Category Archives: District V – Sue Deigaard

2015 holiday greeting card artwork winners announced

The winners of HISD’s annual 2015 Holiday Greeting Card competition were announced on Nov. 3, and one was a repeat from last year.

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Gloria Xie, who won in the middle school category in 2014, also claimed that honor this year as a seventh-grader at Pershing Middle School. “I would just like to say thank you to my principal, Ms. (Kim) Heckman, and my teacher, Ms. Perugini, and my parents,” she said.

Each year, the district sends out hundreds of holiday greeting cards to principals, board members, legislators, local leaders, parents groups, and community partners. Since 2003, these cards have featured the artwork of HISD students.

The other students whose artwork was selected for 2015 were: Continue reading →

Bellaire Concert Chorale performs with national ensemble

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After a three-day residency with the award-winning Rose Ensemble, Bellaire High School’s Concert Chorale joined them in concert to open the Houston Early Music season on Sunday, Oct. 24, at St. Philip Presbyterian Church. The program was entitled “Land of Three Faiths: Voices of Ancient Mediterranean Jews, Christians, and Muslims.”

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District’s efforts to support refugee students gaining state, national attention

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Representatives from PBS News Hour film students at Mistral Early Childhood Center for an upcoming segment on refugee students.

Children who have fled their native countries due to war, drug-related violence, or other conflicts often need special types of support once they arrive in the United States.

That’s why two organizations came to HISD this week to learn more about how the district is assisting its refugee students. Representatives from Raise Your Hand Texas visited two campuses — Daily Elementary School and Westside High School — while producers from PBS News Hour spoke with leaders at Mistral Early Childhood Center (ECC) and Las Americas Newcomers School.

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Johnston MS student’s story published on Teen Ink website

Sandy Ramirez, an eighth-grader at HISD’s Johnston Middle School, became a published author recently when one of her short stories was selected for inclusion on the youth-driven website, Teen Ink.

“Isaac the Element” was the very first thing she wrote in teacher Mark Dostert’s unit on short fiction, and it was included in the “realistic fiction” category on the Teen Ink website. Sandy said she wrote it “to express my empathy to children whose parents argue and fight.”

You can read the full entry here.

Register now for Oct. 17 Global Graduate Family Conference

All HISD families are invited to attend the Global Graduate Family Conference and Resource Fair on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Jane Long Academy (6501 Bellaire Blvd., 77074) from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The event will feature a panel discussion and short workshops on various topics, such as free early childhood programs, choosing and applying to the right HISD school, graduating high school with associate’s degrees and technical licenses, and applying for college.

Board of Education member Michael Lunceford has partnered with the Family Learning Academy to host the event, which will have a special focus on resources for families newly arrived to the United States and students learning English. Continue reading →

Bellaire HS grad gets $100,000 grant to fund her ‘bright’ idea

After a devastating earthquake hit the island of Haiti, one Bellaire High School graduate was inspired to do something — and one of the nation’s largest banks is helping her in her quest to light up the world.

Andrea Sreshta (Bellaire HS Class of 2002) and one of her Columbia University graduate-school classmates invented a solar-powered light that is collapsible, lightweight, and affordable. They called it LuminAID, and made the first 50 prototypes by hand in 2010. It has since been used in more than 70 countries around the world, and during disaster relief after Hurricane Sandy, Typhoon Haiyan, and a recent earthquake in Nepal. Continue reading →

HSPVA joins newly formed CLASS Coalition

The High School for the Visual and Performing Arts (HSPVA) is part of a new nationwide coalition aimed at promoting school success.

The Coalition for Leaders for Advanced Student Success (CLASS) was established this year and is focused on helping students overcome challenges to gain the skills needed to succeed after graduation.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to join with like-minded educators nationwide to help advance curriculum, policies, and activities that will help more high school students gain the valuable experiences and knowledge that will serve them well in both college and career,” said HSPVA Principal R. Scott Allen. Continue reading →

New Confucius garden helping Kolter ES ‘cultivate’ global graduates

“Growing” Global Graduates just got easier at HISD’s Kolter Elementary School, thanks to a new garden built in honor of a legendary Chinese philosopher.

The Confucius Garden — which has eight beds for cultivating traditional Chinese herbs such as mustard, cilantro, and parsley, as well as two different varieties of bok choi — was unveiled during a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 29. The garden was built with funds from Hanban and the Asia Society, which provides a grant to Kolter each year as a member of its Confucius Classrooms Network.

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“We are so appreciative of the Asia Society and everything it has done for us,” said Principal Steve Shetzer. “We look forward to watching this garden grow along with our students.” Continue reading →

Schools host fourth annual Green Apple Day of Service

Students, parents, staff, and community members throughout HISD celebrated the fourth annual Green Apple Day of Service on Saturday by hosting beautification service projects that promote healthy and productive learning environments.

Green Apple Day of Service, sponsored by The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, is a designated day where school communities throughout the nation come together to work on projects favorable to the environment.

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Condit ES students and community sign steel beam to be used in new school

With the new school construction as a backdrop, students, parents, staff and neighbors came out on Friday to add their signatures to a steel beam that will be used in the construction of the new Condit Elementary School.

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The school, located at 7000 South Third in Bellaire, is being built adjacent to the existing building while students continue to attend classes. Throughout the afternoon, a steady stream of stakeholders turned out for the opportunity to sign the beam and view the latest construction progress.

Continue reading →