Jessica Vega, an award-winning artist from Memorial High, soaked up the sights and sounds of New York City earlier this month while attending the National Scholastic ceremony and Scholastic workshops.
  Vega was accompanied on the trip by her mother and by Memorial High art teacher Adam Malek.
  Vega visited museums, got to handle an original Van Gogh and met several celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Hawk and fellow artists David Salle and John Baldessari.
  She was interviewed for "The Today Show" and visited her artwork on display at the World Financial Center and the Contemporary Art Museum.
  (Right) Vega is show at Times Square and looking over her display in the Contemporary Art Museum.

Memorial High's Class of 2011 erupts in joy at the conclusion of its graduation ceremony.

Memorial High principal Dr. Angela Stallings presents a special diploma to a kindergarten student from Turner Elementary. Kindergarteners from Memorial's feeder schools were invited to attend and take part in the ceremony as special escorts. Each one crossed the stage and received a special diploma. 

A kindergarten student joins in the procession with Memorial High seniors Taylor Brooks and Gabriella Braileano and faculty member Victoria Ellis. 

A kindergartener tugs at her graduation gown as she makes her way into Hofheinz Pavilion.

Soaking up the sights and sounds of a near capacity crowd at Hofheinz Pavilion, a kindergartener follows Memorial High seniors as they walk to their seats.

Memorial High choir members sing the national anthem.

Dr. Angela Stallings, Memorial High's principal, delivering a welcome address.

A kindergarten student scans the arena while Memorial High seniors applaud the speakers.

Heather Woitena, Memorial High's valedictorian, gives the commencement address.

A kindergarten student focuses on the projection screen to see what's going on up front.

Dr. Stallings addresses the graduating Class of 2011.

A kindergarten student from Teague Elementary stands on a chair in order to see the stage at Memorial High's commencement ceremony. 

Pasadena ISD Associate Superintendent for Curriculum Billye Smith greets a kindergarten student exiting the stage. Smith, Memorial High's former principal, greeted all of the graduates after receiving their diplomas.

Taylor Williams and Yasmin Valle savor the moment.

Cole Richardson gets a hug from faculty member Paulette Fawcett.

Board of Trustees members Jack Bailey (left) and Marshall Kendrick (second from right) join Pasadena ISD Superintendent Dr. Kirk Lewis in congradulating a Memorial High graduate.

Dr. Angela Stallings, Memorial High's principal, share a moment of jubilation with graduate Courtney Waddell, the last of approximately 3,000 names to be called at Hofheinz Pavilion on Friday.

  The top 11 Memorial High School seniors (accounting for a tie) from the Class of 2011, honored at the Shining Stars Gala on Tuesday night. Presenters in each photo are (left) Jeanne Newberry and (right) Melissa Buell and Bill Barmore. Newberry and Buell are representatives of Dell Computers. Barmore serves as president of the Pasadena ISD Education Foundation.
  Each senior is in the middle of the photo with the distinquished educator chosen by that student standing second from the left.

Senior Ashley Arnold and Memorial High history teacher Terry Sheehan

Senior Josselyne Chano and Memorial High English teacher Mona Robinson

Senior Ralph Miguel R. Fonte and Memorial High biology teacher Kristy Chant

Senior Pedro Grimaldo and Memorial High economics teacher Blake Emmons

Senior Oanh Ngoc Hoang and Memorial High physics teacher David White

Senior Bethany Phelps and Memorial High English teacher Patricia Cain

Senior Joestine Marie D. Quezon and Memorial High algebra teacher Greg Eichhorn

Senior Carlos Ruiz and Memorial High health science teacher Kelly Cowan

Senior Clara Snelson and Memorial High English teacher Mona Robinson

Senior Heather Woitena and Memorial High history teacher Amy Duke

Junior Lizbeth Cavazos was selected for the Memorial High Wall of Fame and honored at a recent ceremony. Cavazos arrived from Mexico three years ago speaking no English. This year she passed all of her TAKS exit-level tests. She is the fourth student to be chose for the honor. (Below) Cavazos poses next to her spot on the ESL Wall of Fame.

