Orangefield Bobcats School Highlights on KOGT.com

OISD Website

School Board
Phillip Welch, Supt.
Donna Gail Ford
Jack Smith
Nancy Ashworth
Wanda Woods
Donavan Weldon
Susan Gunstream
Thad Angelle

2011-2012 School Highlights

This year’s Orangefield ISD Teachers of the Year: Elementary – Cheryl Linscomb (left), Junior High – Donna Thomas, High School – Jennifer Rumsey. Linscomb, a veteran first grade teacher at OE, was recently awarded the Reaud Teacher of the Year award. Mrs. Linscomb has been an educator for 31 years, nearly all of them with OISD. She received her Bachelor’s degree (1979) and Master’s degree (1984) from Lamar University. Over the course of her stellar career, she has taught Special Education classes, Kindergarten, and 1st grade. She has been a fixture as a first grade teacher in Orangefield since 1981. She was honored with a plaque and a check for $10,000 at a dinner on May 3 at Lamar University.

Nancy Christine “Chrissy” Hickman, 35, of Silsbee died Sunday, April 1, 2012, at Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth in Beaumont. Chrissy was a lifelong resident of Silsbee. She was Salutatorian of the Silsbee High School graduating class of 1995, and was finance director for Orangefield Independent School District. She is survived by her husband, Hiawatha Hickman; son, Alex Hickman; parents, Bobby and Nancy Biddle; brother, David Biddle and his wife, Amanda; “brother” Davey Stephens; and “sister”, Angela Stephens all of Silsbee; best friend, Charlotte Jungen of Beaumont; mother and father-in-law, Iva Jones, Sr. and Linda Jones; and numerous other family and friends. Chrissy is preceded in death by her son, Nate Hickman. Her funeral service will be 4:00 P.M. Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at Broussard’s, 490 Cemetery Road, Silsbee with burial to follow at R. S. Farmer Cemetery. A gathering of family and friends will be Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 5:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. at Broussard’s.

Jackson Calhoun and Haley Permenter were crowned Prom King and Queen at Orangefield High School Saturday night. You can see more pictures in our KOGT Photo Gallery. photo by Teri Newell

Haley has had a great weekend! Sunday she won the Stark Reading Declamation Contest and classmate Kirsten Wolfford won the Interpretive Contest.

Congressman Kevin Brady announced that Hunter Puckett of Orangefield HS will represent the Eighth Congressional District at the 2012 Congressional Art Competition held in Washington, DC. Hunter’s award-winning artwork, Just Five More Minutes, Mom, was named Best of Show at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. “Our district is home to some very talented and accomplished young artists," said Brady. "I couldn't be prouder that Just Five More Minutes, Mom will hang in the U.S. Capitol so thousands of Americans will get a glimpse of what life is like in our very special corner of Texas.” Winners from each congressional district get to have their artwork displayed at the nation’s capitol for an entire year, and Hunter and a guest will be flown to Washington where they will attend a reception. The Congressional Art Competition requires that all artwork be original in concept and design and that all artists be high school students.

2012-2013 Orangefield High School Sophisticats-Naomi Fells,Carly Counts, Haley Abshire, Macy Tapp, Molly Anthony, Cameron Armstrong, Emily McCall, Ceci Wilson, Randah Monceaux, Claire Trawhon, Reanna Hanks, Brianna Teague, Jennifer Bolen, Taylor Morgan, Lieutenant~Kayla Lozano, Haley Kibodeaux, Captain~Leilah Peveto, AmberDeramus, Lieutenant~Kaitlan Crew. The Sophisticats are directed by Jill Morris and Suzanne Ogden

	District Champs It was truly a team effort Tuesday as the Orangefield boys and girls swept the 21-3A District Golf Tournament. Neither team had an individual place in the top two. For the ladies at Wildwood Golf Course, the team of Ashton Gautreaux (212), Megan Burton (219), Jordan Worthy (243), Maggie Hebert (248), and Macy Hamilton (251) combined for a two day team score of 922. Silsbee followed with 937, Hamshire-Fannett 958, Hardin-Jefferson 963, Bridge City “A” 1062 and Bridge City “B” 1198. Claire Trawhon shot a two day score of 247 as a medalist. The Lady Bobcats will compete at Regionals April 16-17 at The Village Golf Club near Conroe. Individually, David Hearn of Bridge City finished second (173) and will head to Regionals.


Bobcat athletes stand in line late Tuesday night to hug Orangefield Athletic Director Brian Huckabay after the school board voted 3-1 with 2 abstains to keep the coach. more

Boys 21-3A Basketball Team.

	Kristin Holbrooks has resigned and left the Orangefield School District. As the head coach of the volleyball team she lead the Lady Bobcats to the playoffs in four of her five seasons. Holbrooks, an LCM grad, told KOGT she is taking a job in north Texas in corporate communications.

