Category Archives: District VIII – Judith Cruz

Cheer on your favorite teams at annual girls’ basketball tournament 

Spectators can catch the hoops action from Thursday, Dec. 4, through Saturday

If you’re in the mood for some exciting full-court action this weekend, check out one (or more!) of the games in HISD’s 31st annual girls’ basketball tournament.

The match-ups will take place at Chávez, North Forest, Reagan, and Westside high schools, as well as the Wilkins Pavilion located on the Forest Brook Middle School campus. Individual game tickets cost $4 each, but a $10 tournament pass will grant admission to all of them.  Continue reading →

Students investigate juvenile crime scene for geographic information systems presentation

Students at the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice collected data and created maps during an investigation of juvenile crimes committed in the Houston metropolitan area for a presentation at Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day in the City of Houston.

Students from HSLECJ and Houston Academy for International Studies in addition to Lee, Waltrip, and Wheatley high schools participated in the grassroots effort on Nov. 21 at Texas Southern University to learn about geography and the uses of GIS in society. HSLECJ students were the only group to make a GIS presentation at the event. Continue reading →

Latino Police Officers Association shares bounty with needy children

NLPOA_440x230Thanksgiving came a little earlier than usual for a dozen needy HISD students this year, but they were still delighted to receive free turkey dinners with all the trimmings from local members of the National Latino Peace Officers Association (NLPOA).

Continue reading →

HISD Futures Academy gives students head start on college, high-demand career industry

Challenging program lets students work in the field, earn college credit

The Futures Academy of Petroleum Engineering Technology at Furr High School is preparing students to pursue college degrees in fields such as engineering and business administration at four-year universities.

The academy was designed to train students to work as engineering technicians in the downstream and midstream petroleum industry. Students complete coursework in areas such as hydrocarbon safety, oil exploration and drilling and receive career training as part of a partnership with the Houston Community College and companies in engineering.

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 →

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 →

Business professionals inspire HISD students to think beyond a bachelor’s degree

As high school students across HISD are deciding which college to attend next fall, students at Eastwood Academy are learning that a bachelor’s degree will only take them so far.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/111886794″ responsive=”no”]

“After I get my bachelor’s degree, I want to get into my career, get work experience for a year, and then go back to school for a master’s degree,” said Eastwood student Mauricio Aguilar. Continue reading →

Planning and design for 2012 bond schools in final groups is ahead of schedule

HISD’s project teams are moving forward ahead of schedule with the planning and design of 21st century campuses in the last two groups of schools being renovated or rebuilt under the 2012 bond program.

As part of the process, Project Advisory Teams (PATs) made up of teachers, parents, students, community representatives, architects and staff, have been formed at each school and have begun meeting monthly. This puts Group 3 schools about six months ahead and Group 4 schools about 12 months ahead of schedule.

Continue reading →

Take it outside Nov. 17–21 and observe SPARK Week

HISD will be observing SPARK (School Park) Week Nov. 17–21, 2014, with the opening of brand-new school parks at four different campuses, so come join district and community members as they celebrate the occasion with refreshments, entertainment, and lots of fun!

Below is a schedule of the opening ceremonies: Continue reading →

eNews Highlight: Furr HS alumna on the value of ‘the road less-traveled’

EMERGE graduate gives advice on the importance of taking risks in this week’s edition

Graduating seniors face a dizzying array of choices when considering a college to attend. In addition to selecting programs and possible majors, students have to decide whether to stay close to home or leave everything familiar behind by enrolling in a university thousands of miles away.

Continue reading →