LEAD THE CHARGE

Congratulations to all of our Awty athletes for a great year on the field, around the track, on the course, in the pool, and on the court!  Below are the awards and accolades our student-athletes and teams received this year.

END-OF-YEAR TOP AWARDS:

Videos created by freshman Alexander Gadin.

FALL SPORTS ACCOLADES:

Cross Country
Team Recognition: TAPPS 6A State (Boys 6th Place, Girls 7th Place)
State Recognition: Amelia Ward (10th Place), Ashling Devins (17th Place), and Jackson Meyer (19th Place)

Boys Volleyball
Team Recognition: Inaugural Varsity Season

Girls Volleyball
Team Recognition: TAPPS District 3-6A 8th Place
Individual Recognition: Megan Dunkin - All District Honorable Mention, Sandy Georges - All District Honorable Mention, and Hannah Noie - All District Honorable Mention

WINTER SPORTS ACCOLADES:

Boys Basketball
Team Recognition: TAPPS District 3-6A 7th Place

Girls Basketball
Team Recognition: TAPPS District 3-6A 9th Place
Individual Recognition: Suria Gopal Crabtree - Academic All-State & 2nd Team All-State

Boys Soccer
Team Recognition: TAPPS District 3-6A 2nd Place
Individual Recognition: Omar Abbouchi (Offense) - Academic All-State & 1st Team All-State,  Dylan Chapellat (Midfield) - 1st Team All-State, Luis Mancera (Defense) - 1st Team All-State, Nicholas Canjar (Keeper) - 2nd Team All-State, and Mofe Ariyo (Offense) - Honorable Mention All-State

Girls Soccer
Team Recognition: TAPPS District 3-6A 3rd Place
Individual Recognition: Sarah Mekha (Keeper) - Academic All-State & 2nd Team All-State

Swimming
Team Recognition: TAPPS 6A State (Boys 10th Place, Girls 6th Place)
State Recognition: Brandon Mahan - 500 Free (2nd), 200 Free (2nd), Leila El Masri - 500 Free (2nd), 200 Free (4th), William Ward - 100 Back (8th), 200 Free (11th), Eddie Hirs - 50 Free (14th), 100 Free (13th), Abigail Partridge - 100 Breast (4th), 200 IM (10th), Colette Chen - 50 Free (14th), Amelia Ward - 100 Fly (8th), and Mitchell Griffiths - 100 Breast (14th)
Individual Recognition: Emilien Bevierre - Academic All-State, Mitchell Griffiths - Academic All-State, Eddie Hirs - Academic All-State, Brandon Mahan - Academic All-State, Leila El Masri - Academic All-State, Kara Fields - Academic All-State, Ynes Kang - Academic All-State, Abigail Partridge - Academic All-State, and Amelia Ward - Academic All-State
New School Swimming Records:
Brandon Mahan - 100 Free 1:45.37, 500 Free 4:43.02, 200 IM 2:09.43
Leila El Masri - 500 Free 5:11.92
William Ward - 100 Back 58.65

SPRING SPORTS ACCOLADES:

Golf
Individual Recognition: Alice Linsig - TAPPS District 3-6A Champion, TAPPS 6A South Region 3rd Place, TAPPS State 6A 10th Place, and Yasmine Linsig - TAPPS 6A South Region 13th Place, State 6A Qualifier

Boys Lacrosse
Team Recognition: Texas High School Lacrosse League Div. 3 North - 2nd Place
Individual Recognition: Eric Hall - First Team All-State, Dane Akiri - First Team All-State, Louis Tonnel - First Team All-State, Nicholas Canjar - All-State Honorable Mention, and Millad Moradi - All-State Honorable Mention

Girls Lacrosse
Team Recognition: Varsity Inaugural Season, Team Girls High School Lacrosse League South District - 7th Place

