Five DHS artists receive State Medals at VASE
  

Five Dickinson High School students represented the school very well this past weekend when they attended the State Visual Arts Scholastic Event and all earned State Medals for their artwork. In addition, Emily Waldrop participated in an on-site scholarship workshop and received a $100 scholarship from the Texas Art Educator's Association. The state medalists were:

• Ciara Compton - Watercolor, "Tomorrow"
• Peter Trinh - Sculpture, "Missing Mouse"
• Justin Spencer - Photography, "The Dragonfly's Triptych"
• Emily Waldrop - Colored Pencil Drawing, "Water Nymph"
• Cade Bilbrey - Mixed Media, "A Watchful Eye"

The students are taught by DHS art teachers Colleen Steblein and Lydia Thompson.

Bay Colony students learn positive character traits, while staying healthy and raising money 

Fostering positive character traits and staying healthy were reinforced last week through a special program at Bay Colony Elementary, which culminated in a school-wide fun run to raise money for the school's Parent Teacher Association.

"FundRunners" is a nationwide program which includes high energy and engaging activities and is focused on helping to develop positive character traits such as healthy eating, thankfulness, saying no to bullying, fitness and paying it forward. For about a week, these positive traits were taught each day through video messages to students and age appropriate classroom presentations to each grade level. Students and teachers especially enjoyed the video messages each day since the company featured Bay Colony in the video which is shown to all schools participating across the United States.

Characters such as Captain Awesome, Star Chaser and Jet Pack greeted the students in the car rider line each morning with upbeat music, a smile and a high five.  The program came to an exciting end this past Friday when students participated in a Fun Run, where they reviewed all the character traits and participated in games and activities related to exercise and running.  The students sought pledges during the days before the fun run and earned prizes based on the pledges for their participation in the fun run.

Due to inclement weather, the fun run was held inside the school cafeteria with special props and decorations, including a LED-lighted tunnel and glow sticks. Parents were encouraged to join in the fun and the school also used the fun run as a way to encourage third and fourth graders with motivational messages before taking state STAAR tests this week.

"This program has been positive for Bay Colony in several ways. It is supporting our district and campus goal to provide a safe, healthy, secure and orderly environment for students, staff, families and community by teaching students to be thankful, to accept others, to make friends and not bully, to be kind to others and to be active and healthy," said Bay Colony Principal Amy Smith.

The Bay Colony PTA will use the funds to provide student field trips and other support programs.

  

Students practice welding skills

with project for student's family

Alan Yanez wanted to do something to help his family's landscaping business. In his welding class at Dickinson High School, he learned how to cut and fit different pieces of steel and iron together for different projects. It was at that moment, he came up with the idea to build a trailer that could hold all of the equipment his family uses in their business.

"I was just thinking one day I really wanted to help my family with all of the new skills I had learned here in our welding class," Yanez said. "Mr. Cox told me that if I could buy the steel, we could build a trailer that would work for hauling all of the equipment."

Yanez went out and bought all of the steel for the project and the class started working on it last December. He said it is really great to see how all of that steel is now a nice trailer.

"It (the steel) was all just laying here on the floor when we started," he said. "It is so cool to see it all put together and what it has made. I never thought we would get it finished. It took a long time to get the cuts made and all the different welds we did on it."

Career and Technology Instructor Ricky Cox said his class was really excited to help Yanez out on his project and that it was almost like it was their own trailer. He said every day since they started the kids would come in excited about working on this project together.

"This group works so well together," Cox said. "I have built so many trailers in all of my years welding and this one was so much fun because I saw how they enjoyed it. These guys really love to learn and work together. You can see on their faces how excited they are now that it is finished."

There was a lot that went into the construction of the trailer, according to Cox and Yanez. They had to be able to square up everything to the axel and the hitch in the front. They said if one inch was off, then the trailer would weave all over the road when it was being pulled.

"If you have ever seen trailers that move all over the road when they are pulled, it's because they are not built square on the axel," Cox said. "This was our first mission, to get it all square, then all the different welds came into play."

There are more than five different types of iron in this project. Everything from Channel Iron to Diamond Plate Iron and more went into its construction. Several different welds, such as Horizontal, Vertical and Overhead Welds were all used.

"These guys learn this type of welding just about every day," Cox said. "They use it in almost everything we do. I'm very proud of Alan. He is excited he could help his family." 

Student athletes make plans to play college sports

Several Dickinson High School seniors finalized plans this past month to play volleyball, basketball or softball at colleges in Texas and well as across the United States after graduation in June.