Students at Friendswood Junior High not only entered the UIL Academic meet with high hopes, they left with first place. The FJH UIL Academic team competed February 12, 2011 at La Porte Junior High.
           The FJH team consisted of Matthew McDonald, Sowmika Boppana, Molly Chen, Samantha Ess,  Adrian Falco, Alexandra Garza, Lydia Golightly, Bradley Goodwin, Hannah Hall, Johnathan Hansen, Derek Hudson, Erin Janak, Kelly Janak, Karan Jerath, Stephanie Kuo, Joshua Lambert, Fionn Leonard, Steffi Liaw, Victor Liaw, Kaitlin Martin, Sklar McHenry, Adelya Mohile, Raymond Monahan, Neha Narayan, Christina Nguyen, Kristin Olansen, Faatima Ovais, Nadia Posluszney, Candise Tat, Vivian Tat, Taren Velez, Kayla Wooten, Natalie Wu, and Emma Zawilla.
           Each grade level had 15 events in which they competed.
           FJH students earned awards in each event.
           In the seventh grade division, Kayla Wooten placed second in Art. Fionn Leonard placed first in Calculator Applications.
           Skyler McHenry won first place in Editorial Writing with Taren Velez in fifth place. In Impromptu Speaking, Kayla Wooten was in first place, Neha Narayan in second place and Taren Velez in fourth place.
           In Listening, Faatima Ovais was awarded second place with Skyler Mchenry in sixth place. In Maps, Graphs and Charts, Victor Liaw placed second with Fionn Leonard infourth and Kristen Olansen in fifth place.
           In Mathematics, Victor Liaw won first place with Neha Narayan in ninth place. In Modern Oratory, Erin Janak won second place. In Number Sense, Victor Liaw placed first, Faatima Ovais second and Neha Narayan seventh place.
           In Oral Reading, Faatima Ovais placed second, Erin Janak third and Taren Velez eighth place. In Ready Writing, first place was given to Candise Tat with second to Skyler McHenry. In Science, Candise Tat placed first with Kristin Olansen in eighth place.
            In Social Studies, Fionn Leonard was awarded third place with Kristin Olansen in seventh place. In Spelling, Candise Tat placed third with Erin Janak in fifth place.
In the eighth grade division, Alexandra Garza was in fourth place in Art with Natalie Wu in fifth, Karan Jerath in sixth, and Hannah Hall in eighth place.
           In Calculator Applications, Derek Hudson placed second with Emma Zawilla in third place and Hannah Hall in eighth place. In Dictionary Skills, Karan Jerath in first place, Kelly Janak in second place and Vivian Tat in third place.
           In Editorial Writing, Kaitlin Martin placed first with Vivian Tat in third place. In Impromptu Speaking, Raymond Monahan placed second with Joshua Lambert in third and Nadia Posluszny in seventh place.
           In Listening, Molly Chen placed first with Samantha Ess in third and Stephanie Kuo in eighth place. In Maps, Graphs & Charts, Adrian Falco placed first, Matthew McDonald placed fourth place and Lydia Golightly placed fifth.
           In Mathematics, Molly Chen was awarded first place with Sowmikka Boppana in second place and Vivian Tat in third place. In Modern Oratory, Sowmika Boppana placed second place, Stephanie Kuo placed third and Raymond Monahan placed fifth.
           In Number Sense, Derek Hudson placed first, Matthew McDonald placed second and Chris Nguyen placed third. In Oral Reading, Nadia Posluszny placed second, Hannah Hall fifth and Emma Zawilla placed seventh.
           In Science, Lydia Golightly placed second, Aditya Mohile placed fifth and Christina Nguyen placed seventh. In Social Studies, Joshua Lambert placed second, Raymond Monahan in fourth place and Aditya Mohile placed eighth.
           In Spelling, Natalie Wu placed first, Alexandra Garza placed fifth, and Samantha Ess in eighth place.
           "Many hours of planning, coaching, and practicing were put into place to help our students achieve their success," Mary Marrow, sponsor said.  We appreciate all the effort and support from the parents. Parents ensured students were at practices and present the day of our meet.
           UIL Academic Coaches are  Laurie Armstrong, Carmen Batman, Peggy Britain, Ron Brown,Tammy Ditta, Allison Ehrlich, Nicole Ferro, Jo Grice, Amanda Hartley, Jane Hartweck, Kim Hoke, Leah Howard, Lisa Liverman, Janet Rychcik, Michelle Simmons, Kim So, and Kristie Vann.