Ranked in the top five of her class, Hiner balances Academic excellence with athletic commitment in a way that looks almost effortless. When she steps onto the field it is clear her focus shifts entirely to the game. Playing left center back, she anchors the defensive line with composure and confidence. This is a position that demands awareness, communication, and incredible talent, all of which Hiner exceptionally excels with.

Left center back isn’t about flashy goals or crazy highlight reel celebrations, it’s about stopping plays before they develop. It is about protecting the net at all costs. One of Hiner’s favorite memories perfectly captures this mindset: Stopping a goal with a header. In a moment where everything could’ve gone wrong, she stepped up, met the ball midair, and kept it out of the net. This defensive stop showed how determined and dedicated Hiner’s passion for her sport can be.

If you ask Hiner what she loves most about paying at Lamar, her answer isn’t about personal achievements, it’s about connection. “The community you create with the girls around you” she says. For her, the late practices, the bus rides, and the matching uniforms is what makes the experience unforgettable. The bonds formed on the field carry off into classrooms and hallways, even outside of school! The support system built goes much farther than the scoreboard.

Looking to the future, Hiner is intent on being the best player that she can be, Her goal this season is to get more accurate passes when clearing the ball and to communicate better as a team. It is a reflection of who she is, always aiming for success, always improving, always thinking about ways to make her team stronger. With leaders like Hiner, Lamar JV Girls soccer are building something truly special.

February has been celebrated as a month of romance widely believed to originate from both Christianity and ancient Roman tradition. The month is celebrated with gift giving to one another and celebrates the love shared between loved ones on a specific day, February 14th. 

“I’ve always loved the month of February, the tradition of giving gifts to someone you love dearly and being able to express your love for one another in such a beautiful way,” Ward shares. “But I want to bring awareness to the possible negatives of a relationship, especially in teen relationships.” 

Ward dedicates a week to teaching students around campus about the possible negatives in teen dating. There are multiple types of abuse in a relationship, including physical, mental, verbal, financial and more. 

“I want to educate the younger generation about all the different types of abuse in a relationship that they should look out for,” Ward says. “It’s also surprising to see student reactions when I tell them that financial abuse is a real thing, or just when I tell them that physical abuse isn’t the only type of abuse. It’s in those moments that I wish I could inform the whole world of such issues of abuse.” 

Fortunately, Ward has been able to share messages on abuse and the associated warning signs with receptive students. 

Ward has many ways of making sure students get the proper information teen dating violence. Students on the student committee share presentations going over the different forms of abuse that students may face in a relationship without recognizing the signs.

To help spread awareness, staff members also wear orange shirts with awareness messaging. The shirts have the phrase ‘Love is Respect’ on the upper left hand corner near the shoulder in bold black text and on the back is a solid black ribbon with the letters ‘TDV,’ which represents “Teen Dating Violence. 

“The shirts are supposed to grab the attention of students to see that there is a safe place for them if they need the help,” Wards shares. “My goal is to help students who are in need of help. I’ve helped so many teens from this school and others in the past who were in some pretty difficult relationships, and honestly it was dangerous for them to be in the positions they were in. I want to let people who are going through similar situations or worse know I am here for them and that they aren’t alone.” 

There are words of affirmation posted all around campus and in the restrooms to uplift the students. The objective is for students to feel “heard,” “seen” and of course to know that there is assistance to help combat issues of teen dating violence.

Ward doesn’t plan on stopping her from educating those who need help, if you have any further questions or need someone to talk to she is located in room 210, the hotline number is 1-866-331-9474.

Stephens is one of five teachers in AISD to receive the certification; one in 1,570 teachers in the State of Texas; and one of 147,000 teachers in the entire nation. The certification was made to recognize the accomplishments and improvements teachers make throughout their careers. 

‘’The National Board program has been the most impactful professional development experience of my three-decade career,’’ Stephen says. ‘’It has deepened my commitment to my students and their learning, enhanced my understanding of mathematics and improved my teaching methods. I’ve become more adept at managing and monitoring my students’ progress and have embraced a reflective approach to learning from my experiences. Each morning, I look forward to going to work and continuously improving as an educator.”

The certification was not earned overnight for Stephens, but was a two year process. The certification isn’t handed out to everyone once they hit a certain number of years as a teacher – only a select number of with respectable careers achieve this honor.

“It was a great deal of work that I had to put in for the certification,” Stephens says. “I am glad I was able to accomplish it and I will continue to commit to getting better as a teacher.”

Stephens was able to accept the certification on January 19th from members of the AISD Board. To his delight, he was accompanied by many of his peers there to support him.

