Weekly Teacher Download for October 15

ALL TEACHERS

National School Lunch Week: Nutrition Services will celebrate National School Lunch Week beginning Monday, Oct. 15. National School Lunch Week is a great opportunity for Nutrition Services to reinforce the importance of eating good food while also challenging students to expand their palette. To celebrate this week, Nutrition Services will have several activities, contests, and giveaways planned. Click here for an easy-to-follow guide that provides step-by-step instructions on how you can participate in celebrating National School Lunch Week. To promote on campus, click here for a poster.

Pop Up PD: The HISD EdTech team is offering a session of PopUp PD to any HISD teachers who would like to brush up on their technology skills on October 24 from 4-6 p.m. Choice topics will include advanced tips in Microsoft Office 365, Google Basics, and other fun tools and apps to use with students in the classroom. For location details and to reserve your spot, register in OneSource, course #1134001.

Teacher Grants Deadline Extended: Teachers who are still trying to recover their classroom and replace materials, supplies, and technology damaged from Hurricane Harvey are encouraged to submit an application for funding up to $1,500. If you have previously applied for the relief grant and received funds, you are still eligible for additional funds. The Foundation has extended the deadline to Friday, Oct. 19. Partial or full grants may be awarded based on need, volume of applications, and available funds. Click here to submit an online application.

November Teacher of the Month: Through a sponsorship with Group 1 Automotive VIP Services, HISD launched a new Teacher of the Month recognition program last year to honor the district’s hard-working teachers. This month, the program returned and recognized fourth-grade teacher Hillary Smith at DeAnda Elementary as October’s Teacher of the Month. 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 Hillary Smith’s surprise.

ELEMENTARY

STAAR Writing PD: The Elementary Curriculum and Development will offer a four-part series called “STAARting Write” to grow the district’s kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers as writers and teachers of writing. The six-hour grade-level specific sessions will provide teachers with strategies and best practices for effective writing instruction as the school year progresses. The first part of “STAARting Write” will be offered at the PK-12th Writing Summit on Saturday, Oct. 13 with additional part one sessions repeated throughout October and early November at the HISD Ryan Professional Development Center. For more information on dates, locations, times, and course numbers, click here.

2018-2019 Collection of TSDS PEIMS Minutes: TEA requires the collection of monthly minutes for each elementary subject taught from teachers. These minutes entered must reflect the four weeks of October (Week 1: October 1-5, Week 2: October 8-12, Week 3: October 15-19, and Week 4: October 22-26) and are due by November 3. If you do not know how to enter the information in GradeSpeed, please take a few minutes to watch the training video. Early childhood, pre-K and kindergarten teachers are not required to enter this information. If you have any questions, please contact your Federal and State Compliance Senior Student Information Rep.