From left, Westlake High School juniors Dana Capotosto, Raina Kishan, Angela Jin and Andrea Núñez-Smith get into the spirit of the evening prior to the school prom Saturday.

By Jessica Stenglein
Special to the Picayune

Westlake High School students dressed in some of their fanciest clothes Saturday and gathered at the Austin Convention Center for the annual junior and senior prom. This year’s theme, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, was chosen by Chemistry II teacher Denise DeMartino.
Prom was put together in part by the prom committee, a group of juniors who were selected to give their input and come up with ideas for decorations and invitations. This year, the committee was headed by junior Angela Jin who was selected by DeMartino. Other student volunteers made up the rest of the committee.
“[My job on the committee was] to oversee the progress, give input to design ideas, make the prom posters with other committee members and make the prom playlist,” Jin said.
The prom committee met several times throughout the year and hired a designer and carpenter to help make their ideas a reality. Music was provided by a DJ and a playlist created by Jin. The committee worked hard to make this year’s event successful.
“The best part about being on prom committee was getting to give my input on what I thought would be good ideas for decorations and other aspects of prom, and then getting to see all of the ideas that the committee came up with come to life,” junior Mary Travis said. “My favorite thing about prom was coming in the morning of the dance with the rest of the committee [to set up] the decorations and getting a sneak peak of what was to come.”
Before attending prom, many students took pictures with their friends, rented limos and went to eat at some of Austin’s more upscale restaurants. Getting ready for all of this starts hours before for many students however.
“Getting ready for prom is a really crazy and long process, but it’s fun,” junior Casey Sutton said. “My mom and I made a day out of it, so it turned into a good mother-daughter bonding experience. Every girl loves to feel like a princess so the prom preparation process is incredible.”
After parties are an important part of prom night and students continue their fun after leaving the dance.
“After prom was by far my favorite part of the night,” Sutton said. “I made some new friends and became closer with old friends, and everyone just had an all-around great time. It was by far a night that I will never forget.”
Throughout the night, students made memories that will last a lifetime. They were able to focus solely on having fun especially after many students took Advance Placement exams over the previous two weeks.
“My favorite thing about prom was seeing everyone all dressed up and having [fun],” Jin said. “For once, there wasn’t any stress about school, and we were all just there for a good time.”
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WHS seniors, bottom from left, Arun Natesan, Emily Austin, Kenny Call and Grant Wiseman; and top from left, Hirrah Barlas, Steven Wilbanks, Leah Weidmann, Catherine King, Nathan Shashoua and Faraz Amin.

The Westlake High School 2012 Baccalaureate Service at Riverbend Centre is set for Sunday from 5 – 6 p.m. Those who participate in this popular tradition will hear from Westlake seniors of Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu faith communities. This celebration also includes music by the high school’s fine arts students. WHS seniors should arrive at 4 p.m. with their cap, gown and chords.

The Riverbend Centre easily accommodates the 2012 WHS graduating class with plenty of space for an unlimited number of guests. An early arrival is important for this brief but beautiful service. Many families take advantage of the grounds for photos with their graduating seniors following the service. Riverbend Centre is located at 4214 North Capital of Texas Highway. For more information contact Marijane Smitherman at msmitherman47@yahoo.com.
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Bond money paid for the renovation of the problematic Hill Country Middle School track and field that was deemed unsafe due to constant soil shifts leading to the buckling and warping of the track and dangerous holes in the field area.

Hill Country Middle School is throwing a party Wednesday to celebrate the reopening of its track and field area.

The celebration will begin with a ribbon cutting and a ceremonial lap around the track by former Hill Country athletes at 3:30 p.m. After the maiden lap, students, then staff and finally Hill Country parents will hoof it around the new track surface for  400-meter runs and test out the artificial turf covering the field inside the loop.

“The new playfields will not only increase opportunities for student use, but also provide an improved facility for community members and third-party rentals,” said Claudia McWhorter, district communications director.

