School & Family Magazine Newstand Denton ISD Winter 2018 | Page 11

the 2016-17 school year and, following in line with
tradition, his home district kicked off the convention
with an artistic performance.
And Denton ISD’s students
didn’t disappoint.
There were musical numbers
from the McMath Tiger
Jazz Band and the Houston
Elementary Choir. The Braswell,
Denton, Guyer and Ryan high
school choirs combined for
an impressive set and the
Guyer Theatre Department’s
combination of singing, dancing,
acting and acrobatics brought
the audience to its feet on
numerous occasions with its
performance of “More Than a
Test Score,” an original theatrical
production produced by Guyer
Theatre Directors Elisha and
Chris Crotwell.
solving and public speaking skills. The project was
part of the third annual TASB Student Innovation
Challenge, which challenges
students to solve a problem
that has an effect on the
world’s geography
and population.
Watching teenagers
collaborate with architects on a
presentation about how water
sources are impacted during
man-made natural disasters to
more than 200 school board
members from across the
state may sound daunting, but
much like the aerial pirouettes
executed by the students
hanging from the ceiling during
the general session, it wasn’t
anything some of the district’s
most talented students
couldn’t handle.
“We rarely, if ever, see a
Multi-talented students from the Denton ISD Fine
Outside, in the exhibit hall,
Arts Dept. wowed administrators and school board
group as well organized, well
a handful of the district’s
members from across the state during their annual
conference. They include Jake Lopez, Ashlynn Stewart disciplined, respectful and
youngest students put their
and Serena Khatri Chherti.
talented as the Denton ISD
artistic talents on display.
group we worked with [at the
Student teams from Ginnings
convention],” said Jon Acker, the production manager
and Adkins Elementary schools designed and painted
for the TASA/TASB general session. “This is even more
wooden chairs, bringing to life old and dated seats
impactful for me because I live in Denton. I have two
with new colors and textures as principals, school
boys… and I could not be more happy and excited for
board members and business leaders looked on and
the possibilities that await them.”
stopped to ask questions.
The mismatched chairs, which were destined to sit
in a local dumpster or landfill, were transformed
into student-created works of art that now sit in the
district’s fine arts department and superintendent’s
office. An extra pair was donated to the Denton
Public School Foundation and will be auctioned
off to support scholarship initiatives at its annual
Groundhog Gala fundraiser next month.
“This was like a huge honor for me because I really like
creating art. Mrs. [Kay] Adamson is a great teacher
and I really liked getting to create it with her,” said
Ruairi Ayre, a fifth grader at Ginnings.
That creativity was also echoed by students in Mrs.
Jennifer Wyman’s geography classes at Braswell
High School as they worked with architects from DLR
Group, a nationally recognized firm, on problem-
Denton ISD Trustee Charles Stafford served as the president
of the Texas Association of School Boards for the 2016-2017
school year.
11