Campus News - 2010-2011

ECHS FFA News

The ECHS Academic Banquet was held on Monday, May 16, 2011. The banquet recognized the academic accomplishments of East Chambers High School students during their 2010-2011 year. During the banquet, students were recognized by grade level for their outstanding performances in various subjects, top ten percent, perfect attendance, honor graduates, valedictorian and salutatorian, Mr. and Miss EC,  and Who's Who at ECHS.

This year's valedictorian is Lesley Valastro, and salutatorian is Carson Campbell; Mr. and Miss EC are Austen Gilfillian and Carson Campbell.
 

Selected to Who's Who for 2010-2011 are Kelli Neuman, Taylor Reddell, Lesley Valastro, Kayla King, Lindsey McDonald, Spencer Glenn, Abbey Johnson, Austen Gilfillian, Dallas Gibson, Carson Campbell, and Mallory Franzen. And not pictured Hank Jones.
 

East Chambers art students recently participated in the Chambers County Youth Project Show. Winners included Kayla East, Best-of-Show receiving a belt buckle; Shinea Douglas, Best-of-Age Class winner; Jase Vanya, first place; and, Madalyn Bertrand, first place. Leslie Vigors received a second and a third place ribbon for his entries. Tasha Martin received a second place award with her paper mache mask. Daniel Chavez's entry received Honorable Mention at the Lamar State College - Port Arthur 2nd Annual Golden Triangle High School Art Show. This is a prestigious art show including high schools from the Golden Triangle area. Only twelve top winners were selected, and Daniel received an Honorable Mention, one of the top twelve.
 

Front row: Tasha Martin, Shinea Douglas, Madalyn Bertrand
Back row: Leslie D. Vigers, Jase Vanya, Daniel Chavez, Kayla East

The H.S. Fitzgerald National Honor Society of East Chambers High School held their induction ceremony on Monday, April 25, at the High School Auditorium.

Inductees were front row, left to right: Caroline Reddell, Katie Bennett, Jordan Horger, Emma Austin, Ciara Starcke, and Mattie East.
Back Row: Zoë Zbranek, Konnor George, Hunter Rising, Jarred Lezak, Ethan Hughes, and Alexandria Extejt.

The regional UIL academic meet was held at Tyler Junior College in Tyler on Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16, 2011. The One-Act Play cast and crew performed Yentl and was chosen as alternate play to the State competition. Individual awards were All-Star Cast - Carson Campbell and Zoë Zbranek; Honorable Mention All-Star Cast - Taylor Reddell; Best Technician - Tracie Van Law and Caroline Reddell.

In the literary and speaking events, those qualifying for State include: Kelli Neuman - Headline Writing 1st; Zoë Zbranak - Poetry 1st; and Carson Campbell - Prose 1st. In addition, Lanie Silcox placed 6th in Ready Writing; Alexis Flores placed 6th in Lincoln Douglas Debate, and Kyle White finished 8th in Extemporaneous Speaking.

The ECHS One-Act Play competed in the Area Competition in Huntsville on Thursday, April 7, 2011, at Huntsville High School. They performed their play, Yentl, and was chosen to advance to Regional Competition to be held in Tyler on Friday, April 15 at the Wise Auditorium at Tyler Junior College. The physical address is: Wise Auditorium, Tyler Junior College, 522 South Broadway Avenue, Tyler, TX.

Awards received at the Area competition include: Best Actress - Carson Campbell; All-Star Cast - Taylor Reddell; Honorable Mention All-Star Cast - Zoe Zbranek; Best Tech - Tracie VanLaw; and Best Tech Crew - Sadie Long, Tracie VanLaw, Ethan Hughes, Caroline Reddell, Lise-Marie Oyvik, and Bailey Smith.

The East Chambers OAP added to the academic district win by advancing in the district competition held on March 31, 2011. East Chambers' play, Yentl, was chosen as one of two plays to advance to Area. 

In addition, the following individual awards were received for outstanding performances:  Best Actor - Taylor Reddell; Best Actress - Carson Campbell; All-Star Cast - Zoe Zbranek and Kayla King; Honorable Mention - Kyle White; and Best Crew - Ethan Hughes.

