AWTY CHESS TEAM WINS REGIONALS, FINISHES 4TH IN STATE, AND PLACES 7TH IN THE U.S.
On February 13, ten students from Awty competed in the Texas Chess Association Region V Championship, and with top 10 finishes from Stephen Wells, Arjun Saran, Maxim Gurevich, and Jason Yao, Awty’s team took 1st place overall. Other team members included Devon Merz, Yian Wong, Mohammad Jafri, Miles Lewis, Yannick Versteeg, and Adam Ali. Awty edged out other top schools from Houston, including Carnegie Vanguard, DeBakey, and Memorial High School.
Left to right: Team Sponsor Lucas Anderson,Jason Yao, Adam Ali, Devon Merz, Arjun Saran, and Stephen Wells. Photo courtesy of Lucas Anderson.
The team then participated in the Texas State Scholastic Championship on March 5-6 in Brownsville. Ten Awty students joined 1,800 others to compete in seven long chess matches. Ninth grader Stephen Wells finished 18th while 10th grader Jason Yao finished 24th. With solid performances from other team members, Awty finished 4th in a strong field of teams from all over the state.
Left to right: Sherwin Rasekh, Yian Wong, Team Sponsor Lucas Anderson, Stephen Wells, Jacob Berg, Team Sponsor Anton Truong, Adam Ali, Yannick Versteeg, Jason Yao, and Elias Wolkiewiez. Team members not pictured are Devon Merz and Olivier Kuhn de Chizelle. Photo courtesy of Lucas Anderson.
On April 1-3, Awty's Chess Team participated in the 2016 National High School Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. Students competed in two divisions. In U1900, Stephen Wells finished 14th and Yian Wong finished 20th. As a team, Yian and Stephen finished 11th in their division. In U1600, Devon Merz finished 16th individually and the team finished 7th in the country.
Left to right: Maxim Gurevich, Team Sponsor Anton Truong, Mohammad Jafri, Jacob Berg, Arjun Saran, Olivier Kuhn de Chizelle, Devon Merz, Jason Yao, Yian Wong, Team Sponsor Warren Harper, Elias Wolkiewiez, and Stephen Wells. Not pictured is Team Sponsor Lucas Anderson. Photo courtesy of Lucas Anderson.
Stephen Wells
Devon Merz
Yian Wong
Congratulations!
RAVEN SCHWAM-CURTIS RECEIVES THE AWTY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL CHAIRMAN'S AWARD
Congratulations to senior Raven Schwam-Curtis! Raven is the 2015-2016 recipient of The Awty International School Chairman's Award.
Left to right: Wendee Lee Curtis, Raven Schwam-Curtis, Tony Banham, and Lisa Darling
The Chairman’s Award was established in April 2005 through donations from the Banham family and friends in honor of Board Chairman Tony Banham upon completion of his term as Chair. The award is given annually to a Junior or Senior student who qualifies for financial aid, is selected by the Head of Upper School and Director of Financial Aid, and is approved by the Chairman of the Board, with the following characteristics:
Is in good academic standing, with a high level of academic achievement;
Has shown leadership initiative and compassion; and
Serves as a clear example of the Awty spirit to teachers and fellow students.
AWTY STUDENT RUSTIN RASSOLI CREATES AND LAUNCHES MOBILE APP
Rustin Rassoli, a junior at The Awty International School and an entrepreneur in the making, created and launched his own mobile app, Greetale (http://bit.ly/greetalepm).
Greetale, which can be opened on any iOS device, allows you to send free digital cards to anyone you like. What makes Rustin’s app unique from other greeting card apps is that you can personalize the cards with your own handwriting.
“I feel that the point of greeting cards is to have your own handwriting inside them, and that’s why I created this app,” stated Rustin.
The idea for the greeting card app came to him on his mother’s birthday when she received a card from her cousin.
“My mom placed the card on our kitchen counter,” remarked Rustin. “I thought to myself that this doesn’t happen often when it should. I thought that if I could make the process of sending greeting cards a lot faster and easier, I could put a lot smiles on people’s faces.”
