On Sunday, November 8, the Kinkaid seventh grade speech students competed at the Cypress Falls Speech and Drama Tournament under the direction of Ms. Patty Edwards.  With over 700 students competing from 16 schools, Kinkaid had the highest number of finalists, winning a Sweepstakes Trophy. Students reaching finals had to compete in preliminary rounds and semifinals to be in the top 8 of each division.

TV Commercials
Meredith Huston with Andrew Linhart, 6th place
Sahar Punjwani with Piper Reilly, 7th place

Duet Improvisations
Meredith Huston with Katie Brooks, 2nd place

Humorous
Andrew Linhart, 1st place
Meredith Burpeau, 6th place

Duet Acting
Lee Saunders with Sasha Busa, 4th place
Scott Morey with Andrew Linhart, 5th place
Sofia Bajwa with Alex Nigro, 6th place
Alex Skidmore and Katie Brooks, 7th place

Solo Improvisations 
Alex Caldwell, 2nd place

Oratory
Sahar Punjwani, 2nd place

Individual Pantomime
Andrew Linhart, 7th place

Semifinalists

Solo Mime
Sahar Punjawani
Megan Maclay
Andrew Linhart
Sally Buck

Reader’s Theatre
Russell Burrow, Lauren Hankamer, Adelaide Randall             

Oratory
Sahar Punjwani, Sophia Bajwa                                                    

Duet Acting Katie Brooks and Alex Skidmore
Megan Maclay and Claire Richey
Alex Nigro and Sophia Bajwa
Ryan Erikson and Corbin Kinder
Scott Morey and Andrew Linhart
Derin Baysal and Alex Caldwell
Ellen Chamblee and Carson Keller
Sasha Busa and Lee Saunders
Payton Herleth and Charles Crighton Jeffers
Meredith Huston and Spencer Powers
Strater Zarr and Braxton Robison

Solo Improvisations 
Sahar Punjwani, Alex Caldwell, Russell Burrow and Matthew Riley 

TV Commercials
Russell Burrow, Alex Caldwell, Matthew Riley, Meredith Huston, Andrew Linhart                                              

Humorous
Piper Reilly, Meredith Burpeau, Matthew Riley, Andrew Linhart

Group Improv: Eliza Lawrence, Matthew Bale, Christian Moore, Lee Saunders, Alex Skidmore, Corbin Kinder, Marley Orange, Derin Baysal, Ryan Erikson, Alex Caldwell, Jonathan Mitchell, Matthew McHenry, Jonathan Frumovitz, Michael Camp, Wilson Kelsey, Evelyn Mineo, Scott Morey, Catherine Scott, Brian Shortt, Charles Garrison

Congratulations to all the seventh grade speech students and our finalists.

Please congratulate the following Upper and Middle School students who won honors for this year's Scholastic Art and Writing Regional Competition. The Harris County Region received over 1290 submissions this year and awarded 80 gold keys. The work of the gold key recipients will move on to the national competition, which will report the winners in March. 

Art 

Gold Key
Eren Baysal-Photography
Christina Choi-Painting
Morgan Daniel-Photography

Silver Key
Halle Brazda-Photography
Christina Choi-Painting
Charlotte de Marigny-Printmaking
Claire McCarthy-Sculpture
Kristine Yang-Drawing

Honorable Mention
Whitney Burke-Drawing
John Churay-Drawing
Amy Das-Art Portfolio
Robin Kate Davis-Photography X2
Emmy Heyser-Printmaking
Clay Pollock-Drawing
Brooks Thornton-Sculpture

Writing

Gold Key
Emily Ashworth (for an 8-piece portfolio)
Kendyl Bree
Allison Dyer (for an 8-piece portfolio)
John Pederson
Hallie Perlman (for an 8-piece portfolio)

Silver Key
Catherine Baker
Katherine Berman
Andreea Calin
Allison Dyer
Joseph Edwards
Bradlee Few
Zach Roubein
Natalie Thurman

