The PTHS UIL team recently competed outside of our district in College Station bringing home the 1st place Sweepstakes trophy.

The Social Studies team of Kristyn Edwards, Haiden Hailey, and Jaxon Duncan, and coached by Mr. Guy Kelley placed first.

The the following students earned 1st place in their events:

Parker Dalton - Prose Oral Interpretation

Kristyn Edwards - Social Studies

Jose Aranda - Number Sense

Cread Ray - Science

Andrew Meek - Editorial, Headline

Robin Brown - Computer Applications

The One-Act Play performed The Color of Our Gold for district judges in Hallsville, being recognized as the alternate play to bi-district.

Cast leads Aubrey Wickerson and Brooklyn Winters garnered medals for All-Star Cast and Natalie Hunt received Outstanding Honor Crew Award.

The community can support the cast, crew, and directors at the community performance Thursday, March 9 at 6:30 pm in the PTHS Theater.

In Mrs. Ramirez’s class, we are meeting our goals of writing our first and last names! We are working together to build beautiful STEAM items and also learning how to retell stories. We had a Jack and the Beanstalk play and in class we built and retold the story together. We also had some special friends visit from Pine Tree Middle School to read to us.

Most importantly, we go on field trips to build special bonds that will transcend into our classrooms.

Ms. Wadley’s class had a blast having an impromptu lesson about “touching the clouds.” The students learned all fog, why it occurs, and even got to feel it.

We recently had the privilege of visiting EcoLand and learned all about rocks and water. The students were able to get hands-on learning and even pet some creepy crawlers!

DR. SUESS

We had so much fun during Dr. Seuss Week. Many staff and kids wore their best costumes.

We want to thank all the parents that helped our fundraiser be a success! We sold out of our kits one week before it ended. Your partnership is essential for the success of our school.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Spring Break

March 13-17

Have a restful break little pirates!

PTA Meeting

March 21

6:00 p.m. - Primary Cafeteria

Spring Pictures

March 23

7:45-11:00 am

Career Vehicle Parade

March 24

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Biliteracy Night

March 28

5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Pirate of the Month Announced

March 30

2:15 pm - Primary Front Office

Birch First showed up to their UIL competition on February 24th. Our students continued their legacy at the UIL competition, and we are so proud of their accomplishments. More importantly, we are proud of their hard work and dedication it took to be champions.

TOTAL POINTS:

Birch- 557.4

Parkway- 259.7

Hallsville East- 103.2

Hallsville West- 94.9

Hallsville North- 45

2nd grade Disney musical! Ms. Meadows and her 2nd grade music classes performed two amazing shows. One for students in the morning, and one for parents in the evening. They performed all kinds of familiar and popular songs from the movies!

Our March character trait is INTEGRITY. These Birch First students do the right thing even when it’s hard and noone is looking. We are proud of these 3rd and 4th graders!

Kid’s Heart Challenge

On March 6th in our physical education classes, Parkway Elementary kicked off our Kid’s Heart Challenge with all the special’s coming together to watch the kickoff video. Parkway’s mission is to get as many people registered online to become Heart Heroes through the American Heart Association.

Every student that raises $100 or more will get to Super Soak the Coaches. We also have other incentives including be the PE Teacher for the Day, a grade level will have a Crazy Sock/Hat day, as well as a certain class can pick the activity for the week in PE class. We are raising awareness on heart disease and how students here at The Pack can save lives by being Heart Heroes!

Our 2nd graders put on an amazing show for everyone to see called “Night at the Movies.” They sang different songs from their favorite kid movies from Zootopia to Moana to the Peanuts. Our 2nd graders had so much fun performing these songs. Great job Parkway Pack!

Here at The Pack we have some amazing teachers and staff that go “ALL IN” day in and day out. Recently, the Parkway staff nominated individuals who they believed were Pack quality for our Teacher of the Year, Employee of the Year, and Newcomer of the year. Our Teacher of the Year is the smiling, energetic, amazing 1st grade teacher Ms. Ingram. She always has a smile on her face, while loving those little babies everyday.

Our Newcomer of the Year is no other than 4th grade teacher Ms. Toal. She is wonderful, hard working, and just an all-around amazing person.

Last, but not least, our Employee of the Year is our wonderful, amazing 1st and 2nd grade Instructional Coach Mrs. Riley. She is always willing to lend a helping hand to whoever needs it here at the Pack. Congratulations to our Parkway People of the Year!

