Cheerful student ambassadors at The Rusk School met alumni, parents and community partners at the front entrance of their school to welcome them to a celebration for the opening of a new building wing.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=’G0000E_0s4h4gBHw’ g_name=’Rusk-gallery’ 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’ ]

Students accompanied guests down the hallways of the school to an outdoor walkway that leads to a new two-story building addition. The 21^st century learning areas feature smart boards, document cameras, flexible student seating, and large windows – some of which overlook downtown Houston.

“It feels really good to have our own space,” said seventh-grader Michelle Hernandez, who welcomed visitors to the new building during a two-day celebration that began Friday with an open house that drew more than 300 parents.

The celebration also included a ribbon cutting Monday with musical performances by the school choir and student testimonies about their education at Rusk and how the school has changed their lives.

Many students gave guests tours of the 21,000-square-foot building that will serve 250 middle school students at the K-8 school. The building, funded under HISD’s 2007 bond program, includes seven classrooms, two science labs and a computer lab that will also serve as an engineering lab. The facility will also offer a 1:1 laptop initiative, providing each student with their own laptop or iPad.

“No more temporary buildings for our middle school students,” said Rusk Principal Eduardo Sindaco. “The fact that they have their own space and a brand new space at that will allow them to flourish even more.”

The $11 million building addition, designed by STOA International Architects and built by contractor Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, features state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and multiple environmental enhancements designed to save energy through the use of recycled building materials and increased daylight views.

“I love all the natural lighting and the large rooms that will allow for more collaborative learning opportunities for our students,” said HISD Board President Juliet Stipeche.

The new facility will open to students this week.

“We have been looking forward to being in the new building for a while,” said seventh-grader Nikolas Lechuga while sitting in the facility’s gym that will also serve as a multipurpose room for special events. “We have more room to grow, and we have a gym now. That’s the fun part because when it’s cold and wet outside, we can play in here.”

“It is my hope that with this new building, the school will allow more children to discover themselves,” said eighth-grader Erik Lopez who spoke during the opening ceremony at the ribbon cutting.

Students helped Principal Sindaco, School Support Officer Rudy Trevino, Stipeche and former HISD trustee and Houston City Councilman Felix Fraga, an alumni of Rusk, cut the ribbon before opening the building up for tours.

“I’ve always been proud of Rusk,” said Fraga, who attended the original Rusk in the 1930s. “We keep thinking neighborhoods like this are going to disappear, but they’re not. This community needs school developments like this one that will continue to support and improve our neighborhoods.”

Hundreds of middle and high school students learned about science, technology, engineering, and math careers at a symposium organized by the Gathering of Eagles and the Houston Military Affairs Committee.

A variety of speakers working in STEM-related careers, including a geologist at NASA, encouraged about 375 students in attendance at the Saturday event at Houston Community College Southeast. They came from schools including Austin, Bellaire, Davis, and Milby high schools and Deady, Hartman, Ortiz, and Stevenson middle schools and heard about exploring science and math courses and considering the engineering profession.

Students learned about the financial aid process, technology programs at schools where certificates may be earned, and programs available at area junior colleges.

The groups also held an essay contest, which 50 students entered. The winner was Deady Middle School student Jesus Guerra, who described how taking STEM courses could better prepare himself for the future skilled job market. He was awarded $100. You can read Jesus’ essay here.

The symposium was such a success that another one will be held again next year around the time of spring break.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=’G0000G97SLGccF4k’ g_name=’STEM-symposium’ 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’ ]

HISD juniors will be sharpening their No. 2 pencils to take the SAT college admission test during SAT School Day on their own campuses April 16, with the district picking up the registration cost. Students registered for the test with their high school counselors, who provided a voucher to waive the $51 fee.

If you are registered to take the test at your high school, here are some tips to prepare for test day:

• Learn the directions and question formats in advance: If you understand the instructions, you’ll feel more confident and be less likely to make careless errors. The test is timed, so if you don’t have to spend time on the directions, you will have more time for earning points.
• Take an educated guess by ruling out one or more answer choices for a multiple-choice question as definitely wrong; your chances of guessing correctly among the remaining choices improve. Omit questions only when you really have no idea how best to answer them. You don’t gain or lose points for omitting an answer. Keep in mind that most questions are arranged from easy to hard.
• Use the test book for scratch work to cross off answers you know are wrong, and to mark questions you did not answer:  Be sure to mark your answers on the separate answer sheet. You won’t receive credit for any answers you marked in the test book. Avoid extra marks on the answer sheet. The answer sheet is machine-scored, and the machine can’t tell an answer from a doodle.
• Check your answer sheet regularly to make sure you are in the right place: Losing your place on the answer sheet will affect your test results. Check the number of the question and the number on the answer sheet every few questions. This is especially important when you skip a question.
• Pace yourself: Don’t spend so much time working through hard questions that you lose time to find and answer the easier ones. Work on less time-consuming questions before moving on to those that demand more time. Save time by marking questions as you work on them and crossing out choices you can eliminate as you move through the test. The SAT includes 10 sections for which you have a total of 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete. First check to see how much time you have to complete each section. Then, while practicing for and taking the test, develop a habit of occasionally checking your progress through the test. That way you know when you are one-fourth of the way through the time allotted for a section, when you are halfway through, and when you have five minutes left. If you finish a section before time is called, use the remaining time to check your answers.
• Think Positively: Getting down on yourself during the test does more than make you feel bad. It can take away the confidence you need to solve problems. It can distract you. Keep up your confidence and focus on each question.

If you are scheduled to take the SAT on SAT School Day, but need resources for the last days of preparation, you can take advantage of these free resources:

• Free online SAT practice from Khan Academy, including hundreds of unreleased questions from real SATs and videos that show step-by-step solutions.
• Free access to The Official SAT Online Course. Additional free SAT practice tools are available on the College Board website.
• Students can use their SAT scores to research colleges and universities on the College Board’s free, comprehensive college planning website.

For more information about College Readiness or the SAT, visit www.houstonisd.org/collegereadiness.

Deadline is Friday, April 11, for students who applied to a magnet or Vanguard program for the 2014-2015 school year to accept a place at a school for which they were offered admission.

Parents must notify the school directly or accept via the school choice online dashboard. Their acceptance will be final once they complete the steps outlined when they make their selection.

“A student’s acceptance does not remove him or her from the waitlists to other schools,” said School Services Officer Dr. Lupita Hinojosa. “However, they will decline all other offers when they accept the school of his or her choice.”

If a student is on the waitlist to three schools, he or she will continue to be on the waitlist regardless of accepting admission to another school. If the same student was offered admission to five other schools, he/she will decline them once he accepts a school of his/her choice.

Because of fluctuating waitlists, parents are encouraged to frequently check their school choice online dashboard for an updated number. Those unsure about your place on a waitlist, should first check the online School Choice online dashboard at http://houstonisdschoolchoiceapplication.com/

Anyone believing a waitlist number is incorrect should contact the School Choice hotline at 713-556-6947 or via email at magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org.

Following the Dec. 20 deadline for the first round, HISD’s school choice office continued to accept applications for all magnet and Vanguard programs. The applications submitted after the first deadline will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who apply to programs with openings will be accepted if qualifications are met, after waitlists are met, and in order of application.

Once students who applied by Dec. 20 and participated in the lottery accept or decline their offers, a new document listing schools with openings will be posted on the HISD School Choice website.

For frequently asked questions, visit the site at www.houstonisd.org/schoolchoice.