Birdville ISD Superintendent Dr. Darrell Brown announced today the appointments of Tim Drysdale as principal of Haltom Middle School and Vanessa Sutton as principal at West Birdville Elementary. Drysdale is replacing Dr. Jill Balzer, who recently took a position in a neighboring school district; and Sutton is replacing Tim Drysdale.
Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented students. Duke TIP works with students, their families, and educators to identify, recognize, challenge, engage, and help students reach their highest potential. Now in its 36th year, the seventh-grade talent search identifies bright seventh-graders based on standardized test scores achieved while attending elementary or middle school. Candidates are invited to take the ACT or the SAT college entrance exams as seventh-graders, which allows them greater insight into their academic abilities. In addition, they gain valuable benefits and have access to unique resources for gifted students.
The following Birdville ISD students qualified for state recognition by scoring at or above the national average of recent high school graduates on at least one part of the ACT or the SAT.
The following Birdville ISD students scored high enough to qualify for grand recognition. Students who qualify at the grand level scored approximately at or better than 90 percent of recent high school graduates on at least one part of the ACT or the SAT. These students are invited to a special recognition ceremony at Duke University. Only about three percent of all the participants in the talent search qualify for grand recognition. This is quite an achievement!
The Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering’s 31st Annual State STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Competition was recently held in San Antonio. This event brought together high performing students from across the state to challenge their math and science skills and connect with a network of peers and mentors across Texas and beyond.
Twenty students from Birdville ISD qualified to attend this prestigious competition. They are:
Sebastiene Cox, Grade 12, Haltom High School
Shalkh Sakib, Grade 12, Richland High School
José Garcia, Grade 12, Richland High School
Alexander Ban, Grade 11, Richland High School
Arianne Alvarez, Grade 11, Richland High School
Sorin Pena, Grade 10, Haltom High School
David Serrato, Grade 10, Richland High School
Tin Ha, Grade 9, Richland High School
Sivisaran Meheswaranathan, Grade 9, Richland High School
Grace DiSalvi, Grade 9, Richland High School
Obed Gonzalez, Grade 8, Haltom Middle School
Josue Vanegas, Grade 8, Haltom Middle School
Tai Ha, Grade 8, North Richland Middle School
Anahi Ornelas, Grade 8, North Ridge Middle School
Abigail Nashed, Grade 8, North Ridge Middle School
Maile DiPaula, Grade 7, North Ridge Middle School
Yasmin Torres, Grade 7, Haltom Middle School
Tuongvy Ha, Grade 7, North Richland Middle School
Eduardo Dominguez, Grade 6, North Oaks Middle School
Elaine Zhu, Grade 6, North Oaks Middle School
Congratulations to all seven BISD middle school art departments for their participation in this year’s Junior VASE (Visual Art Scholastic Event). With more than 1,300 entries from students across multiple districts, BISD had 177 young artists enter 235 artworks for adjudication. Over 75 percent of BISD artworks received a “Superior” rating, with 15 pieces gaining special recognition as Silver Medal winners. Silver Medal winners were:
Congratulations to Patience Dotson and Michael Garcia, Haltom High School students, for their wins at the Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s Monologue and Scene Competitions. They won first place and $500 for their presentation of a scene from “Macbeth.” In addition, Hannah Hightshoe also placed and won $50 for her monologue from “Much Ado About Nothing.” Thanks to director Renee Norris for helping these students prepare and participate in this event.
