Category Archives: High Schools

Washington Students Partner with British School to Build Colony on Mars

Although she is just a high school junior, Booker T. Washington student Elizabeth Nolazco is managing a project to build a colony on Mars. She and her classmates are collaborating with students at the Ormiston Victory Academy in Norwich, England. The cross-Atlantic team is designing and planning every aspect of interplanetary living.

“We Skype every other week and discuss everything we need to build a base on Mars from the working space, to the kitchen, sleeping areas, restrooms and the airlocks that separate them,” said Nolazco. “We are learning so much about science and life in space, plus learning how to work with another project team that is far away.”

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HSPVA Selected For Jazz ‘Peer-to-Peer Education’ Tour

The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) is among two schools in the nation selected by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz to participate in a national “Peer-to-Peer Education” tour.

Six HSPVA students will be in Indianapolis May 20-24, 2013, to present jazz “informances” in public schools. Continue reading →

EMERGE Students Accepted to Prestigious Summer Learning Programs

Seven Eastwood Academy students and two Furr High School students have been selected to attend several prestigious learning programs this summer. All of the students are a part of EMERGE, an HISD program designed to help bright students from low-income families attend Ivy League and other top-tier colleges.

Eastwood students Jorge Garcia, Darryl Beronque and Nancy Aguilera have all been offered full scholarships to attend Cornell’s Catalyst Academy. Only 44 students nationwide were selected to participate in this prestigious summer engineering program held at the Ivy League College in Ithaca, New York.

Meanwhile Eastwood student Ivy Salinas and Furr High School students Sade Harnsberry and Karen Banda are headed to London, England this summer. They are three of only six students in the state to receive full scholarships from the British American Foundation of Texas to attend a summer course at the American Community School in London, England. Last week, over 200 people attended a special banquet that was held in their honor at the Houston Federal Reserve Building in Houston.

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HISD’s Washington High School Partners with British School to Build a Mission on Mars

Partnership possible thanks to KBR’s support

Students at HISD’s Booker T. Washington High School are collaborating with students at the Ormiston Victory Academy in Norwich, England to build a mission on Mars, thanks to KBR’s Discover Engineering Committee.

The SAMbassadors program is designed to engage students in science and engineering projects with a global perspective.  The students at both campuses Skype every other week to discuss the logistics of this project and share documents online.  Each school has 25-30 students in the program.

One group of students has been determining environmental conditions on Mars such as wind speed, temperature, atmospheric gases, sunlight and shade, radiation and soil conditions. Another group is designing the living conditions.  Meanwhile, the British students at Victory Academy are creating 3D CAD drawings.

The students from both campuses will Skype immediately following the press conference on Monday, May 20, 2013.

What: SAMbassadors, program to a build mission on Mars

Who:  Aimee Yuan, KBR-DEC chairperson; Patrick Harkin, KBR-DEC outreach chair; Jack Kramer, KBR engineer; Dr. Nghia Le, engineering teacher, Washington High School; LaShonda Bilbo-Ervin, principal, Washington High School; Elizabeth Nolazco, student, Washington High School

When:  Monday, May 20, 2013; Press conference – 9:30 a.m.; Skype interview – 10 a.m.

Where: Washington High School, 119 East 39th Street, Houston, 77018

HAIS Student Wins Prestigious Scholarship To Study Abroad

Erik Herrera of the Houston Academy of International Studies. (Web Team)Erik Herrera, a junior at the Houston Academy for International Studies, has been awarded one of 625 National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarships. The NSLI-Y program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less commonly taught languages in summer and academic-year overseas immersion programs. NSLI-Y offers overseas study opportunities in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian, and Turkish.

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Early College HS Seniors Give Back to Community

Click the photo to see more pictures from the Senior Summit

Students from Houston ISD’s early college campuses showcased a few of their senior service projects to their peers on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 during the annual Senior Summit.

Approximately 200 seniors from North Houston Early College, East Early College, Challenge Early College, Empowerment College Prep and the Houston Academy for International Studies watched as groups presented projects focusing on issues such as feeding the hungry, mentoring younger students, preventing bullying and promoting safe physical activity, among others. While the service projects are a requirement for graduation, college access coordinator for East Early College High School Lisa Green said many of her students laid groundwork for their projects to continue after they graduate.

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Bellaire, Westbury students win scholarships from Youth Business Institute

Several students from two Houston ISD schools were recently recognized for completing the Youth Business Institute, an 11-week professional development program.

Students from Bellaire and Westbury high schools were mentored by TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods associates to learn job and life skills, including budgeting, resume building, interview preparation and attire, merchandising, goal setting and career exploration through job shadow days.

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Student Creations to Cruise in Art Car Parade

Eight schools are participating in this weekend’s parade

Students at the Billy Reagan K-8 Education Center are putting the finishing touches on an after school art project that will soon be seen by thousands of Houstonians. Art teacher Carolyn James-Taylor and a group of middle school students have created an entry for this year’s Art Car parade which will be cruising down Houston’s streets on Saturday, May 11, 2013, starting at 3 p.m. Continue reading →

Ten HISD Seniors Awarded National Merit Scholarships

Winners selected from talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists

Ten Houston Independent School District students from five high schools have been named National Merit Scholarship winners and will each receive a scholarship for their undergraduate studies.  The winners, selected from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists nationwide, were awarded based on their ability to demonstrate the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential success in rigorous college studies.

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