Right In Front of Your Face

GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY FRIDAY!

Graham FFA Cotton Team wins State! Congrats to the Cotton Team of Gustavo Ramirez, Kolton Gough, Riley Wyatt and Hiram Fuentes. Individually Gustavo Ramirez was high point individual winning a buckle and $350 scholarship. Kolton Gough was 3rd and Riley Wyatt was 6th.

GHS Fishing Team Qualifies for State! Congratulations to Kirk Hutchens and Rob Lucas for making the Texas High School Bass Association State Championship for the second year in a row. They will be fishing Lake Ray Roberts May 20th and 21st in a field of over 200 teams from all across the state.

Congratulations to GHS Senior Smith Graham for placing 6th in Social Studies at the Texas UIL Academic State Meet last Saturday!

Lady Blues Playoffs vs Sweetwater- The Lady Blues lost game 1 last night in Hermleigh 8-5. Game 2 will be played today in Graham at 5:00 pm. Game 3, if necessary, will be played at 7:00.

Graham Steer Baseball Playoff Seeding Games- The Steers will play game one at 11:00 today vs Burkburnett. The winner of game one will play Iowa Park at 2:00. Game three, if necessary, will be played on Saturday at Noon. All games will be played at Hoskins Field in Wichita Falls. $5 Adults/$2 admission price.

Good Luck to the Lady Blues and Graham Steers Competing at the Regional Track Meet in Lubbock! Hunter Dooley (shot put), Jasmine Sims (long jump, 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, 1600m relay), Morgan Shook (pole vault), Chloe Menard (triple jump, 800m relay), Nicole King (shot put), Jack Hays (discus), Will Walton (3200m), Finis Smith (100m, 400m relay, 800m relay), Wesley Martin (400m relay, 800m relay), Chase Gilmore (400m relay, 800m relay), Adam Groves (400m relay, 800m relay), Cassie Russell (800m relay, 1600m relay), Rosie Schaffer (800m relay, 1600m relay), Summer Croxton (800m relay, 1600m relay).

Lady Blues Golf Finishes an Excellent Season! Congratulations to  Ashley Choate, Abbi Iles, Maggie Nunley, Marleigh Sanders and Delaney Sullivent on an excellent season.  They finished their season at the Regional Tournament in Lubbock by shooting 336 and 343 and finishes 6th overall.  In most, if not all other regional tournaments, our girls score would have qualified for the state tournament.

Right in Front of Your Face

In 1968, climber Royal Robbins was attempting one of America’s most difficult solo climbs -- the 3,000 foot cliff known as Muir Wall on the El Capitan peak of Yosemite National Park. Two thousand feet into the climb, Robbins found himself in the kind of tough spot that can be encountered by anyone attempting a difficult task: He just couldn’t summon the strength and determination to make it to the top. In fact, he couldn’t even see the summit, despite all of his hard work.

What makes Robbins effort special is the solution he found. He decided to ignore the 1,000 feet left of the climb and instead focused on only the next five feet and so on until he reached the top.

“How do you climb a mountain when you can’t see the summit?” Robbins asks. “By setting targets you can see and hit.” In other words, the solution is right in front of your face.

Smell the Coffee

GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY FRIDAY

Special Olympics Pep Rally Today at Newton Field Stadium! If your schedule will allow, please join us at the stadium this morning to celebrate our 39 Special Olympians! The pep rally will be at 10:00 a.m.

Graham High FFA Teams Qualify for State! The range team placed 4th at area and qualified for state next week! Poultry missed state by one spot placing 6th. Milk and horse also represented the chapter well placing 13th in a competitive area.State Cotton at Texas Tech this Saturday: Kolton Gough, Hiram Fuentes, Riley Wyatt, Gustavo Ramirez. State Plant Identification at TTU this Saturday: Jake Holland, Shanna Gleason, Cecil Isham, Terry Wainscott. State Range at Tarleton next Thursday: Jake Holland, Shanna Gleason, Terry Wainscott, Joseph Wendel.

