Pearce High School was recently listed by U.S. News and World Report in their annual rankings of top high schools in the country. Congratulations to PHS for earning this recognition

For the fourth consecutive year, Texas Monthly Magazine has published a list of the top public schools in Texas, and for the second consecutive year, they've presented the higher-performing schools ranked according to the number of subjects (such as reading, writing, math, science, and social studies) in which they excel.

Private school education at public school prices… At J.J. Pearce High School, we have the advantage of living in a community where our children attend neighborhood schools that compete in every way with private schools… in academics, extra curricular activities, and enrichment opportunities.

Maintaining this advantage takes more than our tax dollars, as money is now being diverted to other districts. The academic programs that enrich our students’ education are in jeopardy. The Pearce Excellence in Education Fund allows those of us who have made a commitment to public schools to make sure our schools and our neighborhoods remain a sought-after destination. The Fund provides the means to keep and enhance academic programs that impact every student at J.J. Pearce High School. Money raised is used to provide:

Continued academic excellence at J. J. Pearce depends on you. Your investment in the Excellence in Education Fund, J.J. Pearce’s Academic Booster Club, will yield significant returns for our students, faculty and community. 100% of your fully tax-deductible contribution goes to the J. J. Pearce Excellence in Education Fund. Please send your donation today and help continue the tradition of excellence.

Attention all new members of National Honor Society. We will have a mandatory meeting on Wednesday, December 12, at 8:15 a.m. or at your lunch period in the Black Box Drama Lab. this meeting will give you details about membership requirements and the upcoming Induction Ceremony. Please plan to attend one of these meetings on December 12.

Congratulations to Donna Anthony. Donna has been named one of the 10 Outstanding Texas Teachers by the Texas Exes Association. Donna will receive her award which includes a check for $2250 at a conference in Austin in February. Way to go Ms Anthony!

The front office needs a new flower arrangement for the little table by the couch. We have many visitors at Pearce and want our front office to look it's best! If you have an arrangement that you would like to donate to the office, please contact Gayla Hickman. We have beautiful poinsettias now, so we will enjoy those until the first of the year. Thank you!

Please don't forget that the last day of classes prior to winter break is Friday, December 21. The first day back for both students and staff is Monday, January 7. Due to the Texas legislature mandating the late summer starting date of the academic year, the first semester will not conclude until January 17, which means semester exams will not occur until after winter break. Please help pass the word about this departure from what has happened in the past.

Students needing a T.E.A. form for Drivers Ed or to renew your driver’s license:

T.E.A. forms can be picked up 24 hours after you sign-up for one in the counseling office, Room B109. If you need this over the Winter Break, you must sign up no later than Thursday, Dec. 20 and pick it up no later than 4:00 Friday, Dec. 21. The counseling office, Pearce High School and the RISD Administration Building will be closed Monday, December 24 until Monday, January 7, 2008. The T.E.A. form is good for 30 days from date issued.

The process is underway to create the 2008-09 RISD Academic Calendar. As always, parent input is encouraged and appreciated. A current draft may be found here. The proposed 2008-09 academic calendar includes strategically-placed professional development days, holidays at approximately the same time of year as the current calendar, semesters containing close to the same number of days, and of course, a Fair Day. The proposed calendar again accommodates the legislatively-required later start date by concluding the first semester after winter break. The Board of Trustees will ultimately approve the 2008-09 calendar, which should occur in February, 2008.
If you have feedback, please direct it to district Communications at risd@risd.org or 469-593-0301.

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) announced the students selected to participate in the 2007-08 Congressional Youth Advisory Council (CYAC). This year 42 students make up the elite group, with 6 returning members. Because of immense community interest, students, may now only serve two of four years between 9th and 12th grade.
“For years I’ve had the privilege of getting to know a stellar group of high school students who want to make a difference for their generation. Because this group represents their peers, I call them ‘Young Ambassadors to Congress.’ I’m very impressed with them so far and look forward to getting to know them,” said Johnson.
Johnson created the Council in 2004. The Council’s goal is two-fold. First, the group provides Johnson with greater student perspective and insight on issues that directly impact younger Americans. Second, Council activities educate students on government policies relevant to young people. The members of the Council meet approximately four times throughout the school year in the Third District.
The December meeting will bring local leaders of all levels to visit face-to-face with the Congressional Youth Advisory Council. The panelists confirmed for the upcoming meeting are:
Texas House Representative Jodie Laubenberg, District 89; Collin County Judge Keith Self; Judge John Payton, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3-2; Judge John Roach Jr., 296th District Court; and Richardson Mayor Steve Mitchell.
“The cornerstone of democracy is civic activism. These high school students are well on their way to making North Texas a better community and America a better country,” concluded Johnson.
The three RISD students participating in the 2007-08 CYAC are: Amanda Dees - Pearce High School, Patrick Ivey - Berkner High School, Kevin Zimmer - Richardson High School.

