TMI teacher to head Georgetown alumni program

Claudia M. Clark, teacher of Latin and Spanish at TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas, has been named chairperson of the Georgetown University Alumni Admissions Program for the San Antonio area. Clark graduated in 1992 from Georgetown with a Bachelor of Science in Languages and Linguistics and has served for nine years as a member of the alumni program. At TMI, she is faculty sponsor of the school’s chapter of the Junior Classical League.

The Georgetown alumni program is a worldwide volunteer organization that coordinates and conducts the interview process for first-year and transfer applicants to Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Georgetown is among the few schools in the nation to require an admissions interview, and alumni interview the majority of applicants. Alumni program members also may be involved in the admissions effort in other ways, such as attending receptions, college nights and local business meetings.

Ranked 23rd in the country for 2010 by U.S. News and World Report, Georgetown is part of the Exploring College Options Group, which also includes Duke, Harvard and Stanford universities and the University of Pennsylvania. Admissions teams from all five schools will be in San Antonio to meet interested students at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 14, in the Marriott Northwest, 3233 N.W. Loop 410.

Volunteers help students navigate Naval Academy admissions

Officers of the U.S. Naval Academy Blue and Gold program for Central and South Texas will meet Saturday, Aug. 21, at TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas, to train volunteer recruiters for the upcoming college-admission season. New and returning recruiters will receive updated information about Academy admission requirements to share with prospective applicants and their families; teleconferencing will be available for officers in other locations.

Blue and Gold officers are an extension of the Naval Academy admission department, said Bruce Davis, a 1985 graduate and head of the regional recruitment program. These volunteers represent the Academy at college fairs, distribute catalogs and brochures to college counselors and conduct small-group meetings to share tips on navigating the dual application process of applying for admission and a nomination to the Academy.

Local volunteer recruiters include Naval Academy alumni, retired and active-duty military officers, college professors, parents of current Academy students or alumni and other professionals. “Community outreach is what we are all about,” said Blue and Gold officer Richard Villarreal, who recently completed recruiter training at the Academy in Annapolis, Md. “The application process is long and complex. We share information with applicants to help make them more competitive.”

Some volunteers who grew up in low-income areas specialize in working with students in their old neighborhoods. “Even if students set their sights on the Academy, then decide they would be happier at another college, we still win,” said Roman Sanchez Jr., a former Army officer who conducts workshops at Edison High School. “The most important thing is to motivate these young people into higher education.”

For help with Naval Academy admission, contact Davis at bruce.davis@parsons.com or 488-1688.

TMI Panthers look forward to season’s start

Football came back to TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas on Aug. 2, as players kicked off the season with their first full week of practices for the upcoming season. The Panthers’ first game will be Aug. 27 against St. Joseph High School, Victoria. The team starts the new season minus a “talented group of (last year’s) seniors,” says TMI Head Coach Brian Curran, “(but) we have a good group of offensive and defensive starters returning, (and) we will have good team speed. Our guys have an outstanding work ethic and attitude, so we are really looking forward to the season.”

TMI gala to honor bishop

TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas will honor the Rt. Rev. James E. Folts, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, at its Stars Over TMI gala, Sept. 18, on the school’s campus at 20955 W. Tejas Trail.

As bishop, Folts is a former chairman of the school’s Board of Governors and was co-chairman with Tom C. Frost Jr., TMI class of 1945, of the “We’re on a Mission…Forward to 400” growth plan that helped build the school’s All Saints Chapel, completed in 2008. Since the campaign was launched in fall 2005, TMI’s enrollment has grown from 325 to 426 students at the start of the 2010-2011 school year.

Stars Over TMI: Celebrating Pillars of Excellence will feature dinner with a Texas flair, catered by the RK Group, and music by the Rick Cavender Band. There will be live and silent auctions, as well as a raffle for a $10,000 TMI tuition credit or $10,000 in American Express gift cards. Celinda Baez Guerra is event chairman, with Sandra Laurel Ford as cochair.

The event is the school’s largest annual fundraiser, benefiting academic programs, facilities improvements and student financial aid.