  Four District 22-5A champions from Memorial's 2011 tennis team were honored at the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday night (May 24). District champs for the Mavericks were Matthew McDonald and David Kolacny in boys doubles and Astrid Torres and Brandon Kafarela in mixed doubles.
  (Below) Matthew McDonald, Astrid Torres, David Kolacny, Brandon Kafarela and Head Tennis Coach Oscar Torres.

Memorial's Alcala, Thompson's Nguyen Take Calendar Top Spots

  Memorial High's Stephen Alcala last week finished first in the senior division of the DOW Art Calendar contest, the second year in a row in which Alcala has been featured on the calendar.
  Thompson Intermediate's Dona Nguyen finished first in the junior division. Both students earned $500 and another $1,500 for their schools. 
  A reception was held at Monument Inn for the winning students, their families, teachers and principals.
  Nearly 400 entries were received from nine area districts. Pasadena ISD students dominated the awards, placing in eight of the 12 spots on the calendar. Annually, 20,000 calendars are printed and distributed internationally.
  Other district students placing in the senior division were Brittany Seay, Memorial, second place; Chelsea Maclean, Memorial, third place; Brooke Hall and Tram Le, both from Memorial and both honorable mention.
  Other district students placing in the junior division were Mariah Martinez, Queens Intermediate, third place; and Carin Gusman, De Zavala Middle School, honorable mention.
  ( Below) Thompson's Nguyen with her winning art piece.

Celebrating Memorial's big haul are teacher Miguel Herrera, student Tram Le, teacher Adam Malek and students Chelsea Maclean, Brooke Hall, Stephen Alcala and Brittany Seay.

Displaying the funds and the finished product are (back) Memorial High teacher Miguel Herrera, Jessica Vega, Kirsten Wilson, Jennifer Flores, Michael Contreras, Esteban Blanca and teacher Adam Malek; and (front) April Rosse and Amy Truong.

  By BRITTA GAMINO

 

  An art submission by Brittany Seay, a student at Memorial High, was selected as the winning piece in the Congressional Art Competition held recently. 
  Her piece, titled "The Beginning," was chosen by U.S. Rep. Pete Olsen to hang in the capitol in Washington, D.C., for the coming year. Seay will also receive two plane tickets to Washington, D.C., courtesy of Southwest Airlines. 
  Art pieces by runnersup were selected by Rep. Olson to hang in his Washington, Sugar Land and Clear Lake offices. Runnersup were Julian Casares, Stephen Alcala and Samuel Stewart.
  Memorial claimed the first four places in the competition.

Celebrating the arrival of a mini-grant check at Memorial are (back row) Dr. Angela Stallings, the school's principal; Steve Phelps, Abby Skowron and Suzanne Easley of mini-grant sponsor Phelps Insurance; and (front row) librarian Adrienne Raible; Melissa Harrison of Phelps Insurance; librarian Jennifer Brabston and John Phelps of Phelps Insurance.

  Four Memorial High students -- Lexi Abrego, Sheryl Hinojosa, Sarah Fleenor and Lily Rangel -- advanced to nationals in recent Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) state competition. 
  Abrego and Rangel took first place at state for their Chapter Service Project Manual titled "Speak Now for Autism." 
  Hinojosa and Fleenor placed third for their National Program in Action project on literacy titled "Read Now for the Record."
  (Below) National qualifiers Abrego, Hinojosa, Fleenor and Rangel.

The Memorial Orchestra performed alongside the Stephen F. Austin State University orchestra in an "Orchestra of the Pines" concert at Cole Concert Hall in Nacogdoches last Saturday (April 16). Memorial students were given the opportunity to perform with college-level musicians. Event photos follow.

The Family and Consumer Science class at Memorial recently toured the University of Houston's main campus. The trip was sponsored by GEAR UP. Event photo follows.

Astrid Torres and Brandon Kararela (below left) won the "B" missed doubles division at the Baytown Varsity Tennis Tournament. Angelica Bledsoe (below right) took second in the "B" girls singles.

Community In Schools students from Memorial recently attended the Houston Rockets' Job Shadow event at Toyota Center. Activities included resume-building, networking and a tour of the Toyota Center. (Below) Daja Sorrell, Tadesha Cawthorn and Antwanesha Carrington enjoy the game. (Bottom left) Alfonso Pena takes in one of the Toyota Center attractions. (Bottom right) Daryan Godley and Olivia Brokenberry tour the Toyota Center.

