By KAROLYN GEPHART
Four faculty/staff members from Friendswood Junior High were presented Making a Difference Awards at the February 8 meeting of the School Board at Friendswood ISD.
FJH nurses Julie Hopkins, Michelle Hernandez, and Jennifer Hammerle were honored for their mission of providing the healthiest and safest learning environment on their campus for each student there.
FJH Tech Services members Darlene Cates and Greenlee Brittenum were honored for their working countless hours assisting teachers and students with virtual instruction. Cates is the FJH iCoach and Brittenum the technician on campus.
Four student groups were presented Celebration of Excellence Awards at the meeting.
Nine DECA students competed in a virtual career development conference. All nine advanced to compete in the state conference which will be virtual this year. The students include Abby Petering, Brooke Adams, Jordan Matejowsky, Jocelyn Green, Charles Gibson, Michael Cherian, Evan Lorenz, Hunter Scheidt and Gerald Musyimi.
All State Band members were honored and included 6 A members: Bb Clarinet-Connor Gibson, Bb Clarinet- Sean Bocek (2-Time All-State), Bass Clarinet-Sia Ramchandran (2-Time All-State), and Trumpet-Connor Thurman (2-Time All-State). The 5A members included Piccolo-Megan Pruitt, Oboe-Audrey Weakley, Bassoon-Nicole McGill, Eb Clarinet-Sanbrina Chen, Bb Clarinet-Brandon Medearis (2-Time All Stater), Bass Clarinet-Madalyn Gray, Contra Bass Clarinet-JC Chahal (2-Time All Stater), Alto Saxophone-Matteo Sharp, and Baritone Saxophone-Brandon Pisell. All auditions were conducted virtually.
All State Choir members were also honored. They included All State Mixed Choir members Kacie Bridwell, Zachary Sharp and Connor Adams; All State Treble Choir member Sydney Skinner and All State Tenor/Bass Choir member Dagan Ray. Bridwell, senior, made State in Choir all four years in high school. She is only the second student to achieve this in the history of All State Choir members at Friendswood High School.
FHS CyberPartriots were also honored. The group was involved in a national competition and are still awaiting the results of the contest. The students are part of four teams that advanced to the national competition. They were able to compete in the FHS computer science lab. Members honored included Jackson Weibel, Adam Genzer, Zeke Dryer, Will Chen, Cameron Culling, Ronan O’Donnell, Neelesh Gupta, Ryan Flick, Nick Posluszny, Jenny Chen, Jaiden Patel, Jonah Isaak, Jake Halaska, Paul Yi, Troy Dutton, Robert Kelly, Benjamin Cruse, Jaden Howard, Gary Weibel, and Camden Balberg.
CyberPatriot is part of the National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association (AFA) to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) area.