Congratulations to our Track Regional Qualifiers! Hunter Dooley (shot put), Jasmine Sims (long jump, 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, 1600m relay), Morgan Shook (pole vault), Chloe Menard (triple jump, 800m relay), Nicole King (shot put), Jack Hays (discus), Will Walton (3200m), Finis Smith (100m, 400m relay, 800m relay), Wesley Martin (400m relay, 800m relay), Chase Gilmore (400m relay, 800m relay), Adam Groves (400m relay, 800m relay), Cassie Russell (800m relay, 1600m relay), Rosie Schaffer (800m relay, 1600m relay), Summer Croxton (800m relay, 1600m relay). We are so proud!!! Love those Lady Blues and love those Graham Steers!!!

Sixth Grade Band Earns First Division Rating at Sandy Lake!- Congrats to our 6th grade band students on earning a First Division Rating with Straight 1's at Sandy Lake.

GHS Yearbook Selected for Gallery of Excellence! Congratulations to the GHS yearbook staff and Mrs. Sanders! The GHS yearbook has been selected for the Gallery of Excellence. We are proud of our staff and students!

The Pioneer Elementary Habitat Area 10th Anniversary Celebration Tomorrow! Join us at 1:00 TODAY to celebrate 10 years of learning in our schoolyard habitat.  Students will be releasing 300 butterflies, planting a tree and enjoying cookies and cake.

Lady Blues Softball at Home Tonight vs Vernon for the District Championship and Senior Night! Varsity game will begin at 6:00!  Hope to see you at the ballfield supporting the Lady Blues!

Graham Steer Baseball at Home Tonight vs Vernon and at Home Tomorrow vs Krum.  The JV team plays at 4:30 and Varsity will play at 7:30. The Saturday games will begin at Noon with the varsity playing the first game. Go Graham Steers!

GPEF Pistols & Pearls Event- The Graham Public Education Foundation is gearing up for Pistols and Pearls on April 29, 2017! The RSVP’s are coming in and everyone is getting excited for such a fun party that benefits a great cause. This year we have some amazing raffle and auction items, as well as a delicious meal of lobster and beef tenderloin. No worries about the calories... you can dance off the food to the live music of The Wonders!

Tickets are still available. You can either mail in your RSVP to 400 Third Street or call 940.549.0595 to get your name on the list. You can drop off your check at that address as well. If you are not able to come, we are still accepting donations. A donation of any amount is welcomed as we are about to decide on which grants we fund for the Graham ISD staff and students.

Thank you all for your support, and we hope to see you there!

Mid-Sized District Administrator Share and Exchange- On a routine basis a group of districts in our area participate in these meetings to discuss challenges, ideas, etc. Burkburnett ISD will be hosting our next event and would like to invite you to a special Mid-Sized District Administrator Share and Exchange meeting on June 5, 2017 at Burkburnett High School, 109 West Kramer Road, from 8:00-3:30. Burkburnett ISD is hosting their first edcamp for teachers, administrators, and other education professionals in our area.

An edcamp is a user-generated “un-conference”. Teachers, technologists, and administrators will gather to talk, discuss, and share practices. This professional learning experience is designed to provide participant-driven dialogue with colleagues. Sessions are not planned until the day of the event and participants can volunteer to facilitate a discussion of their choosing.

Burkburnett has invited our district administrators and teachers to participate in their first edcamp Burkburnett.

This free event will begin with breakfast at 8:00 in our high school cafeteria. This will be a time to brainstorm topics you would like to learn more about or topics in which you would be willing to facilitate discussion. Session ideas are written on sticky notes and placed on the conference board at the front of the room. If you are willing to facilitate a discussion, you write your name on the sticky note with the topic.

Session ideas are quickly categorized, sorted, and consolidated to meld into the conference schedule and the first 50-minute session will begin at 8:45. The first session is followed by a keynote session with George Couros, author of The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity. Participants will go to lunch on their own from 11:15-12:30 while administrators will have a working lunch session to discuss and share ideas and practices.

After lunch, participants will take part in three more 50-minute sessions of their choosing and finish out the day with a Knowledge Smackdown. The Smackdown will be a time when all participants have an opportunity to gather and share out a quick tip, trick, tool, strategy, resource, or practice learned during the day.