Memorial freshmen Kim Garcia, Lance Allison, Tram Le and Amy Truong, as well as senior Jessica Vega, will exhibit their art work at the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston on April 7 in the downstairs Kilkha Gallery from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The students will be pasrt of the CAMH exhibition catalog. CAMH's Teen Council organizes a Perspectives exhibition every two years that features work by Houston-area teens.

The Memorial doubles tandem of Joseph Patino and Jordan King (below) recently won the "B" division consolation draw at the Clear Brook JV tennis tournament.

Miguel Fonseca (below left) took first place in the "B" boys singles division, consolation bracket, at the recent Clear Springs Freshman Tennis Tournament. Foneseca has finished second of higher in all three of his freshman tournaments this year. Freshmen Chris Rau and Rene Delangel (below left) took first place in the "B" boys doubles consolation of the same tournament.

  Memorial's Alex Torres and Ray Flores captured the doubles title in the "B" Division at the Pasadena ISD varsity tennis tournament this week. Another Memorial players fared well in the tournament. 
  Angelica Bledsoe took second in "B" girls singles. Astrid Torres and Brandon Kafarela took second in "B" mixed doubles. And David Kolacny tok second in "A" boys singles. 
  (Below left and clockwise) Alex Torres and Flores; Bledsoe; Kolacny; and Astrid Torres and Kafarela.

  A cowboy rendering by Memorial High senior Jessica Vega has been chosen for inclusion in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Art Contest Auction to be held on Sunday.
  Vega was one of 52 students chosen to have artwork assigned to the auction. More than 300,000 students made up the original field of entrants.
  The auction, set for 11:45 a.m. in the Reliant Arena Sales Pavilion, is open to the public.
  Meanwhile, Pasadena ISD art students who placed in the district-level Best of Show, Gold Medal and Special Merit categories, and their teachers, attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo School Art Awards at Reliant Center on Saturday. 
  Glassell School of Art Scholarships for a one-week workshop were awarded to Sandy Llanes Chaves, a first-grader at Bush Elementary, to Vega and to Memorial High students Maria Morales, Jessica Riojas, Tram Le and Brittany Seay.
  Seay also received the Western Art Academy Scholarship to attend an intensive one month workshop in Kerrville at the Western Museum of Art. 
  (Below left) Vega and her auction-bound artwork. (Below right) Pasadena ISD art award-winners attend the rodeo.

  Memorial's Dillon Kone took second place in Presentation Management at the Business Professionals of America state convention last weekend in Fort Worth. Kone's second-place finish qualifies him for national competition in Washington, D.C., in May. 
  Two other Memorial students took eighth place honors in different categories. Cody Ranier took eighth in Computer Network Technology. Briana Rodriguez took eighth in Entrepreneurship.
  (Below) Dillon Kone, Briana Rodriguez and Cody Ranier display their medals following the competition.

Memorial senior Alex Torres and junior Brandon Ybarra (below left) teamed up to win the "B" doubles division at the Fort Bend ISD Tennis Tournament last week. Sophomore Caleb Matlock (below right) took second place last week in the "B" singles division at Pasadena ISD JV tournament.

  Stephen Acala and Jessica Vega, both art students at Memorial High, recently earned Gold Key Awards for their entries in the Scholastic Art and Writing Contest.
  Alcala earned the "Trustees' Exemplary Award" while Vega earned the "Superintendent's Award." Both carry monetary prizes. Both rank among the top three regional art awards issued by the Harris County Department of Education.
  The two students attended a recent reception hosted by the HCDE. Their teacher, Adam Malek, was also recognized at the reception for his efforts to advance students' art interests.
  The winning entries will now compete at the national contest in New York City. Winners there will be honored at Carnegie Hall this summer. 
  (Below) Vega and Acala pose with their winning entries.

Two Memorial High students -- junior Stephen Alcala and senior Jessica Vega -- received special awards at the Scholastic Art and Writing Reception this week. Alcala earned the Harris County Department of Education Trustees' Exemplary Award at the reception. Vega received the HCDE Superintendent's Award. The work of these students was chosen out of 1,200 entries from the Greater Houston area. Both students also received monetary awards for their work.

