Weekly Teacher Download for April 9

ALL TEACHERS

Free Breakfast on Tuesday: To kick off STAAR testing, participating Houston-area McDonald’s will be giving free breakfast to students and teachers on Tuesday, April 10, from 6-9 a.m. (dine-in only). Limit one breakfast per student or teacher. Student must be present and accompanied by a parent or legal-aged guardian. Make sure you have your school I.D. Click here for flyer.

New Teacher Appraisal System: All teachers and administrators are invited to attend a session to learn more about T-TESS, the state’s new appraisal system for teachers. You will learn how the new system compares with HISD’s locally developed system, TADS, and have an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback regarding the district’s model for teacher appraisals in the future. Attend the next session on Wednesday, April 18, at Key Middle School (4000 Kelley, Houston 77026) from 5-6:30 p.m. Click here for more information, including additional dates and information.

Summer Intensive Institute: Interested in taking your knowledge on minority dramatic literature up a notch? Texas Southern University is announcing a call for applications by May 1 for their Back to Basics Summer Intensive Institute taking place July 9-13 on the TSU campus. The institute will require each teacher to select five students to participate in a one-week intensive program. There is limited seating for teachers and students, and selection will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on how to apply, click here. For details on the program, click here.

Houston Dynamo Art Contest: Art teachers, are any of your students die-hard Houston Dynamo fans? Here’s an opportunity for them to score tickets. Students should create an art piece of any kind that includes a STEM, soccer, or Houston Dynamo theme, and submit their art piece by April 14. Winners will receive a family pack of tickets to the Dynamo game on Saturday, April 21. For details and instructions, click here.

Attendance Tip of the Week: Instead of blame and punishment, try reducing chronic absences through problem solving and support. Click here to learn ways you can provide more social and emotional support for chronically absent students.

SECONDARY

STAAR/EOC Social Studies Training: Are you an eighth-grade teacher who needs help preparing your students for STAAR? Secondary Science Curriculum and Development is offering a training session on April 21 at Ryan Professional Development Center, 4001 Hardy St., Houston 77009. You’ll learn how to maximize student achievement on STAAR through the use of learner-centered strategies designed to not only review but also diagnose student knowledge gaps. There are only 50 spaces allocated for this session. For more information, click here. Register in OneSource, course #97001.

Secondary Literacy Tours: Like Literacy in the Middle but want to see how it works in action? Join the Secondary Curriculum on two self-guided tours of hand-picked campuses and classrooms on Tuesday, April 24, and Thursday, April 26. You will leave the tour loaded with ideas on how to best implement strategies and increase literacy in your classroom. For literacy instruction in four core content-area classrooms on April 24, register in OneSource, course #779003. For classrooms with small groups in action and Achieve 3000 on April 26, register in OneSource, course #779004.

Young Historian Challenge: Implement our HISD Young Historian Challenge in your classroom to bring history alive for your K-5 students. The Young Historian Challenge gives students the opportunity to develop and hone the skills of a historian through the creation of a micro-research project. Teachers can implement this project before STAAR testing for review purposes. Projects will serve as a jigsaw. Teachers can use the project after STAAR testing for renewed enthusiasm or implement this project anytime to increase depth and complexity for your identified G/T, IB, and Pre-AP students. Click here for more information.

Pre-AP Social Studies Workshop: Join the Office of Advanced Academics for a Pre-AP Social Studies workshop July 30 through August 2. Teachers will have the opportunity to explore Pre-AP pedagogy and plan future lessons with Pre-AP colleagues. Participants will also explore community resources and meet with local experts to develop engaging lessons that align with Advanced Placement expectations. This a great opportunity to hear about field experiences from guest speakers who will help bring social studies alive for you and your Pre-AP students. Register for all four days in OneSource, course #827002.