Hopkins Count United Way Total Pledges to Date; Two Give Back Events Planned
Hopkins County United Way Campaign 2018-2019 pledges to date total $26,765.20. The goal for this year’s drive is $165,000. Reports from volunteers were presented Tuesday, October 9th during the second report meeting for the campaign.
The next report meeting is set for Wednesday, October 17, at 9 a.m., at the Texas AgriLife Extension office.
Two give back events are planned during the campaign. One give back require the presentation of the attached flyer in order for the campaign to receive credit.
Muddy Jake’s will donate 10% of event day sales Tuesday, October 16th from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.
On Thursday, Oct. 25, Panda Express will donate 20% of event day sales to Hopkins County United Way. The flyer below must be presented to ensure the giveback.
SSISD Board Meeting October 8, 2018 Filled With Reports Focused on Progress
Sulphur Springs School Board opened with pledges to the flag led by Bowie Primary students and was then impressed by the Bowie Book Buddy third grade reading program presented by Bowie Principal Amanda Fenton and the four students present. The board also heard a report on Red Ribbon Week activities planned for the district and updates on elementary and secondary programs.
Board President Robin Young was appointed as school board representative to the Head Start Policy Council. Anna Jones was employed as Special Education Aide at Barbara Bush Primary.
During the meeting, Kristen Monk, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education and Learner Services presented the SSISD Targeted Improvement Plan (TIP) to the board. The TIP is mandated for elementary and primary level education in SSISD due to STARR scores falling just short of the required mark, specifically in reading. Monk told the board that the goal for the district is to create quality and consistency in instruction on the elementary level by providing a level field for expectation in achievement for students. Students in 3rd through 6th grade STARR test scores could end the TIP mandate for the school following the next testing period. Monk stated that the scores reflected the need for only two additional students scoring in the upper range to reach the test goal. The board approved the TIP.
Monk also presented an update on activities in the elementary level schools:
Douglass ECLC · Beginning of Year testing is almost complete. (Universals, Kaplan LAP-3, ASQ, ASQ-SE) · Home visits begin October 22 · Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) Meeting Kickoff this morning · Parent “Walk and Talk” meetings with Johana Hicks began Tuesday (8-week session) · Field Trips planned for the Pumpkin Patch and Fire Department · PLC rotations – Students rotate to areas for Movement, Music, Games, Dare2Dream, Health, Storytelling, Art, Technology/Manipulatives
Barbara Bush Primary · 9 students represented BBP at Special Sports Day! · 49 students have mastered their first round of Bubble Gum Words (one student has mastered and spelled all of her second round of words · WIN has begun and we are settling into a good routine · All BOY assessments are complete and parent conferences will be starting · BBP is enjoying the Blue Blazes and Wildcats at drop-off on Friday mornings! · Great parent participation in PTO – fundraiser and adopt-a-staff member Secret Pal program · BBP students will be going to the Pumpkin Patch and participating in Red Ribbon week activities
Bowie Primary · Kindergarten and 1st grade went on a field trip to SOC Pumpkin Patch. · Students are mastering and showing progress with their Bubblegum and Wildcat words each week · 1st grade students made homemade ice cream in Science this week to showcase heating and melting
Lamar Primary · We’ve kicked off Book Buddies · Students and teachers are enjoying all the science projects they are doing · The students received their first Food for Kids · Daily 5 is fully launched
Travis Primary · Kindergarten has settled in well. We are loving having the littles here at Travis again and the DLE TwoWay program is off to a fantastic start 11 · Beginning of year testing is complete and parent conferences are going well · Travis Carnival is next Friday, the 12th and all students are looking forward to it · PTO-sponsored Fun Fridays have been a huge success to show our Wildcat spirit · We celebrated our grandparents by inviting them for lunch and had a phenomenal turnout · We are looking forward to our Family Literacy night on October 30th
Sulphur Springs Elementary School (SSES) · 4th Grade Teachers attended Empowering Writers training. Implementation in classrooms was taking place the next day with LOTS of excitement from students and teachers · Robotics applications are being reviewed and practices will begin on Oct. 17 · UIL practices and team selections will begin Oct. 22 · Book Club for 5th graders going on now with Gibson and Tiemeyer · GT Workshops are going great · Ag in the Classroom is next week for 4th graders · Book Buddies Mentoring begins October 8 · SSES Student Council – selection process is over and they will begin activities the week of Oct. 8 · Firemen Friends – begins Oct 23 for students who will benefit from mentoring – assigned firemen in Hopkins Co will be present during lunches to eat with assigned students · PTO fundraiser was a great success
