KNIGHTS STAND OUT | ACADEMICS

Our Creative Writing instructor, Jordan Harris, worked closely with student editor Anayla Wilson on this year’s edition of Light and Shadow, an award winning literary magazine produced by the Advanced Creative Writing students at Episcopal High School. The publication aims to highlight student voices through the creative lenses of poetry, prose, art, and photography. Each year, the Advanced Creative Writing students accept submissions from the student body and faculty in accordance with the selected theme and vision for the publication. English 1 and 2 instructor Michael Codrington worked with his students to create submissions for our literary magazine. As part of the development process, students conducted surveys to better understand the interests of their peer audience to help create the themes and topics for this year’s edition.

English instructor Evan Harris and Science instructor Jordan Butler have worked diligently with our Speech and Debate team throughout the school year. Earlier in the Spring our team participated in a three day tournament qualifying for the National Tournament in Phoenix this summer. We extend our congratulations to Nicole Blanco ’26, Emily McKay ’24, and Will Palmer ’24, who qualified for this event and to the rest of the team for representing EHS in a fantastic manner throughout the school year.

Students in Chinese 2 Honors classes have created their own children’s book. They visited the 2nd graders in the Mandarin Immersion Chinese School (MIMS) on Wednesday, March 22nd, where they read their books to the second graders at the MIMS and interacted with them. EHS students also prepared a learning /interactive game to help those second graders to improve their language skills. This trip was a fun learning opportunity that perfectly complements our students’ book project.

The Spanish Club sponsored the sale of hand woven pulseras (bracelets) made by Central American artisans for “The Pulsera Project.” This not for profit organization buys the pulseras and then partners with student groups to sell them through U.S. schools. The proceeds provide sustainable fair trade employment to the artisans and, over the years, have dramatically expanded economic opportunities for hundreds of artists since 2009. We are very proud of the organizational effort of the Spanish Club officers: Sarah Margaret Hill ’24, Nolan Sanders ’24, Mary Louise Wareing ’24, Jack Draper ’26, and Isabella DeGrange ’26.

In March, the EHS Math Club and National Math Honor Society (Mu Alpha Theta) hosted its annual school wide celebration of the International Day of Mathematics. Included in this celebration were contests, puzzles, games, different representations of Pi, math buttons, as well as a raffle. There was also a bake sale to support the mathematical endeavors the EHS mathletes participate in during the school year.

The EHS Academic Team, led by Scotty Johnson and Michelle Broussard, have been a strong presence in Quiz Bowl and Academic competitions throughout this school year. The EHS Quiz Bowl Team has earned a spot in the National

Academic Challenge finals to be held on May 20th. They qualified by virtue of their 26 victories and their tournament championship in October. Congratulations to everyone who qualified!

In February, for the first time in EHS existence, the Academic Team competed in a face to face 17 event academic contest held at Travis High School in Fort Bend ISD. This was a UIL Invitational contest where EHS entered at least three students in each event. We are proud of our students’ strong performance in this event. When asked about the significance of this performance, Scotty Johnson said, “We are going to be a powerhouse in the near future!”

Our Academic, Quiz Bowl, and ComSci Teams are led by Evelina Tcherniak ’23, Ruby Theriot ’23, Amelia Novotny ’24, Marcos Clark ’26, and Taylor Jones ’26. Thank you, students, for your countless hours of preparation and leadership!

– Dr. Antonio “Tony” Avalos, Principal