Tickets are $150 per person. To purchase, visit www.starsovertmi.com or contact Kendra Rogers at (210) 564-6245 or k.rogers@tmi-sa.org.

TMI freshman receives college scholarship

TMI rising freshman Morgan Garbett graduated from the Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP) at St. Mary’s University with a GPA of 99.51, for which she was recognized with a five-year St. Mary’s Pinnacle PREP scholarship valued at a total of $62,500.

Garbett also received a certificate of excellence at the July 28 commencement program, where she was one of three students chosen to give a speech on “What PREP means to me.” A three-year, mathematics-based summer program for minority and female middle-school students, PREP builds an academic foundation for further study in engineering, mathematics, science and technology.

At TMI, Garbett is founder and president of the Robotics Club, which won second place in the statewide GEAR (Getting Excited About Robots) competition last spring. She also is a member of a San Antonio girls’ robotics team that will take part in the elite FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competitions.

TMI students post high AP scores

Of students who took Advanced Placement (AP) examinations last spring at TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas, 84 percent received qualifying scores of 3, 4 or 5, with nearly one-third achieving the highest-possible score. By comparison, only 15.9 percent of students nationwide and 14.9 percent in Texas received scores of 3 or above in 2009 (the most recent year available).

AP courses are college-level courses, for which high-school students may earn college credits by qualifying with scores of 3 and above. Administered by the College Board, AP exam scores are reported on a five-point scale as follows: 3, qualified; 4, well-qualified; and 5, extremely well-qualified.

During the 2009-2010 school year, TMI students took AP courses in subjects including Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, English, European History, Government, Physics, Spanish, Statistics, Studio Art and U.S. History. Of the 79 students from last year’s sophomore, junior and senior classes who took a total of 141 AP exams, 30 perceived received the highest possible score.

“We are blessed with wonderful students and teachers,” said TMI Upper School Division Head Bob Ridewood. “This excellence manifests itself in many ways, including the results on the Advanced Placement exams.”

More than 90 percent of four-year colleges and universities accept AP credits, enabling students to complete requirements and to move into major studies faster.

Members of the Green Club of TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas got a first-hand look at how recycling works with a trip to a facility that processes used materials into new products.

On May 14, the environmental-awareness group visited Greenstar, a recycling center at 1228 Cornerway Blvd. that works with the city of San Antonio to separate material and to process them into reusable products including aluminum, paper and plastics to be used by companies all over the world.

Opened last year, the plant is the most technologically advanced facility of its kind in the United States. “Touring it was an eye-opener for the students,” says Skyler Saucedo, Green Club faculty sponsor and Upper School science teacher. “We learned a lot about the specifics behind turning trash into reusable material.”

At Greenstar, the students saw a giant ensemble of conveyor belts, human-operated separating posts and other devices that work to organize and process more than 10,000 tons of trash in less than a month’s time. They also learned do’s and don’ts of recycling: Styrofoam and plastics marked with higher numbers are accepted, but PVC, garden hoses and plastic bags can cause trouble for the recycler’s separating machines.

“We learned some pretty interesting statistics behind recycling,” says Saucedo, such as:
- 36 percent of all trash is recycled in the United States, compared with 80 percent in Germany.
- Aluminum is the most valued reusable commodity.
- Glass and small-fiber colored paper are the least-valued.

Saucedo hopes to return for another Green Club visit to Greenstar next year. “It’s an incredibly fascinating place,” he says, “and quite an experience for anyone interested in where their trash goes.”

TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas has announced Cadet of the Year honors for two members of its Corps of Cadets (JROTC).

Upper School Cadet of the Year is freshman Stephen Santos, and Middle School Cadet of the Year is seventh-grader Nicholas Anthony.

Santos also received Cadet of the Semester for upper school, and sixth-grader Ian McOran-Campbell was named Cadet of the Semester for middle school.

April Cadet of the Month honors were awarded to sophomore Samantha Cox, upper school; and seventh-grader Shannon Cox, middle school.

To qualify for Cadet of the Month, TMI cadets are nominated by their company commanders on the basis of outstanding results of a monthly inspection. Cadet of the Year and Cadet of the Semester honorees are chosen from those who have been named Cadet of the Month during the past school year.