Blog entries - May 2009

Alvin ISD Student Makes Pearland Proud at Scripps National Spelling Bee

Cheryl Boe — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Alvin Independent School District has another reason to be proud. Recently one of its students earned local and national attention at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Aditya Chemudupaty from Pearland is a student at Nolan Ryan Junior High in the Alvin Independent School District. He was one of 41 semifinalists in the spelling bee and when eliminated, was just one of 11 spellers who remained in the competitions. Rankings indicate that he is tied for 12th in the country. After competing against hundreds of students from around the county, Chemudupaty, Speller No. 255, got stuck on the word 'grenache' and spelled it incorrectly as 'granache'.

Chemudupaty was one of 41 semifinalists in the spelling bee. When he was eliminated, there were only 11 spellers left. Rankings indicate that he is tied for 12th in the country.

His fellow classmates, educators in the Alvin district and the Houston area are proud of his accomplishments. Chemudupaty is an accomplished seventh-grader just for making it to the competition, which only accepted 293 contestants. The purpose of the spelling bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabulary, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.

His school, Nolan Ryan Junior High, is one of three outstanding schools that serve children living in Lakes of Savannah, located just minutes from SH 288 in the Pearland area. New homes by top Houston builders are priced from the $140,000s to the $300,000s and new models are now open in the community. Visitors can tour beautifully decorated model homes by Lennar, Brighton Homes and J. Patrick Homes.

In addition to Nolan Ryan Junior High, students in Lakes of Savannah students attend Savannah Lakes Elementary, which is right in the community and Manvel High School. All three schools are among the newest in the TEA Recognized Alvin Independent School District.

Pearland Center Hosts Job Symposium

Melissa Burnham — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

In order to make way for evolving technologies, expanding global markets and fiscal challenges within the Texas workforce development, the Texas State Technical College, in partnership with Alvin Community College, will host the Inaugural Horizon Technologies Summer Symposium on June 4th at the Pearland Center.

The purpose of this symposium is to discuss the restructuring of Texas employment trends as they relate to hiring young employees and their educational status. “Our nation’s education dropout crisis poses a significant threat to economic growth and competitiveness,” says Michael Bettersworth, the TSTC Associate Vice Chancellor for Technology Advancement. “Employers can no longer afford to hire and train dropouts and are more likely to go where skilled labor already exists,” he continued. This can be seen by the remarkable low statistic of high school and college graduates who have recently had no luck in procuring stable employment. Of the students who do actually graduate, there is as of yet an un-ideal percentage, made up of an annual 7,000 high school dropouts and only one quarter of college students returning after their sophomore year. Bettersworth believes it is necessary to “rethink and restructure our approach to education in light of this understanding, in terms of courses, awards, and the definition of student success.”

Thus, the goal of the TSTC Symposium is to “accelerate skill acquisition so that people are aligned to medium and high paying jobs quickly,” states Jim Brazell, a technology forecaster, president of VentureRamp, Inc. and featured guest speaker. According to him, there are plenty of good jobs available and are waiting to be filled. The only hold-up is that the people needing those jobs have not properly gained the skills necessary to fulfill the open positions. TSTC addresses these needs by providing individuals searching for a career with high skills training as well as industries and businesses searching for highly trained employees, specifically by adapting to the training needs of each individual to build the knowledge and experience they already possess. There is an evident gap between the needs for employers versus employees; this symposium stands to eliminate this trend.

Guest speakers at the symposium will also include District 29 Texas Representative Randy Weber, Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering Senior Scientist Kathleen M. Rosendahl-Garcia, TSTC Vice President of Innovative Solutions William Thompson, TSTC Wind Energy Technician Program Chair Dan Templeton and ACC Continuing Education Workforce Development Program & Curriculum Development Director Dr. Arthur "Pete" Linkins, III.

The Inaugural Horizon Technologies Summer Symposium will be held 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $145 per person or $75 per person if two or more register together. Lunch and snacks will be provided. For more information or to register, call (281) 756-3900. The Pearland Center is located at 2319 N. Grand Blvd.

Source: Houston Chronicle

Manvel Area Growth Reflected in City Land Purchase

Daphne Hager — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

A portion of the recent growth in the Pearland/Manvel/Alvin areas can be attributed to the flourishing of the Lakes of Savannah community. As a response to the City of Manvel's recent growth, Manvel expects to finalize a purchase of 4.64 acres of land in Old Town Manvel within the next month.

The $138,000 property is located at 6311 N. Masters Road, approved for purchase by the Manvel City Council in early 2009.

