Wylie Today

The McMillan Junior High band has advanced to the state level contest in the State Honor Band competition.  Every other year, bands from across the state submit recordings from live performances that are judged at the Region, Area, and State levels.  The ultimate winner is crowned Texas State Honor Band and is invited to perform a concert at the Texas Music Educators Association annual conference in San Antonio.

The Region level contest was held on June 12 at Wylie East High School where a five-judge panel named McMillan and Haggard Middle School of Plano as the top two class CC bands.  The Region level contest involved schools from Wylie, Plano, McKinney and Allen.  There are a total of 28 Regions in the State.  The area level contest occurred on June 21 in Richardson where, once again the McMillan and Haggard bands were selected as the top two bands to advance to the state contest.  The Area level contest included bands from the DFW area as well as East Texas.  There are seven areas in the State.

The state contest will take place on July 27^th in San Antonio.  The fourteen advancing bands will be judged by the five-member panel and the winner will be named State Honor Band.  This is the first time a Wylie ISD Junior High band has advanced to this level.  We are very proud of these outstanding musicians and their teachers.  Band Director at McMillan Junior High is Lisa Fitts.  She is assisted by John Denis.

Written by Mike Lipe

The City of Wylie continues making the Summer events one to remember for ages to come. There is no concert tonight as tomorrow night is movie night at Olde City Park! The flick starts at 9:30, kind of late, I know, but you can’t watch a movie in the sun. You just can’t do it.

The first movie of the series is Bee Movie! We rented this movie a while back and the kids absolutely loved it. It’s good for the parents, as well. I’m not going to tell you about how it brought a tear to my eye. Because it didn’t. I’m cold and a man and I just don’t tear up during animated kid flicks. I don’t care if dreams are realized after long and traumatic journeys, I don’t tear up. So I won’t tell you about that part.

Wait…

Yeah, anyway. Tomorrow night, June 27th, 9:30 pm at Olde City Park. Bring your blankets or chairs, snacks and drinks and enjoy a movie with your neighbors in the park. Shrek 3 will be the feature presentation on July 25th.

Cheers!

The WISD School Board of Trustees will hold two public forums to seek input regarding the proposed high school attendance zones. The first of these meetings is tonight, June 23rd at 7 pm and will be held at Wylie High School. Next Monday, June 30th, the forum will be at Wylie East High School at 7 pm.

Residents of WISD are encouraged to attended and voice their opinion on proposed future attendance zones for high school students. Below is the map that was approved during the second reading. Click the image for a super-duper large ultra-readable version.

WYLIE, TX (June 17, 2008) – On a cool spring day in April at Olde City Park in historic downtown Wylie, giddy guests gathered for a beautiful wedding. Ocean and ChrisW would exchange vows in front of their loved ones and friends: judybug, Lady Di, marknjul, mom of 3, momof4, Bodance, lrsimms, jett1boo and many others excited to share in this one-of-a-kind event.

If the happy couple’s name and guest list sounds unique, well, they are. What makes it even more unique is that many of the guests had never even met the bride and groom until this very day. You see, the couple and guests are part of an on-line community message board, The Wylie View. Wylie View members create an alias to post messages instead of using their real name. And it is on The Wylie View, the only one of its kind in and around Wylie, Texas, that the idea of a Wylie View wedding was conceived.

It started when Ocean (Renea Dobbs) asked for encouragement and prayers from her new found virtual friends. She joined in January 2008 and saw how supportive The Wylie View members where in a forum marked Prayer Requests. She asked her fellow Wylie Viewers to pray for her oldest son to understand why she and the love of her life couldn’t get married this year. Though Ocean and ChrisW (Chris Walker) had been together for 13 years, circumstances prevented them from tying the knot. A marriage by a judge would not do… they wanted to be married in the eyes of God.

Many Wylie View members responded to her request by offering their understanding and prayer. But one Wylie View member saw an opportunity, an opportunity to have the first ever Wylie View wedding! Newly licensed to preside over weddings, a man of God, Earl Newsom (his member alias and real name), announced that Ocean and ChrisW would indeed have their wedding this year and he personally would officiate.

Now all that was needed was a venue, time, and guests. That’s where The Wylie View members came in. Lady Di (aka Diane Culver) was appointed the wedding coordinator and asked the giving community of Wylie Viewers to pitch in. Bodance provided perfectly timed music and DJ services. Over Yonder’s wife, Jayne, supplied an elegant three tired cake. MrsHobbyLobby made the beautiful flower arrangements. Jessamos organized the delicious food, making much of it herself. Mortimer, jnewsom, and darndest photographed the event. Mom of 3 donated the chairs and helped momof4 and Hopemarie decorate the gazebo and pavilion. Alicia created a handmade guest book containing photos she took of the couple before the wedding. So many people, many whom had never met in person, offered support with their time, talents, and monetarily to make this wedding happen.

