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Area students named among Texas A&M-Kingsville honor listsContributed information

KINGSVILLE – Texas A&M University-Kingsville recently re-leased the names of the students who made the President’s List, Dean’s List and Honor Roll for the spring 2020 semester.

Students listed on the Presi-dent’s List for spring 2020 are Tristan Elizabeth Yperman of Aransas Pass; Elijah Augustine Mireles of Gregory; Laura Mara-gret Kieschnick of Odem; Jef-frey Kyle Smith and Phillip Eric Vaughns, both of Portland; and Eric Andres Espinoza and Aeriel Ester Torres, both of Sinton.

Students listed on the Dean’s List for spring 2020 are Stephanie Ann Meza and Johnathan Paul Ramirez, both of Aransas Pass; Stephen Lee Cardenas of Ingle-side; Cameron James Cardona, Darren Encinia, Veronica Garib-ay and David Abel Reyna, all of Mathis; Jordan Lee Atkinson, Cate Margaret Dunn and Aaron Gerardo Villarreal, all of Odem; Tera Elizabeth Lopez of Portland; Oscar Lara, Adriana Esperanza Palomo and Sebastian J. Villanue-va, all of Sinton; and Roger Chris-tian Garcia, Kora Ann Lopez, Leslie Nicole Suarez, Taten Trace

Turany and Bryson Lee Ward, all of Taft.

Students listed on the Honor Roll for spring 2020 are Daniel M. Gonzales, Casey R. Gutierrez, Marina Lee Hernandez, Marissa Lynn Hernandez, Alma Linda Lara-Moreno, Annalisa Celeste Mendez, Robyn Loree Newell and Rebecca Sandoval, all of Mathis; Sirena M. Barrera, Jesus Cruz, Madison Marie Ortega and Na-than Scott Tucker, all of Odem; Sierra Aiden Tillman Glenn and Savannah Eryn Gwynn, both of Portland; Belicia Inez Saldana of Sinton; and Ana Lecia Davila of

Taft.In spring 2020, all classes

moved online in March, as a re-sponse to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Students were al-lowed select whether they wished to earn a Satisfactory versus Un-satisfactory grade, which would not impact GPA, but from which they could earn a course credit. Students’ other choice was to elect to receive the traditional letter grade they earned. All credit only (CR) courses were removed from the criteria used to determine se-mester honors.

The President’s List requires a

grade point average of 4.00 on all work attempted for a particular se-mester, with a minimum of 15 se-mester undergraduate hours com-pleted, exclusive of CR courses.

The Dean’s List requires a grade point average of 3.65 on all work attempted for a particular semes-ter, with a minimum of 13 semes-ter undergraduate hours complet-ed, exclusive of CR courses.

The Honor Roll requires a grade point average of 3.5 on all work attempted for a particular semester, with a minimum of 12 semester undergraduate hours, ex-clusive of CR courses.

UHV to host virtual events for prospective studentsContributed information

VICTORIA – Students interested in attending the University of Houston-Vic-toria as undergraduates or graduates this fall still have an opportunity to learn about the university by at-tending summer virtual events, including a newly scheduled town hall.

A Family Town Hall with UHV is scheduled from 3 to 4 p.m. June 28 for parents and families of prospec-tive students and students who have applied to UHV so that they can hear from UHV President Bob Glenn and Jose Cantu, UHV vice president for enrollment management.

“We are here for our cur-rent and future students to help them make decisions about their higher educa-tion goals,” said Billy Lagal, UHV director of admissions and student recruitment.

“It is not very often that parents get to interact with the president and one of the vice presidents of a univer-sity. That is a perk of attend-ing a small university.”

The two will talk about UHV’s reopening plan for its campus. Other topics will include how parents can help prepare their stu-dents for the fall and the transition from high school to college.

There also will be a ques-tion-and-answer portion for parents at the end of the vir-tual session.

“Virtual Information Session: Become a UHV Graduate Student” is sched-uled for 5 to 6:30 p.m. July 1 and is for prospective stu-dents interested in earning a master’s degree from UHV through online courses, hy-brid courses, attending the main UHV campus in Vic-toria or attending the UHV Katy instructional site.

Attendees will learn about pursuing a master’s degree as an international student, study abroad pro-grams, scholarship opportu-nities and how to get started with a master’s degree.

Representatives from the UHV School of Arts & Sci-ences, School of Business

Administration and School of Education, Health Pro-fessions & Human Devel-opment will speak about graduate program offerings in each school, as well as deadlines and requirements for the programs.

“UHV is an ideal univer-sity for those students inter-ested in pursuing a quality master’s degree from an ac-credited university through a program that is affordable and flexible for their busy lives,” said Karla DeCuir, UHV Katy senior director of enrollment and external affairs.

The UHV Undergradu-ate Virtual Open House will take place from 2:30 to 5 p.m. July 2 and is open to the public. This event will be for undergraduates in-terested in earning a bach-elor’s degree from UHV through online or hybrid courses, attending the main UHV campus in Victoria as a freshman or transfer stu-dent, or attending the UHV Katy instructional site as a transfer student.

This is the third vir-tual open house UHV has hosted to help current and prospective undergradu-ate students stay connected with the university. Both the Victoria campus and the UHV Katy instructional site closed in April because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The open house will fea-ture a main page for the online event. From there,

participants will be able to choose from various ses-sions that will include infor-mation about admissions, academic programs, finan-cial aid, housing, student services, athletics, military benefits and more.

Faculty members will be available to speak to participants about what to expect in certain courses. There also will be sessions available to help students through the application and enrollment process.

Open house attendees also will learn about the new UHV CARES Schol-arship, a one-time award for the 2020-2021 academic year. Freshman, transfer and graduate students may apply for the scholarship and are eligible to receive up to $1,000.

