Talkington School for Young Women Leaders -

Friendly reminder to our 7th and 8th grade families: Thanksgiving lunch will be at Talkington tomorrow. See you there!

ALUMNI DAY! We can't wait to see all of our former students at Talkington's Alumni Day on December 15. Please register at http://bit.ly/THSalumni23. Spread the word! All Talkington graduates are welcome.

Swimmers had a great weekend in Carrollton at the Pre-TISCA invitational. The following Talkington swimmers had top five finishes: Zoey Reeves - 1st place 200 Free & 2nd place 500 Free Janae Smith- 2nd place 100 Free & 3rd place 100 Backstroke Eliana Villa was a part of the 200 Free Relay for Estacado that set a new school record. Zoey Reeves and Natalie Partain were a part of the girls 400 Free Relay for Monterey that finished in fourth place. #WinningWarriors

Today is Margaret Talkington's birthday. We are so honored to have her name on our school. Here is the history of how that came to be. In 2008, Lubbock ISD opened the doors to a college preparatory, single-gender school for girls. The school originally opened as the Young Women Leaders School, but after the first year the search for a new name began. Dr. Kitty Harris, longtime friend and associate of Margaret Talkington, approached Mrs. Talkington with the idea of allowing her name to become a part of the new Young Women’s Leadership School. Margaret Talkington was well-known as a gracious and influential community leader whose courage, determination, and generosity spanned many years of anonymous service within the Lubbock community. She was an innovative businesswoman and a respected mentor. Mrs. Talkington was, by all definitions, what the Young Women’s Leadership schools represented. However, the Talkingtons had always strived for anonymity with their charitable acts in the community and convincing her to have a school named after her was a difficult task. Dr. Harris ultimately convinced her to agree and on May 14, 2009, the Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to re-name the school in honor of the Lubbock businesswoman, community leader, and philanthropist Margaret Talkington. Known for her commitment to leadership, her support of women, and her quiet, behind-the-scenes financial support of many efforts to enhance the lives of children, Margaret Talkington has been, and continues to be, a role model for past, present, and future generations. We are so grateful for the continued support of the Talkington Foundation--a major part of what makes our school so special and successful.

Do you prefer boots or sneakers? Do you like a western hat or a visor? Do you like riding a golf cart or a horse? We will find out with this Friday's spirit day Country versus County Club! Remember that all costumes must be school appropriate in length and modesty.

Please support the 2nd Annual Book Drive sponsored by the Partners in Education Committee by bringing new or gently used books to Talkington. All donations benefit local school students and will be used to fill our Little Free Library. Donation dates are November 13 - December 4. You may drop off your donation in Mrs. Couch's office or the front office.

Thank you to all of the brave men and women who have served our country so valiantly.

AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FROM TEXAS TECH! She Space International is a one-of-a-kind program designed for 14-16 year-old females (but all 14-16 year-olds are welcome) to engage in scientific research, work with scientific instruments, techniques, and utilize computer programs. Only six participants are selected for the Texas Tech Team, which is the only She Space International team in the U.S. Applications are open until December 10, 2023. More information, including two videos can be found here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/stem/she_space/index.php *This is not an LISD event, but it is a great opportunity for our students to take advantage of.

REMINDER for 8th GRADERS Monday, November 13, all 8th grade students will visit the ATC and Agri-STEM facilities. Students must report directly to the auditorium for 1st period, even those who normally have a class off campus.