“I was so glad to be surrounded by my wrestlers present and past, Coach Roberts and my wife Monica,” Stephens shares. “Having everyone there seeing me accomplish something so big in my career was honestly the best feeling ever.”

The TXWF is a foundation of leaders that pushes the meaning of social and economic change for women in Texas. They help bring awareness to the struggles that women in Texas face and how to overcome hardships. 

TXWF has accomplished many things since its foundation in 1985 to help support Texas women who are in need. They have awarded $78.9 million in grants over 38 years to become the largest women’s funding system in the world with over $36 million in assets. Just this year alone – the foundation has invested $7.1 million in strategic initiatives and programs, as well as grants that support women’s economic security.

Several Lamar students were afforded the opportunity to attend the luncheon to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear from many empowering women like 2024 Miss Texas Annette Addo- Yobo and world-renowned journalist Ann Curry.

“It feels really nice to be invited to something so big like that,” sophomore Audrey Woods says. “It lets me know that people see the good in me and they want to encourage me to do big things.”

Annette Addo-Yobo was definitely a highlight of the luncheon, as she spoke to the crowd about how to make positive changes in society. She explained how being a woman doesn’t limit you to doing things you strive to do. She’s all about positivity which makes her the perfect fit to represent Texas in January at the Miss America Pageant.

“My goal is to empower women and young girls to stand up and fight for a change,” Annette states. “I am beyond grateful to make a speech and help project the voices of Texas women all around the world. The beauty of today is to make Texas women’s voices so powerful that they will make a difference in this community.”

Annette has already made history by becoming the first immigrant-born woman to win the title of Miss Texas. Reaching such a position was no easy feat. 

“I was born in Ghana and raised in both Canada and the U.S.,” Annette says. “I had to face many challenges during my high school and college life because of my status as an immigrant. It was hard for me in the beginning but in 2022 I finally got my citizenship. I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up – I was always that girl who was friends with everybody but never had a friend group. I really struggled growing up but when I entered the pageant community two years ago I never felt more welcomed. I hope to empower others to speak up about their struggles and make everyone feel welcome. I don’t want anyone to feel alone, and so now I make it my mission to make others feel welcomed.”

Many other powerful women were on hand to give speeches at the luncheon including Effie Dennison of Texas Capital Bank, TXWF President and CEO Karen Hughes White, Target Field Operations Executive Sousan Ortega, TXWF Board member Carrie Freeman Parsons, and Krys Boyd of KERA. 

Ann Curry has become a staple in the journalism community, as she is a National News Emmy Award-winning journalist. To date – Curry has won the Edward R. Murrow Award, three Gracie Allen Awards, the National Headliner Awards, and various philanthropic awards.

During the luncheon, Curry was interviewed by Krys Boyd who serves as Host and Managing Editor of KERA’S Think, talk radio program, and she focuses on how Curry uses her voice for telling stories that matter to society. She also talks about her father and their relationship growing up and how he is an inspiration to her to this day.

“When I was younger I asked my dad what I should be when I grow up,” Ann Curry tells Kyrs Boyd. “He said ‘Ann, whatever you do, do something that is of some service to somebody else. And then and only then when you breathe your last breath, that it mattered that you were born.’ And he would say it over and over throughout the years so I chose journalism as an act of service.”

The luncheon really opened the eyes of the students who attended. Sophomore Gia Knight was inspired by the speakers and their unique messages. 

“It was very fun and I learned a lot about the foundation and these amazing women,” Knight says. “They have inspired me and given me new perspectives on what to do in the future.”

This unique field trip opportunity was made possible by English II teacher Dr. Kapreta Johnson.

Lamar offers a wide variety of language classes for students to take, but most will only take Spanish. There are various reasons for this, but the most obvious is how practical the language is in our school, state and country. Conversational Spanish tends to be easier to acquire than various other languages offered. 

There are a lot of students on campus who really enjoy a challenge. While Spanish may be useful, the option to choose a less popular language class is very exciting. 

This school year, Lamar hired a new language teacher and she’s teaching a language that is sure to be an exciting challenge for many students. Li Han has come to Lamar to teach students how to speak, write and understand how to use Mandarin Chinese in a coherent way.

According to the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council – there are more than 360 high schools in Texas that offer Mandarin Chinese classes. The course is growing in popularity and students are intrigued by the opportunity to learn such an important language. 

Han’s new classroom is of course located in the foreign language hall, however one important thing passersby will notice about her displayed course schedule is the fact that she only teaches one class per day.

“She’s actually been working at Shackelford Junior High for half the day and then she comes to Lamar to teach classes during 4th (A-Day) and 10th period (B-Day),” Spanish teacher Dean Wou explains. 

Because the course is new, the recruitment process is still taking shape. There are not yet enough students enrolled in Mandarin Chinese to warrant a full schedule of six classes. 

