April 2023 - Volume 3 - No. 9

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BRHS Senior Kellen Rollins competed at the State Powerlifting Meet in Abilene recently. During that meet, Kellen set a new state record on the bench press with a lift of 505 lbs. He lifted 625 lbs. on the squat and 600 lbs. on the deadlift as well. His efforts earned him the silver medal and 2nd place in the state.

This is the first year that BRHS has had a color guard that competed in the annual Winter Guard competition. Under the direction of Ms. Megan Sutton, they had a very successful season. They competed in 4 contests, improving their score and standing each time. The season culminated in the NTCA Novice Championships where they finished 2nd place in their division.

The Blue Ridge High School staff is proud of our young ladies and gentlemen that participated in CX debate and UIL Academic competitions. Our CX debate teams took 2nd, 3rd, and 6th place in district competition with the 2nd place team moving on to the state competition. We had 41 students participate in the UIL Academic competition on March 22 in Bonham. We brought home many 4th, 5th and 6th place ribbons, and one 3rd place medal in literary criticism that will be moving on to regionals April 21-22 at Tyler Junior College. We are very proud of all of these students and are looking forward to a bright future in our academic UIL success.

Congratulations to Tye Mounger and Hunter Dyer on advancing to the THSBA regional tournament out of the North Texas Division. They placed in the top 40% of the Angler of the Year rankings. The regional competition will be held April 15, 2023 at Lake Ray Roberts.

It's hard to believe that graduation is already almost here. Senior parents, please be on the lookout for information coming home with your students about senior activities. New scholarship information is being posted almost daily in the Class of 2023 Google Classroom. Please find some of the important dates below.

Important Dates:

Senior Trip to Broken Bow - May 7th-9th

Baccalaureate - May 21st, 2pm at Christ United Church in Blue Ridge

Senior Awards Night - May 23rd, 6pm

Senior Breakfast & Graduation Practice - May 25th

Graduation - May 25th, 7:30pm*

March 27th-28th - District Tennis at Princeton

March 28th - Weatherford CDE Contest, Softball vs Bonham, & Baseball at Howe

March 29th - District UIL Speech Contest

March 29th-April 1st - West Texas CDE Trip

March 30th - Track at Bonham & HOT Fair CDE Contest

March 31st - End of 3-Week Progress Report Period, Softball vs Bells, & Baseball vs Howe

April 1st - April Fools Spring Fest & Area 5 Meats Contest

April 3rd - District Golf at Sherman & Area 5 Dairy & Vet Tech Contest

April 4th - Area 5 Livestock, Poultry, Floral, FBM, MQP Contest

April 5th - UIL Concert & Sight-Reading Contest

April 6th - SAT Prep Boot Camp & Track at Whitesboro

April 7th - No School & Softball vs Leonard

April 8th - BRHS Prom

April 10th - No School

April 11th - Baseball at Bonham & Softball vs Howe

April 11th-12th - Regional Tennis Tournament at Tyler

April 12th - FFA Area 5 Judging Contest at Stephenville

April 12th-13th - District Track at Pottsboro

April 14th - Baseball vs Bonham & Softball at Pottsboro

April 15th - BRISD Job Fair, 10am-12pm

April 18th - English I & II EOC Exams, Baseball vs Gunter, & Softball vs Gunter

April 21st - End of 6-Week Progress Report Period, Area Track Meet at Emory-Rains, Baseball at Gunter, & Softball at Bonham

April 25th - SAT School Day Exam & Baseball Double-Header vs Bells

April 25th-26th - State Tennis Tournament

April 27th - Biology & US History EOC Exams

April 27th-29th - FFA State CDE Contest

April 28th - No School

April 28th-29th - Regional Track Meet at Whitehouse

May 3rd - Algebra I EOC Exam

Happy Spring BRHS!

It is hard to believe we are getting closer to the end of the year. Our students have been enjoying participating in a wealth of activities from spring sports, to UIL, One Act Play and everything in between.

A few upcoming reminders:

If your student is planning to begin taking dual credit courses next year, please make sure your student checks their BRISD email account. Both the student and parent need to sign the permission form sent via Google Form. Registration will be done by Collin Counselor, Mrs. Lee and will be strictly based off of your course requests that were submitted. The payment deadline for Fall 2023 classes is May 12th.

The SAT test will be offered to juniors and seniors on April 25th. Students who signed up will be automatically registered for an SAT Boot camp that will be held on April 6th. The next SAT School Day will be offered to seniors this fall.

Seniors- please check out the attached scholarship opportunities. The deadlines for each are listed on the individual forms.

As a reminder, all seniors must have either submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or completed an opt out form as part of a new state graduation requirement this year. Graduation will be here before you know it!

Senate Bill 1888, 87th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, added Texas Education Code §28.0253, which establishes the Texas First Early High School Completion Program to allow public high school students who demonstrate early readiness for college to graduate early from high school.