The land will be the site for a new permanent public-works facility, planned to be near a brand new City Hall and police station. Plans are to expand the current City Hall by 2,400 square feet and use it as a county library branch.

Plans to build the actual public-works facility are in the beginning stages, and there is no definite cost estimate in City Council's hands as of yet. The new facility is hoped to have space for materials, equipment, an office, and fencing to prevent theft (a current risk at the public-works facility's currently rented location).

Lakes of Savannah residents are close neighbors to Manvel, as Lakes of Savannah high school students currently attend Manvel High School, which opened in Fall of 2006. The city-community relationship is prospected to be a mutually beneficial one in years to come.

New Pilot Recycling Program in West Pearland

Melissa Burnham — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Houston is on the move to becoming more green, and Pearland is making it even easier.

Keep Pearland Beautiful, a local community foundation, is hosting a new recycling program that was launched earlier this month to help promote recycling in the area. The drop off location is conveniently centered at the back of the H-E-B Plus store at 2805 Business Center Dr. on the west side of highway 288, just about four miles north of Lakes of Savannah. The site is marked by large, yellow Paper Retriever containers that accept recyclable materials such as paper, plastic, aluminum, and steel cans.

Despite the appeal, there is one catch. This program is only a “pilot” operation lasting three months. In order to keep it going, the city of Pearland and its residents must prove that there is a serious need for the program by generating enough recyclable materials to warrant the permanence of the containers with a once-a-week scheduled pick-up.

A bonus is even included. The funds generated from the sale of recyclables will come back to Keep Pearland Beautiful, which has already raised over $50,000 for non-profits across Texas since the pilot program was launched.

So before you toss out bag after bag of trash, make the effort to reduce the amount of unnecessary waste we produce and take your paper and plastics for recycling. The location is convenient, so there is no excuse not to bring a bag or two on the way to buy groceries. If you love your Pearland community, help keep it beautiful and take advantage of this new recycling opportunity!

Alvin Community College: 2009 Kids' College Registration Begins May 18th

Daphne Hager — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Alvin Community College presents: ACC Busy Bodies Kids' College on three campuses in June and July. Pearland/Lakes of Savannah parents should all look into registering their children entering 1st through 6th grades.

Registration begins May 18th, from 9:00 - 4:30, Monday - Thursday at the Alvin Community College - Main Campus.

The cost per child per week is $95, and t-shirts can be purchased for $10 while supplies last.

There will be three locations (Mary Marek Elementary, and Alvin location, and a Pearland location) as well as multiple sessions depending on the location. Early registration options are available as well.

To learn more, view the informational PDF.

Children will participate in activities such as cheerleading, writing, directing, designing, acting, kickball, basketball, dodgeball, investigations, pottery, relay races, crafts, and more.

Pearland Pet Adoption at Pearland PetSmart

Daphne Hager — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

For the canine and feline lovers in Pearland and Lakes of Savannah, HOPE, or the Homeless & Orphaned Pets Endeavor, has pets in need of homes every weekend at the Pearland PetSmart. Those looking for a new dog can visit on the second and fourth weekends of the month, while cat lovers can find a new friend every weekend.

HOPE is a Houston-based all-foster, no kill adoption group.

From the HOPE Website:

One aim of HOPE is to develop a network of area rescue and humane organizations which will facilitate the rescue and placement of a variety of animals. The goal is to never have to turn away an animal in need. By forming a coalition of humane and rescue groups in the Houston area, we could potentially place all animals who need a temporary home until they are placed into a permanent one.

Visitors can donate to the organization through their website or support by fostering or adopting an animal in need.

The Pearland PetSmart is located at:
3119 Silverlake Village Dr
Pearland, TX 77584

Visit from noon to 4 p.m.

Lakes of Savannah on Facebook and Twitter

Daphne Hager — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

For our active community members and other Lakes of Savannah followers, Lakes of Savannah is excited to announce the debut of our very own Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can find us on either social network through search or by clicking the corresponding links above.

Facebook

The Lakes of Savannah Facebook Page is a resource to all Lakes of Savannah residents as well as realtors. Facebook users can become a fan of Lakes of Savannah, share thoughts, pictures, links, and even videos of events in and around Lakes of Savannah and the Pearland area.

Twitter

The Lakes of Savannah Twitter page is yet another way that we hope to stay close and connected to our community members and realtos. Twitter-ers can now easily follow our "tweets" on the latest news at Lakes of Savannah.

As always, thank you for your interest in the latest and greatest at Lakes of Savannah!