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| 115 foster children were adopted by MHS students and staff for Christmas. PALs collected and delivered gifts of about $100 each to McLennan County Child Protective Services. Midway High School has adopted approximately 100 foster children each Christmas for the past 30 years! |
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This year’s recipients of the National Philanthropy Day Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award are best friends Layla Garcia (Hewitt Elementary) and Olivia Machado (Speegleville Elementary). They ran a lemonade stand for the 5th year in their neighborhood and donated the earnings to the Alzheimer’s Association’s North Central Texas Chapter, averaging over $3,000 a year. The girls also lead a team of supporters in the local Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
Ken Sury photo |
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| Last spring, MHS AV students filmed and edited a documentary project working with domestic violence survivors. This fall, the project came to fruition with the “Our Journey Alive” premiere of the pilot episode at the Hippodrome. Watch coverage of the project from KXXV or KCEN. |
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17 National Merit Honorees
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| The phenomenal senior class has set an impressive record. Seventeen students–the most in Midway High School history–have been recognized through the National Merit Program. Beyond that, seven students have been named National Merit Semifinalists, compared to two semifinalists in any prior year. Finalists will be named later this month.
Congratulations to Midway High School’s seven National Merit Semifinalists: Brittany Brewer, Matthew Huynh, Edward S. Kim, Miriam McCormick, Benjamin Sepanski, Hannah Wang, and Sarah Weaver.
An impressive nine Midway High School students were named National Merit Commended Scholars, ranking in the top five percent of the nation: Denis Barbus, Logan Blackwell, Lauren Hartgroves, Edward Y. Kim, Ava Kowalski, Robert Mathis, Nathaniel Morgan, Daniel Seibert, and Sophie Tullos.
The College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) identifies academically outstanding students who score in the top 5,000 of Hispanic/Latino juniors. Congratulations to Midway’s National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, Hannah Curtiss.
Read more about these students’ impressive accomplishments on Panther Nation News. |
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TMEA All-State Choir
Stephen Zheng, Mia Scott, Christina Morris, Jeffrey Hulbert, Josie Pooler, Brittany Brewer, Meredith Marcum, Haley Luse, Joshua Tripp, and Kimberly Chancellor
Three of those students also received All-State 1st Chair in their categories: Brittany Brewer, Meredith Marcum, and Stephen Zheng |
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TMEA All-State Orchestra
Sarah Shultz- viola, Haeun Moon- violin, Wilson Burnett- cello, and Augusta Schubert- violin |
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| MHS freshman Bea McCormick was chosen for the 7th-9th grade Junior High Honor Choir that will perform at the National ACDA Conference in Minneapolis, MN in March. |
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| 51 All-Region Band Members from Midway Middle School |
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TMEA Mens Choir from Midway High School
Margie Hoeffner photo |
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District Champs in Every Sport
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Team Tennis Area Champs & Regional Quarterfinalists
15th consecutive District Championship! |
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Swim Combined Team District Champs & Boys District Champs
21 Regional Qualifiers |
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Volleyball Bi-District Champions & District Champions
All-State: Callie Williams & Allye Beth Deaton
Academic All-State: Allye Beth Deaton |
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Football District Champs
& Bi-District Finalists
Academic All-State: Ed Jefferson, Hunter Raines, Will Routh, Jacob Spradlin, Michael Sulak, and Wes Tandy
Ernesto Garcia photo |
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Cross Country Boys District Champions
Academic All-State: Garrett Cooper, Rachel Cotner, Ryan Day, Dylan Duncan, Peter Ferretter, Caroline Goodnight, Emily Lapes, Joshua Martinez, Emma Mathis, Miriam McCormick, Mia Miller & Grant Sury |
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25 Athletic Scholarship Signees
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McDonald’s All-American Nominee in Basketball
Barb Benson |
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Volleyball All-Americans
Callie Williams, Allye Beth Deaton, Avery Rhodes, and Samantha Sanders |
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Six MHS students qualified from more than 7,500 actors to compete at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, NE this summer. Henry Beard and Randall Kohn received a perfect score for duet acting. Three students — Chris Coley, Meredith Marcum, and Graham Smith — qualified for their Solo Musical performances. Holly Eaker qualified in Sound Design.
Junior Nick Marquez and senior Garrett Williams are State Thespian Officers with the responsibility of planning the state competition.
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Midway senior Hannah Wang won the national Intellectual Property Video Contest. Her video stars several Midway students as they demonstrate the meaning of a patent and the role and impact the patent system has in our society.
Hannah won a $5,000 scholarship, an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C., and $1,500 in equipment for MHS’ AV Class.
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| Two employees took action for the health and safety of our students at football games this fall. SRO Jeff Foley was recognized by the School Board for handling a situation at a Thursday night JV football game when a spectator came to the game with a gun attached to his waistband (not concealed).
David Benton was honored by the Board for recognizing the signs that a student was choking on a hot dog at a Friday night football game. Mr. Benton performed the Heimlich maneuver which cleared the student’s airway so she could breathe. |
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Record-Breaking Foundation
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MISD Distinguished Alumnus (and major donor) Brian Townley celebrates with Woodway Elementary students during the Midway Education Foundation’s Prize Posse.
According to a CBS news report, the average teacher spends $500 annually to provide additional materials for their classroom. The Midway ISD Education Foundation strives to address this problem through two district-wide programs: Grant Express and Grants for Great Ideas.