The purpose of the Texas First Early High School Completion Program, in conjunction with the Texas First Scholarship Program (Texas Education Code, Chapter 56, Subchapter K-1), is to promote efficiency in the state public education system and incentivize the enrollment of high performing students at eligible institutions within the state of Texas. Please see the attached flyers for more information on this new program.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Brooke Ingersoll, M.Ed.

Blue Ridge High School Counselor

e: brooke.ingersoll@brisd.net

p: 972.752.5554

Students in Ms. Morales' Spanish classes have been learning about a unique tradition in Spain. Tarragona, Spain celebrates the tradition of the 'castells' in spectacular fashion. This popular event involves people creating human towers up to a height of between six and ten tiers. In addition to spending class time learning about the castell tradition, Spanish I students got to participate in a STEM related “castell” competition using cards.

Mrs. Hamilton's entrepreneurship classes have started their own businesses on the BRHS campus. Students and staff can purchase items from these businesses every Tuesday and Thursday during the school day. Students in the class get the chance to plan inventory, monitor sales, assign roles for employees, and gather customer feedback to make decisions about the success of their business. The lessons learned will help them to be better prepared for a future of running their own business or company.

Welcome back to News from Collin College. Read on to get the latest information about Collin College and the Farmersville Campus.

Q. Are you ready for Movie Night on the Lawn?
A. You are invited to the second annual Farmersville Campus Movie Night on the Lawn from 7:30-10 p.m. on March 25. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and join us in the Farmersville Campus courtyard for Top Gun: Maverick, rated PG-13.

Q. Are you looking for a summer camp?

A. This summer, the Farmersville Campus will offer three camps: a Nature Explorers Camp, a Robotics Camp, and a Crime Scene Investigation Camp. Participants will learn about habitat preservation and stewardship while exploring concepts in geoscience, native plants, agriculture, and animals in the Nature Explorers Camp. Campers will stimulate their minds and unleash their creativity in the Robotics Camp, and campers will learn hands-on forensic investigation techniques in the Crime Scene Investigation Camp. For more information, click here.

Q. Have you heard of Maymester classes?

A. Collin College Maymester classes run from May 15-30. Registration for Maymester and Summer registration is now open for all. Click here to view the schedule of classes.

Q. Did you know that Collin College offers scholarships?

A. The deadline for Fall 2023 scholarship applications is Friday, March 31. Click here for more information.

Faculty Highlight: David Latona

Farmersville Campus History Professor David Latona has been teaching at Collin College since 2021. An educator for 32 years, Latona teaches United States History I and II at the Farmersville Campus. He decided to become a teacher when he was in the fifth grade. His first teaching job was at Crystal River Middle School in Florida where he taught world geography and American history. He later decided that he wanted to share his passion for history with adult learners, and after earning his master’s degree he taught at a community college in Georgia for 12 years that became a university during his tenure.

Latona holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Florida State University and a Master of Arts in History from the University of Central Florida.

What would you like parents and students to know about history classes at the Farmersville Campus?

My major goal for my classes is to foster a lifelong interest of history in my students and to teach them valuable skills to be successful in college. It is the combination of my collegiate experiences and my decade of teaching in public schools that gives me unique knowledge and skills to teach and advise at the community college level. My experience enables me to bridge the gap and facilitate a smoother transition for my students. I do not take a traditional, lecture-only approach to my subject but rather one that uses multimedia, provides study skills, utilizes discussions that tie history to modern issues, and sets aside the time to give corrective feedback.

Everything I’ve seen about Collin College, from the initial job posting, to my interview, to teaching here demonstrates that this is truly a student-centered institution. I was excited to join a fine institution where my personal goals as an educator align so well with the institutional goals.

To find out more about the Farmersville Campus, visit

www.collin.edu/campuses/farmersville.

To learn more about Collin College, visit www.collincollegenews.com or www.collin.edu.

Stress and emotional situations can be overwhelming for teenagers. Many young adults don’t know how to react and may act out. If you’ve noticed certain problematic behaviors with your teen, Children’s Health can help. Your teen can connect with a licensed behavioral health provider — right from school, right from a tablet. Together, we can identify and resolve small problems before they become big ones.

Students or parents in the school community can anonymously submit any suspicious activity, bullying, or other student-related issues to a school administrator(s). We encourage you to report important issues. Once you complete the contact form below, you will receive a confirmation that your information has been submitted to the school district.

https://www.anonymousalerts.com/blueridgeisd/

Blue Ridge High School is a 3A public school located in the northeast corner of Collin County in North Texas.

Email: trent.hamilton@brisd.net
Website: https://www.brisd.net/Page/9
Location: 11020 County Road 504, Blue Ridge, TX, USA
Phone: (972) 752-5554
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blueridgehighschool
Twitter: @brhs_tigers