The Hill Country track and field was redesigned and rebuilt using $1.53 million in designated 2011 bond money. That renovation solved a costly problem that had plagued the Eanes school district for decades. An unstable clay subsurface and plenty of underground water caused the track to continually buckle and warp, despite frequent Band-aide attempts to straighten it out. The uneven surface was too risky for runners, who couldn’t see the dips and bulges in time to avoid them. Water draining down a hill onto the track and additional water from field maintenance made the problem worse.

The Hill Country field and track renovation involved replacing the faulty subsoil with lime-injected soil, installing erosion controls, and reducing water on the field by replacing grass with synthetic turf. Hill Country wasn’t alone in its field problems. West Ridge Middle School was having its own set of issues with its track and playing field, reducing student use. The bond oversight also approved a renovation plan for West Ridge that evened out a 4-foot elevation slope change on the field, installed a drainage system and retaining wall and replaced grass with artificial turf. The West Ridge renovation cost $785,000 and was also paid for out of 2011 bond money.

Both campus field and track areas will reopen this week, after significant weather-related construction delays. Because they are covered with synthetic turf rather than grass, the fields are ready for immediate use.

As the middle school fields reopen, the Westlake High School Chaparral Stadium shuts down this week to begin its own $2.3 million renovation that will include replacing the track and sub-grade, replacing or improving the structural steel to the visitors’ bleachers and performing Americans with Disabilities Act modifications.

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Members of the Eanes community met in April sessions at Westlake High School to discuss future education ideas.

Local residents who helped plan a series of community dialogue sessions in April are reviewing a draft report by the E3 Alliance that summarizes the ideas about future education that arose during the meetings.

“We are still collecting comments on the draft,” said John Havenstrite, who along with fellow area resident Julia Webber headed the dialogue steering committee. “A final version will be presented to the EISD trustees in a couple of weeks [May 30], and it will be available to anyone who wants to read it at that time.”

The 95-page draft report is detailed and captures everything session participants brought to the table during the four nights of dialogue, Havenstrite said. The report will begin with an executive summary estimated to be 12 pages long. The balance of the report will be background material.

“I think there are a few take-aways from the report, but there isn’t much doubt that the ‘meta theme’ is balance,” he said. “For example, it is clear the community recognizes that science, technology, engineering and math are key to ensuring students are positioned for the tomorrow’s challenges. However, it is equally clear that the community wants curriculum that helps students develop creative, problem solving, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills. Balance is key.”

Susan Dawson of the E3 Alliance gave Eanes school board members a peek at the underlying tenets of the report during a special board meeting on May 14. She identified key themes that resonated throughout the meetings. Participants stressed that relevance to the future and foundational skills for the workplace are important. They want the whole community to be more involved with the education of its children. Opportunities for all students, not just the high-achieving ones, were stressed. Participants feel learning should be more fun for the new kinds of students evolving in the high-tech world and they want to see the district look at finding new ways of assessing success.

Havenstrite and organizers were pleased with the high level of community participation in the dialogues and at the energetic ideas that arose.

“I was surprised by how often project-based learning initiatives showed up,” Havenstrite said. “It seems folks really like the opportunities that sort of collaboration presents.”

Now that some clear themes have risen from the dialogue sessions, Havenstrite hopes it will be easier for all members of the community to work together to offer students the best possible education for the future.

“The district is about to revisit its strategic plan,” he said. “I expect that the experience of the dialogues and the themes discussed in the report will be a resource to the trustees, administration and community as that initiative rolls along.”

The open session portion of the May 30 Eanes school board meeting at which the dialogue information is expected to be released will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the board room of the district administration building at 601 Camp Craft Road.
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Barton Creek Elementary School

Barton Creek Elementary School is ranked second out of 246 elementary campuses in Central Texas in preparing students for secondary education. That ranking was released Sunday in the annual Children at Risk evaluation of Texas metropolitan schools.

