Ailyen Greatness: State qualifier Ailyen DeLaRosa, with her piece, Greatness

Dayanara Red: State qualifier Dayanara Pulquero, with her piece, Red

Josue the Boys: State qualifier Josue Vega’s piece, The Boys.

Ailyen grandpa: Ailyen DeLaRosa with her 2nd state qualifying piece, Grandpa

Stephanie sunbathing: State qualifier Stephanie Hernandez with her piece, Sunbathing

Josue’s aj’s truck: Josue Vega’s 2nd state qualifying piece, AJ’s Truck

Contact: Kelly Cowan

MPHS art students advance to state VASE competition

Mount Pleasant High School Art students entered 61 art pieces in the Region 8 Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) competition on Saturday, February 24, at Chisum High School, competing against 17 schools in our area. 

Art pieces were scored as a 4 (Excellent), a 3 (Strong), a 2 (Developing), or a 1 (Emerging). Fifty-five MPHS pieces received medals; four students have advanced to the state with six works. Only 27 out of 317 in the entire region qualified for state, so MPHS students comprised over 20% of those advancing.

For a student to advance to the state, their piece must first earn a rating of 4. They judge all 4’s in a particular division, then judge a second time, and award state advancements based on an allotment, roughly 10% in each division. 

Earning scores of 4 (Excellent) and moving on to state are senior Stephanie Hernandez for Sunbathing, junior Josue Vega for two pieces titled AJ’s Truck and The Boys, sophomore Ailyen DeLaRosa for two pieces titled Greatness and Grandpa, and sophomore Dayanara Pulquero with Red. It will be Hernandez’s third trip to the state and Vega’s second.

Gold medalists also earning scores of 4 (Excellent) are Joaquin Arguello, Ritchie Alcibar, Jasmin Alvarez, Natalia Aspeitia, Alan Barrientos, Ana Bonilla, Rafael Calderon, Briana Chavez, Brianne Davis, Ailyen DeLaRosa, Brian DelCarmen Memije, Analee Escalante, Leilani Hardwick, Evelyn Hernandez, Stephanie Hernandez, Yvonne Huerta, Kami Labutis, Morgan Lee-Osbourne, Taylor Lee-Osbourne, Carolyn Loeaza, Mollie Luck, Emilia Marino, Jaydy Martinez, Rebecca Martinez, Mattie Merriman, Valerie Moss, Alyssa Narvaez, Ayden Osterdock, Tisha Patel, Ashley Pina, Katherine Plata, Dayanara Pulquero, Zayma Rodriguez, Cassandra Saavedra, and Josue Vega.

The state Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) competition will be at San Marcos High School on April 26-27. The MPHS Art program is under the direction of Laura Kirkland.

Christo Escalante with his Area VI 1st place Talent award

Christo Escalante performs for the members

MPHS FFA member advances to State Convention

Forty-one Mount Pleasant High School FFA chapter members attended the Area VI Convention in Carthage on Monday, February 26. Members listened to officer speeches and show-stopping performances by the FFA talent teams. Delegates also voted in the 2024-2025 area officers and selected state officer candidates.

Mount Pleasant High School junior Christo Escalante placed 1st in the talent contest, advancing to state this summer. He performed “Momma Tried” by Merle Haggard, “El Rey” by Vicente Fernández, and “Carrying Your Love with Me” by George Strait. He won the Paris District FFA Talent Contest in January.

Escalante will represent Mount Pleasant and Area 6 at the FFA State Convention in Houston this July.

 

Photo: MPHS Goin’ Gold Band Solo and Ensemble State Qualifiers

MPHS band members advance to UIL State Solo and Ensemble competition

Mount Pleasant High School Goin’, Gold Band members participated in the UIL Region IV Solo and Ensemble Contest, with 39 members earning 45 first-division medals and advancing to the UIL State Solo and Ensemble contest. Students auditioned as soloists and as part of an ensemble on Friday, February 23, at New Boston High School.

Soloists qualifying for the state include Bryan Garcia (Flute), Orion Senence (Trumpet), Andy Carillo (Snare Drum), and Luke Thurman (Marimba).

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

Saxophone Trio—Shpat Zeqaj, Suhey Lopez, Zoë Newman

Saxophone Quartet—Shpat Zeqaj, Suhey Lopez, Zoë Newman, Julian Chancellor

Clarinet Choir—Jose Fuentes, Odalys Mejia, Christopher Sorto, Araceli Solis, Cindy Valle, Diana Ramirez, Heidi Martinez, Makayla Mather, Kaylee Ramos, Andrew Perez, Neftali Gonzalez

Trumpet Trio—Orion Senence, Adriel Bagsic, Sebastian Contreras

Euphonium Quartet—Oscar Castellanos, Bruno Deleon, Angel Farias, Jesus Mata

Percussion Ensemble—Edward Moya, Natalie Hines, Jamaree Armour, Luke Thurman, Alejandro Rosiles-Cervantes, Ethan Carillo

Percussion Ensemble—Jayden Adame, Dalia Balderas, Camauri Adams, Alex Perez, Francisco Zapata, Pedro Castillo

Percussion Ensemble—Armando Molina, Grace Zittel, Aaron Waldrep

Senior Orion Senence and junior Luke Thurman qualified for state as both a soloist and as part of an ensemble. Seniors Shpat Zeqaj, Suhey Lopez, Zoë Newman, and freshman Pedro Castillo qualified for state as a part of two different ensembles. Additionally, three students have qualified for state as eighth-graders, including Jayden Adame, Jesus Mata, and Aaron Waldrep.

The UIL State Solo and Ensemble contest is May 25-27 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.

Christo Escalante with his Area VI 1st place Talent award

Christo Escalante performs for the members

MPHS FFA member advances to State Convention

Forty-one Mount Pleasant High School FFA chapter members attended the Area VI Convention in Carthage on Monday, February 26. Members listened to officer speeches and show-stopping performances by the FFA talent teams. Delegates also voted in the 2024-2025 area officers and selected state officer candidates.

Mount Pleasant High School junior Christo Escalante placed 1st in the talent contest, advancing to state this summer. He performed “Momma Tried” by Merle Haggard, “El Rey” by Vicente Fernández, and “Carrying Your Love with Me” by George Strait. He won the Paris District FFA Talent Contest in January.

Escalante will represent Mount Pleasant and Area 6 at the FFA State Convention in Houston this July.