By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Leander ISD Superintendent Bret Champion announced that 30 students were distinguished as semifinalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program based on their outstanding performances on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

National Merit semifinalists, who represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, include the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of National Merit semifinalists in LISD represents a 43-percent increase from last year, Champion said.

Fourteen students at Vandegrift High School are semifinalists.

“These students scored a 220 or higher on their 2015 PSAT,” said Christa Thompson Martin, VHS dean of instruction. “This is an incredible academic accomplishment for our Vipers.” Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

While the Hudson Bend Incorporation Committee continues to move forward with plans that would allow the small lakeside community to incorporate as its own city and avoid annexation by the city of Austin, some Hudson Bend property owners are becoming increasingly vocal in their opposition to the effort.

Charles Gault built a new home in Hudson Bend in 2012 and has two siblings who also own property in Hudson Bend, one for more than 20 years. Gault said he opposes the incorporation effort primarily because he believes there is no imminent concern of Austin annexing Hudson Bend in the foreseeable future.

“This committee has decided to ignore the statement from Virginia Collier, Austin city planner, that Austin did not see annexing Hudson Bend for 30-40 years,” Gault said. “The committee has determined this as laughable and instead are purporting a 10 year timeline before Austin annexes Hudson Bend.”

Some residents of the Hudson Bend community — which has over 1,200 property owners and which neighbors Steiner Ranch — want to incorporate to avoid annexation in the years ahead but other Hudson Bend residents do not want to incorporate and are becoming organized about it.

Continue reading →

Teghan Devon Himelfarb

By KRISTINA NGUYEN, Four Points News

Local teenager Teghan Devon Himelfarb has released her extended play, “The Heart of Things,” on iTunes this summer. Himelfarb, of Steiner Ranch, has been writing music since she was ten years old, crediting her father, a former drummer, as the catalyst for her passion. This EP, however, is one of her first professional ventures.

The production process started with recordings that Himelfarb sent via voice memos, where were then refined at Century Recordings in Dripping Springs under the direction of producer Nick Jay and co-producer Zak Loy, who is also Himelfarb’s guitar teacher. Because of her busy schedule at Vandegrift High School, Himelfarb could spend only a week in the studio. On the EP, she contributed vocals in addition to background guitar. Accompanying musicians Clint Simmons, Mike Ross, Hayden Vitera, and Nick Jay helped develop the sound. Himelfarb cites the journey as a “learning experience.”

The EP cover, pictured above, was taken of a vase of flowers that Himelfarb gave her mother for Mother’s Day.

Continue reading →

By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

For the second year in a row, Vandegrift High School has earned a Gold Medal distinction from U.S. News and World Report, placing it among the top public high schools in the state.

“To even be considered for the list, VHS had to distinguish itself from the rest of the schools based on a rigorous standard,” said VHS Principal Charlie Little. Continue reading →