This team competed against University students and even international competitors.  Their projects consisted of technical, engineering, theater and extreme creativity.  Each assignment consisted of technical challenges where teams had to build devices and machines that could complete the presented task or problem within the confines of the rules.  Their ingenuity, creativity and desire to build and produce the best was apparent throughout their assignments.  To complete each task and produce the best machinery and theme, these 6 students planned, designed, built and created for 50+ hours non-stop.  Their first task was given to them about 8 pm on Thursday evening and was due at 9 am the next morning.  Distractions were thrown into each assignment that changed the requirements for completing the tasks and also required they attend specific “updates” on the rules that may have just changed.  The purpose was to keep each team on their toes and prepare for obstacles.  To give you an idea on how demanding these assignments were, several of the teams dropped out midway through the competition from lack of completing tasks and/or physical exhaustion.

However, this team took cover under a small dorm entrance where they cut pvc, sawed boards, cut over 200 3-inch highly reflected squares, hot glued, duct taped, painted, cleaned, ate, discussed, argued, agreed, shared, created, wrote, drew plans, loaded, unloaded, weathered the rain, 60 degrees at night, 95 in the day and challenged each other.  After working feverishly all night and all day from Thursday evening through Saturday about 4pm, the team had finally completed each assigned task and provided a two separate 6 minute presentation and demonstration of their solution to the task. 

The result?  All their hard work was recognized Saturday evening at the closing ceremonies in Knoxville, TN.  The Keller High School’s SPAM team received 3 different trophies.
·         First place in the 8-bit Challenge
·         Third place in the Pyramid of Destiny

·         FIRST PLACE in the World (combined score of the two events above plus smaller events throughout the 3 day competition)

 Not only did this team achieve #1 in the World but the DI administration created a special award for the SPAM team where both Julia Bush and Brooklyn George were awarded a FREESTYLE AWARD for their design, creativity and incorporation into the 8-Bit Challenge.  The audience went wild when this creature won races against competitors and were truly saddened at the conclusion of the 8-bit challenge where the Unicorn was defeated in the final race.

 Yes, the team finally had about 3 hours of sleep before the closing ceremonies on Saturday evening.  No results had been posted so everyone was truly on the edge of their seats.  The team thought they had done well on the 8-bit challenge but were extremely excited to know they took place in that event and even more excited to hear their name announced as the Global Winners at Destination Imagination 2010 for DI Extreme competition.

 The team left early on Sunday morning, May 30^th, to return home.  Parent volunteers drove these students to and from Knoxville which is about 1800 miles.  And yes, these students still have finals to study for on Memorial Day to hopefully make up for some of their time missed away from Keller High School last week.  As a parent, I directly observed these 6 kids pour out their last physical and mental agility.  They were stretched like never before to be a team, to communicate, to create and to solve what seemed to be impossible problems through building machines and creating ideas, concepts and characters that enriched their experiences on the stage.

This is the 3^rd time to a Global Competition for the Spam team.  This team has become very close through their experiences together.  And, I am confident these experiences has helped them in their schooling, will help in College and will help them be more successful in the business world.

Congratulations
·         Forrest Browning
·         James Stubbington
·         Esther Hwang
·         Julia Bush
·         Paige Waskow
·         Brooklyn George

Congratulations to your new state champs.

The Life and Death of Richard III by  William Shakespeare

Judges Critique:

Excellent, excellent, excellent.   Wow!  Fantastic commitment to the script and clear storytelling.  One of the best things about your group is your ability as storytellers.  So much great ensemble work.  From the opening scene to the beautiful ending, everyone was really, really good.  Powerful!  Excellent work.  Nicely done.

Awards: 

(19 total acting awards which were divided between 8 schools.)   1/4 of the acting awards (5 out of 19)  went to Keller' s "Richard the Third".  (The most any other school had was 2.)

