Persuasive
1. Scott Newmyer
3. Elliott SoRelle
4. Max Welter

Prose Interpretation
2. Claire Cole

Ready Writing
2. Diane Valahu
4. Nicole Smith
5. Larissa Sheldon

Yearbook
2. Bifrost Frame of Mind

Newspaper
1. Review

Science
1. Jeff SoRelle
2. Alex Jones
3. Alex Uber

Number Sense
1. Max Welter

Calculator
4. Daniel Mark

Advanced Math
2. Scott Newmyer
5. Jeff SoRelle
6. Alex Uber

Current Issues and Events
1. Austin Probe
6. Bricker Bruner

Solo Acting
4. Hanna Thompson
5. Emily Smith

Spanish
3. Mariana Concepcion
6. Meg Quinius

Duet Acting
5. Bauer/Freeman

Literary Criticism
1. Nicole Smith
2. Larissa Sheldon
3. Carolyn goss

Mathematics
1. Austin Probe
5. Tara Brindley
6. Audrey Lowder

Spelling
1. Chirs Aguirre
2. Carolyn Raymond
4. Yoni Kamenetsky

Social Studies
1. Daniel Mark
3. Jeff SoRelle

Original Oratory
2. Elliott SoRelle
6. Shannon Jones

Pancake lovers huddled in the chilly weather at Break on Thursday, Nov. 17, as a new concept in school fundraisers emerged. VHOP, the Vanguard House of Pancakes, was a sizzling success created by the Student Council to boost campus contributions to the annual Caritas Food Bank.

Council members sold plates of pancakes dripping with butter and syrup. Hungry students crowded around the buffet line, hoping to fill up before heading to the next class. “The pancakes were awesome,” said Taylor Callaway, Student Council president, “and we made $116. from sales to help buy more cans for Caritas.” At the final count, Vanguard students brought in 10,598 cans.

Griddle gurus worked feverishly indoors preparing more than 200 pancakes. Sous chefs Audrey Lowder, Carolyn Goss, Aline Leslie and Carol Spain assisted Mary Mann, mastermind of the project. A sticky situation arose when the griddles caused a power outage. Quickly remedied, it was good for a few laughs. At clean-up time, Headmaster Fred Niell sent teachers back to their classes, rolled up his sleeves and washed dishes with Student Council members.

From frolic to face paint, drama students livened up the Jaworski Fine Arts Center with their rendition of “Livin’ de Life!” — a 1970 version of Uncle Remus Tales. Nine dedicated high school students put in overtime for rehearsal after school and nights to produce the season’s first play. The result was four stellar performances Nov. 3-6 directed by Allen Reeves Ware, a doctoral candidate at Baylor University.

Assisted by parents, Ware expanded the stage, adding wings, a drop door in the floor, and ramps through the briar patch. Combined with dramatic — sometimes florescent — lighting, the set came to life, just as the title predicts.

Brer Rabbit (Ewan Hamilton-Short), plum tuckered out from caperin’ and prankin’ with Brer Fox (Hannah Thompson) and Brer Bear (Austin Freeman), had lost his zest for mischievous escapades. His friends diagnose his trouble as a bad case of the “Mopes.” They persuade him to consult Aunt Mammy Bammy (Claire Cole) for a cure. To gather the ingredients for Aunt Mammy Bammy’s curin’ potion, Brer Rabbit has to resort to his old tricks, and thus recover his joy in prankin. Of course, that was just what Aunt Mammy Bammy intended. Her philosophy: “Live de life ya got. De only worryin’ ya should have is how to make tomorrow better dan today.”

Other cast members included Brer Coon (Michael VanHoose), Brer Tarrypin (Ashley Lopez), Miss Meadows (Erin Frisch), Sis Buzzard (Audrey Lowder), and Miss Goose (Lauren Wasson). Seventh grader Tamura Dunbar served as stage hand.

The original version of Uncle Remus Tales, written in 1881, is a collection of animal tales with moral lessons about escape from submission and the value of cunning. The stories have entertained audiences for more than 100 years.

“Playwrite Ed Graczyk created southern, fun loving critters in Livin’ de Life,” Ware explained. “The play concludes with a very simple but profound message: We have but one life, and we should each discover our strengths and just do them. We should make the best life we can, stop our worrying and live the good life.”

As Hurricane Rita threatened to swamp the coast near Houston and residents fled north, Patty Flowers and her bevy of enthusiastic students turned their annual trek to the Texas Hill Country into a good will adventure. Students were busy learning history and science on the three-day excursion when conditions began to look serious. When they realized there were people with no place to stay, they decided to give their screened shelters near Blanco to evacuees. Flowers, who has led the trip since 1988, said students willingly cooperated in the relief effort.

“The most rewarding part of the trip this year,” she said, “was to see the students do what was right — in both behavior and attitude.”

Busses and cars departed Sept. 21 on the interdisciplinary field trip. Their itinerary had included Enchanted Rock, the Sauer-Beckmann Farmstead in Stonewall, the National Museum of the Pacific War and the Bush Gallery in Fredericksburg, Fort Hood, Longhorn Cavern, and Westcave Preserve. Although the trip was cut short, plans are already underway for a day trip to take in the sights they missed.

On the way back to Waco, the caravan stopped at a service station (Stoney’s Market 12 Shell Oil station) in Gatesville. When the manager learned of their selfless act, he decided to reward the seventh graders. “He was so impressed with their generosity that he rewarded all the students with free drinks,” Flowers said.

The group (including parent chaperones Jim Olmsted, George Stovall, Robert Koelsch, and Laura Vaughn) returned to Vanguard Thursday evening. Students reported for class Friday morning — not exactly the mini-vacation they had expected. But Flowers and fellow sponsor Suzanne Kelly turned the day into a rewarding experience in spite of adverse conditions. They spread quilts and a picnic lunch in classrooms, showed movies, and continued with many of the activities planned for the trip. In short, the fun continued for seventh graders even though they were back on campus.

Flowers said she is filled with pride at the generous spirit of students who willingly rendered their shelters. “There was not a complaint out of any of them,” she said. “I was proud of them.”

Senior Women – Tara Brindley and Bess Baskin get decked out in their matching T-shirts

Grand Entrance – Audrey Lowder drives a carload of seniors through the opening day caravan, a senior tradition

School Spirit – Varsity cheerleaders showed their award-winning stunts at the opening assembly

Vikings Gather – The student body, numbering 173, gathers for the opening assembly

Place of Honor – Seniors proudly claim their special section at the opening assembly

Enthusiastic underclassmen cheered as incoming seniors caravanned through the parking lot to kick off the first day of school on August 22. Clad in matching T-shirts, flip flops, and cowboy hats, the 29 members of the Class of 2006 quickly claimed their place of honor at the opening assembly. Vanguard Vikings, 173 students strong, gathered to greet each other as the school launched into its 32nd year of existence.

New faces at literally every grade level have added an exciting new dimension to the student body. Twenty-four seventh graders came to Vanguard from a variety of public and private elementary schools. Newcomers to high school classes transferred in from local schools as well as from distant lands such as the Isle of Bermuda, the Republic of Georgia, South American country of Brazil.