Monday, April 7 -
- Parent Night @ 5:15
- Book Fair Begins
- 7th Grade Course Selection
Monday, April 7 - Friday, April 11 - BOOK FAIR
Tuesday, April 8 - Spring Picture Day
Wednesday, April 9 - 8th Grade Course Selection
Friday, April 11 - Black/Orange Band UIL
Tuesday, April 15 - RLA 6-8 STAAR
Friday, April 18 - Holiday
Tuesday, April 22 - Science STAAR
Wednesday, April 23
- Social Studies STAAR
- Life Skills Field Trip to Longhorn Caverns
Tuesday, April 29 - 6-8 Math STAAR
Wednesday, April 30
- Life Skills trip to Marble Falls Park
LOOKING AHEAD
Friday, May 2 - End of Year AR Points DueSaturday, May 3 - Band Festival/Trip
Tuesday, May 6 - Junior High Athletics Parent Meeting @ 5:30
Thursday, May 8
- Life Skills trip to The Science Mill
- Junior High Sports Physicals
Friday, May 9 - Student Holiday/Staff Work Day
Tuesday, May 13 - LJH Bands Spring Concert @ LJH Auditorium @ 5:30
Wednesday, May 14 - All Library Books/Fines Due
Thursday, May 15 - Life Skills trip to LBJ State Park
Saturday, May 17 - TLU Band Festival/Trip
Monday, May 19 - NJHS Ceremony
Tuesday, May 20
- Outdoor Ed Field Trip
- Life Skills trip to Putters & Gutters
Thursday, May 22 - 6th Grade Field Trip
Friday, May 23 - Art Field Trip
Monday, May 26 - Bad Weather Day
Tuesday, May 27 -
- 8th Grade Boat Day
- 7th Grade Field Trip
Wednesday, May 28 - 8th Grade Field Trip
Thursday, May 29 - Awards Day/Early Release
Friday, May 30 - Bad Weather Day
STAAR Testing Dates
- Reading Language Arts: Grades 6-8 April 15
- Math: Math 6-8 April 29
- 8th Grade Science: April 22
- 8th Grade Social Studies: April 23
April 7, 1862 - Battle of Shiloh Concludes
Two days of heavy fighting conclude near Pittsburgh Landing in western Tennessee. The Battle of Shiloh became a Union victory after the Confederate attack stalled on April 6, and fresh Yankee troops drove the Confederates from the field on April 7.
Shiloh began when Union General Ulysses S. Grant brought his army down the Tennessee River to Pittsburgh Landing in an effort to move on Corinth, Mississippi, 20 miles to the southwest. Union occupation of Corinth, a major rail center, would allow the Yankees to control nearly all of western Tennessee. At Corinth, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston did not wait for Grant to attack. He moved his army toward Grant, striking on the morning of April 6. Throughout the day, the Confederates drove the Yankees back but could not break the Union lines before darkness halted the advance. Johnston was killed during the first day, so General P.G.T. Beauregard assumed command of the Confederate force.
Now, Grant was joined by the vanguard of Buell’s army. With an advantage in terms of troop numbers, Grant counterattacked on April 7. The tired Confederates slowly retreated, but they inflicted heavy casualties on the Yankees. By nightfall, the Union had driven the Confederates back to Shiloh Church, recapturing grisly reminders of the previous days’ battle such as the Hornets’ Nest, the Peach Orchard, and Bloody Pond. The Confederates finally limped back to Corinth, thus giving a major victory to Grant.
The cost of the victory was high. Grant’s and Buell’s forces totaled about 62,000, of which 1,754 were killed, 8,408 were wounded, and 2,885 were captured or missing for a total of 13,047 casualties. Of 45,000 Confederates engaged, 1,723 were killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing for a total of 10,694 casualties. The 23,741 casualties were five times the number at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, and they were more than all of the war’s major battles (Bull Run, Wilson’s Creek, Fort Donelson and Pea Ridge) to that date combined. It was a sobering reminder to all in the Union and the Confederacy that the war would be long and costly.
