TAKS Test Sign Language

My fourth grader came home demonstrating the signals that her teacher taught the class to use in an effort to keep the classroom silent during TAKS testing. I LOVE this teacher.

 This means I need a tissue:

  (more…)

Hey, Oncor, We’ve Got 600 Kids in Here

This cafeteria working mom isn’t the only one upset about Oncor’s odd timing.

Smack dab in the middle of serving lunch to 600 kids AND while the 4th grade was still immersed in the TAKS test, some dumba** from the utility companies decided that it was a good time to work on the power poles in the Amherst/Stanford alley and shut off power to the school.  Since this plunged the kitchen and all cooking equipment into darkness, I marched my happy a** across the street, through a construction site of befuddled workmen building a house and screamed at the power guys to turn it back on.  This was particularly noteworthy since I was wearing my cafeteria visor, UP Elementary apron and rubber clothes as I hollered at them.  If my child doesn’t get into Harvard, I’m suing someone.

Another mom wrote in about the same issue and asked:

doesn’t someone in city hall look at this stuff and say wait a minute, there’s an elementary school in full swing at 11:10 AM…do it late this afternoon???

Good point, I mean they did know about it.

Sound Off On HPISD Schools

The district will soon be asking for your opinions. You’re welcome to give them a preview of what you’ll have to say, below in our comments section:

Highland Park ISD will invite parents to provide feedback on topics ranging from curriculum to school safety through an online survey that will be distributed via e-mail May 12.

This is the first comprehensive online satisfaction survey HPISD has conducted.

(more…)

Go Crazy, Poetry Fans

The Highland Park High School Literary Festival has announced its keynote speaker for next year:

2008-2009 Literary Festival To Feature U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins

The keynote speaker fo rthe 2008-2009 Highland Park Literary Festival will be Billy Collins, United States Poet Laureate 2001-2003.   Collins is a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York.  He has published eight collections of poetry and his next, entitled “Ballistics,” will be published later in 2008.

The festival, scheduled for February, 2009, began in 1995 as a collaboration between interested parents and the HPHS English Department.  For more than a dozen years, HPHS students have enjoyed meeting, working with, and learning from distinguished authors, including George Plimpton, Doug Wright, Michael Chabon, Kaye Gibbons, Tim O’Brien, Russell Banks, Anchee Min, and Scott Simon.

Laura and Jenna Bush Visit St. Monica Catholic School

Students at the St. Monica Catholic School got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Wednesday when First Lady Laura Bush and her daughter Jenna visited the school to read their new children’s book, “Read All About It!”

The appearance is one of many the duo is making around the country to push the new book, the story of schoolboy Tyrone, a notorious class clown that hates to read, that is until he discovers how fun books can be. (more…)

HP Plays Host to St. Mark’s Tonight

The Highland Park boys lacrosse team will take on St. Mark’s in a North District semifinal game at 7:30 tonight at Highlander Stadium.

The other semifinal has Plano playing at Episcopal School of Dallas at 7:30 tonight.

The winners will square off in the district championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. Mark’s.

HP beat Plano West, 21-1, in the semifinals on Monday, while St. Mark’s beat Southlake Carroll, 16-3.

Scots Hope to Keep on Rolling

The Highland Park baseball team enters the playoffs on Friday on a bona fide roll.

The Scots (28-5) have won seven straight games, including a tie-breaker for second place in 10-4A with Forney (15-12), entering Game 1 of their bi-district series against Frisco at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Scotland Yard.

The winner of the series will face Texarkana Texas High (24-3) in area.

Game 2 is at noon Saturday at Frisco. If necessary, Game 3 will be 30 minutes after Game 2.

Stars Looking for Knockout Punch

The Dallas Stars will try to complete a sweep of the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series at 8 p.m. at the American Airlines Center.

Dallas, which leads 3-0, picked up a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory last night. The crowd was incredible last night, bringing excitement and energy that rivaled the old days of playoff hockey in Reunion Arena.

Looks like a Stars-Red Wings conference finals will happen. Thank goodness at least one team of the big four in this town can win a playoff series.

Avery Is Out

This breaking news alert says Avery is moving on. Good luck Coach!

SMU Students Pee on a Lot of Stuff

That’s really disgusting.

If I Die, I Want to Come Back a Spoiled Pooch

And that’s the honest truth. All day I could lie around the mansion and have people scratch my back, feed me treats, and take me for the daily leisurely stroll.

Now, there’s even more of a reason to be man’s best friend: shopping. On May 8 from 6-8pm, lucky dog barkery is celebrating its grand opening in The Plaza at Preston Center with a party followed by a two-day shopping event May 9-10.

Of course, if I come back a beloved canine, I want to be the first of the bunch.

Overachiever Alert, Part 2

This picture of the Highland Belles Drill Team was taken a few Fridays ago during the off-season boot camp. Just because there’re no football games to perform at, these girls still train all year long. They’re up at the crack of dawn training at 6:45 a.m.

We at PCP have our own training regimen that requires us to be up early. Merritt is usually staking out a spot at Kuby’s (see the ad in the background?) before the sun comes up. She’s there gathering valuable information for her column and sending us blog gems like this.

Thanks to Stacey Furst, 2008-2009 Highland Belles publicity chair, for the photo.

Crescent Spring Celebration

It was a really fun party up until the torrential storm that blew through Dallas.  Thanks to the group of Overheardians who ponied up to attend the party with me.  As promised, I’m outing them here.

Left to right: Jane Gordon, yours truly, Judy Sillers, Christy Nicolas, Kim Clow. Photo by Jerry McClure.

Recycling the Recycling Issue in UP

Because I know you Overheardians can’t get enough talk about recycling, and because there were apparently some unanswered questions still, I asked Steve Mace to weigh in again.

Bottom line: Any resident can purchase additional blue recycling bins from the city of UP, if they believe one isn’t sufficient. The city would prefer that residents not purchase non-approved cans or bins on their own, since it would force sanitation crews to have to make a decision about what’s recycling and what’s trash.

For more detail from Steve, (more…)

You Gotta Love ‘The Misanthrope’

I had the pleasure, along with my sister, of being the guest of one of the performers to attend The Misanthrope last night at the Dallas Theater Center. Our own Glenn Arbery will have the full review in Friday’s paper. I certainly think it’s worth seeing, even if at times the rhythm of the lines (all in rhyming couplets) and the extreme cold of the theater’s air conditioning lulled me into a daze.

My sister, herself an actress (got her master’s at the prestigious American Conservatory Theater, on a full-ride scholarship), mentioned a slight criticism of the stage lighting during half-time, and I admit it bugged me the rest of the show. But even these minor concerns melted away whenever the play’s anachronistic theme song was heard.  Terrific fun.

Now, if only parking at DTC hadn’t been such an unpleasant experience.