WOW! Congratulations to Olivia Hodge who has completed her Eagle Scout Project, something only 4% of Scouts across the country have been able to do! Elite company for sure! Read below to see Olivia's thoughts on her project and watch her video here: https://youtu.be/9z0KjyfTKa4?si=5lw1c4IRdJ8Twhmw "The Grub Farm, also known as the South Plains Food Bank Farm, stands for “Growing Recruits for Urban Business” and the recruits volunteer during the school year on Saturdays learning farming and leadership skills. The top 20 are chosen for summer jobs allowing them to build their resume’. My Eagle project fulfilled two of the Director, Sandy Garcia’s Grub Farm dreams: to have an outdoor classroom and to have a sensory herb, raised garden for children to visit that have sensory processing needs. She didn’t realize that she also wanted the three tier garden to be self watering until I suggested I would like my crew to build these with such a system in them. My project covers 8 of my 96 earned merit badges. I am so happy I finished my project with a value of over $5,000 in value on late start Wednesday in my Talkington uniform, as the leadership skills learned at Talkington have also helped me the last 8 months with planning and leading over the course of 6 Saturdays to complete this huge task. Three Talkington friends also helped me: Amber Awbry, Chloe and Millie along with Troop 575 scouts, Grub Farm kids and scouters! it is such a historic event for girls to be able to go after this goal of Eagle scout reserved only for boys for nearly 10 decades! I am grateful to have finished my project and to also be so close to my goal of earning every BSA merit badge (138) with 15 palms (every 5 after the 21 merit badges it takes to Eagle equals a palm) in the books. My donors, especially 84 Lumber, Gene Messer Hyundai / Chevy, Texas Rock and Flagstone, Lowes, Home Depot, Lubbock Overhead Door Company and Ferguson also made this project a success! And my mum cut all the wood and TREX and has all her fingers! It will be fun watching all of the BSA scouts that attend Talkington pursue their goals to fruition as well!" Incredible! Way to go, Olivia!

🎃✨ Talkington's fourth annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest (Book-o-Lantern) has officially wrapped up! 🏆📚 Congrats to our talented winners: 1st place goes to Jiselle Clemmens for her incredible Jurassic Park-themed pumpkin! 🦖🌿 Taking 2nd place is Ada Marie Crawford, who beautifully showcased Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast! ☕🌹 And in 3rd place, we have Isabella Hinton, who brought Animal Farm to life on her pumpkin! 🐷🚜 🙌🎉 Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's contest. We received so many amazing entries! Can't wait to see what you all come up with for next year's competition. Stay creative and keep shining! ✨🎃 #PumpkinDecoratingContest #BookOLantern

We are so proud of our middle schoolers who competed in the One Act Play contest yesterday. Although they did not advance, we did have several winners: Faith Barbee won an All Star Cast award, Zola Phillips received an honorable mention All Star Cast award, and SJ Bowman was awarded Best Tech.

Weekly Announcements November 6-10 -6th grade students who signed up for UIL Ready Writing will meet after school on Monday, November 13th in Mrs. Fitzhugh's room. -Don't miss your chance to purchase a yearbook! We've heard that the cover is absolutely amazing and cannot wait to see what's inside. Pick up an order form outside of Mrs. Turner's room. -YWPN Women in STEM series has its first Marine Biologist Amanda Hodo on Tuesday November 14th. She is from the South Side of Chicago and loved going to the city's Shedd Aquarium. Although she faced challenges due to her financial situation and could not afford to attend a university with a marine program she never gave up on her dream. Come learn about her story of perseverance and success in the field of STEM. Check your class Google classroom for a sign up sheet. -Don't you wish you had a few more Talkington t-shirts? Needing a jacket for those cold mornings? Our basketball program has all kinds of clothes and gear to outfit you in their online store! See our website, Facebook or Instagram for the order information, or see the poster outside of Coach Williams's room. Let's support our fellow Warriors! -Tonight from 5-8pm, the Talkington PTSA will host McTeachers' Night at the McDonald's on 4th and Slide Road. What a great way to solve the "What's for dinner?" question that plagues us every night! This Thursday, McDonald's is for dinner! Our PTSA earns a portion of every purchase and 100% of all cookies sold--last time they even gave us PIES to sell. Come check out your favorite Tallkington staff as the servers! -Tomorrow's dress up day is RED--remember everyone deployed. Please wear a red shirt with jeans. Leggings or joggers are not appropriate. -To all students who entered the Voices of Democracy or Patriot's Pen contests, our friends from the VFW will be here to award checks to the winners this Friday during the Veteran's Day program. If you are selected as a winner, you will get to read a small portion of your essay to the audience later in the program. Can't wait to see our winners!

Finding the right fit college can be challenging, so these Lady Warriors have taken the time to visit! The best way to know what works for you is to visit in person. Kellie just finished visiting McMurray and Texas A&M; Lauren, Christiana, and Alex took a cross country tour this summer. Whether you go in the summer or during the school year, it is easy to schedule a tour and sometimes even sit in on classes. Some colleges have fly-in programs--sometimes with scholarships--to bring you in from out of state your junior or senior year. If you're planning a vacation over the holidays, see what local colleges you might be able to visit while you're away. Reach out to Mrs. Couch, our College Success Advisor, for help.