Tennis
Team Recognition: TAPPS 6A State (Boys - 2nd Place, Girls - 6th Place) and TAPPS District 3-6A (Boys - Champion, Girls - 2nd Place)
Individual Recognition: Vivek Saran - TAPPS State 6A Singles Runner-Up, TAPPS District 3-6A Singles Champion and Sherwin Rasekh & Romain Roussel - TAPPS State 6A Doubles 3rd Place, TAPPS District 3-6A Doubles Champion

Track
Team Recognition: TAPPS 6A State (Girls 11th Place)
TAPPS 6A State Recognition: Amelia Ward - 800 Meter (Champion), 1600 Meter (3rd), Ashling Devins - 3200 Meter (8th), and Olivia Onyejekwe - Long Jump (7th)
New School Track & Field Records:
Sebastien Chenin - Pole Vault 2’
Mofe Ariyo - 400 m: 49.94
Amelia Ward - 1600 m: 5:03.81
Rhett Cai, Mofe Ariyo, Noah Seeley, Ariel Karni - 4 x 100 m relay: 44.69

COLLEGE COMMITMENTS:

Congratulations to the following senior student-athletes who have committed to playing their respective sports at the college level:

• Ashling Devins - Emory University - Cross Country, Track & Field
• Kiera O'Reardon - College of Charleston - Sailing
• Omar Abbouchi - Northeastern University - Soccer
• Jackson Meyer - Trinity University - Cross Country, Track & Field
• Leila El Masri - Claremont McKenna College - Swimming
• Diego San Miguel - Carnegie Mellon University - Cross Country, Track & Field
• Dylan Chapellat - University of Dayton - Soccer

AWTYBOTS QUALIFY FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

Congratulations to Awty's Robotics team, the Awtybots! The team qualified to compete in the World Championships for the second year in a row after finishing as a finalist in a regional qualifier. The team consisted of Jacob Berg, Alex Brown, Mevsim Denktas, Marie-Emilie Germain, Ivy He, Joe Li, Georgios Mikos, Mary Mikos, Renee Neufer, and Lara Roy.  Special thanks to club sponsor Anton Truong, as well as mentors Xavier Eldridge, Harry Craig, and Jack Zhang. 

ODYSSEY OF THE MIND

Awty is excited to announce that the Awty Odyssey of the Mind teams did phenomenally well at the Houston Area Regional Tournament (HARO) in February.

Five Awty teams participated in the competitions. Everyone did an amazing job! The Division 2 8th grade (6th-8th) team and the Division 3 Upper School (9th -12th) team both placed 1st, while the Division 1 5th grade (3rd-5th) team and the Division 2 6th grade (6th-8th) team both placed 2nd and the Division 1 3rd grade (3rd-5th) team placed 4th.

Awty took all five teams to the state finals on April 14 and the results were quite impressive including a 1st place win for the 10th/12th grade team. This is Awty’s first ever 1st place finish in the State Finals! The 10th/12th grade team now advances to the world finals at Iowa State University, which will be held on May 23. Congratulations to you all! You make Awty Proud!

Congratulations to each team and their coaches. What a great performance by all Awty teams! 

MUSIC NEWS

Congratulations to 9th grade student Jaden Wu! He earned a Superior rating on a Class 1 solo (performing Meditation from “Thäis” by Jules Massenet) at the TPSMEA Solo & Ensemble Contest. He earned a 1st place medal and is eligible for the state solo & ensemble contest.

The Texas Private School Music Educators Association (TPSMEA) held auditions this past November and selected the best of the best from Awty to attend the All-State Clinic and Concert in Richardson, Texas in January. Students from band, orchestra, and jazz band earned the chance to participate in this prestigious event. Congratulations to Benjamin Barrera, Henderson Chandler, Rick Huang, Sebastian Peralta, Katerina Sawyer, Jean-Luc Shimizu, Michaela Stones, Meera Vashisht, Emily Yao, Jason Yao, and  Dominic Zambonini. The High School Region Orchestra Members included Maham Sewani, Jean-Luc Shimizu, Jaden Wu, and Vivian Wu. The Middle School Region Orchestra Members included Zachary Black and Sophia Peralta.

