Jodey Arrington Visits Roscoe Collegiate

RCHS students make Rep. Arrington an honorary Plowboy.

U. S. Congressman Jodey Arrington, who represents Texas’s 19th District, was in town yesterday to visit RCISD’s campus, address its high school students, tour the facilities, and learn more about the school’s innovative programs. He had originally planned to visit back in February, but an ice storm on the day he planned to drive from Abilene made travel treacherous, and he was forced to postpone his visit until yesterday.

The entire high school student body gathered in the cafetorium to hear him deliver an inspirational address. He spoke of the importance of west Texas with its contributions in energy and agriculture and of the opportunities available to its young people. After the talk, a group of students in the engineering program presented him with a plaque making him an honorary Plowboy, followed by the school song.

He was then led on a tour of the facilities including the STEM Academy, the Edu-Drone and Edu-Vet programs, and the Montessori Early Childhood Center. He also learned more about the school’s P-20 initiative that is serving as a model for other rural schools in the state and country and the P-TECH designation that the school recently received.

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ROSCOE COLLEGIATE BRINGS P-TECH DESIGN TO WEST TEXAS

Roscoe Collegiate Early College High School & STEM Academy has been designated the first Texas Pathways in Technology (P-TECH) School west of I-35.  P-TECH graduates are certified for meaningful careers in extreme industry and workforce shortage areas of Texas.

The P-TECH Program, authorized by Senate Bill 22 during the recent 2017 Legislative Session, provides for a strong Career and Technology (CT) foundation for students in grades 7 and 8, who then receive college access by grade 9, leading to high school diplomas and associate’s degrees, coupled with paid student apprenticeships that provide mentoring and training for jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields & related industries. These opportunities are provided at no cost to students as a result of increased state funding to P-TECH Schools.

The program also provides educational support from such corporations as IBM, Toyota, and BASF. As a result, Roscoe Collegiate is now planning opportunities for students to pursue four-year non-traditional Bachelor’s degrees in Education through Texas Tech and a yet-to-be-finalized degree through Texas A&M via Western Texas College--all from right here in Roscoe. If successfully realized, these degree programs will also be accessible to local and area residents. The Texas Tech program is slated to become available for the 2018-19 school year and the A&M one in 2019-20.

For more information about this new approach to cost-effective college degrees and industry certifications through the Roscoe Collegiate P-20 System, please stop by the RCISD Administration Bldg. at 1101 West 7th Street, or call (325) 766-3629.

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PLOWBOTS DO WELL AT EL PASO BUT FAIL TO ADVANCE

by Dan Boren

This year's Plowbot Robot.

The 2018 Robotics season has ended early for the Roscoe Plowbots after early elimination at their final Regional meet of the season, the West Texas Regional, in El Paso. They entered the 2018 season with high expectations from two consecutive UIL State tournament appearances; however, unfortunate breaks with their seedings for the tournament and with their machine ended any hope for a third consecutive state appearance.

The game this year was entitled, “Power Up,” and it was centered around an arcade gaming theme. The goal of the game was to control the “scale,” the “switch,” and the “vault” on the field by placing milk crates on the different devices. Since they were balanced when no cubes were on the scales, crates put on either side would cause the scale to tilt in their favor, thereby scoring points.

March 7th-10th, the Plowbots competed in the Hub City regional in Lubbock. This has become the team’s “Home” event. In recent years, it has also been very good in terms of their results. In 2016, the Plowbots lost a heartbreaking match in the finals to finish runner-up, and last year they finished the 12-round qualifying matches number one. Their fortunes were not as good this year. Though the team returned a senior driver (Camden Boren), it is very young, made up mostly of 8-10th graders. That inexperience showed in some crucial oversights in the electrical and mechanical systems. To their credit, they never gave up and worked to solve each of the problems to eventually finish 22nd out of 42 teams.

The final regional of the year took place last weekend in El Paso. After losing a transmission on the way to the event, the team refocused and performed well, actually doing better in El Paso than in Lubbock. However, they still came up short of advancing to further competitions.

It was announced at the competition that the format for next year will change to a district model which will bring many advantages for smaller schools like Roscoe, such as less travel distance, fewer overnight stays, and hopefully more teams, especially in this part of the state.