Funded by public donations, the Education Foundation offers teachers the opportunity to apply for materials to implement programs and projects that fall outside the typical school district budget. Special consideration is given to science and math programs.
Since the programs were started in 2001, more than $1.4 million dollars have been channeled into grant programs at Midway ISD schools. Funding comes from community donors, individuals, businesses, and staff. The 2016-2017 annual drive surpassed all previous years with over $360,000 in cash and in-kind donations. The foundation also celebrated the largest single donation ever!
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| Three MISD campuses swept the Region 12 assistant principal of the year awards for every grade level in their respective professional development organizations. Christy Watley was named Regional Elementary Assistant Principal of the Year (TEPSA), Mandi Bronstad won Regional Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year (TASSP), and Becky Odajima won the top state title. She is Texas’ High School Assistant Principal of the Year (TASSP)! |
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| It is no longer the same Midway Middle School library you remember. After gutting most of the interior and some adjoining rooms, the area was renovated into multiple innovative, flexible teaching spaces. The Studio features multiple areas with moveable furniture, audio visual equipment, write-on surfaces, and a full-blown makerspace for students to build, create and even tinker with electronics and classic crafting mediums. Check it out on KWTX or Fox 44.
The approximate $500,000 renovation to the 40-year old library was made possible through savings and adjustments from the school district’s 2013 bond projects. In addition to the library renovation from the technology portion of the bond, another $1.5 million in savings also enabled:
- construction of an outdoor classroom for MMS Life Skills classes, canopies for drop off lines at South Bosque and Speegleville Elementaries, CTE building expansion at MHS, and a digital sign for MHS and MMS;
- replacement of the Rice Field track, MMS parking lot and lighting, and flooring at multiple campuses; and
- the purchase of trucks for the MISD agriculture program, the largest FFA program in Texas.
Spring Valley Elementary, Baylor University, Huckabee Architects, and Education Service Center Region 12 are currently collaborating in a research project to student how classroom environments affect student engagement. Read more about the study from the Waco Trib, or watch Fox 44, KWTX, or KXXV. |
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71 Years of Volunteer Service
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| Each year, school districts across the state take part in Texas School Board Recognition Month to honor the men and women who serve on their local School Board. The seven members of Midway ISD’s School Board spend numerous volunteer hours working to help give the students and staff of Midway ISD the tools they need to be successful, with combined service of 71 years amongst the group! These members are President Pete Rusek, Vice President Tom Pagel, Secretary Susan Vick, Bobby Deaton, Ivan Green, Rick Tullis, and Pam Watts. They have each been adopted by a campus for the month as a part of recognition month, and participated in activities such as breakfasts or lunches with staff members, received gift baskets, and attended assemblies so students, staff and parents had the opportunity to thank these dedicated volunteers for their time and commitment to public education in our community. Read more about our board members here. |
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| The Texas Education Agency identified 300 campuses across the state as High-Performing and/or High-Progress Title I schools for 2015-2016. Seven schools from Region 12 were among these, including two from MISD. Title I schools are defined as campuses with a student population of at least 40 percent low-income.
Hewitt Elementary is a high-progress reward school–a Title I school in the top 25 percent in annual improvement or a school in the top 25 percent of those demonstrating ability to close performance gaps.
Speegleville Elementary is a high-performing reward school–a Title I school with distinctions based on reading and math performance, as well as the highest graduation rates at the high school level. |
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National Program Accolades
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| Baylor University and Midway ISD Professional Development School Partnership Wins National Award
The professional development school partnership between Midway Independent School District and Baylor University has received the Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement Award.
The National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) will present the award in Washington, D.C. in March. The award gives national recognition to outstanding school-university partnerships that shape educator leadership and practice.
The Baylor University/Midway ISD partnerships are noted for emphasis on a clinically based teacher preparation program that positively impacts the learning of P-12 students, pre-service teachers and in-service professionals. The visionary system sets this partnership apart from others on the national level.
NAPDS commends the partnership for the practical experiences that future teachers gain through immersion in schools where complex issues facing education are ongoing. This partnership works effectively to equip future education professionals through best practice experiences.
One of only three school-university partnerships recognized nationally this year, the award committee commented, “This partnership is an excellent example of a strong school-university partnership. Its many exciting PDS programs enhance teaching and learning and supports the community.”
Hunger Free MISD Wins National Award Honorable Mention
More awards are on the horizon … Midway ISD has received word that the Hunger Free MISD program is receiving an honorable mention from a national award that recognizes best practices and innovative programs that advance student learning. The official announcement will be in March, so keep an eye out! |
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| Congrats to Nicholas White, chapter winner of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s American History Essay Contest. His essay celebrating a century of national parks will advance to the state level. Nicholas is a fifth grader at River Valley Intermediate. |
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| Adventures continue for Edward Kim, winner of Intel’s International Science Fair in Biochemistry for his early cancer detection project. His May award included a trip this December to India to tour to key scientific facilities including the National Chemical Laboratory, Bioinformatics Center at Pune University, and Meteorology Center. |
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| The Midway High School AVID program is proud to celebrate six national semifinalists for $20,000 Dell scholarships! Finalists will be announced on April 10. Congratulations to Shea Isaac, Kenneth Garrett, Julie Nguyen, Regganae Allen, Rida Sarwar, and Lien Nguyen. |
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