Four of Awty’s Band students competed in the 2018 TAPPS State Instrumental Contest on April 24 in Temple, Texas against other 6A high schools. Awty placed 3rd overall in State for the 6A Division, far better than any previous year thanks to several high ratings of musical performances by the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, 9th Grade Band, and 10th Grade Band. Notably, both the Jazz Ensemble and the 10th Grade Band received top ratings by all judges for their performances.

Here are the results using this scoring system (1 = Superior, 2 = Excellent, 3 = Average, 4 = Fair, 5 = Poor): 

• Wind Ensemble: 1, 2, 2
• Jazz Ensemble: 1, 1, 1
• 9th Grade Band Concert: 2, 2, 2 
• 9th Grade Band Sight Reading: 1
• 10th Grade Band Concert: 1, 1, 1
• 10th Grade Band Sight Reading: 1 (making the 10th Grade Band Sweepstakes Winners!)

Awty is very proud of our student musicians' high morale and true sense of teamwork. A special thank you goes out to Awty’s teachers and administrators, and a special thanks to Maritza Ramos.

Bravo to the talented Awty student musicians who made the Association of Texas Small School Bands Area Band (ATSSB). Included are: (back row left to right) Stephanie MacLean, Katerina Sawyer, Benjamin Barrera, and Henderson Chandler, (front row left to right) Jean-Luc Shimizu, Rick Huang, Angela Chen, and Suleyman Amjad. Of these students, Katerina Sawyer secured one of five spots for tenor saxophone in the ATSSB All-State Band.

AWTY STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN SOLVE IT BY SUNSET DESIGN-A-THON

IB Physics and Engineering teacher Angela Glidewell took seven 11th grade students to the Solve it by Sunset Design-A-Thon on April 28. Our students did really well at the competition!

Check out the results:

• Elissar Zabaneh was on the 1st place team for the convergent project--Prize $100
• Ivy He was on the 2nd place team for the convergent project--Prize $75
• Riya Sahni was on the 3rd place team for convergent project--Prize $50
• Ivy He was on the 1st place team for the divergent project--Prize $100
• Obi Nwosu was on the 2nd place team for the divergent project--Prize $75
• Rohil Bathija was on the 3rd place team for the divergent project--Prize $50

To learn more about the competition and see photos, click here.

SENIOR SEBASTIAN BAEZ EARNS PERFECT SCORE

Congratulations to senior Sebastian Baez! He earned a perfect score on the National Spanish Exam at its highest level, level 6 for bilingual students. Sebastian plans to attend Loyola Marymount University in the fall.

JUNIOR NICOLAS FEDER UNVEILED MEDITATION CENTER ON CAMPUS

Nicolas Feder, 11th grade, recently unveiled the Awty Meditation Center. The center is housed on Awty’s main campus in a former classroom, which has been completely changed into a space for interfaith prayer and meditation. Complete with meditation pillows, a qibla for Muslim students to be able to pray towards Mecca, Bibles, and Torahs, this peaceful space helps students deal with the stress and pressures of academic study and everyday life.

The seed of this idea was planted in November of 2017 when Nicolas attended the National Student Diversity Leadership Conference along with 1,500 other students. The conference was devoted to the discussion of different topics related to diversity in private schools. After the conference, Awty teachers Martiza Rosado-Mangal and Diane Schumacher encouraged Nicolas and fellow students to reflect and think how they could improve the diversity in their own communities.

To advise him on the project, Nicolas met with the Rothko Chapel Director of Community Outreach, Ashley Clemmer. Nicolas was extremely inspired by this meeting and by the Rothko Chapel because of the importance put on inclusion and acceptance, which is at the center of the chapel’s philosophy. Ms. Clemmer also introduced Nicolas to Dr. Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D. from Rice University, who visited the Awty Meditation Center to teach students on how they can transform lives through meditation. 

