2022-2023 award-winning Wallace Middle School Band

Contact: Kelly Cowan

Wallace Middle School Band earns first division.

The P. E. Wallace Middle School Beginner Band competed at their first contest at the Rockwall Animusic Music competition on Friday, May 5. The Wallace Band returned home with a division I, the highest rating for bands.

“The adjudicator offered complimentary comments to the band,” said director Sheri Sullivan. “Overall, our students represented Mt. Pleasant ISD well in their performance and throughout the day.”

Sullivan, Karen Luckett, Alicia Hargett, Jamey Sterrett, and Brian Bass direct the Wallace Beginner Band program.

Fifth-grade champion team

Sixth-grade champion team

Zoe Zuniga (front) and Aileen Sorto paddle back to shore

Zaydee Banda and Juliet Luna make the turn and head back

Macon Bradshaw (right) and Kelvin Garcia paddle toward the buoy

Karli Lowry (front) and Abigail Tolentino race back to the launch site

Wallace’s gifted and talented recycled boat races

P.E. Wallace Middle School held its annual Gifted and Talented (GT) recycled boat races on Friday, May 12, at Town Lake in Mount Pleasant. In the 5th grade GT program, students could use cardboard, duct tape, and plastic trash bags to construct their boats, while 6th grade GT students were allowed to use plastic bottles, duct tape, clear tape, nylon string, and zip ties. Each team had three hours to construct their boats in the instructor’s predetermined groups on the morning of the race. The students designed and built each boat with no adult assistance.

When it was time to race that afternoon, preliminary heats pitted a 5th-grade boys’ boat against a 5th-grade girls’ boat, each containing two team members. They tasked each with paddling to a floating buoy out in the lake, tapping it with their paddle, then racing back to the shore. The team having the best time, advanced to the next round. Preliminary heats continued with 6th-grade boys vs. 6th-grade girls.

After moments resembling Olympic-level rowing and others looking more like the final scene between Rose and Jack in “Titanic,” the day belonged to the girls. The fifth-grade champion team included Jannahi Castro, Kaylee Delacruz, Lillian Henry, Scottlyn Lee, and Stephanie Mendoza. Zaydee Banda, Carolina Flores, Cristal Leyva, Juliet Luna, Ana Martinez, and Jassy Pena won the sixth-grade championship. More importantly, the students learned teamwork, engineering, construction, and the importance of attention to the little details.

The Wallace GT program is under the direction of Tammy Davis.