MPHS JVA Winter Guard

MPHS Varsity Winter Guard

MPHS JVB Winter Guard

MPJH Junior Guard: MPJH Junior GuardContact: Kelly Cowan

Mount Pleasant ISD Winter Guards place at Pine Tree contest.

All four MPISD Winter Guard teams traveled to the North Texas Colorguard Association (NTCA) contest at Pine Tree High School in Longview on Saturday, February 24. Forty-five teams representing schools from North Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma competed in eleven different divisions.

The Varsity team placed first in the National A division, two points ahead of the second-place team. Mount Pleasant JVA also placed first in the National A division, almost six points ahead of second place. Mount Pleasant JVB placed second in the Regional A JV division. The Mount Pleasant Junior Guard placed fourth in the Cadet division, less than a point behind third place.

The Varsity and JVA teams will compete at the Winter Guard International (WGI) Austin Regional at Glenn High School in Leander on March 2. The Mount Pleasant High School Colorguard program is under the direction of Darryl Pemberton, and Peyton McClendon leads the Mount Pleasant Junior Guard.

The MPHS Lady Tiger golf team (L to R) Kate Ball, Kylee Strickland, and Sophie Greco

Lady Tiger golfer places second in Longview.

The Lady Tigers played at Pinecrest Country Club in Longview on Monday, February 26. On the hot, windy day, sophomore Kylee Strickland led the Lady Tigers with an 81, suitable for a tie for second place. Senior Sophie Greco shot a 101, and junior Kate Ball finished with a 114. The Lady Tigers will play their last rounds before spring break at Hideaway Lake Golf Club on Monday, March 4. Benny Blaser coaches MPHS golf.

MPHS SkillsUSA State advancing competitors (L-R) Osmar Galindo, Alfredo Pineda, Kevin Ayala, Jaime Bello, Luis Rojo, Angel Barboza, Estrella Betancourt, Hector Salazar, Jason Barrientos, Bryan Valle / Not Pictured-Ethan Sanchez

MPHS Electrical Technology students advance to state

Mount Pleasant High School Electrical Technology students competed in the SkillsUSA District competition on Friday, February 9, at Princeton High School. After closing ceremonies on Saturday, February 17, at Wylie High School, MPHS will send ten students to the state contest, including one in two different events. Three students will compete individually in the Construction Wiring category, while three teams will present their Electrical Exhibits.

In the Construction Wiring competition, MPHS swept the top three spots, with seniors Jason Barrientos placing first, Ethan Sanchez placing second, and junior Hector Salazar coming in third. They require competitors to complete a written test, a practical conduit bending exercise, and hands-on installation of a conduit system, cabling system, and wiring devices. Finally, working from drawings and specification sheets, competitors must install an electrical system standard in most residential and light commercial projects.

All three MPHS teams earned blue ribbons in the Electrical Exhibit competition and advanced to state. In this category, each exhibit must have a notebook that contains the electrical working drawings, a detailed description of the work done by the students in paragraph form, a write-up with a list of materials, current receipts, any materials donated, steps followed in completing the exhibit, and the students’ resumes. The exhibit must meet the industry standard for creativity and neatness, be judged on the degree of difficulty, and comply with the 2023 National Electrical Code.

The team of Barrientos and Bryan Valle earned a blue ribbon and advanced to state with their Commercial Wiring Exhibit. Barrientos and Valle built a replica of what you typically find in commercial construction using metal studs and wired the structure according to the 2023 National Electrical Code.

The team of Kevin Ayala, Jaime Bello, Alfredo Pineda, and Luis Rojo earned a blue ribbon and advanced to state for their Residential Wiring Exhibit. The team installed a wireless hub, donated by Jason Jetton at Elliott Electric, that allows homeowners to control lighting and monitor the electrical system from an app on their phone.

The team of Estrella Betancourt and Angel Barboza earned a blue ribbon and advanced to the state for their Residential Wiring Exhibit. The lighting installed in their exhibit can change colors, be set to change with beats of music, come on when it senses motion, and turn off after a period of inactivity.