TWO AWTY STUDENTS RECEIVE THE GIRL SCOUT GOLD AWARD

Congratulations to Juniors Celine Farhat and Alexandra Wolff! They each received the Girl Scout Gold Award this month. The Gold Award is the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA. Girls use their vision for change to complete a service project that reaches beyond the Girl Scout organization and provides lasting benefit to the larger community. It requires a minimum of 80 hours of work in planning and actually completing the project.

For Celine’s Gold Award project, she created a booklet to support teenage pregnant moms and dads during pregnancy and afterwards. In the booklet, they will find terms they are perhaps unfamiliar with and necessary appointments they need to schedule. It also provides information on various resources that are easily accessible to them. Her goal is to help ease some of the added stress of pregnancy for teens who are already dealing with the stress of schoolwork by providing a booklet that isn't intimidating and user-friendly.

The aim of Alexandra’s Gold Award project was to bring awareness to TWRC Wildlife Center. TWRC stands for Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition and is a nonprofit organization whose aim is to not only rehabilitate and release ill, injured, or displaced wild animals, but also to educate the public about native Texas wildlife. Alexandra educated the public, mainly children and teenagers, about TWRC, the services it provides, and how to get involved with this wonderful organization. To do this, she designed, shot, and edited an informational video about TWRC. She also created a coloring book, which showed the right way to rescue an animal and bring it to TWRC. Lastly, Alexandra presented information about TWRC to various audiences such as the 4th and 5th graders at Awty, her 4-H Club, and her neighbors at their 4th of July celebration.

AYAH SHARAFELDIN, 2ND GRADE, FEATURED IN VISIT HOUSTON VIDEO

So proud of our very own Ayah Sharafeldin, 2nd grade, who is featured in this Visit Houston video alongside JJ Watt, Jose Altuve, James Harden, Lyle Lovett, and Mayor Sylvester Turner. Check out the :09 second mark.

10TH GRADER ANGELA CHEN ORGANIZES LOCAL DIVERSITY CONFERENCE

After participating in the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership conference in Anaheim, California last December, 10th grader Angela Chen was inspired to organize a local diversity conference with four of the top schools in Houston. Students participating in this conference came from Awty, St. John's School, the Kinkaid School, and Episcopal High School. Each school brought a cohort of students to the conference to engage in workshops and discussions that centered around friendship, affinity, and diversity. Approximately 35 students participated in the student-led conference. It was great to see such a collaborative effort between young people in Houston, demonstrating exemplary student leadership.

6TH GRADER MAX GRINSTEIN RECEIVES THREE AWARDS AT THE NATIONAL HISTORY DAY STATE COMPETITION

Congratulations to 6th grader Max Grinstein! He made it to the National History Day state competition in Austin with his paper, “When Conflict Follows Compromise: The Red Cross and the Holocaust.” He walked away with not one, but THREE awards:

1. Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission award for best entry about the Holocaust
2. Texas Jewish Historical Society award for best entry for best paper on a subject about Jewish history
3. Best project from his region, which earned him a medal

AWTY STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN REGIONAL SPACE SETTLEMENT DESIGN CONTEST

Thanks to Awty's STEAM program, four Awty students including Nabeel Diab, Zachary Francis, Paul Sload, and Petros Zombanakis, competed in the Space Settlement Design Competition at Johnson Space Center on March 23-25, 2018.  Congratulations to Paul Sload - of Awty's four attendees, he ended up on the winning team.

The competition put students into four teams of 40-50 students (mainly from Texas and Iowa) each. Each team had the task of creating a proposal for a space settlement design (according to the requirements provided) in less than 24 hours. Students experienced the magnitude of an engineering project with a very limited time constraint. Each team had a hierarchy where students became leaders of individual divisions such as human engineering, structural design, operations, automation, and finance.