“As a parent, I feel fortunate that my child is being taught by such a talented, creative, caring group of educators,” Bryan Shippey, Barton Creek principal, said in a letter to parents Sunday afternoon. “It is nice that the dedication I see them demonstrate on daily basis is being recognized and rewarded. I could not be any prouder of our teachers, staff and students. Our Blue Jays are truly receiving the best education, and we could not do it without all of us working together.”

The number one elementary school spot on the CAR list went to Canyon Creek Elementary School in the Round Rock school district. Two other Eanes elementary schools ranked in the top 10; Forest Trail ranked seventh, followed by Cedar Creek at eighth. The remaining district elementary schools earned rankings in the top 20 percent. Eanes Elementary ranked 28^th, Bridge Point ranked 42^nd and Valley View ranked 49^th.

Westlake High School was named fourth out of 51 high schools in Central Texas, after Chaparral Star Academy in Austin, Westwood High School in the Austin school district and Not Your Ordinary School charter school in Austin. Eanes school district middle schools also earned top spots among Central Texas’ 89 middle schools, with West Ridge ranking number eight and Hill Country ranking number 12.

A different set of criteria is used for elementary, middle schools and high school rankings. Every campus with at-risk students receives extra credit, the assumption being that those students require more effort to bring to high-performance levels. To determine how well high schools prepare students for college, CAR uses 16 variables, including various Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores, advanced placement courses, number of AP students, number of AP students who pass year-end exams, attendance and graduation rates, SAT and ACT scores and reading and math changes.

Middle schools are ranked based on TAKS scores, attendance and retention rates and math and reading gains and losses. Elementary schools are based on similar variables and class sizes. Data used by CAR is compiled by the Texas Education Agency.

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By Jessica Stenglein
Special to the Picayune
Over the course of three days, 126 students recently participated in Harambe, the annual training retreat for the Pedernales Expedition.
Harambe was started by Jim and Karen McGill in 1974 in order to prepare the high school students for Pedernales where they lead eighth-graders through various activities.
Harambe is organized by six students, known as honchos. The students applied to be honchos many months ago and were chosen by Westlake High School peer assistance and leadership teacher Mitch Lasseter.
“My favorite thing [about Harambe is] the months of preparation and training, and then watching the six honchos lead an event of such magnitude in a flawless manner,” Lasseter said. “It is something that many adults would not undertake or be able to accomplish, yet year after year six teenagers are able to put in several months of hard work and prepare to be in charge of 120 peers and then lead them in a highly successful two-and-a-half day training retreat with minimal supervision or help. Every adult that has ever observed their leadership is in awe of their incredible leadership and ability.”
Students were also chosen to be squad leaders and group leaders. These leaders formed squads made up of one squad leader and several group leaders. They will oversee groups of eighth-graders from both West Ridge and Hill Country middle schools during the Pedernales Expedition.
“Squad leaders are chosen because of their outstanding leadership throughout the year,” Lasseter said. “They must commit to weekly meetings throughout the spring semester, take the time to conduct meetings and train their five group leaders. Group leaders are those that have proven to be positive role models and demonstrate leadership.”
To prepare for Harambe students met with their squads and came up with a skit, four role calls and cheers.
“What I liked best about Harambe were the skits because they were absolutely hilarious and my face hurt from laughing so much afterwards,” junior Mary Travis said. “It was also awesome to see all of the hard work that the squads put into their role calls, and it was fun seeing them get into character according to their different themes.”
The training for Harambe culminates on May 21 and 22 when the WRMS and HCMS students attend Pedernales.
“I’m excited to see the eighth-graders from the two different middle schools interact and get to know each other,” Travis said.

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“I have made the decision to retire in order to spend more time with my family and to pursue other interests,” she said. “I have so enjoyed my time in this community and will always consider these years as the pinnacle of my educational career.”

Rawlings came to the Eanes school district to take the WHS helm in 2006 from Clear Lake High School in Houston, where she served as principal for three years. She has 34 years of experience in education and holds a bachelor of arts degree with an emphasis in English and Latin from Texas Tech University, a master of philosophy degree from St. Andrews University in Scotland and a master of education degree from the University of Houston at Clear Lake.

