Hundreds of Deer Park High School students attended the 61^st Annual Academic Honors Dinner prior to the end of the school year.  The dinner was created by a group of industry representatives who wanted to honor students for their grades.  This year’s event was sponsored by the following local companies:

Diamond Sponsor :

Texas Molecular

Platinum Sponsor:

Lubrizol Corporation

Gold Sponsors:

Dow Chemical Company

Geo Specialty Chemicals

Intercontinental Terminals Company

Vopak Terminal – Deer Park

Silver Sponsors:

Evonik Industries

Hexion

Occidental Chemical Corporation

To earn an invitation to the dinner, a student must have an overall grade-point average of 3.7 or higher for the first semester of the current school year.  Almost 700 students qualified for the dinner this year.

Planning committee chairperson Frank Marine, president of Texas Molecular, also recognized the top student in each grade level:

Freshman - Mallory Hill

Sophomore - Rafael Estrada

Junior - Jeremy Yarbrough

Senior - Emily Sample

Today, Deer Park ISD remembers retired School Board member Joe S. Cathey, who passed away on Thursday.  Mr. Cathey served in Board Position 4 for a quarter-century, retiring in 1994. During his tenure on the Board, he served in multiple offices include Board president.  The District recognized his service by naming the street that borders the west side of Deer Park High School-South Campus and Clyde Abshier Stadium "Joe Scott Cathey Avenue" in his honor.

During his tenure on the Board, Cathey was known to all as a strong supporter of the District's many athletics teams and other student groups.

Former Trustee Donna Thomas spent two years on the Board with Cathey, but she said she had a favorable impression of him long before she even met him because she thought highly of Cathey's wife, Gusta, with whom Thomas had gone to school.  "My first meeting with Joe was in my law office just after I filed for my first term on the school board," she said.  "I sought his support, but he wasn't so sure about me."

Cathey was Board president when Thomas was elected.  "He kept order during a tumultuous time," she said.  "The best interest of the district was always his guidepost.  I think he would like to be remembered as a loving husband and father, who contributed to his community."

Current Board President Ken Donnell did not serve on the Board with Cathey, but the two men worked together for many years at Southwestern Bell, and Donnell said Cathey inspired him to run for the Board.

"I knew he was on the School Board," Donnell said.  "He was very proud of that fact. As I asked questions about his service and he shared his passion with me, I became interested in serving as well.  He even invited me to his house one time ... to explain what the Board did and how the meetings were conducted.  So Joe's example and the encouragement of Joe and (retired administrator) Harry Fuller persuaded me to run for Position 5 in 1994, when Reginald Knowles retired."

The Paige Project '18, a fundraiser planned and hosted by a group of Deer Park Junior High students, raised over $30,000 for three Deer Park ISD students fighting cancer.  The evening included a Light Up the Night glow concert, glow necklaces, Kendra Scott Gives Back, a silent disco, and a silent auction.

The show included performances by the DPJH Choir; the DPJH Band; the DPJH Orchestra; the Deepwater Elementary Choir; the Carpenter Elementary Choir, Chime Club, and Ukulele Club; students from the Deer Park High School-South Campus Theatre Department; the Deer Park Community Band; and local country music performer Cooper Wade.

For more information, go to: https://paigeproject2018.weebly.com/

San Jacinto Elementary fifth-grade students, staff members, and District representatives recently celebrated the dedication of the school’s SJE Happy Trails track in honor of retired physical education teacher Chuck Bezdek.  He was an educator for 40 years.

Bezdek told the students that the trail, which winds through the back of the school grounds through tall pine trees, was theirs to enjoy with their families.  “I appreciate the name and the honor, but it’s for y’all,” he said.  “I want to thank you for inviting me here today. Me and my wife, Donna, will be in the back of the line walking!”

As he walked the trail, dozens of students approached Bezdek for a hug and asked, “Do you remember me?”  He smiled and replied, “I remember everybody!  Just don’t get me started on names! It’s been three years since I retired!”

Congratulations to Deer Park High School Golf Team members Ryan Harris and Joseph Rone, who each recently signed to play for their respective colleges.  Harris signed with Centenary University, and Rone will play for LeTourneau University.  Go Deer!

Deer Park ISD science teachers Barry Smith, Judi Janes, and Carol Voight have been named regional winners in the Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge. Sponsored by Shell Oil Company and administered by the National Science Teachers Association(NSTA), the competition encouraged K-12 science teachers who have found innovative ways to deliver quality lab experiences with limited school and laboratory resources to share their approaches for a chance to win a school science lab makeover support package. Smith, Janes, and Voight are among 39 regional winners named from which three grand prize winners will be selected.

Smith, a teacher at Deepwater Elementary, focuses on asking guided questions that help students develop critical thinking skills and providing real-world examples to which students can relate.  “This grant would allow the school to equip the science lab and help create a STEAM lab where students can participate in inquiry-based learning,” he explained.

Fairmont Junior High science teacher Janes’ instructional philosophy is that students need to be actively engaged and eager to learn once they come into the classroom.  She says updated technology is a key to student success.  “There are so many advanced pieces of equipment that would enhance the success of students, such as microscopes, water-testing equipment, probes, a variety of glassware, watershed models, student whiteboards, and thermometers,” she said.  “When students are getting accurate, precise results from the equipment, it follows that learning will be more successful.”

Janes is retiring, but she has recruited fellow FJH teacher Lindsey Wallace to take her place, ensuring that the Shell Challenge grant will impact students for years to come.

Voight, who teaches science at Deer Park High School-North Campus, believes that all children, regardless of background, become scientists when they enter the lab.  She said the grant could provide electronics, probes, interfaces, tools, and advanced materials so students can study and experiment without limitations to solve problems using true scientific methods. “Students in this environment would not only be engaged in tested science content but would also be working to study and solve many of the world’s most challenging difficulties,” she said.

According to Shell Director of Workforce Development & Diversity Outreach Dr. Frazier Wilson, the company is proud of this year’s regional winners. “Their innovative approaches, creative ideas, and unwavering commitment to give their very best to their students—and to society, as they engage and motivate the STEM leaders of tomorrow—is commendable and inspiring,” he said.  “We are so pleased to have the opportunity to partner with teachers to help in furthering quality science education in the classroom.”

To enter the Shell Science Lab Regional Challenge, K-12 science teachers located in select school districts near Shell assets were asked to describe their school’s current laboratory resources, explain why laboratory upgrade support is needed, and describe their approach to science education instruction utilizing their school’s current lab facilities. A panel of science educators then reviewed and selected the top entries. The regional winners each received a school science lab makeover support package valued at $10,000 (for the elementary and middle levels) and $15,000 (for the high school level).

Smith, Janes, and Voight now advance to the national phase of the competition, where they will have a chance to win an additional $5,000 of support to attend the NSTA National Conference on Science Education in St. Louis, Missouri, April 11-14, 2019. The three grand prize winners and their principals will be honored at the Shell reception and Teachers Awards Gala taking place during the conference.