NEIGHBORS
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by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer
Buzz About Town Pin Oak theater The advanced theater group at Pin Oak Middle School competed in the UIL middle school One-Act Play contest district finals and earned third place. The team performed Bob: A Life in 5 Acts under the direction of theater teacher Kayla Boffone. This team is the ninth consecutive Pin Oak MS company to advance to the district finals. Some of the student participants were Abigail Hart, Michael Lewinbuk, Evan Byrd, Philip Hulten, Anna Maag and Ari Diaz.
Habiby, Brendan Kaiser, Reese Perlman, Bella Escamilla, Daliah Gabelnick, Ginny Del Campo, Emma Lacson, Herson Maradiaga, Noah Septimus, Micah Gabelnick, (third row, from left) Jerry Zhang, Kevin Chen, Suria Metha, Maisie Moncreif, Rachel Gilmore, Mia Septimus, Ella Lu, Margot Rozowski, (top row, from left) Areesha Memon, Zafir Memon, Robbie Satcher, Irene Zheng, Cindy Cui, Eileen Chen, Brooke Baird, Amelie Rozowski, Eden Williams and Smruthi Garlapati.
Condit students shine
A night for nature
Condit Elementary students had a great start to the HISD UIL competition year. The team earned 55 medals and team trophies to win the overall school first-place trophy at the first event of the year. Pictured are (bottom row, from left) Lindsay Gonzales, Andy Perlman, Marina Martinez, Matt Gilmore, Lily Cornejo, Rohan Sharma, Bella Kalra, Cindy Tint, Anna Nguyen, Elle Lacson, Alice Yuan, Krish Jha, Akhil Baker, (second row, from left) Jonathan Chiriboga, Lila
BELLAIRE BUZZ JANUARY 2017 40
Nature supporters gathered at The Houstonian Hotel for the Nature Discovery Center’s 22nd annual Twilight Gala. Gala chairs Jayne and Garrett Johnston greeted guests to the evening of fundraising. Pictured (from left) are executive directors of the Nature Discovery Center and Evelyn’s Park, Henry Owen and Denton Ragland. The evening honored more than 90 founding donors of Russ Pitman Park, from more than 30 years ago. The gala included a silent
auction and a big-board auction led by Melissa Krause. Terrell Sword, owner of Sword Plumbing, was presented with the President’s Award for his volunteer efforts in park maintenance. Funds raised from the gala, totaling over $120,000, will be used to keep the center’s programs going for Houston families.
Family fun at Horn Horn Elementary invited students and their families to campus to share a meal with friends, get some holiday shopping done, and support the school library. Enjoying the family event were (pictured, next page) Dee Zunker and her fourth-grade daughter, Courtney, who shopped for books and posters. (continued on page 42)