| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 2413 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, Thomas Jefferson High School in El Paso is |
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| 6 | 6 | | celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2009; and |
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| 7 | 7 | | WHEREAS, The first high school to be built in the eastern part |
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| 8 | 8 | | of El Paso, Jefferson opened its doors on September 6, 1949; J. M. |
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| 9 | 9 | | Whitaker, the first principal, and the Parent Teacher Association |
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| 10 | 10 | | chose the school colors, silver and scarlet, and mascot, the silver |
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| 11 | 11 | | fox, so that the football and band uniforms could be ready by the |
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| 12 | 12 | | start of the fall semester; music for the school song and fight song |
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| 13 | 13 | | was composed by Roy Wilson, the band director, and the lyrics for |
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| 14 | 14 | | both songs were written by his wife; and |
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| 15 | 15 | | WHEREAS, Departments at the new school included business, |
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| 16 | 16 | | English, Spanish, mechanical drawing, home economics, physical |
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| 17 | 17 | | education, art, band, mathematics, journalism, agriculture, social |
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| 18 | 18 | | studies, manual training, and distributive education; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, A wide array of extracurricular activities were |
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| 20 | 20 | | organized during the first few years, ranging from the Junior |
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| 21 | 21 | | Historians, the Pan American club, and the Junior Nurses Aid Corps |
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| 22 | 22 | | to the "J" Club, for students who lettered in sports, the Officers |
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| 23 | 23 | | Club, for members of JROTC, and theater, science, and radio |
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| 24 | 24 | | organizations; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, The first school year saw the establishment of |
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| 26 | 26 | | student government, the yearbook, named El Capitan, after the |
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| 27 | 27 | | highest peak in Texas, and the student paper, the Branding Iron, |
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| 28 | 28 | | along with such traditions as the junior and senior proms and the |
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| 29 | 29 | | selection of a football queen, JROTC queen, and basketball |
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| 30 | 30 | | sweetheart; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | WHEREAS, Jefferson sports got off to a roaring start in |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1949-1950 with the B basketball team winning the school's first |
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| 33 | 33 | | championship and the baseball team taking second place in the |
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| 34 | 34 | | district; during the school's second year, Jefferson claimed |
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| 35 | 35 | | district championships in baseball, basketball, and golf; |
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| 36 | 36 | | intramural competition was also organized early on for both male |
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| 37 | 37 | | and female students; and |
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| 38 | 38 | | WHEREAS, Since graduating its first class of 21 seniors in |
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| 39 | 39 | | 1950, this venerable school has educated thousands of El Paso |
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| 40 | 40 | | students and provided a strong academic foundation on which they |
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| 41 | 41 | | could build rewarding and fulfilling lives; now, therefore, be it |
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| 42 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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| 43 | 43 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 60th anniversary of the opening |
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| 44 | 44 | | of Thomas Jefferson High School and extend to all those associated |
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| 45 | 45 | | with the school sincere best wishes for continued success in all |
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| 46 | 46 | | their endeavors; and, be it further |
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| 47 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 48 | 48 | | prepared for Thomas Jefferson High School as an expression of high |
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| 49 | 49 | | regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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| 50 | 50 | | Chavez |
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| 51 | 51 | | ______________________________ |
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| 52 | 52 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 53 | 53 | | I certify that H.R. No. 2413 was adopted by the House on May |
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| 54 | 54 | | 28, 2009, by a non-record vote. |
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| 55 | 55 | | ______________________________ |
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| 56 | 56 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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