In the event of inclement weather that may require classes to be delayed or cancelled, parents and employees will be notified by telephone message of any decision to delay or close by 7:00 a.m. In addition, patrons can call the district's inclement weather line at 469-593-SNOW, or check the RISD homepage at www.risd.org.

pah rum pah pum pum...

PEARCE BAND STUDENT SUCCESS AT ALL-REGION and AREA!

34 Pearce band students were selected for the High School All-Region Band or placed as an alternate in the band at try-outs on December 1st and 3rd.

These students include:

    Max Atkinson, Laura Bach, Haley Bates, Jesus Bermeo, John Bodine, Megan Bommarito,
     Rachel Bressler, Charles Croley, Andrew Day, Rachel DeVey, Peter Farago, Jake Fogel,
     Anne Frey, Ryan Fyffe, Bryant Gililland, Austin Gunter, James Hearon, Stafford Hutchins,
     Emily Keliher, Joe Kleiman, Jennifer Knudsen, Andrew Kooiman, Paul Lee, David Levin,
     Greg Lyle, Roan Morriss, Tina Nghiem, Seth Ordiway, Laura Patterson, Adrienne
     Pressnall, Travis Roberts, Daniel Silverman, Lillibet Wilkinson, and Doug Williams.

17 of these students also were selected to advance to the Area level competition in January where they will try to advance to the State competition level.

Students advancing to Area are:

     Laura Bach, Haley Bates, Jesus Bermeo, Megan Bommarito, Peter Farago, Jake Fogel,
    James Hearon, Emily Keliher, Joe Kleiman, Jennifer Knudsen, Andrew Kooiman,
    Greg Lyle, Roan Morriss, Adrienne Pressnall, Daniel Silverman, Lillibet Wilkiinson, and
    Doug Williams.

Congratulations to these musicians for their hard work, dedication and success!

PEARCE BAND WINTER CONCERT and PABC SILENT AUCTION – DECEMBER 11th

The Pearce Band Winter Concert is Tuesday, December 11th at 7:30 in the auditorium. The PABC will hold a Silent Auction before and after the Concert With the change of the Band Auction date to February 23rd, we need to auction about 30 fabulous items that are date sensitive. Some of the great items are Star’s tickets and an autographed Tony Romo picture! There will also be some wonderful bake goods and festive ornaments available for the holidays.

The Winter Concert starts at 7:30. Bidding for the auction will be open from 6:30 – 7:20 and for 15 minutes following the end of the concert. Everyone is welcome to come join us in supporting the Pearce Band program!

hear the angels sing...

pop show this week

Pearceapalooza 07-08 has arrived! Get your tickets for $5 and come to the all-choir Pop Show on Thursday Dec 13 at 7:30PM. This is not your ordinary Winter Concert! Our award winning choristers let down their hair with some popular music and your ticket includes cookies and cider at intermission. We will be honoring our seniors at this show! There is no reserved seating but you can pre-order (and pre-pay) your tickets and pick them up in will-call on the night of the show to avoid the lines at the box office. Get an advanced ticket order form at www.pearcechoir.com and turn it in to the choir room. See you at Pearceapalooza!

choir collecting new toys for patrick's parade of toys

Started last year by Pearce alum Amy Koshy after the death of her best friend Patrick Kennedy, this toy drive serves to brighten the lives of children during the holiday season. In it's first year 1000 toys were collected and sent to an orphanage in Syzran, Russia. This year the drive will benefit the children at Jonathan's Place, a shelter for abused children here in Dallas. New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off in the Pearce Choir Room from now until December 17. The Kennedy family are members of the Pearce community and we hope you will support this toy drive in Patrick's memory.

Visit www.patricksparadeoftoys.org for more information.

Big and Littles Breakfast

Shelby Button, Abby Horn, Molly Frazier Matt Williams, Matt Terry, Josh Jones

stop by the orchestra room each morning!

Pearce Orchestra is selling coffee, candy bars and raffle tickets for some fantastic prizes each morning between 8:00 am - 9:00 am in the Orchestra Room. Coffee and candy bars are $1 each and raffle tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5. Drawing will be held on December 18th at the Annual Spaghetti Dinner and Winter Concert. Winner need not be present to win.

great holiday gift ideas from the pearce athletic booster club

Wrap up Some Pearce Spirit…

Pearce Spiritwear makes great gifts for the holidays. Remember the whole family; mom & dad, grandparents and younger siblings with a new Pearce hoodie, t-shirt, polos, shorts, cap or Mustang Car Medallion.

