Ever wondered what the difference is between “sleep,” “standby,” and “hibernate” on a computer? Well, so have we! Here’s some general information about each to help you decide which energy-saving setting is best for you.
- Sleep—Sometimes known as “standby” or “suspend”
- Pros:
- Significantly reduces power use
- “Wakes up” quickly when prompted
- Cons:
- Won’t protect unsaved content if power is lost
- Hibernate—Sometimes known as “safe sleep” or “deep sleep”
- Pros:
- Reduces power consumption to negligible amounts
- Protects unsaved content if power is lost
- Cons:
- Can take longer to “wake up” than “sleep” or “standby”
For assistance in adjusting the settings on your computer, call the HISD Help Desk at 713-892-7378 between the hours of7:00 a.m.and5:00 p.m.
Related Link: http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers-sleep.html
HISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department will be hosting its ‘When I Grow Up’ Expo, on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013—and this is not your grandfather’s career fair.
Scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 W. 18th Street, 77092), this expo will offer an exciting, modern twist on the old-school career fair, including many hands-on experiences for children of all ages, as well as performances, competitions, workshops, great food, and many other interactive activities, all related to local industries.
METRO will be offering free transportation to the HMWESC from the following locations at 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and returning shuttles at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.:
- Long Academy (6501 Bellaire Blvd. 77074)
- Jackson Middle School (5100 Polk, 77023)
- Woodson K–8 (10720 Southview, 77047)
- Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center (9400 Irvington, 77076).
This event is free and open to the public.
Here are some other dates you may want to mark on your calendar:
February 22 (.pdf): Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy College & Career Fair
Feb. 25–March 17: Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
March 1–31: National Social Work Month
March 2: Eighth annual Parent Conference and Resource Fair
March 4 & 5: 27th annual Child Abuse Prevention Conference
March 7: Board meeting
March 8: Lunch ‘N Learn session (retirement savings accounts)
March 10: Daylight saving time begins
March 11–15: Spring Break
March 15: FAFSA deadline
March 29: Spring Holiday
April 5: Lunch ‘N Learn session (retirement savings accounts)
April 11: Board meeting
April 14–20: Week of the Young Child
May 6–10: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 27: Memorial Day
June 6: Last day of school (students)
First-grade teacher at Herrera ES wins SMART Collaborative Classroom
Carrie Curtis, a first-grade teacher at Herrera Elementary School, is taking her students to the next century of education with a roomful of new technology.
Curtis was one of only 20 teachers from across the nation to be selected for the SMART Collaborative Classroom project. She worked with SMART representatives to design a classroom that will change the way her students learn, and the company provided four, widescreen, dual-touch SMART boards, four SMART projectors, a set of SMART response clickers, one SMART document camera with 3-D technology, one SMART amplifying system, SMART tables, and SMART slates, transforming her classroom into a 21st century learning space that will facilitate class participation and student-centered instruction.
Michael Judge, an eighth-grade teacher at Thomas Middle School, was also named a SMART Collaborative Classroom recipient.
Other accolades:
Herod Elementary School honored the individuals who keep its hallways sparkling and its students safe at its second annual Crossing Guard and Custodial Staff Appreciation Day on Feb. 8, 2013.
Each crossing guard and member of the custodial staff received a card and a small gift from the Herod PTO, and messages of appreciation were posted in the halls and signed by students, parents and teachers. A selection of coffee and donuts was also provided for the honorees in the teachers’ break room.
Appreciation Day was launched in 2012 at the request of Herod fourth-grader Rory Schoech, whose mother pitched the idea to the PTO.
Pictured (from L–R) are: Rose Beals, Gloria Del Rio, Janice Gordon, Elma Myles Teodoro Alatorre, and Leslie Johnson. Not pictured are Norman Johnson and Stephanie Newton.
Since the HealthyWage Matchup first came to HISD a few years ago, teams of employees from Robinson Elementary School, Westside High School, and the Construction and Facilities Services department have all changed their lives, wallets, and waistlines by accepting the challenge to get lose weight—and get paid for doing it.
Employees from CFS and Westside won cash prizes in the competition that just ended in January, but teams are still forming for the next competition, which starts March 8 and ends May 31, so grab four friends or coworkers and see if you can be next!
