Northwest Houston and Cypress News

Cy-Woods student Shantan Cheemerla, and Cy-Ranch student Cecilia Cisar attended the Texas Governor’s School from June 6 through June 26, 2010 on the University of North Texas campus in Denton, Texas.  Over 100 students from across Texas attended the school, which is sponsored by Exxon Mobil Corporation and encourages students to achieve in the fields of math and science and to guide them in pursuing careers in engineering.

The theme of this year’s program was “How Advances in Science and Technology Affect Our World,” and students spent their all-expenses-paid three week visit learning and writing about math and the sciences.   The Texas Governor’s School was established by the Texas legislature in 2003 and requires participants to be at the high school sophomore level or higher. With applications coming in from all over the great state of Texas, it is a mark of outstanding achievement for Cheemerla and Cisar to have been accepted in the program – congratulations to them both!

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Registration is open until August 1st for the annual Cy Woods High School (CWHS) Crimson Cadettes Summer Dance Clinic.  The clinic runs from 8:30 - 11:30 a.m., Wednesday through Friday, August 11, 12 and 13, in the CWHS gymnasium. The clinic is open to children in grades K-12.  Three separate age banded clinics will be held: K - 5th Grades in “Little Lights”, 6th - 8th Grades in “Trendsetterz”, and 9th - 12th Grades in “Hopefuls”.  On the last day of camp, participants will perform what they’ve learned at the “Showoffs” in the gym.

This dance clinic is very popular each year for Fairfield families, and it is the main fundraiser for the CWHS Crimson Cadettes Drill Team. Early registration is a must, and the registration form can be printed online - checks are mailed directly to the organizers - and, for those with multiple participants, the 2nd and 3rd child’s fees are discounted! For more information and a link to the registration form and pricing, please see CrimsonCadettes.com/dance_clinic.html.  

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Fairfield’s Cy-Woods High School has produced an outstanding baseball athlete, but which way will Jared Lakind go? Will he choose the college scholarship at Arkansas or opt for the position with the Pittsburg Pirates? Either way, the talented athlete has a bright future ahead of him!

Lakind pitches left-handed - at a lightning fast 90mph - and also plays first and third base, a rare combination in modern athletes.  He was All-District and All-Greater Houston, and chose Arkansas over other schools like Rice University. He has also been drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in round 23 of the 2010 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

This is a very exciting time for Jared Lakind and a very proud time for Fairfield’s Cy-Woods High School. Congratulations to both; Jared will make the right decision with the help of his family and coaches!

Now let’s Play Ball Jared!

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In as little as one or two Saturdays this summer, you can become computer literate through the Cy Fair ISD (CFISD) Adult Education and Learning program. Learn important software skills and today’s latest technologies in the cool comfort of the classroom. CFISD is scheduled to offer these Saturday Adult Education Classes on topics including Technology Basics, Microsoft XP Operating System, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The skills taught in these classes can bring you to the next level in job searches or even increase the productivity of home and personal business ventures, providing crucial instruction on spreadsheet budgets, ledgers, and workbooks; document production and mass audience printing; and the ins and outs of operating and tending to the hardware and software in your computer.

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On Saturday, May 15, Congressman Ted Poe will be hosting his first Youth Conference for local high school students from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. High schools in Cy Fair ISD - including Cy Ranch and Cy Woods - are invited! The event has been created to encourage high school students to consider and prepare for their future, and will include information booths, speakers such as NBA player Elvin Hayes, Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Anthony Landry, and an Astronaut. The speakers will focus their talks around their personal stories and explain how hard work, good decisions, and perseverance really can make dreams come true!

The event is free for students and parents and will be held at the Dayton Civic Center located at 801 South Cleveland Street in Dayton, Texas. Those interested in attending the conference should contact Congressman Poe’s staff at 281-446-0242 or 409-212-1997 to reserve their spot.

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Several fine colleges hold classes in or near Fairfield, and combined with the great public school system of CFISD; provide a full educational spectrum to the academic needs of the community.

Lone Star College – Cy Fair: LSC-CF, has is part of the Lone Star College system and has a great 200+ acre campuses at Barker Cypress Campus, 9191 Barker Cypress Road. The very convenient Barker-Cypress campus offers classes around the around technology, business, emergency services—all through the Center for the Arts, a Health Science Center, an Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center, the Emergency Services Education Center, and more! For more information, visit the website above.

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Cypress-Fairbanks I.S.D. is honored to have received excellent volunteer services and donations from Dr. Thomas DeBauche, cardiologist at Cypress Cardiology PA. DeBauche performed routine physicals for Cy-Fair I.S.D. athletes and ended up saving lives when he decided to address a strong need for cardiac screening.

DeBauche donated 10 electrocardiogram machines and trained school staff to provide free EKGs to over 2,000 athletes, among which some were found to be in need of immediate medical care.

DeBauche currently performs all EKG readings himself and then forwards the information along to the schools, who inform students. Of the 2,057 athletes who received an EKG, 186 were found to have abnormal results, with all but 13 receiving follow-up echocardiograms.

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Teachers across Texas were given the opportunity to apply for Classroom Innovation Grants from First Choice Power, a subsidiary of PNM Resources and one of Texas’ largest retail electric providers. These key grants in education were awarded to full-time teachers in pre-K and K-12 whose applications showed an innovative and creative approach to teaching energy awareness and energy efficiency in their classroom. The goal was to create projects that would “stimulate and inspire young minds” and teacher’s applications had to include a project description, objectives, budget and evaluations that showed how they would accomplish this.

“Teachers positively impact their students every year,” said Brian Hayduk, president of First Choice Power. “Energy is a growing issue, and today’s students are the key to its future. Classroom Energy Innovation Grants are one way we are doing our part to help support innovative learning.”

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Only three years old, the Cypress Woods High School is already pushing forward toward victory and making school history. In just their second varsity season they made it to the state quarterfinals for the first time.

But it's not just about a good show, this team has the real school spirit and team work that will take them places. This season it took them to Temple City where they defeated Dallas Skyline, the team that eliminated them from last year's playoffs, 228-21. And recently their hard work took them to the Berry Center where they played Round Rock Stony Point.

In just three years the Wildcats already have a committed following of fans that travel with them to show their spirit and support. And one special group of stand leaders - The Wild Things - dress up for each game, standing on the field and rooting for their team, encouraging other fans to do the same. As Cy-Woods Senior Layton McCown shared, "The best thing about our fans is that we always pack the house. We're always on our feet, loud, spirited, always yelling '-Dub'. We've got our own chants. We're the best fans out there." And their biggest fan is none other than their own school principal, Sue McGown, "This has been an amazing journey," she said. "These kids have no fear. Even the cold doesn't keep them away. Once they commit, they commit, and it's been that way since our opening."

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Cypress-Fairbanks ISD was recently recognized by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for its hard work and commitment to preventing school dropout and recovery in the dropout rates. It was listed as one of 16 Texas school districts in the TEA Annual Best Practices Clearinghouse.

CFISD’s overall Best Practices rating has been consistently above state average for the past four years. The most current data, from 2006-2007, shows the district’s completion rate without GED (the standard accountability indicator) of 96%, compared to the state average of 87%. The district’s completion rate without GED for at-risk students was 93%, compared to an average of 79%.

The Best Practices identification is based on a research-based framework that identifies campuses that have 1) identified areas for improvement; 2) researched and implemented an intervention; and 3) analyzed pre-post and trend data to evaluate and document the intervention’s effectiveness. These Best Practices evaluate instruction, dropout prevention and recovery, college and career readiness, English language learners and business/management, and these measures are obtained yearly from public schools, districts, and charter schools across Texas.

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