To save your spot for this fun-filled learning day, go to https://goo.gl/1FNZuF to register. Participants will receive 6 hours of professional development credit. It’s fun...it’s free...and it’s a great way to learn from other educators!

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE…A WHOLE NEW MEANING!

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft and mushy. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardened egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled as she tasted its deep flavor and inhaled its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?" Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin, outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong? But with pain and adversity, do I wilt and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship, trifling social media posts or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water - the very circumstance that brings the adversity, the pain, the hardship – into something quite wonderful. When the water gets hot, it releases its fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you for the better.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN? (Somehow, wake up and smell the coffee takes on a whole new meaning)

Have a nice day...unless you have already made other plans!

Corny Joke of the Day:

What do you call a pony with a cough? (Scroll down for the answer)

A little hoarse!

Colors Only God Could Create

GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY THURSDAY!

GRAHAM HIGH SCHOOL ONE ACT PLAY RESULTS- Great performance by The cast and crew of the GHS One Act Play, W;t! What an honor to be in the top 8 at State. We are super proud of your performance, hard work, and dedication!

Congratulations to Jessica Burgess for being named Best Actress and Samuel French award winner! The Samuel French Award signifies that Jessica is the best actor in Class 4A.  

Also congratulations and thanks to directors Sally Maxey and Tracy Pippins for their hours of dedication to our students?

Lady Blues Golf Wins District Championship by 258 Strokes!

Ashley Choate wins 1st with 3 rounds total of 241. Abbi Iles is 2nd with 243 and Maggie Nunley is 3rd with 272. They will compete in Regionals at Lubbock on April 24-25. GREAT JOB LADY BLUES AND COACH MIchael Todd!

STELLARXPLORER TEAM FINISHES 3RD AT THE NATIONAL COMPETITION! Great job by Connor Wolfe, Smith Graham, Garrett Gatlin, Jonah Qualls and Nicolas Saunders and Mrs. Michelle Lowery!!! Each team member earned a $1000.00 scholarship. I had the privilege of traveling with these exceptional students on the trip to Denver/Colorado Springs CO.

Competing Teams came from: Peninsula HS AFJROTC, Palos Verdes, CA; San Pedro HS, San Pedro, CA; Desert Ridge HS, Mesa AR; Rangeview HS AFJROTC, Aurora, CO; Lowness HS AFJROTC, Valdosta, GA; Kaiserslautern American HS, Kaiserslautern, Germany; Aurora Composite HS, Portland, OR.

Graham Steer and Lady Blues Successful at the District Track Meet!

VARSITY GIRLS – 1ST PLACE TEAM

Area Qualifiers:

        1st  - Morgan Shook – Pole Vault   8’6”

        1st -  Jasmine Sims -  100m Hurdles  15.95

        1st -  Jasmine Sims – 300m Hurdles  48.94

        1st-  Chloe Menard – Triple Jump  33’ 9”

        2nd - Khloe Morris – 3200m   12:00.54

        2nd –Khloe Morris – 800m  2:26.89

        2nd –Khloe Morris – 1600m  5:28.59

2nd - Jasmine Sims – Long Jump   16’ 4 ½”

        2nd - Makenzie Graham – Pole Vault   8’

        2nd – Cassie Russell – 400m 1:02.80

        2nd – Ashley Galloway – 300m Hurdles  50.01

        2nd – Jasmine Sims – Long Jump  16’ 4 ¾”

        2nd – Emily Schaefer – Triple Jump 33’ 7 ½”

        2nd – Nicole King – Shot Put  33’ 8‘

3rd - Emily Schaefer – Long Jump  15’ 5 ¼”

        3rd - Jourdan Daily – Pole Vault   8’

        3rd – Summer Croxton – 200m  26.30

        3rd – Morgan Shook – 100m Hurdles  17.04

        3rd – Morgan Shook – 300m Hurdles  51.37

        3rd – Chloe Menard  -  High Jump   4’ 6”

        3rd -  Emily Schaefer – Triple Jump  15’ 5 ¼”

”

