From: Superintendent Greg Wright

HELLO BOBCATS,

I am excited to announce that Hallsville Independent School District has made agreements on school sites for the construction of a new High School and Elementary School.

The location of the new Hallsville High School will be north of Highway 80 beginning at the intersection of Cider Lane and Cal Young Road. The school site will be northeast of the intersection on a 92-acre tract of land.

The new Hallsville Elementary School will be north of Highway 80, northwest of Video Giant and east of Tom Brown Parkway, on 28 acres of land.

The sites selected were in line with the plans presented to the HISD Board of Trustees by the Bond Task Force including the following:

• Alleviate traffic on Hwy 450 south.
• Locate the school west of the city and in the city limits.

Below is the Projected Construction Schedule for the High School and the three Elementary Campuses:

Construction Schedule

Campus	Completion Date
New Elementary School	August 25, 2010
Intermediate School Renovation (For Elementary)	August 25, 2010
New High School	January 4, 2011
Primary School Renovation (For Elementary)	August 25, 2011

We are excited about the future of Hallsville ISD, but we certainly have great things happening in the present time as well! Please read below and on page three about the many great things happening in Hallsville as we "Celebrate What’s Right with Hallsville ISD."

UIL Academic Competition
This has been a record setting year! Congratulations to the 7th Grade, 8th Grade, and High School UIL Academic Teams for being UIL Academic District Champion Runners-up! The 8th Grade and High School Academic Teams set all-time records for total points scored in a District Academic Competition. The 449 points scored by the High School was the 12th highest point total in the State of Texas! Congratulations to the High School Academic Team for winning 6 State medals which is a school record! Jennifer Reel won First Place (State Champion) in Editorial Writing and Third Place in News Writing. This is the second year in a row that Jennifer has won State! The Literary Criticism Team won Second Place at State! Earning silver medals were Katelyn McElroy, Amber Phipps, Chelsea Jones, and Lindsey Meredeith. Travis Cormier placed Third in Informative Speaking to win a bronze medal! Great things are happening in Academic Competition!!!

Band
Congratulations to the 7th Grade, 8th Grade, Hallsville High School Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Bands for winning Sweepstakes in the UIL Region XXI Competition. The tradition of Sweepstakes continues 29 of 35 years.

In comparison to our football district, Hallsville is a member of the UIL Music Region XXI, which includes bands such as Longview, Henderson, Jacksonville, Whitehouse, Nacogdoches, Lindale and Lufkin. Pine Tree, Kilgore and Marshall are members of the UIL Music Region IV. There were a total of 238 bands from these 2 regions that competed at the UIL Competition. This included 148 band programs (campuses) from 109 different Independent School Districts. There were 2 school districts that received the "Sweepstakes" Award with their top four groups; Hallsville from Region XXI and North Lamar from Region IV.

Choir
Congratulations to our 7th Grade Choir, High School Varsity Ladies, and Varsity Mixed, for winning Sweepstakes at the Region XXI UIL Choir Concert and Sight-Reading Contest.

Hallsville FFA
During Farm City Week our FFA Program was well represented. Out of 122 lots in the sale, Hallsville FFA had 54 and total premium sales exceeded $100,000 which is a school record!

Drill Team
Congratulations to the Bobcat Belles for winning National Champion titles for Prop, Military, and Large Ensemble Categories. Congratulations to the Bobcat Belle Officers for winning National Champion titles for Pom and Open Categories.

Ladycat Golf
Congratulations to the Ladycat Golf Team for winning the District Championship in girl’s golf! This is the first time in school history that the Ladycat Golf Team won the District Title!

Ladycat Softball
Congratulations to Ladycat Softball Team for winning the District Championship for the second year in a row! The Ladycat Softball Team went undefeated in district play (14-0) for the first time in school history! Congratulations to the Ladycats for defeating Rockwall Heath in the Area Playoffs and Forney in the Regional Quarterfinals. At the time of this publication of the Broadcaster, the Ladycats are set to play Waco Hewitt-Midway in the Regional Semi-Finals. This has been a very special year for Ladycat Softball!

Baseball
Congratulations to the Bobcat Baseball Team for winning the Co-District Championship in boy’s baseball! The Baseball Team set a school record with 23 wins for the year!

Track
Congratulations to the 8th Grade girls, 7th Grade boys, and 8th Grade boys for winning the District Championship in Girls and Boys Track! The 8th Grade Boys Track Team has never lost a Track Meet in two years. They are a perfect (10-0) and have won the District Championship for two years in a row! Congratulations to the Ladycat High School Track Team for being District Champion Runner-up in Girls Track!

Staff Appreciation Week
I would like to thank all the parent volunteers who helped with the HISD Staff Appreciation activities! I appreciate our volunteers!

Graduation Celebration
It is no longer a secret; the best graduation ceremony in the United States can be found in Hallsville, Texas. We will continue our "TRADITION" of a GRADUATION CELEBRATION to honor the CLASS OF 2008. Graduation is scheduled for Friday, June 6, 8:00 pm. Our tradition is to honor our great country with a patriotic theme. The sky again will be filled with many bursts of color from fireworks during the ceremony. I demand and want the best for Hallsville students, and this Graduation Ceremony rewards our seniors in a "first class way."

Senior Parents
We are honored to have been a part of the growth and development of your most precious possession, and, our hope for the future. Thank you for sharing your child with us! I appreciate your support of Hallsville Schools throughout your child’s educational years. The future is bright for these graduates of Hallsville ISD. I pray each senior will have a successful and happy life. High expectations bring a Commitment to Excellence!

Thank you for your support of Hallsville Schools!

Children First,