SCHOOL NEWS
NHS filmakers ready to walk state UIL red carpet with 2 films
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Films created by the Nocona High School students have once more earned a place in the top six across the state and will compete at the UIL Young Filmmakers Festival on Feb. 25.
The University Interscholastic League has offered this contest the past seven years, with NHS competing the last six years walking the red carpet in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
This year the school submitted one documentary and one traditional animation. The film festival takes place at the Paramount Theater in Austin where all the films are screened before awards are presented.
Rob Norman, digital media teacher, explains across the state there were 1,800 films sent for the contest. Norman also was asked to judge films which he said was exciting.
The divisions are based on school size with division one for 1A-4A schools, and division two for 5A-6A. NHS will compete with films from Hudson, Lytle, Argyle, Pleasant Grove, Kennedale, Mount Enterprise, Jim Ned and Sabine Pass High Schools.
In the quarterfinals, the films are ranked by three judges. The top three from that round advance where they are ranked again for the final top six that go to state, where they will be placed first, second and third.
Last year, Nocona placed second with a narrative and a traditional animation. In 2018 it won first and second for traditional animation and in 2016 won fifth for a documentary.
Click on the hyperlinks below to watch the films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QzeTBpZGF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYfbcPkuR_k
Read the full feature in the mid-week Bowie News.
Bowie Independent School Trustees continued work on the 2026-27 budget during its Aug. 17 meeting including the creation of a salary schedule and establishing a proposed tax rate.
The budget and 2026 proposed tax rate will be up for adoption in an early morning meeting at 7 a.m. on Aug. 31, just at the brink of the new fiscal year.
The salary schedule is based in large part on the Texas Association of School Board’s salary study commissioned by the district. Per the study teacher salaries are above the market median at most benchmarked years. They are most competitive at year 0 where they are 5% above the market median and least competitive at year five where they are 1% below the marked median.
District officials initiated the salary study to get more definitive information where its salaries fall and while some areas were in the range, other category of employees fell below the market. Trustees discussed the need to move auxiliary staff and custodial closer to the market level.
Superintendent Donna Hale and Finance Director Paula Peterson explained the new schedule will not be an across-the-board percentage increase, but focus on getting all employee pay scales closer to the market averages.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonnline.com
Bowie Independent School District Trustees began plowing through the 2026-27 budget at its first workshop on Aug. 3.
The center of discussion was presentation of the salary study commissioned by the district through the Texas Association of School Boards. Laura Wurman of TASB explained how the data was gathered and developed into recommendations for the district.
Purpose of the study is to assess competitive pay levels for common jobs. Wurman said they analyses market data to determine where the district is at risk and identified priorities for pay system improvements.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Diana Calderon will join the Bowie High School staff as assistant principal in the new school year.
She comes to Bowie from Lake Dallas Elementary School where she served as assistant principal since 2024. Her prior positions include administrator at Decatur High School from 2022-2024, and English as a second language director at Ponder High School and Middle School from 2017 to 2022.
Calderon’s educational background began with a bachelor of business management in 2007 from the University of Phoenix. She earned her master degree in bilingual education from Southern Methodist University in 2018 and a master’s in educational leadership also in 2018.
The educator is working on her doctorate of educational leadership.
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