April 8, 1989 - Pitcher Jim Abbott, Born Without Right Hand, Makes MLB Debut
On April 8, 1989, California Angels rookie pitcher Jim Abbott, who was born without a right hand, makes his Major League Baseball debut in a 7-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners. His debut generates a buzz throughout the sports world. "Maybe I was unnerved by all the attention," Abbott tells reporters afterward.
The Chicago Tribune wrote that the excitement generated by Abbott's debut "ranked right behind Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier." Abbott pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs against Seattle.
A native of Flint, Michigan, Abbott played well enough at Flint Central High School to be selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1985 MLB draft. Choosing to go to college instead, Abbott attended the University of Michigan, where he led Wolverines to two Big Ten championships. In 1988, the Angels selected Abbott with the eighth overall pick of the draft.
Abbott started 1989 with the Angels, becoming one of the rare players to make it to the major leagues without playing in the minor leagues. He had a respectable rookie season, finishing with a 12-12 won-loss record and a 3.92 ERA.
By the end of 1991, Abbott was one of MLB's better starting pitchers. His career high point occurred September 4, 1993, when he pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium.
Abbott, who pitched for four teams over 10 years, retired after the 1999 season.
April 9, 1865 - Robert E. Lee Surrenders
In the village of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 Confederate troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War. Forced to abandon the Confederate capital of Richmond, blocked from joining the surviving Confederate force in North Carolina, and harassed constantly by Union cavalry, Lee had no other option.
In retreating from the Union army’s Appomattox Campaign, the Army of Northern Virginia had stumbled through the Virginia countryside stripped of food and supplies. At one point, Union cavalry forces under General Philip Sheridan had actually outrun Lee’s army, blocking their retreat and taking 6,000 prisoners at Sayler’s Creek. Desertions were mounting daily, and by April 8 the Confederates were surrounded with no possibility of escape. On April 9, Lee sent a message to Grant announcing his willingness to surrender. The two generals met in the parlor of the Wilmer McLean home at one o’clock in the afternoon.
Lee and Grant, both holding the highest rank in their respective armies, had known each other slightly during the Mexican War and exchanged awkward personal inquiries. Characteristically, Grant arrived in his muddy field uniform while Lee had turned out in full dress attire, complete with sash and sword. Lee asked for the terms, and Grant hurriedly wrote them out. All officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with their private property–most important, the horses, which could be used for a late spring planting. Officers would keep their side arms, and Lee’s starving men would be given Union rations.
April 10, 1849 - Safety Pin is Patented, Rights Sold for Just $400
On April 10, 1849, Walter Hunt—a mechanic and independent inventor from New York—patents his metal invention with a spring called the safety pin. Although later businessmen would make a fortune selling the ubiquitous devices, Hunt sells rights to it for just $400 and never earns anything else.
Born on July 29, 1796, in Martinsburg, New York, Hunt came up with the idea when he owed someone a $15 debt, and he scrambled to invent something that would earn him some money. He twisted a piece of metal wire and turned it into what he called a “dress pin,” which had a spring at one end that forced the other end into a clasp. Hunt’s invention wasn’t completely new, as ancient Romans used something similar for jewelry; his was an improvement. Another version of a safety pin came out in 1842, but it had no spring, unlike the pins we know today. Hunt’s invention, which got U.S. Patent No. 6,281, has countless everyday uses, including fastening clothing and diapers.
Hunt achieved moderate success in life and invented many items, including a repeating rifle, a flax spinner, a fountain pen, a knife sharpener, an ice plough and one of the world’s first sewing machines with an eye-pointed needle; Hunt’s sewing machine triggered a patent dispute with another inventor, Elias Howe. Hunt died on June 8, 1859, at age 63.
April 11, 1814 - Napoleon Abdicates the Throne and is Exiled to Elba
On April 11, 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba.
The future emperor was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on August 15, 1769. After attending military school, he fought during the French Revolution of 1789 and rapidly rose through the military ranks, leading French troops in a number of successful campaigns throughout Europe in the late 1700s. By 1799, he had established himself at the top of a military dictatorship. In 1804, he became emperor of France and continued to consolidate power through his military campaigns, so that by 1810 much of Europe came under his rule. Although Napoleon developed a reputation for being power-hungry and insecure, he is also credited with enacting a series of important political and social reforms that had a lasting impact on European society, including judiciary systems, constitutions, voting rights for all men and the end of feudalism. Additionally, he supported education, science and literature. His Code Napoleon, which codified key freedoms gained during the French Revolution, such as religious tolerance, remains the foundation of French civil law.
