PARD Aquatics is getting ready for the upcoming summer season by offering 2 Lifeguard Training classes: one in March and one in April.
You must be at least 15 years of age to participate in this course.
In these classes, participants will learn how to become a certified lifeguard.
A pre-course assessment is required to make sure participants meet the swimming skills needed to become a lifeguard.  To find out more about the lifeguard training classes, see the PARD Aquatics website or call 903-237-1270.

The Longview Independent School District (LISD) Board of Trustees is offering former Superintendent Dr. James E. Wilcox a second term as interim.  The panel has already unanimously voted to hire an interim superintendent and assigned Board President Dr. Sam Satterwhite the task of offering the post to Wilcox.  Salary has yet to be established, but interims typically earn less than full-time supers.
“Any interim superintendent is going to cost less than a full-time person, so there is a definite savings to local taxpayers,” said Satterwhite.  “But with someone like James [Wilcox] we would be able to make a seamless transition because he knows this district like the back of his hand.”
Trustee Dr. Chris Mack is equally enthusiastic about Wilcox’s hiring. “We are going to have to hire somebody.  I think we get a lot more for our money if we hire someone who can come in and hit the ground running.”
Wilcox formally informed the board of his retirement in December, with his retirement officially commencing Dec. 31.  At that point Deputy Superintendent Andrea Mayo became interim superintendent.
“It’s difficult enough to work one of these positions, but to work both of them simultaneously is a monumental task,” said Satterwhite.  “Andrea [Mayo] has been holding down the fort better than anyone else could, but it’s not fair to expect her to continue doing both jobs.”
According to Satterwhite the board does not yet have a schedule for hiring a full-time superintendent, but the panel is wasting no time in approaching this vital task.  The board’s next meeting is February 6, which is the earliest the interim can be formally hired.  With the position being an interim capacity the LISD is not required to name a finalist.  Should Wilcox accept the position he will be assigned to lead the search for his permanent replacement.
“The last time we hired a [superintendent] search firm it cost the district more than $31,500,” said Trustee Chris Mack.  “Dr. Wilcox is admired and respected across the state and knows as many qualified people as any firm.”
In April 2007 Wilcox left the Waxahachie ISD in order to accept his current position in Longview.  Since arriving he has implemented such career and technology programs as district-wide International Baccalaureate and Montessori programs, and oversaw a school bond election that raised $267 million for the establishment of seven new elementary campuses, three new middle school campuses and the funding for extensive improvements at Longview High School.  He furthermore directed a district rezoning that simplified 28 attendance zones into just six, enabling a federal court to relax a 40-year-old desegregation order.
At the time of his retirement announcement in December, Wilcox revealed he had no immediate vocational plans, but would definitely continue to be active in the local educational community and in civic organizations.

Joseph Schaetz, Pine Tree High School Band Captain has earned a place in the prestigious 5A all-state band of Texas. Morghan Parker, also of Pine Tree High School, earned 2nd Chair in the All-State Women’s Choir at the Area Choir Auditions.
These students have earned the opportunity to perform with the Texas All-State Band or Choir in San Antonio, Saturday, February 11, 2012 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as part of the 2012 Texas Music Educators Association Clinic/Convention. Schaetz and Parker were chosen for this honor through a competitive process held this year across the state at District, Region and Area levels.
Joseph and Morghan practice and perform at PTHS under the direction of instructors:  Mark Melton, Pine Tree ISD Director of bands, and Melody McMullen, Director of Choirs at PTHS, both of whom are members of the Texas Music Educators Association, an 11,000+ member organization headquartered in Austin.
Joseph Schaetz is the lead trumpet player in the Pine Tree jazz band, and is the son Bob and Laurie Schaetz.
“Joseph is an exceptional student in the band, and also on the math/science team.  Currently he works very hard also helping younger band students on whatever instrument that they play,” said Director Mark Melton.  “He is a great young musician who also excels as a role model.”
Morghan Parker is the daughter of Daniel and Jennifer Waterland.
“Morghan Parker is the kind of student that teachers dream about having in your classroom,” says her choir director Melody McMullen.  “She is hard working, dependable, intelligent, teachable, and above all…supremely talented.  She is a wonderful section leader in PT Express and excels at everything the tries. Citizens of Longview, keep your eyes on Morghan Parker, she is destined for greatness.”
All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive. High school students selected to perform in the All-State concerts have competed through several levels of auditions beginning in the fall of 2011 to arrive at the state level. Over 1,500 students are selected through a process that began with over 60,000 students from around the state vying for this honor to perform in one of 13 ensembles (bands, orchestras and choirs).
Texas Music Educators Association sponsors the Texas All-State competition. This competitive process begins throughout the state in auditions hosted by 28 TMEA Regions. Individual musicians perform selected music for a panel of judges who rank each instrument or voice part. From this ranking, a select group of musicians advances from their Region to compete against musicians from other areas in seven TMEA Area competitions. The highest-ranking musicians judged at the TMEA Area competitions qualify to perform in a TMEA All-State music group.

