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.

#40 Positive view of personal future - Young person is optimistic about her or his personal future.

• A college fair for juniors and seniors at Hays High School, Lehman High School and Academy High School will be on Dec. 4, from 2:15-4 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m. at Texas State University. More than 45 colleges and universities will be in attendance to answer questions. Please contact the Counseling Center at your child's school for more information.
   

• December 26 is the deadline to register for the SAT that will be administered on Jan. 24. Cost is$45, though fee waivers are available for students who qualify. Please contact the Counseling Center at your child's school for more information and assistance in registering.

#5 Caring school climate - School provides a caring, encouraging environment.

• The Annual Tom Green Elementary School Boys Night Out was a huge success with approximately 140 men and boys attending. The boys and their fathers, or father figures, came together for an engaging celebration of their relationships and a memorable bonding experience. A facilitator from Source Consulting Group led a rhythm and drum circle session. The session included instruction, but the primary focus was a joyful rhythm experience, and a powerful community jam using a mix of drums and other percussion instruments.
   

• Elm Grove Elementary was the setting for a feature article on News 8 on Monday for the Magic Mirror, a non-profit organization for dyslexic children.

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

• Chapa Middle School choir students fared beautifully in the recent Solo and Ensemble auditions, hosted by Chapa Middle School. The following students received a 1/Superior rating: Adrianna Aguirre (solo), Julie Burfield (solo), Melissa Compton (solo) Sarah Fuller (solo), Kristen Jefferson (solo), Angelina Partida (solo), Tiffany Perales (solo), and Desstenie Trejo (solo). The following Ensemble received a 1/Superior rating: Sarah Fuller, Kristen Jefferson, Angelina Partida and Danielle Villegas.

#16 High expectations - Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.

• The Lehman High School speech team brought home three medals from two events at the Del Valle UIL Academic Invitational Meet recently. Kathleen Rizo took 1st Place in Prose Interpretation, while Amber Garza took 2nd Place. Both students were participating in their very first meet. The LHS debate team won two thirds of all its rounds, led by Sophomore Cameron Harris, who won five of six rounds while bringing home a 2nd Place medal. Brandon Smith won three of four rounds, and Freshman Eddie Garza also won three of four.
   

• The Lehman High School computer science team won 1st Place at the UIL Academic Meet in Del Valle. The team overtook last year's Region IV State Qualifier, Dripping Springs, by 60 points. Among 21 schools competing, the following LHS students won individual places: Jesse Vera, 1st Place, Eddie Santana, 3rd Place, Trevor Leffert, 6th Place, Samantha Williamson, 7th Place and Donald Schiwitz, 8th Place.
   

• The Lehman High School Navy JROTC earned a 2nd Place Orienteering trophy in the Novice Division at the Aransas Pass Panther Challenge. Individual winners were Adrian Hamilton, 1st Place Orienteering Novice, and Jeffery Carroll, 2nd Place Orienteeing Novice. Seventeen schools entered the competition with one to three teams of four cadets.

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

• Students from both Lehman High School and Hays High School, who are members of the Hays Community Youth Council (CYC), voted in early November to donate $800 to the Hays County Food Bank's Turkeys Tackling Hunger campaign. The CYC is a four-year-old initiative that is one of the direct outcomes of the community 40 Assets Youth Summit. The students gather once a month to network, plan community service projects, foster the 40 Developmental Assets and even speak before the Kyle City Council and Hays CISD Board of Trustees. A students-as-mentors training conducted prior to the CYC's most recent meeting brought 33 high school students interested in becoming mentors.
     

• Lehman High School's Teen Leadership and speech class students, under the direction of Christy Phillips, led the school in a Quarters for the Coast campaign in which students and faculty donated quarters to school victims of Hurricane Ike. At the conclusion of the project last week, students raised $564.75, or 2,259 quarters.
   

• Buda Elementary School students and their families raised $1,100 for the Turkeys Tackling Hunger. Dahlstrom Middle School students raised very nearly $1,500. A competition between the departments and divisions of Hays CISD Central Administration Office raised nearly $850 for the effort.
   

• Science Hall Elementary School students in Marie Davern, Kara Wheeler and Emilie Sandoval's classes created Thanksgiving cards for 50 patients of Comfort Connection--a home health and personal assistance service. The classes were surprised with pizzas at the end of the school day as gratitude for their generosity.

#14 Adult role models - Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.

• Wallace Middle School's Veterans assembly featured Sgt. Michael Dylan Carrol as guest speaker. Sgt. Carrol and his troops were stationed in Iraq, and last Fall, Christy Henry’s 6th Grade Language Arts students wrote letters to the soldiers. The students waited patiently for a response from Sgt. Carrol’s troops and finally received a package from Iraq this past Spring. The package included replies to many of the letters, video footage showing Sgt. Carrol's barracks and experiences in Iraq. The now 7th Grade students on Nov. 11 enjoyed a private discussion with Sgt. Carrol, and many of their questions were answered. This was a tremendous honor and once-in-a-lifetime experience for the students.