4th - Lexi Fuentes – 3200m   13:43.73

        4th – Priscilla Herrera 400m   1:05.98

        4th – Priscilla Herrera 800m  2:26.89

        4th – Ashley Galloway – 100m Hurdles  17.35

        4th – Maria Hernandez – 1600m  5:30.45

        4th-  Emily Tennant – High Jump  4’6”

        4th-  Cassie Russell – Triple Jump  31’ 5 ¼”

        4th – Nicole King – Discus  89’ 5”

4 x 100m  Relay -  3rd

        Chloe Menard, Rosie Schaffer, Olivia Shifflett, Cassie Russell

4 x 200m Relay – 2nd

        Olivia Shifflett, Chloe Menard, Rosie Schaffer, Summer Croxton

4 x 400m Relay – 1st

              Ashley Galloway, Cassie Russell, Jasmine Sims, Rosie Schaffer

       

VARSITY BOYS  -  2ND PLACE TEAM

Area Qualifiers:

        1st  - Will Walton – 3200m 10:25.49

        1st  - Hunter Dooley – Shot Put   56’ 1/2”

        1st – Jack Hays – 150’ 10”

        2nd- Chase Gilmore – 400m – 52.82

        2nd –Travis Smith – 110 Hurdles  15.49

3rd - Blake Mead – Pole Vault   9’ 6”

        3rd – Finis Smith – 100m   11.09

        3rd – Travis Smith – 300m Hurdles  43.10

        4th – Will Busey – 400m  53.49

        4th – Jack Lanham – 800m  2:12.13

        4th – Will Walton – 1600m  4:49.03

        4th – Hunter Wardrup – 110m Hurdles  17.67

       

4 x 100m Relay – 2nd

        Wesley Martin, Chase Gilmore, Adam Groves, Finis Smith

4 x 200m Relay – 3rd

        Wesley Martin, Marc Tate, Kalon Walker, Adam Groves

4 x 400m Relay – 2nd

Wesley Martin, Will Busey, Chase Gilmore, Marc Tate

FCCLA Students Competed at the State Competition this past weekend! Maddie Paulson, Kaycee Dunnam and Abigayle Yates placed 4th in the Illustrated Talk JR Division. Lizbeth Anaya and Calder Seebeck received a FCSA Testers State Gold Medal. Sadie Walls qualified in Illustrated Talk Occupational Division; Mandee Paulson qualified in the Illustrated Talk SR Division;

TWENTY-EIGHT GRAHAM HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS/PROJECTS COMPETED AT THE TSA STATE COMPETITION! The Architectural Design Team of Elizabeth Routon, Kolton Gough, Luke Norman, Callen Mills, Keaton Boyle and Jake Lanham qualified for Nationals in Orlando Florida.

TSA STATE COMPETITION RESULTS – 2017

• NQE Events (National Qualifying Events)
• 2nd – Architectural Design: Elizabeth Routon, Kolton Gough, Luke Norman, Callen Mills, Keaton Boyle, Jake Lanham

• 5th – Transportation Modeling – Arturo Lucio
• 5th – Flight Endurance – Jeb Curry
• 5th – Digital Video Production – Collin Pounds, Will Walton, Ian Villa, Matthew Clark, Laney Choate
• 7th - Debating Technological Issues – Hayden Husen, Jack Mercer
• 8th Technology Problem Solving – Jack Hays, Seth Harvell
• 8th – Animatronics – Smith Graham, Jack Hays, Seth Harvell, Jack Lowery, Kade Darrow
• 9th – On Demand Video – Jeff Hazlett, Ryan Karper, Marisa Miracle, Baylee Loomis, Chapel West
• 10th Structural Design and Engineering – Jack Lowery, Rachel Box

• Texas Onsite
• 4th Model Rocket Design – Lars Hanssen

• Unique to Texas
• 1st – Recycling  - Sam Perkins, Luis Anaya, Anthony Martinez
• 1st – Furniture Restoration – Liliana Huerta, Bridget Creswell
• 2nd – Architectural Model – Rachel Box

GHS FFA Program Successful at Cisco College, Tarleton State and Angelo State Contests- At the Cisco College Contest, the Poultry team of Riley Wyatt, Gustavo Ramirez, Nick Moore, and Seth Hamm placed 2nd. The Range team of Shanna Gleason, Terry Don Wainscott, Jake Holland, Joseph Wendel, and Cecil Isham placed 4th. The Horse team of Brittany Gates, Alee Alvidrez, Riley Langford, and Tyler Walls placed 11th. The Milk Quality team of Jordan Crago, Kirk Hutchens, Garrison Stovall, and Klayton Read placed 15th.