Honorable Mention All-Star Cast = Katie Folger

Honorable Mention All-Star Cast = Aaron Latterell

All-Star Cast = Nicole Degenaar

Best Actor = Bret Finholt

Samuel French Award = Bret Finholt

Dating back to 1930, the Samuel French Award has been given to the student who is deemed the Most Outstanding Performer in the entire competition.  This year's 5A Samuel French Award went to our own Bret Finholt for his portrayal of Richard.

Cast List

Richard Gloucester  - Bret Finholt
Buckingham  - Aaron Latterell
Clarence  - Kyle Booth
Dorset, 1st Citizen, Messenger, Brekenbury, Stanley   - Duke Thomas
Hastings  - Victor  Holguin
Lady Anne  - Savannah Booth
Rivers  - Andy Polanco
Queen Elizabeth  - Nicole Degenaar
Catesby, Ratcliff, Bishop, Page, Messenger, Grey     - Nathan Burke
Queen Margaret  - Katie Folger
Tyrell, 1st Murderer, 3rd Citizen, Messenger   - Andrew Gallop
Derby, 2nd Citizen, Messenger, Sheriff, 2nd Murderer   - Jared Meek
Prince Edward  - McKenna Booth
Prince York  - Emily Burke
Duchess of York  - Hannah Garrison
Technical  Crew  - Alec Danz,  Matt McCallum,  Melissa McCallum,  Corinne Morrison,  Brooke Nelson
Understudies  -  Molly Franco,  Garrett Morgan,  Taylor Whitfield
Directors:    Helen Lewis,   P.  Shawn  McCrea,  and  Sara Zinck

Destination ImagiNation, Inc. is an extraordinary non-profit organization that provides educational programs for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork and problem solving. Every year, we reach 100,000 students across the U.S. and in more than 30 countries. Destination ImagiNation, our core program, is an exhilarating after-school activity in which students work in teams to solve mind-bending Challenges and present their solutions at Tournaments. Teams are tested to think on their feet, work together, and devise original solutions that satisfy the requirements of the Challenges. Participants gain more than just basic knowledge and skills - they learn to unleash their imaginations and take unique approaches to problem solving.

The UIL Academic Team

The UIL Academic Team competed on Saturday, January 10^th at Flower Mound High School.  Congratulations to the following students who placed:

Madelyn Fagerman    3^rd place          Accounting
Sammie Roberts         5^th place          Accounting
Nathan McClain          7^th place          Accounting 

The Accounting team of Madelyn, Sammie, and Nathan placed 2^nd.  They are coached by Melanie Rodges.

David Cook                  3^rd place          Calculator Applications and 6^th place          Mathematics

The Math and Science teams are coached by Cindy Harris.

Alicia Seagraves          4^th place          Literary Criticism

The Literary Criticism team is coached by Stacy Short.

Rachel Gartman          2^nd place          Spelling
Evan Snow                   3^rd place          Spelling
Nicole Sliwa                4^th place          Spelling
Katie Golden               6^th place          Spelling
Katrina Williamson     7^th place          Spelling

The Spelling team of Rachel, Evan, Nicole, and Katie placed 1^st.  They are coached by Shawna Lynch.

KHS Won the Mock Trial District Championship for the the 3rd Year in a Row.

Congratulations to the Academic Decathlon team. After competing at the Rockwall HS meet this past Saturday, KHS placed 5^th overall.  Varsity winners included:  Jackie Harman – 3^rd in Math and 3^rd in Science; April Gartman – 4^th in Science and 4^th in Superquiz; and, Tucker Godek tied for 3^rd in Science.  Scholastic winners included:  Nathan Sykes – 5^th place in both math and science; and, George Dolak placed 5^th in Language and Literature.  Honors winners included:  David Cook – 3^rd place in mathematics; Katrina Williamson – 3^rd place in Language and Literature; and, Rachel Gartman placed 3^rd in Superquiz and 1^st in Language and Literature.