Pine Tree Middle School’s 5th Grade UIL Team won first place at their district meet last week in Mt. Pleasant. The team results are in and we won first place team in each event.

Thanks to all those who helped make this possible and for the great work from our coaches and Mr. Lee Branson, Director of Fine Arts and UIL Academics.

ART (Coach Korie McMullan)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Kade Stroman – 1st place

Ava Evans – 3rd place

Anabelle Perkins – 4rd place

Vanessa Alexander – 4th place

Elizabeth Burton – 7th place

Mary Ann De Jesus – 9th place

CHESS PUZZLES (Coach Amy Streetman)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Jeyland Dies - 1st place

Ian Gillian – 2nd place

Camden Hollingsworth – 3rd place

Corderious Garrett – 7th place

DICTIONARY SKILLS (Coach Tiera Kyle)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Destiny Morrow - 2nd place

Jeyland Dies – 3rd place

Camden Hollingsworth – 4th place

Sha’Nyia Oliver – 6th place

LISTENING (Coach Susan Wiley)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Anette Arcia -1st place

Lizzie Blackwell – 2nd place

Jocelyn Cedera – 3rd place

Tucker Fairman – 4th place

MAPS, GRAPHS, & CHARTS (Coach Barrie Horne)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Baylee Gray- 1st place

McKell Daly – 2nd place

Sheldon Smith – 3rd place

Daniel (Robby) Villasenor – 4th place

MUSIC MEMORY (Coach Lacy Hargrave)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Samuella Mbeh -1st place

Syler Lane – 2nd place

Audrey Foster - 3rd place

Tristan Basadue – 4th place

Hannah Holder – 6th place

Annie Lightsey – 7th place

NUMBER SENSE (Coach Michelle Randall)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Nathalie Echave -1st place

Jeyland Dies – 2nd place

Elizabeth Burton – 4th place

Jirah Baker – 5th place

ORAL READING – POETRY (Coach Nikki Parker)

Chloe Martell – 1st place

Paker Montendan – 2nd place

Clara White - 3rd place

SOCIAL STUDIES (Coach Laurie Strandberg)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Roselyn Perez - 1st place

Brenna Mettler – 2nd place

Baili Bylsma – 3rd place

Ava Evans – 7th place

SPELLING (Coach Deborah Elmore)

FIRST PLACE TEAM

Baylee Gray – 2nd place

Natalie Gomez - 4th place

Christine Romero - 4th place

McKell Daly – 6th place

Congratulations go to Mrs. Amy Streetman as she was voted Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Streetman does a fabulous job teaching our 5th graders interesting science activities and leading the science department.

We appreciate her happy attitude and wonderful spirit making Pine Tree Middle School the best place to be.

Saturday, February 25, Longview World of Wonders held an event called Little Big Techs. Pine Tree Middle School Robotics was invited to participate in the event. Several of the 6th grade robotics teams showcased this year's VEX IQ game and their robots. This was part of the World of Wonder’s exhibit for STEM activities in the area.

Our very own Mr. Derrick Conley presented to Mrs. White’s Go Pro class on March 1st. Students got a real world example of working in the public school system, the required degrees and experience, school finance, and the duties and responsibilities of superintendents and assistant superintendents.

Thank you Mr. Conley!

On February 25, the Pine Tree Passion Guard hosted a district Winter Guard competition in the Pirate Center. Over 40 schools were in attendance as well as Navarro College & Northwestern State University in the college division.

The Junior High Winter Guard received first place with a score of 63.18. Not only are they undefeated this season, they are ranked number 1 in the state. With this performance, the JH Winter Guard again qualified for state championships which take place at Flower Mound High School on Saturday, March 11th. Their last district show is Friday, March 3 at Arlington Seguin High School.

Members of JH include: Joseline Araujo, Junior Betts, Debany Cuevas, Jessica Decker, Demi Fults, Isabella Gonzalez, Cara Green, Kaidee Hailey, Ava Harrell, Jocelyn Hernandez, Reagan Lollar, Cameron Lonsberry, Kyley Nowlin, Aaliyah Porter, Crista Ravellette, Selena Resendiz, Alessiya Robertson, Claire Rutledge, Lainee Sanders, Hannah Stevenson, and Emma Tillery.

Mrs. House’s Pine Tree Junior High theater students performed a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for our youngest Pirates at Pine Tree Primary on March 2nd. It was a fantastic production - great job pirates and Mrs. House!

