Elsabe Munger is no stranger to Avalon Elementary. She was a substitute teacher last year and this year she is the 2nd grade teacher. She is so excited, it is her first time to teach 2nd grade.

Palmer — Coming off a strong showing in their first scrimmage against 1A Valley Mills, the 1A Italy Gladiators received a bit more resistance from the 2A Palmer Bulldogs during the final scrimmage for both teams before their 2013 season’s kickoff.

The students at Italy High School are enjoying something new this year when they eat breakfast and lunch. Rhonda Bridges, Director of Student Nutrition, purchased and painted new tables with umbrellas for the courtyard outside the cafeteria.

The Lady Gladiators hosted a volleyball round-robin inside Italy Coliseum with Italy, Palmer and Venus each securing a team win before the dust had cleared.

Have you ever known anyone that just knew what they wanted to be when they grew up and then did it? Well, Dionne Sauers is one of those lucky people. She always knew that she wanted to be a teacher and so she became one.

Terri Morton did not always want to be a teacher. She went to school and became a paralegal. She thought that was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life, only to find out she really wanted to be a teacher the whole time — she just didn’t know it.

7th graders trade in their Stafford Elementary tiger stripes for Gladiator armor and participate during Italy High School’s Meet The Teacher Night in preparation for the 2013-2014 school year.

The long summer is over, the new school year is starting and as always was kicked off with students meeting their teachers. The ‘house,’ so to speak, was packed with excited students, parents and teachers Friday night for Meet the Teacher Night at Stafford Elementary.

Last Thursday evening the Avalon Elementary was over flowing with excited students waiting to see who their teacher was going to be and which friends were going to be in their class. Students were lined up in the hallway with back packs and school supplies ready to be back in class after a long summer.

The City of Italy’s Economic Development Corporation with meet on Monday, August 26, 2013. Meeting time is slated for 6:00pm and will be held in the Italy City Council Chambers at 105 West Main Street, Italy.

The Italy ISD Board of Trustees will have a busy week during this last week of August. A budget workshop on Monday, August 26th at 6:00pm, a public hearing regarding the budget on Wednesday, August 28th at 6:00pm and then finally a meeting on Wednesday, August 28th at 6:30pm. Agendas for all three meetings are attached.

The Gladiator Regiment Marching Band and Color Guard performed on field for fans during their annual Band Social and then shared ice-cream with the community inside the band hall.

Central Baptist Church of Italy celebrated 110 years of existence Sunday as current and former members celebrated the work God has done and is doing in the church.

The Gladiators took care of business against the Valley Mills Eagles during Saturday’s scrimmage and now look ahead to Thursday’s scrimmage in Palmer.

Vandals hit the Italy Cemetery recently leaving destruction and devastation in their tracks. Many historic tombstones in Section 5 and Section 6 were damaged, some beyond repair.

Italy High School students enjoy a Back-to-School Bash hosted by the Lewis Family with the first day of school drawing near.

The Italy School Board of Trustees heard from the school’s principals concerning the Texas Education Agency’s 2013 Accountability Summary at its monthly meeting held Monday evening in the school cafeteria.

Meet Mrs. Nichole Tindol who will be the Italy Junior High Language Arts teacher for 7th grade this upcoming school year.

The Lady Gladiator Junior High Volleyball squads will begin preparation for their upcoming season once school starts next Monday. To help all of the parents and faithful fans of Lady Gladiator Junior High Volleyball the coaches have released the schedule. Their first game will be on Monday, September 9, 2013 at home against Bynum.

Victor Carera and his wife Donna have lived in Italy for fifteen years. They are really enjoying the country life and are excited to be here.

Italy’s next JV and varsity football scrimmages will be played in Palmer on Thursday, August 22, with the JV scrimmage starting at 5:00 p.m. and the varsity scrimmage starting at 6:30 p.m

Ryan Keith Mason was sentenced to 68 years in prison on August 16, 2013. The 41 year old Italy resident was convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver by an Ellis County jury.

Christie is no stranger to Italy ISD. She has taught Pre-K through 6th grade Physical Education at Stafford and coached girls athletics at Italy High School. All in all she has taught eight years for Stafford Elementary and now is coming back to teach 2nd grade.

Holly Bradley is one of the new teachers at Italy High School, but the campus is not new to her. She attended Italy schools beginning in the 3rd grade and graduated from IHS in 2008. In high school, Holly was a cheerleader and participated in softball and track.

Both the Italy Lady Gladiators varsity and JV squads played played at a high level during an Italy hosted round-robin against Kerens and Scurry-Rosser last week.

Cassie Joffre has a love for books, reading and young people, so her employment with Italy I.S.D. as the new librarian should be a perfect fit for her and her students.

The Italy ISD School Board will have its regular monthly meeting on Monday, August 19 at the Italy High School Cafeteria at 300 S. College Street, Italy. Meeting time is slated for 7:00pm. Prior to this meeting, there will be a budget workshop held in the Italy ISD Administration office. The budget workshop will begin at 6:00pm.

Italy resident, Gus Allen, graduated from IHS this year. Parents Leslie and Brian Allen are very proud of their son. Gus didn’t leave empty handed when he left that campus in May. He received several scholarships. The Shelley Nance Memorial Art scholarship, band scholarship and theater scholarship from Navarro College in Corsicana.

The Dale Hansen Football Classic academic scholarship was established in 2012 to aid high school students wishing to pursue secondary education at the collegiate level. The classic is pleased to offer academic scholarships, ranging from $500.00 to $1000.00, to one boy and one girl in the senior class from each of the six high schools represented in the 2013 games. Applications are available in the office of the lead counselor at each of the six high schools – Italy Malakoff, Florence, Thrall, Alvarado, and Mexia.

It is that time again! Time for the Annual Milford Arts & Craft Fair on Saturday, October 12, 2013. This year the Fair will be held at the Rocket Ranch Café & Music Hall. Located at 900 W. Water Street in Milford, Texas. We will have live music, hand made crafts, food and fun for all. If you are interested in being a vendor contact Jeannie Richardson at 972-493-2151.

Italy — With school shootings posing a serious threat to students and faculty across the nation at all levels of education, the Italy Police Department conducted Response To Active Shooter Training – School Based exercises this past Saturday inside Italy High School as well as Stafford Elementary earlier in the day.

The Lady Gladiator varsity volleyball squad will travel to Venus tomorrow, Thursday, August 15th and play three seeding matches in the Venus varsity tournament to be held at the Venus High School gymnasium. Bracket play for the tournament will be held on Saturday, August 17th.

The Italy City Council approved the sale of the Old Colored City Hall on Williams Street at a meeting Monday evening for the purpose of establishing a non-profit agency at that location.

Lee Joffre (principal) started the evening out with thanking all of the parents and students for coming to the orientation (Monday night) and said that we are here to tell you about what is new and what our expectations are for the junior and senior classes.

The Italy City Council will have their regular monthly meeting on Monday, August 12, 2013. Meeting time is slated for 6:00pm and will be held in the Italy Council Chambers at 105 West Main Street, Italy.

More action from the 2013 Lady Gladiator Volleyball and Gladiator Football 2-a-day camps with high-tempo workouts and detailed training exercises setting the tone for Italy Athletics.

The Lady Gladiators are working hard in anticipation of their promising volleyball season ahead. Order your Lady Gladiator Volleyball shirt and show them you support them every bump, set, and hit along the way. Use the attached order form to order yours by Friday, August 16th.