Yearly Archives: 2013

HISD Workshop to Prepare Designers on Building Green Schools

Berry Elementary School, built under the 2007 bond program, has earned LEED Silver certification.

Water-collection systems, recyclable materials and healthier learning and teaching spaces are among the topics to be discussed at HISD’s “Sustaining Momentum” workshop for architect and engineering teams working under the 2012 bond program.

Ideas shared during the half-day workshop on Monday, July 29, will help district officials set sustainability goals for schools under the $1.89 billion construction program, which will replace or rebuild 40 schools across the city.

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Millionaire Club Spotlight: What Are You Reading This Summer?

HISD’s Millionaire Club is a literacy initiative designed to encourage students to read for pleasure during the summer months. Each week, we’ll catch up with one HISD librarian to find out what’s on his or her reading list. This week, we spoke with Rowena Verdin, a librarian at Milby High School.

What are you reading right now?

I just finished reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth and I started The Dog Stars by Peter Heller.

Insurgent is actually the second book in the series by Veronica Roth. The first book, Divergent, was in last year’s Name That Book list. I enjoyed the first book; it’s like Hunger Games. Plus, I really like dystopian novels, so I just had to read the second book. The third book is supposed to come out in October.

Dog Stars is on the Name That Book (NTB) list.

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PowerUp Pilot Schools Learning Best Practices

Nearly a century ago, famed educator John Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” Dewey’s words of wisdom resonated among 150 HISD school leaders, central office staff members, and teachers as they gathered this month for a four-day retreat to officially launch and learn more about PowerUp, HISD’s groundbreaking initiative that will eventually give every high school student a laptop computer.

Principals and teachers involved in phase 1, or the pilot phase of PowerUp, along with members of curriculum, professional development, and instructional technology, met July 15-18 at Sharpstown High School to train with over a dozen educators from the Mooresville Graded School District located in Mooresville, N.C. MGSD has received national recognition for undertaking a digital technology initiative that provides every student in grades 4-12 with a computer to use at school and at home.

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Students Accelerate Learning During Summer Academic Camps

Rather than spending all their time biking, playing, or soaking up the sun, some HISD students are taking advantage of an opportunity to advance their education over the summer months.

In addition to the standard summer school offerings designed to help students catch up or pass the STAAR exam, many campuses offer enhanced education options, such as Advanced Placement assistance, accelerated math courses, college entrance exam preparation, STEM courses, or others to help kids get ahead.

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Board of Education to Consider Four More Contracts for 2012 Bond Work

Selected projects include construction manager at risk services for four high schools

Administrators are recommending that the HISD Board of Education authorize the district to negotiate contracts with three firms to provide construction manager at risk (CMAR) services on selected 2012 bond projects.

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Reagan HS and Hogg MS Celebrate IB Authorization

Reagan High School and Hogg Middle School are the two latest HISD campuses to receive official authorization to operate as International Baccalaureate World Schools. The announcement, which came on July 5, creates the first continuous IB feeder pattern in the historic Heights neighborhood. Students now can begin the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) at Harvard Elementary and then progress to Hogg Middle School and Reagan High School for the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP).

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Elementary children get jump start on STEM careers in SEEK summer camp

Students work on one of the projects at the SEEK program at Young Women's College Preparatory Academy

Students work on a project at the SEEK program at Young Women's College Preparatory Academy

About 300 elementary students from across the Houston area spent the last few weeks learning how to build renewable energy-based vehicles as part of a concerted effort to increase the number of minority engineers in the future.

The students were part of the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camp at the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, which was organized by the National Society of Black Engineers, with support from Shell and the University of Houston.

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Waltrip HS Robotics Team Wins Awards in Summer Competitions

Joseph Townsend, Tyler Townsend (mentor), Jeremiah Miller, Joshua Benton, Brooke Welch, Amanda Edwards, Andrew Kain, Alyssa Murrell, NayJeah Pridgen, and Sean Russell.

Waltrip High School’s robotics team competed in two international events this summer and came home with three awards.

The team won the gROVer award at the International M.A.T.E. Underwater ROV Competition in Federal Way, Wash. That award is given to a team that demonstrates kindness, courtesy, professionalism, and assists other teams, providing technical and moral support. Team member Sean Russell received the engineering evaluation MVP award.

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