Rawlings is credited with spearheading the nationally acclaimed Westlake Initiative For Innovation pilot program, which put iPads in the hands of juniors and seniors this school year.

“The pilot provided hands-on technology for students and teachers so that instruction was mobile and tailored to the fast-paced environment of high school students,” said Nola Wellman, district superintendent. “As a result, students changed their educational experiences with improved organizational and time management skills, 24-hour access to files and notes and experienced better collaboration opportunities with other students and teachers on assignments.”

Because of the success of the WIFI pilot, the program will be expanded to include all WHS students for the 2012-13 school year, Wellman said. School board members decided Monday that additional tablets will be distributed to middle school and elementary students in phases beginning next year.

The district has begun the process of finding a replacement for Rawlings, Wellman said. District human resources head Lester Wolff attended a WHS Principal’s Coffee Wednesday (after press time) to meet with parents who wanted to contribute input on what they want to see in a new principal for the district’s only high school.

“Linda is an outstanding leader in education, and she will truly be missed,” Wellman said. “For more than six years, she has set a clear vision for Westlake High School, emphasizing a rigorous and relevant education that prepares students with 21st century skills. Her leadership has brought prestige and accolades to Westlake and to Eanes ISD on a local, state and national level.”
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Visit eanesisd.net/communityeducation/camps/teanestime for registration details or more information.
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Susan Dawson of E3 Alliance summarizes community dialogues at an Eanes school board meeting Monday.

Eanes school board members swore in new board member Mike Frost and continuing board member Kal Kallison at a special meeting Monday night and designated Kallison president, Rob Hargett vice president and Colleen Jones secretary for the coming year.

The meeting began with a report by Susan Dawson from the E3 Alliance on the recent community dialogues organized by E3 and local parents. The organization has compiled a 90-page report that captures ideas brought fourth during the community meetings. The meetings were developed to allow parents, students, educators and other local community members to identify what they believe needs to be done to successfully prepare local students for the future.

“This is a very powerful process, a very important process,” Dawson said. “We hope and believe the information you will get out of the report will be useful in taking the school district forward.”

A final report should be available in about two weeks, said John Havenstrite, one of the local parents who helped organize the discussion.

Dawson identified eight key ideas on future education that came from the community dialogues:

• Relevance to the future is key in curriculum choices;
• Foundational skills for the workplace are important;
• The surrounding community should be involved in education and supporting students;
• Academic rigor needs to be balanced with a more holistic approach to education;
• There need to be opportunities for all students;
• The district should look at new methods of assessing and measuring the right elements of education;
• Needed support and resources should be identified and the proper integration of academics; and
• Soft skills should be accomplished to make learning fun and help foster innovation.

Board members discussed options for incorporating the ideas coming from the community meetings into the district’s long range master plan, including the option of hiring an outside expert to work with the information. Kallison said that the board planned to involve the community in the process.

The board approved a phased-in elementary and middle school technology pilot plan that would use $1.1 million of bond money for a  the purchase of iPads and an additional $537,574 for the purchase of Dell desktop and laptop computers.

“I think this has been a good process in talking back and forth with where we want to go,” Wellman said. “We had an ‘Aha’ moment several years ago, realizing the importance technology was going to play in our classrooms.”

The phase-in program would equip all students in two grade levels at each elementary school with iPads. The grade levels that receive the tablets at each school will be chosen by campus technology teams.  Both district middle schools will receive iPads for eighth grades next year. The district will distribute a few extra tablets to each middle school for classroom use. Again, those classrooms will be selected by campus technology staff.

The district is waiting to see how textbook companies will eventually decide to provide their information online.

“The textbook companies are in business to make money,” Wellman said. “They are trying to figure out how they are going to do that.”

Digital textbooks are a given for the future, said Kevin Schwartz, district director of technology services.

“We’ve gotten rid of that backpack, and it’s a better richer device,” Schwartz said.