Using Greetale, you can send your cards digitally for free or send a printed card for just $3. Rustin hopes to use proceeds to expand the app across different platforms (e.g. Android) and pay artists to design more cards. The cards currently available on Greetale are designed by Jill Peterson, a student at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Greetale is Rustin’s third app. He bought two others as an investment when he turned 15.
“This is the first app and company I built from the ground up,” stated Rustin. “Apps are just the beginning for me. Apps have a low cost of entry and easiest distribution among the Silicon Valley startups, so I thought that in high school, they are what I will focus on and do best.”
AWTY STUDENTS COMPETE AT SPEECH & DEBATE TOURNAMENT
Three 10th grade Awty students, Noor Shenaq, Sophie Sanati, and Nadia Al Khunaizi, participated in a Speech and Debate Tournament at Seven Lakes High School on February 12-13, 2016.
Left to right: Noor Shenaq, Sophie Sanati, and Nadia Al Khunaizi
Among 100 students from 30 different schools, both Noor and Sophie did well as tournament novices at their first Lincoln-Douglas debates. Noor won two matches and Sophie won three.
Nadia distinguished herself by winning 2nd Place among 47 students in the Poetry Interpretation event. She also attended a tournament at Cy-Fair earlier in the month, competing in both poetry and prose readings, along with Anastasia Chajecki, who was participating for the first time in a poetry event herself.
Congratulations to these students for their extra preparation and effort, and in representing Awty in such fine fashion.
AWTY GIRLS SWIM TEAM TAKES 3RD PLACE AT STATE, BOYS PLACE 6TH
Fourteen Awty swimmers qualified for the TAPPS State Meet at the Josh Davis Natatorium in San Antonio on Saturday, February 13, 2016. Competing in Division I, the most challenging division in TAPPS, was quite an accomplishment for the small Awty Swim Team.
Left to right: Becca Sax, Abby Partridge, Felicie Tard, Leila El-Masri, Lauren Ward, Coach Tom Quitzau, Christina Moreno, Mimi Ward, and Kara Fields. Photo courtesy of Tom Quitzau.
On the road to the state meet, Awty swimmers had to swim qualifying times at the regional meet, which was held at the University of Houston on January 26, 2016. Although the top three finishers automatically qualified to swim at the state meet, others on the Awty team advanced because they were faster than the swimmers in the other two regions. At the meet, sophomore Leila El Masri received the most valuable swimmer award.
Left to right: Becca Sax, Abby Partridge, Felicie Tard, Leila El-Masri, Lauren Ward, Coach Tom Quitzau, Christina Moreno, Mimi Ward, and Kara Fields. Photo courtesy of Tom Quitzau.
Out of 16 teams at the State competition, the Awty Girls finished in 3rd place with a total of 116 points. Everyone swam their best times at the meet and two school records were broken. Sophomore Abby Partridge broke her breaststroke record while El Masri broke her own 100 freestyle record. El Masri received two individual awards including 3rd place in both the Girls 100 Yard Freestyle (54.72 time) and Girls 200 Yard Freestyle (1:57.36 time). The Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay team, which included seniors Christina Moreno and Lauren Ward and sophomores El Masri and Felice Tard, came in 3rd place with a time of 3.46.86.
The boys, who traveled with six swimmers also represented Awty well with many swimmers posting impressive times and earning podium finishes. Sebastian Andrade was the Ram’s high scorer for the meet accumulating 14 points for his 2nd place finish in the 50 Yard Freestyle and 4th in the 100 Yard Breaststroke. For a complete list of Awty’s state scoring, click here.
Congratulations to the entire team and their coaches!
8TH GRADE STUDENTS WIN 2ND PLACE AT GEMS EVENT
Congratulations to 8th grade students Karen Martinez, Yamini Roy, Katerina Sawyer, and Joanne Versteeg on winning 2nd place at the annual Girls Exploring Math and Science (GEMS) event held on Saturday, February 20, 2016, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Photos courtesy of Awty teachers Angela Glidewell and Lisa Sload.