It was an exciting event; the bride was glowingly beautiful, the groom handsome and the happy couple’s family proud. After the wedding, ChrisW made a post on the message board saying, “I would like to let everyone involved in giving us this beautiful wedding know that we will cherish this for rest of our lives. Thanks for a meaningful future!”

The wedding was a success because a few caring people acted on a simple yet profound prayer request to help a mother’s son’s dream come true. The Wylie View has proven over and over again to be a generous community that allows compassion and kindness to go beyond the keyboard and computer screen. The Wylie View is a living, breathing community of good-hearted people living in and around Wylie, Texas.

The Wylie View, LLC is an Internet community message board bringing the people of Wylie and surrounding areas together online with over 2,500 registered users and growing each day. Log onto www.wylieview.com for more information.

The Wylie ISD Board of Trustees may be asking you to increase ISD taxes this year. Trustees listened earnestly to the WISD finance director during the second budget workshop Monday night, May 18th. The tax relief program implemented by the State of Texas last year is causing serious fiscal concerns with school budgets.

ISD taxes have two parts to them; Maintenance & Operations (M&O) and Debt Service. The Debt Service portion of ISD taxes can not exceed 50 cents per $100 of appraised property value. This portion is used to cover debt incurred by the district through issued bonds. Wylie ISD’s rate is currently 35 cents.

The M&O portion is used for exactly that, Maintenance and Operations of the district. The maximum rate the ISD can use without an election is $1.04. Wylie ISD’s M&O tax rate is currently set at $1.04. The M&O portion of ISD taxes has a ceiling of $1.17. But in order to use the maximum allowed, the voters within the district must agree and demonstrate their agreement at the polls.

Based on the conversation that took place Monday night, I will be really surprised if the WISD Board of Trustees didn’t ask citizens to raise the tax rate with a vote in November. And honestly, it’s not as bad as it sounds because it provides an automatic return on investment from the state.

The first 6 pennies over one dollar mark are referred to as “Golden Pennies” because they are matched by the state at a ratio of approximately 1.25. That means every dollar the ISD generates in taxes using those 6 “Golden Pennies”, the State of Texas gives the ISD $1.25 in return on top of that. Pennies 7 through 17 are also matched, but at a significantly reduced rate.

WISD Superintendent Dr. John Fuller recommended to the Trustees to ask citizens to raise taxes to the maximum amount allowed. Without those additional 13 pennies, teacher and staff raises might be out of the question, resulting in a loss of talented educators to other districts. Dr. Fuller made it clear that he would forfeit his recent raise as well.

Currently, 12% of districts have successfully voted on tax rates higher than $1.04. Dr. Fuller said he expects this number to increase as he thinks many districts will have this item on the ballot in November. His ideal scenario though is for the State legislation to fix the problem they have created.

A summer breeze blows through Olde City Park Thursday evening as folks set up their lawn chairs and kids run around the playground. Friends and neighbors meet up, settle down with a snowcone, and chat while they wait for the show to start.

Newly elected mayor Eric Hogue takes the stage to address the good people of Wylie and introduce the night’s act to cheers and shouts. And then a ripple of excitement runs through the crowd as a pink convertible carries Kraig Parker to the stage. We know it’s not really Elvis, but for one night, we like to pretend that it is.

Mr. Parker, www.thekinglives.com, is by far the best Elvis impersonator (tribute performer?) I’ve ever seen. The crowd seemed to agree, and I think I might have even seen a few ladies swoon.

Each year, the good people of Wylie are invited to a series of free summer concerts in the park. They have been fun in years past when they were held at Founders Park, but there’s something about being in historic downtown Wylie that makes it more special, more fun, more Main Street USA. These are a fantastic way to have fun with your friends and family, meet more of your neighbors, and enjoy what Wylie has to offer. I forgot how much I enjoy these concerts, as much for the entertainment as for the opportunity to visit with my friends.

Visit http://www.wylietexas.gov/Events/concert.htm for a summer concert schedule.

Wylie might not be such a small town anymore, but it definitely hasn’t lost its small town charm. It’s nights like last night that make me love living in Wylie.

