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Backpack Drive Gives Back to Community
By Kim Carmichael, Chief of Staff | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:54 PM
Central Texas area students choose backpacks from the donation site in Austin. UIL staff donated 72 backpacks to the non-profit.
Photo by Kim Carmichael
Back to school means a fresh start to a new school year.
For some children it also means worrying about having the supplies they need for a successful school year. For the second year in a row, the UIL staff wanted to erase that worry for local school children grades Pre-K through fifth grade by hosting a backpack collection drive.
This July, UIL staff partnered with an Austin-based non-profit organization to provide the tools that students need for a productive school year. The back-to-school initiative is an important community program that provides children living in poverty with one backpack, a set of school supplies, books, and two new sets of clothing. The program helps children to feel confident and creates positive experiences at the beginning of school to promote academic success.
The 2012 UIL backpack drive resulted in 72 new backpacks donated by UIL staff members to help some of the 2,000 students who benefitted from this year’s program.
We wish all students, teachers and coaches and school administrators a successful 2012-13!
Former UIL Athletes Compete in London Olympics
By Chris Schmidt, Public Affairs Representative | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:45 PM
When Brigetta Barrett was at Duncanville High School she brought home the 5A high jump state championship in both 2008 and 2009. At the London Olympics, she won the silver for the same event.
Photo by Photo courtesy of Duncanville High School
Olympic competitors are some of the most talented and well-trained athletes in the world so it’s no surprise that many of them were successful high school student-athletes. Several former UIL state champions made waves representing Team USA during the 2012 London Olympics. Several even medaled at the games.
The following is a rundown of how former UIL state medal winners fared at the 2012 Olympic Games.
League Promotes 4, Hires 4 Over Summer
By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:35 PM
Like most school districts, the summer is a time for new hires and shuffling of staff. UIL is no different. This summer, the League had a variety of staff changes and new hires for the upcoming school year.
Heather Bollinger
Last year, UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt started a new mission at the League — archiving the League’s history and preserving it for generations to come. This year, Breithaupt is continuing that initiative and hired archivist Heather Bollinger in July.
“I am working on documenting the history of the UIL,” Bollinger said. “This includes organizing and preserving photographs, audio-visual materials, manuscript records, department records, fielding research requests, etc. I am currently working on digitizing the Leaguer and the Constitution and Contest Rules.”
UIL Dives into Social Media
By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:24 PM
This is not your parent’s organization.
Over the past five years, UIL has moved quickly and thoughtfully into the technology age.
The printed Leaguer is gone. Athletic manuals are posted online. The UIL even has a Facebook page and Twitter feed.
West Texas A&M Student Activities Conference Canceled
By David Stevens, Academic Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 3:26 PM
The Student Activities Conference scheduled at West Texas A&M University on Oct. 20 has been cancelled.
Due to marching band contests on the original date and other conflicts throughout the fall, we are unable to reschedule this SAC.
The UIL will still host three conferences.
September 15 — Tyler Junior College, Tyler
September 22 — Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
September 29 — The University of Texas at Austin
The conferences are a crash course of all things academic related and are designed to help high school students and coaches begin to prepare for spring contests. Conferences will begin at 9 a.m. and will end by 1:30 p.m. All Student Activity Conferences are free and pre-registration is not necessary.
Volleyball State Tournament to Move to Garland
By Peter Contreras, Assistant Athletic Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 3:23 PM
Wow. Where did the summer go?
Talk about days and months running together. If parents and the public really knew how much work is done during the summer in preparation for each upcoming school year, I think they just might be amazed.
Like you, August arrived sooner than I wanted and since no one bothered to ask if I was ready, forward is the only direction acceptable. For the 2012-13 school year, I have key changes to highlight in the sports where I serve as your UIL director. Here are few of those changes.
Music World Stays Stable, Only Minor Rule Tweaks
By Richard Floyd, Music Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 3:19 PM
Walking the halls of the summer music conferences in San Antonio, one of the most common questions I hear is, “What’s new?” And, my response is generally, “Not much.”
You see UIL music operates in a very stable environment that remains sensitive to the priorities and expectations of the music programs and directors it serves. That is not to say that we don’t have problems and challenges that confront us on every level, but the basic structure of what we do in UIL music remains stable and consistent.
Much of the credit for this stability can be attributed to the network of communication that we enjoy throughout the state and the excellent work of the UIL/TMEA Music Advisory Committee that carefully reviews our rules, contest procedures and proposals for revisions. As a result our rule changes are minimal; however, there are two new options included in the 2012-13 UIL Constitution and Contest Rules that are worth mentioning.
It’s Teachers Who Make the Difference in Schools
By Jana Riggins, Speech and Debate Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 3:15 PM
I’m an individual who is fascinated with facts and figures, based-on-true-story movies and the news. Yes, I admit it. I love the news so much my sons have labeled me a news junkie. This summer when they were home for stretches of time, they learned to automatically change the channel from sports to news, no words exchanged, when I walked in the door after work.
So, admittedly, I was intrigued to discover the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates there are over seven million teachers in America. My first thought about that statistic? Seven million – wow! What an army of individuals to impact our world!
Amanda Paulson, writer for the Christian Science Monitor, draws a conclusion from her research for a special edition of the Monitor focusing on improving schools in America: “Teachers are the most important factor in student learning — more important than textbooks, tests, computers, classrooms, peer groups, study guides or any other aspect of the education industry.”
A Guide to Help Coaches and Schools Prepare for Year
By Mark Cousins, Athletic Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 2:11 PM
Over the years, I have spent many column inches in the Leaguer discussing what schools and coaches need to do to ensure that their programs and participants are ready for the school year. In this column, I want to focus on what the schools need to do to ensure themselves and their coaches are ready for the beginning of the season.
The day-to-day work of a coach is dedicated to making sure the students are prepared to be successful in the classroom and also in the extracurricular activity of their choice.
In many cases, the things that coaches have to do in order to qualify to coach in Texas are sometimes overlooked. These dedicated professionals that we call ‘coach’ spend hundreds of hours each year preparing kids to be their best. But before they can work with the students, they must also spend many hours preparing themselves to meet the various requirements needed in order to coach.
Lone Star Cup Winners Crowned
By Chris Schmidt, Public Affairs Representative | Monday, August 27, 2012 2:03 PM
Lake Travis activity coordinators, school board members and the superintendent (far right) celebrate the Lone Star Cup win at the district convocation ceremonies. Assistant Athletic Director Traci Neely presented the trophy and a $1,000 check to Superintendent Brad Lancaster.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
Each year, schools around the state compete for the right to be called UIL state champion. Those state champions then compete for the right to take home the UIL Lone Star Cup.
The UIL Lone Star Cup Award recognizes five high schools – one in each of the five UIL classifications – each year based on their overall team achievement in a variety of sanctioned academic, athletic and music championships. In 2012, Southlake Carroll, Austin Lake Travis, Argyle, White Oak and Lindsay won the coveted trophy with their overall excellence in UIL competitions.
With five state championships in the 2011-12 season, Southlake Carroll High School captured its third Lone Star Cup victory and first in Conference 5A with 100 points. The Dragons’ five state titles, most among Lone Star Cup winners, came in football, boys’ and girls’ cross country and boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving