Fort Bend Lifestyles and Homes magazine Feb 2009: Sugar Land School News, Fort Bend School News, School Info in Fort Bend

Christopher Khosravi signs his national letter of intent. Pictured at the signing are: (l-r) Javad Khosravi, father; Vera Ilyina, Cougar diving assistant coach and Olympic medalist; Diane Khosravi, mother; Jane Figueiredo, Cougar Diving Club director and 2008 Russian Olympic coach; Todd Mulzet, Cougar diving head coach; Donna Householder, grandmother; and Jay Householder, grandfather.

Elkins HS Student Participates in Early Signing - Christopher Khosravi, a senior at Elkins High School, is the first student in the history of Fort Bend ISD to signed a national letter of intent to dive at the NCAA Division I level. He will dive at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., beginning in the fall 2009.

Christopher began diving as a freshman at Elkins. His high school diving accomplishments include District Champ in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He was the Region Champ in 2007 and 2008. He finaled at the Texas 5A State Meet in eighth place in 2007, which secured a spot on the All-State team. He medaled at the Texas 5A State Meet receiving third-place bronze in 2008, which secured a spot on the All-State team and placed the highest of any diver in the history of Fort Bend ISD. He was named All American in both 2007 and 2008. He joined the USA Diving Cougar Diving Club in June 2006 and by August of 2007 was ranked 10th in the nation on platform at the Junior Olympic level.

In August 2008 his ranking moved up to eighth in the nation on platform at the Junior Olympic level. In the summer of 2008, he competed for the first time at the Senior level and ranked 17th in the nation on platform (competitors included 2008 Olympians and collegians), and fourth in the nation at the Senior level for synchronized platform (competitors included 2008 Olympians and collegians) with partner Bradley Berryhill from Pearland who is currently a diver at Texas A&M.

In his spare time, Christopher is a member of the National Honor Society, Skills USA, American Modeler Association, and the National Society of Remote Control Aerobatics, where he competes at the intermediate level in R/C pattern flying. He plans to major in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Clements and Dulles High Schools Receive College Readiness Recognition - Clements High School and Dulles High School were among 82 Texas schools (only 4 percent) to receive the 2008 College Readiness Award from the Texas ACT Council. The schools were honored for increasing the number of students taking the ACT Assessment over the past five years and significantly increasing their level of achievement and college readiness.

In 2008, more than 140,000 Texas students took the ACT, which was an all-time high. Additionally, Texas ACT scores have increased substantially over the last five years, which indicates that students are using their score results to make improvements to their college readiness levels and that Texas students score well on the ACT, a curriculum-based achievement test aligned to the Texas curriculum.

According to Karen L. Pennell, assistant vice president and ACT Southwest regional manager, “The Texas ACT Council wanted to recognize those Texas high schools that have made significant strides in increasing the college readiness of their graduates as demonstrated by their ACT score increases over the past five years. This can only happen as a result of the efforts of the faculty and staff at Clements and Dulles and the dedication of the students and parents to focus on college readiness and raise the level of college readiness for all students. ”

Sing Along with Girl Scouts - The Girl Scouts of Troop 724 participated in the Rainbow Star Service Unit Annual Sing Along. This was a girl planned and led event where the girls taught about 15 songs to over 110 sister Scouts and their parents. Popular favorites included Herman the Worm, The Beaver Cheer and the Fast Food Song. The evening closed with the traditional Girl Scout song, Make New Friends.

The entrance fee for the event was much-needed supplies for the East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministries. Troop 724 asked participants to help provide the requested items for the month of November —jelly and cereal. The ministry received 150 boxes of cereal and 80 jars of jelly.

New Territory Knights Juniors Win Super Bowl - The New Territory Knights junior football swept to a 2008 Fort Bend Youth Football League Super Bowl Championship by going 8-0 in the regular season and 11-0 overall. The Knights outscored their opponents a combined 354 to 58 over the season. After being Super Bowl runner ups in 2006 and 2007 the Junior New Territory Knights would not be denied in their third quest for the title.

The Knights defeated the Missouri City Raiders with a score of 19-6. After a scoreless first quarter, the Knights took the lead right before half on a short run by Adam Cervenka to lead 6-0 at intermission. After an interception by Darius Anderson and tough running by Quincy McAfee the Knights scored in the third quarter to take a 13-0 lead into the final quarter. Following a Raiders fumble, the Knights drove for their last score to go up 19-0 early in the fourth quarter.

Fort Settlement Middle School Honor Band Places Third in State -

The Fort Settlement Middle School Honor Band, directed by Greg Countryman and Theresa Baragas, won third place in the Texas Music Educators’ Association State Honor Band Competition, held in San Antonio at the Texas Bandmaster ’s Association Convention.

This is the second time in the school’s history that the band has been named a state finalist in the TMEA’s Honor Band Competition. The competition consists of three elimination rounds and involves middle school bands from throughout Texas. In the three rounds, judging panels listen to recordings, and then rank the bands from first to last.

Fort Settlement advanced to the state competition after placing first at both the regional and area levels of competition.

Trent InternationalE School Soccer Team Ends Season Undefeated - The Trent Phoenix soccer team ended its season with a bang by beating FBBA 3-0. The TIS Phoenix boasts an undefeated season against schools in the Fort Bend area including The Honor Roll and Faith Lutheran.

Trent’s final tally of goals scored was 25-5. Trent also placed third among the top 16 Houston-area schools at the 5th Annual Kinkaid Traditional Soccer Tournament.