The Pearce Mustang Spiritwear store is open every Friday during lunches. You may also contact Lisa Albert or Tricia Gold to place your order.

last chance to order bricks!

PABC LEGACY BRICK CAMPAIGN. DON'T MISS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF THE LEGACY BRICK CAMPAIGN -- LAST DATE FOR ORDERING BRICKS FOR THIS CAMPAIGN YEAR IS DECEMBER 30TH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Building the Pearce Legacy Brick by Brick - By committing your personalized brick to this campaign you help create a new showplace at Pearce outside the school entrance to the Gymnasium composed of engraved 4 x 8 bricks commemorating students, alumni, faculty and the community.
Branding & Beautification - By committing your brick to the Pearce plaza, you not only help create this showplace but will also be supporting some exciting new beautification and branding projects at Pearce benefiting all students and Pearce supporters. This year we will be providing funding for entrance arches and naming of Mustang Field and Mustang Ballpark in addition to the new brick plaza with signage.
Honoring Pearce Past, Present & Future -- This campaign recognizes the significance of the Pearce campus in the Richardson community and helps to continue to celebrate the excellence that is J.J. Pearce. Some families are doing bricks for all their Pearce students and graduates. Others are using this as an opportunity to recognize teachers and coaches. Even though the campaign will be open in future years, this is a unique opportunity to be among the first bricks to be laid. You have only until December 30th to reserve an engraved brick in this year's campaign.

How To Order -- Bricks cost $50 and payment must be made by cash or check when the order is placed. You pick what the engraved brick will say and what logos are used among many choices. When ordering please remember to fill out an order form for each brick ordered. Forms are available at the Pearce Information Desk or online at www.pearcesports.com. Bricks make a great holiday, birthday, graduation, coach or teacher gift. Click Here to download a form and to see logo choices.

The Chairmen of the Legacy Brick Steering Committee this year are Don & Roni Briggs. The Steering Committee is John & Jodi Synder, Sally Field & Jerry Carlton, John & Lisa Coyle, Mike & Madi White, and Randy & Donna Leibow.

For questions contact Sally Field at (972) 387-1914.

BOYS BASKETBALL

NEVER DOUBT there will be EXCITEMENT in the Pearce gym for basketball fans! The Mustangs didn't let us down against Berkner. After a slow start and being down at half time, the true-to-form 'Stangs kept coming at Berkner to force what's becoming expected - an overtime game against the Rams. Bryan Parker had a season high 29 points and Papi Kabi dumped in 20. Trevor Dunn drained 6 clutch free throws down the stretch to help clinch a 6 point win 74 to 67.

The Mustangs went on to meet the #9 4A ranked team in the state - the Kimball Knights on Friday. Pearce led for 3 1/2 quarters until the Knights dominate big men and their relentless pressure allowed Kimball to squeeze out a win over the Mustangs, 55-50. Parker and Smith combined for 26 points.

Pearce will head to 5A Euless Trinity on Tuesday and open District play against Forney AT Forney on Friday. Game times for both are 6/7:30.

girls soccer news

There will be a Parent Meeting for Girls Soccer on Thursday, December 13th at 6:00pm in the Library.

Mustang Wrestling:
Mustang Wrestling is in full swing! The Mustangs have come out dominating in several weight classes in both their duals and tournaments so far this season!

In the Richardson Round-up last weekend, the results were as follows:

Varsity: Nace Allen – 1st, Sean Grove – 4th, James Enochs – 4th

JV: Robbie Orth – 1st, Devin Taylor – 1st, Garrett Edwards-3rd, Willie Martin -4th, Osiel Vertiz -4th

JJ Pearce Wrestling also won duals against Berkner, Bishop Dunne and Midlothian!

This weekend is a 6 way tournament at Lake Highlands on Saturday, December 15th at 9:00am. Be sure to come to Senior Night, when the Mustangs face Quinlan Ford on Dec. 20 at 6:30 at Pearce. This year’s Seniors will be honored!

You can find all the information at our new website: http://www.pearcewrestling.org/ . We also communicate via email, so please email Karen Brown, Team Rep to ensure you’re on our distribution. Coach Hazlewood can be reached after practice or via email.

city sidewalks, busy sidewalks...

Pacesetter Officers Participate in Macy's Thanksgiving's Day Parade

J.J. Pearce Pacesetter officers, Captain Emma Clark, First Lieutenant Caren Mandelbaum, Junior Lieutenant Hayley Shelton, and Junior Lieutenant Nadia Bahrammejad, under the direction of Ms. Jaclyn Weaver recently participated in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The students were invited as members of outstanding drill teams and danced alongside other girls from around the country. When asked about the experience, Nada Bahramnejad said that on that morning it felt as "if there was magic in the air, a special energy on the streets of the city, a moment I will never forget." Director Ms. Weaver noted, "I was honored to have members of the Pacesetter organization participate. The officers performed their best and did a fabulous job representing their team, high school, community and state".