In 1812, thinking that Russia was plotting an alliance with England, Napoleon launched an invasion against the Russians that eventually ended with his troops retreating from Moscow and much of Europe uniting against him. In 1814, Napoleon’s broken forces gave up and Napoleon offered to step down in favor of his son. When this offer was rejected, he abdicated and was sent to Elba. In March 1815, he escaped his island exile and returned to Paris, where he regained supporters and reclaimed his emperor title, Napoleon I, in a period known as the Hundred Days. However, in June 1815, he was defeated at the bloody Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon’s defeat ultimately signaled the end of France’s domination of Europe. He abdicated for a second time and was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, in the southern Atlantic Ocean, where he lived out the rest of his days. He died at age 52 on May 5, 1821, possibly from stomach cancer, although some theories contend he was poisoned.
April 12, 1861 - Civil War Begins as Confederate Forces Fire on Fort Sumter
Four of the bloodiest years in American history begin when Confederate shore batteries under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861. During the next 34 hours, 50 Confederate guns and mortars launched more than 4,000 rounds at the poorly supplied fort. On April 13, U.S. Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort. Two days later, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to quell the Southern “insurrection.”
As early as 1858, the ongoing conflict between North and South over the issue of slavery had led Southern leadership to discuss a unified separation from the United States. By 1860, the majority of the slave states were publicly threatening secession if the Republicans, the anti-slavery party, won the presidency. Following Republican Abraham Lincoln’s victory over the divided Democratic Party in November 1860, South Carolina immediately initiated secession proceedings. On December 20, the South Carolina legislature passed the “Ordinance of Secession,” which declared that “the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other states, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved.” After the declaration, South Carolina set about seizing forts, arsenals, and other strategic locations within the state. Within six weeks, five more Southern states—Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana—had followed South Carolina’s lead.
In February 1861, delegates from those states convened to establish a unified government. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was subsequently elected the first president of the Confederate States of America. When Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, a total of seven states (Texas had joined the pack) had seceded from the Union, and federal troops held only Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Fort Pickens off the Florida coast, and a handful of minor outposts in the South. Four years after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the Confederacy was defeated at the total cost of 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers dead.
April 13, 1997 - Tiger Woods Wins the Masters Tournament for the First Time
On April 13, 1997, 21-year-old Tiger Woods wins the prestigious Masters Tournament by a record 12 strokes in Augusta, Georgia. It was Woods’ first victory in one of golf’s four major championships—the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters—and the greatest performance by a professional golfer in more than a century. It also made him the youngest golfer by two years to win the Masters and the first person of Asian or African heritage to win a major.
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods was born in a suburb of Los Angeles, California, on December 30, 1975. The only child of an African American father and a Thai mother, Woods was encouraged from infancy by his father to a career in golf. At the age of two, he teed off against comedian Bob Hope on television’s Mike Douglas Show. At five years old, he was featured on the television show That’s Incredible. At age eight, Woods won his first junior world championship, and in 1991, at age 15, he became the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. He also captured the 1992 and 1993 Junior Amateur titles, and in 1994 accepted a scholarship to attend Stanford University. That year, he came from six holes behind to win the first of his three consecutive U.S. Amateur championships. He was 18 years old and the youngest Amateur champion in history.
In 1995, Woods played the Masters, his first professional major championship. The Augusta National Golf Club, which runs the Masters, had not let an African American join its ranks until 1991. Woods finished 41st in his first Masters appearance. In 1996, he won the collegiate title. By this time, he was already attracting considerable media attention and attracting throngs of new fans to the sport. After claiming his third U.S. Amateur title, Woods left college and turned professional in August 1996. Playing as a pro in eight Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) events in 1996, he won a title and was named the PGA Tour’s outstanding rookie. In December 1996, he was celebrated by the magazine Sports Illustrated as its “Sportsman of the Year.”
