Volume 1, Number 24 February 19, 2010

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!” The Blanco ISD

Blanco Middle School Wins District One Act Play Performance of “The Marvelous Playbill” Earns First Place Finish

The night was, “Simply Marvelous!”

Blanco Middle School, performing the play The Marvelous

Playbill, captured first place in District 27-AA One Act Play

competition held Thursday night in Blanco.

“I’m very proud of the way they worked,” said director Amy Arlitt following the awards ceremony. “They worked

very hard. It’s a very talented 8th grade group. We’ll be

missing them. However, our 7th graders stepped up tonight,

and they will be our leaders for next year.”

It was an award winning night for the hosts, as they not

only secured the first place trophy, but also nabbed best actor

and best actress honors, and placed six on the All-Star cast

and two on the honorable mention All-Star cast.

The play, a comedy set in 16th century Spain, allowed the

cast to show off their talents. “This group has so much fun

with improvisation. I wanted a comedy to allow them to let

loose and show of their individual personality,” said Arlitt. “We had so many talented students, and I wanted a play

with a nice ensemble to show off all our cast, not just focus

Board of Trustees Matt Herden, President

Mary Ann Weaver, Vice President Troy Immel, Secretary

Kirk Felps Charles Riley

Bernie San Miguel

Darrel Wagner

Superintendent Dr. Buck Ford

Blanco Middle School’s First Place One Act Play Director, Cast, and Crew

on one or two. It’s a good comedy, a good cast size, and a good

fit for our talent level. The kids really enjoyed it and had fun.”

Two students who particularly showed up were Colton Elrod

and Annabeth Griffin, who won Best Actor and Best Actress hon-

ors. “We did a great job. We had some mistakes, but we overcame

them and ended up having a great year,” said Elrod.

“We were not scared at all. We tried our best. We let it all out

on the stage,” said Griffin.

The Bell, Vol. 1, No. 24 Page 2

SAMA Training. Several BISD teachers participated in SAMA (Satori Al-

ternatives to Managing Aggressive Behavior) training last week. (L to R)

Deborah Greene, trainer Cathy Hovey, Sharon Cox, Linda Miller, Becky

Yerger, Kathryn Rutherford, Carol Pepper, Cynthia Carroll.

Blanco Masonic Lodge # 216

Hosts Take Time to Read Dinner Students, Parents, and Teachers Recognized

Supt. Buck Ford, Blanco Masonic Lodge Officer Benny Hudson,

and Elementary Students at Monday’s Take Time to Read Dinner.

Blanco Masonic Lodge # 216 hosted its annual Take Time to

Read Dinners on Monday and Tuesday nights, February 15 and

16.

The Take Time to Read program, sponsored by Blanco Ma-

sonic Lodge # 216, promotes awareness about the importance of reading aloud to children and encourages adults to partici-

pate in read-aloud activities.

“This is the thirteenth year we’ve done the Take Time to

Read program,” said BISD liaison Lisa Rogers. “Research

shows that students who engage in reading activities with

adults in their early years, go on to become more successful

students in school.”

The program is conducted in grades early childhood through

third grade. In addition to a hot dog dinner with all the trim-

mings, student participants were rewarded with a trophy and a

book of their choice.

“The Texas Masonic Lodge has a long history of supporting public schools. We are proud to sponsor the Take Time to

Read program,” said spokesman Benny Hudson.

Blanco Middle School One Act Play Continued from Page One...

Best Actor Colton Elrod

Best Actress Annabeth Griffin

All Star Cast

(L to R) Annabeth Griffin,

Colton Elrod, Danielle Oliver,

Kristin Watt, Kari Graham,

Devon Branch, Sarah Brotz-man, Bryce Sorbel, Payton

Savarino, Caroline Parker.

District 27-AA Middle School One Act Play Competition Blanco Middle School Honors

February 18, 2010

First Place Play The Marvelous Playbill

Best Actor

Colton Elrod

Best Actress

Annabeth Griffin

All Star Cast

Kristin Watt, Devon Branch, Kari Graham,

Sarah Brotzman, Payton Savarino, Danielle Oliver

Honorable Mention All Star Cast

Dylan Bates, Talon Cain

The Bell, Vol. 1, No. 24 Page 3 “Hear Ye, Hear Ye!”

Lady Panthers Lose Bi-District Heartbreaker Navarro 75, Blanco 66

The Blanco Lady Panthers closed out their basketball season

last Tuesday night, falling to Navarro 75—66 in Bi-District

playoff action in Wimberley.

“I felt we were ready for the game. I felt we could beat

them,” said Panther basketball coach Stuart Schultz. “But we lost our starting point guard during the game, and we just

couldn’t overcome some of our mistakes.”

“Navarro has a good team. They come out of a tough district.

Poth and Nixon-Smiley are in their district. Poth usually goes

to the state tournament, and Nixon-Smiley is state-ranked.

Navarro is battle-tested.”

Thinking back on the

season, Schultz had these

observations about the

2009—2010 Lady Panthers.

“Last year we were 7—19.

That’s the worst record we’ve had since I’ve been

here. This year we finished

18—11, which is the best

record since I’ve been here.

The girls have made a huge

Blanco’s Alyssa Warner (white) battles Navarro player for the ball

in Bi-District basketball action last Tuesday night in Wimberley.

improvement.”

“I saw it in the girls when

they were in 7th and 8th

grades. From 7th to 8th

grade, they improved from last to tied for first. These

girls have been making big

improvements, and I expect

big improvements next

year.”

“Lacee Hunter and

Alyssa Warner are two sen-

iors who leave big shoes to fill for next year.”

“Alyssa really shined. She stepped up big for us. She

played great defense. She made a lot of steals, cutting in

front of players in the passing lanes.”

“Lacee, we call her our money player. She stepped up and played hard the whole game all season. Lacee was strong

with her shooting and her defense. There were games she’d

pump in 23, 25, 27 points.”

“It was a good basketball season. I expect better things

next year.”

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Week of Feb. 19—Feb. 28

Sun. Feb. 21 Diane Strodtbeck

Bryan Wyatt

Fri. Feb 26 Janice Culton

Sat. Feb 27 Debbie Greene Pam Nabers

The Bell, Vol. 1, No. 24 Page 4

FOCUS ON BISD

Elementary School “Collin’s Cam” by Collin Gaskamp

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!”

“Mrs. Petri’s High School Class Reading to Pre-K”

Middle School “Lisa’s Lens” by Lisa Rogers

“Middle School Celebration Dance,” 2/10/10