Spring Hill High School Newsletter
   November 2004

 www.springhill.esc7.net    

From the Desk of Mike Gilbert:

The first nine-week grading period is behind us, and the high school put forth an excellent effort as a whole. Seventy-nine percent of the students passed all subject areas, with the senior class leading the way with 97% of students passing all subjects. This is a great statistic, but when one considers that well over 70% of the students at Spring Hill High School are involved in at least one extracurricular activity, these numbers are even more impressive. I want to congratulate all our students and teachers for a job well done in the first nine weeks and challenge them to continue putting forth the effort for the rest of the school year.

Go Panthers!

Mike Gilbert, Principal
Student Focus

Kyle Pope and Hillary Powdrill have been nominated for the coveted Wendy's High School Heisman Award. This award honors the nation's top high school seniors who best exemplify a supreme "citizen-scholar-athlete." These two were nominated by Principal Mike Gilbert for their academic aptitude, athletic talent and tremendous display of commitment ot their communities.Male Heisman Award Winner

Celebrating more than 10 years of commitment to youth and education, this program was created through a partnership between Wendy's, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the Heisman Memorial Trophy in 1994. To track a student's progress throughout the competition or to find out more about the program, please log on to www.wendyshighschoolheisman.com.

Female Heisman Award WinnerThe Wendy's High School Heisman Program is comprised of five phases - Nomination, State Finalists, State Winners, National Finalists and National Winners. Entries are initially evaluated by ACT Assessment during the State Finalist and State Winner phases and then passed on to a distinguished panel of judges. National Finalists are invited for an all-expense paid trip to New York City to participate in the Heisman weekend festivities and will be featured on ESPN2 on Dec. 12.
Alumni Spotlight - submitted by Jan York

Lights! Cameras! Action! Perhaps not many lights, but there were plenty of cameras and action at the Dallas premiere Oct. 8 of Primer, starring David Sullivan (class of ’96). Teachers Linda McGarvey and Charlotte Kincy, along with former teacher Jan York, attended the opening at Angelika Film Center to celebrate the film’s success with Sullivan and other former SH graduates.

“Even though I’ve seen the movie, it is still hard to believe that’s Sully up on the screen,” Jason Henderson (class of ’96) said.

Sundance Film Festival named Primer as best new film and best use of technology, giving it a boost few independent films receive. Sullivan, a graduate of Baylor University, answered an open casting call in Dallas. “I’m not married, I have few financial obligations,” Sullivan said, “and I decided if I was going to try acting now was the time to do it.” In addition to playing the lead of Abe, Sullivan assisted in many aspects of the production from scouting locations to arranging lighting. Sullivan’s prior acting credits include roles in several SH one-act plays.
Sullivan at a Primer showing

Abe, Sullivan’s character, who along with three friends and fellow garage scientists, creates a device that duplicates objects that can be sent forward in time. Abe and Aaron, played by writer and director Shane Carruth, decide to keep this discovery to themselves. The pair duplicate themselves, go forward a few hours in time, and profit from some day trading. As all good doppelganger stories go, the doubles start to think and act for themselves, and Abe and Aaron have crafted their own versions of Frankenstein’s monster.

No showing of Primer is currently planned for Longview, but it is still showing at Angelika Film Center in Dallas.
High School News

 

Apparel Class Designs Pillowcases
from DeeAnn Coker

Apparel StudentStudents in apparel class are working to learn basic constuction skills. Only two weeks into the 9-week period, students completed personalized pillow cases with names appliqued on the front. The students are proud of their new skills and are eager to show friends their work. The next project students will tackle is a pair of pajama pants.



UIL Academic News
from Pat Gatons

Spring Hill High School UIL academic competition kicked off last month with members of the math-science team competing at the Pine Tree Practice Meet on October 30th.

Spring Hill UIL Coordinator Pat Gatons has high expectations for this year's group of UIL participants. "Last spring, we had six SHHS students qualify for the UIL State Academic meet in Austin, the most in many years," said Gatons. "With five of these students back this year, I look forward their returning to the State Meet along with, hopefully, several others."

With several practice meets scheduled between now and the District 16AAA UIL Academic Meet on April 1, 2005, many opportunities are available for students to prepare for district competition. Spring Hill will host its 28th annual math-science meet on Saturday, December 4th, and additional meets will be held next spring at Pine Tree (all UIL), Kilgore College, White Oak (all UIL), Longview, and other area schools.


Word from the Whitehouse

"Bush is my homeboy," reads the T-shirt designed by Mr. Sims' AP Government class. In an effort to encourage high school students to be interested in the voting process, government students designed political T-shirts and held a mock presidential election on November 2nd.

