Travis students

get creative

(ENLARGE)

Creativity and imagination were flowing through the Travis Elementary cafeteria Oct. 4. Students and parents were painting airplanes, flowers, flags, and even SpongeBob SquarePants on ceiling tiles.

The Travis PTA hosted the second annual Ceiling Tile Night at a cost of $10 each. Art teacher Lori O'Connor and several PTA volunteers had the tiles ready with a border, so families could concentrate on painting their lasting memory. It was a great event to raise money for the school and to make the school look beautiful.

MISD honors school

bus safety week

The Marshall Independent School District is celebrating National School Bus Safety Week, which runs through Friday, and is asking for cooperation from the community in maintaining — or even improving — its safety record.

"Our school bus drivers are doing a great job, but they need the cooperation of other motorists," an MISD press release stated.

One of the most common driver complaints is that other motorists frequently violate the school bus stop law. Motorists are required to stop for stopped school buses displaying flashing red lights and a stop arm.

However, "sometimes the drivers are not fully alert and pass a stopped school bus. This is a very dangerous situation for the children, especially the younger ones who may not be watching traffic as closely as they should," the release stated.

WECC students

take field trip

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Not the students of Washington Early Childhood Center when Shreveport Opera Xpress brought their production of "Little Red Riding Hood" to their school recently. Meeting the actors that portrayed characters who revealed their thoughts and emotions through singing was an exciting experience for the students. The audience was completely mesmerized and displayed perfect audience manners. They absorbed the traditional story that many children continue to hear and love. Although students were only three or four years old, the professionally presented opera was an experience the children will not be afraid to hear again!

MISD board honors

Carver employees

The MISD Board of Trustees presented certificates to the Carver Elementary custodial staff for their dedication to the school. These individuals have poured their hearts into the campus as they perform their jobs and meet additional requests to help make the campus run smoothly. After vandalism at the school, the custodial staff rose to the occasion as they performed their own duties as well as cleaning up after the criminal mischief that took place. We are proud to call them a part of our Carver family.

Kittens rescued

at Sam Houston

Wednesday, Oct. 7, was a cool autumn morning with a gentle rain drizzling down on the campus of Sam Houston Middle School. Mrs. Kirkwood, the school's head custodian, was walking along the front of the school when she heard soft meows coming from deep inside the shrubbery. She went to get Mrs. Peteet and Mrs. Holder, knowing they loved cats.

Shining a flashlight into the darkness of the bushes, they could see and hear two newborn kittens calling out for help. Since they were unable to reach the kittens, they asked Coach Sooter to send a student to help them. Cory Wilson happily came to the rescue. Crawling through the thickness of the branches, Cory carefully lifted the two kittens to safety.

Mrs. Tapp called Marshall Animal Hospital to ask for their help. Without hesitation, they let Sam Houston staff bring the kittens to their clinic to nurse them back to health. School employees are so grateful for our community helpers.

Many thanks go to Mrs. Kirkwood, Cory Wilson and Marshall Animal Hospital for being there for us!

MJHS students picked

for university program

Marshall Junior High School students Alexis Brewster, Cristian Cruz, De'Onte Harris, Sydney Hatton, William Hill, John McCrary, Caleb Oden, Alexandria Reynolds, Mary Roden, Emily Sallee, Summer Tolbert, Anna Westmoreland, Michael White and Megan Whitener have qualified to participate in the highly-selective Duke University Talent Identification Program.

Selection is based on sixth-grade math or verbal TAKS scores. The qualifying scores are set by the Duke University Talent Search. These students have qualified to take the ACT and the SAT college entrance exams as seventh graders. Each participant who completes the SAT or ACT will receive valuable testing experience. The experience and knowledge gained from taking an above-level test like the SAT or ACT is the primary benefit of the Duke Talent Search. Students not only have an opportunity to preview a test that they will take later on for college admission, but also can learn about their current academic abilities and then develop a plan to appropriately address them.