Check out the upcoming event at Texas Tech University called Family STEM Night. Family STEM Night is a free come-and-go event for K-12 students and their families to engage in hands-on STEM activities and exploration. This takes place on Monday, November 13, 2023 from 4:00-7:00 PM in the Student Union Building (SUB) Ballroom at Texas Tech University. *This is not an LISD event, but it is highly recommended for all interested in STEM.

This Friday, Talkington will honor our service men and women with our second Remember Everyone Deployed (RED) day. Students and staff should wear a school appropriate red top with jeans or uniform bottoms. Joggers and leggings are not allowed. We will also have an assembly at 3:00pm honoring Veterans' Day. We hope to see everyone there.

Our Academic UIL Teams earned 1st Place Sweepstakes at the Texas Tech Fall Fandango this weekend! We are so proud of them and cannot wait to see the TROPHY and all the MEDALS! Here are the individual and team wins: 9th grade Calculator: Abigail Agee 1st place, Francesca Mendoza 3rd place, Melissa Maldonado 6th place, Overall Calculator Abigail Agee 5th place; Copy Editing Christiana McCourt 3rd place, Christine Spears 5th place; Editorial Writing Christiana McCourt 1st place, Christine Spears 3rd place, Anyesia Aviles 4th place; Feature Writing Christiana McCourt 1st place, Anyesia Aviles 2nd place, Christine Spears 3rd place; News Writing Christine Spears 2nd place, Christiana McCourt 3rd place, Anyesia Aviles 4th place; Headline Writing Anyesia Aviles 1st place, Christine Spears 4th place, Christiana McCourt 6th place; These girls were 1st place Journalism Team! Literary Criticism: Aviana Prieto 2nd place; 9th grade Math Jonna Hollis 1st place, Shelby Davis 5th place; 9th grade Number Sense Jonna Hollis 2nd place; Ready Writing Abigail Clayton 5th place; 9th grade Science Francesca Mendoza 3rd place, Emma Onuma 5th place; Spelling and Vocabulary Alexandria Leppert 5th place the team placed 2nd including Alex Leppert, Hannah Agee, Emily Agee! We are so proud of all of our competitors! Huge thanks to all of our UIL coaches for the awesome work you're doing. Way to go! #winning #intelligentwarriors #WeAreLubbockISD

School picture retake day is coming! See Mrs. Turner to get on the retake list before November 14.

Daylight Savings is ending! Don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour on Sunday, Nov. 5!

Here are this week's morning announcements: WINNING: Congratulations to the teams who were chosen to compete in the YWPN STEAM Challenge! High school teams: STEAM Engines - Shelby Davis, Abigail Agee, Nasmah Islam, Maliyah Rodriguez; and the Brainiacs - Talitha Dalton, Emily Agee Middle School Teams: Yeehaws - Charly Iaulualo, Jordana Hollis; Lemon Heads - Tate Stephenson, Violet Delano; and Eckert & Mauchly - Obarita Aarushi, Allison Phillips. Congratulations to the MS Editorial Writing Team: Nadiella Sixtos, Adalynn Brown, Kaylynn Lewis, Shayne Tubbs, and Cassandra Rae. Congratulations to the HS Journalism Recruits: Ellie Fitzhugh and Makayla Slothhower. Talkington FFA competed in the Texas Tech Invitational Leadership Development Contest on Wednesday. Congratulations to Isabel Myers who placed 2nd in the freshman division and Amarachi Uche-Eboh who placed 5th in the senior division for the Creed Speaking contest. Hannah Stuart, Brooklyn Williams, and Rylie Delagarza also placed in Radio Broadcast. Way to go and good luck at your District Competition next Saturday, November 11th! Congratulations to our varsity basketball team who defeated Southland last night! Way to go, ladies! Let's all be sure to give them our support by purchasing some Talkington swag from their online Fan Cloth store before November 16. EVENTS: We have a wonderful volunteer opportunity this evening from 4:45 to 6:16 at Wolfforth Elementary. They are hosting an event to celebrate Dia De Los Muertos and are in need of helpers. Juniors and seniors: this is a reminder that MONDAY is your day to purchase caps, gowns, swag, and class jewelry from Herff Jones from 3:00-5:00pm in the cafeteria. Good luck this weekend to all of our Academic UIL Teams competing in the Texas Tech Fall Fandango! We would also like to wish good luck to our divers competing at the Lubbock Invitational Dive contest and all of our Region Choir students at their clinic and concert.