Fort Bend Lifestyles and Homes Magazine Sep 2009: Campus

(L-R) Carol Stinemetz, Ellen Stinemetz and Pamela Shaw, Fort Bend ISD volunteer program coordinator.

Dulles High School Student Donates Hair Bows to Shared Dreams - To help young girls look their best at the start of school this year, Dulles High School 10th-grade student Ellen Stinemetz made more than 150 hair bows to donate to Fort Bend ISD’s Shared Dreams Program.

Shared Dreams provides adequate clothing and toiletries to Fort Bend ISD students who are in need of assistance. With the help of her mother and best friend, Ellen will continue the project throughout the school year to benefit Shared Dreams.

Vincent Ness with the girls from Troop 721 and 724 from Rainbow Stars Service Unit.

Girl Scouts Learn Basics of Self-Defense - Vincent Ness of United Studios of Self-Defense gave the girls from Girl Scout Troop 721 and 724 a free lesson on how to protect themselves if they find themselves in a situation where someone is threatening or attacking them.

During the class, Ness empowered the girls through personal safety and self-defense education. For example, he taught the girls three ways to get out of a wrist grab —outside, inside and up. He also stressed to the girls that being aware of and avoiding potentially dangerous situations is the best method of self-defense.

Shown promoting last year’s Art Spectacular, which involved a partnership between Fort Bend ISD and Ryland Homes, are: Hurig Kalustian (center), student winner of the prize drawing at the Art Spectacular event; and (clockwise, from bottom) Carol Klahn, Jeffrey Lombardo, Rafi Kalustian, Mary Brewster, Amy Lucchesi and Mel Morgan.

Fort Bend ISD’s Fine Arts Department Gearing Up for Exciting School Year - Fort Bend ISD’s Fine Arts Department is expecting an exciting year in performing and visual arts during the 2009-10 school year.

To top off the annual events will be Band Night on Oct. 5 at Mercer Stadium. The event showcases the outstanding talents of some of Fort Bend ISD ’s finest young musicians, representing all 10 high school band and dance teams.

Other upcoming events include: University Interscholastic League Marching Contest on Oct. 15 at Mercer Stadium and the Messiah Concert on Dec. 1 at Rodgers Auditorium.

Fort Bend Boys Choir Colorado Tour a Success - The 35 members of the Fort Bend Boys Tour Choir returned from a two-week performance tour to Colorado where they wowed the citizens of the state with their musical talents. The Tour Choir hit the ground running with a performance their very first night.

(Front row) Dale St. John, Arjun Rao; (middle row) Brandon Triggs, Raphael Chaumette, Jacob Stoltenberg, Bryce Blaum, Sammy Pleus; (back row) Coach Dan McCutcheon, Clark Slazinski, Luke Mayock, Matthew Amante, Koby Collins and manager Scott Pleus.

First Colony Little League All-Star Team Wins Texas East State Championship - First Colony Little League’s National 10- and 11-year-old All-Star team won the Texas East State Championship. They competed in the state tournament in Tyler.

(L-R, front row) Kaitlyn Cassani, Texas A&M; Annelise Rickert, Loyola University, New Orleans; Kirsten Saur, Texas A&M; (back row) Megan Prickett, Texas A&M; Tracy Osina, Texas A&M; Ramya Chockalingam, Rice University; Anasuya Kabad, University of Chicago; and Emily Timmer, Texas A &M Corpus Christi. Not pictured is Ripley Feaga, Blinn; and Amber Cutler, St. Thomas University.

Girl Scout Troop 366 Enjoys 1st Annual Reunion - The girls of Troop 366 enjoyed an evening at Sandy Magee’s in Richmond along with leaders Lisa Rickert, Susan Prickett, Renee Saur and other moms. The girls came together after their first year of college to reminisce about the fun times they had as Girl Scouts while living in New Territory.

First Colony Gold Swim Team Continues Winning Steak - The First Colony Gold Swim Team continued their winning ways in the 2009 Southwest Houston Recreational Swim League summer season with a victory over the Covington Woods Stingrays

New Territory Torpedoes Swim Team Awards Scholarship - The New Territory Torpedoes swim team awarded a tuition scholarship to New Territory resident Annabelle Hyatt, continuing the team’s tradition of awarding a college tuition scholarship to swimmers who are active team members throughout high school.

Days were spent discovering the history of the Colorado area by visiting museums, touring the Denver Mint and even singing a song or two during their tour of the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The Tour Choir enjoyed the cool weather and scenery outdoors in a number of adventures such as hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, riding the aerial tram to Prospect Mountain, exploring the old Lebanon Silver Mine and playing in the snow at Estes Park.

The Tour Choir members sang virtually everyday in a variety of venues. In addition to collaborating with the Young Singers of Colorado, the Tour Choir also sang in several churches for concerts including the beautiful Shove Chapel on the Colorado College campus. One of the performance highlights was singing the national anthem before the Colorado Rockies game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The goal of the Torpedoes scholarship program is to encourage older swimmers to continue with the team throughout high school, and provide younger team members with positive role models and the encouragement to continue swimming competitively for many years.

Long-time Torpedoes sponsor, Gulledge Insurance, once again contributed financial support to help underwrite the scholarship program.

Raphael Chaumette and Josh Vanyo stand in front of Stonehenge.

Sugar Land Student Selected for Leadership Ambassador Program - Raphael Chaumette completed his journey with the People-To-People Leadership Ambassador program. Nominated for the program by his guidance counselor, Raphael was selected from among many applicants.

People-to-People Leadership Student Ambassador Programs offer students in grades 5-12 life-changing educational travel opportunities that foster friendship, build the foundation for personal success and offer unique access to people, places and activities. Program delegations are built around local communities, so students make friends locally before they travel globally.

Raphael traveled to Germany, London and Paris where he studied art, international governance and cultural differences. Raphael will attend Fort Settlement Middle School.

First Colony Middle School Honors Band Gears Up for Another Eventful Year - Honors Band students at First Colony Middle School are looking forward to another exciting year in music under the direction of Bethann Adams and Shannon Wallace, who will lead students in extensive practice in preparation of upcoming performances and competitions.

The award-winning band had an eventful season last school year. The band performed at the Bands of America – Music for All National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, Ind. They were one of only four bands throughout the U.S. invited to perform at the inaugural 2009 National Middle School Band Festival, marking the band ’s fourth national recognition.