Honorable Mention
Halle Brazda
Emily Grinstead
William Miner
Catalina Parra
Hallie Perlman (for two submissions)
Mitali Sharma

Middle School Honorees
Writing
Caroline Grey Marinell - Gold
Onuchi Ndee - Silver

Art
Sophie Ghauri - Photography - Gold
Sophie Ghauri - Digital - Honorable Mention 

The Middle School girls swim team won the Houston Junior Preparatory Conference (HJPC) swimming championship and set multiple records on February 3, 2014, at the Lamar HS pool.  Both the girls and boys teams combined earned a second place finish overall.  

The Falcon girls earned an astonishing 99 points, 40 points ahead of second place Village School and 42 points ahead of third place St. John's School.  The Falcon boys earned 26 points to take fifth place, but it should be noted the boys team took fifth with only three swimmers Michael Bell, Daniel King and Cameron Rudin.

1^st place finishers:

Audrey Orange (50 Breaststroke, 100 Freestyle)  HJPC records, Kinkaid Records
May Moorefield (100 IM, 50 Butterfly)  Team record 50 Butterfly
Girls 200 Medley Relay (Audrey Orange, Peyton Pivec, May Moorefield, Marley Orange)  HJPC Record, Kinkaid Team Record
Girls 200 Free Relay (Audrey Orange, Peyton Pivec, May Moorefield, Lee Saunders)  HJPC Record, Kinkaid Team Record

To see the meet results, go to HJPC Results.  To see meet records, go to HJPC Records.

Kinkaid recently learned that Emily Paul ’15 performed extremely well on her AP Spanish Language and Culture exam in May 2014. As many know, Advanced Placement Exam scores are reported on a five-point scale, where five is the equivalent to a grade of A in the corresponding college course. Emily not only received the top score of five – but she answered every multiple-choice question correctly and earned full points on the free-response section of the exam. She is one of only 91 students in the world to do so on the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam!

Please congratulate Emily on this extraordinary feat! 

The Middle School swim team took the third place trophy as a combined team at the first Southeast Middle School Regional Championships held at the League City ISD Natatorium on February 5, 2014.  After taking first place in the HJPC Championships, the girls team continued their phenomenal season by winning three races.  Peyton Pivec won the 50 Backstroke.  After setting both HJPC and Kinkaid records in the 100 Freestyle and the 50 Breaststroke two days earlier, Audrey Orange took first in both the 100 Freestyle and the 50 Breaststroke.  In the boys division, Daniel King won the 100 Freestyle.  After the individual races, the Falcons took first place in both combined relays.  Orange's dual individual wins plus her two relay wins garnered her the high point girls award for the regional meet. Pivec and Orange are both members of the HJPC and Kinkaid record-setting 200 Medley and 200 Free Relays.

The following swimmers placed in the top eight:
Audrey Orange (100 Free 1^st, 50 Breast 1^st)
Peyton Pivec (100 IM 2^nd, 50 Back 1^st)
May Moorefield (100 Free 2^nd, 50 Back 2^nd)
Daniel King (100 Free, 1^st)
Michael Bell (100 Free 4^th, 50 Back 2^nd)
Marley Orange (50 Free 3^rd, 100 Free 4^th)
Lee Saunders (50 Free 4^th,)
Caroline Cone (50 Breast 5^th)
Cameron Rudin (50 Breast 8^th)
Helena Johnson (50 Free 8^th, 100 Free 8^th)
Madison Frandina(50 Free 6^th, 50 Back 5^th)
Sarah Vandiver(50 Free 7^th)
200 Mixed Medley Relay “A”(Peyton Pivec, Audrey Orange, May Moorefield, Daniel King) 1^st
200 Mixed Medley Relay “B” (Margaret Frandina, Caroline Cone, Michael Bell, Marley Orange) 6th
200 Mixed Free Relay “A” (Michael Bell, Peyton Pivec, May Moorefield, Audrey Orange) 1^st

Congratulations to the Falcon Middle School Swim team on an impressive season!