An update on Secondary level schools (high school and middle school) was presented by Josh Williams, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education and State and Federal Programs. He noted:
Sulphur Springs High School · Last Thursday the Sulphur Springs FFA show team traveled to Texarkana Arkansas to compete in the annual 4 States Fair Livestock show. At this show students compete with other FFA and 4-H members from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. We had a very successful weekend of showing. On Friday Breanna Sells showed Dixie her Angus heifer, placing 3rd in her class, and Elida Miller showed Gabby her Hereford heifer, placing 5th in her class. Saturday morning we started off with Hayden Daniel placing 2nd in his class with Patsy, his Beefmaster heifer (Hayden left Sulphur Springs at 4:30am Saturday to make the show after playing football and beating Terrell the night before). Jodie Tippit placed 4th with her heifer Mags, and Sydney Swatsell placed 2nd, with her heifer Dot. Cash Vititow showed 3 Red Brahman heifers having 2 class winners and a 3rd in class. Cash showed CC, his 2 year old heifer, along her bull calf Charlie (shown by Aubrey Thornton) in the Grand Drive and they went on to win Grand Champion Red Brahman of the whole show! We will be traveling to the East Texas State Fair in Tyler, Tx on Thursday September 20th . · Judge Cummings brought a group to speak to some of our students · Food Truck Friday Round 2 provided more Options for students and Food Service having an option for students · Homecoming Festivities · Recognition of 2008 State Championship Team · First Band Competition of the Fall · Football Undefeated · Cross Country o Rained out a couple times o Ran well in Arlington last week o District October 8th 9am · Volleyball has started district play · Team Tennis has made the playoffs o Start in couple weeks · Theatre Department preparing for Three Musketeers this fall · Little Cheer Clinic 13 · Kajeet Roll Out · Senior Leadership Group first outing · Special Sports Day · Dollars and Sense students field trip to Alliance Bank · Physics visited Planetarium at Texas A&M Commerce · Large number of students signed up for PSAT · SAT/ACT Boot Camp o Over 50 kids attended · Balfour o Senior Officers Meeting o Junior Ring Meeting · Interior Design has visited Cody Drug couple of times · Gold Out Pep Rally o Honoring those dealing with Childhood Cancer · FCA: See you at the pole o Meeting every other Thursday morning
Sulphur Springs Middle School · “Wildcat Weekly” – SSMS Student Driven Video Announcements – 8 th Grade ACE Every 2 Weeks · “Silent Strength” Guest Peaker – Anti Bullying Program – Promotes Positive/Uplifting Communication Among Students. www.silentstrengthprogram.com · LEAP Career Fair – 8 th grade students introduced to many career choices. · Volleyball A Team 7-3; B Team 8-2 · Football A Team 3-1; B Team 1-3 · DI Tryouts – Next Week · One Act Play – Practice for “Wild Strawberries” is Underway
Red Ribbon Week Activities for SSISD Elementary and Middle School October 29-November 2, 2018
During the Sulphur Springs School Board meeting Monday night, October 8, 2018, the board heard a report on planned activities for Red Ribbon Week in the District. Red Ribbon Week is a drug awareness program with a 2018 theme of Journey thru Life Drug Free.
Elementary Red Ribbon Activities Red Ribbon Week’s National Theme for 2018 is Journey thru Life Drug Free 10/29-11/2.
Monday 10/29: Journey with Excitement. Wear red to show you are excited to live drug free.
Tuesday 10/30: Journey with Imagination. Dress as your favorite literary character because reading an imaginative book beats drugs any day.
Wednesday 10/31: Journey as a Hero. Dress like a superhero to demonstrate your lifelong power to be drug free.
Thursday 11/1: Journey thru the Decades. Dress up in your favorite decade (50’s, 70’s, 80’s, etc) to commit to being drug free all thru the decades.
Friday 11/2: Journey the Wildcat Way. Wear your Wildcat spirit gear to let everyone know the Wildcat Way is Drug Free! Sulphur Springs
Middle School Red Ribbon Week Activities—October 29-November 2 “Journey Through Life Drug Free”
Monday, October 29 – Be Powerful in Life! Wear red clothing or shoes.
Tuesday, October 30 – Travel Drug Free in Style! Wear your favorite cap or hat.
Wednesday, October 31 – Drugs Are a Nightmare! Steer Clear! Wear your school appropriate Halloween costume today! (NO masks, NO bloody/gory, NO Short/tight clothing)
Thursday, November 1 – Journey Through the ‘80’s Drug Free! Wear 80’s style clothing.
Friday, November 2 – Wildcats Prowl Drug Free! Wear Wildcat spirit wear today!
Lady Cat Volleyball 1-4 in District as Second Round Begins
Lady Cats Volleyball Coach Justin Maness said the loss in five sets to Texas High last Friday (October 5) was definitely a tough one. He said the Lady Cats came to play. However Coach Maness said the Lady Cats were not as focused in the fifth set as they needed to be to win. He said the fastest team out of the gate in a fifth set usually wins.
At one point in the match, the Lady Cats led 2 sets to one. Coach Maness said he felt pretty good at that point but he added the Lady Cats just could not get it done. He said he was also confident going into set five especially since the Lady Cats were on a side where they had won before in the match.