Memorial High's head football coach, John Snelson, and his senior fullback, Daniel Talavera, accept the big prize at the Touchdown Club of Houston's sportsmanship luncheon on Thursday.

SNELSON ACCEPTS TOUCHDOWN CLUB TROPHY
FOR TOP SPORTSMANSHIP AMONG HOUSTON 5A TEAMS 
  Dobie, South Houston, Pasadena High Honored as Finalists   
  HOUSTON -- Pasadena's Memorial High School football team was named the winner of the Touchdown Club of Houston's Class 5A Sportsmanship Award on Thursday during a luncheon at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Houston.
  John Snelson, the Mavericks' head coach, and Memorial senior fullback Daniel Talavera accepted the trophy. 
  Three other Pasadena ISD teams - Dobie, Pasadena High and South Houston - were among the 16 finalists for the honor. All four district teams received finalist plaques.
Schools were rated for sportsmanship qualities by Houston area football referees.
  Scores were awarded in sportsmanship categories for coaches and players and also support groups, such as parents, band and pep squads. Grades were also submitted for respect shown by players and their fans for the American flag.
  Memorial's honor is the second in a row for a Pasadena ISD football squad in the Touchdown Club's sportsmanship competition. Dobie took second place last year when only three places were handed out to all classifications. Competition this year was divided into Class 5A, 4A and 3A/private school groups.
  Among those attending the luncheon were Pasadena ISD Superintendent Dr. Kirk Lewis and Board of Trustees members Nelda Sullivan and Fred Roberts. Principals Dr. Angela Stallings of Memorial, Dr. Steve Fullen of South Houston, Joe Saavedra of Pasadena High and Steve Jamail of Dobie also attended.
  Among the guests at the South Houston table was former Houston Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini, a former teammate of Trojans Coach C.L. Whittington.
  The speaker for the event was Brad McCoy, a veteran high-school football coach and the father of Colt McCoy, the former All-Big 12 quarterback for the Texas Longhorns and current quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.

Talavera and Snelson arrive at the podium for the trophy handoff from Matt Malatesta, a member of the Touchdown Club of Houston's board of directors.

Snelson (left) addresses the luncheon audience after accepting the award; (right) Dobie head football coach Jim Phillips, accompanied by senior linebacker Juston Edwards, displays the Longhorns' finalist plaque.

South Houston head football coach C.L. Whittington (left) and his junior quarterback, Rudis Requeno, display the Trojans' finalist plaque; (right) Pasadena head football coach Jeff Ganske, accompanied by senior defensive lineman Ray Sanchez, and the Eagles' finalist plaque.

Guest speaker Brad McCoy, father of former Texas Longhorns quarterback standout Colt McCoy, tackles on the topic of motivating young athletes.

Memorial High seniors David Kolacny and Matthew McDonald took second in the "A" doubles competition at the Pearland Varsity Tennis Tournament last week. Sophomore Pauly Danh won the consolation draw in "B" girls singles competition. (Below left) Kolacny and McDonald with their trophies; (right) Danh shows off her hardware.

     

Contestants: Memorial Principal Dr. Angela Stallings and her assistant principals: Steve Fleming, Kevin Blain, Roneka Lee, Derek Moody, Jeremy Richardson and Tish Eubanks
Song: Dynamite G6
Dance: Hip Hop

Don't mess with us! (Top left, and right)) Memorial Principal Dr. Angela Stallings plays ring leader for her backstreets assistants (top) Kevin Blain, Jeremy Richardson and Roneka Lee; and (bottom) Richardson, Lee, Derek Moody and Tish Eubanks.

It's one final "Peace Out!" before getting back to their PDAS paperwork.

Winners of the judges' award for best performance, Memorial dancers pose with Pasadena ISD Superintendernt Dr. Kirk Lewis.

   

  Three art students from Memorial High will be honored at the Scholastic Art and Writing Silver Key Awards Reception this Sunday for their submitted drawings.


  Stephen Acala, Ivan Velez and Alyssa Zarate all earned Silver Key recognition. They will be honored at a presentation ceremony on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Texas Art Supply on Montrose in Houston.


