Weekly Teacher Download for September 27, 2021

ALL TEACHERS

Social and Emotional Learning

The SEL Thinkery is a therapeutic, supportive calming space that assists students in self-calming efforts by offering them an opportunity to relax and reset. In the Thinkery, students can participate in silent reflection, yoga, journaling, meditation, physical movement, and sensory activities. These spaces vary by grade level. Please click here to visit the SEL Virtual Thinkery to start creating your SEL Thinkery space today. Email Meagan.Young@houstonisd.org to schedule an in-person tour of the SEL Thinkery.  

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Early Childhood

The Early Childhood team has prepared a variety of professional development sessions that cover the PK domains for the fall semester. Principals, Tier II Leaders, PK lead teachers, and PK teachers are welcome to register for our training sessions, which are listed here. This week, these include Dual Language Instructional Strategies in PreK, Part I, on Sept. 28; Building a Positive Teaching Collaboration for Teacher Assistants on Sept. 30; and BOY Daily News in PreK on Sept. 30.

Early Childhood

Rice University SLC Fall Summit for Early Childhood Educators: Join School Literacy & Culture (SLC) virtually for the Fifth Annual Fall Early Literacy Summit. During this half-day conference, early childhood professionals will learn about the unique challenges facing students this academic year. Highlights include a keynote address given by SLC Founding Director Dr. Patricia Cooper, author of “When Stories Come to School and the Classrooms All Young Children Need.” There will be an interactive breakout session with others teaching children of similar age levels. Click here to register. The summit takes place 8:30 a.m. – noon on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Participants will receive four hours of professional development.

HB3 Reading Academy Virtual PLC
From Sept. 27-Oct. 1, the Reading Academy will facilitate Virtual PLC #1 (Literacy Community). We want to foster a relationship with participants by meeting, talking, and exchanging reading/writing ideas. We are going to share strategies that will help develop a literacy community in your classroom and tips for creating explicit instruction lessons. Participants will receive their campus PLC date/time in their Canvas and Outlook emails.

Elementary Math Sessions

Grade 1-5 Snapshot Review on Sept. 27: Join this math session to gain a better understanding of the snapshot assessment for grades 1-5. We will explore how to use the snapshot outline and unit assessments to backwards plan. Get a sneak peek at some of our new assessment items. Click on the PD Catalog to access OneSource numbers and times. Share your experiences via twitter and tag@HISD_ElemMath #MathMatters. 

 Building Culture Using Daily Routines on Sept. 30: Join our session on building a culture using daily routines and gain a deeper understanding of math daily routines and explore a variety of strategies that encourage numeracy, fluency, and productive struggle. Register via OneSource #1458085. Share your experiences via twitter and tag @HISD_ElemMath #MathMatters.

Elementary Math Teacher Service Day on Oct. 4: We will be offering only asynchronous courses on this day. View a list of our available courses by clicking here. Share your experiences via twitter and tag @HISD_ElemMath #MathMatters.

HB3 Math Academy Grades 2-3 Math Fluency Pt. 1 on Sept. 28: Join us for the first virtual math fluency session this fall. We will dive into number talks and a fluency plan to create numerical fluency in the classroom.There are two opportunities on Sept. 2: 1:00-2:30 p.m. or 3:30-5:00 p.m. For more information, click here. Share your experiences via twitter and tag @HISD_ElemMath #HB3MathAcademy.

Elementary Career and Technical Education
The Career Ready Wagon (CRW) is already doing virtual visits that bring a highly engaging, interactive, and informative career experience to PreK-Grade 5 students. Last year, CRW virtual visits engaged with over 5,000 elementary scholars in HISD. Volunteers read a short story about a career (book provided) and engage in a Q&A with students about their own profession. Sign up for the book you would like to read and complete the HISD VIPS onboarding. More information on Story Time is here.

SECONDARY TEACHERS

EF Education First Global Symposium (virtually or in-person)
EF Education First is hosting its annual Global Education Symposium in November to gather virtually with educators from across North America to discuss the impact and importance of “The Power of Human Connection: Building a Global Community.” Visit the HISD Abroad and EF website here and click on the Global Education Symposium link to complete the application. The virtual deadline is Oct. 15, and the in-person deadline has passed. Contact HISD Abroad Senior Manager Kian Zare with questions at kzare@houstonisd.org. 

Career and Technical Education (Secondary Schools)

Each month, CTE will showcase the excellent work of CTE students, teachers, and campuses to inform students, parents, and stakeholders about the programs of study the district offers. This will also bring awareness to post-graduation opportunities in the workforce. Campus instructors and personnel can submit videos, pictures, and/or student work to CTE via https://bit.ly/2X76UKV.  The work will be showcased on the CTE website and social media platforms. For more info, see this flyer. Please view the September 2021 CTE Bulletin, Volume III. Visit our Career Readiness page here for all weekly bulletins. Find a repository of professional development opportunities and view our 2021-2022 Career Cluster Calendar. See this flyer for CTE supplemental learning opportunities.