Junior Lieutenant Nadia Bahramnejad, First Lieutenant Caren Mandelbaum,
Junior Lieutenant Hayley Shelton, Captain Emma Clarke

rockin around the christmas tree...

In the true spirit of giving, members of the Young Men's Service League joined with JJP's Mustang Stampede and Forte' Choir December 8 to perform, provide craft activities, and serve a turkey lunch for the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Holiday Party honoring patients and their families.

important yearbook information - please read

Portrait Verification

Verify that we have received your senior portrait for the yearbook by checking the list at Yearbook Central. Underclassman portraits received will be posted in a couple of weeks.

Yearbook Prices to Go Up

Order your yearbook before Winter Break to take advantage of our $65 price. The price increases to $70 after the break, and quantities will be limited. Order forms are available at Yearbook Central or in Room C219.

cheerleader and mascot tryout information for 2008-2009

If you are interested in trying out for Freshman, Junior Varsity, Varsity cheerleader or Varsity Mascot, you and a parent must attend a mandatory tryout meeting. Applications will be handed out at the meetings. If you do not attend the meeting with a parent/guardian, you will not be allowed to tryout!!!

The Freshman candidate meeting will be on Monday, February 18 at 6:00pm in the Corral. In order to tryout for Freshman cheerleader you must be an 8th grader at Parkhill, North, or Westwood (in Pearce attendance area).

The J.V. & Varsity candidate meeting will be on Tuesday, February 19 at 6:00pm in the Corral. In order to tryout for J.V. you must be a Freshman enrolled at Pearce. In order to tryout for Varsity you must be a sophomore or junior at Pearce.

Important Dates:

Applications due: Wednesday, March 5 by 4:30pm.

Workshops: Friday, March 7, 4:30pm – 6:00pm

Monday, March 10, 4:30pm – 6:00pm

Tuesday, March 11, 4:30pm – 5:30pm

Tryouts: Wednesday, March 12 beginning at 5:00pm

Thank you to all of the students who participated in the PTA Reflections Contest this year and to the teachers, staff, volunteers and our judges who help make this valuable program so successful each year! We had lots of wonderful entries and are proud of the accomplishments and talent of our students.

Mario Beltran 12, Heather Dickerson 12, Lauren Fleschler 11, Gretchen Goldstucker 12, Ben Gutmann 11,

Omar Hernandez 11, Christopher Holloway 11, Francis Knighten 11, Jonathan Newman grade unlisted

The Award of Excellence winners have advanced to the Council level for the next round of judging. Congratulations to those talented and gifted artists. Keep up the good work! Look for the results of the Council level judging in our next newsletter! Good luck to everyone!

FLIP back through your 2007 calendar pages, SCROLL through your blackberry and palm entries, and SEND IN any Volunteer Hours that have not yet been submitted.

Simply go to the PTA website at www.jjpearcepta.org and click on 'Volunteer Hours'. You can get to this website quickly from the link at the top of this enewsletter. OR email your name, the dates and hours you worked, and the activity to one of the email addresses below.

Volunteer Hours include attending meetings, baking, and helping with any school event—anything that you or your student did for Pearce that did not result in a grade. Always include 15 minutes driving time to and from school—and remember to include the time you spent running errands on behalf of a school event. You may record your hours in a combined total and enter a general description of your activities.

If you signed in at the event, those hours have already been submitted and should not be duplicated.

Record your 2007 volunteer hours now so that our school can get the recognition it deserves!

The Pearce PTA Student Directories were distributed during the last few weeks to parents and students that had pre-ordered the directory during school registration in August. There are still some directories that have not been picked up. If your student has not yet picked up his/her directory, they are still available through the school's receptionist at the front kiosk during normal school hours. Additional directories can also be purchased from her for $5.00 each. If you have any questions about the directories or your order, please contact lesatye@swbell.net

Now is the time to nominate your favorite teacher for the RISD Council of PTAs 2007 STARS Teacher Award. Click Here to download the Nomination Form. The deadline for receiving nominations is January 11, 2008.

If you have any further questions, please contact Joy Weinstein, President RISD Council of PTAs.

Don't miss this annual family event. Santa's Village is located at 411 W. Arapaho Rd. on the lawn of City Hall/Civic Complex in Richardson. Santa's Village is Free to the Public and is open December 13-16 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.