The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands recently presented its 2012 Teacher of the Year Awards. The club honored five teachers in the Lake Highlands area.

Congratulations to:
Susan Mims, White Rock Elementary
Rebecca Wall, Wallace Elementary
Kay Winkler, Moss Haven Elementary
Sabrina Morse, Aikin Elementary
Jeff Bradford, Lake Highlands High School

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Six of RISD's graduating seniors will receive $1,000 scholarships from the Richardson ISD/UNCF scholarship program. The program is funded by contributions from RISD employees and assists students who demonstrate both a financial need and academic potential.

Congratulations to:

• Claude Brooks, RHS, who will attend Florida Institute of Technology
• Haris Bubalo, RHS, who will attend Cameron University
• Lizbeth Contreras, RHS, who will attend UT Arlington
• Brinkley Field, LHHS, who will attend UT Austin
• Jasmine Green, RHS, who will attend UT Arlington
• Curlita Meshack, RHS, who will attend Sam Houston State University

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Fourth graders from Forest Lane Academy travelled to Austin as part of Education in Action's "Proud to be Texan" experiential learning day program.

The students visited the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and the Texas State Capitol. On their trip, they discussed Texans' unique heritage and were able to see first-hand where Texas laws are made. >Top

Teachers who participated in RISD's first-ever online GT (Gifted and Talented) Institute presented their – and their students' – work at a showcase this week.

The GT Institute was a six-week online training program led by RISD's Advanced Academic Studies and Instructional Technology departments.

In the GT Institute, teachers from throughout RISD learned principles of gifted and talented education, how to recognize gifted and talented students and how to differentiate their lessons to individual students. Grades levels ranged from kindergarten through sixth grade and included bilingual and special education classes. >Top

At the same time as most people his age are preparing to graduate from high school, former RISD student Aaron Kotamarti is now a college graduate. Last week, the 17-year-old received a bachelor's degree in engineering from UT Dallas.

Kotamarti also plans to complete a bachelor's degree in biology next spring and has started a master's program in electrical engineering. He also plans to pursue a medical degree.

When he was a student at Westwood Junior High, Kotamarti took advanced classes at Richardson High School, then completed college-level math classes by the time he was 14. He earned an associate's degree from Richland College in 2010 and enrolled at UT Dallas at age 15.

Please click here to read a full story from UT Dallas about Aaron. >Top

Students watching Mentos geysers may not seem like a learning experience, but it is when the experiment is in the hands of Prairie Creek Elementary fifth and sixth graders. During the school's fifth annual Science Day, fifth and sixth graders spent every spare moment of the last weeks of school preparing hands-on science lessons, complete with supplies, videos, songs, and rewards, for kindergarten and first grade students.

The day at PCE, which is modeled after the UTD "Kids in Chemistry Day" directed by professor John Seibert, proved such a great success its first year that it continues to be an excellent way to teach primary students additional science skills while providing older students as role models. More than 30 parent volunteers joined the PCE staff to move with the student groups through the stations that taught such concepts as density, buoyancy, measurement, science safety and the water cycle. >Top

Students in grades 3-6 enjoyed learning about various career paths at Mark Twain's recent Career Day. Several excellent speakers shared career information including Assistant Principal Hugo Guerra, a former Army airman.

Thanks to our speakers for sharing their insights.>Top