The halls at Stafford Elementary have been transformed into a magic forest complete with bird nests and even a ghost. It is amazing what one can do with twisted paper and cardboard cylinders!

The Italy High School Art Club is selling t-shirts to help raise funds for art show expenses as well as their spring trip. Please contact Mrs. Seidlitz, Italy High School Art Club sponsor (room 307, 972/483-7411) to get a t-shirt and support the students.

Calling all Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and family members as well as the entire community. Stafford Elementary along with help from Italy PTO want to give your children a wonderful Halloween treat! But they need your help.

The Gladiator Regiment Band started off their contest tour with a bang by earning first division ratings at both the Teague Marching Invitational and the Troy Marching Festival.

Under the direction of IHS Art instructor, Mrs. Marilyn Seidlitz, two IHS students returned from the recent Heart of Texas Livestock Show & Rodeo Creative Arts Show with high praises for their pastel art pieces.

It is that time again! It is time to celebrate Stafford students for a job well done at the awards assembly for the first six weeks of school. And again, as usual, everyone was there in the cafeteria. Moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and tons of relatives were seen clapping loudly for the great job the students had done.

Italy High School Homecoming 2012 is fast approaching (Friday, October 19 vs Crossroads). With that in mind, homecoming parade organizers are working tirelessly with area merchants, clubs and others to make this year’s parade a huge success. This year the theme will be “Gladiator Pride.” If your group would like to be included in this years IHS Homecoming parade please contact Vivian Moreland.

Monday at Stafford Elementary the Italy volunteer firemen drove up in their beautiful, red shinny fire engine. No, there was not a fire! These wonderful volunteer firemen of the Italy Volunteer Fire Department donated their time to the students to help them learn how to be safe in case of a fire.

The 2012 Italy High School Homecoming court has been announced. The King and Queen will be crowned on Friday, October 19th.

Amy McCleskey started college not knowing what she wanted to do. She knew it had to be something that involved interacting with children because of her love for them. Her career choice was between teaching and pediatric nursing. Lucky for Stafford Elementary she chose teaching and has now taught there for ten years.

Stafford Elementary Library will host its annual Scholastic Book Fair the week of October 15-19. The fair will be open Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. and on Friday from 8-10 a.m. in the library.

Lots and lots of families, music, food and fun is what was happening at Stafford Elementary on Tuesday and Thursday evening this past week. Yes, I am talking about the family picnics that took place at Stafford Elementary.

Lee Joffre, the high school principal, is developing a group e-mail list to help keep parents notified of high school events. If your child is attending Italy Junior High or Italy High School and you would like to be included in the group contact e-mail Mr. Joffre at [email protected].

The 2011-2012 Gladiator Yearbook is here! If you reordered a yearbook or need to purchase one now is the time to do so. The yearbook is $50.00 for 120 pages of fun memories.

Come and join your Stafford family at our Family Picnics. We will have food, music and games so don’t forget your lawn chair and have fun!! On Tuesday, September 25, 2012- PreK- 2nd grade from 5:30pm-7:30pm and Thursday, September 27 3rd-5th grades from 5:30pm-7:30pm.

Kindergarten, what a wonderful grade to teach! The students are thrilled to be at school and can’t wait to learn everything you have to teach them. They are like little blank books ready for their pages to be written in. Stafford Elementary has just the right teacher for the job.

Mrs. Sharon Davis, Italy HS/JHS Counselor, has published a fall newsletter to help the Italy High School’s 2013 graduating class stay on top of things as they move towards graduation.

Stafford Elementary recently celebrated “Grandparents Day.”

Have you ever heard of a teacher working for the same school for forty-one years, retire for two and return to teaching at the same school? Well, that is exactly what Sue Morrison has done at Avalon Elementary. She is now going on her forty-third year of teaching at Avalon ISD.

One of the new incentives principal Jody Tennery has put in place for the students at Avalon Elementary is “Student of the Month” recognition. Receiving the award this month is third grader Nathan Rankin.

Stafford had a field day the first week of school. How much fun is that you ask? Lots of fun! But, there is a method to the madness so to speak.

Myla Wilson is a welcomed addition to Stafford Elementary, not only has she taught school but she has ten years experience in administration. She brings with her a love of children and an enthusiasm for learning, teaching and bringing out the best in each student, teacher and staff member.