GEMS is an outreach program at the museum that promotes STEM interest among young girls, and this is the second year Awty students have participated in the annual event.
The 8th grade team hosted a booth titled "Phun with Physics" for the second year. They shared what they have been learning in Physics class by performing physics demonstrations for the girls who came to be a part of the GEMS event. With their 2nd place win, each girl on the team took home a swag bag of goodies. The school also received an award of $500 to be used for a field trip, lab equipment, or to promote STEM activities.
In addition to the 8th grade team, a group of 6th grade students, which included Celeste Bawara, Genene Gordon, and Lucia Urreta, participated in the event for the first time. Their booth “Mummies & Brains” showcased the mummification lab they performed as part of their Life Science class, as well as the Brain Bash lab they conducted alongside the 8th grade Physics class.
MY EXPERIENCE AT THE WEST HOUSTON TEEN LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
By Gabriella Murdoch
On February 20, 2016, I attended the West Houston Teen Leadership Summit hosted by State Representative Jim Murphy at the Norris Conference Center at City Centre. This all-day summit aimed to teach teens about leadership and multiple ways to improve their leadership skills. Congressman Murphy brought in a wide variety of leaders who are well-respected in their fields of expertise to speak at the summit. These leaders would “impart their years of wisdom and help [the teens] for [their] future in becoming our next generation of leaders” (Congressman Murphy).
When I first discovered this summit, I signed up immediately. I wanted to improve my leadership skills so I may one day confidently lead others to success. To be eligible to attend the summit, one must either attend a school or live in Congressman Murphy’s district. Additionally, one must be nominated by a faculty member from the student’s school to be qualified to attend. Mr. Anton Truong, the advisor for the Upper School student council, graciously nominated me. READ MORE>>
AWTY STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN INAUGURAL TPSMEA SOUTH REGION ORCHESTRAS
Five Awty students participated in the Inaugural TPSMEA South Region Orchestras, which was heldat Strake Jesuit College Preparatory on February 26-27, 2016.
Seventh grader Ian Van Loo was in the Middle School Region Orchestra. Seniors Katelyn Chau and Kian Raissian together with sophomores Carol Mai and Jason Yao were members of the High School Region Orchestra.
Photos courtesy of Mrs. Sina Thompson.
These students worked really hard, learned a lot, and enjoyed their performances with students from other local schools. The students were under the guidance of Andrzej Grabiec, Professor of Violin at the University of Houston Moores School of Music, who served as the clinician for the high school and Bryan Buffaloe, Director of Orchestras at Clear Lake High School, who served as the middle school clinician.
Congratulations to these students!
AWTY ROBOTICS TEAM REVEALS 2016 CREATION: "CROSSHAIRS"
In early March, Awtybots, Awty's Robotics team, revealed their 2016 creation for the Stronghold FRC challenge: "Crosshairs"!
Video courtesy of Paul Chaguine.
Congratulations to Awty’s robotics team Awtybots on winning the Rookie Inspiration Award at the FRC Bayou Regional Robotics Competition on March 16-19 in Kenner, Louisiana. This award celebrates a rookie team’s outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within their school, as well as in their community.
Photo courtesy of Paul Chaguine.
Awtybots, comprised of ten students including Adam Ali, Jacob Berg, Alex Brown, Mohammad Jafri, Lucas Jonasch, Chelsea Liang, Alex Lloyd, Zoe Papadakos, Julien Pham, and Julien Ruzzo, competed against 56 teams from five states. Awty’s team had the highest statistics of any rookie team at the regional level. After being chosen by the five seed team Discobots from Carnegie High School, Awtybots fought their way to the semifinals of the competition by beating some extremely good veteran teams! Even though the team fell short in the semifinals, Awtybots put up a great fight and they should be proud of their accomplishments.
GO RAMS!!!