Each virtual event will be hosted through the Zoom conference app. For more information and to register, go to news.uhv.edu/land-ing/education/.

To register for the UHV Family Town Hall, go to https://forms.office.com/P a g e s / Re s p o n s e P a g e.aspx?id=NWBEdq7X30-6ZNAvpAFFdGDh9d9SjE-fRPnF75unKZFHhURU45MUpNQVNBWkIwME85NVNUSTk5QVFDMC4u.

To register for the Virtual Information Session: Be-come a UHV Graduate Stu-dent, go to www.uhv.edu/virtual/graduate-program-presentations/.

CBC honors local students for academic achievementContributed information

BEEVILLE – Coastal Bend College (CBC) recog-nizes students for their aca-demic achievement during the Spring 2020 semester. Students honored are:

MathisRichard D. Amador,

Anisa M. Bordayo, Brandon S. Deleon, Elyseth A. De-leon, Vanessa Garcia, Alex-zandra M. Herrera, Nicole

Morgan, Alayna N. Munoz, Natalie S. Olivarez,

Haley D. Urdialez and Shelby P. Zamora

Portland Ella M. Standley, Ryan

E. Stark and Meghan L. Thomas

SintonLandry A. Burt, Elsie A.

Cancino, Arlene J. Espino-za, Alesi V. Hurtado, Orfa L. Lopez, Kaylynn R. Mar-

tinez, Julia Grace T. Marti-nez, Justin J. Rios and Sidra J. Sepulveda

Students who completed 12 or more semester hours and earned a semester grade point average of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) were named to CBC’s Dean’s List.

CBC honors these stu-dents for their academic ex-cellence in their classes.

Taft principal headed to Skidmore-Tynan

SKIDMORE – The board of trustees for the Skidmore-Tynan Independent School District has chosen a new principal for Skid-more-Tynan High School.

After nearly an hour in executive session, the board reconvened and voted unani-mously June 22 to enter into a probation-ary contract with Matthew Lohse, who cur-rently is the principal at Taft High School. S-TISD’s interim Superintendent Sherry Myers said Lohse was one of 15 who ap-plied for the position.

Myers said it was not yet known when Lohse would start in his new position. She said she first must meet with him and for-mally offer him the job.

According to State Board of Educator

Certification website, Lohse first started his career as an educator in Texas in 2005. In addition to being certified as an early child-hood through 12th-grade principal since 2018, Lohse is credentialed as a generalist for early childhood through eighth grade. He also is certified to teach eighth-grade through 12th-grade social studies and he has a supplemental certification to teach English as a Second Language courses for all grades.

In other business, the board approved re-visions to the 2020-21 school calendar. The situation surrounding when students and teachers will make a return to classrooms continues to evolve and Myers said at the meeting she was waiting to hear what ad-ditional guidance Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath had for dis-tricts when he was set to hold a virtual meet-ing with superintendents.

The current plan at S-TISD is for stu-

dents’ first day of school to be Aug. 13. As-sistant Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Ash-worth said the calendar also allows for 10 days at the end of the year – May 27 to June 10, 2021, in case school is closed for more than the 10 days already built in.

“Otherwise, the students’ last day is May 26 and graduation is May 28,” she said. “We also have an alternate graduation date of June 11.”

Myers added, “Any day, things could change. That’s why we put all these proto-cols in place.”

William J. Gibbs Jr. is a reporter at the Beeville Bee-Picayune and can be reached at 361-358-5220 or at wgibbs@mySouTex.com.

Dr. Stephanie Ashworth, assistant super-intendent of the Skidmore-Tynan Inde-

pendent School District, briefs the board of trustees June 23 on the proposed

calendar for the 2020-21 school year. (Photo by William J. Gibbs Jr.)

Contributed informationThe validity of the adage

“necessity is the mother of invention” has been on full display during the COVID-19 outbreak.

People quickly had to learn to adapt to a new way of life, including an educational sys-tem that was transformed by social distancing guidelines.

More than 76 million stu-dents are enrolled in United States schools, per the latest Census Bureau information. In a matter of days, millions of students who once attended classes in-person were forced to transition to virtual learning in-struction. The process showed just how flexible learning sys-tems can be and how virtual instruction may become more than an emergency protocol.

Schools utilized systems like Google Classroom, Can-vas and virtual meeting apps to connect and learn. While in-class lessons provide the socialization and one-on-one interaction that can be vital for

students’ academic success, there are many reasons why virtual instruction can be a key component of learning models as well. When virtual learning is used in conjunction with traditional teaching, students may have a more well-rounded experience. Here are some po-tential benefits that may unfold as more data is collected.

• Pace: Virtual learning af-fords students the chance to work on lessons at a pace that fits their individual needs. Students can go back and re-read or re-work problems un-til they’re satisfied they have learned their lesson. Lessons can be slowed down or sped up depending on proficiency, cre-ating a customized educational experience.

• No more weather days. Many school districts include snow or extreme weather days into their calendars, adding on extra days at the end of school year to meet the specified number of educational days. Remote learning can take over

in these times and keep school districts from having to pad cal-endars.

• Convenience: The Ameri-can Academy of Pediatrics recommends that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later to provide students the best chance to get the amount of sleep they need. Still, most adolescents currently start school before 8:30 a.m. Re-mote learning enables students to complete their assignments when it works best for them. This may help them get more sleep, too.

• Apps: Learning apps are a new wave of educational tools that have helped buoy virtual instruction. Primary school students or those with individual education plans may benefit the most from re-inforced app skills that match their learning pace in fun ways.

Virtual home instruction may become a large part of the educational landscape even after it’s no longer a social dis-tancing necessity.

The benefits of a new approach to learning for today’s students

by William J. Gibbs Jr.Senior Reporter