Are you planning to attend the Summer Leadership Institute this year?
If so, then start getting your wardrobe together now, as organizers will be hosting a fashion show and costume contest for attendees who dress up as their favorite literary characters on the last day of the event. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes, too, so start thinking now about which figure has meant the most to you and come prepared to share your love of literature with others. Continue reading
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.
Everyone’s a winner just for competing in the HISD K-2 “Name That Book” contest, which was held March 3-7 at MC Williams Middle School. There were 10 winners — two winners on each of the five days — out of almost 80 participating elementary schools: Askew, Bell, Briargrove, Condit, Lockhart, Lovett, Mandarin Chinese, Valley West, West University, and Wharton Dual Language elementary schools. Each school can enter only one team. Students received medals and certificates for competing.
The annual K-2 competition prepares younger students for upper-level competition, which includes all grade levels and continues through April 17. Unlike the upper-level students, K-2 students only compete on one day. Middle school finalists – Black, Briarmeadow, Energized for Excellence, Energized for Stem Southwest, Grady, Johnston, Pin Oak, T. H. Rogers – compete at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 14, at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center. See the full contest schedule here.
The three-bedroom apartment went from empty to furnished in 90 minutes, thanks to Gallery Furniture, Bethel’s Heavenly Hands, Harris County Youth Services, Westbury High School, and HISD’s Homeless Education Office. Melissa Smith and her seven children had been evicted from their apartment, and with no place to go, were sleeping outside recently on a cold, rainy night. A compassionate neighbor, Virginia Robinson, took them in, fed them, and gave them a place to sleep. “It hurt my heart to think of them out there in the cold,” said Robinson. “I had to do something.”
HISD Chief of Police Jimmy Dotson, left, will retire in January, and will be succeeded by now-Assistant Chief of Police Robert Mock, right.
When HISD Police Chief Jimmy Dotson broke the news of his retirement to his department a month ago, he told the officers that after five years, the time had come for him to leave the district.
“We have worked very hard as a department to get to where we are today,” said Dotson, whose last day with the district will be Jan. 31. “But it is time for me to go. Everything is about timing, and the time is just right.”
On Tuesday, Dotson, 66, was excited about the announcement of his successor – HISD Assistant Chief of Police Robert Mock, who will be sworn in as the district’s new police chief on Jan. 6 at a 2 p.m. ceremony at the High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice. Continue reading
Houston ISD principals traditionally collaborate via email and at meetings, but today they’re chatting online and hope you will join the conversation.
The district’s first Twitter chat, which will be held from1:30 to 2:30 p.m., will focus on literacy.
You can be part of the conversation by following #HISDprincipal. We’ll offer a live feed on the district’s website. If you have a comment or question, chime in by logging into your Twitter account on your computer or mobile device, and send your Tweet with that same hashtag.
Separate lists provided for boys’ and girls’ most desired gifts
Every year, HISD’s Longfellow Elementary students take it upon themselves to find the top gifts for children to help parents tackle their holiday shopping. Today, after more than a month of research, the fifth-grade students revealed this year’s top 10 most-wanted holiday gifts for boys and girls.
“My favorite part about the toy survey was working in teams,” said fifth-grader Dasani Godfrey. “We got together and came up with the different toys we thought students would want for the holidays.”
Lists to be released just in time for holiday shopping
What: For the fourth consecutive year, fifth-grade students at Longfellow Elementary School will host a press conference to release their top toys for children this holiday season based on the results of their surveys. For more than a month, the students worked in teams to survey classmates in the playgrounds, hallways, and cafeteria and then tallied up the results. Based on their own research, they have determined the most popular toys among young boys and girls that are also cost-effective for parents. In addition to the findings, the students will showcase samples of the top 10 toys for boys and girls, provided by Target.
Who: Longfellow fifth-grade students
When: Tuesday, November 26 at 10 a.m.
Where: Longfellow Elementary School, 3617 Norris
School to be joined by students, parents and community members
What: Reagan High School will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate its recent International Baccalaureate authorization with students, parents and community members. Reagan received official authorization to operate as IB campus in July along with Hogg Middle School, creating the first continuous IB feeder pattern in the historic Heights neighborhood. Founded in 1968, IB is a non-profit foundation that offers challenging educational programs for students aged 3 to 19 to help develop their intellectual, personal, emotional, and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.
Who: HISD Board of Education President Anna Eastman, Reagan High School Principal Connie Berger, HISD Lead Principal James McSwain, students, parents and community members
When: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013 at 6 p.m.
Where: Reagan High School, 413 East 13th Street
DeBakey HS art teacher Neda Khan poses with student Tam Ngo and her winning design.
This year the Houston Independent School District honored the artistic talent of its students by selecting three finalists’ artwork for the 2013 HISD Holiday Greeting Card. The winners were Adrian Pizarro from Park Place Elementary School, Amy Vaughan from Johnston Middle School and Tam Ngo from DeBakey High School for Health Professions.
“This is one of my favorite events of the year as we have the opportunity to recognize the amazing talent of our students,” HISD Chief of Business and Community Relations Dr. Michele Pola said. “We are very grateful for all the art teachers who support their students in their creativity.”