AWTY STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN REGIONAL SPACE SETTLEMENT DESIGN CONTEST
Four Awty students, including Mitchell Griffiths, Mohammed Jafri, Alexandra Lloyd, and Felipe Monteiro, competed in the Regional Space Settlement Design Contest at Johnson Space Center on March 4-6, 2016.
Congratulations to Mitchell!
His team won the regional competition, and he was one of 12 students selected from his team to participate in the international Florida competition at Kennedy Space Center in July.
This year's regional contest put high school students in the shoes of aerospace industry professionals. The students were organized into four competing teams, or "companies", of about 50 students each. The Awty students were placed onto teams with students from other schools. Each team was then asked to design a space vehicle that would accommodate over 10,000 people and transport them to Mars in 80 days in the year 2076. As students conquered the problems inherent in designing a space settlement, they learned and demonstrated creativity, technical competence, management skills, space environment knowledge, team work, and presentation techniques. The teams made a 35-minute presentation to a group of five judges who then chose the winning team. The winning team then self-selected the subset of 12 student members who will participate in the international Florida competition, which takes place at Kennedy Space Center in July.
TEXAS CHAMPION SWIMMERS AT AWTY
Awty has not one, but TWO champion swimmers from the 2016 Texas Age Group Swimming (TAGS) Championship Short Course meet. Only the best of the best swimmers in Texas qualified and earned their spot to compete at this event.
Photo courtesy of Deborah Helman.
Larkin Helman, 4th grade, and Romain Joubert, 5th grade, were part of a four member relay team, representing Dad's Club swim team, that won 1st Place in the 200 Freestyle Relay—1st in the entire state of Texas! They also placed second in the 200 Medley and the 400 Free Relay.
Larkin also placed in the top ten for all of his individual events (50/100 backstroke, 50 fly, 100/200 individual medley, 50/100 breaststroke)!
Congratulations! You make Awty proud!
CHLOÉ ODORICO WINS 3RD PLACE AT TEXAS GUITAR COMPETITION
Congratulations to Chloé Odorico, CM2, who won 3rd place at the 15th Annual Texas Guitar Festival and Competition in Dallas.
Photos courtesy of Lucia Iniguez de Onzono
The international competition for both adult and youth participants also included a concert with Jeremy Jouve and the super quartet Romero! It was Chloé’s first competition, and she was the youngest of all participants. Chloé also got the chance to meet Jeremy Jouve at the festival.
In June, Chloé will continue her training by attending the summer guitar camp Classical Minds.
CAMILLE OLINGER WINS SHORT STORY CONTEST
Congratulations to Camille Olinger, 2nde, on winning the first prize in the Concours de Nouvelles, a short story writing contest organized by the Mission Laïque Française (MLF). This is the second year in a row that an Awty student has won first prize in the worldwide contest. Anaëlle Lahitte-Crohare won the contest last year.
Earlier this year, more than 70 students in grades CM1 through Terminale, including Camille, participated in the short story contest here at Awty. A panel of 23 teachers and parents read and voted on each story. The winners were then announced during Francophonie. Camille's entry won first place in Awty's contest in the Upper School (Lycée) division and she received a gift card to Brazos Bookstore. Her story was automatically submitted to the MLF's contest in which 55,000 students from 110 schools around the world participated. Her winning story along with the other winners' stories will be published by the MLF in a book later this year.
To read Camille's short story in either French or English, click here.
ODYSSEY OF THE MIND TEAMS FIND SUCCESS AT REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
Two Awty teams, one Lower School and one Middle School, found success at the Houston Area Regional Competition for Odyssey of the Mind, and advanced to the State Competition!
The Lower School team, which is composed of seven 4th grade students including Julie Benoit, Matéo Benoit, Julia Brown, Aine Devins, Defna Deliormanli, Juliette Oudar De Azeredo, and Anjeli Savajol, won 2nd Place in Division I, Problem 5 at the regional tournament.