Audrey Orange, May Moorefield, Peyton Pivec and Daniel King show off their Gold medals.

Varsity wrestlers Noah Chan '18 and Colin Lawler '18 both took first place at the Prep State Wrestling Championship held at McKinney Christian Academy, February 20-21, 2014.  Chan, wrestling in the 138 lb. class, won all three of his matches to take the gold.  Chan pinned Matthew Baker of St. Thomas H.S. in the first round.  He next met Jackson Fitzgerald of Episcopal School Dallas in the second round and pinned him in the the second period to advance to the championship.  Chan, who had previously defeated St. Mark's Blake Spangler to win the SPC championship, again defeated Spangler 17-4 to win the State Championship.  Chan was voted Most Outstanding Wrester by the coaches in attendance.  Lawler, competing in the 220 lb. class, handily won all three of his matches by pins.  Lawler pinned Jess Williams of McKinney Christian Academy, followed by a pin against Liberty Christian Academy's Caleb Taylor.  Lawler defeated Trinity Christian Addison's Joey Tkach to win the State Championship.  Falcon grapplers John Goettee '17 and Phillip Smith '16 finished fourth place in their class.  The Falcons amassed 71 points to finish 7th out of 14 teams competing.  Chan and Lawler will next compete at the Prep Nationals Tournament hosted by LeHigh University in Bethlehem, PA, February 27-28, 2014.  Congratulations to our State Champs and Good Luck at Nationals!  For individual match results, click Prep Individual Results and for team results, click Prep Team Results.

John Goettee, Noah Chan, Phillip Smith and Colin Lawler sport their State medal.

All-SPC and All-South Zone athletes were recently announced for winter sports: basketball, soccer, swimming and wrestling.  Winners are nominated and voted on by SPC head coaches.  Listed below are the season records, season finishes and award winners.  Congratulations to all Falcon award winners!

Boys Basketball

Record: 7-18
SPC Finish: 6^th Place
South Zone Finish: 5^th Place
All SPC Award Winners:  Jae LeDee, Jake Shaper
All South Zone Award Winners: Jae LeDee, Jake Shaper

Girls Basketball

Record: 19-4
SPC Finish: 2^nd Place
South Zone Finish: 2^nd Place
All SPC Award Winners: Tyjae’ Scales, Jasmine Smith
All South Zone Award Winners: Tyjae’ Scales, Alexis Johnson

Boys Soccer

Record: 6-7-3
SPC Finish: 4^th Place
South Zone Finish: 2^nd Place
All SPC Award Winners: Demian Gass, Brendan Martin, Josh Raizner
All South Zone Award Winners: Demian Gass, Jon Hopkins, Brendan Martin, Josh Raizner

Girls Soccer

Record: 10-5-3
SPC Finish: 5^th Place
South Zone Finish: 2^nd Place
All SPC Award Winners: Natalie Geisler, Louise Stephens
All South Zone Award Winners: Ellie Bolin, Caleigh Doran, Allison Dyer, Nikki Ereli

Boys Swimming

SPC Finish: 8^th Place
All SPC Award Winner: Nicholas Fernandez

Girls Swimming

SPC Finish: 7^th Place
All SPC Award Winner: Sara Jane Gage

Wrestling

SPC Finish: 4^th Place
Prep National Winners: Noah Chan - Round of 12 (138 lbs.), Colin Lawler - Round of 16 (220 lbs.)
Prep State Winners: Noah Chan – 1^st Place (138 lbs.), Colin Lawler – 1^st Place (220 lbs.), John Goettee – 4^th Place (126 lbs.), Phillip Smith – 4^th Place (170 lbs.)
All SPC Award Winners:  Noah Chan – 1^st Place (138 lbs.), John Goettee – 1^st Place (126 lbs.), Blake Lattimer – 1^st Place (120 lbs.), Colin Lawler – 1^st Place (220 lbs.),
Edward Chamblee – 3^rd Place (106 lbs.), Brighton Huynh – 3^rd place (113 lbs.), Tres Duytschaever – 4^th Place (195 lbs.), Phillip Smith – 4^th Place (170 lbs.)

