Weekly Teacher Download for the week of Mar. 27, 2017

ALL TEACHERS

• Open Transfer Period Opens April 10: HISD’s annual Open Transfer Period will begin on Monday, April 10, and end at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 12. During this period, eligible teachers and nurses are free to transfer between HISD campuses to fill open positions for the 2017–2018 school year. If you are interested in a specific position, you are to apply directly via email to the principal and provide your name, employee ID, job title, and attach a resume or include a summary of your experience. Due to the high volume of applicants, principals may only contact candidates of interest. Click here for more information.
• OnTrack Coming Soon: For the 2017-2018 school year, teachers and students will have access to a new assessment platform to track student progress through TEKS-aligned assessments. Click here to watch a short video. The new system is called OnTrack and will replace EdPlan with an easier-to-use, intuitive format for users. The platform allows for a more comprehensive student learning profile through a variety of assessment options. Unlike any system HISD has had before, OnTrack features a student dashboard, giving students the ability to monitor their own progress and take increasing ownership of their learning. Want to try OnTrack? Go to http://hisdtrain.schoolcity.com to explore the system in a test environment. Teachers can access it using the username “HoustonISD_Teacher” and the case-sensitive password “Houston1”.
• Fostering a Culture of Inclusion: As we prepare for testing season, now is a good time to ask: Does anything in my classroom or on my campus get in the way of my students’ success? Campuses that embrace a culture of inclusion create a learning environment with limited barriers, a place where all students can feel respected and most importantly, where success is expected. Learn more about fostering a culture of success for all students by taking the new course, Culture of Inclusion Online. Click here to sign in and enroll. Course number: 377005.

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ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

• Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy: 16 teachers will have the opportunity to participate in the 2017 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy. The MEMTA is a national five-day professional development program that helps third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade teachers implement research-based instructional strategies to engage students in science and mathematics inquiry learning. The Academy will take place at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center in Houston  from Sunday, June 25, 2017 through Friday, June 30, 2017. This is a residential Academy and all the participants selected are required to stay at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel the entire length of the academy, all expenses paid. Interested teachers should CLICK HERE and complete the form by noon on Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Selected teachers will be notified on Friday, March 31, 2017. For general information about the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, please visit http://mickelson.nsta.org/.

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SECONDARY TEACHERS

• Think Through Math Intervention Pathways: To assist secondary mathematics teachers with personalizing interventions for students, the Secondary Mathematics Curriculum and Development Team has created a series of Think Through Math [TTM] pathways that are aligned by Snapshot assessment. This arrangement more easily allows teachers to assign and customize student learning objectives based on the district’s Snapshot assessment data. For more information, please feel free to email Princess Granger at pgrange1@houstonisd.org or Alyssa Howell at ahowell1@houstonisd.org.  
• Participate in the Largest Hacking Competition in the World: Carnegie Mellon University’s picoCTF is the world’s largest online hacking competition and takes place March 31, 2017 – April 14, 2017. picoCTF is designed as a computer security game targeted at students grades 6-12. The game consists of a series of challenges presented in the context of a story-driven video game. This year’s storyline is: “When your friend disappears unexpectedly, you must learn and use computer security skills to uncover and decipher critical evidence behind their whereabouts. Can you find your friend before it’s too late?” The challenges are all set up with the intent of being hacked, making it an excellent, legal way to get hands-on experience in cyber security. Students with no programming experience get the same opportunity as experienced students to practice critical-thinking skills, develop more sophisticated concepts of programming and cyber security, and win prizes. For more info and registration, go to https://2017.picoctf.com/. Educators can contact educator@picoctf.com for additional information about the competition.

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READ OF THE WEEK

• A great way for ELL students to master non-fiction in any subject