Preschoolers and young children are in for a rollicking good time when storyteller and children’s entertainer Margaret Clauder shows up at the Tyler Public Library on Friday, January 27 as The Bookworm.
Clauder will entertain young children with stories, puppets and magic during two performances, at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m., in Taylor Auditorium at the Library, 201 S. College.
The Bookworm devours books and shows just how big one can grow with reading. Bookworm stories include the popular children’s books, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Kat Kong and Mean Soup.
“The Bookworm” at Tyler Public Library is free and open to the public. No registration is needed for families to attend, but groups must make reservations.
For more information or to make a group reservation, contact the Library by phone at (903) 593-7323 or online at www.tylerlibrary.com.

The University of Texas at Tyler’s online graduate and doctoral nursing programs have received national recognition from U.S. News & World Report, Dr. Linda Klotz, College of Nursing and Health Sciences dean, announced.
Out of 458 institutions surveyed, the publication ranks UT Tyler in the top three in Teaching Practices and Student Engagement. This ranking examines how supportive the university programs are of students and recognizes strategies to ensure
The achievement puts UT Tyler among major universities such as Yale University, University of Florida, Arizona State University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University and University of Kansas.
Four categories are considered including admission selectivity, faculty credentials and training, teaching practices and student engagement and student services and technology, which UT Tyler also ranked in the top 50.
The UT Tyler master’s and doctoral programs currently enroll 200 students and 56 students, respectively.
For more information, visit www2.uttyler.edu/nursing/.

Teaching Practices and Student Engagement

Preschoolers rolled up their sleeves and helped plant daffodil bulbs at the St. Louis Early Childhood Center Thursday morning. The school started its gardening project last year when it partnered with Keep Tyler Beautiful.
“Today students got the opportunity to learn outside the classroom,” Head Start Director Gloria Bell said. “The children worked on their reading and number skills while having fun planting the daffodil bulbs.”
More than 120 students, separated into groups, spent time planting dozens of daffodils in the gardens. The flowers should bloom this spring.

Kilgore College (KC) President Dr. Bill Holda has announced that KC and Texas A&M University at Texarkana have entered into an articulation agreement.
The schools recently met in Kilgore to sign a Reciprocal Articulation Agreement to provide improved educational opportunities to students from both campuses.  Signed by Holda and A&M-Texarkana President Dr. C.B. Rathburn III the agreement will be in effect through 31 August 2014.  Holda has high expectations for the collaboration.
“Kilgore College has much to gain by working with the colleges in our region for the benefit of our students,” he said.  “The articulation with A&M-Texarkana will provide our students with additional options as they seamlessly further their educational objectives.  I knew President Rathburn when he was president at Galveston College, and he very well understands the world of the community college and the value which transfer students bring to the university environment.”
Texarkana is equally upbeat about the partnership.
“Texas A&M University-Texarkana is honored to be in partnership with Kilgore to open an affordable new pathway for KC students to complete and advanced degrees in an exciting new campus environment,” Rathburn said.
The agreement’s objectives are:

* To transition qualified students from KC to A&M-Texarkana, and A&M-Texarkana back to KC in order to further completion of associates degrees at KC.
* To use clear communication to insure efficient, orderly transfer of students from KC to A&M-Texarkana while simultaneously promoting simultaneous advancement in learning.
* To supply advisement/counseling for KC students aiming to move on to a degree program at A&M-Texarkana.
* To establish academic and administrative coordination between the two schools to facilitate the program’s outcome, and hence assure continual improvement.

The collaboration will also make it possible for KC and A&M-Texarkana to jointly facilitate and support consultation and collaboration evaluating the new program, general education, degree requirements and sundry academic matters.
Located on a freshly developed 375-acre tract of land north of the city and adjacent to Bringle Lake, Texas A&M-Texarkana presently enrolls 1950 students studying a broad spectrum of degree programs under the umbrella of its three colleges–the College of Business, College of Education and Liberal Arts, and College of Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The university opened its first residence hall last August. Construction is slated for a second residence hall and a dining hall, both to be opened in 2013.  A funding drive is underway to finance a 14,000 square-foot Student Engagement Center.  The school has also introduced Eagle Athletics. This sports club program will permit students to participate in tennis, golf, soccer, crew and cross-country.