In addition, senior Osmar Galindo was named a Voting Delegate for District 5 and will be involved in choosing SkillsUSA Leadership for the 2024-2025 year. The SkillsUSA Texas Leadership and Skills Conference is in Corpus Christi on April 3-6. Tim Davis is the MPHS Electrical program instructor.

Brice: Carter Chavez

Corprew: Aryana Knieriem

Fowler: Mallory Mancera

MPJH Front (L to R) Advisor Maria Sanchez, Zoe Zuniga, Katie Snyder, Lia Contreras, Advisor Martina Ramirez / Back (L to R) Aiden Lane, Jose Olivares, Angela Ramirez

Sims: Kate Cluley

Wallace Front (L to R) Mahir Estrada, Jake Jones, Piper Hearron / Back (L to R) Chloee Castro, Kezia Williams, Nicholai Crabtree, Lily Henry

MPISD students win awards at Region 8 Science Fair

On Thursday, February 8, seventeen students representing Brice, Corprew, Fowler, Sims, Wallace, and Mount Pleasant Junior High competed in the Region VIII ESC Science and Invention Fair. Students conducted research, created their displays on their own time, and had five minutes to explain their projects and findings to the judges. Projects could be Behavioral/Biological, including studying plants, molds, fungi, bacteria, human and animal responses to the environment, or Chemical/Physical, which would review the physical and chemical changes in matter. They could also submit an original invention to solve a real problem, satisfy a need, be practical and marketable, and include using the Scientific Method.

In the Inventions Fair, Corprew fourth grader Aryana Knieriem placed third with her invention, “Roy G. Biv the Robot.” Knieriem sought to create a robotic system to retrieve necessary items for those who are disabled or impaired by using colors as the primary attribute for retrieval.

In the fourth-grade Chemical/Physical category, Kate Cluley from Sims placed first with her project, “Money Ball.” Cluley tested three different footballs from various price points to determine if price affected the quality.

In the fifth-grade Chemical/Physical category, Jake Jones placed first with “How Weight Affects Paper Airplane Flight.” Jones constructed his very own launcher to eliminate all other factors that could affect the flight of paper airplanes and conducted over one hundred trials, discovering that added weight slowed the flight of paper airplanes.

In the sixth-grade Behavioral/Biological category, Mahir Estrada placed first with his “Counting Sheep & Sleepy Drinks” project. Estrada investigated how different beverages and the amount of sugar affect how quickly a person goes to sleep. Ultimately, Estrada found the old wives’ tale true: if you can’t sleep, have a glass of milk.

In the sixth-grade Chemical/Physical category, Piper Hearron placed fifth with her project “Got Toxins,” which compared the harmful chemicals found in candles from big chain companies versus locally owned small businesses. Hearron discovered that the big chain candles had many more toxins than the small business candles.

Zoe Zuniga placed third in the seventh-grade Behavioral/Biological category, and Katie Snyder placed fourth. Using a sound wave amplifier she built, Zuniga’s “Sound Waves” project tested sound waves using powdered substances. Snyder’s “Nothing but Net” project tested different basketball shooting methods for accuracy, comparing a chin shot to a chest shot.

In the seventh-grade Chemical/Physical category, Lia Contreras placed second with her “DNA From a Strawberry” project. Contreras explored the structure of DNA and how you use it to make up living organisms.

Additional participants included Carter Chavez from E.C. Brice, Mallory Mancera from Vivian Fowler, Chloee Castro, Kezia Williams, Lily Henry and Nicholai Crabtree from Wallace Middle School, and Jose Olivares, Angela Ramirez, and Aiden Lane from Mount Pleasant Junior High. Science Fair and Invention Advisors were Jamie King (Brice and Corprew), Sisi Aguilar (Fowler), Lexi Litke (Sims), Kate Babcock (Wallace), Maria Sanchez (MPJH), and Martina Ramirez (MPJH).