AISD hopes that by introducing junior high students to the language, that many will continue with the program when they enroll in high school. And of course, Mandarin Chinese will continue to be an option for other students who are curious about learning the language.

While the opportunity to learn Mandarin Chinese yields many benefits, the course is definitely a challenge. 

“It’s not an easy language to learn,” Wou says. “It uses four tones for speaking and not everyone is good at tones.”

Mandarin Chinese is a very unique, but difficult language to learn, as it’s a very tonal language rather than phonetic. It uses a logographic writing system called the Hanzi alphabet which uses characters that represent words and meanings. There are also over 50,000 characters in the Hanzi alphabet which will encourage the average learner’s brain to be better at memorization and attention to detail.

Any foreign language a student studies will look good on a job or college application, however, Mandarin Chinese may just offer the kind of edge certain students are seeking.

“If you take Mandarin in high school, it would look good on college applications and Mandarin actually has an AP test,” Wou adds.

Mandarin Chinese requires significant time and effort to master character recognition and pronunciation which may frustrate some students, but the long term benefits make it worth the challenge.

Not all high schools offer a comprehensive Mandarin Chinese course, which is why students should definitely take advantage of the fact that Lamar does.

Simmons has been with Lamar for 10 years and has thoroughly enjoyed her position; one in which she’s been privileged to meet so many students and staff members. 

Her career in education spans 22 years and Simmons sees herself continuing in the field for quite awhile.

“I’ve worked at a lot of different schools with all types of different personalities,” Simmons shares. “But Lamar is a totally different ballpark – I’ve enjoyed being here which is why I’ve been here so long. I’ve met so many wonderful people who are extremely kind and constantly remind me why I love my job so much.”

One doesn’t simply become a high school counselor. It is required that you serve as a teacher before becoming a counselor. Before moving into her role as a counselor – Simmons was a very dedicated Spanish teacher.

“In the beginning of my career I taught at a junior high in Bryan, Texas,” Simmons says. “I also taught at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas. I went on to be a counselor at Sunset High School, which is also in Dallas.”

In her free time, Simmons loves to read, write, bicycle, hike, swim, and do arts and crafts. She likes to keep herself active and reminiscent about when she used to travel the world. 

“I’ve been to many places in my life.” Simmos says. “I have been through most of Western Europe, China, Vietnam, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, and a few countries in the Caribbean Islands. I really enjoyed traveling, especially when I was traveling for my education.”

Simmons spent a good portion of her life traveling and even went out of the country to study. That’s where the love for travel originated.

“I studied a semester in Spain when I was in college,” Simmons says. “After that I spent a month in Berlin after I left college. I attended Texas A&M University for my bachelors degree, Georgetown University in Washington D.C for my masters degree and for my teaching and counseling certifications I went to Texas A&M Commerce.”

Dorian Jensen, a counselor here at Lamar, has worked alongside Simmons for about many years. He speaks fondly about who she is as a person and his experience working with her.

“She is extremely hard working,” Jensen states. “She is always going above and beyond and is always making sure everyone is okay. She is always making jokes and keeping the room bright. I have enjoyed working with her.”

One year ago – Newspaper, Photojournalism and the Yearbook all represented three different class periods. This year, all three classes are in 8th period and work together as Lamar Student Media. 

The Lamar Scroll newspaper, the yearbook – Valhalla and our talented  Lamar photojournalists are now all coexisting in one creative space while creating something that has been never done before. 

Having all the staff in one class provides for a great system – it’s so much easier to communicate with one another since we are all in one space. The communication and the bonds we’re building are great experiences. As the editor for both publications, I can honestly say this will be the best year of my four years here at Lamar. Everyone has amazing talent and their minds are unbelievably creative in the journalism and photography world. 

Having different feelings and opinions on all the big changes happening to  the staff isn’t something new. Junior Karen Castillo is a second year yearbook student and now serves as the Social Media Manager for Lamar Student Media has some things to say about the new changes.

“I really like having all the members of student media in one class,” Castillo says. “It’s so much easier to get information from other writers and photographers because we are all in the same room. The functional chaos makes our space feel like a real newsroom. The new setup better prepares those of us who want to work for newspaper and magazine companies in the future.” 

Having newspaper, photojournalism and yearbook in one class is a new challenge that Ms. Talton is excited to take on. 

“I was initially a bit concerned about having three different courses in one room and during the same class period,” Talton explains. “The collective represents Lamar Student Media and serves one common purpose – to provide accurate and engaging coverage to the Lamar community.” 

Senior Celeste Elvik is a second year newspaper student and also loves the new change of having all the student media publications in one class. 