Other actors and actresses include Micah Frugia, Kyle Norris, Jaxon Vanya, Ann-Katherin Muth, Jared Matlock, Spencer Glenn, Jasta Alicie, Nichole Mayeux, Emily McKnight, and Alex Spencer. Additional crew and alternates are Lise-Marie Oyvik, Caroline Reddell, Tracie VanLaw, Sadie Long, and Veronica Moncada.

Point totals for the District Academic Competition that started in January with CX Debate and concluded with OAP yesterday are: East Chambers HS - 441 points,  Buna HS - 335,  Anahuac HS - 242, Warren HS - 228, Hardin HS - 114, and Kountze HS - 113.
 

East Chambers High School is leading the district UIL Academic contest after the second day of competition with 395 points followed by Buna 303, Anahuac 230, Warren 228, Hardin 108, and Kountze 90.

Individual results from the first day's competition are as follows: Calculator - Katelyn Domingue 4th; Current Issues & Events - Jared Matlock 1st; 2nd place Team \ Nipp, Matlock, Extejt, C. Touchet; Computer Applications - Emily McKnight 2nd; Ben Wilchek 5th; Ethan Hughes 6th; 1st Place Journalism Team; Editorial Writing - Kelli Neuman 1st; Jordan Horger 3rd; Alaina Potter 4th; Feature Writing - Kelli Neuman 1st; Lesley Valastro 3rd; Headline Writing - Kelli Neuman 2nd; Sage Amin 3rd; News Writing - Kelli Neuman 1st; Literary Criticism - Taylor Thurman 5th; 2nd Place Team \ Long, McGovern, Thurman, Jaxon Vanya; Number Sense - Kyle White 6th; Science - Zoe Zbranek 2nd; Taylor Reddell 3rd; Top Physics - Taylor Reddell, Zoe Zbranek; 2nd Place Team \ Bertrand, Jackson, Kumar, Reddell, Zbranek; Social Studies - Jared Matlock 5th; Spelling & Vocabulary - Tyler Nipp 1st; Abby Walker 3rd; 1st Place Team \ Nipp, A. Walker, E. Payne, Tran.

Individual results from the second day's competition are as follows: Speech Team 1st Place; Informative Speaking - Jared Matlock 4th; Colby Touchet 5th; Lincoln Douglas Debate - Jackson Crissey 1st; Alexis Flores 3rd; Kyle Norris 5th; Persuasive Speaking - Kyle White 3rd; Ethan Hughes 5th; Poetry Interpretation - Zoe Zbranek 1st; Jaxon Vanya 6th; Prose Interpretation - Carson Campbell 1st Ready Writing - Lanie Silcox 1st.

The OAP performance will be held on Thursday, March 31.

The CX-Debate teams of Austen Gilfillian and Lesley Valastro 1st, Cody Brist and Kaleb Lavergne 2nd, and Jasta Alicie and Kyle White 5th competed at district in January, earning 27 points to begin the quest for the district championship.

East Chambers High School was represented by two CX-Debate teams at the State Tournament on the University of Texas campus in Austin on March 14-15. The teams of Austen Gilfillian and Lesley Valastro, and Cody Brist and Caleb Lavergne debated four rounds. It was the third year for Gilfillian and Valastro to reach the state tournament, and the first for Brist and Lavergne.
 

East Chambers High School began its quest for District Champs on January 26, 2011. East Chambers traveled to Warren to participate in the District CX-Debate contest. ECHS was represented with three teams consisting of Team 1: Lesley Valastro and Austen Gilfillian; Team 2: Kyle White and Jasta Alicie; and Team 3 : Cody Brist and Kaleb Lavergne. East Chambers came out on top and will advance two of its teams to State Competition in Austin, Texas, in March.

Placing fifth in the contest was the team of White and Alicie. Advancing to state and placing second was team Brist and Lavergne, and the team of Valastro and Gilfillian once again placed first and will also advance to state competition. Valastro and Gilfillian have won the district title for the third consecutive year.

The CX teams have started EC’s journey as District Champs with 27 points.

