Carroll School Board recognizes National Merit honorees.
Being an Aggie makes fall football that much more excitingbrfor me. Say what you will about Johnny Manziel — he has a raw, unbridled talentbrthat has ignited a winning spirit in Aggieland. He is just fun to watch.
I won't waste space debating hisbrmaturity or ability to handle fame, but you cannot argue with his success. Hebrhas so much passion for football. He is living proof that natural talent teamedbrup with passion and hard work nets results. Watching him weave his way throughbrdefenders into the end zone leaves you in awe of his natural abilities. He'sbrgood — real good.
And that's what I witness over andbrover again watching our students in Carroll ISD. From the standing ovations at Les Misérables to the dynasty that isbrCarroll cross-country, I stand in awe of the talents of our Dragon students andbrtheir ability to make hard work pay off. They protect the tradition in a waybrthat makes this superintendent proud.
Our Carroll Theatre students gotbrrave reviews for their on-stage performance of Les Misérables. From the sets and costumes to the acting andbrorchestra, our students upheld the Dragon tradition by sharing their talentsbrand demanding excellence. Several of the cast members plan to major in theatrebrin college, and I have no doubt they are ready and will do well. They are goodbr— real good.
And how amazing are the members ofbrthe boys and girls cross-country teams? They both recently returned to thebrUniversity Interscholastic League 5A state meet to retain their right to thebrtop spot on the medal stand. That's right, both teams finished first in abrhighly competitive field of runners to win back-to-back to-back — yes, that's abrthree-peat — state championships. It's no surprise that Coach Justin Leonardbrwas named the Texas Cross Country Coach of the Year recently. They are goodbr— real good!
Carroll ISD was recently named anbrAP Honor Roll District for the fourth consecutive year. We were one of only 477brdistricts nationwide and 14 in Texas to earn the distinction. The award isbrbased on both student scores and participation rates. In turn, two of our seniorsbr— Drew Anderson and Reid Long — earned perfect scores on their ACT collegebrentrance exams.
A total of 14 students werebrrecognized as National Merit Semifinalists and 40 were commended. Another 14 ofbrtheir classmates won National Hispanic Scholars honors. This year's semifinalistsbrinclude Amy Adams, Drew Anderson, Philip Brown, KatherinebrBurnham, Adam Floyd, Nyle Hussain, Farzan Jafri, Reid Long, KennethbrMartin, Ian Myers, Vijay Ramesh, Raymond Teer, Brittany Tew and AsheshbrTrivedi. The National Merit Hispanic Honorees include Michael Formella, MatthewbrWiseman, Lauren Basler, Jonathan Brosnan, Kristi Calcagno, Sebastian Becerra,brSteve Flowers, Valerie Quintanilla, Amanda Deras, Cole Smith, Dana Jenkins,brAdriana Morillo, Michael Basler and Jeffrey Smythe.
And our teachers are rock stars,brtoo! I recently got the privilege of tagging along with the Carroll EducationbrFoundation Prize Patrol as they visited the classrooms of 20 talented CISDbrteachers to announce they had won grants totaling nearly $75,000. Their passionbrfor teaching and their hard work in the classroom will see great rewards thanksbrto the generosity of CEF and its sponsors.
Last month, 18 CISD student-athletesbrsigned letters of intent to play sports at a prestigious lineup of the nation'sbrtop universities. With volleyball, football and tennis all qualifying for thebrplayoffs, I'd say we've had a good first semester.
The road to excellence has beenbrpaved with the passion, talent and hard work of Carroll Dragons.