Written by Monica Tillery

Photos © 2008 wylietoday.com

Brian from Mad Science visited the Smith Public Library today to entertain the lucky audience of kids home for summer break.

He amazed (and startled) kids with entertaining experiments involving mysterious potions, physics, strange goop, and even fire! It looks like Mad Science is available for group presentations and birthday parties.

I know a soon-to-be 7 year old who would love to have a mad scientist at his next party!
Visit www.madscience.org for more information.

The Smith Public Library has a full schedule this summer of exciting entertainment for youngsters–and it’s all free!  Please visit the City of Wylie website (www.wylietexas.gov) to put these presentations on your calendar. You and your kids can be entertained in the air-conditioned sanctuary of the library, and pick up some books and DVDs for home on your way out.

Written By Monica Tillery

Thursday night, June 12th, is the start of the annual Wylie Summer Concert Series. This year’s event kicks off with a bang featuring Kraig Parker Ultimate Elvis Tribute. Since I never got to see Elvis before he passed on, I’m positive that this experience will fill that void in my life.

Positive.

I’ll be there with my family and most certainly sweating like a roofer in July in Texas. And by there I mean Olde City Park in Downtown Wylie. Don’t go to Community Park unless you want to play basketball or run the track. The show this year is in Historic Downtown Wylie and I’ve heard that quite a few shops will stay open until 7pm or later this year.

So head out early and do some shopping or taste the fudge at Twisted Pepper before the show. I hope to see you there. I’ll post pictures on Friday.

Smith Public Library held its annual Summer Reading Kickoff event this morning, and it was a huge success!

Wylie firefighters and a police officer were on hand to pass out information, talk to kids, and show off their cool rides. A Wylie ambulance was parked in the lot as well, which the kids found fascinating.

A DJ blasted kid-friendly music for everyone to enjoy while waiting in line for the petting zoo or face painting. Inside, the Bluebonnet room was taken over by little jewelry designers–kids and their parents were able to craft bead bracelets to wear or give.

I think my favorite part was the visit by Abby the Collie in the Children’s section.  This beautiful collie is a trained Delta Society therapy dog who helps children develop their reading and communication skills. She is available at Smith Public Library the first and third Thursday of each month from 6:30-7:30.  Tickets are free but limited and available on a first come first serve basis.

The kids and I both signed up for the summer reading program. Visit the library to pick up your reading log, keep track of the books you read and turn them in for a prize. Kids can read 10 books or for 10 hours, adults read 5 books. We signed up today, but you can still sign up at the library. Logs are due July 31.

Staff and volunteers worked very hard to put this wonderful event together, and they work hard year round to be of service to the citizens of Wylie. For more information about the library or its programs, call 972-442-7566 or visit www.wylietexas.gov/library.

Written by Monica Tillery

From February to May 2008, Northern Michigan University students enrolled in an English Education course joined forces with sixth graders from Davis Intermediate School in Wylie, Texas in an Academic Service Learning project focused on writing.  Kim David (6^th grade Language Arts teacher for Wylie ISD) and Kia Jane Richmond, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of English at NMU and former Wylie Middle School teacher) designed this web-based, collaborative project after a similar project’s success in 2007. Richmond’s students acted as writing mentors for David’s sixth grade writing buddies via WebCT, a computer e-learning program.

Using a closed internet system provided by WebCT, sixth grade students shared their written narratives and received peer critiques, suggestions, and assessments from their mentors at NMU.  Davis IS students were charged with the assignment of writing a story from a unique perspective (i.e., telling about a soccer game from the soccer ball’s point of view) and included a problem/solution. 

One student from NMU noted that the best part of the class was being involved in the collaboration, stating, “I have never had so much fun grading and critiquing someone’s paper before. The fact that we as a class made such an impression on those 6^th graders, gives me such a great feeling.”  Other college students noted many benefits from the program: developing strategies for responding to student writing, developing a professional teaching identity, and developing empathy for young writers.

Davis IS students greatly benefited from the ongoing conferencing of their papers via WebCT – continuously revising and editing per their mentors’ advice prior to turning their papers in to Mrs. David for a final grade.  “Throughout this collaboration the students and I were equally anxious to check the website for mentors’ feedback,” said Mrs. David.  “As students could also access the website from home, those with Internet service were able to communicate more frequently with their mentors; moreover, we would receive daily updates from students who volunteered to monitor the incoming email.”  From an end-of-project survey administered to her students, such comments as “They [NMU mentors] helped us a lot, and it was fun” and “I wish it could have been longer” were provided as feedback.