William Shakespeare described love as “an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken.”
Eloquent as these 500-year-old words are, they’re also wildly out of sync with an age when some high-profile romances (we’re looking at you, Kim and Kris!) can be measured in days, not decades.
Twogether in Texas wants to make them relevant again.

Twogether, a pre-marriage education program for Texas couples, believes strong lasting relationships are not just “dearer than eyesight, space and liberty,” (take another bow, Bard) but also the foundation of society itself. And building that foundation is an old-school craft that requires patience, empathy, good decisions and unwavering focus on what we love about our mate.

Such skills come naturally to some. Most of us, though, can benefit from good advice offered by people who really know their stuff. People like the counselors who teach Twogether in Texas classes all over the state. Their eight-hour classes help couples improve at communication, conflict resolution, maintaining realistic expectations of one’s partner and other aspects of successful marriage.

Twogether in Texas grew out of the federal Healthy Marriage Initiative and operates with funds from Texas Health and Human Services Commission. In just over three years, it has helped thousands of people nurture stronger marriages — and save a few bucks in the process.

At the end of the Twogether course, couples receive a certificate they can take to the county clerk’s office to waive the 72-hour waiting period and $60 state fee for a marriage license. (Counties, however, may still charge up to $12 in local fees.)

Classes are available at dozens of sites. Many are hosted by faith-based organizations, but the curriculum includes no religious content. As part of Twogether’s commitment to keeping it real, most classes are taught by male-female teams — often married couples. The teachers use a varied educational approach including games, videos, practice exercises and a freewheeling approach that allows plenty of opportunity for questions.

Feedback from participants suggests this approach is working. Couples often come to save money on their marriage license but leave with a more realistic, better prepared feeling about their relationship.

“I originally came here today to get my $60 voucher,” one participant said after attending a workshop in Fort Worth. “However, I’m leaving with so much more. I don’t even care about the money I saved because the knowledge I gained today is priceless.”

And timeless, too, for couples who make love a lifelong project. Because it’s as true now as when Shakespeare first wrote it that there’s “a world of earthly blessings to the soul if sympathy of love unite our thoughts.”

To find a marriage education class near you, call 2-1-1 or visit www.twogetherintexas.com. The Twogether in Texas website also includes links to healthy marriage advice from many sources as well as information on how an organization can register to provide services in its area.

Beginning Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Tyler Public Library’s Taylor Auditorium, genealogists can get a few pointers from experienced researchers with a series of workshops sponsored by the East Texas Genealogical Society (ETGS) and the Tyler Public Library.
Roots 101: Beginning Genealogy (research for rookies) will introduce the basics of family research at 1:30-4:30 p.m. on four Saturdays; Jan. 21 and 28 and Feb. 4 and 11.
ETGS members will introduce participants to pedigree charts, group sheets, census records, Internet search engines and basic Internet searches. The group will tour the Local and Family History section of the Tyler Public Library, get an introduction to the Smith County Historical Society archives and explore other sources for genealogical information.
The cost for the workshop series is $5 at the door for materials and supplies. Roots101 is open to anyone interested in starting family research.

Three students from Robert E. Lee High School were selected from a pool of thousands of students to perform in one of the All-State ensembles during the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention.
The students earned their spots in the All-State ensembles after performing in region and area auditions. All-State is the highest honor a Texas music student can receive.
Students Abby Jordan, Kevin Kwaku, and Meredith Oliver earned the opportunity to perform with the All-State ensembles. Abby Jordan, a violinist, was selected as a member of the All-State String Orchestra. Kevin Kwaku, who plays the trumpet, was selected as a member of the All-State Band. He placed first chair at the audition, and this will be his second year to perform with the All-State Band. This is also vocalist Meredith Oliver’s second time to be selected for the All-State Choir.
“We are so proud of the students who earned a spot with the All-State ensembles and those who competed in the area and region auditions,” George Faber, Tyler ISD Director of Visual and Performing Arts, said. “These achievements represent some of the wonderful things happening in our school music programs.”
More than 1,500 students were selected to perform with one of 13 All-State ensembles. The selection process started with more than 55,000 students from across the state competing for a spot in one of the band, orchestra, and choir ensembles. Students chosen to perform with an All-State ensemble will participate in three days of rehearsals directed by nationally recognized conductors.
The students from Robert E. Lee will perform before thousands of attendees at the TMEA Convention at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio on Saturday, February 11.