TWHS THEATRE PLACES AT STATE CONTEST – The Woodlands High School Theater Department qualified a large squad of acting competitors to compete at the annual Texas Forensic Association State contest.  Seventeen students in 12 events qualified to compete in the state contest in Duet Acting, Dramatic Interpretation, and Humorous Interpretation.

The Duet Acting team of Joe Dougherty and Jessica Trinque placed sixth in the State in the Finals round. Three other Duet teams made it to quarter finals: Ryan Breuer and Vic Shuttee, Allison McKinney and Cecily Breaux, and Katlin Newman and Andrew Hollinger. They were signified as TFA All-Staters.

Reaching semifinals,and therefore placing in the top 18 at State, were Katlin Newman in Humorous Interpretation and Allison McKinney in Dramatic Interpretation.

Qualifying for State but not placing were:  Chelsi Jump and Jacey Martin in Duet, Rachel Schardt and Casey Hale in Duet, Rachel Ricks in Humorous Interp., Lauren Kozar and Will Rogers in Duet, Aaron Evans and Katelyn Mattingly in Duet, and Will Rogers in Dramatic Interp.

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JOHN COOPER DONATES COATS TO INTERFAITH – Nia Caldwell, president of The John Cooper School – Lower School Student Council, launched a coat drive and donated the collected items to Interfaith of The Woodlands.

After two weeks of collections, the students donated more than 50 coats as well as almost 20 hats and pairs of gloves.

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WOODLANDS HIGH ANCHOR CLUB PARTNERS WITH MCUW – The Woodlands High School Anchor Club spent approximately four hours participating in a Montgomery County United Way “Day of Caring” for a Woodlands resident.

The group of 23 students, sponsored by Kristen Gartner of the Woodlands High School, performed minor yard maintenance, power washing, cleaning and organizing. The Anchor Club has participated in many Days of Caring with MCUW.

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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 HS has entered this event, and department chair Carlen Gilseth was especially 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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ROWING CLUB SET TO ROW AT DUKE AND U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY – The Rowing Club of The Woodlands Juniors is sending off two senior varsity girls in a big way. Tara Dalton, The Woodlands High School, and Marjorie Ferrone, The Woodlands Prepatory Acad­emy, will attend and row on the teams for Duke University and the United States Naval Academy (USNA), respectively.

Tara, a member of the RCTW Juniors program for three years, is well prepared for her spot on the Duke Crew in Durham, N.C.

Marjorie has officially received and accepted her offer of appointment to the USNA in Annapolis, Md. She was recruited to row on the USNA Women’s Crew Team and was also recruited at MIT, Columbia University and Trinity College in Connecticut.

Mark Racioppi, a senior at The Woodlands High School, will also continue his love of rowing when he starts at Louisiana State University in the fall. He plans to join the club as a recreational rower.