On January 22, 2011, East Chambers students competed in the Nederland Bulldog UIL Academic Meet. EC participated in the small school division that included 1A – 3A schools. Placing 2nd in Current Events and Issues was Jared Matlock. Lesley Valastro placed 3rd, and Ethan Hughes finished 7th in Computer Applications. Jackson Crissey was 5th in LD Debate, and our CX team of Cody Brist and Kaleb Lavergne placed 6th in CX Debate.

On Friday and Saturday, January 7-8, the Academic UIL students competed at H-F with 32 schools in some of the events.  In the written contests, we were divided into small school and large school. The small school contests consisted of 17 teams with 10 of the schools in the 3A division. In Journalism, Kelli Neuman placed 3rd in News Writing and 5th in Editorial Writing. Jordan Horger placed 5th in Feature Writing, and Sage Amin placed 5th in Headline Writing. Ben Wilchek received 4th in Computer Applications. Jarod Matlock placed 4th in Current Events, and Taylor Reddell placed 1st in Top Biology. In the Speaking Contests, EC students competed against all 32 schools with 27 of them being 3A and larger. In CX debate, the team of Lesley Valastro and Austen Gilfillian won their first two rounds before leaving to play basketball. Abby Parfait was 7th and Kyle Norris was 8th in LD. Zoe Zbranek received 2nd in the poetry division. 

The high school Student Council and Science Club have been teaming up to help finish the Outdoor Discovery Center behind the elementary school. Saturday, December 11th, was another workday for the two groups. This workday was successful with the installation of fifteen benches along the walkways in the Outdoor Discovery Center. These students have been working very hard to get the habitat ready to open for the rest of the students. The Outdoor Discovery Center is expected to be completed and open for learning by late January to mid-February. Other events the two groups have been working on include recycling on campus, Toys for Tots toy drive, and Christmas caroling.
 

The Buccaneers dominated the Lions in a 48-14 victory. EC Offensive Player of the Week is Dallas Gibson, and Defensive Player of the Week is Richard Boullion.

The Bucs will travel to Buna this Friday  to take on the Cougars on their home field.

View slideshow.

Selection of the 2010-2011 National Honor Society Officers was held and the results are as follows:  President - Carson Campbell; Vice President - Kelli Neuman; Corresponding Secretary - Lesley Valastro; Recording Secretary - Dallas Gibson; Historian - Lindsey McDonald; and Treasurer - Austen Gilfillian.
 

The annual Rice Festival Queen's Contest was held on Saturday, September 25, 2010, at the ECHS auditorium. The day's events began with a brunch and interview with the judges followed by the final judging where only contestants were present. The revealing and coronation of the court and queen was held with family and friends in attendance. The newly crowned queen and her court was introduced at the Texas Rice Festival main stage in the park later that evening. Carson Campbell a student at ECHS was chosen this year's queen, and Autumn Scott, also an ECHS senior, was chosen second runner up.

East Chambers High School welcomed foreign exchange students from 5 different countries for the 2010-2011 school year. The importance of cross-cultural exchange and the opportunity to learn about other countries and cultures is an invaluable opportunity for all students.
 

Pictured above are: (back row) Michal Orfin - Poland; Lovis Stricker - Germany; Eike-Tabea Kröger - Germany; and Ann-Kathrin Muth - Germany. (front row) Eduardo Meo - Brazil; Kim Tran - Germany; Camila Brito Sabatini - Argentina, and Lise-Marie Oyvik - Norway.

The Area IX FFA Convention was held at Stephen F. Austin State University May 11-12, 2011. Thirteen East Chambers FFA students attended. Senior Kelli Neuman presided over the convention as area president, retired, and was elected as a State FFA Officer. Kelli will represent 80,000 FFA members this upcoming year. She will run for the position of president at the State FFA Convention in July in Lubbock, Texas.

Kelli also competed in the area extemporaneous speaking contest. She placed second and will compete on the state level at state convention.

Senior Kelli Neuman competed in the San Antonio Livestock Exposition Agricultural Public Speaking Contest on Saturday, February 12, 2011.

