Weekly Teacher Download for February 12

ALL TEACHERS

February Teacher of the Month: Through a sponsorship with Group 1 Automotive VIP Services, HISD launched a Teacher of the Month recognition program to honor our hard-working teachers throughout the year. Every month, an HISD teacher will be surprised and presented with a luxury loaner vehicle from a different Group 1 Automotive dealer. Read more about February’s Teacher of the Month Becky Orr at AA Milne Elementary.

Digital Learning Day: Curriculum and Development is excited to announce the Seventh Annual Digital Learning Day on Feb. 22. Digital Learning Day began as a way to actively share innovative practices and ensure all students have access to high-quality digital learning opportunities. Teachers and students should share how they are using technology to enhance their learning via Twitter by tagging their tweets with #DLDay, #GlobalGraduates, and @HoustonISD. To view sample Digital Learning Day tweets, click here. To view samples lessons, click here.

Attendance Tip of the Week: What can educators do if their schools do not have an attendance team or lack the resources to help a student improve his or her attendance? If you have made every effort and still need more to be done in order for your students to attend school, it’s time to advocate for a schoolwide approach. Check with your fellow teachers to see if absenteeism is an issue in their classrooms. It’s highly unlikely that absenteeism is isolated to one classroom in a school. For schoolwide solutions, click here for ways to become an advocate to beat absenteeism.

HISD Fine Arts Summit: HISD is proud to announce the first Fine Arts Summit to be held on Saturday, April 7, at the HISD Educational Learning Center (previously North Forest High School). HISD Fine Arts teachers from every grade level are invited to attend.  Professional development will be provided over a variety of topics and content integrations. HISD Fine Arts teachers will receive a $100 stipend for attending this event. The Fine Arts Department will be providing teachers with essential information and learning relevant to their area of expertise. For more information, click here for the flier.

ELEMENTARY

Professional Development: The Elementary Curriculum and Development Office is pleased to offer a variety of professional learning opportunities for teachers during the month of February, including literacy training to support Literacy by 3 (OneSource course #111001). For more info, see the course list here.

Student Writing Contest: All HISD first- through fifth-graders are invited to participate in the Former First Lady Libraries Corp. Winter 2017 essay contest. Students should submit a 400-word essay detailing what they lost and what they found during Hurricane Harvey by Feb. 19. Winners have a chance to receive a $250 Visa gift card and a $1,000 scholarship for their HISD school library from the FFLLC. Click here for contest rules and details.

 SECONDARY

Introduction to Strategic Reading and Writing: Check out this new online professional development (PD) course designed to provide an introductory overview of the Strategic Reading and Writing (SRW) curriculum and resources provided in the HUB Master Course. The SRW Master Course is designed to meet the needs of students reading far below grade level in sixth through tenth grade as assessed by district-level literacy assessments and state tests (STAAR). Upon successful completion, participants will receive three hours of PD credit. Register in OneSource course #830001.

Voter Registration Week: Did you know your high school principal serves as a deputy registrar and can receive voter registration applications from teachers and students? In honor of President’s Day, HISD will be observing the week of Feb. 19 as Voter Registration Week. Get yourself or your students registered on campus through your principal.

HISD Tech Summit and Expo: HISD is excited to announce the Second Annual Together with Tech Student Conference for all high schools. High school teachers of all subjects are encouraged to get their students to participate by Feb. 28. This year’s tech summit topics include sound, nutrition, and community safety and will include two events:

• Open Expo – Students showcase their work in a preassigned presentation space during the event. Open Expo allows students to exhibit the skills they have developed without entering the competition component of the tech summit.
• Tech Summit Competition – Students deliver a five-minute presentation in which they demonstrate the development of a solution to one of the guiding questions and its impact on the community, as well as demonstrate the competencies of HISD’s Global Graduate profile. Each campus is allowed two entries to the competition portion of the Tech Summit.

To learn more about the competition, click here or consult your Campus Instructional Technologist.