Kay Karr, a retired educator who moved to Orange 10 years ago to be near grandchildren, will be the interim superintendent of the Orangefield school district. The school board hired her after meeting two hours in a closed-door executive session. The move comes after Phillip Welch notified the board president on Thursday that he was resigning-retiring. More than 50 people crowded into the board room and out in the hall hoping to speak to the board about Welch's sudden resignation. The crowd included teachers, retired teachers and former board members. But the school board did not allow any comments. The board unanimously voted (Donna Gail Ford was absent because of illness) to hire Karr and didn't introduce her. Board members Jack Smith and Thad Angelle quickly left the meeting room and the building as some school patrons asked for at least an introduction to their new interim superintendent. Karr, who had been sitting at the board table, was standing and began telling people her background. She was born and raised in West Texas and been an educator for 47 years. She has taught at all grade levels before becoming an administrator and superintendent. In addition, she worked for the Texas Education Agency as a monitor and conservator in different school district. She said she moved to Orange in 2002 because her daughter married someone from here and she wanted to be near her grandchildren. Board President Nancy Ashworth said she hopes to have a new superintendent hired for the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. Before Tuesday's school board meeting, Orangefield School Board President Nancy Ashworth released this statement to KOGT concerning the retirement of Supt. Phillip Welch.

	Orangefield Superintendent Phillip Welch has told his faculty that he will be resigning after five years and will announce it at the next school board meeting which will be Tuesday. Welch, who has been with the district more than 20 years, stated he was eligible for retirement and that in his opinion, "it is the best thing for OISD at this time."

		Orangefield senior Ashton Wagner (left) and OF junior Kacey LeBlanc were named to the Coaches 21-3A All-District Basketball Team.


The Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation congratulates the students of Orangefield High School that participated in the Miriam Lutcher Stark Contest in Reading and Declamation. On Thursday, February 16, 2012, students took part in the local level contest at the Orangefield Elementary campus. In declamation, Haley Permenter (left) took first place with Declaration of Conscience by Margaret Chase Smith, and in interpretive reading, Kirsten Wofford (2nd from right) won first place with her interpretation of Katherine Mansfield's The Singing Lesson. Second place went to Kirby Clayton and Kathryn Petry in declamation and interpretive reading, respectively, and they receive $1,500 in scholarships for their efforts. In addition, all participating students received a certificate for competing in the contest from Orangefield High School principle Shaun McAlpine. The two first place winners, Permenter and Wofford receive $2,000 in scholarships and will go on to compete in the County Final contest at the Lutcher Theater on April 29, 2012.

Senior Ashton Wagner hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to give Orangefield a 43-42 lead. But Giddings took over in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Bobcats 20-9 and winning 62-52 in the Area round playoff game played in Huntsville Thursday, Feb. 16. Wagner finished with 14 points, Kacey LeBlanc scored 12, and Morgan Moss added 11. OF was hindered by 41 turnovers and they were called for 27 fouls compared to 9 for Giddings. OF ends the season 20-14 while Giddings (32-5) will play Hardin-Jefferson.

Orangefield standout Ty Johnson will be playing football at the next level after signing Wednesday with Texas Lutheran, located in Seguin. The Bulldogs play in the Division III American Southwest Conference and were 5-5 a year ago.

21-3A boys		21-3A girls		20-4A boys		20-4A girls
H-Jefferson* Silsbee* H-Fannett WOS Orangefield Bridge City	9-1 9-1 4-6 4-6 4-6 0-10	H-Jefferson* H-Fannett* Orangefield* Bridge City WOS Silsbee	10-0 8-2 6-4 4-6 1-9 1-9	Nederland* Central* Ozen* LCM* Lumberton Livingston PNG Vidor	12-2 12-2 11-3 8-6 2-13 6-8 4-10 1-13	Ozen* Central* Vidor* Lumberton* Livingston LCM Nederland PNG	14-0 12-2 10-4 7-7 6-8 5-9 2-12 0-14

Orangefield graduate Nathan Reeves, 28, who has been the offensive line coach at Lamar University, has been hired by new A&M coach Kevin Sumlin to be the offensive quality control assistant.

21-3A Football Team

All-KOGT Football Team

Academic All-State Football Team

Bobcat Choir member, Daryl Broussard, earned a place in the All State Mixed Choir. In head to head competition, he competed against students from the Orange area to the greater Houston area to make the top choir in the state of Texas.

Two Orangefield High School students excelled in the 2011-2012 Voice of Democracy Oratory and Essay contest. Orange Area winners were Carrie Grace Henderson, 2nd place, and Kirby Clayton, 3rd place. Carrie Grace Henderson also place 2nd in the District 2 level of competition.