Coach Maness acknowledged that Madi Vickery played a very good game Friday as did Autumn Tanton. Tanton made an incredible hit back across the net that she could only hit with one hand while diving to the floor. Now the Lady Cats are 1-4 in district play and they are in fifth place. Only the top four teams go to the playoffs. Coach Maness said the Lady Cats now have to take care of business in the second half. He said a 5-0 second half would be great but added 4-1 might be good enough. Coach Maness said the Lady Cats just need to concentrate on winning and not worry about what other teams are doing.
The Lady Cats begin the second half with two big home matches this week. Royse City will be in Wildcat Gym Tuesday night and Lindale comes in Friday.
Owens Says It Was Good to Remain Unbeaten in District Play Following Win Against Forney
After the Wildcats’ football team outscored Forney, 56-47 Friday night (October 5) in a game featuring more than 1100 yards of offense, Wildcats Coach Greg Owens said he was glad to get he win adding it was good to remain unbeaten in district play. The Wildcats are 4-0 for the season and 3-0 in district play. Coach Owens was on KSST Radio and cable Channel 18’s Saturday Morning Coach’s Show last Saturday.
He said Forney has some good players including a good offensive line, a big running back, a talented tight end defensive end combo player and a quarterback who can throw the football. The Wildcats countered with quarterback D’Corian Young passing and running and Austin Dodd catching. Coach Owens said just when we thought we had taken control of the game with a defensive stop, Forney got right back in the game with an instant six points by returning a incomplete pass thrown behind the line of scrimmage for a touchdown.
Coach Owens said he doesn’t like to have to defend onside kicks but the Wildcats ended up having to do that again. He said the Wildcats tackling needs to be better and then added that there was still a lot of stuff to work on. Coach Owens had predicted that line play physicality would be a key to the ballgame. He said all in all, neither team dominated the line of scrimmage. Coach Owens said Forney’s front three on defense were very good but he said the Wildcats were able to wear them down some.
He also commented on the Wildcats short kick to open the second half that the Wildcats ended up recovering. Coach Owens said kicker Brandon Zavala actually missed the pooch kick. He called it a great miss. He said both kickers Zavala and Osiel Lopez kicked the ball well.
On defense, Coach Owens liked the play of safety Dodd citing his tackles and pass defense. He said the Wildcats defensive line really got after it. Coach Owens gave credit to Forney’s Coach Aaron Woods for the way he schemed the Wildcats.
Friday the Wildcats travel to Ennis. They are coached by Sam Harrell, a legendary coach, who has overcome multiple sclerosis enough to return to the sideline after several seasons absence. Coach Owens said Ennis has great athletes, history and tradition.
Wildcat Band Encounters Rain, Lightning at Sunnyvale Contest; March in Mineola Monday
The Wildcats Marching Band had to deal with the weather at their first contest of the season Saturday at Sunnyvale. Wildcats Band Director Spencer Emmert said the weather looked good as the band got ready for their first performance Saturday. He said just before they got started, it began to rain. After about a five minute delay, the band was able to perform.
The Wildcats’ band was the only one of the 27 bands at the contest to get rained on. Emmert said despite the distraction, the band put on a great performance and qualified for the top ten band finals. He said as the band headed for the stadium for its finals performance, it was announced that the finals portion of the Sunnyvale contest was being canceled due to the threat of lightning.
The Wildcats Marching Band has their second contest at Mineola Monday. Emmert said the band did get some helpful comments from judges at the Sunnyvale event. He said he went over the critiques over the weekend and shared with the band at a Monday morning rehearsal. The band should receive additional judges’ critiques at the Mineola contest.
The Wildcats Marching Band will compete at a Mount Pleasant Invitational Contest on Saturday before UIL Competition on Tuesday, October 16 also at Mount Pleasant.
Horton Places 3rd in Junior Market Lamb Show at State Fair
On Sunday, September 30th Sulphur Springs High School Sophomore Annie Horton, exhibited her Medium Wool Wether Lamb in the Junior Market Lamb Show at the State Fair of Texas.
She placed 3rd in her class and earned a spot in the Youth Livestock Auction: Sale of Champions on Friday October 5th. Melissa Evert, instructor in Agriculture at SSHS, said, “Annie did a great job kicking off the State Fair of Texas for our FFA Chapter and we look forward to the rest of the Fair.”
Cross Country: Wildcats Win District; Lady Cats Place 3rd
The Wildcats and Lady Cats’ cross country teams had big days at the District 15-5A Cross Country Meet Monday morning (October 8) at Mount Pleasant High School. The Wildcats captured the district championship with a first place finish. The Lady Cats finished third in district.
Both teams advance to the Region II-5A Championship on Monday, October 22 at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie.
Two Arrested for Sexual Assault
A sexual assault at a party in the county in March of this year led to the arrest of Elijah Naptali Meek, 27, and Catrina Dawn Sepmoree (no picture available), 28, both of Sulphur Springs.
Hopkins County Criminal Investigator Corley Weatherford, assisted by a deputy, arrested both on warrants at Trans Texas Movies in Sulphur Springs Saturday evening October 6, 2018 at 9:40 p.m.
Meek and Sepmoree are in Hopkins County Jail. Each is held on a $50,000 bond.