Each month a new contest starts, and $18,000 is up for grabs. Participants can also compete simultaneously in the BMI Challenge or the 10% Challenge.
HISD employees who participate in one of the districts health benefit plans will receive 25 Wellness Incentive points for completing the challenge.
For complete details, please visit the Matchup website. Questions may be emailed to info@healthywage.com or call toll-free 1-888-636-3832.
Maria Lozano was a young mother of two when she began volunteering at her children’s school in the mid-1980s. But a short time later, the principal at Cage Elementary asked her if she would be interested in actually working for the district, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Lozano currently serves as a Student Information Representative (registrar) at Patrick Henry Middle School, but she has also served in that and other roles at several other campuses, including Davila and Shearn ES, and Jackson and Sugar Grove MS.
“I didn’t really plan to be here (a quarter of a century),” said Lozano, “but I like working with adolescents. At the middle-school level, you have to be really committed. Every time I look at the children, I think, ‘I’m looking at the future.’”
Many other HISD employees are also marking milestones this week—see if you know anyone on this list:
25 years
- Joyce Hill, teacher, Highland Heights ES
- Paramjit Hyare, teacher, Jordan HS
- Tanya Torres, counselor, Waltrip HS
20 years
- Erin Andrews, teacher, Burbank MS
- Gloria Burciaga, clerk, Browning ES
- Julio Cordero, plant operator, Furr HS
- Anthony Dickerson, student transfer analyst, Federal & State Accountability
- Marsha Dunn, social worker, High School Ahead Academy
- Anna Garcia, teacher, Garden Villas ES
- Ferney Gomez, plant operator, Ashford ES
- Alfonso Gonzales, teacher, Gross ES
- Carlos Morales, teacher, Milby HS
- Erica Moshay, teacher, J. R. Harris ES
- Raymond Peña, sergeant, Police Department
- Elnora Sampson, Special Education chair, Wheatley HS
- Kimberly Wright, budget accounting clerk, Finance
15 years
- Stephen Gittens, principal, Hobby ES
- Mary Elizabeth Gonzales, officer, Police Department
- Maria Gutierrez, teaching assistant, Scarborough HS
- Emmitt Warren, crossing guard, Grissom ES
10 years
- Sabiha Akbar, associate teacher
- Marta Angel, crossing guard, Briargrove ES
- Corina Gonzales, clerk, Golfcrest ES
- Dorris Henderson, bus driver, Transportation Services
- Beth Holub, teacher, T. H. Rogers MS
- Tayarisha Johnson, teacher, Kennedy ES
- Beverly Richardson, librarian, Dogan ES
- Maria Sepulveda, secretary, Scarborough ES
- Jolanta Stern, elementary, Browning ES
- Quang Tran, teacher, Carnegie Vanguard HS
5 years
- Iris Baldwin, associate teacher
- Shon Brady, associate teacher
- Andres Cavazos, custodian, Yates HS
- Leigh Curry, teacher, Garcia ES
- Adriana Dieguez, custodian, DeBakey HS
- Cherone Flakes, teacher, School at St. George Place
- Truvie Harris, associate teacher
- Heather Kohn, quality assurance manager, Food Services
- Ruth Mendez, teacher, McReynolds MS
- Maria Ortega Moron, custodian, Construction and Facilities Services
- Andrew Phillips, leader, Camp Forest Glen
- Robert Pirtle, teacher, Waltrip HS
- Arturo Robles, associate teacher
- Erika Sanchez, teacher, Burnet ES
- Ernesto Sanchez, custodian, HSLECJ
- Carol Siler, associate teacher
- Jennifer Skeete, applications developer, Information Technology
- Charlotte Starling, secretary, Reynolds ES
- Loretta Sweeney, teaching assistant, Bell ES
- Julie Valdez, teacher, Lyons ES
- John Wilcots IV, manager, Transportation Services
- Lakeisha Young, clerk, Sharpstown HS
| Check back next Friday for more February Milestones – and if you know someone who should be featured in this space, let us know at info@houstonisd.org. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees. |
Fine Arts Manager Walter Smith and Sabrina Nguyen, from Strategic Partnerships
This week’s Shout-Out goes to HISD Elementary Honor Choir director Sabrina Nguyen (right) and volunteer coaches Elaine Gabriel (Gregory-Lincoln K-8), Reed Hoke (Lyons ES), Holly Holt (The Rice School), Michelle Jackson (Poe ES), Kristine Lytle (Herod ES), Katherine Martin (Lovett ES), Melba McCollum (Travis ES), Deborah Pyper-Reynolds (Almeda ES), Monica Roach (Reagan K-8), and Rudy Villarreal (Harvard ES), from Fine Arts Manager Walter Smith (left), for their dedication to Houston’s budding singers.
