Weekly Teacher Download for October 16
ALL TEACHERS
Accessing universal screener reports: Testing on Renaissance 360 began three weeks ago and many schools have completed their assessments. Teachers eager to use the data to improve instruction can click here for an FAQ providing answers to common questions about accessing screener reports.
Earn a $1000 stipend: WeTeach_CS is offering a $1,000 stipend to currently certified Texas educators who add a Computer Science certification to their resume. For complete information about deadlines and requirements, please read and follow all steps of this checklist. Prior to testing, Texas teachers must meet eligibility requirements and be accepted to the program to qualify for the $1,000 stipend. See the Get Certified page for more information on CS Certification.
Are you up for the challenge? Join schools from over 30 countries participating in the annual Bebras Computing Challenge November 6-17. Bebras is a 15-question, 45-minute challenge that aims to promote student interest in computational thinking. HISD had the largest number of participants in the entire country last year and we look forward to an even larger number of students taking part in the challenge this November. All teachers can sign up their classes to take this 45-minute problem solving challenge. Register at http://challenge.bebraschallenge.org/admin.
Nominate your principal or teacher colleague: Does your principal or campus coworker deserve the ultimate recognition for their hard work? Then nominate him or her for
H-E-B’s Excellence in Education award. You can even nominate yourself. Click here to nominate one or more HISD educators by Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017. Teacher finalists will win $1,000 for themselves and $1,000 for their campus. Principal finalists will win $1,000 for themselves and $2,500 for their campus.
Digital Safety Moments: Students K-12 are invited to work as teams to produce a 60-90 second digital animation and/or video, highlighting important tips about how to be safe online. The HISD Ed Tech team has supplied information about possible topics, examples of previous submissions to inspire student’s creativity at the Digital Literacy Moments 2018 website at http://sites.google.com/houstonisd.org/diglit2018 . Submissions will be accepted through March 29, 2018 and can be sent to http://tinyurl.com/DigLitMoment.
NEW TEACHERS
Professional Development: All new teachers are invited to attend one or more workshops on Wednesday, Oct. 18 from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at the Ryan Professional Development Center located at 4001 Hardy St., 77009. Click here for a flier.
Join us in enhancing your skills in effective instructional practices, classroom management, checks for understanding (CFUs), transitions, organizing your classroom, blended instruction and more. Workshop topics include:
- Transitions and Pacing Tools (course #515007)
- Classroom Procedures (course #804003)
- Threshold (course #515001)
- Strong Voice and Precise Praise (course #515015)
ELEMENTARY
University of Houston Athletics is offering the Extra Yard for Teachers Grant to all HISD elementary teachers. Teachers can submit requests for classroom supplies and/or any essentials on www.donorschoose.org/. Requests for funding will be accepted until Oct 20, 2017. Contact Annie Torres at asong@houstonisd.org or 713-556-7218, if you have any questions.