Mt. Pleasant High School

4th Six Weeks

All “A” Honor Roll

9th Grade

Adriel Bagsic, Dalia Balderas, Stephanie Barrientos, Erick Bernardi, Brandon Brannon, Kaylin Brannon, Erick Brito, Drew Cross, Gene’sis Garcia, Monserrat Gonzalez, Isaac Hernandez, Mackenzie Jaime, Conley Johnson, Roger Martinez, Itzel Martinez Mojica, Makayla Mather, Allison Mendoza, Carlos Montel Vazquez, Melany Morales, Carolyn Pena, Bowdrie Priefert, Diana Ramirez, Gisel Ramirez, Joselyn Ramirez, Cooper Rider, Christian Rojas, Araceli Salazar, Alfredo Santillan, Hector Sierra-Rosales, Mary Beth Snyder, Kristopher Suarez, Valeria Tejeda, Sara Vanhoose, Carla Villegas

10th Grade

Brissa Alvarez, Kaylie Castillo, Julian Chancellor, Gerardo Chavez Sandoval, Carter Cook, Angel Farias, Sandy Farias, Audrey Fisher, Ava Fite, Jamie Garrett, Esther Gonzalez, Alessandro Greco, Alston Jeff, Connor Lewis, Jaydy Martinez, Margarita Salinas, Alondra Santos, A’Shad Smith, Kevin Urbina, Jaeda Walker, Grace Zittel

11th Grade

Alexis Agnew, Jalyssa Aguilar, Rachel Albin, Jay’cee Alvarez, Jonathan Amieva, Gopi Amin, Katherine Ball, Melanie Barraza, Kathrynn Boldin, Elizabeth Buck, Rafael Calderon Jr, Andy Carrillo, Zoey Cato, Samuel Chappell, Emely Chavelas, Selena Clark, Evan Cota, David Cumpian, Diya Desai, Maleah Duenez, Ke’Aundra Evans, Derrick Fluellen Jr, Bianca Garcia, Nikolas Garrett, Jose Gonzalez, Neftali Gonzalez, Stephanie Guerrero, Jessica Hang, Sidney Harbour, Madison Hargrove, Addison Heeren, Ascension Hernandez, Eli Hernandez, Karen Hernandez, Hayden Hester, Kelsey Howard, William Johnson, Jazlynn Juarez, Devon Keith, Melanie Logue, Yoselin Lopez, Tanner Marshall, Amir Martinez, Kevin Mendoza, Emily Miklos, Jeseth Monreal, Daniel Najera, Yahaira Pina, Kaylee Ramos, Emily Robles, Francisco Rodriguez Jr, Xitlaly Sanchez, Amy Santillan, Araceli Solis, Christopher Sorto, Katelyn Tejeda, Hayden Tennison, Luke Thurman, Kristina Tidwell, Karina Torres, Diego Ugalde

12th Grade

Genesis Aguilar, Ritchie Alcibar, Addison Amerson, Hannah Anderson, Desiree Avila, Mea Banda, Sidney Beles, Dylan Bennett, Trevor Broach, Shirlyn Cardona, Oscar Castellanos, Nicholas Cates, Kaylee Connally, Ella Cross, Caleb Cunningham, Caroline Currey, Brianne Davis, Clinton DeBord, Drew Dyke, Jose Escobar Jr, Jarely Esguerra, Marlyn Estrada, John Freeman, Jose Fuentes, Estefani Garcia, Ana Garrett, Isabel Garza Aguirre, Briana Gonzales, Sophie Greco, Owen Green, Abigail Gutierrez Takahashi, Angelina Hernandez, Stephanie Hernandez, Rocio Herrera, Essence Hurndon, Jillian Jetton, Araceli Landaverde, Karime Leija, Silvia Lopez, Suhey Lopez, Nathaniel Martinez, Rebecca Martinez, Kennady Mayben, Mason McMinn, Braiden Merryman, Erika Mickens, Christopher Moreno, Salvador Moreno, Angel Munoz, Annie Munoz, Jeisy Munoz Salazar, Zoe Newman, Joel Palacios, Andrew Perez, Cecilia Phan, Bianca Quistian, Kiara Rundles, Donovan Santana, Orion Senence, Allie Sloan, Makayla Spigner, Daniel Sunderland, Diana Vargas, Alicia Velasquez-Molina, Harrison Wall, Jordan West, Eddie Williams III, Conlee Zachry, Shpat Zeqaj

