Congratulations to Mary Santarelli, one of the band directors at McAdams Junior High, on being elected to membership in Phi Beta Mu, an International School Bandmaster Fraternity.

Phi Beta Mu is an honorary, non-political, non-profit fraternity established in 1938. In order to be considered for membership in Phi Beta Mu, one must have at least 10 years of successful teaching experience and must have produced and maintained an outstanding and consistent band program in the public schools.

She was inducted at the organization's annual new member breakfast in February in San Antonio.

Santarelli has a total of 29 years of teaching experience and has served in Dickinson ISD at McAdams Junior High since 2002.

Week of March 3, 2014

Spring Break is March 10-14
No school for students and staff

Dickinson ISD schools and offices will be closed the week of March 10-14 for the Spring Break holiday. Students and employees will return on Monday, March 17 for the final nine weeks of the school year. Remember time changes on Sunday, March 9 so set your clocks ahead one hour before going to sleep Saturday night.

We wish all of our students and employees a restful, safe, fun (and warmer) Spring Break holiday.

Dickinson ISD 2014-2015
school district calendar approved

Dickinson ISD students will begin the 2014-2015 school year on Monday, August 25, 2014. The start date is part of the district calendar for next year which was approved by the Board of Trustees at their March action meeting.

Here is a look at the highlights from the 2014-2015 school calendar.

August 25, 2014 - First Day of School for Students
September 1, 2014 - Student/Teacher Holiday

October 22, 2014 - Parent Conferences/Student Holiday

November 24-28, 2014 - Student/Teacher Holidays

December 19, 2014 - Early Release Day

Dec. 22, 2014 - Jan. 2, 2015 - Student/Teacher Holidays

January 5, 2015 - Student Holiday/Staff Development Day

January 19, 2015 - Student/Teacher Holiday

February 16, 2015 - Student/Teacher Holiday *

March 16-20, 2015 - Student/Teacher Holidays

March 25, 2015 - Early Release Day

April 3, 2015 - Student/Teacher Holiday

May 25, 2015 - Student/Teacher Holiday *

June 3, 2015 - Early Release Day

June 4, 2015 - Early Release Day/Last Day of School

June 5, 2015 - Dickinson High Graduation Ceremony

* The designated bad weather make-up days for 2014-2015 are February 16, 2015 and May 25, 2015. These will be student and teacher holidays, unless the district has to use them as make-up days for days missed earlier in the year due to bad weather. Please keep this in mind when making family plans that these two days could turn into regular school days.

Click here to view a .pdf copy of the
2014-2015 school district calendar.

Six Dickinson High School athletes qualify for
State Powerlifting Meet in Abilene on March 22

DHS Powerlifters Six Dickinson High School students will be representing the district at the State Powerlifting Championship planned for March 22 in Abilene. They qualified for the state contest after impressive performances at the Regional Powerlifting Championship this past weekend in Katy.

In addition to the state qualifiers, the DHS Powerlifting Team earned first place overall and Coach Earl Ricicar was named the 2014 Region 4 Powerlifting Coach of the Year. Student Alonzo Crittendon set a new regional record at the meet by squatting 800 ponds on his last attempt.

Those qualifiying for the state meet are:

148 Class
Alec Deleon - second place with 1,215 pounds lifted

181 Class

Thomas Bridges - second place with 1,350 pounds lifted

242 Class

Kaylond North - first place with 1,640 pound lifted

Anietie Etuk - second place with 1,500 pounds lifted

Super Heavy Weight Class

Alonzo Crittendon - second place with 1,685 pounds lifted

Chance Harmanson - third place with 1,625 pounds lifted

Also representing the Powerlifting Team for the overall first place award were Dominic Monsivaiz, Chein Phan, Cecilio Hernandez, Brandon Martinez, Trey Vaughans, Ernesto Reales and Darin Slater.

Nine DHS art students will advance in April to
State Visual Arts Scholastic Event competition

Dickinson High School will be sending nine students to the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) state competition this April in Bryan after they received the top honors at the regional event in February. Of the 87 pieces entered by DHS students, 72 pieces won a Superior Rating of IV. This is the highest number of entrants and medals ever won by DHS. All levels of students won medals, from beginning Art I students to Advanced Placement students.

VASE is a statewide art competition for high school students which is sponsored by the Texas Art Educator's Association (TAEA) and is the equivalent to UIL competitions in any other activity or sport since UIL does not sponsor art in a competitive manner. At the contest, students are individually juried with their artwork and rated on their interview. The highest rating is a IV. All artwork that receives the Superior rating of IV is then judged again by a panel for the top 10 percent that advances to the state contest.

Students advancing to the state contest are Dallas Feazell (Advanced Placement, Sculpture), Nicole Petron (Sculpture 4, Ceramics), Christina Maxwell (Drawing 4, Graphite), Elizabeth Murillo (Drawing 3, Colored Drawing), Miguel Rojas (Drawing 2, Graphite), Kaitlyn Hayes (Art 1, Graphite), Yasmin Trejo (Advanced Art 1, Graphite), Jonathan Vazquez (Advanced Art 1, Ink Resist) and Faith Aquilera (Advanced Art 1, Watercolor).

Students receiving two Superior Award Medals were Faith Aguilera, Samantha Bullock, Kristen Carpenter, Ciara Compton, Citlalli Magana, Enrique Medina, Itzel Nieto, Nicole Petron, Jessica Puckett, Antonio Rojas, Mary Shapiro, Peter Trinh, Jonathan Vazquez, Christina Maxwell, Krystal Berry, Jose Duran, David Liggett and Dulce Trejo.

Students receiving one Superior Award Medal were Kaylee Boudreaux, Jordan Braham, Fabiola Camargo, Dean Curtice, Dallas Feazell, Kayli Fenoglio, Kaitlyn Hayes, Sarah Hausler, Joyanna Mazzone, Rachel McCall, Belkis Padilla, Leslie Salazar, Michael Shapiro, Yasmin Trejo, Maddy Whatley, Hailey Willard, Damian Young, Sydney Brown, Pria Conway, Vanessa Lortie, Mikayla Martelli, Jakeline Ortiz, Corinne Tamayo, Alyssa Wells, Kierra York, Bruno Alvarado, Cade Bilbrey, Janna Guffey, Skylar Mejias, Dalton Padgett, Samuel Uribe and Wendy Nguyen.

The students are taught by Colleen Steblein, Jennifer Sumrall and Lydia Thompson.

Dance Teams successful at area competitions

Both the Dickinson High School and McAdams Junior High dance teams brought home many awards recently after successful performances at area dance competitions.

Dickinson High School

Diamonds Dance Team

The Dickinson Diamonds competed in February at the Champions Dance Regionals and earned many awards, including Best in Class for a Medium Division 1 Team. The Diamonds were also awarded first place in Team Jazz, Team Modern and Team Hip Hop; second place in Team Pom and Team Kick; the Judges Award for Team Routines; the Showmanship Award for Team Routines; Best in Category for Team modern; first place in Officer Lyrical; the Officer Technique Award, Officer Judges Award, Officer Showmanship Award and Best in Category in Officer Lyrical.

The Dickinson High School JV Charms Dance Team competed at the South Houston Showcase in February with their hip hop routine and received Best in Class for Team Hip Hop and a Superior Performance Award.

The McAdams Junior High Royals Dance Team brought home a first place victory from the Texas State Championship in all three categories they entered at a dance competition held March 1.

Congratulations to all of our Gator dancers!

Dickinson JV Charms dance team

Dickinson High School

JV Charms Dance Team

McAdams Junior High

Royals Dance Team