Lamar students qualify for national debates

(L to R) Gabriel Levine, Eloise Blair, Gregory Ross, Lavanya Sunder, Vera Ranneft, Ashley Alcantara; (back) Austin Ruiz, Elliot Gross, Adem Sengal, Reid Geissen, and Michael Portal.

Ten Lamar High School students qualified for the national debates in Indianapolis after competing in the Texas Forensic Association State Meet March 2 and March 3 in Amarillo.

The qualifying students are Reid Geissen and Ashley Alcantara in Public Forum; Adem Sengal and Gabriel Levine in Public Forum; Michael Portal in Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Lavanya Sunder in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking; Gregory Ross in Domestic Extemp; Vera Ranneft in Original Oratory; Elliot Gross in Humorous Interpretation; and Austin Ruiz in Dramatic Interpretation.

HISD one of four finalists for award

A decade after the Houston Independent School District won the inaugural Broad Prize for Urban Education, the district was named in April by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation as one of four urban school districts in the country selected as a finalist for the 2012 Broad Prize.

If the district wins, it will receive $550,000 in college scholarships for seniors who graduate in 2013. The district is guaranteed $150,000 as a finalist.

The Broad Prize for Urban Education honors urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among poor and minority students.

For information about the prize, visit www.broadprize.org.

Photo contest captures beauty of Rice

A panoramic picture of Rice University’s Lovett Hall won first place in the “Celebrate Rice” photo contest held by the university’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. Neil Martin of West University Place received a $1,000 prize for his entry.

Lance Carter of Houston won second place and $500 for his baseball-themed photo “Reckling Park at Sunset.” Luis Ayala of Houston won third place and $500 for his photo of campus activity near Brochstein Pavilion and Rice Memorial Center, “Relaxed Saturday Afternoon.” Martin’s photo also won the Glasscock Prize of $250, awarded for the highest-ranking photograph shot by someone who had taken photography classes through the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.

The contest winners were announced April 4 during an event at Brochstein Pavilion. The contest was held in conjunction with Rice’s centennial.

For information, visit www.rice.edu.

Students choreograph dance concert

The Episcopal High School Dance Department will present “What Moves You,” a student choreographed spring dance concert, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Underwood Theatre.

Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults.

For information, call 713-512-3687.