Yearly Archives: 2014

‘Newcomer’s’ gratitude for school, home, country recognized by mayor’s office

Salvadorian student wins first place in citywide poetry contest just six weeks after immigrating to U.S.

fondrenms_student’Tis the season for feeling thankful, and when the Newcomers Academy at Fondren Middle School student Daniela Fuentes expressed her gratitude, it won first place in the City of Houston’s Citizenship Month Poetry Competition earlier this month.

Although the eighth-grader just moved here from El Salvador in late September, she has already met Houston’s first lady, Kathy Hubbard, who presented her with a plaque in a ceremony held at the Asia Society of Houston. Fuentes read her poem aloud to hundreds of distinguished guests before it was put on display at the University of Houston-Downtown library. Continue reading →

Middle-school student rewarded for demonstrating outstanding character

KatherineMiranda_400SIS eighth-grader Katherine Miranda named first 2014 winner in Luby’s ACT program

Luby’s has been rewarding good behavior in HISD middle school students through its ACT Program (Achieving Character Together) program since 2008, and this year, the first student to be recognized with a silver award came from Sharpstown International School. Continue reading →

Strong classroom support promotes success for HISD dual language expansion

When Houston ISD doubled its dual language programs to include 28 schools this August, that was just the beginning of district’s commitment to making sure students on those campuses become bilingual and biliterate.

Representatives of HISD’s Multilingual Programs Department have visited each school to evaluate instructional practices and to offer support for principals and teachers to embed language instruction into strong academic content. Native Spanish-speakers learn English, and English speakers gain a second language through immersion. Continue reading →

High school students lend a helping hand to Literacy by 3

Scheduling conflicts usually prevent high school students from volunteering with younger students during the school day, but two district campuses figured out a clever way to work around that obstacle in order to take part in the district’s Literacy by 3 movement.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G00008iJdYIkHROQ” g_name=”Davis-students-read-to-Pugh-students” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

Members of the National Honor Society at Davis High School have been using their early release day every month to spend time reading to students at Pugh Elementary. On Nov. 19, about 20 seniors spent the afternoon at Pugh, mentoring and working close to 30 students. Continue reading →

Revere MS community dedicates STEM-focused SPARK Park

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000Lau9X4fOwVU” g_name=”20141120-Revere-SPARK-park” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

Revere Middle School on Wednesday hosted a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new SPARK Park on campus.

The park features a new minimalistic structure, designed by University of Houston graduate architecture students, and provides an attractive entryway to the school that doubles as a covered bus stop.

Continue reading →

eNews Highlight: Washington HS senior contemplates his legacy

Joshua Epkins poses for a photograph, July 9, 2014. (Houston ISD/Dave Einsel)

Joshua Epkins

High school seniors already have quite a bit on their plates. Between completing homework assignments, practicing for sports competitions, taking college-readiness exams, studying for tests, and filling out college applications, students don’t have much time left over for other activities.

But Washington High School senior Joshua Epkins decided to join not just one or two — but eight — new clubs this year, and even created his own organization in order to leave behind a positive legacy. Read why this meant so much to him in the Nov. 21, 2014, edition of eNews.

Other stories in this week’s edition include: Continue reading →

Welch MS capitalizes on popularity of ‘color dash’ concept to spruce up its fall festival

Runners at Welch Middle School started out with white T-shirts and ended up with a rainbow of colors splashed across their clothing, faces, and even their hair.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000x02rpacyRGQ” g_name=”Welch-Color-Dash” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

The Wolf Pack Fall Festival and Magnet Color Dash took place on Saturday, Nov. 15, and both children and adults finished the mile-long race looking as though they had been through an explosion in a paint factory. Continue reading →

Gobble! Gobble! Elementary schools celebrate Thanksgiving

Elementary schools throughout HISD celebrated Thanksgiving a week early by inviting families to enjoy lunch together.

Students and their relatives feasted on turkey and gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato cake, and other traditional dishes.

Take a look at photos from several HISD schools:

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G0000K4jTm40Nsq4″ g_name=”Elementary-Thanksgiving-Lunch” width=”600″ f_fullscreen=”t” bgtrans=”t” pho_credit=”iptc” twoup=”f” f_bbar=”t” f_bbarbig=”f” fsvis=”f” f_show_caption=”t” crop=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”t” f_htmllinks=”t” f_l=”t” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_show_slidenum=”t” f_topbar=”f” f_show_watermark=”t” img_title=”casc” linkdest=”c” trans=”xfade” target=”_self” tbs=”5000″ f_link=”t” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”t” f_ap=”t” f_up=”f” height=”400″ btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” ]

DeBakey HS senior proves his ‘college readiness’ by acing both the ACT and the SAT

Three other HISD students also earn perfect scores on college-readiness tests this year

From left, Zachary Kordum, Connor Burwell, Camille Potts, and Claudia Heymach

From left, Zachary Kortum, Connor Burwell, Camille Potts, and Claudia Heymach

Zachary Kortum, a senior at the DeBakey HS for Health Professions, cemented his status as “college-ready” this year by bringing home perfect scores on both the ACT and the SAT.

“I was very excited and surprised to find out that I’d scored so well,” said Zachary. “My parents bought me two prep books, and I worked through those outside of school, but DeBakey did a lot to help me get ready for the tests, too. The great Advanced Placement classes I took really prepared me, and the school offered a practice SAT before the real test.”

Continue reading →