Nicholas Saldivar and Ashley Segovia of Hays High School, and Victor Martinez and Tawny Martinez of Lehman High School are four of 4,000 students throughout the United States named in the National Hispanic Recognition Program for outstanding performance on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT).
  
The students are recognized through a program started in 1983 by the College Board to recognize the exceptional academic achievements of Hispanic high school students and identify them for postsecondary institutions.
  
Elizabeth Cain, Dylan Randazzo, Nicholas Saldivar, Natalie San Luis and Carlton Washburn of Hays High School and Carl Whisenant of Lehman High School have been named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corp., will be presented to these students.
  
Commended Students placed among the top 5 percent of more than 1.4 million students who entered the 2008 competition by taking the PSAT.
  

Dedication ceremonies for Camino Real Elementary School (CRES), 2200 Rohde Road, and Blanco Vista Elementary School (BVES), 2951 Blanco Vista Blvd., will be Saturday, Oct. 4, beginning at 9 a.m. at the schools. Refreshments will be provided and the public is invited to both dedication ceremonies. 
  link to driving directions to CRES
  link to driving directions to BVES
  
Mary Ann Mattis, a member of the Hays County Historical Commission and one of the organizers of the effort to create an enlarged map of the Camino Real Trail in the school’s foyer, will be keynote speaker at the CRES celebration, which begins at 9 a.m. The artwork was designed by Claycomb Associates Architects, the architect of the school, and funded by the Burdine Johnson Foundation. Music and presentation of the flags will be performed by students during the ceremonies. Eddy Etheredge, former Hays County Judge, will be keynote speaker at the BVES dedication, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Essay readings and presentation of the flags will be performed by students during the ceremonies.
  

A district-wide elementary Gifted and Talented (ALPHA-H) parent meeting is scheduled for October 23 at the Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. At the beginning of the meeting, information will be shared about spring testing for those parents considering nominating their child. At about 6:20 p.m., participants will rotate through a series of activities to simulate a day in ALPHA-H class. Information will be available from the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented about membership and other opportunities.
  

The Hays CISD PTA Roundtable will be Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m., at the Performing Arts Center. All campus PTA executive board members are invited to attend the meeting that will include an introduction to the district's mentor activities plus required training by representatives of PTA-Texas.
  

On Oct. 6, the 80th annual Child Health Day, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration challenges parents, caregivers, teachers, school nurses and all adults who care about kids to grapple with a serious health issue: childhood overweight and obesity.
  
Recent studies suggest that one in six U.S. children between 2 and 19 is overweight. Childhood obesity is an even more serious, and growing, health concern for children and adolescents. In less than 30 years, obesity has more than doubled among children ages 2-5 and more than tripled among youth ages 6-11 and adolescents ages 12-19. Health consequences can be serious. Overweight kids are at risk for asthma, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions.
  
Fortunately, many times overweight can be reversed or prevented by helping children and adolescents: Stay active; develop healthy eating habits; make healthy choices. One of the best ways to help? Be a role model. When children see their parents, caregivers and other adults enjoying healthy foods and being physically active, they are more likely to do the same.
  

Two Texas State University professors will be guest lecturers in October as part of the Teaching American History grant. Dr. Rebecca Montgomery will present a "short history on Reconstruction by looking more specifically at the role of education in the redefinition of citizenship, examining this issue from the perspective of both African American and southern whites," at from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16. Dr. Paul Hart will present, "immigration issues in historical perspective with an eye on contemporary concerns about immigration," from 4-6 p.m., on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Both lectures will be at the Performing Arts Center.
  

Semester exam grades at all Hays CISD middle schools will now count as one-seventh of a student’s semester average. Because of the added emphasis on the exam, the middle schools will alter their schedules to allow extended time for testing. This will result in the middle schools releasing students at 1:30 on Thursday, December 18, Friday, December 19, Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29.
  

Merit Electric will be on-site at Shelton Stadium on Monday, Oct. 6, beginning at 7 a.m., to change out bulbs on the two light towers located on the North end of the stadium. This project will take at least four days to complete. Maintenance personnel will rope off the area around the light towers. Once all the bulbs have been changed, the lights will need to burn continuously for 100 hours, before they can be turned off. 
   

SAT prep classes will be offered on Saturdays, Oct. 4 through Oct. 25, at Lehman High School for all interested Hays CISD seniors. The classes, which last from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (free lunch provided) will prepare students for the Nov. 1 SAT. Deadline for registration is Sept. 29.  Information is available at the LHS, HHS and AHS counseling centers.
  link to additional info and online registration
   

The Hays CISD Board of Trustees is seeking nominations from the community for the name of the district's fifth middle school. The school, located on Highway 150 East, west of Hemphill Elementary School, is under construction and expected to open for the 2009-10 school year. New facilities are named after the area or subdivision in which they are located, historical schools, or after individuals who have made significant contributions to the educational program of Hays CISD or to the local community in general. Deadline for nominations is Oct. 17.  Nominations may be submitted in writing to Hays CISD by mail, 21003 Interstate 35 in Kyle, fax: 512.268.7121 or by email: newschoolname@hayscisd.net Nomination forms are available at the Central Administration Office or may be downloaded from the following link:
  link to New School Name Nomination form (pdf)
 
or submitted online using the following link:
  link to online New School Name Nomination form  
   

40 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS

The 40 Developmental Assets is a framework adopted by Hays CISD based on the theory that building positive personal assets can help young people grow up healthy caring and responsible, and can protect them from high-risk behavior. For more information, and a glimpse of what the campuses are doing in celebration of the 40 Assets, 
use this link.