Left to right: Juliette Oudar, Anjeli Savajol, Julie Brown, Matéo Benoit, Julie Benoit, Aine Devins, and Defna Deliormanli
Awty's Middle School team, which includes 8th graders Dalal Daher, Aiden Devins, Sofia Doroshenko, Chloe Ruzzo, Eka Savajol, and Connor Wright, won 1st Place in Division II, Problem 3 at the competition. This is the first time Awty has won at this competition, and the first time any of the team members have competed in this tournament.
Left to right: Dalal Daher, 8th Grade Team Coach Sujata Venkatraman, Eka Savajol, Aiden Devins, Connor Wright, Sofia Doroshenko, and Chloe Ruzzo.Photo courtesy of Sujata Venkatraman.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and world levels. Thousands of teams throughout the U.S. and from approximately 25 countries across the globe participate in the program.
Many thanks to Awty Parents Ronda Devins and Sujata Venkatraman for coaching the teams this school year.
Congratulations to both teams!
TWO STUDENTS EARN MEMBERSHIP IN THE TMEA REGION 27 MIDDLE SCHOOL CHOIR
Six Middle School singers from Awty participated in the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Middle School Region Choir Auditions on Saturday, April 2. Candice Chepda Kwessi, Aiden Devins, Serine Elbakly, Mariam Emile, Violette Lorge, and Emily Zoorob learned three pieces of music, which they had to sing individually in front of five judges who ranked them on accuracy, technique, and musicality.
Left to right: Serine Elbakly, Emily Zoorob, Candice Chepda Kwessi, Aiden Devins, Violette Lorge, and Mariam Emile
TMEA sponsors these events across the state to showcase the best musicians from all Texas schools, public and private. Succeeding against singers from the large public schools in our region is a real achievement. Many of the choirs have hundreds of members who meet daily in choir classes, and some even have individual voice lessons.
All of the singers performed well. Two earned membership in the TMEA Region 27 Middle School Choir including Emily Zoorob and Aiden Devins. They joined other members of the Region Choir and performed a free concert on April 23 at Cy-Lakes High School.
LUCIA WU, RECIPIENT OF GLASSELL JUNIOR ART SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP
Congratulations to 9th grader Lucia Wu! Not only was she a gold medal winner at this year's Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo's Art Competition earlier this year, she is also a recipient of a Glassell Junior Art School scholarship. This scholarship will allow her to attend an intense one-week art course at the Glassell School this summer, where she will be able to hone her artistic talent.
AWTY STUDENT SAM HARMON ACCEPTED TO THE 2016 DISCOVERING CHINA PROGRAM
Congratulations to 11th grader Sam Harmon who has been accepted to the 2016 Discovering China Program initiated by the Confucius Institute at Texas A&M University. Sam has studied Chinese since 6th grade, and he is currently enrolled in the 3rd language elective class.
Sam and 15 other U.S. high school students who were accepted to the program will travel to Beijing in June 2016. They will have the opportunity to visit the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and other historical landmarks. They will then travel to the coastal city of Qingdao, where they will study Chinese, have lectures and seminars on Chinese history and culture, get to know Chinese students, and visit nearby locations including the famous Lao Shan and Confucius’ hometown of Qufu.
The Discovering China Program introduces high school students to Chinese history, society, language, and culture. The program builds upon the legacy of developing a better understanding of China and creating personal relationships that bridge cultural differences. It helps students to better understand contemporary Chinese society, and to understand China’s role in the future.
On February 20, 2016, I attended the West Houston Teen Leadership Summit hosted by State Representative Jim Murphy at the Norris Conference Center at City Centre. This all-day summit aimed to teach teens about leadership and multiple ways to improve their leadership skills. Congressman Murphy brought in a wide variety of leaders who are well-respected in their fields of expertise to speak at the summit. These leaders would “impart their years of wisdom and help [the teens] for [their] future in becoming our next generation of leaders” (Congressman Murphy). 
Congratulations to Camille Olinger, 2nde, on winning the first prize in the Concours de Nouvelles, a short story writing contest organized by the Mission Laïque Française (MLF). This is the second year in a row that an Awty student has won first prize in the worldwide contest. Anaëlle Lahitte-Crohare won the contest last year.
