From the Desk of the Principal:

I don’t have a lot to report for the December Newsletter.  Basketball is in full operation, with a game scheduled just about any time you want to see one. All of our teams are doing very well. We have had one Benchmark TAKS test. We have another one scheduled January 27th and 28th. We will use both tests results to establish where we are and what type of tutorials we will need to help our students prepare for TAKS.  Our final exams are scheduled for December 17th, 18th, and 19th. Students taking exams wilI be released on the 17th and 18th at 12:25 and on the 19th at 11:00. Students exempt in Periods 2, 5, or 8 will need to come to school and sign in at the gym. I also want you to know that HOLLY FORD was recently named the Texas Tennis Coaches Association “COACH OF THE YEAR.” We want to offer her our congratulations.

With that being said, I would like to wish you...

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A GREAT NEW YEAR!!!!!

Bobby Watkins

2008 TTCA Coach of the Year, Holly Ford
submitted by Laura Jordan


Our own tennis coach, Holly Ford, was named the 2008 "Coach of the Year" by the Texas Tennis Coaches Association. The award signifies the recognition she received and standing she has among her tennis coaching peers.

Coaching tennis since 1982, Holly has amassed an impressive string of accomplishments including 35 District Champions, 26 District Runners-up, nine Regional Champions, 19 Regional Qualifiers, one State Champion, and two State Runners-up in individual tennis. Additionally, her teams have qualified for State eight times.

Coach Ford's approach to coaching tennis is summed up in this statement. "One thing I love about tennis is that you can work very hard in practice and still have fun. Although challenging at times, I encourage my players to give their very best all the time."



Student Artwork to Hang in Senate
submitted by Bud Dunn

Congressman Louie Gohmert held the 1st Congressional  District Annual Art Competition again for 2008, in which there were two student entries from each of the 33 different schools in the area participating.  Spring Hill was represented by Desral Barriere and Marlene Alvarez, and the students' art was displayed at the Tyler Junior College Jean Browne Theatre
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First and second place winners will be displayed in Washington D. C.  for a year.  This year Desral Barriere won 2nd place and was given a plaque from Congressman Gohmert and told he would enjoy seeing his work at the Senate.



Mousetrap Cars Test Newton's Laws of Motion
submitted by Allison Gillentine

Students studying Newton's Laws of Motion in Honors Physics created vehicles that were propelled using the kinetic energy stored in a mouse trap.  The mouse trap car assignment challenged students to create a car that would travel the greatest distance along a track with a fixed width of  three meters.  The vehicle had to travel a minimum distance of three meters to receive a passing grade.  Students were also required to create their cars using a limited list of materials consisting mostly of cardboard, styrofoam, metal rods, and fasteners. 
 
The inaugural mousetrap distance record was set by Carlee Wood (grade 11) and Kayli Cowan (grade 12) at 28.046 meters.  Second place distance winners were Cody Patterson (grade 12) and Ashley Alm (grade 12) with a distance of 22.866 meters. 
 
Mrs. Gillentine comments, "My students did marvelous job executing this assignment. I am tremendously proud of their accomplishments!"




Anatomy & Physiology News
submitted by Karen Brundrett

The Anatomy & Physiology class gave their classroom tree “life” with anatomical ornaments.  This class project provided an opportunity for the students to connect the Christmas season with Anatomy.  Students were required to put together an “anatomically correct” ornament.  The results were atoms, runners, body parts, blood, DNA, and other creative structures.




This same class presented PowerPoint presentations on different types of cancer.  The students chose their topics, researched and organized information, and presented their acquired knowledge to the class.

Mudbubble Boy Animation
submitted by Laura Jordan
 
BIMM students recently completed their final Flash animation projects. The assignment was to try to replicate the Mudbubble Boy originally created by Chris Georgenes and to animate it, complete with shadow and original background.   The students spent three weeks on the project, with some very good results. Senior Brandon Arden created the animation at this link.