“The choir appeared at the Texas Music Educators Association conference on Feb. 14 in San Antonio,” said Smith, “and everyone was just thrilled with its performance. It made a lot of people aware of the quality of music education HISD students are receiving, and gave them a new appreciation for what this choir represents.”
Smith noted that Nguyen and all of the voice coaches volunteered their time to work with the students. “These teachers held rehearsals for several hours every other Thursday starting in October, and worked with them on at least four Saturdays before the performance.”
Their efforts paid off, though, as Smith reports the group received a standing ovation.
Other Shout-Outs this week go to:
- Secretaries Cyndi Reza, Kristin Escamilla, and Carolyn Ellis—They make sure that the Office of School Support stays on track by juggling calendars, meetings, and services, and all with a SMILE! —School Services Officer Lupita Hinojosa
| Know someone who deserves a shout-out? Send an email to info@houstonisd.org with the subject line “Shout Out for eNews!” and tell us why. |
Balancing the role of manager and leader is essential to being a great boss. Learn what admired bosses do differently to drive organizational improvement and employee motivation at this two-hour workshop offered by Leadership Development through its ‘Forward Motion’ series.
The class will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Ryan Professional Development Center (4001 Hardy, 77009).
Remaining dates available are Feb. 28 and March 7. To sign up, please select course number LD0182 in eTRAIN.
Click here (.pdf) to see a full course catalog for the spring of 2013.
Winners of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching will receive a citation signed by the President of the United States, a trip for two to Washington, D.C., and a $10,000 prize.
Only ES math and science teachers (K–Grade 6) are eligible this year. For complete details, please visit http://www.paemst.org.
Public Montessori Educators of Texas conference March 1 & 2
Friends of Montessori will sponsor the Public Montessori Educators of Texas (PMET) conference Friday and Saturday, March 1—2, 2013. Keynote speakers and featured guests will be Alfie Kohn, renowned lecturer and author, and Dennis Schapiro, publisher and editor of the Public School Montessorian newspaper. Both will examine traditional and alternative education teaching methods in their programs. Details can be found here: http://alturl.com/r3tqx.
Parents for Public Schools Seeking Guiding Star Nominations by April 12
Do you know someone whose work on behalf of public schools has largely gone unrecognized?
If so, then consider nominating him or her for a 2013 “Guiding Star” award!
For the third consecutive year, Parents for Public Schools-Houston will be honoring parents, community/business partners, volunteers, and school/district staff who go above and beyond the call of duty in their service to Houston’s schoolchildren. For details, please click here.
Deadline for HMNS Excellence in Science award nominations: April 26
Do you know a high-school junior or teacher who demonstrates outstanding performance in the area of science or math?
If so, consider nominating him or her for one of the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Excellence in Science awards. Winners will receive a $2,000 cash prize.
The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, April 26. For complete details, please visit the HMNS website.
Mobile Mammogram Facility Returning to HISD March 18
The Rose, a non-profit organization dedicated to the reduction of breast-cancer-related deaths, will be offering on-site screening mammograms at three different locations starting March 18 to women who meet certain criteria.
For complete details, please see this related article.
Employees on the verge of retirement who are near age 65 or older are encouraged to attend one of two workshops being conducted to provide information about the new Aetna Medicare Advantage plan for TRS-Care Medicare retirees.
The workshops have been scheduled for Thurs., March 7, and Wed., March 20. Both will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Holden Administrative Offices Auditorium (812 West 28th Street).
Former HISD employees who have already retired are also welcome to attend.
Questions may be directed to V. Janene English at 713-293-9780.
