December 10, 2007

You may have noticed the many school buses parked at the Armadillo Arena on Saturday and wondered just what was being held at school? No it was not a basketball tournament, but an academic tournament of sorts. San Saba Middle School proudly hosted 7 other school districts from University Interscholastic League (UIL) District 6 AA. The UIL governs contests other than sports and on Tuesday afternoon and all day Saturday, San Saba ISD hosted 687 students from Ballinger, Jim Ned, Coleman, Bangs, Early, Wall and Grape Creek ISD’s in many different academic contests. The students participated in events such as ready writing oral reading, modern oratory, impromptu speaking, music memory, science, art, mathematics, maps, graphs & charts, dictionary skills, number sense, listening skills, social studies, calculator and spelling. San Saba Middle School competed 56 students strong. Placing were in editorial writing- Johanna Crosby 2nd, Katie Ross 6th, Marshal McIntosh 1st and Samantha Henry 3rd; ready writing- Kristen Reynolds 4th; Science-Zac Davis 3rd and Samantha Henry 4th; oral reading-Johanna Crosby 3rd; art-Dylan Rosales 2nd and Dominic Rosales 2nd; number sense-Jennifer Watkins 2nd; maps, graphs & charts-Wesley Gates 4th; spelling-Nickie Ortiz 1st, Morgan Jimenez 3rd and social studies-Jonathan Estrada 5th. San Saba Elementary students departed for Jim Ned CISD at 6:00 am on Monday, December, 3 and competed very well. Placing for elementary were: Jaycie Johnson 5th in oral reading; Raylee Pannell-1st in oral reading; Carter Eden-6th in oral reading; Brooke Nagle 2nd in ready writing; and Ally Bourke and Maggie Alexander 4th place in spelling. The elementary had twenty-nine students participate in this year’s event. San Saba High School students are studying diligently for their UIL competition that will be held in the spring. For high school students a great deal is at stake in their UIL competition. If students place at the district competition, then they advance to regional competition and eventually to state competition. Students who participate at the state competition are eligible for scholarships in excess of $12,000 dollars. Starting at elementary school and working hard through middle school can prepare a student well to compete in UIL events throughout their high school years. Students can be richly rewarded for their efforts if they make it to the state level of competition and receive one of the many scholarships that are available. Students can pursue this type of competition beyond high school into college which will provide additional scholarship opportunities if they compete on behalf of their university. Not only are the middle school students to be commended for their hard work and preparation for these events, the middle school staff and large pool of volunteers who made this event a success are to be commended. We were very proud of the positive comments regarding our school facility and our staff from the visitors that attended this event. Please call my office if you have any questions about this article or any other questions about school happenings – 325/372-3144. Don’t forget to check the website regularly for new updates – www.san-saba.net