Twenty nine Kinkaid seniors were inducted into the Cum Laude Society on Monday, March 2. The Society seeks to annually recognize superior scholarship and excellence of character among members of the school community. 

The Cum Laude Society was founded by Dr. Abram W. Harris, Director of the Tome School in Maryland. The Kinkaid Chapter began in 1960 and was renamed in 1980 in honor of Headmaster Emeritus John H. Cooper, who was a founding member of the original chapter.  

Sam Waldman '95 gave the address for this year's induction. Sam is a Senior Sensor Engineer for Space Exploration Technologies. He has over 15 years of experience in laser interferometry, precision measurement and low background particle physics. Sam holds a BA in Physics from Harvard University, received his PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford and completed his post-doctoral studies at Caltech. 

Please congratulate the following members of the class of 2015 for their achievements:

Emily Nicole Ashworth
Natalie Elisa Barden
Carolyn Mary Bell
Stephanie Ann Bell
Horatiu Nicholae Calin
Amy Nicole Das
Ashley Katrine Davis
Montana Gabriella Suzie Dawley
William Michael Gaus
Emily Ann Grinstead
Nicholas Zhiming-Tri Ho
Jennifer Marie Howie
Nina Kalluri
Madeleine Lovett Kohn
Neil Thacker Kumar
Rachael Levy
Grant James Martin
Claire Guanyu Gannon McCarthy
Ashley Elizabeth McGaw
Mathew Paul Morico
Emily Alexandra Paul
John Monroe Pederson, Jr.
Caroline Garrett Powers
Reece Meyer Rosenthal
Emily Catherine Short
Lauren Adrianne Siegel
Harriet Tieh
Eric R. Yu
Phoebe Bourget Zipper 

On Wednesday, March 4, the World Affairs Council of Houston presented the Academic WorldQuest event.  Nineteen

Houston-area schools formed 34 teams comprised of 8-10 students for the competition.

Topics covered included current international events, geography, economics, world cultures and global politics. Kinkaid’s small team of three students, Arman Badrei ’18, Zachary Roubein ’16 and Eric Yu ’15, placed third out of the 34 teams! 

Please congratulate these three boys on their incredible achievement! 

The Kinkaid Middle School shined this past week in a District Speech Tournament and Houston Area Private Schools All-City Honor Band.  Congrats to all students on their accomplishments!

Speech

Nine seventh grade students competed against other local middle school students in the District Speech Tournament. Students reaching the finals had to win first or second to qualify for the State PSIA Tournament in April.

Kinkaid won first place in every event entered. In prose finals, Michael Bell ’20 won first place and Grace Muir ’20 won second place. In Impromptu Speaking, Alex Nigro ’20 won first place and Sasha Busa ’20 won third place. In Modern Oratory, Sahar Punjwani ’20 won first place, Noah Rubinson ’20 won second and Henry Durning ’20 is the alternate to State, winning, third place.

Band
Seventh and eighth grade band students recently participated in the Houston Area Private Schools All-City Honor Band event. These students ranked among the top students in private schools in Houston, and accomplished an intensive 1.5-hour rehearsal followed by a great concert.