The teams began on Saturday around 11:00 a.m., after briefings. The presentation was due at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday when each team presented their proposal to a panel of judges that included NASA engineers, scientists, and corporate executives. After a 35-minute presentation, the judges spent 15 minutes asking questions. After some deliberation, one team was awarded the best presentation by the judges. 

The winning team nominates 15 students that will be invited to attend the national competition during July in Orlando, Florida with students from all over the world.  Paul was one of the 15 students chosen from the winning team to attend the national competition. Congratulations! 

AWTY'S LOWER SCHOOL CHOIR PERFORMS AT ROCKETS GAME

On March 24, Awty's Lower School Choir once again had the honor of singing the National Anthem of the United States at the Houston Rockets game. The choir has been consistently invited back to perform the National Anthem for over ten years. Each year, they wow the crowd with their beautiful rendition. 

CONGRATULATIONS TO 7TH GRADER MATTHEW DREXLER

After winning Awty's Geography Bee earlier this year, 7th grader Matthew Drexler qualified to compete in the state level competition of the National Geographic Bee!  Congratulations!

STATE CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

A number of Awty students participated in the State Chess Championship this year. It was a tough competition, but exciting to see students enthusiastic about chess and growing as players.  There were a number of highlights, which are celebrated below: 

• Sami Jokhan, 5ème, finished 3rd in Middle School Novice
• Elliott Lazar, 8th grade, finished 5th in Middle School Novice
• Our Middle School team finished 3rd in the Grand Champion standings
• Ridyansh Agrawal, 3rd grade, tied for 4th in Primary Championship
• Yian Wong, 11th grade, defeated an expert (rated over 2000)
• Our Upper School Championship team finished 5th

For complete results, click here.  The results from Middle School show that Awty has many up-and-coming players to keep the school competitive for years to come. 

Congratulations to all on a great season!

LISA DARLING AMONG PANELIST AT GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP'S RISE TO THE TOP LUNCHEON

Awty was proud to be a part of the Greater Houston Partnership's Rise to the Top Luncheon on March 8, which featured our very own Lisa Darling as one of the four women on this year's panel. The panel featured women whose careers have taken them on the global route of influence and distinction.

Twenty-two members of the Awty Community attended the sold-out event.

Below are some of the shining moments from the luncheon.  Check out the 1:06 minute mark to hear some of Lisa’s remarks and the 1:24 minute mark to hear Lisa’s fellow panelist and Awty parent Carolyn Goodwin Rodz. 

AWTY'S EARLY LEARNING CAMPUS AMONG 2018 LANDMARK AWARDS FINALISTS

Awty's Early Learning Campus (ELC) was selected as a finalist in the Rehabilitation/Renovation category for the Houston Business Journal's (HBJ) 2018 Landmark Awards.  According to the HBJ, the Landmark Awards recognize impressive real estate projects that are making a significant impression on the Houston landscape and improve the look, feel, and image of the city. The ELC was among 54 other finalists in 16 different categories.  

ALUMNI NEWS

Congratulations to Awty alumna Carrie McIntyre, Class of 2017!  Carrie attends Emory University and was named a 2018 South/Southeast All-Region indoor track & field selection for both the 3000 Meters and the 5000 Meters!

Congratulations to Awty alumna Claire Steakley, Class of 2016!  She entered the 2018 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Rockstar Competition for young local performers on March 6. She was one of ten performers in the senior division, and she was one of the five finalists in her age category! Claire was the only one who performed an original song, and she accompanied herself on guitar.

Congratulations to Awty alumna Stephanie Halow, Class of 2017! She was one of the 62 Rice Owls to earn a Conference USA Academic Medal!  Stephanie plays soccer at Rice.

Awty alumnus Eric Schulze, Class of 2001, will be giving the commencement address at the graduation ceremony for Awty's Class of 2018!  To learn more about Eric and his accomplishments, click here.