Extra Credit

Paschal High's Panther Band will march through southwest Fort Worth

The Panther Band from R.L. Paschal High School will march a 10-kilometer route through southwest Fort Worth at its 4th annual March-A-Thon on Sept. 15.

Money raised from the event go toward helping the band participate in marching competitions during the fall semester and reducing the cost of students attending such competitions and taking a spring trip to Orlando.

The March-A-Thon is to begin at 9 a.m. at the Paschal Band Hall at Forest Park Boulevard and Berry Street.

The band will play along the route and perform mini-concerts at about 10 a.m. at Bluebonnet Circle and at about 11:30 a.m. at Foster Park. After the march, the band will give a short concert at about noon at the Tom Thumb store at Hulen Street and Bellaire Drive. Download the 2012 March-A-Thon Map

The March-A-Thon is expected to take about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, said Kal Silverberg, a Paschal Band Booster board fundraising chair.

Jessamy Brown

Panther Band facts:

• 190 members
• This is its 90th anniversary
• Directors are Bryan Wright, Travis Treadwell and Mark DeHertogh 

Southlake's Relay for Life to fight cancer tonight will start indoors

2 p.m. Update

The because of the rainy weather, the event is now planned to be a combination indoor and outdoor event. Organizers plan to make a final decision about the overnight stay by 5:30 p.m.

"The day has brought us a few challenges, but nothing that is insurmountable. It is providing a good reminder of how we must persevere during times of challenge," organizers wrote on the Relay website.

For now, here's how it will work, according to a Dragon eBlast email newsletter.

"Rachel’s Rally (5:30 p.m.) and the Relay For Life (7 p.m.) will begin at their scheduled times.

"Game booths, food vendors, the survivor’s dinner, and the silent auction will begin indoors at 5:30 p.m. in the Carroll High School cafeteria, commons area and hallways.

"City stage performers will be in the cafeteria throughout the event.

"Rachel’s Rally will be held inside the CHS main gym at 6 p.m.

"All other activities, including Relay opening ceremonies, survivor lap, track walking, main stage band entertainment will remain on a flexible schedule dependent on weather."

Jessamy Brown

 

Original post

More than 5,000 people will gather tonight for the Southlake Carroll community's annual Rachel's Rally and Relay for Life event to raise money to fight cancer.

The overnight event is at Carroll High School, 800 N. White Chapel Boulevard, Southlake, is described by organizers this way:

"Teams of family members, friends, coworkers and others join together each year to raise funds for the American Cancer Society and make a difference in their community. In honor of those who battle cancer 24 hours a day, team members typically take turns walking the track throughout the night for 12 hours."

Rachel’s Rally starts at 6 p.m. and relay opening ceremonies begin at 7 p.m. The event will wrap up at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning.

So what happens if it rains? The Relay Rain Plan calls for the event to go forward as planned. If it is too stormy, the event will move indoors to Carroll High School's gym and run from 5:30 p.m. to midnight.

 

Meanwhile, check out this Carroll Dragon TV video, Dragons Fighting Cancer, a special project this year made with Carroll students and staff.

 

To get alerts: Sign up by texting 5413 to 22723

Website: www.relayforlife.org/southlaketx

Facebook: www.facebook.com/RelayForLifeSouthlakeTexas

Twitter: @RFLSouthlake

Jessamy Brown

 

Fort Worth teachers seeking help for class projects, bank will match donations

South Hi Mount Elementary's Mrs. Johnston has one day left to raise $444 for a new electronic tablet she hopes to use in her music class. At Kirkpatrick Middle School, Mrs. Sprinkles needs $578 dissection specimens for hands-on science lessons. Then there's Ms. Ford at Mitchell Boulevard Elementary who is asking for $648 for access to a color printer and ink so her students can print out their class projects.

As schools continue to face budget challenges, teachers are looking for more creative ways to get the extras -- and sometimes even the basics -- in the classroom. These three are among the 93 Fort Worth school district teachers seeking help through the online charity DonorsChoose.org through which supporters can donate money directly to class projects. And from now until April 1, JPMorgan Chase will match each individual donation up to $50 for a total of $250,000 for its Tools for Classrooms campaign.

Once to the you're on the screen that has the Chase donation code, click on "view classroom projects." Then on the next page, select state, city and school district at the left. (Note: the district is listed as "Ft Worth Ind School District.") Other districts with a few teacher projects listed include Arlington, Birdville, Everman and Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Fort Worth ISD auctioning off surplus band uniforms, desks and ... a sick bed? Uh, anyone else remember the swine flu closure of 2009?

Tomorrow is the last day to bid on 122 items the Fort Worth school district is selling in a surplus auction. So far top bids include $675 for a 1995 white Ford pickup, $495 for a commercial table saw, $10 for 80 clocks and one time control center, and $85 for 720 band uniform pieces -- including 122 jackets, 110 pairs of pants, 142 plumes, 130 sashes and other items. (The green and gold picture seems to indicate these are from Western Hills High School).

