Monthly Archives: December 2013

Creative Use of Literary Classics Helps CVHS Students Master Rhetoric

A selection from the Pinterest page in the voice of “Ma Joad”

Don’t look now, but Tom Joad is on Twitter, and Adam Trask has a webpage. If those two names seem vaguely familiar to you, it’s probably because they are characters in a pair of American literature classics written by John Steinbeck. Joad is the protagonist in The Grapes of Wrath, and Trask is a wealthy Salinas Valley ranch owner in East of Eden.

Students in Jocelyn Ellis’s pre-Advanced Placement English class at HISD’s Carnegie Vanguard High School are creating the characters’ Twitter exchanges, websites, and even Pinterest pages as part of a class project.

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Food for Thought: Hamilton MS Students Learn About Homelessness and Hunger

Hamilton MS students made sandwiches for the homeless as part of their partnership with the Rice University Coalition on Hunger and Homelessness. Working with the coalition, students have been focusing on children who are experiencing hunger. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter/The Leader News)

Hamilton MS students have joined the fight against hunger among the homeless – especially children – and they’re in it for the long haul.

Hamilton is the only HISD middle school to partner with the Rice University Coalition on Hunger and Homelessness and Kids’ Meals to develop a program that specifically focuses on ways to feed children in Harris County, where 25.5 percent of youngsters live in food-insecure households.

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Two Schools to Plant Dozens of Fruit Trees on Their Campuses

Lantrip Elementary also receives $20,000 grant for campus beautification project

Lantrip Elementary School and Austin High School are the recipients of two grants from the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation that will fund the planting of 25-30 trees at each campus in the coming week.

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF), an international nonprofit organization dedicated to planting fruit trees to improve health, strengthen communities and combat climate change, has joined the East End’s GreenSchools! Greenbelt, which currently includes Austin, Lantrip and Jackson Middle schools.

The GreenSchools! Greenbelt initiative, funded by the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council, connects schools and communities through campus and community greening efforts in Houston’s East End.

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PowerUp Schools Learning Best Practices From Mooresville, N.C.

HISD principals and administrators from the 11 high schools involved in the district’s PowerUp initiative now have a better understanding of what effective digital instruction looks like, thanks to a recent trip to Mooresville, N.C. The Mooresville Graded School District has had a one-to-one program in place for six years and is partnering with HISD to offer guidance and best practices as the district prepares to distribute more than 18,000 laptops to students next month.

In mid-November, PowerUp principals along with members of HISD’s High Schools Office, the Curriculum, and Professional Support and Development departments, spent several days inside Mooresville secondary classrooms observing teaching and learning using computers and digital technology. Principal Delesa Odell Thomas from the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy found the trip was eye-opening.

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HSLECJ Community Urged to Participate in Planning for New School

No final decision has been made yet on where to put the new High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice – but that isn’t stopping HISD staff, parents and community members from planning for the future.

“Push us to deliver you the best facility,” said Dan Gohl, HISD’s chief academic officer. “Engage us, doubt us, question us – but participate.”

At a community meeting Thursday, Gohl urged the audience to think about the generations of students to come who will be using the new building and what they need to be learning to be successful in careers in law enforcement and criminal justice.

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Principals to Discuss Literacy on Twitter Chat Today

Houston ISD principals traditionally collaborate via email and at meetings, but today they’re chatting online and hope you will join the conversation.

The district’s first Twitter chat, which will be held from1:30 to 2:30 p.m., will focus on literacy.

You can be part of the conversation by following #HISDprincipal. We’ll offer a live feed on the district’s website. If you have a comment or question, chime in by logging into your Twitter account on your computer or mobile device, and send your Tweet with that same hashtag.

HISD Hears Final Report on Education Legislation by Texas Lawmakers

HISD trustees heard a detailed update Thursday of dozens of new laws from the 83rd session of the Texas Legislature, but the focus was on one new measure – House Bill 5 – that will make huge changes in Texas graduation requirements beginning with current ninth- and 10th-graders.

The session was presented by HISD counsel David Thompson, who serves as one of the district’s legislative liaisons.

HB 5 reduces the number of STAAR end-of-course exams that must be passed for graduation from 15 to 5 and requires students to select a personal graduation plan between a basic “foundation” course of study and a more rigorous “distinguished” diploma that increases their chances for admission to four-year Texas public universities and state grants.

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At Poe ES This Week, They’re Working with Wood, Whipping Up Crepes

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/81124590/ w=320&h=205]

Playing, singing or writing music, creating artwork, and cooking aren’t just fun and life-enriching – the fine arts can turn into careers, too.

That’s been the message all week at Poe ES, a fine arts magnet school, where the PTO is sponsoring a Fine Arts Career Week through Friday, bringing in working artists from the community to give youngsters a chance to try everything firsthand, from woodworking to crepe-making.

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30th Annual HISD Girls Basketball Tourney Launches Thursday

Seven-venue event combines hoops with holiday giving

Michael Sudhalter photo/The Leader News

The Houston area’s best girls basketball players will face off at seven HISD venues December 5-7 in the 30th annual Houston ISD Basketball Tournament – combining action on the courts with a giant food and toy drive, in the spirit of the holiday season.

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