The Bridge City Chamber of Commerce presented Mr. Shaun McAlpin, High School Principal with the Orangefield Independent School District as the Employee of the Month at the January monthly Networking coffee hosted by Orangefield High School and presented at the Orangefield-Cormier Museum located on FM 105 in Orangefield. Steadfast, dependable, conscientious, high-energy, fair, consistent and a good Christian role-model for young people, those are the words that describe Mr. Shaun McAlpin this months recipient. Shaun McAlpin has deep roots in Bobcat Territory. He worked summers for the district in their work program between his junior and senior year of high school, served as an office aide his senior year, and was a 1996 OHS graduate. He received Orangefield’s highest athletic honor where he received the Ed Peveto Scholarship which helped him start his degree at Lamar University. He was often named to the Dean’s list on numerous occasions, and received his degree in 2000. Shaun has been an educator for the past twelve years; after graduating from Lamar, he returned to his home turf to become a trainer for the OHS athletic department that gave him his start. He was a trainer and health teacher for three years, and then became the Assistant Principal at Orangefield Elementary School, where he served for two years in that capacity. He next moved to the high school where he served another two years in the Assistant Principal capacity. He is now in his fifth year as principal of OHS, and in March of 2011 he was selected by TASSB (the organization for administrators in Texas) as “High School Principal of the Year”. Mr. McAlpin is everywhere, actively involved with the students, faculty and staff. He is a very visible principal and he is great with his one-on-one relating to teens and their experiences. He is a very real person and his genuine concern for the students comes across in his interactions with them. He is a team leader, leading by example and with a “hands on” approach to what needs to be accomplished. He is a gentleman and is a rare privilege to work with for. His daily announcements end each day with “OHS, ONLY THE BEST” and he lives by that motto. Mr.McAlpin is married to wife, Lindsey, and they now have two beautiful children. His son Rylan will be 4 years old at the end of March, and his daughter Ainsley is 9 months old. He is actively involved in his church and is a man that “walks the walk” and doesn’t just “talk the talk” in his interactions with his faculty and young people. Orangefield High School is very blessed to have Shaun McAlpin as its educational leader. We are proud of him and of his many accomplishments and are glad to recognize him as employee of the month.

Orangefield's Kaitlyn Henson will become the first Bobcat volleyball to play at the collegiate level. Monday she signed to play with North Central Texas College in Gainesville.

Orangefield High School held its Winter Dance on Saturday, December 10. Vivian Luong and Mason Ousley were crowned Queen and King.

The Orangefield Bobcats won the Evadale Tournament. They defeated Deweyville 71-43, Hamshire-Fannett 54-39, and Vidor, in the championship, 59-47. Steele Bolton was named the Tournament MVP and Levi Shores was also named to the All Tournament Team. The Bobcats went 4-0 last week to move their record to 5-2 on the year. They will travel to Nederland on Tuesday and host the Bill Tennison Memorial Tournament on December 8-10.

Orangefield's District (21-3A) Volleyball Picks. Top (left to right): Rebecca Higginbotham-2nd team, Morgan Moss-1st team, Jennifer McManus-1st team, Allie Sherwood-2nd team. Bottom (left to right): Kaitlynn Henson-Outstanding Outside Hitter, Kacey LeBlanc-Outstanding Libero, Ashton Wagner-Honorable Mention. Henson, McManus and LeBlanc also made the All-KOGT Volleyball Team.

21-3A volleyball All-District Team.

21-3A Volleyball
(1)Silsbee 8-2	(2)Orangefield 6-4
(3)Bridge City 6-4	H-Fannett 3-7
WOS 6-4	H-Jefferson 1-9

Principal Shaun McAlpin crowns Ashley Ehrlich as the 2011-12 Homecoming Queen at Orangefield High School Friday night.

The Bobcats also won the game, beating Jasper 47-37.

There will be two new administrators at Orangefield Junior High School for the 2011-2012 school year. Preston Clark (left) is a 1987 graduate of Orangefield High School will be principal. Mr. Clark had been an assistant principal at Vidor High School for two years before becoming the principal of Evadale High School last year. Hank Hargraves is the new assistant principal. Mr. Hargraves had been a teacher/coach at Hardin Jefferson, East Chambers and Bullard. Mr. Hargraves had been an assistant principal at Higgins Elementary at Whitehouse ISD for the past two years.

The 2011-12 Orangefield Varsity Cheerleaders are at camp this week preparing for the upcoming school year. Front row: Jenna Worthy, Ashla Tran, Logan Hayes, Hannah Walles, Brianna Graffagnino. Middle: Ashley Ehrlich, Lindsay Caswell, Lexi Bonin, Chloe Breaux. Back row: Jaycie Willis (mascot), Kacey LeBlanc, Ashlyn Edwards, Haley Permenter, Lauren Smith (mascot). re.

Orangefield High Junior Varsity Cheerleaders for the 2011-12 school year. Front row: Jessica Carpenter, Geri Jackson, Bailey Berry, Kirsten Wolfford, Destiny Stidham. Back row: Brittany Ashworth, Aailyah Johnson, Emilee Bellow, Kortnie Frazier, Madison Ousley, Macy Edgerly, Haley Woods.