Hillary Powdrill, a student in Mr. Sims' class, mailed a letter to President Bush informing him of the class project. She also sent him a sample T-shirt and a picture of the AP Government students wearing their T-shirts. About two weeks later, Hillary received a phone call from an official at the Whitehouse. The official stated that the Whitehouse was thankful for the letter and its contents, and that the President would acknowledge its receipt in the "right way" at some point after the election.

President Bush received 86.6% of the vote in the SHHS mock election. John Kerry accumulated 10.89% of the vote, while Ralph Nader netted 2.48%.


NHS Builds Character
from Mary Lou Berlin

These young ladies exercised leadership, character and service, while participating in a project for NHS. On Saturday, OctoberNHS Members 23, several NHS members assisted a local retail store in some “fun sign” advertisement. While contributing service to a store in our community, the group was building character being characters. The retail store is making a donation to the Alpha Centauri Chapter of NHS to apply toward scholarship and other projects.


After-Prom Planning Meeting

There will be a planning meeting for Junior parents for "After-Prom" on Sunday, November 21, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. in the Student Center in the High School. All Junior parents are invited to attend. For more information contact Linda Holbert, 903-759-3088.


New College Entrance Test Prep Program!
from Jane Roberson

College admission is getting more competitive each year. Our school is committed to helping your child get into the college of their choice by reaching their full potential on pre-collegiate entrance exams.

Spring Hill High School is pleased to provide new SAT, ACT, and PSAT test preparation program. Schools using this service have reported significant improvement in the average student test scores. All students who plan to go on to college or training after high school can benefit from the TestU online test prep program.

The TestU online program provides each student with a personalized study plan based on the results of a brief diagnostic. Students are then guided through more than 50 hours of instruction that:

• Strengthens the skills measured by the SAT, ACT, or PSAT
• Introduces test-taking strategies and
• Builds confidence with many short practice tests and full-length exams.

Our school’s license for this service provides 24/7 access for your child to participate – using any computer with Internet access, at school or home, to take advantage of TestU’s online course. We look forward to many students using the TestU pre-collegiate test prep program. Please ask your child about their college plans – and mention that our school has a proven system available to help them achieve more on college entrance exams.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jane Roberson or Peggy Whiteman at 903-323-7738. Additionally, you may find a list of college scholarships on Mrs. Roberson's Web page.


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UPCOMING EVENTS

  • November 1-19
    Leaders' Core Canned Food Drive (4th block)
  • November 16
    Leaders' Core Style

  • November 21, 2PM
    After-Prom Planning Meeting
  • November 29, 7PM
    "The Value of a College Education...     and the Reality of Paying for It" WORKSHOP
    Place: Little Theater
  • Weekly Bulletin

      



Congratulations to the
Elks Lodge SHHS Seniors of the Month

September - Hillary Powdrill
October - Anna Veralli
November - Lela Coker

THE PANTHER'S PAW
FEATURE ARTICLE

AP Classes Earn College Credit in High School
by Rachel Rowen

The Advanced Placement Program consists of courses that give high school students a head start while they’re still in the supportive environment of a high school classroom.

After students have spent the year in challenging AP courses its time to put their knowledge to the test to earn college credit or placement before even setting a foot on a college campus by taking the AP Exam.

“I think they’re a lot of hard work and can make you feel like giving up and can stress you out and whatever, but in the end there worth it because you get more of an education,” junior Ashley Raysin said.

Spring Hill offers several AP classes, including English III and IV, Government, Economics, Calculus and Art.

“Calculus is challenging and it makes me apply myself. You must concentrate and aim for the most you can get out of it,” senior Brandon Carter said.

For qualifying AP Exam grades most or the nation colleges and universities, and in 24 other countries, grant students credit, placement or both.

“Although they were very hard, they were very beneficial to my learning,” senior Keith Zuech said.

Some of the parents and students are wandering what the difference is between “credit” and “advance placement” for qualifying AP Exam grades. Students might get “credit” which means you earn points toward their college degree. Then they might get awarded “advance placement” which means they can skip introductory courses.

“I’m glad I took both AP English classes. It was definitely a challenge and it took English to a whole new level. It helped me a lot on ACT and SAT, on college essays and it makes me think,” Lela Coker said.

The responsibility to reason, analyze and understand for themselves are ultimately given to students who participate in AP.

“Even though it’s really thorough and challenging, it benefits you in the long run because it makes you work past your full potential, prepares you for college and isn’t bad for your GPA,” senior Ashley Sheridan said.



Congratulations!

The yearbook and newspaper won two top state awards at the fall convention on Oct. 23-25 in San Antonio. The yearbook was Best of Show and the newspaper won runner-up to Best of Show.

Spring Hill ISD, 3101 Spring Hill Road, Longview, TX 75605
903-759-4404
This newsletter is an extension of the Spring Hill ISD Web Site, compiled and edited by Laura Jordan.