Taryn Williams placed 2nd in Editorial Writing at the regional U.I.L. meet at Texas Tech University Saturday, April 21. This qualified her for state competition at the University of Texas May 21.

Williams placed 2nd at district and regional competition. She also placed 5th in Headline writing at district and advanced as an alternate to regionals in that event as well.

“I am so proud of Taryn. She joined the newspaper staff in the middle of last year. She quickly learned Journalism style and was soon laying out the school newspaper all by herself. She worked equally hard on this year’s online school newspaper. She advanced to regionals from district last year as well,” U.I.L. Journalism team coach, Kelly Williamson said.

“This year, she really worked hard. She did lots of practice stories, and she really listened to my critiques and studied U.I.L.’s judging information for the practice stories. She is a very responsible young lady with the talent and determination to become whatever she chooses.”

Advancing to state makes Williams eligible for numerous scholarships.  60% of students advancing to state last year who applied for scholarships received at least one.  She plans on going to SPC first.

Nine teams from kindergarten through high school will travel to Lubbock on Saturday to participate in the Regional Destination Imagination Competition at Lubbock Estecado High School. On Wednesday, February 22, parents and Levelland ISD staff were treated to a very impressive preview of what these teams will present to the judges on Saturday.
An additional highlight of the evening was a presentation made by the DI teams to Superintendent Mark Holcomb. DI High School team member Matthew Race thanked Mr. Holcomb for his continuous support of the DI program through the years and presented him with a plaque. Mr. Holcomb told DI team members that he was very proud of their hard work and that he looked forward to seeing the teams advance to the state and then on to the global competition. He remarked to the youngest team members, “Take a look at these high school students. You have great role models to look up to as you continue in DI.”

The Lobo Lair – Levelland High School – Sports Briefs.

The school newspaper, the Lobo Lair, is now online. A printed version may still be published a few times a year (like at graduation), but the online version will be updated by adding onto it weekly.

“We hope students will read the online version more than they did the printed one. School news is available instantly now with the mobile version on cell phones or the full version on computers. The newspaper staff will be able to update it more often than they could print a newspaper because the online version is free; whereas, the printed newspaper was funded by advertising which was getting harder and harder to sell,” Kelly Williamson, adviser, said.

In addition to stories about students, events, etc. that would normally be in a printed newspaper, the online Lobo Lair includes the current local weather and a calendar of events. Readers can also comment on the stories and/or email the staff members.

“We would like to include news that may interest our students whether it happens on or off campus. For example, we’d like to include concert dates on our calendar and release dates of anticipated movies,” Williamson said. “Look for these additions soon.”

“It will allow us to include news like when a student signs with a college or a student wins at contest. Before, a lot of school news was old news by the time we got advertising sold, stories written, pages designed, and paper proofread so it didn’t get printed. Now, when news happens we can look into it, write story, and post it.”

You the reader can participate. Comment and write us. Your ideas and stories can be posted too. Of course, we can’t post anything that is false, one-sided, or inappropriate for school. We will edit what is submitted for things we can print and spelling and grammatical errors.

“We hope you enjoy and use the online Lobo Lair.”

Click to see the video. It’s towards end at like 15.47.

Levelland High School student Jennifer Salley will appear in lights on Broadway on Saturday, September 24, as part of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) video presentation, which promotes the value, acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome.
The photo of Jennifer Salley, who has Down syndrome, was selected from over 1,200 entries in the NDSS worldwide call for photos. Over 200 photographs will appear in the video, which will be shown on the larger-than-life MTV plasma screen, located in the heart of Times Square.
Jennifer is pictured with LHS senior Matthew Race, her prom date, on the red carpet at the Levelland High School Senior Prom. The picture was taken by LHS yearbook/journalism teacher, Kelly Williamson.
The Times Square video presentation kicks off Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October. The video presentation will be followed by the 17th Annual New York City Buddy Walk® in Central Park.
Jennifer’s mother, Debra Salley, submitted the photo after seeing a call for pictures on the National Down Syndrome Society website. In early August they were notified by email that the picture had been selected.
“This whole experience has been overwhelming,” says Mrs. Salley. “This all began back in May when Matthew Race agreed to be Jennifer’s escort to the Senior Prom. Then at the prom Ms. Williamson took a fabulous picture of the two of them on the red carpet. Jennifer was just beaming. This was a once in a lifetime experience for her. Matthew probably does not fully realize how meaningful this was.”
Mrs. Salley thought the picture was special but had no idea that it would actually be picked. “Once we were notified, I knew that Jennifer would not realize the magnitude of the screens in Times Square unless she experienced this personally,” Mrs. Salley says. “I had considered making the trip, but had almost decided that maybe I should not spend that amount of money to make this happen.” Mrs. Salley, who has lived in Levelland for 36 years and taught in Levelland ISD for 20 years, did not know at the time that her co-workers were already working to make this trip happen for her and for Jennifer. “I found out that my LHS family had been collecting donations to help make the trip possible. In addition to these donations, a couple in town that do not even know us heard about the plans and donated airline miles for our plane tickets. Many ‘angels’ have been involved in helping us have this exciting trip. We are truly blessed,” says Mrs. Salley.
Neither Mrs. Salley nor Jennifer have been to NYC before and they are very excited. “ We plan to attend the Buddy Walk after the viewing of the video in Times Square on Saturday. The rest of our time will be spent sight-seeing, shopping and Broadway shows and probably the Today Show,” she says. “Watch for us on the Today show either Sat. or Monday morning.”

Sandy Bridges’ 1st period Practicum in Business Management class created a PSA for the Tech Prep PSA Challenge. The PSA topic was Tech Prep programs and articulation. The PSA submitted by this class won 1st place in the Challenge. The first place prize awarded was three $500 SPC scholarships. The scholarship recipients are Susan Duff, Aaron Galarza, and Haley Webb. Thanks to South Plains Tech Prep for the scholarships.  The PSA can be viewed at http://www.southplainscollege.edu/techprep/

LHS students in Mrs. Bridges’ Digital and Interactive Multimedia class are pictured with a new poster printer. The poster printer was purchased through a competitive grant written by Mrs. Bridges and awarded by South Plains Tech Prep. The printer will be used to print posters created by these and other DIM students to advertise all of the Career and Technology courses available to students at LHS. Funding for the grants is provided by Carl D. Perkins funds through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Thank you to Tech Prep for the poster printer!

The Levelland High School Student Council and Friends of Rachel are raising money for Shelter in a Box. They are conducting hat days for students who pay $1 to wear a hat to school and jean days for teachers who pay $5 to wear jeans to school to raise funds for the organization. “LHS staff and students are very compassionate. They want to help those in need and this project is a great way to do that,” says LHS principal Ray Vasquez.

The students were concerned with all of the loss of life and homes with the recent earthquake and tsunami and wanted to give back to those in need. They identified that the organization Shelter in a Box provides more than just money to the region, but they provide temporary homes and the tools necessary to survive and rebuild their lives.

Shelter in a Box, a non profit organization, provides tents, tools, writing supplies for kids and adults alike, blankets, and cooking utensils to countries with natural disasters. The box costs $1,000, and the students will be able to track where their box ends up. The organization has been endorsed by Rotary International for their humanitarian aid.

The high school students have also challenged the middle school to see which school can earn more funds for the organization.

To make a donation, contact LHS Student Council and Friends of Rachel sponsor Merribeth Gregory at mgregory@esc17.net.

Please visit http://www.shelterboxusa.org for more information about the organization.