Out of 100 competitors, Neuman won the preliminary and semi-finals rounds of her Natural Resources division, and moved on to the finals round consisting of the top 12 FFA and 4-H speakers in Texas. Neuman presented her speech to the public, and won first place which includes a $10,000 scholarship, a belt buckle, and a banner. The speech presented had to be six to eight minutes long followed by a five-minute question and answer session. Neuman’s speech covered the importance of the wetlands.

ECHS senior Kelli Neuman competed in the Job Interview Contest at the State FFA Leadership Development Events Competition on December 3-4, 2010.  Having won the district and area competitions, Neuman placed 1st in the state out of 447 competitors.

This is Neuman’s third consecutive state FFA competition title to win. The Job Interview Leadership Development Event consists of each participant submitting a resume, cover letter, and three recommendation letters.

The participant must also complete a job application for an agricultural position on site. The participant then participates in an interview via telephone, in which the participant must obtain a personal interview with the employers. The participant then completes a one-on-one interview with a panel of employers. Friday’s contest was state semi-finals, for the top 2 competitors from each of the 10 areas of Texas FFA. Saturday’s competition was the state finals, with the top 10 competitors from the previous day’s competition. Neuman will travel to Indianapolis, Indiana, in October to compete in the National FFA Leadership Development Job Interview Event with the first place winner of each of the 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

This weekend, Texas FFA obtained its 80,000th member. This is record-breaking membership for the history of the entire United States’ FFA Associations.

East Chambers FFA traveled to Stephen F. Austin University on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. Junior Cullen Sonnier and Freshmen Cullen Barrow, Veronica Moncada and Andrew McGovern competed in the FFA Quiz contest, winning fourth place team. Cullen Sonnier was the seventh place high-point individual, and Veronica Moncada was the ninth place high-point individual. Kelli Neuman competed in the Job Interview contest, winning first place and advancing to state. Kelli will compete on the state level at Sam Houston State University on December 3rd and 4th, 2010. There are 100 schools in the Area IX FFA Association.
 

The East Chambers FFA Ag students participated in Leadership Development Events in Dayton on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Senior, Kelli Neuman received 1st place participating in Job Interview, and the Sr. Quiz team received 1st also. Participants were Junior, Cullen Sonnier, and Freshmen, Andrew McGovern, Veronica Moncada, and Cullen Barrow. Chapter Conducting, received 5th place. Creed Speakers- Jaxon Vanya, and Michayla Wiesse. Radio Team- Kayla King, Emily Neuman, and Kelli Neuman. Chapter Conducting- Ciara Starke, Hailey Willey, Alexandria Extejt, Nichole Mayeux, Barrett Franzen, Curt Schloderer, and Blaine Acevado. Public Relations- Brooklyn Clay, Victoria Paniagua, Veronica Moncada, and Breelee LeBlanc.

The East Chambers FFA Chapter received the prestigious Gold Emblem rating at the 82nd annual Texas FFA Convention held in Corpus Christi, Texas on July 13-16, 2010. The Gold Emblem rating is only bestowed upon the top 10 percent of FFA chapters in Texas.

In the interest of premier leadership, personal growth and career success, the Texas FFA Association offered an opportunity for students to compete in a Spanish Version Creed Speaking Event for the first time in its history. The Spanish Creed Speaking Event is the only Spanish language Creed speaking event outside of Puerto Rico.  East Chambers High School student Victoria Paniagua competed in the First Annual Texas FFA State Spanish Creed Speaking Contest.

Kelli Neuman won the Texas Soil Stewardship Prepared Public Speaking Contest where she advanced through one of 57 district competitions in the state, winning the district title and moving on to compete on the area level. Neuman was declared the area winner out of 98 schools. Twenty students from across the state competed in the state semi-finals. Neuman won a $500 dollar scholarship for area and $1,000 at the state level. In October, Neuman will travel to Lubbock, Texas for the state Soil and Water Conservation Convention to present her speech. Neuman was also recognized as the state champion of Senior Creed Speaking where she performed the creed on stage with the Spanish Creed Speaking winner in front of 11,000 members and guests. In addition, Neuman and Cullen Sonnier were awarded the Lone Star FFA Degree, which is the highest degree bestowed by the Texas FFA.