#25 Reading for Pleasure--Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

• Hemphill Elementary School’s 7th Annual Story Book Festival, “Books on the Ballot,” is planned for Friday, Oct. 31 and the campus seeks community members to participate.
   
  “Our love of reading can be a powerful and encouraging message to our students,” said Lourdes Cervantes, Hemphill Elementary School librarian. “This opportunity to unite our community members and our school is an exciting demonstration to our students that reading is fun and rewarding.”
   
  Based on the theme, “Books on the Ballot,” Hemphill Elementary students will be encouraged to dress up as a favorite character from a beloved story book.
   
  “Our vision is for members from our community to congregate at Hemphill to read to children and talk to them about their love for reading,” Ms. Cervantes said. “All adults are encouraged to dress as story book characters as well.”
    
  For more information, please contact the school, 268.4688.
    

• Students at Negley Elementary are reading for pleasure and to gain touchdowns. For each book read they receive a die cut football helmet. These helmets are lined up in the hallway racing to the goal posts to achieve a touchdown!

#22 School engagement--Young person is actively engaged in learning.

• Dahlstrom Middle School's first Chess Club meeting recently drew 85 interested students. The DMS Chess Club will meet every Wednesday after school. "We anticipate a good 60-plus serious chess players," said Betty Copeland, DMS Librarian and sponsor of the club. "We even had an elementary student from Blanco Vista come to observe and be mentored with one of our fantastic 6th grade chess players!" Current chess players are invited to come and practice strategy and learn new skills. Students who would like to learn how to play will have instructors and mentors.
    

• The Hays CISD SAT Academy, which runs every Saturday in October, provides a free opportunity for high school students to prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
   
  The Academy provides participating students an opportunity to gain familiarity with the test, to increase individual SAT scores, strategies to answer the questions, test-taking tips and an opportunity to practice in a timed setting.
   
  “Most of all, the SAT Academy helps students gain confidence in taking this test,” said Charlotte Winkelmann, Hays CISD Director of Counseling and College Readiness. “Private test preparation courses cost hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars. This unique opportunity will give students a comprehensive SAT preparation program at no cost.”
   
  The Academy takes place at Lehman High School, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., every Saturday in October. Students must attend every session. Space is limited and registration is online at: http://hays2.hayscisd.net/apps/studenttraining.nsf/webmain. For help registering, please contact the Career and Counseling Center at your high school campus.

#10 Safety--Young person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood.

• To celebrate Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 20-27, 50 child seat checkup events are scheduled throughout Texas. At these events, trained technicians will be on hand to help caregivers make sure their child’s restraint is safe and being used correctly.  The services are provided free of charge.  Each seat checked takes about 30 minutes of time.  For a listing of all events in Texas during CPS Week, go to the Safe Riders’ web site at www.dshs.state.tx.us/saferiders 

#17 Creative activities--Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts.

• Open auditions for the district musical "The Music Man" will be 4-8 p.m. on Tuesday Sept. 30 at the PAC. Performance dates will be Feb. 5-7, 2009. Those auditioning are asked to prepare an upbeat song, approximately 32 bars long to be sun a capella. Call backs will be Oct. 2. Middle school auditions will be Oct. 28, 4 p.m. at the PAC. For more information, please contact the PAC at 268.8443.

#26 --Caring--Young person places high value on helping other people.

• Several campuses have initiated efforts to stock up local Food Banks to assist victims of Hurricane Ike. Barton PTA has begun a peanut butter drive, with a goal of 1,000 jars, for the Capitol Area Food Bank. For more information, please go to www.bartonpta.txpta.org. Hays High School is conducting a T-Shirt sale with proceeds going to the Red Cross. Printed in bold on the gray shirts are "Rebel With A CAUSE and help with hurricane relief." The price for each shirt is a minimum donation of $10, with $5 going to the Red Cross. Orders must be placed by Oct. 3. To purchase a shirt, please contact David Bowe, bowed@hayscisd.net. Boy Scouts have been challenged to conduct food drives at their next den, pack or troop meeting. For more information, please contact Chester Jenke at Chester.Jenke@Scouting.org
    

• The 1st Annual Turkey Bowl competition between Lehman High School and Hays High School will begin Oct. 15. The two high schools will be in competition to collect the most canned food items through Nov. 3. All canned goods will be donated to the Hays County Food Bank as part of the organization’s “Turkeys Tackling Hunger” Thanksgiving Drive.
    
  Monetary donations will be accepted, $1 is the equivalent of one pound of canned food.
    
  “The school with the most pounds of food will be crowned the winner of the Turkey Bowl and will be announced during halftime at the Hays vs. Lehman football game on Nov. 7,” said Shelly Plumley of Hays High School. “Each year the winning school will receive a trophy, which was purchased by the defeated school.”
    
  Clubs, classrooms, organizations within each high school will also compete against one another as part of the drive.
    
  Elementary and middle school campuses throughout Hays CISD will be holding their own fundraising efforts and canned food drives as part of the “Turkeys Tackling Hunger” campaign. The district effort is sponsored by the 40 Assets Lunch Bunch.