Eighth Grade: 
Seb Seager ’19 - Flute
May Moorefield ’19 - Flute
Joseph Wagnon ’19 - Tenor Sax
Nicholas Cox ’19 - Trumpet
Daniel King ’19 - French Horn
Darius Goodman ’19 - Euphonium

Seventh Grade:
Rachel Reed ’20 -Flute
Lee Saunders ’20 - Flute
Camila Vicens ’20 - Flute
Nikita Munsif ’20 - Flute
Henry Durning ’20 - Oboe
Brian Xu ’20 - Bassoon
Emily Glickman ’20 - Clarinet
Jared Orkin ’20 - Alto sax
Noah Rubinson ’20 - Trumpet
Julia Burpeau ’20 - Trumpet
Bennett Wagnon ’20 - French Horn
Frankie Wimbish ’20 - Trombone
Michael Bell ’20 - Euphonium
Nicholas Dillon ’20 - Tuba
Arden Fayard ’20 - Percussion

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) announced the nominations for TUTS' 13th Annual Tommy Tune Awards, which will be held on April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

The Tommy Tune Awards recognize and reward excellence in the production of musical theatre by high school students and their teachers.

After evaluating the 45 participating Houston-area high school productions during the 2014-2015 school year, a team of 30 Houston-based theatre professionals nominated 164 participants in 15 award categories. An additional committee considered 76 potential scholarship recipients.

The Kinkaid School’s production of A Chorus Line was nominated 12 times in 11 categories.

• Best Musical
• Best Leading Actor – Ashton Lambert ’18 as Mike
• Best Supporting Actor – Harrison Poe ’15 as Paul
• Best Supporting Actress – Kerry Sullivan ’17 as Val
  
• Best Supporting Actress – Megan Roberts ’15 as Diana
• Best Featured Performer – Brock Looser ’17 as Sheila
• Best Ensemble/Chorus
• Best Costume Design
• Best Lighting Design
• Best Musical Direction
• Best Choreography
• Best Direction

A big round of applause goes out to all the cast, crew, faculty and staff that made A Chorus Line -- One Singular Sensation!

There was lots of excitement at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts last night when Kinkaid’s Upper School musical, A Chorus Line, was named Best Musical at the 13^th annual Tommy Tune Awards. Named for Houston-based Broadway luminary Tommy Tune, who will receive a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement this spring, the Tommy Tune Awards celebrate excellence in high school musical theatre. Kinkaid was one of 45 Houston-area high schools participating in the event. This is the first time a Kinkaid production received the coveted Best Musical award, which is a testament to the remarkable work of the talented, hard-working students and dedicated Fine Arts faculty who brought A Chorus Line to our stage.

Kinkaid received three awards in addition to garnering the Best Musical title. Senior Harrison Poe was named Best Supporting Actor for his powerful performance as Paul.  Recognizing the outstanding work of our faculty choreographers, Krissy Richmond and Aaron Girlinghouse, Kinkaid received the award for Best Choreography. And in what was perhaps the most poignant moment for Kinkaid last night, A Chorus Line received the award for Best Ensemble. What a thrill is was for members of our cast to take to the Hobby Center stage, perform their sensational show-stopping finale, “One,” and receive recognition for their extraordinary work as an ensemble and production team.

If you were not among the large crowd of Kinkaid fans cheering on A Chorus Line at the Hobby Center last night, you will be able to see the awards ceremony broadcast on ABC-13 at noon on Sunday, June 21.

Ashley Deutser '17 wrote an article that was featured in the Houston Chronicle on Saturday, May 16. Ashley holds a leadership role on the Greater Houston Community Foundation's Youth Philanthropy Connect Planning Committee. Her passion for giving back and encouraging others to do so is what urged her to write this piece advising people of all ages to do their part in giving back to the Houston Community. 

Click here to read her outstanding article!  

Tarun Srinivasan '17 was selected as one of five finalists for the International Space Station Science Competition, Genes in Space. The contest requires students in grades 7 through 12 to design an experiment to solve a real-life space exploration problem through DNA analysis. The winning experiment will be performed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) using a miniPCR machine. 

Tarun's experiment tests the compositional changes to bacteria in an astronaut's body before, during and after a journey to space. The five finalists will receive mentoring from R&D sciences from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and will present their proposals to a panel of scientists, educators and technologists at the ISS Research and Development Conference in Boston on July 7. 

For more information on the competition, click here.

Congratulations to Tarun on this amazing achievement!