Clements High School took second place in the top division of the sweepstakes competition at Houstonfest, the Houston-area German contest. Held on Saturday, February 4, 2017, the competition attracted over 700 participants from 22 schools this year. Sixty-seven Clements students attended the event or sent artwork to be judged, and the team won 59 individual and group awards. The students who placed in the top five in any event are now eligible to compete at the Texas State German Contest on February 25 at Texas State University in San Marcos.

Clements German teacher Rustin Buck is the director of Houstonfest. Assisting with the contest were FBISD World Languages Coordinator Melissa Vargas, Global Studies Academy Coordinator Anne Beckman, recently-retired Ranger Ann Marie Schrock, and German exchange student Anna Hundertmark. Numerous parent volunteers provided invaluable assistance.

Winners in group events:

1st place:

* Duet Acting 4: Christopher Gloyna, Shaan Lashari

* Pass auf! (quiz bowl) Varsity: Nishant Aranke, Ashton Butler, Nabeeha Engineer, Paarth Maniar, Braden Muscarello, Rachel Patel, Shroothi Ramesh

* Puppet Show, Upper Level: Karl Gelinsky, Natalie Hattan, Adrianna Navia, Sai Odinga, Rena Sun, Sarah Thomas

2nd place:

* Club Album: Angela Chang, Rebecca Jin

* Pair Discussion 3: Natalie Hattan, Adrianna Navia

* Play: Nabeeha Engineer, Karl Gelinsky (also named Best Actor), Natalie Hattan, Caroline Hill, Caroline Kamla, Anna Matern, Braden Muscarello, Adrianna Navia, Sai Odinga

* Polka Band: Ashton Butler, Marc DeGuzman, Cassidy Edwards, Trinity Fox, Grace Kornegay, Daphne Lo, Chris Magdall, Madhuri Maniar, Paarth Maniar, Trey Minter, Anthony Rodriguez, Katie Stecklein, Sarah Thomas (conductor)

* Video: Ashton Butler, Soham Dhar, Karl Gelinsky, Christopher Gloyna, Shaan Lashari, Ivan Oliveira, Luke Stecklein, Rena Sun, Colton Williams

3rd place:

* Puppet Show, Lower Level: Caroline Kamla, Sydney Liow, Anthony Rodriguez, Caleb Williams

* Scavenger Hunt: Vanna Chen, Sydney Liow, Ryan Nelson, Siri Prahlad

* Skit 3: Nabeeha Engineer, Natalie Hattan, Nali Liu, Paarth Maniar, Nik Martinez, Anna Matern, Adrianna Navia

4th place:

* Chorus: Madhuri Maniar, Paarth Maniar, Shroothi Ramesh

* Duet Acting 3: Adrianna Navia, Sai Odinga

* Gingerbread House (Non-traditional): Claire Dong, Rachel Patel, Shroothi Ramesh, Rena Sun

5th place:

* Folk Dance (Couple): Jason Adriansyah, Sai Odinga

Winners in individual events at Houstonfest:

Nishant Aranke 1st, Extemporaneous Speaking 3

Amith Chivukula 3rd, Poetry Reading 4

5th, Listening Comprehension 4

5th, Prose Reading 4

Nabeeha Engineer 1st, Culture 3

3rd, Prose Memory 3

Karl Gelinsky 5th, Poetry Memory Advantaged

Christopher Gloyna 1st, Prose Memory 4

1st, Reading Comprehension 4

1st, Spelling 4

3rd, Grammar 4

5th, Vocabulary 4

Caroline Kamla 2nd, Prose Memory 2

4th, Prose Reading 2

Shaan Lashari 2nd, Spelling 4

5th, Reading Comprehension 4

Nali Liu 4th, Culture 3

Siobhan Madden 2nd, Needlework

Paarth Maniar 4th, Poetry Reading 3

4th, Prose Reading 3

5th, Vocal Solo

Kylene Miller 5th, Culture 2

Trey Minter 3rd, Culture 3

5th, Prose Reading 3

Braden Muscarello 1st, Listening Comprehension 3

1st, Prose Memory 3

1st, Reading Comprehension 3

1st, Vocabulary 3

Josie Muschel 1st, Doll Costume

1st, Needlework

Tim Muschel 5th, Reading Comprehension 1

Ivan Oliveira 5th, Prose Memory Advantaged

Rachel Patel 4th, Oral Presentation 4

Shroothi Ramesh 5th, Extemporaneous Speaking 4