Campus Close-Ups

Paschal UIL Accounting Team is Victorious at Tarrant County College Invitational

Congratulations to the UIL Accounting team from Paschal High School!  The students nearly swept the TCC Invitational by earning five of the top six awards.  The students are coached by Business teacher Dora Smith.  The students are:

North Side HS Students Earn SolidWorks Associate Certification

Congratulations to juniors Natalie Lopez and Eduardo Ramirez!  The students passed the Certified SolidWorks Associate exam.  SolidWorks is a 3D CAD software used by industry to design and build various parts.  SolidWorks is utilized in the Engineering Design and Advanced Engineering Design and Presentation Classes. 

Most Certified SolidWorks Associates (CSWA) are college graduates, engineers and college professors in the field of Engineering.  According to the SolidWorks certification website, there are currently two hundred seventy seven CSWAs in the state of Texas.  Four are North Side High School students plus their instructor Cecil Williams. 

Upon graduation Natalie Lopez wishes to go to either Texas A&M or Rice University and pursue a degree in Engineering.  Eduardo Ramirez has applied for a summer internship for high school students with NASA.  Upon graduation he wants to go the either Texas A&M or UTA and pursue a degree in Civil Engineering.

Apex Capital Visits Carter-Riverside Accounting Students

I had Dean Tetirick with Apex Capital come and speak to my first period this year (through Junior Achievement).  He ended his 6 week session with them yesterday. 
 
This is Dean's fourth year to come and speak to my classes. He is an Attorney and a CPA, and started his own business about 18 years ago here in FW. He opened it with a partner in 1995, and it has been highlighted in Forbes & Smart Money Magazine.  He actually hired one of my accounting alumni, Mayra Ledesma, and she has been there for three years. He is now paying for her college, and she plans on continuing her career with Apex.  (by the way, Mayra took me to the company Christmas party and he is a VERY generous man with his employees---they all got video camcorders the year I went!).
 
Dean is so great with my students, and teaches them about getting through college, money management, and even gives each student his business card and tells them they can call him anytime for advice. How nice is that!

Kristy Lessner
Career and Technology Teacher
Carter-Riverside High School

Trimble Tech Culinary Students Advance to State Competition 

Congratulations to Chef Natasha Bruton's Culinary Arts students for their success at competition in Waco, February 14-16, 2013.  Her students took 1st and 3rd place at regional competition and will advance to state.  Be sure to read the news article for more information.

Culinary Competition- 

Team A:  Abigail Uribe, Giovanni Yanez, Kenia Toro
Team B:  Jacorion Jones, Christopher Cook, Abigail Lopez

Mystery Basket-

Team A- Jasmine Howard (third place winner advancing to state)
Team B- Itzel Medina (first place winner advancing to state)

Visit the photo gallery to see the students creating the "bridge" to their future!

Trimble Tech Photography Students Named as Finalists in the Black & White Images Exhibition and Contest

Congratulations to Commercial Photography teacher Shannon Oden and her students on their success at the contest.  Livier Rodriguez, Martha Alvarado, Alexondra Aleman, Jacqueline Rodriguez, Lilibeth Fuentes, and Flor Romo were all named as finalists in various events.  Daniela Sigala won "Overall Best of Show" for her experimental photo "Ruled by Secrecy."  Please view the link to see the photos.

Carter-Riverside Students Learn about the Real World of Accounting

As a volunteer through Junior Achievement, Vincent Davila of KPMG has taken the time to give back to the community.  Davila volunteers to help teach Carter-Riverside students about money management.  He has worked with students in Kristy Lessner's Accounting class for the past few years.  According to Mrs. Lessner, "He comes each year and does a great job teaching the kids about money management and careers in accounting."

Junior Achievement (JA) is an organization that connects industry with local schools.  Businesses volunteer with JA to teach about different areas of business and JA then puts them in contact with teachers or schools who have requested a volunteer.  There are currently 25 volunteers in FWISD CTE classrooms.

South Hills TAFE Students Qualify for State Competition

On December 7th & 8th, Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE) students competed at the TAFE Regional Competition.  South Hills High School TAFE members walked away with several awards and state qualifications:

 Eastern Hills High School Student Prepares for the Fire Science Program

Eastern Hills High School Fire Science student, Ty Sims, geared up in fire attire and learned how to spray water from the pump truck.

Eastern Hills High School students are excited about the newly established Fire Science Program, which is in its second year.  It is one of three Firefighting H.S. Academies in the State.  The Eastern Hills Gold Seal Program of Choice Fire Science Academy was created in a collaboration between Tarrant County College, the City of Fort Worth Fire Department, and Fort Worth Independent School District.  This partnership establishes an initiative to prepare high school students for successful career and educational futures through a full integration of high school, college, and world of work.  The academic model prepares students for the Fire Academy in grades 11-12, allows students the opportunity to complete 18 dual-credit hours toward the Basic Fire Fighter certification offered by Tarrant County College, and to continuously collaborate to track program progress. 

Read about a FWISD Trustee, Tobi Jackson, who "Goes Over the Edge" for Eastern Hills High School. >>