These conferences lasted the entire school day. Many students gathered at the library for this informative seminar. 

The seminar consisted of three different student groups, on hand to receive helpful tips. Most of the speakers talked about different warning signs to look for in a relationship that can lead to severe violence. 

AISD social worker, Victor Perales was one of the first speakers. He discussed a healthy relationship versus an unhealthy relationship and shared some major red flags to watch out for. He also showed students educational videos about how to not confuse love with abuse. 

“If a person is abusive, they’re going to show you, Perales said. “There’s no way they will be able to hold it back.”

Perales also talked about how if you stay with someone even after they abuse you, the abuser believes they now have a mental hold on you and that will give them power to control you. 

Abuse can come in many forms: physical, mental, sexual and even emotional. 

“The red flags creep up slowly and most times we’re so blinded by them because we’re in love,” Perales said. 

The next speaker was Amy Dossett – she works with Safe Haven and presents at schools throughout Tarrant County about teen dating violence and healthy relationships. In her presentation, she talked about what teens can do when we have a friend in an unhealthy relationship. 

“Tell your friend that they don’t deserve to be abused because most of the time your friend is hearing from the abusive partner that everything is your friend’s fault.” Dossett said. 

A few tips Amy gave the students was “don’t tell your friend what to do” because your friend has to take control for themselves, they have to be ready to make those decisions. Another tip she gave was help them make a safety plan because if they’re not safe, it could lead to dangerous situations. 

“There’s a lot of different things you can do to help a friend like encourage them to talk to a social worker or counselor on campus or go to (loveisrespect.org) which has a text line you could communicate with,” Dossett said. 

The third speaker was another member of Safe Haven and her name is Samantha Sells, she presents at schools as well and informs students about the qualities of a healthy relationship and an unhealthy relationship. She did a few activities with the students to see if they knew the difference between the two types of relationships.

“Isolating your partner from family and friends could become abusive because it is used as a control tactic,” Sells said

A few of her activities included each group of students to build a puzzle that would reveal major tips to help someone that is in an abusive relationship and determine whether a certain statement described a healthy relationship or unhealthy relationship.

“It’s important to believe someone if they confide in you about their relationship and it’s important to report to a trusted adult if someone you know is in an abusive relationship,” Sells said.

The last speaker is named Diana Junes and she was referred as a guest speaker by the organization LoveisRespect.com. In her presentation, she spoke about her personal experience growing up and some red flags to look for in relationships.

“I saw so many red flags in people that I was in a relationship with but I chose to ignore them,” Junes said.

Diana began to talk more in depth about her time growing up and how she found herself in an unhealthy relationship. She came to the seminar to encourage students to never stay in an abusive relationship no matter what.

“I have been single for two years and I’ve just been focusing on myself and taking my feminine power back,” Junes said.

After all the presentations were over, students learn that there is always someone that will be here to help, if you or a friend are experiencing abuse in a relationship.

With their days starting as early as  4:30 a.m. – the staff members pride themselves on preparing and serving nutritious meals to over 1,000 students per day. 

“I start my day here by setting up, cooking and having breakfast ready at 7 a.m..” cafeteria manager Claudia Tejeda shares. 

Staff are trained in every position, as they rotate throughout the day serving, cooking, or operating as cashiers. 

“We rotate and make sure everything is ready to go by the time the first lunch begins,” cafeteria staff member Teresa Schlee shares. “Between lunches, we set up for the next lunch, which usually takes 20 mins.” 

Lamar offers three lunch periods each day, serving more than 400 students during each lunch. The cafeteria offers six food options, ensuring that most dietary needs and taste buds are fulfilled.

“We have to keep count,” Tejeda stresses. “If I realize I don’t have chicken sandwiches on the line I have to go to the freezer and get them so we can have every option.” 

With so much to prepare and many students to serve, the job certainly isn’t done without breaking a sweat. While many students and staff members don’t think twice about the daily demands of a cafeteria staff – Tejeda and her team still know the value in what they do each day. Fortunately, many students are gracious enough to tell them “thank you” as they pass through the lunch line. 

It’s not unusual to spot the cafeteria staff sharing lunch together, as this is a group of individuals that enjoys each other’s company. Surprisingly, the team manages to get their own lunch break in before 10 a.m., so as not to interfere with serving the students. 

“I love my job – the hardest part is honestly just how hot the kitchen gets,” jokes Schlee. 

With new recipes every month and non meat options, the staff urges students to apply for the Free or Reduced lunch program every year. 

“So many students don’t even know they qualify and they could be getting lunch for free or at a reduced rate,” Tejeda assures. 

Staff stop serving food around 1:15 p.m. and begin cleaning and packing up in order to prepare for the next day where it is all done again.