  Alcala, who submitted the drawing "Fragile," and Velez, who produced "Tragic Collapse," are taught by Adam Malek. Zarate, who submitted "Garden of Shoes, is taught by Daniel Reyna.

Memorial junior Grant Brown, in the male lead role of Bobby Child, rehearses the number "Can't Be Bothered Now" with show dancers (standing) Kristen Hart, Michelle Cantu, Jazz Kristensen, Angela Austin, Scarlett Ellingson and Bene Vincent; and (front) Kalin Ybarra and Anita Jamali.

  The Memorial High Fine Arts Department will present the Tony Award-winning musical "Crazy For You" over six dates beginning Jan. 28 in the school auditorium. 
  The show, which features the music of George and Ira Gershwin, won the 1992 Tony for Best Musical. The classic song-and-dance production features exhilarating tap-dance numbers reminiscent of "42nd Street" and "Singin' in the Rain."
  Evening performances are scheduled for Jan 28-29 and Feb. 3-5. Curtain time each night is 7 p.m.
  A special matinee performance is set for Jan. 30 at 2 p.m.
  The script, written by Ken Ludwig, takes audiences through rejection and mistaken identity -- and throws in a love story along the way. 
  Bobby Child, a city boy, dreams of making it big on Broadway, but his mother disagrees with his goals and wants him to remain in the family banking business. Business takes him to Nevada, where he meets Polly Baker, a small-town girl who wants nothing to do with his big-city ways.  
  Gershwin hits include "Someone to Watch Over Me," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Embraceable You."
  The Memorial High production is under the direction of H. Russ Brown and choreographed by Peggy Hinajosa with musical direction by J. Paul Trahan. 
  Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. 
  For additional information, contact Geema Moore at 713-740-0390.

Polly Baker, played by senior Sandy Valles, spurns the advances of Bobby Child (Grant Brown) as she spurns his advances in a scene leading up to the number "Can You Use Me."  

Memorial junior Grant Brown (left) as Bobby Child and senior  Sandy Valles (right) as Polly Baker, team up (center) for a dance number from the so ng "Can You Use Me."

  

Bobby Child (Grant Brown) with his dance partners in the "Can't Be Bothered Now" number.

 

  Two Pasadena ISD high schools - Dobie and Memorial - have been presented with 2010 College Readiness Awards by the Texas ACT Council. 


  The award recognizes increases in ACT composite scores over a five-year period. Schools receiving the award must also maintain or increase the number of students taking the ACT Assessment. 


  The Texas ACT Council is comprised of secondary and post-secondary educators who advise ACT, Inc., on the utilization of ACT programs and services in Texas schools and colleges.

Arian Foster, star running back for the Houston Texans, addresses Memorial High students in the school library on Wednesday.

  Two second-year teachers at Memorial High -- both products of the Pasadena ISD's Alternative Teacher Certification Program -- have been honored by the National Association for Alternative Certification. 
  Amery McIntosh, an Algebra I teacher, and Kristi Trahan, who teaches physics, received honorable mention in competition for the NAAC's New Intern of the Year scholarship award. 
  Trahan and McIntosh (pictured below) will be recognized at the annual NAAC conference to be held in Chicago in March.

Although the school opened only seven years ago, officials at Memorial High are making plans to establish a permanent school archive.

School librarian Jennifer Brabston has been chosen to lead the effort to collect memorabilia items dating back to the opening of the school in 2003.

The library plans to collect, store and routinely display sports jackets, sweaters, programs, awards, news clippings, graduation memorabilia, photos, buttons, posters and other items related to school life and campus activities.

The school is seeking donations of these types of items from graduates.

"The items collected will be carefully stored and displayed when appropriate," Brabston said. "Each will be labeled with the donor's name."

For questions or information about how to donate items, contact the library at 713-740-0390, or email . jbrabston@pasadenaisd.org

Members of the band, choir and orchestra joined with faculty, staff and other students for a Veterans Day program at Memorial High last week. The school launched a new tradition of reading the roll of former students who are now serving in the military. Event photos follow.

(Left front) Cloe Hernandez, Ryan Rubio and Patrick Rubio; (left rear) Ryan Wicker, U.S. Army, and Desert Storm veteran Thomas Rubio; (right) Wade Stringer and Jeanette Cooper.  

