tragic loss

Famed tall ship falls victim to Sandy's wrath; 14 rescued and one life lost;captain remains missing

The 180-foot replica of the HMS Bounty sank off the North Carolina coast onMonday. The tall ship was heading south for a winter stay in the Port ofGalveston.
HMS Bounty/Facebook
From the HMS Bounty Facebook page on Oct. 30: "We are mourn the loss of Bounty'screwmember Claudene Christian and Pray for the continued efforts to rescue ourBeloved Captain, Robin Walbridge."
Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard
"Latest communication from Captain Robin Walbridge. Sent last night," reads thecaption for this photo, taken on Oct. 28. Walbridge remains missing as ofWednesday.
HMS Bounty/Facebook
"HMS Bounty Crew in today's sail!" posted on Oct. 24 on the HMS Bounty Facebookpage.
HMS Bounty/Facebook

The Port of Galveston had big winter plans for the replica of the famed HMS Bounty, which was set to be docked at Pier 21 near the Strand for an extended stay expected to draw hundreds of tourists.

But as the tall ship made its way down south from its most recent home in Connecticut, Superstorm Sandy made a last minute change in the itinerary, redirecting the famous boat to the bottom of the Atlantic.

The 180-foot vessel — which was built for the 1962 classic Mutiny on the Bounty and most recently starred in two Pirates of the Caribbean sequels — sank off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

The U.S. Coast Guard managed to rescue 14 crew members, who were equipped with special survival suits allowing them to withstand the frigid waters for up to 15 hours.

Claudene Christian — a fifth great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian, who led the 1789 mutiny against captain William Bligh and was played by Marlon Brando in the '60s film adaptation — perished during the incident and the ship's 63-year-old captain, Robin Walbridge, remains to be located.

“We hope for the best for the people who were on the ship,” Port of Galveston director Mike Mierzwa told the Galveston Daily News. “We had really looked forward to them coming here.”

Once final agreements were made with the ship's owner, port officials said the Bounty would be berthed next to the Seaport Museum where another vintage clipper, the Elissa from 1877, is on display. The now-sunken ship was expected to stay in Galveston through April.

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schools with high achievers

These 15 Houston K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

T.H. Rogers PTO/Facebook

Congratulations are in order for the Rams.

Several Houston elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – T.H. Rogers School in Houston ISD – is the No. 8 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas' best middle schools for 2025
Three Houston middle schools achieved spots among the top 10 best Texas middle schools for 2025, according to U.S. News.

T.H. Rogers School has a total enrollment of 1,063 students, with 87 percent of the student population scoring "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 90 percent proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1, with 62 full-time teachers.

T.H. Rogers School also topped the district-wide list as the No. 1 best middle school in HISD.

Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus also ranked among the statewide top 10, coming in at No. 9 with a total enrollment of 914 students. U.S. News says 82 percent of HGA students are proficient in math, and 80 percent are proficient in reading.

"Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Right behind HGA to round out the top 10 best Texas middle schools is Houston ISD's Briarmeadow Charter School. This middle school has 600 students, 69 percent of which are proficient in math and 74 percent are proficient reading.

Briarmeadow's student-teacher ratio is 16:1, which is better than the district-wide student-teacher ratio, and it employs 38 full-time teachers.

U.S. News also ranked Briarmeadow as the second best middle school in Houston ISD.

Six additional Houston-area schools ranked among the top 25 best middle schools in Texas, including:

No. 18 – Cornerstone Academy, Spring Branch ISD
No. 19 – Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston ISD
No. 21 – Smith Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
No. 22 – Seven Lakes Junior High, Katy ISD
No. 23 – Houston Gateway Academy
No. 25 – Beckendorff Junior High, Katy ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while two Houston-area schools made it into the top 10.

Tomball ISD's Creekside Forest Elementary in The Woodlands is the No. 7 best elementary school statewide, boasting 656 students, 42 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this school, which U.S. News designates is situated in a "fringe rural setting," scored 90 percent efficiency in math and 94 percent efficiency in reading.

Following one spot behind Creekside Forest in the statewide ranking is Sugar Land's Commonwealth Elementary School in Fort Bend ISD, coming in at No. 8. Commonwealth has a student population of 954 with 55 full-time teachers, and two full-time counselors. The school's student-teacher ratio is 17:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 94 percent in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Commonwealth is significantly higher than the rest of Fort Bend ISD.

"In Fort Bend Independent School District, 59 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 47 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in Commonwealth's profile. "Commonwealth Elementary [also] did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state."

Other Houston-area schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:

No. 13 – Bess Campbell Elementary, Sugar Land, Lamar CISD
No. 20 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD
No. 23 – T.H. Rogers School, Houston ISD
No. 25 – Griffin Elementary, Katy ISD

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

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