The students sat around a large table in the science lab at Lamar Academy in McAllen. Their exuberance felt palpable, smiling as their teammates spoke. The Lamar Academy International Baccalaureate Science Olympiad Team discussed how they got to this point. In January, the 20-member team will travel to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. to compete against 65 other teams in a national tournament. The Lamar Academy Team…
U.S. News & World Report has recognized all five McAllen ISD high schools among its rankings of the “2022 Best Public High Schools.” This is the eighth straight year McAllen ISD has had its high schools recognized by either U.S. News & World Report or The Washington Post. The McAllen ISD schools are Achieve Early College High School, McAllen Memorial High School, James “Nikki” Rowe High, McAllen High School and Lamar Academy. Achieve Early…
Going up against the best of the best, two teams from McAllen ISD earned spots in the top seven for the entire country. Teams from Lamar Academy and Achieve Early College High School took third and seventh, respectively, in the National High School Championship April 8-10 in Memphis, Tenn. They were also the top two teams in Texas. Individually, Cameron Williams (Achieve ECHS) and Jeffrey De Groot (Lamar) finished tied…
Erica De la Garza Lopez got right to work when she took over as president of Friends of IB for the 2021-2022 school year. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization brings awareness about the McAllen ISD International Baccalaureate school at Lamar Academy. It also develops partnerships between IB parents, local businesses and the community. Additionally, members raise money and provide other means of support to the school and its students. McAllen ISD…
A blood drive takes place Nov. 14 from 2-6 p.m. at Vitalent Center in McAllen with donors receiving free COVID antibody tests. The event, “Give Thanks. Give Blood” is a service project for Sofia Salvo, a student in McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate Programme at Lamar Academy. The drive is a CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) Project for Salvo. It is a core requirement for earning the IB Diploma. This particular project is…
Lamar Academy teacher Vivian Tamez is the recipient of the 2020 Liberty Bell Award from the Texas Young Lawyers Association. This state-wide award annually recognizes a non-lawyer who has made selfless contributions to their community. In turn, they also strengthen the effectiveness of the American system of justice. “Your work is truly exceptional, and it exemplifies the level of dedication recognized by this prestigious award,” TYLA President Victor Flores…
Dressing “on trend” is vitally important to many teens, but Gisselle Costa and Denisse Damken are designing their own recyclable fashions, creating Modern Chaos in the process. Costa and Damken are seniors in McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate Programme at Lamar Academy. They named their fashion line Modern Chaos, as we learned in January when their classmate, Alexis Alvarado, wrote about their designs. We decided to follow up with Costa and…
McAllen ISD student David Li is now part of a prestigious group of national scholars. Li is one of approximately 15,000 finalists in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The honor places him in the top one percent of students nationwide who took part in the program. Li is a student in the International Baccalaureate Programme based at Lamar Academy. His home campus is McAllen Memorial High. He is…
Fall Market at IB Festive takes place Nov. 16 at Lamar Academy, offering a one-stop shop for holiday shopping while raising funds to give back to the community. The diverse group of vendors on hand include Zombie Fries, Candy House, Paparazzi Jewelry, It Works, Suca Maria, Scentsy, and Prayers for Paraguay. Also, Buzzy Bees Designs, Rodan + Fields, Power of Why Studio, Stella & Dot, Paula’s Designs, Wreaths for All…
The “Shopping Event of the Year” takes place July 27 at Lamar Academy, 1009 N. 10th Street in McAllen. Christmas in July at IB Festive Market is bringing in close to 100 local vendors and local service providers focused on mind, body and spirit. The event is a win-win for shoppers and McAllen ISD students. Student organizations benefit financially from the market while shoppers receive free admission to a one-stop local shop.…