Category Archives: Middle Schools

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 →

Revere STEM program gains national attention with BP’s help

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Community partners are invaluable when it comes to helping students see how things are done in the real world. BP America has been partnering with HISD’s Revere Middle School since 2013, when STEM magnet coordinator and robotics teacher Alyssa Cannon-Banks began searching for role models for her students. BP America was one of the first to respond and sent nearly 40 scientists, engineers, and accountants to judge the school’s science fair. Soon after, BP America organized frequent tours of their headquarters, which made lasting impressions on students, most of whom come from underprivileged families.

Continue reading →

Dowling MS holds second community meeting to provide update on new school

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Dowling Middle School held its second community meeting on Tuesday evening to brief stakeholders on the design process for a 21st century learning environment, which is being built under the district’s 2012 bond program.

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Revere MS teacher showcased on Doug Lemov’s ‘Teach Like a Champion’ blog

Erin Krafft, a math teacher at HISD’s Revere Middle School, was spotlighted last year for her effective instructional practices. Now, she’s getting recognition from the very person whose techniques she has been implementing in the classroom: Doug Lemov, author of the bestselling book, “Teach Like a Champion.”

Krafft was the subject of a “Field Notes” entry on Lemov’s blog dated Oct. 19, in which Colleen Driggs highlights “how beautifully she built a positive, productive and efficient procedure for Turn and Talk,” and how skillfully she laid the foundation for a method she could build upon the entire school year.

To read the full story and see the video, please visit the Teach Like a Champion website.

Next School Choice Open House set for Oct. 24

Parents who have not yet decided where to send their children for the 2016–2017 school year still have plenty of time to make up their minds, and HISD is helping them narrow the field with a series of four School Choice Open Houses scheduled through mid-December.

The first Open House took place on Oct. 3, but if you missed it, don’t worry. The next one is this Saturday, Oct. 24, at Sharpstown High School (7404 Bissonnet, 77074), and there will be two more before the deadline for guaranteed first-round consideration of magnet applications on Dec. 18. Continue reading →

Deady MS receives $5K grant from House of Blues to strengthen music programs

More students at HISD’s Deady Middle School will soon be able to benefit from music instruction, thanks to a $5,000 grant from the House of Blues’ Music Forward Foundation.

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The grant was delivered to the school on Oct. 14 in the form of instruments and other music resources as a part of the organization’s 2015–2016 Action for the Arts program.

“Participation in music programs helps youth develop transferable life skills such as diligence, focus, and critical thinking,” said Music Forward Executive Director Marjorie Gilberg. “Action for the Arts ensures thousands more young people will benefit from learning and playing music.” Continue reading →

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.

Woodson K–8 awarded $100,000 Fitness Center by national foundation

Students at Woodson K–8 are exercising their bodies as well as their brains thanks to a brand-new, state-of-the-art fitness center awarded to them by the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils (NFGFC) and funded in part by Coca-Cola and Nike. The Live Positively fitness center was awarded to approximately three schools in each state for showing innovation in their fitness and nutrition programs.

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“I was a fat kid with a stutter growing up, and my dad bought me a set of weights.” said Jake ‘Body By Jake’ Steinfeld, chairman and spokesperson for the program. “Not only did weights build my body, but they built my confidence and self-esteem.”

Studies have shown that physical activity improves academic achievement and reduces discipline problems and absenteeism. The NFGFC hopes to build a nation of the fittest, healthiest kids in the world. Continue reading →

Google Expeditions takes McGowen students on virtual world tour

What if your child could take a guided tour of Machu Picchu, look out over the streets of Barcelona, or dive deep into the ocean to explore a coral reef, and then head home after school all on the same day?

Googe Expeditions 1

That’s the idea behind the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program, which was presented to educators and second-graders at McGowen Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 8, by representatives from the technology megacompany.

Continue reading →

First School Choice Open House helps parents fine tune their campus selections

HISD hosted the first of four School Choice Open Houses on Oct. 3, 2015, and hundreds of families came out to Jordan High School on Saturday to explore their options.

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“My main interest is the gifted and talented (G/T) program,” said parent Linda Le, who has two daughters. “These sessions are helpful, because you can look at all the different schools and talk to someone right away to get as much information as you need.”

“As a teacher myself, I’m able to see the different schools and what they offer, ask questions, and then decide what’s best and look at locations,” added Dominique Broomfield, a teacher at Eliot Elementary School with three children. Continue reading →