The new science teacher at IHS, Matthew Patterson, has new goals for his students. "My goal is to raise the test scores and to help Italy HS become recognized. “I want to do this by getting students interested in science again. I would also like to have a part in making the students Italy HS better people in all aspects of their lives.”

Coming from a Montessori Academy, Kim Watkins will be teaching her first year in the public school system at Italy ISD this fall. She will be the 7th grade Math teacher and is eager to take on the job.

Last Thursday night was Avalon Elementary’s meet the teacher night. As you walked into the school you were greeted with big smiles as Mr. Tennery (elementary principal) and Dr. DelBosque (Avalon ISD Superintendent) welcomed all the students and parents.

An excited group of parents and students pack the hallways on Meet the Teacher Night at Italy High School.

The halls of Stafford Elementary were filled to the “gills” with children, parents, teachers and staff. You guessed it, it was Meet the Teacher night Thursday evening. And you could hear parents asking their children aren’t you excited to go to school? The answers were varied with, can’t wait, no, yes, and oh boy baby!

It was all smiles and good times as Italy High School students closeout the summer by uniting together during the school’s annual Back-to-School-Bash.

August twenty seventh brings a brand new school year which means a brand new start for Avalon ISD. David DelBosque (superintendent) said, “This will be a Happy New Year. No, it is not December 31st but the first day of school also brings to us a brand new start. If we can dream it, imagine it or think it, it all can become attainable through hard work and working together.”

Next week starts the brand new school year for Avalon ISD and that makes Mr. Tennery (Avalon Elementary principal) a very happy man. Because the first day of school is his favorite day of the year.

The Stafford PTO will be selling tshirts at Meet-the-Teacher-Night (Thursday, August 23rd). All tshirts will be $15 and will go to benefit Stafford Elementary.

Reminder to all 9th through 12th grade students that the annual IHS Back-to-School-Bash is tonight, August 16th. The event will begin at 8:15pm and will be held at 871 Stafford Road just south of Italy. Burgers and all the fixings along with water games, volleyball, and more will be available to the students at this fun event held in their honor.

The start of the 2012 – 2013 school year is just around the corner. Students are asked to bring the following supplies to Meet the Teacher Night, scheduled for August 23.

The Italy School Board of Trustees named Myla Wilson the Stafford Elementary principal Monday evening at a called meeting.

You can see a familiar face in the Italy High School Multipurpose Dome these days, especially as high school volleyball fires up.

Jason Miller (Stafford Elementary principal) will be missed. We will no longer see his smiling face at 7:15 am meeting and greeting the students as they get off the bus. Nor will the students hear him tell them every day in the gymnasium that every day is a new day with endless possibilities and each day is going to be the best day ever.

Everyone knows how dedicated our Stafford Elementary teachers are to the students. The students love the teachers and the teachers love the students—that is proven every day in the classroom. The teachers go above and beyond in every sense of the word.

Blake Godwin has been hired by Italy High School as the new Ag teacher. This is his first appointment teaching and with all the new information, he has a great new perspective on things. “I would like to see this organization grow and develop into a program the community can be proud of and help out when we need it.”

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Coach Wayne Rowe, one of the newest members of the Italy High School staff, has been teaching for 15 years and wants to put IHS on his resume. Coming from Scurry Rosser ISD, Rowe teaches English and coaches softball. Eager to begin the school year in Italy, Coach Rowe has plans of preparing the students in and out of the classroom.

The application for the Dale Hansen Football Classic academic scholarship has been released and ready for eligible senior boys and girls to complete. One Italy High School senior boy and one Italy High School senior girl will be awarded anywhere from $500 to $1,000 towards college expense. 

In a called meeting last night, the Italy ISD Board of Trustees hired several new employees for the district.

Recently several teachers and staff of the Italy Independent School District where recognized for their hard work and dedication to the district.

It’s 100º plus outside and the streets are scorching. Swimming and playing are things on the minds of IHS students, as well it should be. However, when August rolls around, school should be uppermost on the minds of students. Luckily we have someone looking out for our kids’ future and serious minded about it.

This year has come and gone very quickly, but according to Mr. Miller (principal of Stafford Elementary) a lot has been accomplished.