And the OVERALL REGIONAL WINNER IS …
Travis Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted!
With 77 Dallas ISD schools and two Richardson ISD schools (RISD) competing, Travis Elementary’s team, which received the most points, was named the 2022 Regional Lone Star Challenge champion of this Texas-sized-academic competition held at Skyline High in early May.
After spending an entire year examining Lone Star Challenge study materials and reading the novel “Breaking Stalin’s Nose,” all 623 students were ready to test their expertise as they filled Skyline High’s Mayo Gym.
The competition is the baby sibling to the Academic Decathlon and Academic Pentathlon and is a fun contest designed to help students prepare for the Texas STAAR test. Students are tested in math, literature, science, and social studies centered around an annual theme. This year’s theme was Passport to Russia.
Elementary students from Travis Vanguard and RISD White Rock Elementary were awarded gold plaques for finishing first place in their respective team divisions. Silver plaque awards went to Sudie Williams Academy for the Talented and Gifted and RISD’s Northwood Hills Elementary, while Kahn and Lakewood elementary schools won the bronze team plaques. Awards were also given for best costume and best team posters.
After a morning of testing, the afternoon began with the Lone Star Challenge parade, a tradition where school teams with colorful signs and dressed in Russian-themed costumes are announced one by one as they enter the gym for the Super Quiz competition. Some signs were elaborately decorated with color and balloons, displaying Russian words like volshebniy, which means magical.
After the parade, came Super Quiz, where teams test their knowledge of Russian history, art, music, culture, and people. Luckily, there was help onsite from Booker T. Washington’s Visual and Performing Arts High School librarian Natalia Ivenskaya, who was born in Russia. Throughout the day, she helped students learn words in Russian like Ya gatova, meaning I am ready in English. Before each new section of the Super Quiz, students were asked: “Are you ready?” And all 623 students answered in chorus: “YA GATOVA!” It was truly magical.
Even more magical is how a competition this big happens. The work begins in December with a coaches’ meeting, and culminates in a successful spring event. The night before the competition, around 40 staff members worked to transform Skyline High gym into a Lone Star Challenge Arena. First, the gym was cleaned and multiple tarps were rolled out to protect the floor. Hundreds of tables and chairs were brought in, school signs were posted so teams knew where to sit when they arrived competition morning, a professional sound team set up speakers and projection screens, over 600 clickers were programmed and bagged for each school, over 1,200 tests were delivered, and dozens of awards were placed on display.
“We want kids to feel welcomed and excited from the moment they walk in,” said Ericka Guzman-Escobedo, student activities coordinator. “Lone Star Challenge is well worth every moment of planning. It becomes a fun and memorable experience for all the teachers and the students.”
View the DISD Lone Star Challenge on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMYj6qlW_Z4&t=414s
Congratulations to the Lone Star Challenge Overall TOP 3:
| Team Name | Rank |
| William B. Travis Academy | 1 |
| RISD – White Rock Elementary | 1 |
| RISD – Northwood Hills EL | 2 |
| Sudie L. Williams TAG Academy | 2 |
| Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary | 3 |
| Lakewood Elementary | 3 |
School Leadership A & ACE – Individual Awards RED TEAM:
| Student Name | Team Name | Rank |
| Abella Topel, Celeste Isabel | Stephen C Foster Elementary | 1 |
| Afseen, Safia | Anne Frank Elementary | 2 |
| Lucio Celis, Kailey Sofia | Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary | 3 |
| Desalegn, Liya Abebe | Nathan Adams Elementary | 4 |
| Parra, Adrian | Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary | 5 |
School Leadership A & ACE – Individual Awards BLUE TEAM:
| Student Name | Team Name | Rank |
| Gaunt, Mason Christopher | William B. Travis Academy | 1 |
| DiCarlo, Evelina Louise | Sudie L. Williams TAG | 2 |
| Perez, Allison Jacqueline | Arcadia Park Elementary | 3 |
| Pisani, Olivia Violet | William B. Travis Academy | 4 |
| Robledo, Bella | Martin Weiss Elementary | 5 |
School Leadership A & ACE – Individual Awards WHITE TEAM:
| Student Name | Team Name | Rank |
| Ritschel, Ara Renee | William B. Travis Academy | 1 |
| Stout, Cole Henry | Sudie L Williams TAG | 2 |
| Hurst, Ellen Elizabeth | Solar Prep School for Girls | 3 |
| Venancio, Isabella Marie | Solar Prep School for Girls | 4 |
| Williams, Aubrey Lashawn | Elisha M Pease Elementary | 5 |
School Leadership B – Individual Awards RED TEAM:
| Student Name | Team Name | Rank |
| Conner, Chase | White Rock Elementary | 1 |
| Marcum, Dutch | Northwood Hills EL | 2 |
| Campbell, Davis | White Rock Elementary | 3 |
| Alexander, Weston | White Rock Elementary | 4 |
| Ortiz, Nadia Elise | Jerry R. Junkins Elementary | 5 |
School Leadership B – Individual Awards BLUE TEAM:
| Student Name | Team Name | Rank |
| Odegaard, Callan Irving | Lakewood Elementary | 1 |
| Walden, Monica | White Rock Elementary | 2 |
| Schindler, Aviva | White Rock Elementary | 3 |
| Macke, Asa Peter | Mockingbird Elementary | 4 |
| Hopper, Ayden | Northwood Hills Elementary | 5 |
School Leadership B – Individual Awards WHITE TEAM:
| Student Name | Team Name | Rank |
| Ramsey, Cannon | White Rock Elementary | 1 |
| Siegel, Nolan | White Rock Elementary | 2 |
| Sides, Garrett | White Rock Elementary | 3 |
| Gray, Evan | Northwood Hills Elementary | 4 |
| Warring, Lily | Northwood Hills Elementary | 5 |