At Tarleton State, Jake Holland placed 3rd out 198 competitors in range and the team was 9th out of 42.

At Angelo State, the range team was 2nd with Jake placing 6th high and Terry Don 11th. Gustavo Ramirez was 6th in cotton.

Upcoming FFA events include: Today-Area IV Pre-Area Contest in Graham. Monday, April 17th-District Convention, Wednesday-April 19th Area at Tarleton, Saturday, April 22nd State at Texas Tech.

Lady Blues Softball Defeats Burkburnett 1-0-  Freshman pitcher Emma Sutherland gets the win!

New School Track Records Set at Graham Junior High School- The following are the five (5) new school track records set by the Graham JH Boys Track Team in 2017.

The 7th grade 4X100 Relay set a new school record with a time of 49.11... beating the time of 49.79 set by J. Querin, H. Walls, S. McNiel, and C. Colunga in 2008. This new record was set by Dario Rendon, Jonathon Salazar, Jack Graham and Carson Trice at the Jacksboro Invitational, 3-31-17.

7th grader Trent Taylor set a new school record in the pole vault by clearing a height of 9'4"... beating the previous height of 9'3" set by Bradley Little in 2011.  This new record was set at the District Track Meet hosted by Iowa Park, 4-6-17.

7th grader Carson Trice set a new school record in the 100M Dash with a time of 11.94... beating the previous time of 12.30 by Jake Schmidt in 1999 (18 years ago).  This new record was set at the Decatur Track Meet, 2-28-17.

7th grader Jonathan Salazar set a new school record in the 300M Hurdles with a time of 45.69... beating the time of 47.32 by Jerrod Mahan in 2008 (1.63s off of a time 9 years ago).  Salazar beat that record every meet this season.  Salazar's best time, and final record was set at the Graham Track Meet, 3-7-17.

8th grader Daniel Gilbertson broke his own record of 55.34 set during the track season in the 400M Dash (on March 31) by running a 55.06.  The previous record was 56.13 set by Justin Escalon in 2012.  This new record was set at the District Track Meet hosted by Iowa Park, 4-6-17.

BW vs BW/TW Clarification- On the school calendar you see days that are marked BW and BW/TW.  BW stands for Bad Weather Day and TW stands for Teacher Workday.  Days marked with a BW indicates that all students and staff have an off day. Days marked with a BW/TW indicates that students will have an off day and teacher will have a work day on this date.

COLOR   ONLY GOD COULD CREATE

Easter is a good time to enjoy all of your many meaningful blessings: family, friends, Jesus, and, of course, chocolate molded into tasty bunnies. I hope you all have blessed Easter weekend.

  

Kindness is in our power even when fondness is not.

~Henry James~

Compassion is language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

~Mark Twain~

 

 

Carry a heart that never hates, a smile that never fades and a touch that never hurts.

 

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.

~Robert Brault~

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you, not because they are nice but because you are.

 

Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up.

 

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you will remember. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.

It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice.

 

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble.

~Rudyard Kipling~

Don't be yourself — be someone nicer.

 

Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it.

Love your enemies - it will confuse them greatly.

 

There is one word which may serve as a rule for all one's life -- reciprocity.

~Confucius~

 

Grownups know that little things matter and that relationships are based on respect.

Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how.

~Henry James~

The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.

~Henry Boyle~

   

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.

~Abraham Heschel~

If we should deal out justice only in this world, who would escape? No, it is better to be generous for it gains us gratitude.

~Mark Twain~

 

Be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, tolerant of the weak.

CORNY JOKE OF THE DAY!

How do bunnies stay healthy?

Egg-xercise!