Mount Pleasant Junior High School

4th Six Weeks

All “A” Honor Roll

7th Grade

William Adkins, Ella Anderson, Jake Anderson, Lydia Beard, Titus Byrd, Caleb Carr, Emylee Chappell, Evie Dominguez, Renata Fernandez, Uriel Flores Gonzalez, Jaylen Gutierrez, Mallory Guzman, Julian Herrera, Valery Hipolito, Cullen Hunnicutt, Sage Jordan, Logan Latiolais, Calvin Lee, Juliet Luna, Ana Martinez Zelaya, Drason McDaniel, Jeta Means, Ricardo Moreno, Nikolas Murr, Yoseline Nava, Cristal Ramirez Arreola, Larimee Robinson, Kaiser Sheppard, Aileen Sorto, Jayanna Townlin-Crow, Abigail Verner, A’Leejiah Washington, Zoe Zuniga

8th Grade

Jayden Baker, Abiela Baltazar, Maria Beltran Regalado, Alexa Castaneda, Homero Castillo de la Torre, Yaretzi Clavel, Emily Crabb, Lincoln Dyke, Trisha Easley, George Fite IV, Rylee Frederking, Blakely Garrett, Nancy Gil, Rubi Gutierrez Rios, Leslie Hernandez, Khannah Johnson, Kennedy Jones, Bradon Lowry, Jose Lucio, Tenley Marshall, Maisy Matthews, Kiara Mickens, Edelin Olva, Yadira Perez Jacobo, Lynndsie Phan, Daxton Price, Angela Ramirez Moreno, Michelle Rodriguez-Rodriguez, Ricardo Saavedra, Asia Salters, Kolter Silman, Erick Torres, Patience Waggoner, Temperance Waggoner, Aaron Waldrep, Evelyn Whisenhunt

Wallace Middle School

4th Six Weeks

All “A” Honor Roll

5th grade

Isabella Alvarez, Yasmin Amador, Christian Banda, McKenzie Beltran, Allison Blackburn, Carter Cameron, Anthony Carmona, Juan Carrillo Jr., Dannen Carroll, Khloee Castro, Jennifer Cigarroa, Ronnie Davis, Aayden Diaz, Shane Dimon, Isaiah Dominguez, Thatcher Drange, Maribel Enriquez, Moriah Eskew, Itzel Estrada, Andrea Garcia, Layne Golden, Kolten Heeren, Benjamin Hernandez Chavez, Mailen Jimenez, Charles Johnson, Jake Jones, Calvin Krumrie, James, Liskey, Ryder Loewen, Landon Lopez, Piper Martin, Nathaniel Martinez, Ruben Martinez Jr., Isabella Meeks, Jaiden Monreal, Kenly Moreno, Nathaniel Orduna, Aurelio Perez, Miguel Perez, Tryston Phillips, Nayeli Pulquero, Allyson Ramirez, Aiden Rodriguez, Liam Salazar, Samuel Smith, Malakai Tennison, Jaxon Terry, William Turner Jr., Janelly Valerio, Jonathan Vega, Jaretzy Villeda, Kezia Williams

 6th grade

Uriel Almazan, Macon Bradshaw, Dulce Castrejon, Krystopher Castro, Leilany Castro, Kaylee De La Cruz, Maritza Equihua, Mahir Estrada, Luis Fernando, Kelvin Garcia, James Gibson, Dayra Gonzalez, Esmeralda Guerrero, Tomas Guerrero Jr., Piper Hearron, Tristan Henderson, Lillian Henry, Bradlee Hughes, Asher Johnson, Aubriella Knieriem, Karli Lowry, Ulisses Mata, Jonathan Morales, Justin Moss, Nhi Nguyen, Sebastian Otero, Janely Pina, Kaydi Rogers, David Rojas, Josiah Segovia, Josiah Shepherd, Dominick Sierra, Nathan Standefer, Abigail Tolentino, Calen Townson