Navy veteran Oscar Torres (left) and his wife; (right) Pat and Frank Braden with Jean and Dan Cain.  

(Left) Former Memorial student Carolyn Zoch, now serving in the Army; (right) Memorial faculty who served: Kevin Roca, Richard Morris, James Branson, Oscar Torres and Mark Chapa.

Dozens of Memorial High students participated in National Game Day activities on Tuesday (Nov. 2) in the school library. The event featured dozens of video game, board games and other kinds of games. The event, sponsored nationally by the American Library Association, was organized to promote the idea that playing games is linked to high student achievement. Event photos follow.

Clara Snelson, senior at Memorial High, was awarded a $5,000 check this week as the recipient of the Reliant Energy Scholarship for Champions. Snelson is one of only eight student-athletes in the Houston area to receive the award. She will be recognized next month at a Houston Texans game. (Below) Snelson (far right) receives her check as (left-to-right) Texans ambassador J.J. Moses, mom Mandy Snelson, sister Sammi Snelson, grandmother Billy Smith and dad John Snelson help her celebrate.

Memorial High students placed first in their semifinal round in races sponsored by the Texas Dragon Boat Association recently. The Mavs practiced hard for the event, which benefits association building projects. The association promotes awareness of Asian and Asian-American cultures, team-building strategies and breast cancer survivor programs. Event photos follow.

  The Memorial High Marching Band advanced to the UIL Area F round of competition last Saturday in the regional marching contest.

  The band received a Division 1 superior ranking at regional. Area competition will be held this Saturday, Oct. 23, at the Galena Park ISD Stadium complex. Performance time for the Memorial High band is 1:45 p.m.

  Memorial will be one of 30 bands competing for a berth in the state marching competition.

Memorial High's Lady Mavericks are making a fast break for the books, part of the "Reading Across America" program. Coach Barbara Leon's players will be reading two books this season as part of the program -- "In These Girls Hope is a Muscle" and "Teammates Matter." Both books have basketball themes. Both are true stories of team and individual experiences. (Below) Members of the varsity and junior varsity squads pose with their books. (Bottom) Memorial seniors Lisa Gale, Tabatha Romero, Andrea Salazar and Clara Snelson.

Tish Eubanks, Memorial High assistant principal, scans the cafeteria during lunch from atop her deer-hunting stand.

Students and staff at Memorial High went on high alert Tuesday in preparation for the resumption of the sports rivalry between the Mavericks and the Deer Park Deer.

The two schools collide in a District 22-5A volleyball game Tuesday night at Memorial. On Friday, the Mavs travel to Deer Park for a 22-5A football game that Memorial must win to keep alive its hopes for a district championship.

To promote the two contests -- and to boost school spirit -- Memorial staffers came dressed in camouflage gear, ready to hunt Deer. The cafeteria decor featured an assortment of deer blind equipment, including a 12-foot hunting tower.

Campus police even provided binoculars and other tracking gear.

No Deer were spotting during the school's four lunch periods, although no one scattered corn on the floor, either.

Memorial Assistant Principal Kevin Blain peers out from his deer blind to make sure no Deer Park Deer park themselves in the cafeteria line.  
 

Memorial's first line of defense: Assistant Principals Roneka Lee, Tish Eubanks and Kevin Blain guard against Deer insurgents.  
 

Memorial High is encouraging students, faculty and staff to invite family members who are military veterans to attend the school's Veteran's Day Concert on Nov. 11. The event begins with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by the concert at 7 p.m. All veterans in attendance will be recognized during the program. Veterans from the across the Pasadena ISD community are invited to attend.

Dr. Angela Stallings, principal at Memorial High, reads to Teague students in the Memorial library as part
of "Read for the Record" activities.

  More than 200 second-graders from Teague Elementary visited Memorial High to participate in the national "Read for the Record Day."

  "Read for the Record" is an annual campaign sponsored by Jumpstart, one of the nation's leading non- profit educational organizations. The campaign brings children and adults together to read the same book -- on the same day -- in schools, homes and the community.

  "We invited Teague Elementary because we want the community and the future students to know that reading is important," said Adrienne Raible, Memorial's librarian. "Reading will help them throughout their entire educational careers."

