math team competed in the Texas Math and Science Coaches Association (TMSCA) State Meet during Spring Break on March 18 at the University of Texas at San Antonio.  

In Calculator Applications, the Isaac Hernandez, Param Poudel, Nathaniel Martinez, and Luke Thurman team placed 2nd out of 24 teams in the 5A division. Individually, Thurman placed third in 10th grade, Martinez was 5th in 11th grade, Poudel in 10th, and Hernandez was in 11th place in 12th grade. Additionally, Clinton Debord came in 13th place in 11th grade, with Yahaira Pina in 11th and Christopher Sorto in 12th place in 10th grade.

In Mathematics, the Hernandez, Poudel, Martinez, and Pina teams placed sixth out of 23. Individually, Hernandez placed 7th, with Poudel in 11th place in 12th grade. Martinez placed 6th in 11th grade, and Pina placed 5th in the 10th-grade division. Thurman was 8th, and Tanner Marshall placed 10th in the 10th-grade division.

The Texas Math and Science Coaches Association promotes excellence in math and science through competition. Membership is limited to Texas public and private schools by campus.

The MPHS UIL Academic teams will compete at the district meet on March 24-25 in Whitehouse. Osias Hernandez coaches the MPHS Math team.

Summer Community Theatre planning meeting

The Rough Theatre Company at Mount Pleasant High School is creating a Summer Community Theatre. Dr. Edward Lee, Mount Pleasant High School Director of Theatre, also directs the summer theatre program.  

“We want to invite MPISD alumni and members of the public to come to our first organizational meeting on Thursday, March 30,” said Lee. “It will be an opportunity for those alumni still in the area to relive those glory days when they were involved in theatre and one-act play contests. It will also give community members a chance to experience what it is to be on stage. Those who have always wanted to be on stage but haven’t had the opportunity now have that opportunity. And hopefully, it will give area high school actors from community school districts a chance to perform together. We have parts for women, men, teens, and even junior high-aged kids. There will also be roles for folks who want to work backstage.”

The first production for the new Community Theatre program will be Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.

Set at the beginning of the 20th century, “Our Town” is one of the most famous plays in the world.

Beloved by people of every culture, it speaks of hometown values and harkens back to a time before cell phones and the internet. The automobile is just coming into fashion, they still deliver milk to your door, and everyone knows everyone in town. Yet it deals with the same things we deal with today, such as young love, dreams for the future, and how we deal with death.

The Community Theatre will perform “Our Town” on June 30 and 31 and July 1 and 2 at the newly remodeled auditorium in the Performing Arts Center at Mount Pleasant High School.

Lee said, “Tell your friends and family and participate in what we hope will become a community tradition.

We will see you at our first meeting on March 30. Contact Dr. Lee at Mount Pleasant High School at 903-389-4196 for more information.

Eli Rider and Anthony Orellana with their UIL State quarterfinal medals

Anthony Orellana and his UIL State Top Speaker plaque

MPHS CX Debate team brings home multiple UIL State awards

The Mount Pleasant High School Cross-Examination Debate team of seniors Anthony Orellana and Eli Rider competed in the UIL 5A State CX Debate tournament on March 17-18 at the University of Texas at Austin. It would be the first appearance at CX State for Rider and the second for Orellana.

On day one, the field began with 53 teams entering from across Texas. Mount Pleasant OR debated teams from the South Texas ISD Science Academy, El Paso, Argyle, and Smithson Valley. That evening, the teams gathered in the University Teaching Center to learn if they had advanced to the second day. They determine scores by combining wins and losses and give each team member speaker points.

The first awards given are to the top six speakers in each division. Orellana was awarded the Gold Gavel for having the highest speaker points among all 106 contestants in 5A. It is the second year for Orellana to earn this honor and the fourth year in a row that the UIL 5A State Top Speaker is from Mount Pleasant High School. After presenting speaker awards, they announce the top 16 advancing teams in each division alphabetically. Mount Pleasant, OR, learned they had moved to the top sixteen and would debate for state medals the next day.

Day 2 started with octofinals, where MPHS would defeat Barbers Hill on a 2-1 decision. Then, in the quarterfinals, MPHS would face Pine Tree in a district rematch and lose in a close 2-1 decision to earn quarterfinalist medals. It was the second UIL State medal, and second state speaker award for Orellana, and the first state medal for Rider.

Orellana and Rider will focus on extemporaneous speaking, and other UIL academic events with the district meet set for this weekend. Orellana is currently deciding which university he will attend in the fall and is the son of Vicente Arroyo and Onelia Orellana. Eli Rider will attend Texas A&M University and is the son of Nathan and Lisa Rider.