COOPER CHAPTER OF CUM LAUDE SOCIETY INDUCTS 18 SENIORS – The John Cooper School Chapter of The Cum Laude Society inducted the following seniors into its chapter during an assembly for students, parents and faculty: Farah Patel, Connie Hsiao, Hailey Juszczak, Mara Medellin, Kaitlyn Coleman, Leon Chen, Katie Saibara, Brynne Lycette, Allison Metts, Marlotta DeJong, Iyza Baig, Andrea Horwege, Akanksha Samal, Ty Williams, Gerald Glenn II, Chris Demetriades, Xavier Thierry and Tyler Darwin.

Upper School social sciences faculty member Deb Parks gave the keynote address that focused on the history of Cum Laude and the importance of looking to the past in order to look forward and make positive change for the future. Chapter members include Joe Broccoli, head of Upper School; Anne Naman, director of college counseling; faculty members Shannon Wiley, Kim Larance, Lilia Gallivan, Anita Pilling, Tina Davies and Mike Maher, head of school .

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ROWERS WIN AT STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – The Rowing Club of The Woodlands Juniors won several bronze medals at the 2011 Texas Rowing Championships, sanctioned by USRowing, on Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Hosted by Austin Rowing Club on Festival Beach Park, the 1,000-meter sprint race is the principal regatta in a series of events that determine the best high school rowers in Texas.

Returning to win again at the championship level were Marjorie Ferrone and Tara Dalton in a varsity double. Winning silver in a time of 3:53.55 was a sweet victory for these young women before they become members of the USNA Crew team and Duke University Crew team.

Thomas Eastwick and Hugo Gomez lost silver to Texas Rowing center by a heartbeat to win the bronze prize in a time of 3:25.87. Novice boys had a presence in the doubles and quad. Winning bronze in a time of 3:52.60, Blake Eastwick and Ian Miller were proud to represent the team on the podium. Andrew Gomez, Ryan Lynch, Ian Miller and Nick Fazzino poured it on at the end for a bronze medal in the 4X in 3:32.00.

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ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA STUDENT WINS HONOR – St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School eighth-grader Adam Buckley was awarded the 2011 East Coast Tour Citizenship Award. Eighth-graders completed a field trip to Washington, D.C., with School Tours of America based in Houston. The tour leaders, staff and guides recommended Adam for the award.

“This award symbolizes the strength of character Adam displayed during the entire tour experience. He distinguished himself through his character, service and leadership and ultimately brought honor to the award. I truly hope this experience furthered his desire to achieve success in his life,” said Lance Harvey, president of School Tours of America.

Educational travel to the historic East Coast is a long-standing American tradition with alumni going on to achieve immense success in the fields of politics, military, business, entertainment, science and academics.

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SPAM CLUB’S FOOD DRIVE ASSISTS ANIMAL WELFARE RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS – The John Cooper Upper School SPAM Club (Students Preventing Animal Mistreat­ment) added a new fundraiser, “Easter Paws,” that raised $242 for animal welfare organizations in the area. Families brought pets in to have their photo taken with the Easter Bunny (Annabelle Cousins).

In March, the SPAM Club sponsored a pet food drive that collected 1,700 pounds of food over a three-week period. The food was donated to the Montgomery County Animal Shelter.

“Thanks to the generosity of those who contributed to this effort, we were able to donate basically one week’s worth of food for the shelter, which has around 1,000 animals on the premises daily,” said Shannon Hill, the club’s faculty sponsor.

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PRESIDENT OF DRAMA TROUPE MAKES STATE FINALS – Jessica Trinque, a senior and president of The Woodlands High School Drama Department, was honored as a State Finalist in the 2011 University Interscholastic League Theatrical Design contest. This is the first time The Woodands High School has entered this event, and department chair Carlen Gilseth was excited to have a student advance to UIL State.

Jessica competed in the Marketing Design division of the contest, and submitted a design focused on the show Alice in Wonderland by Eva La Gallienne and Florida Friebus. She received exemplary ratings and will compete for State Honors.

Jessica’s design included a poster, website layout, press release, and a justification of the designs. Her goal was to achieve “professionalism, appealing aesthetics, and to make the concept relative to the show.” She has been accepted to the BFA Core Ensemble at The University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance, and plans to pursue acting.

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WOODLANDS HS STUDENT RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIp – The Woodlands High School student Stephanie Eisner has been selected to receive the prestigious Forty Acres Scholarship to The University of Texas at Austin. Eisner is part of the inaugural class of Forty Acres Scholars. The scholarship program, administered by the Texas Exes Scholarship Foundation, will be the largest four-year merit-based scholarship program and the first of its kind on The University of Texas at Austin campus.

Stephanie graduated from The Woodlands High School in May, and is an AP Scholar with Distinction and ranked ninth in her class of 916 students. She was involved in numerous honor societies including the National Science, English, Spanish and Art Honor Societies. She served as president of the National Science Honor Society and the National English Society, where she organized weekly trivia nights at an elderly home and tutored a student who was struggling to read. She also began her school’s first “Bike Days” to encourage students to utilize eco-friendly transportation methods. Eisner was also involved in sports, playing on the junior and varsity field hockey team for three years.

Students who were selected for this scholarship demonstrated exceptional academic performance and leadership ability.

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YOUNG LEARNER’S ACADEMY CONTRIBUTES TO ALEX’S LEMON­ADE STAND FOUNDATION – The Woodlands Young Learner’s Academy hosted its 4th annual Alex’s Lemonade Stand at Market Street, raising more than $1,000 for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

Staff, parents and students sold lemonade to thirsty event-goers during the Market Street Fine Arts Show in exchange for donations to the foundation. Chick-fil-A on Lake Woodlands Drive and Sawdust Drive donated lemonade for the event.

“We’re so proud of our students, parents, staff and everyone who came together to make the lemonade stand such a success,” said Deborah Kaschik, president/executive director of The Woodlands Young Learner’s Academy. “It means a lot for us to give back in this way and we love that everyone gets involved for such a great cause.”