  This year's "Read for the Record" goal was to get more than two million students to read The Snowy Day, by Jack Ezra Keats, on Thursday, Oct. 7, the designated reading day. All proceeds from book sales generated by the event will be donated to Jumpstart.

  Memorial students in the Ready SET Teach and Child Guidance programs took an active role in the project. The future educators were asked to pick a book, develop a lesson plan and teach the Teague students from their lesson plans. Teague is a feeder elementary for Memorial.

  The future Mavericks enjoyed listening to scary stories and doing literary activities that included finding cause-and-effect, plot, main idea and using context clues.

  Raible and Memorial teacher Ele Manry coordinated the event through a mini-grant called "Teach and Touch the Future" from the Pasadena ISD Education Foundation. Other event photos follow. 

 

  Verizon presented the first of five $1,000 contributions -- one for each of the Pasadena ISD's high-school athletic programs -- to Memorial High during halftime of the school's homecoming game against Sam Rayburn on Thursday night.

  Each of the district's four other schools will receive a $1,000 check from Verizon at one of their games later in the season.

  Bobby Hernandez, retail manager for the Verizon store on Fairmont Parkway and a 1996 Rayburn grad, presented Memorial's check to Principal Dr. Angela Stallings (below).

Memorial High seniors Ralph Fonte and Clare Snelson were honored as Junior Rotarians at the Pasadena Rotary Club's luncehon on Thursday. The two are pictured with Roneka Lee, assistant principal for the senior class.

Memorial defenders Abel Alvarado (75) and Brandon Ramirez (55) collapse on Rayburn quarterback Augustin Velasquez
after a first-quarter fumble.

Memorial quarterback Greg Gallardo fired a touchdown pass in each of the first three quarters as the Mavericks rolled
to a 40-14 homecoming victory over Sam Rayburn on Thursday night  in the first district game of the 2010 season.

The Mavericks, 3-3 for the season, took command of the game with 27 points in the second quarter.

Gallardo, a junior, completed 9 of 12 passes in the game for 166 yards, 90 of which came on a TD bomb to receiver
Nathan Mourik early in the third quarter. Mourik also hauled in a 13-yard TD pass from Gallardo in the second quarter.

Mourik rolled up 137 yards on four receptions.

Gallardo fired an 8-yard TD strike to Saxon Smith to open the scoring. After a 31-yard TD run by Thaddeus Stewart,
Julian Leija returned an interception 34 yards for another Memorial TD.

Rayburn, now 4-2, scored on TD runs of one yard by Eric Aldava in the second quarter and 21 yards by Joey Rodriguez late in the fourth.

The game was first district contest in revamped District 22-5A, now a six-team league consisting of the five Pasadena
ISD schools and Deer Park. The top four teams in the district advance to the state playoffs.

A group of future Memorial Mavericks -- students from Teague Elementary -- will be on campus Oct. 7 to participate in a read-along, part of a "Read For the Record Day," a national program with a boal of getting two million young readers to read the same book on the same day.

The book selection this year is "The Snowy Day," by Jack Ezra Keats. the event is being promoted by Jump Start For Reading.

Jump Start is a program to help children in low-income families prepare to start school.

Last year's "Read for the Record" event raised almost $2 million to help fund the organization's early education program in low-income communities.

A contingent of Memorial soccer players offered their services as waiters and busboys recently at a dinner for the residents of Interfaith Manor, a home for the elderly in Pasadena.

On the third Thursday of every month, Interfaith Manor hosts a pot-luck dinner to celebrate all birthdays for that month. The Memorial players pitched in for the event by helping to buss tables, take out trash and even serve tea. The student-athletes earned community service honors for their efforts, as well as the appreciation of the residents.

"The most important thing I saw was the kids' faces when they were thanked at the end of the night - the people gave them a round of applause," Memorial Coach Scott Macneish said.

"It was a great feeling watching our Mavericks in action. One lady told me that the thing that impressed them the most is that some of them just walked around and started conversations with them." Event photos follow.

Memorial's Marching Band will be among 14 high school bands participating in competition scheduled at Friendswood's Henry Winston Stadium on Oct. 2. Competition will begin at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children, six years and under free.