Community

The Arboretum’s fall workshops for the month include Painting Flowers in Oils on Nov. 3 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Award-winning artist Nancy Medina will share tips on painting flowers, colors and impressionistic still life. Bring a lunch and register online at $110 or $99 for members. For more November Arboretum workshops, visit dallasarboretum.org.

White Rock Local Market holds its usual Everything Market on Nov. 10 from 8 a.m.—1 p.m. You can also pick up holiday gifts at the Shop for Thanksgiving Market Nov. 17 at the same time.

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Education

The Dallas Independent School District launched a new app for iPhones and Androids. The app lets parents and students see grades, bus routes, emergency notifications, cafeteria menus, a calendar and more. The free app, developed by School Connect, is available in English and Spanish at dallasisd.org/mobileapp.

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School recently was named a national Blue Ribbon school, which recognizes academic excellence. Becoming a national Blue Ribbon school is close to impossible — only 18 Texas schools received the honor this year. Achieving Blue Ribbon designation requires a lengthy application process and lots of work by the school, parents and school organizations.

People

Two Lakehill Preparatory School seniors, Clayton Dranzer and Jacob Graff, have been named National Merit semifinalists. That makes about 12 percent of the senior class National Merit Scholars, points out Lakehill spokesperson Gigi Ekstrom. More than 1.5 million juniors from about 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Program by taking the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT). The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. These seniors have an opportunity to advance in the competition for National Merit Scholarships — a combined $32 million worth of scholarships that will be awarded next spring. Adds Lakehill headmaster Roger Perry, “These students represent some of the most academically talented in the country. We join our teachers and their proud parents in congratulating them for this highly esteemed academic honor.”

The Dallas Video Festival honored East Dallas filmmakers Allen Mondell and Cynthia Salzman Mondell at the Dallas Museum of Art. This creative couple, through their company Media Projects, has made more than 40 films. One of them, “A Fair to Remember,” chronicles the Texas State Fair since its 19th century inception. The Mondells also have worked on movies about JFK, Jewish immigration, suicide and depression, the feminist movement and African American teenagers in West Dallas, to name a few. Allen just completed “Waging Peace,” about the Peace Corps experience. Currently, Cynthia is working on a movie about women and their shoes called “Sole Sisters,” and Allen, along with their daughter Fonya, on a movie about Henderson Avenue.

East Dallas resident Cristina Eustace was nominated for a Latin Grammy for best banda album of the year. Eustace’s album, “Golpes de Pecho,” is one of five nominees in the category. Banda, the regional Mexican music, is one of many things Eustace has done in her career, which has also included musical theater and winning the Puerto Rican singing competition “Objetivo Fama 5.” The Latin Grammys will take place Nov. 15 and be broadcast on Univision.