Monthly Archives: August 2014

Transportation: What you need to know for the upcoming school year

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With the first day of school quickly approaching, HISD Transportation is ready for a safe and smooth start to the school year.

Before school starts, the department says all parents should receive a postcard in the mail and at least two telephone calls with their children’s bus route information.

A customer call center has also been set up to answer questions. Parents can call 713-613-3040 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. starting Monday, Aug. 18, for assistance with transportation-related issues. The call center will remain open for at least 30 days.

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Westbury HS band surprises Michael Strahan at Hall of Fame parade

Westbury High School’s band and dance team traveled to Canton, Ohio, last weekend to celebrate former student and athlete Michael Strahan’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and they had a special surprise for him.

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Strahan played for Westbury for one year, and attended and played at Texas Southern University before his 15-year career with the New York Giants. The last game he played was Super Bowl XLII, which the Giants won.

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Washington HS students take lift-off dreams to New Mexico for seventh straight year

After eight months of construction, five Booker T. Washington High School engineering students finally had a chance to try to launch the high-powered hybrid rocket they nicknamed The Golden Eagle Four. The students traveled to the White Sands Missile Range last week in New Mexico to launch the rocket, hoping to see it reach a height of 100,000 feet.

“Seeing our rocket on the launch pad was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen,” said Washington senior Michael Ortiz. “We worked so hard to get to that point. We started with calculations on paper to drawing a rocket to actually seeing the rocket on the launch pad.”

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New Middle College High School trains corps of leaders

When the new Middle College High School-Gulfton campus starts classes Aug. 25, it will already have a trained group of student leaders.

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About 40 seniors from the school learned confidence- and team-building skills last week at a five-day summer leadership camp held at Talento Bilingue de Houston. Continue reading

Lanier MS holds debate camp for sixth graders

Incoming sixth graders at Lanier Middle School got a head start on picking up debate skills for the upcoming school year.

“These kids are going to be ready for competition before maybe some of the other sixth graders,” debate coach Franz Hill said. “We want them to develop confidence and learn the rudiments of putting together arguments and persuasive writing, and how to take initiative.”

Lanier’s debate team is consistently one of the top middle school teams in the nation. The school earned the Overall School of Excellence Award at the National Speech and Debate Association’s Middle School Tournament in June. Continue reading