In 2011, voters approved $15.3 million in bond money for the purchase of district technology. Including the new $1.6 million expenditure approved by the board Monday, the district has purchased $4.1 million in computers and tablets. New infrastructure and other technology costs have brought the total district use of bond money to $7.1 million, leaving $8.2 million for future technology purchases.

Wellman said she may be bringing a request for more iPads to extend the elementary and middle school pilot program into additional grade levels as early as October of this year.

“I see our students being interested in their own individual projects, learning and interests,” Wellman said. “This device marries that individualized interest with education; it moves that whole transition of education forward. This device facilitates that.”

Kallison said the phased approach would allow students who receive the tablets next year to demonstrate the benefit to parents and teachers and allow the district to learn things rather than go all the way with purchases in one step.

“I think this is a very rational approach,” he said. “There are some parents that did voice some pretty significant opposition to a complete one-to-one roll out. It’s still not 100 percent across the board in terms of complete acceptance of a device they are not completely comfortable with.”

District head of business services Larry Keiser told board members the Chapter 41 recapture payment to the state would be approximately $1 million higher, around $54.3 million, next year due to higher than expected property values and thus anticipated higher tax collections. In the last few years, budgeted amounts for general fund balance withdrawals to balance deficit budgets have been overstated. Fund balance pulls will likely be closer to budget in the future, due to increasing costs, state-mandated frozen revenues and tighter budgets, Keiser said.

Board members nominated Wellman for the Texas Association of School Boards Superintendent of the Year Award, eliciting applause from the audience. The honor is awarded based on outstanding achievement and excellence in public school administration.

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LEFT: Young soccer enthusiasts students pick up some new moves from Coach Katherine McCaslin during the Eanes school district Summer Splash program last year.

BELOW: Esha Chowdery works her way to the summit during a rock wall climb at Eanes Summer Blast last year.

It’s that time of year again – the time when parents start to realize that kids who will be out of school for the summer will soon need some healthy activities to occupy their time.

Don’t worry, the Eanes school district’s community education department is ready with some ideas. The department offers summer camps for all age ranges starting June 4 and running through Aug. 3. Not up for the commitment of a summer camp? That’s alright too. The district offers a plethora of programs to suit any time schedule.

“Summer Camps and enrichment courses are excellent learning opportunities disguised as fun,” said Leticia Hinojosa, director of the district’s community education department. “Students can learn valuable lessons in independence, leadership, healthy risk taking, a sense of community, teamwork and self-esteem.”

The district makes sure that camps and courses offered during the summer meet the same exemplary standards as curriculum during the school year, Hinojosa said.

For younger children ages six weeks to five years, the district offers the NAEYC-accredited Summer Splash program at Cedar Creek Elementary School, where students can explore the different regions of the U.S. through themed activities. Camp hours are 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays.

Summer Blast is camp designed for incoming first- through fifth- graders. Each week at Forest Trail Elementary School, the camp will focus on a different U.S. city with a field trip, guest, and numerous enrichment activities. Camp hours are from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m, and extended hours run from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays.

Teanes Time summer camp will be “A Summer of Thrills” for incoming sixth- through eighth-graders, offering them the chance to visit all sorts of adventurous destinations for paint ball, stunts, rock climbing and more. Each week starts with team building activities and ends with a party boat cruise on Lake Travis. The camp runs from 8 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. weekdays and meets at the Westlake High School Tennis Center.

The district offers a variety of full-day and half-day enrichment programs open to all ages that focus on different subjects, including athletics, computers, art, dance, music, soccer and golf.

Classes are available for pre-kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school students and are held at Bridge Point, Cedar Creek, Forest Trail and Valley View elementary schools, West Ridge Middle School and Westlake High School. Swim activities are also offered at the West Austin Activity Center and art classes and private music lessons are offered off district campuses.

The district community education program gives back to the district each year. Money raised through the Child Development Center, the Eanes After School Youth Care, enrichment courses and summer camps is contributed to the district general fund. Since 1999, the community education department has contributed more than $3 million to the district budget, Hinojosa said.
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