Pirates are knocking it out of the ballpark in UIL events. The PTMS/PTJH Math and Science team has placed first at every event this year, sending 41 students to the Texas Math Science Coaches Association state meet in San Antonio on April 1st and being named the DIVISION I REGIONAL CHAMPIONS. Their stellar record is a testament to their passion and dedication.

Ms. Michelle Randall and Ms. Avery Morrill have led an amazing year. Good luck at TMSCA state!

PTJH Track Season is well underway with meets at Pine Tree Stadium, Mt. Pleasant, and Longview! We’re off to a great start and we’re headed for a great season!

Congratulations to PTJH’s Teacher of the Year Mrs. Amanda Dalston! This honor is very well deserved as Mrs. Dalston consistently goes above and beyond for our students and campus!

Spring Break has arrived, three nine weeks have been completed, the time change is occurring this weekend and the weather is definitely warmer than it has been since October.

Over 300 juniors recently took the SAT at the Longview Fairgrounds as well as in locations on the Pine Tree campus. Counselors and Heather Hernandez, College Readiness Coordinator, worked very hard to make this success, and it was. Students were able to take the exam and still participate in regular classes and sports and extracurricular activities with no problems.

Students who had perfect attendance in February were allowed to miss a morning of class and received free bowling, food and fellowship.

Band and choir had successful trips to competition recently, earning many medals and trips to state for students. Wayne Gaddis’ art department saw 49 students medal in VASE competition and send three to state. UIL Academics is currently ranked at the top of the district and is busy preparing for the upcoming district meet.

Debate has a trip over Spring Break to Austin and another one in April. Culinary, Automotive, Welding and Construction will all take students to competition in Corpus Christi at the end of March after having a successful showing earlier this month.

Students are enjoying success in core classes as well as some extracurriculars and elective classes as well. Dr. Cleo Wadley said things are humming along fairly smoothly at PTHS right now, signs that the final nine weeks, which begins just after Spring Break ends, will be a great success.

The yearbook has been completed and delivered to the plant for final printing. Books are $80 and only 80 out of 200 being printed remain for sale. Students, especially seniors he said, should be running down to Room 612 to purchase a yearbook.

On the sports front, baseball has finished tournament action with a good record and will now start district play. Softball has been outstanding in non-district action and will now head into district as one of the favorites for a championship. Track has competed well at both the Pine Tree and Gilmer meets and will head into Spring Break with a number of athletes ranking at the top of their events.

Powerlifting has completed regional action and will send a large number of competitors to state. Spring sports such as golf and tennis are in the heat of battle as well, and both are looking for good results as district meets and matches draw ever closer.

Drill team had its formal Saturday night at the Holiday Inn Infinity Room, and prom is only a little over one month away. Students are busy now getting prom dates, buying their tickets and getting ready for the event which will take place on April 15 at Flying Feathers Ranch north of Longview.

Time is flying by this year at PTHS, and while no one has a real chance to catch their breath right now there are a lot of success stories to tell from students and teachers alike. And, that means life is good for all Pine Tree students and faculty. Gung Ho!

ExCEL would like to recognize and celebrate our latest graduates, Alyssa Gonzalez and Javier Vasquez. Alyssa was also our Pirate of the Month for January. Alyssa came to ExCEL from Tatum ISD and started this school year as a junior. She came to ExCEL with one goal in mind and that was to graduate early. Her determination was clear to her teachers early on.

Alyssa says that initially she was concerned that she wouldn't actually learn anything because everything was online, including the teacher instruction. However, after completing the Edgenuity Program, she says she is pleasantly surprised that she did learn throughout the program and was able to retain what she learned. She really appreciated being able to work at her own pace as well.

Alyssa plans on working full-time after graduation but does plan to attend college in the future. She has an interest in perhaps taking a couple of college classes this summer. She plans on pursuing a career in Art.

Javier, our second graduate for March, came to ExCEL in April of 2022. Javier was having difficulty focusing in a regular classroom and felt that a smaller classroom setting might suit him better. Although he was struggling, he was determined to get his diploma.

Javier can be described as somewhat shy and quiet. He is respectful and has a polite nature. Lead teacher, Mrs. Jones, said Javier is very self-determined. In his spare time, Javier enjoys reading. He plans on attending a trade school and working full-time.

As always, the staff at ExCEL wish these two recent graduates the best in all their future endeavors.