And if you can beat the current $5 top bid, you can score used sick bed, shown here. Note to winning bidder on that one: you might want to invest in some disinfectant. Just saying.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Birdville, Haltom and Richland high bands hold Moonlight Marching Madness

The three high school bands from Birdville school district will be marching around the Fine Arts/Athletics Complex as part of a Saturday fundraiser.

Admission is free, but the Moonlight Marching Madness event will feature food and activities for families, including bounce houses, a giant hampster ball, outdoor laser tag and a video van with Wii and XBox games.

The bands will march around the stadium and stop and play their field shows for spectators.

Details: 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturday at the Birdville Fine Arts/Athletics Center, 9200 Mid-Cities Boulevard, North Richland Hills.

Richland High's Rebel Band: 7 to  8 p.m.

Haltom High's Pride of Haltom Band: 8 to 9 p.m.

Birdville High's Mighty Hawk Band: 9 to 10 p.m.

Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth students offer artful inspiration for race weekend

Sure NASCAR is in town, but these students are focused a pink-powered race.

Students from North Side and Western Hills high schools were among the young local artists creating a chalk mural to inspire those at the Susan G. Komen's Fort Worth Race for the Cure.

Surrounding high schools joined the group to chalk up the survivor pavilion of the race grounds at Ridgmar Mall. The students also heard stories from breast cancer survivors.

Race organizers expect to have about 11,570 participants with 516 teams with a goal of raising $500,000. The 19th annual race begins with a warm-up at 7:45 a.m. If you hurry right now, you can still register today for the race at Luke's Locker, 2600 W. Seventh St. Click here for more details on the race.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

New program lets Arlington residents support schools by recycling

Coca-Cola Recycling, Kroger and the city of Arlington teamed up to open the first Reimagine recycling center Tuesday at the southwest corner of Pioneer Parkway and Fielder Road.

The cutting-edge  machine lets users recycle aluminum cans and PET bottles in bulk, rather than having to feed them in one at a time. An optical scanner counts the items and gives the user credits toward athletic equipment or school supplies for their favorite Arlington school. Or the user can get reward points for free or discounted merchandise.

Read more here.

-Patrick M. Walker

Fort Worth students' veggies to be cooked up for fund raiser

The young gardeners at I.M. Terrell and Van Zandt-Guinn elementary schools have been busy tending to  their organic goods. Now their mustard greens, beets and red and green leaf lettuces will be used for a Nov. 12 fund raiser at GRACE Restaurant to help benefit REAL School Gardens.

GRACE chef Blaine Staniford and owner Adam Jones visited the schools this week to tour the gardens and talk to students about healthy eating. At right are Terrell students showing off their garden. Below is Staniford preparing a healthy snack for Van Zandt-Guinn.

REAL School Gardens is a local non-profit that works with 74 campuses across the area to create gardens. Earlier this month, the group received the local organization award for its outstanding service by the North American Association for Environmental Education. Tracy Hollis, program facilitator for the Grand Prairie school district's
Natural Science Education Center, won the NAAEE's award for outstanding service by an individual.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Gospel Fest to raise funds for Dunbar cheerleaders

Tonight's Gospel Fest 2010 will raise funds for the Dunbar High School cheerleaders to participate in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York and the New Year's Day Parade in London. The school had six of its cheer squad selected as All American-All Star Cheerleaders this summer to qualify for the events. For the first time, the school also had its mascot ranked as an All American, making student Jawon Hunter eligible to perform at the 2011 Capital One Bowl pre-game show in Orlando.

The free concert will be at the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, 1901 Amanda St., where a collection will be taken up for the squad. The school sent letters to Stop Six area churches inviting them to participate. Various youth choirs and praise dancers will be showcased.

Cheer sponsor Gloria Peppers said the squad has participated in the parades since 2006. This year's cheerleaders qualifying for the various events are Asia Odhams, Allison Stinnett, Shelby Williams, Jasmine Washington, Jardyne Parker and Rachel Kincaid.

“I would ask everyone to rally behind them to achieve their goals,” Peppers said.

For more information on how to help, contact Dunbar High School at 817-496-7400.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Service for Crowley High teen killed in car wreck set for Saturday in Tulsa

Memorial services for Germain Harris II, a Crowley High School sophomore who died in a car wreck last week, have been scheduled for this weekend in Oklahoma, where he grew up.

Here are the details: 11 a.m. on Sat., April 24, at Antioch Baptist Church, 110 E. 56th St. North, Tulsa, Okla.

Bigelow Funeral Directors will have a public viewing of his body tomorrow, 1414 N. Norfolk Ave., Tulsa, Okla.

Friends and family are collecting donations to restore Harris' blue 1969 El Camino, which he bought two years ago with plans to save money and restore it.

The fund is called the "GH2 69 El Camino Restoration Fund," and is set up through Bank of Oklahoma.

Nearly 400 friends and mourners gathered on Monday at the Arby's on Altamesa Boulevard in Fort Worth where the April 15 accident took place for a candlelight ceremony to remember Harris, said the teen's mother, Tiffany Taylor.

Jessamy Brown