Latest news with #BetaClub
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Dougherty Comprehensive High School celebrates 'Miracles on the East Side' in class of 2025 graduation
ALBANY – Dougherty Comprehensive High School Principal Jerry Sanders wants everyone to know that the 'miracle bus stopped by 1800 Pierce Ave. again.' On Friday, 260 of those miracles walked across the stage at the Albany Civic Center as graduates of DCHS. Fifty of them graduated with honors, earning a 3.5 grade-point average or higher. 'These children had to go through rocks and ridges to get here today,' Sanders said. 'I got a list today, and the list is long because that's what Trojans do. We go above and beyond, and we still make it, even though the roads might get rough, the hills might get high. … Trojans make it through anyhow.'Kanijah Holliday gives her salutatorian speech. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganKanijah Holliday was honored as the school's salutatorian. Through extracurriculars like 4H and Beta Club, she expressed her creativity as a photographer and videographer. She'll attend Georgia State University in the fall as a Film and Media Studies major to pursue her passion for storytelling through visual arts. She joked with her fellow graduates that high school was a 'group project we volunteered for, a never-ending drama series and a pop quiz we didn't quite study for.' 'Despite it all, here we are Class of 2025,' Holliday said. 'We may not have every solution, but we carry with us the strength of perseverance, countless memories and just enough energy to chase down our ambitions. We are a generation forged by change.' Samantha Aberdeen was honored as the school's valedictorian. Aberdeen was a highly involved student, serving most notably as secretary of the Beta Club. Her peers described her as 'an avid reader … active in her church' who 'enjoys helping others.' She'll attend Mercer University to study Biology and eventually chase her aspirations as a teacher and lawyer. Samantha Aberdeen gives her valedictorian speech. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganAberdeen said high school was a chapter with lessons, extending beyond the classroom – that success is about more than just grades, but about resilience. 'With the world evolving faster than ever, our voices, our actions and our dreams have the power to shape it, whether we are heading to college, starting careers, serving our country, starting businesses, starting families, or venturing into the unknown,' she said. 'We survived those early morning classes, the late nights and the moments where we thought we couldn't do it. We are proof that perseverance works, that growth is possible, and that each of us is capable of achieving greatness.' DCSS Superintendent Kenneth Dyer addressed the eastside graduates. He applauded them for weathering challenges from the start of their journey, including a global pandemic and natural disasters. 'You've proven strength isn't just about physical endurance,' Dyer said. It's about showing up when it's hard, speaking up when it matters, standing tall when life tries to knock you down. Your village is proud of you, part of what you become, and proud of what you are becoming.' He reminded graduates that they are only reaching the beginning of life's journey. 'The world you're entering needs your realness,' Dyer said. 'It needs your compassion. It needs your creativity, your hustle and your heart. Whatever path you choose … do it with purpose. Don't just see success, but also see significance.' Sanders presented a diploma to the mother of Carlos Donnell Lamar, a Trojan who passed away in 2022. From left: Jerry Sanders and Kenneth Dyer present a diploma to the mother of Carlos Donnell Lamar, a 'fallen Trojan.' Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan 'Carlos could not be here with us today, but we would not be Trojan nation if we did not honor his mother and have her come today and walk for her son because he could not walk for himself,' Sanders said. The rest of the evening remained filled with tears and cheers as the DCHS class of 2025 rose to receive its diplomas. 'Congratulations class of 2025,' Aberdeen said. 'We did it. We did it. We did it.'DCHS honors students who have lost loved ones. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganPrincipal Jerry Sanders congratulates the DCHS class of 2025. Staff Photo: Lucille LanniganParents cheer as their students enter. Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
JSCRSEA presents 15 grants, scholarship
Fifteen grants were presented to local teachers recently by the Johnson-Somervell Counties Retired School Employees Association. A $1,000 scholarship was presented to a Cleburne High School senior. 'We chose our 15 grants out of 46 applications,' JSCRSEA President Sue Lynn Nelson said. 'We had over 30 people apply for the scholarships.' The scholarship was awarded to Nathan Rodriguez, who will attend The University of Texas and wants to become a fourth-grade teacher. The CHS senior has a 3.9 GPA and participates in the Golden Pride Band, Beta Club, National Honor Society and Texas Association of Future Educators. Nelson shared Rodriguez' winning essay. 'Education has and will continue to provide so much for me, from placing me with like-minded peers, all the way to opening up the world to me, it has done so much to provide a small town boy like me,' Rodriguez wrote. 'I hope that it will always be able to afford me these amazing opportunities. Most importantly, I hope it will afford me the opportunity to be the first person in my family to attend college and receive a degree.' Rodriguez said that despite a lack of extra funds, his family always made certain that they were dedicated to their endeavors. 'Being the child of an immigrant mother has taught me this,' he said. 'We work hard for the hopes of one day achieving our own version of the American dream. For me, that American dream is that I'll be able to graduate from college with my own degree. This scholarship could open doors for me that I once believed would be closed.' Rodriguez serves as the secretary for Beta Club and front ensemble captain for the Golden Pride. 'I'm studious and hard-working, looking to apply myself in every facet of my life and learn about every facet of my life,' he said. 'Additionally, I'd like to learn about my world and all those who came before me. I can think of no better way to achieve this lifelong learning than earning a degree in education.' Of the 15 grants presented, eight attended the JSCRSEA's May 14 meeting to accept their award in person. The first was Cheryl Bagley, a sixth-grade math teacher at Alvarado Junior High School. She and Tamara Horsman requested the grant to purchase essential classroom supplies — 20 calculators and 52 whiteboards for their classrooms. Three separate grants for Cooke Elementary School kindergarten/bilingual teachers in Cleburne ISD. Lourdes Rodriguez accepted her own and two for co-teachers, Maria Chavez and Amanda McCreary. They will be used for hands-on manipulatives and interactive materials to promote math skills and word building. D'Lynn Hadley, a Grandview Elementary School kindergarten teacher, received a grant for a class set of headphones for Chromebooks, which are required for online programs in the classroom. Next was Godley Middle School science teacher Roger Lawson, who received funds for nine Makeblock Interactive Light and Sound Robot add-on parks to enhance his eighth-grade robotics curriculum. Angela Pinkerton, also a Godley Middle School eighth-grade science teacher, received a grant to purchase the Tower Garden Growing System to help students learn the properties of acids and bases. A first-year teacher, Heather Bryson from Pleasant View Elementary School in Godley ISD teaches fourth-grade math and science. She received funds for whiteboards and expo markers, money sets and other math manipulatives. Joshua ISD's Jessica Esqueda, a kindergarten/bilingual teacher at Elder Elementary School, received a grant for art supplies, science kits, bilingual books and notebooks for exploring and documenting students' learning and enhancing language development in both English and Spanish. Chelsea Fulfer, Grandview Junior High School eighth-grade math teacher, requested funds to purchase whiteboard tables. Students work out math problems together using the tables. Also receiving grants were: — Jana Patton, eighth-grade Plan Your Path teacher at Loflin Middle School in Joshua ISD: suture kits for veterinary medicine and nursing classes. — Gia Callaway, Grandview Junior High School art teacher: canvas so students can experience painting. — Sheila Marble, third-grade language arts teacher at Venus Elementary School: picture books and literary task cards for small group instruction and class library. — Alexis Page, first-grade teacher at Glen Rose Elementary School: rolling carts to hold classroom supplies for her students. — Kayla Rich, Venus Middle School art teacher: wood panels, white beeswax, encaustic irons, damar resin crystals and oil paints to teach Encaustic painting.