Team members this year included President—Camden Boren (Programming); Vice-President—Becca Shaw (Programming); Team Members: Braxton Parrott (Scout), Esperanza Sanchez (CAD), Gabriella Dyck (Build), Riley Sheridan (Electrical), Jacob Rainey (Build), Liberty Saenz (CNC), Martin Luna (CAD and Build), Jesse Mallion (Bumpers), Elle Silva (Finance), Reese Kiser (Driver), and Luke Wilson (Scout).

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PLOWGIRL, PLOWBOY RESULTS AT COLORADO CITY MEET

Riley Sheridan won the 3200 meter run.

In  their final warm-up before tomorrow's district meet, Plowgirl and Plowboy track teams competed in the Lone Wolf Relays in Colorado City on Friday. Athletes from ten schools participated: Abernathy, Coahoma, Colorado, Forsan, Merkel, Roosevelt, Roscoe Collegiate, Stanton, Sweetwater, and TLCA (San Angelo).

The top three girls’ teams were Abernathy, Merkel, and Roscoe Collegiate, in that order. Bonnie Wilkinson won the Triple Jump and 400 meter dash, Kinzie Buchanan won the Shot Put, and Riley Sheridan won the 3200 meter run to pace the Plowgirls.

The top three finishers for the boy’s teams were Abernathy, Merkel, and Forsan. The Plowboys finished ninth.

Plowgirls
Event                           Place          Athlete                   Time/Distance
Shot Put                          1          Kinzie Buchanan                      37’5”
Discus                             4          Kinzie Buchanan                      94’6”  
3200 meter run             1          Riley Sheridan                          13:16.09
Triple Jump                   1          Bonnie Wilkinson                     34’8”
800 meter run              4           Riley Sheridan                          2:37.78
400 meter dash            1           Bonnie Wilkinson                     61.80
                                         6           Victoria Martinez                      66.68
1600 meter run            3           Riley Sheridan                          6:16.71
400 meter relay            2           Plowgirls                                   4:17.82

Plowboys
3200 meter run            6          Bryan Medina                           12:46.10
Pole Vault                      3           Jaython Coale                           10’
110 meter hurdles         5          Tristan Baker                            18.87
4 x 200 meter relay      3          Plowboys                                  1:36.13

The District 8-2A meet is tomorrow afternoon at Hamlin, not in Albany as was listed on the season schedule.

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COMMUNITY CENTER TRADES DAY THIS SATURDAY

The Roscoe Community Center will hold its Trades Day this Saturday, April 7, from 8am to 4pm. Fifteen vendors are signed up for the event, and the First Baptist Church will have a bake sale to earn money for youth to attend camp this summer.

The Community Center concession stand will be open all day. It will serve “Bob’s breakfast on a biscuit” and have a hamburger meal deal for lunch.

For more information, contact Misty at 325-338-1005.

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KODY WEST BAND AT LUMBERYARD FRIDAY NIGHT

Kody West

Singer/Songwriter Kody West and his band make their first-ever appearance at the Lumberyard Friday evening. A rising performer who began his professional career a little over three years ago, he began by opening for bands in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In 2015, he became tour manager for the Dalton Domino band and went on the road, opening for them across Texas and honing his skills. His first EP, Higher Ground, was released in January 2016 with “Playing Cards” as a single. Then last year, he and his band recorded their first album, Green. Since then, they have been touring the state to new venues and growing crowds.

His music is a mix of Texas Country and bluegrass. Singles include “Green,” “Shine Out,” and “Million Miles.”

For reservations and more information, contact the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

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WEATHER REPORT: DRY AND WINDY

Strong winds buffeted Roscoe yesterday.

The most noticeable feature of the weather this past week has been the wind. It has changed directions every day but has always been there. Yesterday had high winds of 29mph with gusts up to 40. 

Temperatures have been a little cooler with highs in the sixties and seventies with the exception of Saturday, when it reached 88°F. Lows have generally been in the forties, although Saturday’s was 55° and Monday’s only 38°. Skies have been clear or partly cloudy, and there has been no rain.

The forecast is for a high of only 66° today under partly cloudy skies, but tomorrow and Friday will be considerably warmer and windier. Tomorrow’s high will be about 84° and Friday’s 92° with strong southwest winds both days. Friday’s low, currently projected to be only 31°, will present a hazard for all the fruit trees as well as tomatoes and peppers that are already in the ground. Saturday’s high will be only 56°, but then Sunday will yoyo back up to 92°. Then on Monday the high will drop to 76°, so get ready for some wild temperature swings this week.

Once again, there is no rain in the forecast.

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