BY JOE GULICK

12 - 12:28am

Neloy Shome earned his right to go to the National Spelling Bee on March 3 by winning the 61st Annual Avalanche-Journal Regional Spelling Bee.

Neloy Shome hasn’t taken the stage yet at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but he spelled his first words there in a Round One written test Tuesday morning. “It was on a computer, and it was 50 words. They give a pronunciation and a definition, and you have to type it in,” he said. The All-Saints Episcopal School seventh-grader earned his right to go to the National Spelling Bee on March 3 by winning the 61st Annual Avalanche-Journal Regional Spelling Bee.

RoboRaiders to compete for national robotics title 04/26/12 - 12:18am

A basketball-shooting robot nicknamed “Shiner Bot” has taken the Llano Estacado RoboRaiders to a national robotics competition. The local team will compete from today to Saturday at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics championship in St. Louis. The RoboRaiders are a multi-school hybrid team. Mentors are Texas Tech students, and the competitors are high school students from five public schools, one private school and one who is home-schooled.

Nov. 19 death of Estacado student Quinton Smith ruled a suicide 03/06/12 - 1:18am

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office and Dallas Police Department have ruled the Nov. 19 death of Estacado High School student Quinton Smith as a suicide.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office and Dallas Police Department have ruled the Nov. 19 death of Estacado High School student Quinton Smith as a suicide. Smith, a 17-year old Estacado junior, died about 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, in a fall from the roof of the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, where he was competing in a national chess tournament. The cause of death was blunt force injury, according to an employee of the medical examiner’s office, who said she was not allowed to give her name.

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Lubbock High, Estacado finish in Top 10 in state academic decathlon meets 02/28/12 - 1:08am

Estacado High School finished sixth in the small-school academic decathlon state meet, and Lubbock High School was ninth in the large-school state meet last weekend. Monterey High School also qualified for the state meet but did not finish in the top 10 among the 40 teams in the large-school meet, coach Angela Carter said. Estacado had finished 10th in regional competition scores among the 15 schools qualifying for the small-school state meet. The Matadors’ sixth-place finish marked a strong improvement at state, said Andrew Geppert, one of Estacado’s coaches.

TEA commissioner suspends controversial STAAR rule 02/18/12 - 6:37pm

Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott deferred a requirement the STAAR end-of-course exams have to count 15 percent of students? grades in the courses.

Texas ninth-grade teachers, students and the students’ parents are breathing easier today after a controversial rule about the new end-of-course accountability tests has been delayed for a year. Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott deferred a requirement the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) end-of-course (EOC) exams have to count 15 percent of students’ grades in the courses. Ninth-graders will be the first students to take these particular exams, so they would have been the only students affected by the end-of-course grade requirement this year.

LISD officials considering change in high school schedules 02/18/12 - 4:55pm

Lubbock Independent School District officials are proposing changing high school schedules from a four-period, every-other-day schedule to a traditional eight-period school day.

Lubbock Independent School District officials are proposing changing high school schedules from a four-period, every-other-day schedule to a traditional eight-period school day. Estacado High is already on an eight-period, every-day schedule — what is often called a “traditional” schedule — but Monterey, Lubbock and Coronado high schools use what are called “block” schedules. Both types of schedules have eight periods, but they are presented in very different ways. Traditional schedules have eight 50-minute classes every day.

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LISD board approves early notification incentive for second year 02/10/12 - 1:25am

Lubbock Independent School District teachers who notify the district by Feb. 29 of their plans to retire or resign will receive a $1,500 bonus. The LISD Board of Trustees approved the early notification incentive for the second year in a row at a board workshop Thursday morning. Under state law, teachers have until July 1 to notify the district of their plans to retire or resign. The advance notice of their intentions helps principals know how many vacancies they will have, said Superintendent Karen Garza.

Lubbock-Cooper to host anti-bullying program Rachel's Challenge today 02/07/12 - 1:22am

Middle school students in the Lubbock-Cooper Independent School District will hear presentations of the anti-bullying, anti-violence program Rachel's Challenge today.

Adults and middle school students in the Lubbock-Cooper Independent School District will hear presentations of the anti-bullying, anti-violence program Rachel’s Challenge today. Darrell Scott started the national program in honor of his daughter, Rachel Scott, the first student killed during the Columbine High School massacre in April 1999.

LISD trustee Mario Ybarra is running for re-election 05/11/12 - 9:06pm

Mario Ybarra, 51, has announced his re-election campaign for the District 1 seat on the Lubbock Independent School District board of trustees. The election is May 12. Ybarra was appointed to the board in 2005 to fill a vacancy. He was elected to a two-year unexpired term in 2006 and a four-year term in 2008. Ybarra, who serves as secretary of the school board, is a business service representative of Workforce Solutions of the South Plains. Ybarra said he is proudest of his ability to work with the other board members and to make hard decisions when necessary.

LISD String Fling will focus on the silver screen 02/07/12 - 1:20am

Some of the music, such as "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz," highlights from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and the theme from "Titanic," are straight out of movies.

The Lubbock Independent School District’s 27th-annual String Fling will take a trip to the movies at 7 p.m. today, figuratively speaking. The theme for this year’s showcase of the district’s 12 high school and middle school orchestras is “Silver Screen Strings.” The directors have chosen music to go along with the theme, said Will Burks, LISD fine arts director. Some of the music, such as “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz,” highlights from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and the theme from “Titanic,” are straight out of movies.